Finally! Chapter 4.
As always, I appreciate the reviews/favorites/follows and thanks everyone who has reviewed thus far. They really help to keep me motivated to keep going!
Shout out to my reviewers since I posted the last chapter: Echo Uchiha, cmcwiki, Alphashadow 425, maliousdei, Toasty Warrior, mIYaOftHeSaND, Lavoisiae
cmcwiki: =P Cheers to that. Damn Sasuke ruining all the fun!
Alphashadow 425: Hehe. I'm eventually going to need Sakura shows Sasuke what happens to people who hurt her man, so the potion had to be a one and done kind of deal [insert Sakura with an evil grin cracking her knuckles here]
maliousdei: I like happy endings. Things will eventually get better for those two =)
Toasty Warrior: I would assume it's only a matter of time. This is Naruto afterall, that kid is beyond head over heels for the girl!
Lavoisiae: You are more than welcome to make a spin off, I don't mind!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else I would be filthy stinking rich and Naruto would be loved by each and every villager in Konoha since the day he was born and Shikamaru would have a jutsu that makes the enemy suddenly not care, give up and walk away.
Ok, enough rambling. Onto the show!
Please do enjoy "A Jinchuriki's Husk"– Chapter 4: Rage
Kakashi Hatake, the legendary copy ninja, leapt from rooftop to rooftop as he carried his hysterical pink-haired student in his arms. He had been surprised when Sakura refused to move and so willingly let him carry her. Usually the kunoichi would be far too proud saying something like, "She doesn't need carried, she trained under the legendary sannin Tsunade, she can take care of herself!"
And yet here his normally proud student was, in his arms, her face in his chest, bawling her emerald eyes out. Try as he might, he was unable to get any further details out of her. Whatever happened had to be really bad to leave her in this state.
While Kakashi's face may have shown one of complete calm, underneath Kakashi was very worried. He needed to figure out what hurt his students and what he could do about it, and fast. As the Hokage Tower came into view, Kakashi pushed chakra into his legs to speed up.
What happened Sakura...
"Oh don't give me that Uzumaki. You. Are. The. Kyubi. You are an evil and terrible demon who slaughtered thousands of innocent villagers."
"Dobe!"
"Don't even try to tell me you're not the Kyubi, because I know you are. This scar on my arm is proof of that."
"Naruto!"
"Naruto Uzumaki, a demon like you… doesn't deserve happiness. Demons like you only deserve misery. Now get out of my sight demon scum."
"DOBE!" a rock bouncing off the blonde haired boy's head brought the jichuriki back to reality. His lifeless eyes fell upon the annoyed face of his "brother" and "best friend." Not too long ago Naruto Uzumaki would be yelling at Sasuke, telling him he's going to drag him back to Konoha one way or the other.
But not anymore, that Naruto was gone. The Naruto who's dead blue eyes staired at the Uchiha was a husk of his former self. Completely devoid of emotion, save misery, because that's what he deserved after all.
"We're crossing the river here, the current is pretty bad so don't fall in. I don't want to have to jump in to save you." the Uchiha smirked, hoping to get some sort of reaction from his former friend.
But the husk of the jinchuriki continued to stare impassively at him, not reacting in the slightest. Sakura's words, her true feelings towards him, continued to replay in his head.
In the very back of his mind, there was a small voice screaming that something was wrong. If Sakura was really now with Sasuke, why was she not here with them taking him to the Akatsuki? Was Sakura really the type of person who would just use someone like they were some piece of trash? Something had to have happened to her…
But the husk couldn't hear that voice, only the cold words of the woman he loved, the woman he dedicated his very life and soul to, rang through his mind.
"A demon like you… doesn't deserve happiness. Demons like you only deserve misery."
And so Naruto continued to replay those words, allowing the misery that he deserved to completely consume him. And he desperately waited for when he would finally reach the end of the long, weary path that had been his life…
Tsunade was halfway through her fifth bottle of sake as Kakashi burst through her door with her apprentice sobbing hysterically in his arms. She cursed herself for drinking too much as she tried to stand up and wobbled. Focusing her mind she raised a glowing green hand to her forehead to rid herself of the effects of the sake.
However, in her condition, she only managed to sober up a little bit, but at least she could walk without stumbling now.
