Chapter Nine

The Sixth Hokage


"Princess Tsunade has been unconscious for almost two weeks now. She had pushed herself to her limits whilst protecting the village from Pain," Koharu addressed Danzo and Homura in a large dome-like tent. Danzo's ANBU Guards encircled their meeting, ensuring no one could hear their discussion.

"The village has begun to rebuild from Pain's attack but with no leader to guide them, they are lost and our village is as vulnerable as ever," she continued.

"Then I think for now it'd be wise to select an elite Jounin to take Tsunade's place," Homura agreed.

"Yes but the village law states that if the Hokage has been incapacitated in any way and unable to perform their duties due to a medical condition, you must allow four weeks before the position can be filled by another Shinobi," the older woman said.

"Koharu, Homura," Danzo began "if I may, I'd like to suggest a temporary replacement until Princess Tsunade wakes up. I'd like to volunteer myself for this position to keep our village safe. It is a role that needs urgent attention."

The two older elders exchanged a glance before Homura nodded in agreeance. "Very well," he turned to Koharu before adding, "Danzo is a trustworthy village elder. I believe that if Princess Tsunade does not wake up then he will be a fine Hokage. He has always had the ability to make clear decisions even if they can be difficult."

"I agree," she nodded "then if that is what we've all decided on then Danzo, you will be Konoha's sixth Hokage, given that Princess Tsunade hasn't made a recovery in the time span of the next two weeks."

A smirk played on Danzo's lips before he spoke, "yes, of course. Then I see no point in wasting time. It is clear now that the Uchiha boy has left the village. I believe that to be a main priority, do you agree?"

The older elders nodded, allowing him to continue. "Yamato had given us a report on the matter although not much information was given as his disappearance was within the timeframe of Pain's attack. This makes me suspect he's conspiring with the Akatsuki, Orochimaru's former group and therefore, that makes Sasuke Uchiha a threat to this village."

Homura's orbs narrowed slightly, "then we were right."

"He betrayed the village yet again," Koharu began "is there anyone else aware of any information on Sasuke's disappearance?"

"Yamato mentioned that Sakura Haruno had attempted to stop Sasuke but he found her unconscious," Danzo began "I think we should have her interrogated for further information before we can approve Sasuke's elimination, she seemed to have suffered no injury by his hand."

"Yes, that sounds wise," Homura agreed "as for Itachi, the seal you've placed on his mind will not be broken as long as you live. Being Hokage for the time being, you have the authority to give him a burial so Princess Tsunade and the village will never have to know the secret behind the Uchiha eradication."

"Alright," Danzo's lips twitched downward "but a burial?" He questioned, his features twisting into confusion. "Why not just cremate him? If the village were aware the village elders gave a missing nin a respected burial that could lead to complications."

Koharu pursed her lips slightly. "I suppose you're right," she agreed "it was his duty after leaving Konoha to disappear."

"Alright then… I will make cremation arrangements but first I would like to interrogate his mind myself," Danzo said, the elders regarded him curiously. "I would like to investigate a bit more, he might have valuable information about the Akatsuki and other matters that were never relayed to us."

After a moment of silence Homura nodded, "alright then. We will leave you to your devices. Interrogate Sakura Haruno as soon as you can and come to us with your verdict on Sasuke Uchiha."

"Of course," Danzo bowed respectfully before he made his way to the exit and headed towards his tent. He watched the villagers labour tirelessly to rebuild the village. There were already homes being built and temporary food stalls reopening.

"There is a high chance Princess Tsunade may not wake up," he thought "according to her personal assistants daily check ups and records, the Hokage may have just reached her limit. And even if she were to wake up, I would have enforced everything in place to go my way. The Jinchuuriki will not be leaving the village, Sasuke Uchiha will be eliminated and it'd be as though Itachi Uchiha had never existed."

Just before he reached his tent, he took a detour and approached a slightly smaller tent, a little further out from the rest of the village. "Sai," he called, waiting at the opening for a response.

"Lord Danzo?" Sai zipped open his tent before emerging with a paint brush in hand, slightly curious of the older man's random appearance.

