(Bell's Point Of View)

It has been a week since the battle with Pain, and things are starting to look up for the village. Everyone was helping rebuilding the village so we can hurry and get back to our normal form.

There is one sad thing that is keeping a lot of us sad and depressed which is that our Hokage, Lady Tsunade, has fallen into a coma from using her healing powers to much in the battle with Pain.

Naru's and I relationship has also been going well. We have only gone on one date so far which was to watch the sunset from Lord Fourths head.

The both of us were taking a break from building up the village and was eating lunch until we both heard our names being called. We looked over to see an older Inari and Tazuna.

We both jumped up when we saw them, happy to see them after four to five years, and walked up to them with smiles on our faces.

I walked over to Inari and put a hand on his head while looking down at him with a smile, "Look at you... You have grown so much!" He smiled as I took off my hand and he spoke, "I'm a carpenter now! That's why we have come here from request from the Hidden Leaf... And I thought to say hello to you guys!"

He looked over at me and gaped, "Wow Bell! You have gotten even cuter!" I blushed at his comment as Tazuna said that they had to get back to work for which we waved at them, saying goodbye.

I started to walk away with a yawn and told him that we should get back to our tent that Team Seven were all relaxing in as Kiba came marching in with a serious look on his face.

I looked worried and asked what was going on as he spoke, "Now stay calm and listen! Lady Tsunade has been relieved as the Hokage!" We all looked shocked as I just narrowed my eyes and asked who was taking her place.

"It seems someone named Danzo is the Sixth Hokage! I don't know too much, but apparently he's been active behind the scenes!" My eyes widen as I remember the torture he put me through when I was a child which made me fall to me knees for which Naru was at my side in an instant, asking if I was okay.

I nodded as Naru knelled next to me then looked up at me with sad eyes, "Danzo... He was your boss when you were little, right." I swallowed some saliva and nodded which made his eyes narrow.

Kiba spoke again, "And that's not the only shocking thing! The Sixth Hokage declared Sasuke as a Rogue Ninja, and has given the approval to hunt him down!"

This made everyone's eyes widen as Naru shouted, "What the hell's going on?! Even I don't understand." We all looked over at Kakashi-sensei for some info on this predicament, "Sasuke is indeed a Rogue Ninja. Normally, he would have been eliminated long ago. It's only because of Lady Tsunade that he's been allowed to live."

Naru helped me stand as Sakura spoke, saying that she was going to see Danzo but Kakashi-sensei stopped her, "Wait, Sakura! Storming into his office will solve nothing."

Once I was standing, Naru looked at Kakashi-sensei, "Lady Tsunade isn't even conscious yet! How could they do this to her?! And what about Sasuke? You can't expect me to keep quiet!"

Sakura said that she was going with him as Kakashi-sensei spoke again, "Calm down, you two. At a time like this, staying calm is crucial or things won't work out."

Naru shook his head, "How can I stay calm?! I won't let them lay a hand on Sasuke!" He sighed, "I said wait! Danzo has already figured out that this is how you'll react. So you'll go see him, then what?"

Naru just stared at him, "I won't do anything violent! I just want to talk to him and ask him to change his mind about Sasuke!" Sensei shook his head, "I hardly think that he'll go along with whatever you have to say. Jeez! Danzo has been appointed by the Feudal Lord. While he has yet to win a vote of confidence from the jonin, he is the Hokage. If you make a wrong move, you'll be thrown into jail."

Naru scoffed, "That's fine with me! I'm going!" Naru was about to leave, but I grabbed his arm, making him look at me, "Naru, you possess the Nine-Tails. Danzo would like nothing better than to confine you in this village. Do you want to be locked up in jail? That's exactly what he wants. Then you won't be able to look for Sasuke. Don't make a scene right now."

Naru looked down them turned to me, "Tell us what you know about Danzo." I shook my head, saying that it was impossible which confused him for which I showed him my tounge to show the curse mark laid by Danzo when I was in the Root.

Naru's eyes widen, "What the hell is that? Is it a Curse Mark?" I nodded and shut my mouth then spoke, " Yes, it's a Curse Mark placed by Lord Danzo. If I start to talk about Lord Danzo, my entire body will become numb and I won't be able to move or talk. This is true of all who belong to the Foundation. He's a cautious man. Lord Danzo and the Foundation engage in espionage. They've done a lot of dirty work behind the scenes in order to protect the village. This cannot be revealed. So even if one is captured, not a word will be uttered. Even Sai has this curse mark since he was also in the Root."

Naru's eyes turned angry as he spoke, "But what a thing to do Putting a Curse Mark on one's own subordinate? I can't accept that!"