"Sakura? What's wrong?" the blonde Hokage called as she looked at Kakashi asking the exact same question with her hazel eyes.
"Tsunade-shishou… I…. I've done a terrible thing. Naruto's in danger, you need to go save him!"
"Sakura what are you talking about? Why is Naruto in danger?" the concerned master asked her apprentice.
"Shishou… I… I told him that I don't love him… That I only put up with him because he was my pet demon who could bring Sasuske back to me…"
The concerned look that was on the Hokage's face was replaced with an angry one. Tsunade's body began shaking with fury. Naruto was one of her last remaining precious people. He was like a son to her… She did not, WOULD NOT, tolerate anyone hurting the boy anymore, ESPECIALLY when it came to matters of the Kyubi.
Kakashi let go of Sakura, and stepped away while his one eye showed a look of disgust.
"I… told him that he failed me. I called him a bad pet and said that I didn't care if he died… I told him I couldn't let him kill Sasuke, then I told him…" Sakura's dropped to her knees as fresh tears continued pouring from her eyes, "I told him he was worthless demon scum."
Tsunade's body was shaking so much in her rage that the office began to vibrate as she subconsciously expelled chakra from her entire body…
Feeling the office shake snapped Kakashi out of his thoughts. Now that he was focused on something other than Sakura, the rational part in Kakashi's brain began to start clicking.
This just doesn't add up… Ever since Naruto returned from his trip with Jiraiya, Sakura and Naruto have been getting closer. And she's been sneaking into his room every night for the past month casting that genjutsu on him to help him sleep… And now she's barely able to function she's so stricken with grief. What am I missing here?
"Then… I told him I don't ever want to see him again. I told him to leave the village and never return." the blubbering pink-haired kunoichi continued, burying her face in her hands as her sobs only grew louder.
"And as he began to cry, I told him to stop. I told him he was the Kyubi, that the scar on my arm was proof, and that a demon like him doesn't deserve happiness, only misery."
There were no logical thoughts going through the head of the Gondaime Hokage, anger was all she felt. Pure rage coursed through her veins. NO ONE did this to HER boy and got away with it.
"And… then… and then he apologized and…"
WHAM!
Sakura was shut up as her master's fist connected with her jaw sending her careening through the wall. Once her body hit the hard ground below, she tried to pull herself up with a stunned expression on her face. She wasn't given much time to react though as the Hokage was suddenly in front of her with her fist pulled back. Tsunade's killer intent was truly terrifying, Sakura knew her master was going to kill her.
I deserve to die. Konoha's cherry blossom could've dodged the incoming blow, instead she stood still with tears of sadness in her eyes as she felt it connect with, and shatter her nose.
Tsunade charged forward. There was a small voice in the back of her head telling her to that Sakura could've easily dodged that. That if Sakura was in such a state she would not have purposefully said those things to Naruto, that there has to be more to this story. That small voice was trying to find a megaphone to scream, "SASUKE UCHIHA!" but the Hokage was to blinded by rage.
As she neared her apprentice, Kakashi appeared in front of her, Sharingan exposed.
"Hokage-sama, calm down. I think we're missing something. This doesn't make any sense."
"GET OUT OF MY WAY KAKASHI OR ELSE I WILL STRIP YOU OF YOUR NINJA RANK!"
"Gomensai Hokage-sama," the copy nin replied with one his famous eye smiles. "I'm afraid I can't do that. I can't stand idly by and watch you kill…"
Before Kakashi could finish his sentence, the Hokage had appeared behind him striking him in the back of the head. He pulled himself up as the Hokage neared Sakura, ready to pummel the girl's brains out. Pushing chakra into his legs flipped up into the air landing between the raging blonde woman and his crying student.
"I told you Hokage-sama…"
A dejected Sakura looked at her sensei's back. Why is he protecting me after what I've done? I deserve to die. But he doesn't, Kakashi-sensei doesn't stand a chance against shishou when she's in this state. The pinkette halted her tears and softly crept behind Kakashi.
Kakashi was too focused on the raging Hokage to notice Sakura behind him. "I will not let you…"
Sorry sensei, but I don't want you to get hurt too. And I really do deserve this. She put her hands on Kakashi's temples and muttered, "Neru-no Jutsu."