Danzo stole a quick glance inside of his tent to see a canvas splayed with all kinds of colours but it didn't look like anything in particular. "I would like you to watch Naruto Uzumaki closely for me and report back with any information. Are you are aware Sasuke Uchiha is no longer in the village?"

The pale boy's dark orbs narrowed slightly, "No, I was not aware," he answered, his tone was confident yet Danzo eyed him for a moment, searching for any hint of dishonesty.

"Alright," the older man began. "As the soon to be sixth Hokage, your mission is to prevent the Jinchuuriki from any attempts to leave the village, report any suspicious activity to me. And send Sakura Haruno to me for questioning right away."

Sai's dark orbs widened a fraction. "He told his ANBU squad that he was potentially going to fill the position of Hokage but it sounds like he already knows exactly what he's doing, did he know all of this was going to happen somehow?" He nodded once, "yes, Lord Danzo."

"Thank you, Sai," the older man said before turning back to his tent. Sai watched him leave before hastily making his way to find his pink haired comrade.


"I don't get it though," Sakura spoke as Naruto sat beside her, listening. "I still don't believe that you don't know why Sasuke left," she ended, whipping her head to stare at the young blonde but he still avoided eye contact.

Naruto drank in his surroundings while he watched the villagers work to rebuild what they had lost. He and Sakura were at the highest point of Konoha, sitting atop of the Hokages stone monument. Even two weeks after the destruction Pain dumped on them, he wasn't used to seeing his home so barren.

After spending the past two weeks debating back and fourth with himself over Itachi, he decided to keep the truth quiet until he had solid proof it just wasn't some ploy to ensnare Sasuke. He knew that a heavy accusation against the village elders would have nasty repercussions if it wasn't true.

A vision of the fourth Hokage flashed through his minds eye as he released a short breath. "Even my old man sounded like he had things figured out better than I do," Naruto sighed to himself. "I wonder what he'd do if he were still here."

"Naruto?!" Sakura barked "are you even listening to me!? This is serious!"

"Huh?" The blonde's gaze snapped back to Sakura, making her frown slightly while she regarded the far away look in his blue orbs. "Yeah, I'm listening. Sorry Sakura, I just don't know what to tell you."

"For the past two weeks, you've just been so distant." she said, just above a whisper.

Naruto's blue orbs widened slightly while he watched her gaze over Konoha as she mulled over her thoughts and before he knew it, he had no words to console her. She was completely right. Even the blonde himself noticed his own attitude change toward everybody and the more he thought about the raven haired boy, the more he found himself growing more and more convinced that his feelings weren't just some big mix of teenage angst and confusion.

But admitting it to himself had been more taxing than he'd like to admit and he wasn't sure if he was just being prideful, stubborn or just plain embarrassed. "Truth is, I'm just as shocked as you are," he began, his voice was small. "I thought that this time would be different."

Sakura bit her lip as a sudden surge of sadness welled up within her chest. "If you couldn't stop him then I don't think anybody could."

Naruto turned to see Sakura tilt her head down to cover the tears that began to form underneath her green globes. Being lost for words, she continued, "if you couldn't stop him then how could I think that I ever could."

Naruto's blue orbs widened as soon as her words reached his ears. "Sakura, what're you talking abo—"

"Things are different between you two," she interrupted abruptly "ever since he came back, you two are just different with each other. I always felt like I was coming in between something when you guys were together."

Naruto drew a sharp breath inward before Sakura snapped her head up and looked to Naruto as her cheeks began to colour themselves a bright red, she didn't just mean to blurt her thoughts out insensitively. "I mean, I've just noticed something different between the way you two act around each other and… I just think that if there's any chance he'd come back again then you're it. It just doesn't make sense to me that even you don't have any idea why he would've left."

The young blonde's blue orbs widened slightly, a little taken aback by Sakura's sudden confession. A small part of his chest ached for his friend to see how upset she was and he couldn't help but feel guilty. After all, he knew Sakura had loved Sasuke for as long as he could remember. He gradually felt his confidence about his feelings for the raven haired boy dwindle as he mulled over this thought.

