The others were having a similar thoughts as well and as they waited for reenforcements, they wondered what the future would bring and if they would be able to fight against their comrade, who had done so much for them all. They also blamed Sasuke and Sakura for finally pushing Naruto over the edge of despair and pain.

In Konoha...

Kurenai had finally managed to remove the genjutsu that Naruto had placed on the Anbus in the forest of death and was now in the hospital, having passed out from chakra exhaustion. They had even had to call the little girl in to help. Naruto's genjutsu actually beat the little girl's andeven the little girl was in the hospital at the moment since the genjutsu did indeed reverse some of the effects on her when she broke it. Naruto had really outdone himself and the Anbus that had been watching him were all dead or catatonic.

Tsunade had even stopped drinking and had moved on to gambling since the sake was only giving her a headache and not helping her to forget at all.

Hanabi had spoken to her father about Naruto's lessons and had been summoned by the council who were now deliberating on the situation. Hiashi was actually quite surprised by how much Naruto had taught her all on his own. He realized then that if Naruto had been given his chance , he would have been the greatest Hokage the village had ever had.

Sasuke was sitting in his new office doing paperwork and learning the ropes of running a ninja village from Shizune since Tsunade had flatly refused, saying she would not teach a traitorous thief. As he sat there working, he kept on thinking about Naruto and the children he would never see if he wasn't brought back. For the first time, he began to realize what he had truly lost.

Sakura was at the hospital working, not even bothered by the fact that they weren't having a honeymoon. Everyone spoke to her in a reserved tone and looked at her with disgust when they thought she wasn't looking. After all, they didn't want to offend the Hokage's wife as it would be problematic for all of them. Sakura was grateful when her shift was finally over. She quickly grabbed her things and began walking through the village on her way to the Uchiha compound. As she walked she heard little whispers of 'whore', 'tramp', 'traitor' directed at her and more. It had been the same way earlier that morning as well on her way to work but she had convinced herself that they weren't talking about her, now there was no doubt. She desperately wished she could take it all back. Her only hope now was to have a few Uchiha heirs. She thought about Naruto all alone out their with the rightful heirs to the Uchiha clan and the guilt almost consumed her.

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with Naruto...

Itachi knocked on the door and walked in with the requested glass of fruit punch. Naruto told him to sit on the bed and close his eyes after taking the fruit punch. Itachi warily obeyed and Naruto quickly added some of his blood infused with his chakra to the punch and then gave it to him to drink. Itachi frowned but obeyed.

"You can open your eyes now." said Naruto. "I'm about to do the second part but will need your help for that."

Itachi obeyed his eyes and nodded. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Well, its kinda like this." said Naruto. "I'm going to be using my chakra on your stomach to extract the ingredient you just drank and then move it up to your eyes, then when I tell you to, you will close your eyes as I dissolve it into the tissue around your eyes and heal them. I'm telling you ahead of time so you don't panic and try to kill me or anything. So do I have your permission?"

Itachi thought about it for a minute since he knew that if naruto had wanted to kill him he could have just poisoned him a minute ago.

"Alright." he agreed. "Go ahead."

Naruto slowly channeled his chakra into his hand, half his and half the kyuubi's , the way he had first done when learning the rasengan. Then he spread it out to cover his entire palm and gently pressed it against Itachi's stomach.

"Slowly input the chakra." he told himself. "Now find the chakra infused blood in his stomach and gather it all together."

He did this and then he began moving the chakra infused blood up through Itachi's system all the way up to his cranium. He focused on the nerves in Itachi's head that influenced sight and infused a bit of his blood there, dissolving the blood into it before moving on.

"Close your eyes."Naruto ordered and he obeyed.

Then he moved the rest of the blood to the damaged retinas and did the same, infusing it with more of his Chakra and repairing all of the damage to the nerves. He finished up and then he pulled away, a bit out of breath and feeling a bit tired since most of his chakra was being diverted to growing the babies inside him.

"I'm done, you can open your eyes now." he told him.