Tsunade's eyes widened just slightly as she watched her apprentice put the man defending her to sleep. Once again a little voice was yelling at her to stop and think about the situation. As she stared at her bloodied, dejected apprentice, her eyes began to soften and regret slowly began to flood into her.
FLASHBACK
Kabuto charged forward preparing to end her life, Tsunade had no fight left in her, this was the end.
She closed her eyes waiting for the final blow, when she didn't feel one, she slowly opened her eyes and gasped. The small boy in the orange and blue jumpsuit, with spiky blonde hair and vibrant blue eyes stood there with a snarl on his face as blood trickled down from beneath his forehead protector.
"Now I'll put an end to this" he screamed out. He summoned a shadow clone and began forming a familiar sphere, one she had seen many times in the hands of her former teammate, Jiraiya, and his apprentice, Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime.
"RASENGAN!" the boy thrust the orb into Kabuto's stomach.
Tsunade couldn't believe her eyes, this little loud boy managed to master the rasengan in a matter of days. Pride flowed into her as she looked at him. She knew she was looking at Konoha's future.
FLASH IN
All logical thought was pushed from Tsunade's head as the memory revitalized the rage that had been flowing through her body. She leapt forward and began to continually beat her student. Sakura merely stared up at her with sad eyes, not even trying to defend herself.
Exhaustion began to set in as Tsunade pummeled the "face," if you could really call it that at this point, of the pink-haired girl beneath her. With one last burst of strength she picked Sakura off the ground and threw her back into the Hokage Tower where the girl skidded into a bookshelf in her office.
The exhausted Hokage leapt into her office, preparing to deal the finishing blow to the girl who had hurt HER son.
Sakura could barely see her master readying the final blow through her swollen eyes. For the first time since Naruto left, a small smile came across her face.
This is the end, now I get what I deserve for hurting you. Naruto… I'm so sorry. Please be safe and please find happiness.
Tsunade's fist began to swing towards Sakura's temple.
"KAGE MANE NO JUTSU" a lazy voice yelled out.
"TSUNADE-SAMA!" came the panicked voice of Shizune. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO SAKURA? STOP!"
All of the anger left Tsunade's frozen body as Shikamaru kept his hands in their clenched sign. The Hokage looked down at the body of her apprentice. Sakura was a mess, both of her eyes were practically swollen shut, her nose looked like someone had been hitting it with a sledgehammer for five years straight, and blood covered her entire face. Tsunade's face dropped.
What the hell did I just do?
"Shikamaru… Shizune-san… let her go. I deserve this." came the small, quiet, sad voice of Sakura.
"Sakura… what did I… Sakura I'm so sorry! Shizune, begin healing her at once. Shikamaru, go get Ino and tell here right away, then get the rest of the Rookie 9 and Team Guy at once!"
Shikamaru gave her a wary glance and held the jutsu for a moment longer, before deciding the Hokage had returned to her senses. He turned around and left right away to complete his orders. His patented, "troublesome" never left his lips. Whatever happened, this is too serious to be troublesome.
Kakashi slowly stirred, as his foggy mind was trying to figure out why he had been sleeping on the ground near the Hokage tower…
Sakura! All the fog left his mind. He never suspected his student would use a sleeping jutsu on him to stop him from protecting her. Sensing the Hokage's chakra signal, he teleported into her office, kunai in hand, Mangekyo Sharingan activated. Tsunade was the last of the legendary sannin, he would need to pull out everything he had to protect Sakura…
"Nani?" he couldn't help but gasp at the sight that greeted him in the office. Shizune pouring healing chakra into Sakura while Tsunade stood back with tears in her eyes.
"Kakashi. I'm… sorry. I don't know what came over me." said the Hokage as she turned towards him.
"As Hokage you should have better control over your emotions Hokage-sama, especially when it comes to Sakura. I know what Naruto means to you, especially after Jiraiya-sama… well you know. But you've trained Sakura, she should be precious to you as well." The copy ninja didn't even try to hide the disappointment in his voice.
A small chuckle escaped Tsunade's mouth. "God what kind of Hokage am I? I just beat my apprentice within an inch of her life, needed a young jounin to stop me from killing her, and am now getting lectured by another one of my jounin's…"
By this point Kakashi had covered up his sharingan, and his one visible eye softened. "I'm not going to say it's ok Hokage-sama. But it was Naruto. I almost fell to my anger as well. But let's not reflect upon this anymore. We need to figure out what we're missing, because both you and I know that there is no way in hell Sakura would willingly do that to Naruto."