I shook my head, "It's what has protected Hidden Leaf Village from the bottom up. Their methods may have been unscrupulous, but their love for the village is no different from yours."

His eyes turned angrier, "Then why did he overturn Lady Tsunade's decision about Sasuke? Isn't he planning to dispatch Tracking Ninja to go after Sasuke!?"

Naru ran out of the tent which made me look down in shame as I grabbed on to one of my wounds for which I feel Kakashi-sensei put a hand on my shoulder which made me sigh.

"I am going to go follow him..." He nodded as I looked over to Sakura who looked concerned so I just gave her a smile, showing her that I was okay then I headed off to find Naru.

A few feet away from the tent I hear Sakura's voice, so I turned around to see her and Sai running after me for which she spoke, "We will help find him."

I nodded as we went in three different directions to find him easier.

I was looking all around town, but I couldn't find him anywhere, so I decided to turn on my sensory Chakra to find him for which I see that he is a mile away from the village.'

Running in his direction, I see that Sakura, Sai, and Naru with two cloud ninja standing in front of them for which I jumped in the middle of them, blocking the cloud ninja from getting to my team.

The red head pointed the sword at my stomach while speaking, "You can tell us all about this Sasuke fellow! You seem to be his friends!" I narrowed my eyes as Naru grabbed the sword out of the red heads hands and swung it at them.

They blocked his attack then Naru made the sign for the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu for which the clone caught the sword aiming at Sakura.

Sakura and Sai ran around the two cloud shinobi for which the male kicked Sakura and Sai away. Sakura was about to hit the rock wall and Naru tried to catch her, but wouldn't make it in time, so I used my speed to catch her before Naru did.

Naru catched up to us and asked if we were okay for which we both nodded and Sakura answered, "Judging from their headbands, they're ninja from the Hidden Cloud."

I nodded as both of the hidden cloud ninja landed on the water as Sakura shouted, "Why would they come here? What the hell do you guys want? You were just talking about Sasuke! Tell us what you were saying! It's got nothing to do with you Cloud Ninja!"

The male shouted back, "It's got everything to do with us! Sasuke Uchiha of the Hidden Leaf attacked our village! Your Rogue Ninja abducted our master! We don't even know if our master is dead or alive, you idiots!"

I narrowed my eyes as Naru looked shocked, "Th-That's a lie! Why would Sasuke do such a thing?!"

The red head pointed at us, " Like we'd know what the Akatsuki's motives are!" I looked confused and asked them what they meant by the Akatsuki for which the male answered, " Don't kid around! Sasuke is a member of the Akatsuki! You guys let your Rogue Ninja roam free, so Lord Raikage ordered us to come here. And we've gotten your Hokage's permission to get rid of the Uchiha! We'll get our revenge! The Uchiha is ours!"

Sakura shook her head, "No way! It's a lie! Sasuke wouldn't join the Akatsuki! Are you sure about this?" The male nodded, "Yes! The Uchiha family crest was verified! And his facial composite matched the list."

I see that tears well up is Sakura covered her face and started to cry which made my eyes sadden but then harden again when the red head spoke, "Why are you crying?! We're the ones who want to cry! Your tears won't bring back Lord Killer Bee or Lady Yugito! If you have time to cry, then start talking about Sasuke!"

Sai then spoke up, "Wait, guys. When the authorization to terminate Sasuke was given, all Hidden Leaf data relating to him should have been passed on to you. It's not necessary to press these two any further."

The red head shouted, "We were just trying to get whatever other information was available! You can't expect us to stay still! We don't even know how our master's doing! I can't just sit around doing nothing! You're not involved in this, so you wouldn't understand how we feel!"

Naru looked sadly at them and asked if their master was a Jinchuriki for which they asked how he knew, " I'm a Jinchuriki too. The Akatsuki is after the Jinchuriki. So actually, I am involved. The Akatsuki will always capture a Jinchuriki alive. That means your master may not be dead. Never mind Sasuke. You need to save your master first."

The two of them looked hopeful as the red head spoke, "Are you really sure about this?! Really, really sure? Didn't I tell you?! Our master wouldn't die so easily! Hey blondie, you're quick to understand! Come with us and tell us about Sasuke! What's your name?"

He told them his name then he narrowed his eyes at them, "I can't do it. I can't sell Sasuke out. I know I'm being selfish... But at this rate, the vicious cycle of an eye for an eye will start all over again!

The red head shouted at him, "Sasuke is the one who started it all! So where do you suggest we take our hatred?"

They started to walk away from us for which Sakura stopped crying and I asked if she was okay for which she nodded then looked up at me with sad eyes, "Would Sasuke really join the Akatsuki?" I shook my head, "I guess so..."

