AN: Another chapter up! Okay, IMPORTANT NOTICE: if someone sees a similar story as this by an author named Lewel I have given the author permission to use the basic plot. The condition to that is that the details cannot be the same. I figured I'm probably not the only one who had an idea like this and in any case I'm not about to keep people from writing what they're inspired to write- I mean look at all those high school AU fics, jeez. Anyways, this chapter has language in it, I'm pretty sure it won't be anything you haven't heard before, bu hey, some people like the warning. Now, some people have asked how the story came to this point, I will explain under this AN. I hope you enjoy this chapter. R & R. And to all of you who have reviewed, favourited, and/or alerted- thank you so much!!!! I really appreciate it and I just hope that this fic will continue to interest you and won't disappoint :) Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I wish I owned Naruto, but I do not. Can't Catch Tomorrow (Good Shoes Won't Save You This Time)- Lostprophets (this is probably my favourite song right now, I LOVE it- band rocks too!)

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BACKGROUND:

Okay. For those of you who are up-to-date in the manga this plot probably makes sense to you, for those of you who aren't... I will quickly enlighten you. Itachi is dead. Team Snake= Team Hawk= now kinda sorta working with Akatsuki. Team Hawk=8-Tailed Beast, Pein & Konan=9-Tailed Beast. Team Hawk ultimately failed, we also learn more about Karin's abilities. Sasuke is saved by Juugo and Karin on two separate occasions, Suigetsu pretty much literally becomes a puddle (but lives). Pein goes to Konoha with his God-like powers and proceeds to pretty much blow up the place. At some point during the attack Danzo (old Elder guy) says something to an ANBU (I think) which is when I did some research on him on Naruto Wiki and thus came up with this insane plot. I don't know why Pein couldn't have grabbed Naruto quietly, I honestly don't. Instead he goes nuts trying to find him. Which brings me to the Sage since I mentioned it last chapter I think. Jiraiya=dead, Naruto=frog land=Sage powers/natural energy mastery. Sasuke and Juugo set out for Konoha on their own too I believe. Well, that doesn't spoil the most recent chapters and I really hope that that was clear enough. In any case, this is pretty much all you need to know of how things got as they are. I'm sorry about grammar mistakes and symbol use, I really want to get this up today so I had to rush it. Once again I hope that this kind of made sense, any questions feel free to ask and I will do my best to clarify. For those of you who would like to read the latest Naruto manga check out . It's an awesome site. That really sounded like a commercial -_-.

Anyways, I will not keep you away from this chapter for any longer. Enjoy!

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I'm sure I've seen this look before
Done a thousand times and a million more
How many lies did he tell this time?
How many times did he cross the line?
It won't help me but I have to ask
Is there something real that's behind the mask?
Something true we don't know about?
A little faith in amongst the doubt

Madara sighed as Pein stood before him.

"A coup?" Pein nodded in response to his question. Madara shook his head, a malicious grin slowly taking over his face. "Turns out Konoha is not strong enough to survive the challenges she faces. How great for us. We will wait to strike, if only to watch Konohagakure be torn apart from the inside to the out."

"The Nine-Tails wasn't there. I tracked him to through the streets but with all of the smoke and general chaos I could not keep a hold of him." Madara gave a short nod.

"It probably fled at its first scent of the coup. This… Danzo, he is determined to kill the Nine-Tails I believe. He is also the one that ordered the Uchiha Massacre. We may have problems with Team Hawk. Direct those at Headquarters to restrain them, I just know that Sasuke will go after him Danzo." Madara gestured for Pein to leave the small cave they had taken shelter in. As Pein left Madara sighed again, he was tired.