Itachi opened his eyes and was delighted to see that there were no more blank spots clouding his vision. None of his delight was reflected on his face of course, he is an Uchiha after all."your eyes are now back to their original black color." Naruto told him. "All the damage have been completely repaired and the nerves no longer damaged or worn. In fact your eyes are now the way they were before you actually managed to activate your Sharingan. You will be able to activate it as usual or even just use whichever type of sharingan without causing further harm. The blood and Chakra I infused you with will always remain in your system where I put it and repair whatever damage you do to your eyes every time you use it. Its fine now but if you encounter any problems just say so and I will fix it again okay?"

Itachi nodded. "Thank you. Is there anything you need?" he asked.

"Something to eat if its not too much trouble." said Naruto. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

Itachi nodded again and left to go get him some food. Naruto watched him leave and sighed tiredly. The two Uchihas really did look alike and it made his heart ache a bit. His mind drifted to Sasuke for a minute but then he quickly pushed it away. He turned and quickly began unpacking his stuff, writing a list of all the things he would need over the next few months with Kyuubi's help. Then he went into the bathroom and took a quick shower.

He came out wrapped in a small towel just as Itachi walked in with his food.

"Sorry." Itachi apologized.

"Its all right. We're both boys even if I am pregnant at the moment." Naruto said. "Come in for a minute I want to ask you something."

Itachi came in but was looking a bit flushed. He put the tray down and turned his back, giving Naruto a bit of privacy. He quickly wiped the small trail of blood that had began to trail down from his noes before the blonde noticed. Naruto , having lived with Sasuke for so long , wasn't shy about being seen nude by another man.

"You can turn around now , I'm done." Naruto told him.

"Hn." Itachi responded, turning around to look at him.

"I wanted to go to a nearby village to pick a few things. I have to do it as soon as possible though before I get too big and am unable to." Naruto told him.

"I'll take you tomorrow morning after breakfast." Itachi told him.

Naruto nodded. "Thank you." he told him, flicking his tails from side to side.

"Hn." said Itachi, then he turned and left naruto alone.

Naruto sat down and began to eat. He silently wondered who was such a terrible cook.

"He likes you kit." said the kyuubi.

"I doubt that Kyu but even if he did , I've had enough of Uchihas to last a lifetime." Naruto told it.

"Itachi isn't Sasuke kit so don't let him pay for his brothers mistakes. If you did that then you would be doing the same thing to him that the villagers did to you because of me." the Kyuubi said wisely.

"You're right as usual Kyu but its still too soon. I've had enough of men and relationships for three of our combined lifetimes." Naruto said.

"I understand kit." said the kyuubi.

"So how are our babies doing?" asked Naruto.

"They're okay kit." said the Kyuubi. "They use up a lot of our chakra though."

"Okay." said Naruto. "There is something that I wanted to ask to Kyu. If you diverted all of your chakra to grow them , would it help them to grow up a bit faster when they get out?" he asked.

"Mm. That's an interesting idea kit." said the fox. "Lets try it out. If it doesn't work at least the babies will have as much chakra as you do along with their kekkai genkai."

"Good." said Naruto. "I only want them to grow up to about the age of twelve for now, at least in body and intelligence anyway. Do it gradually okay?"

"Sure kit, lets do that." said Kyu. "I'll still be able to talk to you but most of my attention will be on our kits okay?"

"That's fine and thanks Kyu." said Naruto. "Now lets get some sleep since we have a lot to do."

"Okay." said Kyu. "Zzzzzzzzzz."

"Wish I could fall asleep that fast." naruto though as he laid down.

He laid there for about a half hour , then he finally nodded off to sleep.

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with Itachi...

He walked out of Naruto's room and leaned against the door. He had just envisioned Naruto on his hands and knees screaming his name as he slid in and out of that tight and beautiful body. He even thought his tails were sexy and was envisioning gripping them while he pounded him when he heard an annoying voice next to him.

"You're drooling un." Deidara said next to him.

Itachi quickly wiped his mouth and glared at him, more out of embarrassment than anger.

"So you like our little kitsune do you." Teased Deidara. "Well since your brother is all done with him, I guess there is room for you un."

Itachi's glare intensified and he turned and walked off to his room. Deidara watched him go with a satisfied smirk, happy to actually come out on top in a fight with Itachi for a change.

