The preliminaries for the third and final stage of the Chuunin Exams ended with Kiba being rushed to the hospital and six genin trying to convince everyone not to bring Kaze to the hospital. Gaara had come back from escorting Lee, and he stood in front of Kaze now, not letting any medical ninja even get close.
"Kaze will only be treated by our ninjas," Gaara said as a nurse tried to get around a wall of sand. Sasuke went to stand beside him and shoot anyone else who tried to come close the glare of a lifetime.
Kaze's fight had been insane; Sasuke couldn't believe anyone could be so in tune to their surroundings. It had been particularly brutal near the end, but Sasuke couldn't help but feel even more overwhelming respect for his little blonde rival. Without even using chakra, he'd completely overwhelmed Kiba and ended up without even a scratch. Until Kakashi had shocked him into using chakra and he'd passed out.
"I had no idea there was something wrong with him," Kakashi said apologetically, coming to lay a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "I'm sorry. You seem to care about him a lot."
"It's fine, just help me deal with these stupid doctors," Sasuke gritted out. Kakashi looked at him curiously, but asked no questions as he went to speak with the medical ninjas. Sakura and Sai ran over to join him, and together they turned to Gaara.
"You'll look after him?" Sakura asked worriedly. Somehow, she'd come to like Kaze even though he acted ridiculous around her and was constantly flirting.
"There's not much I can do, but I'll see that he gets some rest," Gaara said quietly, and the sand wall dissolved to make a platform of sand. It gently lifted Kaze in the air, and Sasuke winced at how white he looked. He really needed to find someone who could repair the holes in his chakra network.
"Find us when he's awake, then," Sai said as Kankuro and Temari joined Gaara, both of them looking worried as well. Gaara nodded then walked off with his siblings and Kaze. His sensei approached them, looking agitated, but Sasuke couldn't hear what he was saying and soon the five of them disappeared.
"Now then," Sasuke heard behind him, and when he turned he was met with a smile that sent shivers down his spine. He saw Sai and Sakura also stiffen beside him, and he knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation.
"Why don't you tell me exactly what you know about this Kaze Naminato?" Kakashi asked.
"It wasn't Danzo," was the first thing Sasori said when he approached Konan and Pain. Konan pressed her hand against her chest and drew in a small, relieved breath. Things had just gotten much better, since the only other person who could've done it was…
"Sasuke Uchiha must've been the one to supress the kyuubi. Apparently Orochimaru's plans fell through with Naruto's appearance and he's regrouping with the sole purpose of crushing the Leaf."
"Then we must find Naruto and take him from the village before the attack can take place," Pain said, standing from his spot on the forest floor. While Sasori met with Kabuto, Konan and Pain had waited outside of the village to lower their chances of being spotted. With the number of Anbu Black Op guards tripled, it was best to err on the side of caution.
"Of course. From what Kabuto said, it seems like Naruto is using his puppet as a cover, much like how I use Hiruko. He calls himself 'Kaze Naminato' and is friendly with Itachi's brother, as well as his friend from Suna."
Konan also stood from her spot on the ground, stretching her muscles out to loosen them. They'd been sitting in the only patch of sunshine showing on the dappled ground, and for a moment it had felt like the old days. However, things weren't even close to how they'd once been. Konan stepped from the warmth of the sun into the shade and bowed her head.
"I have some senbon. If you'll provide me with a light sedative, Sasori, we can be in and out of Konoha without having him make a scene," she said quietly. Taking him by force may not be necessary, but it was probably the best thing to do to minimize risk.
"Getting the supplies to make one may take a while. I'm afraid I'll have to keep you waiting, Konan."
"How long?" Pain asked, his deep voice filled with impatience. Konan knew he wanted to have Naruto with them immediately, and not just because Naruto was important as a jinchuuriki. As powerful as he was, Nagato couldn't protect Naruto from the world.
Sasori considered, his beautiful puppet's face turning thoughtful. Whoever said puppets couldn't have emotions had never met Sasori, the one puppet who refused to dance on anyone else's strings.
"I'll say two weeks in case anything disastrous comes up, but I believe one week should be sufficient. Whatever the case, we won't have to wait until the third part of the Exam, when Orochimaru plans to make his move."
"Very well, then," Pain said. "I'll contact the other members and we'll meet using astral projection in the usual place. They'll want to be updated on this."
"Have you tried using it to contact Naruto?" Sasori asked curiously. Pain nodded and released a sigh so light only Konan caught it.
"Of course. He's being difficult."
"Isn't he always?" Konan asked, finding it easier to joke now that her spiritual younger brother was alright, at least for the moment.