He leaned against the stone wall of the cave and slowly slid down it. Madara brought a hand to his mask and took it off, huffing in relief as a small breeze blew across his cheeks. Izuna. He was so close to accomplishing all he and his brother had wanted to accomplish. He would destroy Konoha, for his sake, for his brother's sake, for the sake of his clan's survival. Madara cackled, just because he had sworn an oath to Izuna to destroy Konoha himself didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the pain and chaos of watching Konoha destroy itself from the inside. Madara felt a genuine smile lift his lips, it was time for the games to begin. He stood and returned the mask to his face, his eye glinted as he glared into the rising sun. It was a new day.

Hinata shivered as the ANBU approached her father. He had been put in charge of the capture effort. Hinata took in the ANBU's blood-drenched uniform, knowing that the friend of one of her friends could easily be among the blood on the spattered uniform. She hoped everyone had gotten out, she had not had a chance to warn anyone. One of her family's servants had pulled her into a safe house, she had said that the Akatsuki were attacking and so the heiress and her sister had to hide. Hanabi had been brave throughout the entire ordeal, of course, but Hinata had not been able to hold back the feeling that something very wrong was happening.

Hanabi and her had exited the safe house and had been greeted with the vision of nightmares. Hinata had stared in disbelief at the blood and bodies, she imagined that this must have been what Sasuke Uchiha had felt upon finding his murdered clan. Hinata closed her eyes to the bloodied streets of Konoha, the smell was overwhelming. I hope Naruto got out.

"What happened here, Father?" Hiashi looked at her and gave a sad smile.

"Tsunade was planning an attack against Konoha. Luckily Danzo overheard her speaking of the plot and gathered enough forces to stop it. We have agreed to help him quell the rebellion, we will protect Konoha. Any who are still loyal to Tsunade's cause, mainly those who have fled, are to be hunted and killed, or imprisoned, for the intent of committing treason against Konohagakure." Hiashi handed her a list of supposed traitors. Hinata's eyes widened as she stared at the names of her friends.

"Tsunade?" Hinata asked in disbelief. She could never have seen this happening.

"Dead. Everyone in the village suspected of conspiring with her has been disposed of. Neji was one of them." Hinata could feel tears gather in her eyes, Neji. She looked up at the sky, everywhere she looked had a blood-red tint. Why would a Hokage of all people plan treason? She didn't accept the reasoning, her father may, but Hinata felt that there was something more. There was something that wasn't being told, and she would get to the bottom of it, if only to prove her friends' innocence.

Naruto and Sakura walked into the clearing, pondering over what they had just heard. Kakashi jumped out of a tree across from them, landing lightly next to Sakura.

"So if Team Hawk is wearing Akatsuki cloaks does that mean Sasuke is part of Akatsuki?" Naruto asked sadly, it seemed the world was against them. Sakura shrugged while Kakashi shook his head.

"I would think that if he is working with Akatsuki it's more of an ends to a means rather than an actual shared goal or loyalty. Also, considering what those two were saying, there may be some conflict between them and Akatsuki if Sasuke believes it's Pein that has destroyed Konoha." Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, "We really need to find someplace to lay low for awhile, or at least sleep. We're all exhausted." Kakashi swept his eye across the team, Sakura was leaning against a tree and stifling a yawn, Naruto was bouncy, hyper, and quite obviously over-tired, and Kakashi's eyelids felt as heavy as boulders.

"I think I know approximately where we are. If we are where I think we are there should be some caves nearby." Sakura said, stretching her arms and giving a satisfied moan as her shoulder popped.

"Let's go!" Naruto rushed out of the clearing. The two remaining team members blinked dumbly after him.

"Does he know…"

Sakura gave a sharp shake of her head, "No"

"Ah."

They watched the trees Naruto had exited near and heaved exasperated sighs as his face reappeared, "Where are we going?" Naruto asked sheepishly, a hand scratching at his head.

"Follow me" Sakura said tiredly, stifling another yawn as she took point. Team 7 leapt into the trees above them and went to find the nearby caves.