"What?!" He chuckled as he scratched his head nervously, "don't overthink it, as if that jerk actually cares about me that much, I think no matter what I'd have to beat the snot out of him just to make him stay. Hmph," Naruto folded his arms across his chest tightly, silently riling himself up.

"At least that much I'm sure of. Even though he has a pretty darn good reason for leaving, I'm bringing him back. He still owes me an explanation for that day in the training field…" Naruto thought to himself, "what was his excuse?" he thought bitterly.

The young blonde barely noticed the pink haired girl rest her gaze on him. "I know," she said, a smile playing on her lips.

"Sakura," she heard a deep voice call her name. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Sai appear on top of the stone monument.

"Oh Sai, it's you," she spoke as Naruto curiously glanced over his shoulder at the pale boy.

"Lord Danzo would like to see you," Sai said, getting straight to business.

"Danzo? Why? What would he want with me?" she said, raising a slim brow.

"Yeah, what would a guy like him want with Sakura? She's not part of his unit," Naruto agreed as he stood up, dusting off his pants.

"Lord Danzo is now taking Lady Tsunade's place of Hokage until she wakes up."

Sakura gasped as Naruto simply furrowed his brows. "What?!" the blonde exclaimed "is that even possible?!"

"Under the Konoha law it is apparently," Sai began "but if Lady Tsunade doesn't wake up in two more weeks then he can permanently become the sixth Hokage."

"But Lady Tsunade will need more than two weeks to recover!" Sakura blurted, "I've been checking up on her every day and she needs a lot more time than that! Her chakra was nearly depleted after Pain tried to destroy the whole village!"

"I'm sorry Sakura and Naruto," Sai said "personally, I'm not too fond of the idea either. But I'm afraid that was the Konoha councils decision."

"Still," Naruto began "what would he want with Sakura?"

"It's about Sasuke," Sai said, earning their complete attention. "Yamato informed the Konoha council of his disappearance and now Lord Danzo would like to open up an investigation."

"Lady Tsunade has always been suspicious of Danzo… this can't bring anything good," Sakura mumbled to herself.

"No way," Naruto said, "granny Tsunade would've wanted to protect Sasuke, doesn't that mean anything!? He should leave it to her!"

"Naruto," Sakura said, her voice calm. "If Lady Tsunade doesn't wake up then it won't matter what she wanted for Sasuke. She will have no authority over it."

Naruto's fingers curled inwards, forming tight fists. "I don't care if Danzo is Hokage until the old lady wakes up, I won't let anyone hurt Sasuke," he hissed.

Sakura marvelled at Naruto's clear resolve before strolling up to Sai, "if that's the case, then I better see him now and explain what happened. If he understands that Sasuke meant no harm then maybe things will be different."

Sai's brows furrowed, "it's not that simple Sakura. Danzo is not the most… forgiving man."

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

"I'm afraid I can't say anything," he responded before sticking his tongue out to reveal a strange marking on it before he continued to speak, "members of the Root organisation are bound to Danzo, he put these custom made curse marks on our tongues to make sure we cannot reveal any information to the enemy incase we are captured. But I can tell you that I don't know what Danzo's intentions are with Sasuke but don't underestimate him."

"That's cruel," Sakura gasped, thinking of the curse mark on her friends tongue. "Why would he want Sasuke gone so much?"

"I don't know," Naruto interrupted, "but I don't trust this one bit."

A moment of silence ensued over the three forms before Sakura spoke, "take me to Danzo. I'll speak with him now. See you later Naruto."

"Thanks Sakura," Naruto replied before seeing Sai and his pink haired comrade disappear towards the village.

Naruto stared after them for a moment before sitting back down on the fourth Hokages stone figure, sighing. "Sasuke… what've you been doing all this time? Where are you?"


"Sasuke," Madara's voice echoed throughout the dark cave where they had resided for the past two weeks. "This is the first time you've taken a break from training since you've gotten here."

Red orbs glared at the masked man through the candlelight of the cave. "What about it?"

"Just an observation, that's all," the masked man replied, slightly amused. "Itachi's old Akatsuki cloak is well fitted to you, he never did like hoods on his clothing, he thought they were a nuisance to fight with," he continued as he scrutinised the young Uchiha in the red and black attire.