All three of the incredibly strong shinobi sighed.
Orochimaru sat in the darkness, only the tiniest sliver of silver light from a cracked door revealing his face. The eye the sliver sat on was cold and contemplative, debating things that were better left inside of his mind. Things were getting quite troublesome indeed, and if Orochimaru didn't act soon he doubted his plan would come to fruition.
Not realizing that Kaze was Itachi's jinchuuriki had been a huge oversight on Orochimaru's part, and one he didn't plan to make again. Unfortunately, it was too late to go back and change things for the better, and with Naruto Uzumaki hanging around Sasuke Orochimaru couldn't afford to go after the young Uchiha again. The last battle had proved most difficult, even with all of the modifications Orochimaru's body had undergone for the sole purpose of fighting the kyuubi.
No, that part wouldn't work out, but he needed to put the next course of action into effect anyway. There was no better time to take down Sarutobi and the old man's pride and joy, Konoha, then now. He still had four Sound ninjas left, so instead of fighting with Sasuke they could focus on helping with the invasion. Kimimaro could also help, and use the last vestiges of that incredible power of his to hold off any other unwanted visitors. The rest would be up to the Suna ninjas the Fourth Kazekage had agreed to let him use and the Oto ninjas who were waiting for his word.
"Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto said, cracking the door open to expose Orochimaru fully. Kabuto was such a loyal pawn… not. He knew Kabuto plotted against him and desired power even greater than his own, but that was what made the young medical ninja so useful.
"What is it?" Orochimaru asked, hoping it wasn't another annoyance to put a wrinkle in his plan. From Kabuto's grimace, however, it was clear that was exactly what it was.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news. Sasori and a few other members of the Akatsuki—I'm not sure which ones—are here."
Orochimaru surged to his feet, furious. This was more than just an annoyance. If Itachi or Pain was one of those members, there could be some serious trouble that even Orochimaru wouldn't be able to slip away from.
"Why?" Orochimaru demanded, wondering why he was cursed with such bad luck. He'd been working on ways to negate the Sharingan's genjutsu, but he still hadn't come up with anything concrete. Nor had he found a single thing that could be of any use against Pain's Rinnegan.
"Only for Naruto, it seems," Kabuto muttered, his eyes shadowed as he used a finger to push his glasses higher. "Sasori was worried Danzo might have taken him."
Ah, Danzo Shimura… he was almost more of a snake than Orochimaru. As of now, they had an uneasy truce because of Sasuke, but since Orochimaru hadn't managed to snag the Uchiha it was very possible that Danzo would consider their alliance void. If Danzo managed to subdue and get a hold of the Nine-Tails now… The ramifications of that scared Orochimaru just as much as it scared the Akatsuki, if for different reasons.
"I see. In that case, we'll have to move the invasion date up."
Kabuto raised an eyebrow at the statement but said nothing, content to let his smirk do all the talking for him. What a fantastic poker face he had.
"When shall I tell them to be ready by?" Kabuto asked, already on Orochimaru's wavelength.
"One week. We'll strike at the height of the day, when the most civilians are out. There'll be more guards at that point, but they'll be too busy trying to save the children to do much harm. At that point, there also won't be as many strong shinobi as there will be closer to the third part of the Exam. Brief the Sound Four, Kimimaro, and the Sand shinobi."
"Very well," Kabuto said, sketching a mocking bow. "Your wish is my command."
He disappeared, leaving Orochimaru behind to his thoughts.
When Naruto's eyelids fluttered open, he was shocked and beyond happy to see Itachi hovering over him. He reached up with both arms, grabbing Itachi around the neck and pulling him close in a hug, burying his face in the side of Itachi's neck.
"I missed you a whole lot," he whispered, gripping Itachi's cloak tight. Except, now that he was more awake, he realized what he was gripping wasn't a cloak at all. It was a navy blue shirt with an Uchiha crest on the back, but the Uchiha he was hugging wasn't the one he'd originally thought. Peering over the shoulder of the person he was hugging, he saw the astonished faces of Gaara's squad and the other two members of Team 7 staring at him open-mouthed.
"Uh, um, haha… er…"
He didn't know what to say as he quickly released Sasuke, shoving him away as his face went scarlet. Sasuke was staring at him with the same embarrassed, flustered expression, and after a few moments of this, Sasuke quickly excused himself and practically ran from the room. Naruto's eyes followed him, and Naruto kind of wanted to go after him to clear things up, but he had no idea what to say. Sorry, I thought you were your older brother whom you've been trying to kill this whole time?