Itachi went into his room and sighed, he was so hard he could hammer in nails. He knew that not even his collection of Icha icha paradise would help this time and knew it would be a while before he calmed down enough to sleep. He thought about a naked naruto again and groaned, a very long while to calm down.

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in konoha...

Sasuke reached his estate and walked in, it had been a long day. All of the people who had been his friends before, distanced themselves from him and even when they addressed him properly, there was an underlying sarcasm. He smelled the scent of his favorite herbal tea and hurried in thinking that Naruto had returned to him since he was the only one who would make it for him everyday . He saw the pale pink hair instead of the much longed for blonde and felt a deep and aching disappointment in his heart.

Sakura turned around and looked at him. "Good evening Sasuke." she greeted him.

"Hi Sakura." he responded, trying to hide his obvious disappointment but not fooling anyone for a second.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"Hn." he replied and she nodded, the one sound saying it all for the both of them on that subject.

They ate in silence that evening and when it was bedtime, they retreated to the bedroom and Sasuke actually managed to lie next to her this time. They had been lying there for about an hour , unable to fall asleep when and Anbu came to the house.

The anbu quickly gave the message from Sai to Sasuke and his hopes of getting Naruto back took a solid hit when he read it. He quickly sent Tenten, Guy, Shino, Sakura and a few other medic nins to assist them. Sakura was glad to be leaving, anything to get away from it all, even if only for a few hours. Tsunade also accompanied them at her insistence.

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the next morning...

with the Uzumaki retrieval squad...

They all sat their waiting until Kakashi sensed someone nearby.

"Someone is nearby." he told them. "Get ready just in case."

They all nodded but all knew that they were just a bunch of sitting ducks until help arrived. When they realized that it was Gaara and his siblings, they all sighed with relief.

"Kazekage-sama." Kakashi greeted him. "I'm surprised to see you here." he said.

"I was on my way to Konoha but sensed you all nearby." said Gaara. "What happened here?" he asked, then he saw Neji and his eyes widened as he hurried over to him, not even bothering to wait for an explanation.

Temari spotted Shikamaru as well and ran over to him. Neji and Hinata were lying next to each other with damp clothes over their eyes to help ease the burning.

"Gaara," Neji said startled. "I can sense you nearby."

Gaara kneeled down next to his Koi and began examining the damage. He only saw a few scratches on him other than the problem with his eyes.

"Neji what happened here and to you?"Gaara asked, his voice conveying just how upset he was even though his face remained blank.

"It was naruto." Neji told him, unaware of the fact that Gaara knew what had happened. "It's a long story but he has left the village and has decided to become a missing nin. He set up bombs and traps all over and we got caught in them that's all."

"I'm aware of his situation Neji." said Gaara. "He sent Gamakichi to inform me of it all."

All the Konoha ninjas were surprised by this. They were all very curious to hear exactly what Naruto had told him.

"Could you please tell us what he told you in order for us to compare notes Kazekage-sama." Kakashi asked.

Gaara stood up and looked at him, crossing his arms as he did so. "He told me that he had won the position of Hokage but was cheated out of it by the village and Sasuke Uchiha, his lover. He also told me that he is pregnant and that Sasuke and Sakura Haruno were getting married and that they had all publicly humiliated him." he answered, leaving no doubt of his anger in all this, just by his tone of voice.

"Yes, everything he told you is true then." Kakashi confirmed shamefaced.

"Did any of you even stand up for him.?" asked Kankuro angrily.

He and Temari had been told by Gaara before leaving Suna to not tell the Konoha -nins of Naruto's whereabouts. None of the Konoha nins said anything in response to that.

"Since I am technically no longer a Konoha-nin anymore, all I could do was request a spot on the retrieval team." said Neji sadly.

Gaara nodded, proud that his Koi had at least tried to help.

"Its all right Neji." said Gaara. "Kankuro let it go. It has always been the fate of us jinchiruuki to be abandoned and treated this way. Now lets rest here since we haven't taken a break yet and wait for their aid to arrive. I will take first watch." he told them and walked off.