Sasuke's glare softened slightly at the mention of his older brother. He stood up and made his way to the entrance of the cage, stopping as the fresh air engulfed him. "What's the news on Konoha? You wouldn't be this chatty if there wasn't any," the raven haired boy interrogated.

"Well, if you're ready to hear it, the Hokage looks like she won't wake up any time soon," Madara said casually, strolling up to stand beside Sasuke.

The young Uchiha regarded the masked man for a moment before allowing him to continue. "So Danzo has become Hokage."

Sasuke's fingers curled inward, pressing themselves into a tight fist. "Danzo?" he spat, brows furrowing.

"Yes. The village is rapidly rebuilding, it seems the Jinchuuriki really lifted everyones spirits," Madara said, watching Sasuke's usual relaxed features twist into a scowl.

"I won't give them a chance to," the raven haired boy spat while he formed hand signs. He slammed his palm on the ground before a puff of smoke shrouded the two forms.

"A summoning Jutsu?" Madara observed as a large hawk appeared from the smoke.

Sasuke pulled a small scroll from his pants pocket before carefully handing it to the hawk, who in return, clutched onto the scroll with its talons. "Take this to team Hebi," Sasuke demanded before the obedient hawk catapulted itself into the air, already soaring through the sky.

"So that's what you were doing," Madara smirked "you're going to go to the village again aren't you? And you're not going alone. I assume you have a plan?"

"Hn," Sasuke ignored the masked mans question before leaping onto a near by rock which lead into a forest for training.

"Sasuke," Madara called, making the raven haired boy cast him a sidelong glance. "I want you to do something for me while you're there."

Sasuke glared at the masked man, "who said I'd do anything for you?"

"I share Pain's dream of world peace. A world where tragedy like the Uchiha massacre wouldn't happen again. I assumed you wanted something similar, I must've been mistaken."

"I don't just want world peace," Sasuke began, his voice firm "I want a revolution. This world has to perish before it gets better. A world where people like Itachi will never be taken advantage of again." His fists tightened at the thought of his older brother.

"Then we do share the same ideals after all Sasuke. I'm sure Pain already explained that is why the Akatsuki was created. Although there is one more thing we need in achieving this goal," he said, earning Sasuke's attention "the Kyuubi."

Sasuke's dark orbs widened slightly, "bring me the jinchuuriki and we can make that dream a reality."

"Why can't you do it yourself?" Sasuke protested, his dark orbs narrowing uncomfortably.

"There are preparations to be made," Madara insisted "and you're on your way there anyway, aren't you? Why not kill two birds with one stone? Or do you still have lingering affections for Naruto Uzumaki? How many times have you spared him now?"

Immediately, Sasuke unsheathed his blade before appearing next to Madara, swinging it straight through him but as expected, his sword didn't cut. No matter what Sasuke did, his attacks would never connect with the masked man because of his ability to pass directly through solid objects. "Don't be stupid," Sasuke seethed. "I only have one goal in sight. I'll bring him to you after I destroy the village elders."

Madara was sure that if Sasuke could see his smirk, he'd try have another stab at him. "I knew he would be a valuable asset to the Akatsuki. He'd even cut down his best friend to achieve his goals. But the Jinchuuriki could be a problem…"

"If you say so," Madara continued, "but just know, once we extract the Kyuubi, the Jinchuuriki will die. This shouldn't be a problem, should it?"

Sasuke flinched for a moment before his features hardened into stone, masking any sort of emotion. "Madara," he thought as anger bubbled within his chest "he's toying with me." He ignored the pain in his chest before speaking, "no, it won't be a problem."


"Sakura Haruno," Danzo spoke as the pink haired girl stood in front of him. "It is good to see you're fairing well after the villages destruction."

"Thank you," she responded bluntly.

"I take it that Sai has told you the news already?" He asked, raising a brow.

"Yes, he informed me that you are to be the sixth Hokage if Lady Tsunade doesn't wake up."