"Thank you Kakashi-sensei… but I'm afraid your faith in me is unwarranted. I was originally going to tell him that I love him, but then for some reason I decided that I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to say those things to him. With my medinin skills, I'm trained to be able to tell when something is controlling me… and believe me when I say this Kakashi-sensei, I was in complete control." Sakura's tears began spilling out of her eyes once again as she looked away from the three ninja in the room.
"Stop it Sakura. I've known you since you were a little girl; you would never hurt someone so badly on purpose, especially someone you care about. And I know, and I can see right now, that you clearly care about Naruto. I can see that you truly do… wait a minute, Sakura… why does your blood look so… pale?"
Tsunade's eyes widened as she gasped.
FLASHBACK
"Sorry Baa-chan but this is important. Earlier I was working on improving my sage mode with geezer sage and as I began to enter sage mode, I sensed Sasuke's chakra signature, but it quickly disappeared."
FLASH IN
"Damnit…" Tsunade muttered.
FLASHBACK
"DAMNIT!" Orichmaru spat. "Those stupid Uchiha messed up my beautiful potion!"
"What the hell are you talking about Orichimaru? The potion worked just fine, that oto-nin was under the complete control of that Uchiha and didn't even realize it." a confused Jiraiya said.
"Jiraiya… look closely at the Oto-Nin's blood." Tsunade remarked before turning away with a shiver. She hated blood…
"What about it… I don't see anything wrong with it…"
"Look carefully you idiot." Orichimaru snarled. "The blood is pale. If someone examined the body they would be able to notice the slightly pale color of the blood and that would be an indicator of foul play. That damned idiot of an Uchiha must've let the potion boil or something…"
FLASH IN
"DAMNIT!" Tsunade yelled. "How could I have missed this?"
Tsunade looked up to the see Rookie 9 and Team Guy enter her office while Kakashi fixed her with a curious glance.
"INO! Help Shizune heal Sakura!"
Ino had already ran to her best friend and had begun pouring healing chakra into Sakura's body before Tsunade had even finished her sentence. She had no idea what happened to the pink-haired girl.
"Ino… stop." Sakura muttered.
"EVERYONE LISTEN UP! We have a SSS rank emergency on our hands!" the Goindaime Hokage barked out.
Sasuke and Naruto had set up camp for the rest of the night. The avenger was in no hurry to do Madara's bidding afterall. He watched as his former teammate continued to stare lifelessly forward. Guilt that he had been ignoring began to take command of his body.
FLASHBACK
"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled as he tossed a strange looking shuriken to him.
I see. I see what you want to do Naruto. Sasuke thought as he set his eyes upon the "demon in the mist" who currently had his sensei trapped in a sphere of water. It's pretty good considering it came from you!
"The Fuuma Shuriken, The Shadow Windmill." Sasuke calmly called out.
"A shuriken won't work on me." Zabuza calmly replied.
Sasuke jumped into the air and whipped the fuuma shuriken at the "demon" missing the mizu bunshin and headed straight towards the original.
"I see. So you're going after the real one this time. But it's too easy for me!" he remarked catching the fuuma shuriken. A look of surprise fell upon Zabuza's face as he saw another fuuma shuriken headed at him. "Another shuriken was in the shadow of the shuriken? That's the kage-shuriken no jutsu." Zabuza jumped to dodge the second shuriken. "But it's still too easy for me."
Sasuke smirked as the second "shuriken" Zabuza dodged puffed away in smoke, replaced by his hyper-active blond teammate.
"THIS IS THE SPOT!" Naruto yelled as a shocked Zabuza turned to face him. He threw the kunai towards the "demon's" face forcing Zabuza to dodge and break the jutsu freeing Kakashi.
FLASH IN
That was the first time I truly respected that dobe. It's so weird seeing him as he is right now. He should be moving around, yelling, screaming… I'm sorry Naruto. The pang of guilt shot through Sasuske's heart. He closed his eyes, and focused his mind.
He replayed the Uchiha massacre in his mind, and Itachi's last moments of life. He channeled the hatred and rage, using it to eliminate the guilt that had begun to plague his body.