I suddenly went a bad chill in the air for which I said that I was going to check up on Naru. She nodded as I walked over to where Naru and the cloud ninja were for which I see the cloud ninja catching her breathe.

What really shocked me is when I looked over at Naru to see that his face was all beaten up with his cheek puffing out and blood running from his forehead.

I see that she was about to punch him again for which I used my speed to step in front of Naru and catch her fists with tears streaming down my face.

I looked down as more tears fell down my face as I mumbled, "This is so fucking childish..." I looked up at the woman with hatred in my eyes, "Beating up Naru won't change anything!"

The girl snarled, "If you get in the way, we'll beat you up too." The male put a hand on her shoulder, "No matter what we do, he refuses to sell out his friend. He may be a foe, but I like guys like him. A man shouldn't be loose with words. However much you thrash him, he won't betray Sasuke. He's the type who means what he says."

She sighed and pulled her fist back and they walked away so I turned to Naru with tears streaking down my face and I pulled out a rag from my ninja pouch and started to wipe off the blood.

Once they were all cleaned up I wiped away my tears and looked down at the ground, "You stubborn fool... You don't have to get beaten up for Sasuke's sake..."

He grabbed my chin and brought my eyes up to his puffy, blown out face as he spoke, "It's my choice. I used to really hate Sasuke. But we ended up on the same team and we had a great time. Sasuke is my friend. A precious bond that I forged after so long."

More tears started to stream down my face as I shook my head and spoke, "You stubborn... Stubborn fool..." I brought my head up and kissed his forehead then wiped away my tears then put his arm around my shoulders then jumped away to go back to our tent to heal him back up.

Once we got back to the tent, I saw that the team, including Captain Yamato, as I put Naru on the mat on the floor and started to heal his face and put bandages on his face as well.

Once he was all patched up he looked over at Kakashi-sensei and Captain Yamato, "I'm going to see the Raikage!"

My eyes widen as Captain Yamato gaped at him, "What are you saying?! The Five Kage Summit is about to convene! It is agreed that every Hidden Village will exercise restraint in leaving their lands and conducting radical missions! What will you do by seeing him?"

Naru just stared at him, "I'm going to convince him to forgive Sasuke!" Captain Yamato just looked shocked, "Right now, you don't even have the necklace that seals the Tailed Beast! A Jinchuriki like you must not leave the village! It was bad enough that as many as eight tails transformed during that last battle! We were lucky that the Seal activated in time to suppress the Nine-Tails, but who knows about the next time? Besides, I'm in charge of the village reconstruction. I cannot stay by you all the time!"

Naru put his head down then looked back up at him, "I met the Fourth Hokage." All of our eyes widen as I whispered, "Then you know... Who he really is... to you..."

He nodded and spoke, "That last time, it was the Fourth Hokage who stopped my Nine-Tails transformation." Yamato looked over at Kakashi-sensei, asking what he was talking about becuase the Fourth Hokage was dead.

Kakashi-sensei looked over at him, "The Fourth Hokage passed away a long time ago. There are still many mysteries to the Sealing Jutsu, the Reaper Death Seal. He probably sealed his own mental energy into the sealing spell."

Naru nodded and looked at us, "That's when the Fourth Hokage told me A guy wearing the Akatsuki mask instigated the Nine-Tails incident... And he was so strong, even the Fourth Hokage was almost no match for him! On top of that, he said this guy was the mastermind that was probably using Pain. If Sasuke has joined the Akatsuki, then he's also being used."

Kakashi-sensei narrowed his eye, "This is just what Lord Jiraiya feared. That incident 16 years ago To think he was behind it. He possessed the Sharingan. He belonged to the Uchiha clan and left the village harboring great hatred. And only he, Madara, is capable of summoning the Nine-Tails. Anything is possible if it involves Madara. So he's still alive. Madara That vision and chakra more ominous than mine It's just like Madara Uchiha from long ago."

Captain Yamato nodded, "A man who was defeated by the First Hokage. The former leader of the Uchiha Clan of Hidden Leaf Village. The higher-ups must be informed of this."

I looked over at Naru and knelled down beside him as he looked over at me confused for which I smiled and spoke, "What did the Fourth Hokage say to you? Fathers like to tell their sons all sorts of things, right?"

He smiled at me, " He said... He believed in me!" I nodded as Kakashi-sensei gave him a thumbs up, "Good! Naruto, you will go to the Raikage! With Yamato, Bell, and I as your escorts."

Captain Yamato looked shocked, "What?! This is a bad idea!" Kakashi smiled over at the Captain, "What? Can't listen to what I have to say, Tenzo?