"Well that was awkward," Temari sighed, but she looked amused.
"Quite gutsy, grabbing him while he was open like that," Sai smirked, waving a finger at Naruto.
"Leave him alone, he's just waking up," Gaara chastised, although Naruto didn't miss the confused, questioning expression Gaara shot his way.
Naruto decided to forget the whole thing for now, and he sat up to look around and take in his surroundings. He was in a relatively large room, decorated sparsely with a couple of wall hangings and a few books stacked orderly into a bookshelf. A tiny television set sat on the bookshelf, and beside that was a single armchair that looked heavily worn, threads sticking out from it as if someone pulled on them a lot. Beside the armchair was a table, and on it were enough drinks for everyone in the room and a couple of other people besides.
"Where…" Naruto began, then trailed off as he looked to the right and noticed a small, worn picture frame on a nightstand beside the bed. He picked it up, staring in surprise at the picture it contained, which was obviously much newer than the frame. Four shinobi were looking at the camera, and two of them were in the room with him. Kakashi had one hand on Sasuke's head and the other on Sai's, while Sakura stood in the middle with a huge, bright grin. Sai was also smiling, and even Sasuke looked like he didn't mind being there. They looked like… family.
"Everything alright, Kaze?" Sakura asked, and Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts. It was odd, seeing three Konoha ninjas look so happy and carefree—it made his heart ache a little. How stupid. He was going to destroy the Village Hidden in the Leaves, so he had no time to get sentimental over a picture like this, especially one with Kakashi Hatake. He set the frame back down and offered Sakura a grin.
"Yep! This your place, Sakura?"
"Actually, it's mine," Sasuke muttered, having slunk back into the room while Naruto wasn't paying attention. His face was still a little red, but he seemed to have composed himself more. Naruto tried to do the same, shoving down the rising heat that wanted to make his cheeks red. There was absolutely no reason to be embarrassed; it was an honest mistake. And if he'd happened to notice that Sasuke smelled really nice, well, that was nothing.
"I brought you some water, but I'm not giving it to you until you promise not to hug me like that again," Sasuke said, eyeing Naruto warily. Now that he mentioned it, Naruto was totally parched. He accepted the water gratefully, hyperaware of where Sasuke's fingers were on the glass and intentionally avoiding them, then asked how he'd gotten there.
Gaara explained how his sensei, Baki, hadn't approved of bringing Naruto back to the place the Suna ninjas were staying, because he'd never seen Naruto in his life. It took a bit of convincing for Baki to believe Naruto was even actually part of the Sand Village. Naruto noticed Team 7 looking confused at this, wondering where exactly Naruto was from, but he didn't offer any explanation.
Next, Sakura apologized profusely while Sai explained how they'd had to tell Kakashi a little bit about what had happened. They'd told him that Kaze was a puppet master from Suna whom they'd befriended during the second part of the Exams. Kakashi had been suspicious, but no one on Team 7 actually knew anything about Naruto, so it wasn't like they could offer a better explanation. They'd conveniently left out Naruto's fight with Orochimaru, but even so, Kakashi wanted to drop by later to have a 'chat' with Naruto.
Gaara also seemed like he was itching to tell Naruto something, but he evidently didn't want to say it in front of everyone else, so Naruto didn't press him. When everyone was finished with their stories, Naruto felt kind of exhausted. He had to sort out a lot—from Kakashi's questioning, to Baki's suspicions, to whatever Gaara needed to talk to him about—but all he wanted to do was sleep. Man, this chakra thing was shit. He really needed to find someone who could heal him.
"I think he's had enough for the day," Sasuke said finally, and Naruto shot him a grateful look.
"Will he be okay here?" Gaara asked, looking unsure. Naruto could see that Gaara's question was more for Naruto than Sasuke, so Naruto gave a small nod which reassured Gaara even before Sasuke could answer.
"We have one month to train for the final part of the Chuunin Exams," Sasuke said, looking around as if daring anyone to say different. "So I say Kaze rests the first week here, and we can figure out what to do after that."
"You just want him to yourself," Sai complained, and Sasuke's answering glare was like a kunai. Sakura rolled her eyes and grabbed Sai's arm, practically dragging him from the room. Temari and Kankuro also wished Naruto well, then left, so it was only Sasuke, Gaara, and Naruto. Gaara glanced over at Sasuke, hesitating.
"Sasuke, you got any ramen?" Naruto asked.
"Not for an idiot like you," Sasuke growled, but he seemed to take the hint because he left the room anyway, shooting Gaara a surreptitious glare as he shut the door.