He's my enemy. He's part of Konoha. Thanks to the village he strives to protect, my entire clan was slaughtered by my brother, and I in turn murdered him. I had to kill my own brother because of Konoha. My own brother had to kill his entire clan because of Konoha.
Sasuke opened his eyes, no trace of guilt on his face. This is the continuation of my vengeance on Konoha, they deserve this after everything they did to my family…
All of the The Rookie 9 and Team Guy, minus Ino were glaring daggers at Sakura as Tsunade told them what happened to Naruto. The platinum blonde knew how her best friend felt about Naruto, something wasn't right here.
"That was most un-youthful Sakura-san, I can't believe I ever loved you!" an angry Lee spat out.
"Yosh! Sakura-san how could you…"
"Gai!" Kakashi interrupted. "Everyone, shut up, and let Tsunade continue."
Stop protecting me Kakashi-sensei a nearly-healed Sakura thought. I deserve all of this, I… I….
"Sakura did not say those things to Naruto of her own free will." the Gondaime continued. Shooting her own glare at the ninja glaring at Sakura.
I…hurt Naru… what? Now shishou's trying to protect me too..? DAMNIT!"
"TSUNADE-SHISHOU STOP!" Sakura shot up as yet more tears spilled from her eyes. "I've been trained to be able to sense when I don't have control over my body, and I told you already, I sensed nothing. I was in complete control. I said those terrible things to Naruto of my own free will!"
Tsunade fixed her student with a soft sad glance, "Sasuke was in Konoha recently." Everyone in the room, save Shizune and Tsunade, gasped.
"Naruto was working on improving his sage mode, when he briefly sensed Sasuke. When he looked for Sasuke, he couldn't find him with sage mode, so the gaki assumed Sasuke had left. But I now know that's not the case. Apparently Sasuke has gotten so good at masking his chakra presence, that he can mask it even from Naruto's sage mode."
"Shishou…" her apprentice's voice did a poor job of hiding her shock. "While that's certainly troubling, that has nothing to do with what I said to Naruto."
"Sasuke did something to Sakura that made her blood pale didn't he?" Konoha's laziest, and smartest jounin spoke up. The Hokage nodded.
He… did something to me? A weight slowly began lifting itself off Sakura's chest.
"During the Third Great Shinobi War, Orichimaru developed a potion designed specifically for the Uchihas. Once the target drank the potion, the Uchiha's could control the victim with their sharingans. The potion fed off the sharingan's natural ability with genjutsus and was so subtle, that not even the most powerful ninja would be able to tell that they weren't in control. The Uchiha would control the victim, all while they thought they were in complete control."
Sakura's eyes widened. More weight began lifting off her chest, and the weight was slowly being replaced with something else. Rage. Pure, unrelenting rage. She closed her eyes and clenched her fist so tightly she drew blood. But she didn't seem to notice.
"Wait Tsunade-sama," Kakashi interjected. "Orichimaru wasn't known for being humane, is it detrimental to the victim's health? Does it stay in their blood forever or does it go away?"
"Since Orichimaru designed the potion so no one would be able to detect it, it doesn't have any other negative effects on the body. Also, it dissipates as soon as the Uchiha breaks the link of control, making it a one-use potion. Seeing how Sakura was acting after she thought she hurt Naruto, it's safe to say the link has been broken and she's free of his control."
Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.
"Moving on… This potion was instrumental in helping us win the Third Great Shinobi War. Not only did the enemy have to worry about the Yellow Flash, they thought their own people were turning on them. The potion was nearly perfect."
"It causes the victims blood to pale in color!" Ino shouted.
"Almost, but not exactly. If administered properly, there will be no visible sign of its presence. But if administered improperly, like if it was boiled, it would cause the victim's blood to pale in color." Tsunade finished.
So that means I had to drink a warm drink that… Sakura's eyes flashed upon.
"SASUKE!" she snarled now fully healed. "I…WILL…KILL YOU!"
Naruto woke up in a dark room, with a layer of water on the floor, and a large cage with a seal on it.
"What do you want fox?" Naruto asked in a monotone voice.
"What do you think you're doing kit? You're just following that Uchiha to the Akatsuki? You're strong, but not even you can take down all of the remaining Akatsuki members by yourself. Madara is too powerful."