The others watched him go and felt ashamed of what he had said. Even if they had all changed, they were all guilty of treating Jinchiruukis this way at some point in their lives. Only Gaara really knew and understood what Naruto must be feeling right now.

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with Naruto...

Naruto woke up early that morning and went outside with a bag and his scythe. Since he had been an Anbu captain , he had learned how to use one and had developed all sorts of techniques with it. He talked to a few kitsune nearby and then he began his Katas. He could feel Itachi watching him from a tree nearby but he ignored him and got on with it. Just as he finished up, Kisame rushed out angrily, dressed in a pale pink apron with a shark on it and a bandana on his head, holding a carving knife.

"Itachi! Naruto! Who the hell do you think you are skipping out on my breakfast?!" he yelled angrily, scaring away all the birds in a two mile radius.

Itachi jumped down from the tree. "I don't think I can eat your food another day." he said , looking a bit green.

Just then a few foxes brought Naruto ten large fish and he quickly took them and put them in the bag he had brought for this purpose after thanking them. The foxes yipped at him happily, then they ran off to play as Naruto stood up and looked at Kisame.

"Thanks for the offer but I'll cook for myself." he told him.

Kisame bristled. "What did you just say?" he yelled angrily. "You think you can cook fish better than me?"

"A block of wood can cook fish better than you Kisame." said Itachi. "You don't even remove its entrails or clean it at all before you cook it." then he ducked as he almost got his head severed by Kisame's carving knife.

Naruto sighed and got his stuff and walked inside, stopping by his room to get his spices and frying pan on the way to the kitchen . He walked in to find the others grimacing as they tried to eat Kisame's nightmare disguised as a meal. Zetsu was the only one who looked normal as he ate. Naruto said good morning and walked over to the stove and began to make the preparations for his meal. He quickly cleaned the fish and added olive oil to the skillet to heat up while he put some rice in a pot to boil. Then he began to prepare the fish, adding his array of spices and herbs as he fried them.

As he cooked the others were openly staring at his obvious expertise as he worked. Some were openly drooling as they watched. When he was done he shared it in two and after getting two glasses of juice, he placed one before Itachi and then sat down and began to eat.

"Hey why does Itachi get some and we don't un ?" asked Deidara a bit put out by it all.

"Because he will be taking me to the village today so I can buy the supplies I need." Naruto said reasonably.

"If I go with and help you today, will you cook for me later?" asked Deidara.

Naruto nodded. "Sure . I have no problem with that." he said.

"Thank you." said Itachi and Naruto nodded.

Naruto was a bit curious about the fact that Deidara was still alive but decided to mind his own business. They quickly finished their meal and after washing off all the sweat that he had acquired earlier, they flew to the nearest village with Deidara.

Once Naruto got there he created four shadow clones and gave them all a list of things to buy, after asking Itachi's permission and showing him the list of course. They got all they would need and Deidara flew it all home and put it in Naruto's room while the two of them remained in the village at Itachi's insistence. They walked down the streets of the town until they got to a tailor shop and walked in.

"This is where we get our Akatsuki clothing made." Itachi told him.

Naruto nodded and turned to look at the tailor. "I know that the cloak is set in a pretty standard style but can I choose the rest of my clothing?" he asked.

"Sure you can." said the tailor. " what did you have in mind?"

"Well, I'd like to have my pants cut halfway into a half pants kinda style.. My top should have the ninja netting under it but leave most of my chest bare and please make the chest a bit loose since I'll be needing the extra room in four months. It should all be in black with the Akatsuki symbolic clouds all over it and please remember tat I have a few tails to get through it. Can you do that?" Naruto asked.

The tailor nodded and after paying him , they left the shop. Just then Naruto's stomach growled and he flushed.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Being pregnant makes me get hungry more often it seems."

Itachi nodded. "Come on." he said and led him off the nearest restaurant.

Naruto followed and they ordered and sat down. Naruto was about to pay for his meal but Itachi stopped him.

"My treat." said Itachi.

"Thank you." naruto said.

"Hn." Itachi said .