"I think he likes you," Gaara said, staring after Sasuke. Naruto settled more comfortably in the bed, noticing for the first time that he wasn't wearing his puppet. He looked around frantically; if Kakashi came, things could get bad, but Gaara shook his head, laying a gentle hand on Naruto's shoulder to push him back down before he could leap up.
"Your Kaze puppet is under the bed," Gaara assured Naruto, and Naruto relaxed marginally.
"Hmph. I don't know if Sasuke likes me so much as he respects my strength," Naruto yawned.
"He respects you, yes, but it's more than that," Gaara said gently. "I can see it in the way he looks at you—he already considers you dear to him. I think he enjoys talking with you more than he lets on, which is something I understand completely."
Naruto flushed a little, wondering how Gaara could talk about such mushy things so openly. Somewhere along the way, it seemed like Gaara had become even better at reading and talking to people than Naruto. He was a great guy; with his gentle heart and kind words, Naruto figured he'd make a great leader of his people some day.
"Yeah, well… What is it you wanna talk to me about?"
Gaara avoided Naruto's eyes suddenly, walking to the balcony on the far side of the room and looking out the window. Naruto could see Gaara's eyes tracking people far below, and he wondered what Gaara saw when he looked out into the village. To Naruto, Konoha was like Kaze—a pretty outer shell that hid something dark and evil within it.
"Orochimaru is planning to attack this village soon," Gaara whispered so low that Naruto almost didn't catch it. But when he did, he bolted upright and tried to struggle out of bed. Gaara turned back and made a dissatisfied sound under his breath, using his sand to hold Naruto in place.
"Where is he? Where the fuck is that snake hiding? I'll kill him, Gaara, just tell me where he is!"
"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you," Gaara said, his gentle eyes growing hard. "You have no chakra, and we both know what happens if you break the seal. Don't give your life up for something so stupid."
"It's not stupid," Naruto grumbled, but he stopped struggling against the sand.
"I didn't tell you so you could go after Orochimaru. I told you because I need you to make a decision about something."
Naruto could hear a clear note of anguish in Gaara's voice as the redhead turned back to the balcony and laid his hand against the glass. He could make out only the barest shadow of Gaara's expression from the reflection on the glass, but that tiny bit was enough. Something was truly hurting Gaara. Naruto tried to struggle out of bed again, but it just wasn't working out for him.
"Orochimaru asked my father—who in turn asked me—to help him destroy this village."
Naruto froze. His mouth suddenly went dry, and it took a few seconds of wetting his lips before he could speak again.
"What?"
"Our village's economy is declining. The daimyo of the Land of the Wind has cut our budget and is outsourcing our missions to the Leaf because it's less expensive that way, and Father is desperate to do something. He thinks destroying Konoha will help by striking fear into the daimyo while also forcing him to use Suna shinobi to do missions. As a ninja of the Village Hidden in the Sand, of course I want my village to flourish, but on the other hand… I think there are better ways of dealing with this than destroying an entire other village."
Naruto stared, unsure how he should respond. As part of the Akatsuki, he was aware of some politics and economical problems, but for the most part they didn't apply to him so he never worried about them. To hear now that one village was considering aiding in the destruction of another due to their economy… It blew Naruto's mind. He'd just never considered such things important.
"Naruto…" Gaara said, dropping his hand from the window. "What should I do?"
Gaara's voice cracked and broke, and Naruto's heart ached for his best friend. Stuck between loyalty and a kind heart, Gaara didn't really have any other options he could turn to. Naruto knew why Gaara was asking, too; Naruto had badmouthed the Leaf Village and hated it with a passion, so he could easily offer Gaara a hundred reasons to destroy it. Those reasons would bring some justification, and would make things a little easier. But still…
"You should do what you can live with," Naruto said truthfully, and the sand finally let him go so he could walk over and stand by Gaara's side. He grabbed Gaara's arm, turning his friend to see the agony in Gaara's eyes. He wanted more than anything to tell Gaara to go ahead—that the Leaf deserved to be destroyed. But he also knew that if he did that, it would break his friend irreparably.
"I'm sorry you have to choose," Naruto said, pulling Gaara into a fierce hug. People like Gaara, who were kind down to the very marrow of their bones, didn't deserve this. They deserved to be happy and not to have to make such huge, life-changing choices. The importance of Naruto's mission once again played in his mind, and he knew now more than ever that he had to help Zetsu reach his end goal.
"…Thank you," Gaara whispered, hugging Naruto back just as fiercely. "Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for saving me."
"You're the one saving me," Naruto whispered back, and the two jinchuuriki hugged until neither of them were as lonely or as sad anymore.