He looked disbanded, "Hey! You're not supposed to call me by that name, remember?! Now, now Naruto, are you serious about going to meet the Raikage?"

He nodded, " Of course. I'm going to ask him to forgive Sasuke." I smiled as Captain Yamato was still trying to find an excuse to not do this plan, "That being said, without knowing where the Raikage is-"

I interrupted him by waving my hand back and forth, "We don't need to worry about that... I can find him easily with my sensory Chakra!"

Captain Yamato sighed, " Jeez, you sure make it sound so easy."

We laughed at him as Naru stood up and put a cloak on for the cold weather and his headband then said that he was ready to go for which I nodded and went over and also put on my cloak.

Our sensei and Captain also put on their cloaks and we headed off to where we needed to go. When we were a few miles away from the village, I sensed the Chakra of the two people who beat up Naru.

I told them that we should follow them, and most likely they will take us to the Raikage. They agreed with me as we followed them for miles until we got to a snowed covered area where they stopped in front of the Raikage and two escorts with him.

We heard one of the escorts, shouting at us to come out of our hiding for which we jumped out of the trees we were in and landed behind the people we were trailing.

The Raikage scoffed at us, "You actually tailed Samui... You guys are pretty good." I nodded to him as the red head pointed at us, "Y-You You're Naruto! You tailed us! What's the big idea?!"

I heard one of the escorts whisper to the Raikage so I put Chakra into my ears to hear what they were saying, "Boss, the two on the right are Kakashi Hatake and Bell Ciera."

I heard the Raikage scoff again, "I know that! Did the Hokage send you, Kakashi Hatake? Bell Ciera?" I shook my head as Kakashi-sensei spoke, "No, I came to ask you personally about a request by Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf. If you could hear him out for just a while."

The blonde escort spoke, "Isn't this a bit rude? Stopping us en route to the summit without any prior notice." I nodded, "We am fully aware of that."

The Raikage looked at Naru, "No matter. You there, boy! Speak!"

Naru just looked at him, " Sasuke I want you to cancel the disposal of Sasuke Uchiha! I know it sounds ridiculous! But this is the only way I know how to say it! Sasuke is my friend! My friend's gonna get killed. I can't just stand by and let it happen! On top of that, I don't want Sasuke to be the cause of the Leaf and Cloud Villages killing each other. I don't want my friends, or the Cloud to fight for revenge! I'm begging you!

I don't want us killing each other out of vengeance anymore! All Sasuke ever thought about was revenge! He became obsessed with it and that changed him. Vengeance makes you go mad. It turns you into someone you don't recognize anymore. I don't want anyone else to become like Sasuke! I don't want the Leaf and Cloud Villages to destroy each other! That's why I have work to do, so I'm going on ahead."

The Raikage shook his head, "We will dispose of Sasuke! After that, you can stop the cycle."

He walked past Naru for which I see that my love's hands were clenched from anger as he ran in front of the Raikage and went on his hands and knees, begging the Raikage not to execute Sasuke.

Kakashi spoke to the Raikage, "Lord Raikage The incident in which you tried to obtain the Hyuga Byakugan is still unresolved on our side. The Hidden Leaf swallowed tears of blood and avoided fighting the Cloud, who fueled the fires of war. It's thanks to those noble sacrifices that your people still exist. Please try not to forget that."

I nodded and went over to Naru and knelled down and put a hand on his back as tears fell from Naru's eyes and I spoke, looking up at the Raikage, "Right here and now, this young ninja, no matter how awkwardly, is bowing his head in his affection for the Cloud and Leaf, village and nation. Lord Raikage As one of the five Kage, what do you think of this?"

The Raikage scoffed, "A ninja does not bow his head so easily! A ninja values action and strength! Concessions are forbidden in agreements made between ninja. The history of man is a history of war. Since the three Great Ninja Wars every nation, and every land has tried to obtain powerful ninjutsu. Those without power are crushed. That is the truth of the ninja world.

The Akatsuki will be branded as wanted fugitives. Then, not only I, but the whole world will hunt Sasuke down. Yet you bow your head for this criminal and plead for mercy for your friend. In the ninja world, that is not friendship! Boy from the Hidden Leaf, think hard on what you must do! The ninja world does not indulge fools! Let's go!"

The Raikage left as I looked down at Naru with Sadness as he still was on his hands and knees, keeping his head down while he cried, "Naru... Raise your head..."

Instead he just cried more so I just sat on my knees and pulled Naru into my chest as he cried and the others looked at him sadly.

Sadly, there was more still to come...

Hey Guys!

The episode's used in this chapter were Naruto Shippuden Season 10 Episode's 1 - 4!

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