They ate in silence and then left the restaurant. By then Deidara had returned and was waiting for them. They got on his bird and returned to the hideout. Then Naruto went into his room after chatting with a couple of foxes and then began setting up the four baby cribs he would be needing as well as sorting out all the things he had bought for himself and the his babies.

"Can I help ?" asked Itachi from the doorway.

Naruto was really surprised by the offer. "Thanks but you don't have to if you don't really want to." he told him, not wanting to impose.

"I want to ." said Itachi walking into the room.

"Thank you ." naruto said again. "I just need help setting up these cribs I guess."

"Hn." said Itachi , then he began to work.

They worked together in companionable silence until they were finally done.

"Thank you." said Naruto.

"Hn." Itachi responded.

"I'm gonna go get fish from my friends for dinner and begin cooking." Naruto said..

Itachi nodded and they left the room and went to collect the fish. It took about half an hour to get all the fish needed since there were twelve foxes bringing them. While they waited Naruto cleaned them and by the time the foxes were finished he had gotten forty of them. He thanked his little friends and then he went back to the kitchen and began to cook, making riceballs, miso soup, noodles among other things. Naruto fried half the fish and then he put the other half in the oven to broil in spices with their insides stuffed.

"Itachi, I've put the fish on a timer and everything else is finished but is just being kept warm so don't touch anything. I'm gonna go take a quick shower to get rid off the fishy smell on me. Keep everyone away from it until I get back please or no one gets any."Naruto told him.

Itachi nodded and stood on guard as Naruto hurried out. When Naruto finally returned, all of the Akatsuki members who were still alive were sitting there waiting, except for Zetsu who was on a mission at the moment. Kisame, Tobi, Konan, Pain in all six bodies, Deidara and Itachi.

"I'm beginning to think I'm gonna need more food." said naruto nervously.

Then he shrugged and after greeting them , began to share the food, mush to the delight of the others. When he was through , he sat down next to Itachi and began to eat. He saw Itachi looking around and immediately handed him the pepper. Everyone stopped to stare at them and Naruto blushed.

"How did you know?" asked Itachi.

"Because it seems to be an Uchiha habit to eat lots of pepper." said Naruto. "I think it must be what you all use for those famous death glares you're all so good at."

"Hn." said Itachi as the other snickered.

"He cooks much better than you Kisame." said Tobi snickering.

Kisame bared his shark teeth at him. "I'm a nin not a chef." he said angrily.

"But so is the Kitsune." said Deidara. "And he's great at it un."

"Yeah but the little fox is gay and obviously an uke by that pretty face of his. Its only natural that he's good at that sort of thing." screeched Kisame pissed.

Everyone turned to look at naruto , whose tails were standing on end with the fur on it all standing up. Kisame realized that he had hurt the blonde.

Naruto bared his fangs. "You're right, I am an uke and I do know how to do all that stuff." he said in that cold dead voice that was quickly becoming his normal voice. "I did it all for the man I loved and who I thought loved me. But don't for a second think that the mask that I used to fool everyone with is the real me. You forget that even if you are a shark, the fox that I turn into and the one inside me eats sushi for breakfast fishboy." he told him then went back to eating.

The others snickered and even Itachi managed an uchiha smirk.

"Mah! Are you saying you can beat me foxboy?" he growled.

Naruto shrugged unconcerned. "Who knows sushi- boy, but I do know one thing. If I ever get hungry I wont have to look too far for a meal." he said, then he took a bite of his fish and purred. "We'll need a bigger oven to broil you though."

The others laughed and even Kisame had to admit the little kitsune gave as good as he got.

"You know I think I like you."Kisame laughed. "You've got guts little fox."

Naruto grunted but kept on eating.

"So what exactly happened to cause you to leave?" asked Tobi.

Everyone was curious as well, wanting to here his side of the story.