"I'm not going to try to take down the Akatsuki…"
"Then why are you following that Uchiha brat? Do you think he's going to have a change of heart and return to Konoha with you while uttering thousands of apologies? That's not…"
"I know that the Sasuke I knew is lost. I don't plan on bringing him back to Konoha."
"Then what the hell do you think you're doing kit? You're calmly walking to your death. Not that I care about your life, but I am the mighty Kyubi no Yoko! I will not be used for someone else's purposes!"
"I'm accepting my destiny. I'm a demon, I deserve misery. I'm embracing that misery and will be happy when I finally reach the end of my path."
"DAMNIT KIT! This isn't you." Hmmm… I'm going to have to come at him with a different approach… the Kyubi thought. "So you deserve misery huh? Fine, I won't argue that. But what do you think is going to happen to all those people you tried so hard to protect when you're taken?"
A small twitch could be seen on Naruto's blank face.
"When I'm taken from you, and Madara uses me for his moon-eye plan, do you really think all of Konoha will be safe? No, they will all be slaughtered. Your sensei, your Hokage, Iruka, your friends, your pink-haired vixen…"
"I don't have a pink-haired vixen fox. I never had, and never will." The blonde jinchuriki spat, with a slight tone of anger and hurt to his otherwise dead voice.
"That doesn't mean you still don't care about her. I know you kit, you still want to protect those people, especially her. If you just give up now, you're as good as sending all of your precious people, along with the rest of the world, to certain death."
The Yondaime's legacy showed the first true hint of emotion since his conversation with Sakura as his face contorted into a frown.
"Someone else will rise up. Madara won't win. There's no need for me to fight, my end is so close I can taste it. I will not stop now."
"DAMNIT KIT, I WILL NOT..."
"I'm going now fox, my end awaits."
The husk opened his lifeless eyes and felt the cool night breeze blow through his spiky blonde hair. Sasuke had fallen asleep. He could easily escape, return to Konoha, to Iruka, to Granny Tsunade, to Kakashi, to his friends, to Sakura…
"Now get out of my sight demon scum!"
No, the jinchuriki couldn't return to Konoha. If he did, he would find happiness, which he certainly didn't deserve. And he would once again be around the woman he loved who wanted nothing to do with him, he couldn't do that to her.
The blonde closed his eyes and allowed sleep to take him.
The Hokage, Iruka, the Rookie 9, all of Team 7, and Team Guy were all at the village gates. Tsunade looked at the mini-army gathered before her, she had only wanted to take three, maybe four other people at most, but each and every single person in her office refused.
FLASHBACK
"Ok everyone. Now I am going to be leading a small team to find and retrieve Naruto. That team will consist of Kakashi, Sakura and Kiba…"
"I MUST BE ALLOWED TO GO ON THIS MISSION HOKAGE-SAMA SO I CAN RETRIEVE NARUTO AND REIGNITE THE BEAUTIFUL FLAMES OF LOVE BETWEEN MY TWO YOUTHFUL FRIENDS!" Lee yelled out, causing a blush and a small smile to adorn Sakura's face.
"WELL SAID LEE! IT WOULD BE A SHAME IF ANYTHING WERE TO HAPPEN TO SOMEONE WITH SUCH BRIGHT FLAMES OF YOUTH LIKE NARUTO!" yelled his sensei.
"I'm sorry, but a small group would be…" Tsunade started.
"Naruto is both an ally, and a friend. I will not be left out of this mission." a stoic Shino interrupted.
"I owe far too much to Naruto to sit back as Sasuke drags him to the Akatsuki." Neji said.
Hinata stepped forward, "I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for Naruto-kun. I will be going as well."
Chouji stopped munching on his chips, "Naruto has always been a friend. Don't think I'm going to stay here while my friend is in danger Hokage-sama."
"This is Naruto we're talking about here. I'm not going to stay here either while he's potentially in the Akatsuki's clutches." Tenten stated.
"Count me in. Dickless… Naruto has become my first friend since my time in Root. If Sasuke took him, then we will take him back." Sai said as he and Yamato stepped out of the places they had been hiding in for the entire meeting.
"I haven't known Naruto for as long as the rest of you, but that boy is something special. I'm not going to let Akatsuki take him." Yamato added.
"I'm not as strong as the rest of you, but there is nothing that will keep me from saving Naruto." Iruka proclaimed as he too, stepped out of his hiding place.