"That's correct and as a result, I am the Hokage of Konoha at the moment as well and as Hokage, my duty is to protect this village. I'm sure you understand that, don't you?"

The pink haired girl was becoming slightly unnerved. "Yes, of course."

"Then I would like you to tell me everything you know about Sasuke Uchiha. It's important we get every detail about his disappearance since Pain's attack. It is possible that he could have conspired with the Akatsuki and aided with the village's destruction. But if you know anything, please speak up."

Sakura's green orbs widened, "aided with the village's destruction!? No that's impossible, he doesn't know anything about Sasuke," she thought bitterly but her features remained composed and pleasant in his presence. "I don't know why Sasuke left… To be honest, I don't know what could've convinced him to leave. He seemed like he really wanted to stay, he has his friends here, people who want to protect him. I know that he would never imagine hurting those people either. I'm sorry but I don't have much information to give you. I just remember trying to persuade him not to leave and then—"

"So he refused you?" Danzo interrupted. "Did he attack you?"

"What? No! I mean I did fall unconscious but he didn't attack—"

"So he refused to come back to the village and he knocked you unconscious. That sounds like the actions of a guilty man."

"No!" Sakura exclaimed, "it's not like that! He wasn't being aggressive, I just… he didn't listen to me."

"Then tell me why he wouldn't of come back to the village if he wasn't guilty of anything?" Danzo questioned before Sakura's green orbs widened. The accusations Danzo began throwing at her were things that never ever crossed her mind. "Thank you for your information Sakura but you've said more than enough. I will prepare a squad of elite Shinobi find and eliminate Sasuke Uchiha."

"What?!" She exclaimed before taking a step forward, "Lord Danzo, I know it sounds bad but—"

"There are no buts. I'm sure you understand it's in the villages best interest to eliminate threats. The life of one rogue Shinobi holds little value in the long run. I understand you were on Sasuke Uchiha's team in the past but are you going to forget the first rule of Shinobi conduct?

Sakura pursed her lips tightly before reluctantly reciting it. "A shinobi must never show their tears. In order for missions to be a success and to prevent endangering the village, a shinobi must kill their emotions and never show any weakness."

"Exactly," Danzo said gruffly. "I am going to relay this information to the Konoha council. Thank you for your information." With that, the older man left the tent, leaving Sakura to her thoughts.

She stomach began to whirl with nausea. Her knees began to tremble, she felt like she practically signed Sasuke's death warrant without even meaning to. "I have to find Naruto," she thought wide eyed before speeding out of the tent.


Sasuke stared at the uneaten rice ball that rested in his palm. His muscles began to burn with exertion from training that morning but it was the only thing that distracted him. An image of the young blonde with a grin plastered over his face suddenly flashed through his minds eye, making him wince slightly. "Naruto," he spat to himself as his brows furrowed. He had dreamt of his old rival every night since leaving and it irritated him to no end.

He thought back to the last time he made rice balls at the blonde's small apartment when he had returned to Konoha and the memory now only felt like a punch in the chest. An irritated growl resounded from the back of his throat as he threw the rice ball at a tree before getting up and heading back to his training ground.

"That was a waste of food Sasuke," he heard a familiar voice jeer before looking over his shoulder at the white haired form sipping water through a straw.

"Suigetsu," the raven haired boy scouted the area around him expectantly before the two remaining forms leapt out of the trees beside his old companion.

"Why'd you have to rush off Suigetsu, you idiot!? I was the one sensing his chakra," Karin lectured before thwacking the white haired Shinobi on the back of the head.

"Augh!?" Suigetsu exclaimed, cradling the growing lump on the back of his head. "What was that for?! Are you just upset that you didn't get to see Sasuke first because you missed him that much?!"

Karin's orbs widened, her face began to burn a red as bright as a tomato before Juugo casually strolled up beside the two bickering forms. "You're both not making a good impression right now, don't you think we should put that aside and talk to Sasuke?" He said awkwardly.

Sasuke simply watched as the three of his former comrades bickered amongst themselves. "Don't you talk Juugo, without Sasuke, you've been going mental!" Karin started as Suigetsu nodded in agreement.