Naruto sighed and shrugged tiredly. "Its quite simple, I trusted the wrong person. Sasuke Uchiha and I had been together for a longtime. We were together before he got so power hungry and ran off like an idiot after Orochimaru because he thought I was improving faster than him. He eventually came back and I forgave his stupidity and took him back. After that we lived together as a couple and most of the villagers threw a bitch fit over it, actually protesting outside of the uchiha compound. On the day when we all fought for the Hokage position I defeated everyone including him. I beat him in less than five minutes and I could tell that he was angry even though he hid it well. All our friends came to congratulate me and while I thanked them I could see the red bleeding into his eyes as he watched, which I knew only happened when he was royally pissed. When we got home , he got all aggressive which was how he always got when I beat him in anything. I foolishly decided to have his child and allowed myself to get pregnant. I figured since I had finally realized my dream and he had been faithful and remained by my side for the last few years why not. That night I fell into a deep sleep since I was letting the kyuubi use most of my chakra to help with the insemination. While I slept he met with the council and they made him Hokage and he asked Sakura, our teammate and bestfriend to be his wife. I found out when I stood with the others for the announcement that morning. I left for a while and went to the forest of death to think and figure out my next move, then I went back to the compound to get my things and Sasuke was there waiting. He actually thought that I would forgive him again and actually had the nerve to ask me to be his lover on the side. Apparently he wanted to have the cake he stole and eat it too. I quickly disabused him of that idea and left after sending a message to my brother Gaara and one to Tsunade to be read after the wedding. Sasuke now knows that I'm carrying his kits but that's only because I wanted him to know." he told them.

"Why did you tell him?" asked Pain curiously.

Naruto smiled and it sent shivers down there bodies. He looked at Itachi and smirked, then he turned back to Pain.

"I thought about leaving that as a surprise at first but then I came up with a much better idea. One of the things I learned from having an Uchiha for a lover is that the mind is the most deadly weapon in the world. His guilt is already punishing him and knowing that the kids he always wanted to revive is clan is out of his reach will continue to eat at him every single moment of everyday. He'll eventually find out that I have joined you and am actually in direct contact with the brother he has sworn to beat but was to weak to defeat. His brother will help me to teach his kids about the Sharingan and will get the chance to see all the things he is missing and that in itself will be pure torture for him. The Tsukiyomi is powerful but it takes up too much chakra and cause the user pain, my way doesn't even involve a sharingan but the effects are deeper and much more longer lasting. I came up with that after that little fight with Itachi I once had when he had all my friends appear all over my body and used guilt to try and break me. The mind is truly a terrible thing." he told them.

"Are you gonna kill him?" asked Tobi.

Naruto shook his head surprising them. "No I'm not because me killing him wouldn't hurt him enough. A shinobi doesn't fear death after all and he would accept it as his due." he told him. "He will die but I have another way to get the effect I need."

He didn't elaborate further and the others nodded. Even Kisame felt a bit chilled by the blondes words. He definitely didn't want to get on the kitsune's shit list anytime soon.

"All the reports came back saying that you were an easygoing and cheerful kid." said Pain. "But you seem to be the complete opposite."

Naruto smirked and looked at Tobi. "We all have our masks that we hide behind. Its not because we are weak but because we want to make others think we are." he said simply.

"So who taught you to cook?" asked Deidara curiously.

"No one did." said naruto. "I'm the kyuubi Jinchiruuki remember? People avoid me like the plague. I taught myself with Kyu's help and as I traveled around on missions , I ate at different places and used my heightened senses to figure out what they put in each meal. Overtime I got good at it." he said , then. "Anyway, when I drop my litter, Kisame will you spar with me? I want to test a few techniques with my scythe."

Kisame perked up. "It's a date kid." he said, happy to finally have someone willing to spar with him.

Naruto nodded then he frowned.

"What wrong un?" asked deidara.

"Nothing really." said Naruto. "I just realized that while I was in town I forgot to check out the baths. Ever since I trained with Ero-sennin , I kinda got addicted to them."

Everyone snickered.

"That's not a problem, we have one here." said Pain.

Naruto perked up a bit. "Really? Where is it?" he asked.

"It's a little deeper in the forest since it's a natural hot spring. Itachi will take you there." said Pain.

Naruto nodded. "Thank you."

Naruto quickly cleaned up and after eating and then ran off to get his things for the bath. The others watched him go and then they turned to Itachi.

"Do you think he'll be loyal?" asked Pain.

Itachi nodded. "Yes he will. Especially if we help him destroy konoha." he told him.