"Sorry Hokage-sama, but not only is Naruto a friend, he's also the man that my best friend loves. I'm not going to sit back and wait while he's in danger." Ino declared once again causing Sakura to blush.
"Troublesome eh Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru said as he lazily stepped forward. "It just had to be Naruto who got captured. Naruto, who all of us view as a dear friend. Naruto, who each and every one of us would gladly give their lives for. I'm going as well."
"But… but… we need some ninja to remain in the village." A startled Tsunade stammered.
"There are plenty of other ninja who will do just fine. Besides, look at this way, with this small army, even if Sasuke has already taken Naruto to the Akatsuki we'll have plenty of manpower to take him back." Kakashi interrupted.
"Enough standing around! Let's go get that idiot back and KICK SASUKE'S ASS!" Kiba hollered.
A warm smile formed on the faces of both the Hokage and her pink-haired apprentice. Both were touched by how much Naruto meant to everyone, and both silently wished that the knucklehead were present to witness this.
"Shizune! You're in charge while I'm gone. ALRIGHT. Operation Retrieve Naruto and Kick Sasuke's Ass begins now. MOVE OUT!" the last remaining Sannin bellowed.
FLASH IN
"Kakashi, summon your dogs. Sakura, we need something with Naruto's scent for the dogs…"
"No need Hokage-sama. Me and Akamaru have sparred with that idiot enough to have his scent memorized, and I can smell his trail. Let's go!" Kiba and Akamaru sped off, and the rest of the mini-army followed.
Sakura tightened her fist as she ran.
Naruto… please be ok. I promise I will make everything better, I promise that I will make you happy. That's a promise a lifetime…
Naruto stared at the man in the strange orange swirling mask, with a blank face.
"Ah Naruto-kun, so nice of you to join us. Come, let's get rid of that Kyubi for you." Madara said in an overly friendly tone.
The husk offered no resistance as the ancient Uchiha led him to the room where he was going to die. Madara stopped.
"Sasuke, Zetsu and I will be strong enough to drain the Kyubi on our own. You and 100 Zetsus will remain guard. I know your plan was good, but Konoha has both Kakashi Hatake and Shikamaru Nara, so there's always a possibility they'll figure it out."
"Hhn." Was Sasuke's only reply.
"Well then, shall we Naruto?" again, the over-friendly tone.
The jinchuriki numbly began walking into the room.
Sasuke watched his back, knowing this was the last time he would ever see his best friend and brother. A small part of Sasuke wanted to kill Madara and take Naruto back to Konoha. Sasuke began walking towards Madara, hand on the hilt of his kusanagi.
This is wrong, I can't let this happen to the dobe, my brother…
Sasuke stopped and closed his eyes as he calmed himself. No, this is necessary. Konoha is the reason each and every single member of my clan is dead. And to someone who was looking very closely for it, they could see the sadness reflected in Sasuke Uchiha's eyes.
Goodbye… brother.
Sasuke closed his eyes again and focused on his clan's slaughter. The familiar rage began pouring through his body, washing away his guilt.
Goodbye… Konoha.
Whew! 13 pages, not too bad. Few quick notes:
I know it might be hard to believe that Tsunade would suddenly flip and beat the shit out of Sakura, but I do have a "valid" argument to support this. Tsunade has few truly precious people left in her life (yes, as Hokage all people of the leaf are precious to her, but as TSUNADE she only has a few). When Jiraiya died, she lost one of her most precious people. Naturally she would be more protective of the remaining ones. Naruto IS Jiraiya's student and Naruto is one of her last few precious people. Yes, Sakura is precious to her as well, but mix all of this with alcohol (remember, she was only able to sober herself up enough to walk), and bam. You got a Hokage smackdown on your hands.
I really have no idea how to write TenTen, so just went with a generic statement that I thought might work for her. Sorry TenTen fans, but don't expect to read much more about her. Maybe in fight scenes, but you won't see much else other than that.
Next chapter is going to be an interesting one. I'm a little wary about writing a fight scene.. Oops. Spoiler alert: next chapter there's going to be a fight scene. Anywho… I'm not overly confident on my ability to write a good fight scene, so we'll see how it turns out.
Anywho… I hope you enjoyed, sorry for making Naruto and Sakura emo, but hey, you would be too if that just happened to you. See you next time!