Juugo and Sasuke looked up as the louder half of their team arrived. Juugo looked over at Sasuke, or more specifically Sasuke's face, Sasuke's mouth twitched upward in a slight smile as the two bickering nin entered the cave. Juugo sighed in content. Karin was safe, Suigetsu was healing, Sasuke was happy, Team Hawk had a new mission, and Juugo was content with the way things were. He watched as Suigetsu and Karin settled down. Juugo couldn't help but feel amused as Hawk settled into their usual routine. Karin lusted after Sasuke, Sasuke ignored her while Suigetsu insulted her. Suigetsu insulted and bothered Sasuke as Sasuke tried to ignore him, his only failure were in the slight smirks of amusement that would flit across his lips periodically. Juugo watched, acting as a silent guardian for his team. He would do anything for them. They had all led hard lives, but now they were together and it was quiet times like these that made the missions they undertook worthwhile.

"So, Sasuke. What happened with Konoha? That was what was smoking right?" Sasuke blinked at Suigetsu's abruptness.

"Someone destroyed it. It's been burned down for the most part. There were children lying dead in the streets, nin turning on each other." Sasuke looked out the mouth of the cave, "Blood everywhere, screaming. It was hell. I could show you, if you'd like."

Suigetsu gave a humourless laugh, "I'll take your word for it."

"Any idea who did it, Sasuke?" Karin asked, wrapping her arms around Sasuke's shoulders.

"No." Sasuke frowned, "but that is our new mission. To bring whoever did that to justice."

"I thought you wanted it destroyed."

"No one hurts innocents and gets away with it Suigetsu. I want Konoha destroyed, but not like that. It's more than that husk we saw back there."

"What about your brother then?" Karin leaned away from Sasuke, meeting his eyes with a serious gaze.

"I have a feeling that nothing happens without the elders' approval. We find out who did this and I'm sure we will achieve justice for Itachi and my clan." Sasuke stared into his hands, looking at the small scars and calluses with morbid fascination. He couldn't believe how much pain was represented by his hands alone. Every single one of those cuts had bled, and they had healed. They had been ravaged, but with time had been renewed. Every callus had been the product of hard work and endless hours of training. His hands had been weak, but time and work made them strong. Sasuke shook his head, he was getting off topic again.

"Akatsuki?" Juugo's voice reverberated through the cave. Sasuke abruptly raised his head, shaking it slowly.

"They may be a part of it and we aren't ready to face them yet. We are strong, but it will take a lot of training for us to become more in sync and to better be able to effectively use each other. We will leave Akatsuki as we were never officially a part of them. In any case, our objectives are not the same and after Pein's careless attack on Konoha I don't much like their methods. We will be better off on our own." Sasuke's eyes darted around to his team mates, asking silently for confirmation. Karin beamed, and Juugo gave a short nod while Suigetsu bared his teeth.

"Does this mean we have to change our team name again?" Sasuke stared at Suigetsu in disbelief before falling into a frantic coughing fit in an effort not to laugh.

Karin reached over and walloped Suigetsu over the head, "Suigetsu! You are such a fucking idiot! What kind of fucked up question was that?!" Juugo gave a soft chuckle at his team mates antics and solidly pounded Sasuke on the back as the leader continued to cough uncontrollably.

"Any idea where we'll train?" Juugo asked Sasuke quietly while Suigetsu and Karin began a brawl on the other side of the cave.

Sasuke shrugged, "Tomorrow. Everything starts tomorrow. Get some sleep." With that Sasuke stood and walked to his bedroll.

Juugo settled himself on the flat rock that sat just inside their cave while Suigetsu went to his own bedroll after one last half-hearted punch at Karin.

"Goodnight Sasuke!" Karin let out cheerily as she snuggled into the warmth of her roll.

"Hn."

"Goodnight Sasuke!" Suigetsu mimicked in a high imitation of Karin's voice. "Oof" Suigetsu grunted as an accurately thrown stone collided with his head.

"Shut up Suigetsu."

Juugo sat quietly at the cave entrance smiling. Yes, he loved these quiet moments. But tomorrow, tomorrow everything would change.