"Yeah I mean, where even were you Sasuke?" Suigetsu turned to the raven haired boy who idly regarded him. "We searched for you high and low and you just disappeared. What happened to you? Without you to keep Karin on her leash, I'm almost convinced she's more psycho then Juugo," he mumbled toward the red haired woman who simply whacked him over the head again, earning a slight cry from Suigetsu.

Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, she added, "yeah, it's not like I was going to actually stay with these two idiots but I had nothing better to do," she said, folding her arms over her chest.

Team Hebi looked to Sasuke expectedly, waiting for his explanation. "I was in Konoha," he said as he watched their expressions fade into surprise. That was the last thing they were expecting to hear.

"Sasuke," Juugo began, "what happened to you!?"

"Nothing much," Sasuke said nonchalantly. "I was given a contract to abide by if I were to live in that village but I had a change of heart," he ended bitterly. "So I called you three."

"What makes you think we'll just go along with you again after you just ditched us?" Suigetsu asked, a little taken aback by Sasuke's vague explanation. "What happened to him?" he scrutinised, raising one slim brow. "He's different somehow."

"Feel free to leave, I won't force you," determination swam through the raven haired boys dark orbs, "but I'm aiming to destroy the Konoha council and eliminate Danzo, the current Hokage."

Karin's orbs widened before Juugo broke the silence. "What happened when you were in Konoha to make you want to eliminate the Hokage?" His voice was stern.

Sasuke took a deep breath as tension began to cloud the air before he began to speak. He explained Pain's attack which led him to the truth and eventually, to Madara. After hearing Madara's story and recalling memories of the night Itachi left, it seemed to all fit into place, there was no doubt it was the truth. When the raven haired boy had finished speaking, his three former comrades were left speechless by what he had to say.

"I will destroy the Konoha council with or without you," he ended, clear resolve swam through his dark orbs as the three forms exchanged looks between themselves.

"Uhh," Suigetsu sighed "look, I get that you're mad but I just don't know if it's really worth taking on the whole village."

"I'm with you Sasuke," Juugo took a step forward, "you're the only one who can stop me if I get out of control. I'll come with you."

"Huh!?" the white haired man exclaimed, exasperated.

"Well it's not like I have anywhere to be right now, so I might as well," Karin reluctantly agreed, earning a slight raised brow from Suigetsu.

All eyes were on the white haired Shinobi who glanced awkwardly at his comrades, doing his best to avoid eye contact. Sighing, he set his water bottle into the holder wrapped around his waist. "Fine then, it's not like we came all this way just for an explanation. After all, you and I have taken out a whole castle of Shinobi when we collected my executioners blade, right Sasuke? What's one village?" he smirked darkly.

Sasuke regarded Suigetsu for a moment before spinning on his heel, back to the cave Madara had taken him to. "Then we'll leave tonight. We will make it by morning, before sun rises. That gives us enough time to attack before we're detected. You two," he addressed Juugo and Suigetsu, "you're going to be on the defence. And Karin, you'll stay with me incase I need your chakra. Leave Danzo to me. And if you see the Jinchuuriki, don't fight him."

"The Jinchuuriki? You mean that Naruto kid?" Suigetsu questioned.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, his tone hard. "I'll deal with him. If we're going to achieve this revolution, we'll need the Kyuubi."

Karin's brows furrowed as she sensed the sudden change in Sasuke's chakra. "It used to be so warm," she recalled "it was warm up until just a moment ago, before he brought up the Jinchuuriki. I knew they were close three years ago but I never sensed this kind of feeling until now. Why is he so sad?"

"From now on, we're no longer team Hebi. We will now be known as Team Taka," Sasuke said before heading towards the cave to gather his weapons, leaving the three forms to stare after him in silence.


A/N: I have not updated in a loooooong time 0: Forgive my negligence, real life stuff got kinda hectic hehe but I managed to get this out finally! I've actually had it written up since the last chapter came out all those months ago but I'm changing the story up a bit now, it may veer off of the storyline now ^_^ I shall be writing, trying to post new chapters until the story is finished! If you're still following this story from long ago then thank you so much for reading :) :) :)