"Good." said Pain, satisfied with Itachi's response.

"Why don't you go take a bath with him ." snickered Deidara. "You'll get an even better look that way un."

The others snickered and Itachi felt hot color spreading across his pale cheeks, to his utter mortification.

"He's blushing." teased Tobi. "I cant believe your actually showing some emotions."

"The little fox is out for Uchiha blood and you want to screw him?" said Kisame increduly. "Careful he doesn't slit your throat if you try." he laughed.

Just then they sensed Naruto coming down the hall and decided to stop teasing Itachi.

"Are you ready Itachi?" Naruto asked innocently.

The others snickered.

"Boy is he ever." said Tobi under his breath.

"Hn." said Itachi getting up.

They walked out of the house and left for the hot springs.

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with the Uzumaki retrieval squad...

As they waited Shikamaru developed a slight fever and the others began to worry. Fortunately for them help arrived around midday and Tsunade quickly began working on him. Sakura and the other medics quickly began working on the others, then she went over to check on lee. It was the first time they had spoken since the announcement.

"Um...how are you feeling lee?" she asked nervously, unable to meet his eyes.

"I'm all healed up lady Uchiha. My physical wounds at least." he said coldly. "It's a little late for your concern." he told her , then he turned his back in her face.

Sakura bit her lip to keep from crying out at the pain in her heart. The others had treated her the same way but his heart the most. Not even Tsunade would speak to her. She realized then that she had loved Lee too.

Tsunade checked over the Hyugas and sighed when she realized what was wrong.

"The chemical he added was used in a very weak strain and will fade from your system in a day or so." said Tsunade. "Its obvious that he didn't plan seriously to harm you two ."

They thanked her and she checked on the hounds. "We'll have to take them back to Konoha for treatment. I'm sure they weren't permanently damaged either but will have to get the Inazuka's to make sure."

They finished checking over everyone and then began the journey back to Konoha. They had to take it a bit slowly since they were carrying injured nins and hounds. When they took a break halfway there Tsunade , Gaara and Kakashi walked off to talk privately.

"What exactly happened that day Tsunade?" Gaara asked , Knowing that she would be straight with him.

"Well all I know is that Naruto beat all the other ninjas at the main battle. Then at some point during the night the council summoned Sasuke and Sakura. They decided that he would be the Hokage and they added one condition, that he would have to marry Sakura in order to continue to Uchiha line. They had the initiation ceremony and I found about when I got there the next morning. By then it was too late but I didn't give in quietly. By the time we were all done arguing it was time for the announcement . Naruto was publicly humiliated by all of them and there was nothing I could do to stop them." she said sadly. " I went to talk to him and he said he wanted to be alone so I gave him some space. The next morning I got this scroll." she said and pulled it out and showed it to him.

She had been carrying it around ever since that morning since it was her last link to Naruto.

"I consider naruto my brother as we have shared the same pain. I am not pleased by all this. It was because of him that I decided to become the kazekage and fight for my people. He was one of the people who hurried to my side and never gave up on me even when I died. I cannot accept this and what Konoha has done is reprehensible. Even now he protects me as he chose not to come to me for help, not wanting to bring me trouble." Gaara told them.

Kakashi and Tsunade nodded, they too felt the same way.

"Let us get the injured nins back to Konoha for now." said Kakashi reasonably. "We'll decide where to go from there."

The other two nodded and returned to the others. They got on with the trip to Konoha , stopping occasionally to rest.

Tbc.

Here are the songs I chose for these three chapters if you're into that kind of thing.

The last song I'm wasting on you by Evanescence

this is how a heart breaks by rob Thomas

I remember by Keyshia cole

apologize-timbaland featuring one republic (sakura and lee)

for what Naruto looks like in his akatsuki outfit, I found a wonderful fan art of it . Just add some ears and nine tails of course. http://vinrylgrave. note: hello again, thank you so much for your reviews. About the life threatening injuries, I figured since they came so close to dying every day , a few broken bones weren't so bad. I'm mean I know. Please read and review and I hope you like. In the next chapter what has the council decided and does anything naughty happen at the hot springs?" read the next chapter and find out.