Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Suspect

A steady stream of shinobis and officials passed through the Hokage's office that afternoon. Department heads relayed suspicious activity. ANBU reported the status of the search. Several council members, true to form, demanded word of the intruder and made nuisances of themselves while doing nothing to further the hunt.

Two such council members were leaving the Hokage's office in a dither, just having been told off by an irritable Slug Princess, when Nara Shikaku strode through the door. "Tsunade-sama," he wasted no time in saying, "all jounin and chunin are accounted for. Genins are being tracked down as we speak."

"Have any civilians reported a missing person?"

"No, Hokage-sama."

"Damn." They needed a lead on the accomplice.

An ANBU wearing a rabbit's mask appeared in front of them in a swirl of leaves.

"Report."

"Hokage-sama," said Rabbit as he knelt before her, "T&I, the prison, and the archives are clean. There is no trace of the intruder."

"So we have not one lead on the intruder's activity in Konoha?!"

"No, Hokage-sama."

"Very well. Return to your post." As Rabbit left, Tsunade turned to the jounin commander. "Well, Shikaku, what was he doing here? What was his purpose? It doesn't make sense that he came only to retrieve his accomplice, does it?" Tsunade clenched her teeth in frustration. "If the accomplice was a spy and his mission had ended, then he could have simply walked out the main gates without attracting our notice!"

"We must wait for information," said Shikaku calmly. "It will come, Tsunade-sama."

"I will not allow that snake to deal us any further harm!"

"The jounin are on alert until further notice."

Tsunade was seething. They had come so far and fought so hard - she wouldn't allow anyone to destroy this peace! If only they could determine the intruder's purpose! But he was like a phantom; he left no trace. Knots of tension worked their way into Tsunade's shoulders, and she felt a headache coming on. This was shaping up to be Konoha's worst day in two years.

Just then, Ibiki walked in. As the commanding officer of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation force, he was their most skilled information gatherer and had been given a special assignment.

"Any progress?" she asked Ibiki.

"Uchiha Sasuke has answered our questions to my satisfaction but has refused any form of mental interrogation."

Tsunade sighed, "Of course he has."

"What are your orders, Hokage-sama?"

"Bring him to me. I want to hear him for myself."

A few minutes later, Sasuke walked through the door with Dog - also known as Hatake Kakashi - a few paces behind. Tsunade's eyes lingered on the Uchiha for a long moment. His normally pale face was curiously discolored. Around his hairline, his skin was a pale gray, but his cheeks and nose were a rough pink, as though he'd scrubbed off the top layer of skin. Dripping in ink, Sai had said. Tsunade would have laughed herself to stitches if the situation had been different.

"Your lapdogs have already questioned me extensively," noted Sasuke shortly.

Well, he was in a foul mood. Tsunade couldn't blame him. "How many escape passages did your clan create?" she wasted no time in asking.

"I knew of twelve. There may have been more."

Damn paranoid Uchihas! "Why did you not think to mention these passageways before? As a shinobi of Konoha, it was your duty. Or does your clan pride still come first?" she asked with sarcasm.

Sasuke didn't rise to her provocation. "The tunnels are only accessible by an Uchiha with the Sharingan. Even so, I checked on them myself a year after I returned to Konoha. Naruto was with me at the time."

Which would explain why Tsunade had received no report of him poking around the former Uchiha land. Damn Uzumaki!

Sasuke continued, "As I suspected, Pain's Shinra Tensei destroyed the entrances along with the rest of Konoha, and I thought them inaccessible."

"Then the intruder forged his own entrance into the tunnel?" Tsunade already knew the answer of course, but she wanted to hear the Uchiha's explanation.

"Yes. From my brief inspection with Morino just now, I believe that only two of the deepest passageways survived Shinra Tensei, but both still have significant cave-ins. With the entrances destroyed and the passages partially blocked, the intruder must have had precise knowledge of the tunnel's placement. Even I would not have known where to dig."

"And you did not think that someone might find the exits?"

"It is impossible for all but an Uchiha."

"Precisely the problem."

Sasuke was the last of the Uchihas and therefore a primary suspect. He remained silent.

"We have confirmed that Orochimaru has the Rinnegan. Do you believe he could find and infiltrate the tunnels?"

"There is little Orochimaru cannot do." There was fury in Sasuke's voice. The secrets of his ancestors desecrated by that snake - it did not sit well with him.

An ANBU guard interpreted his fury differently and moved into a defensive stance by the Hokage.

"If you have nothing to hide, why have you resisted mental interrogation?" asked Tsunade, waving away her guard.

Sasuke gaze was steady, unperturbed by the frog ANBU's actions. "Since returning to Konoha, I have not violated the terms of my parole in the slightest. I have submitted to your restrictions without objection. You have taken my chakra and limited my freedom, but my mind is my own and will remain as such."

"I understand." And unfortunately, she truly did. No shinobi, no human enjoyed having their mind broken into. It was a violation of the worst kind. "Assuming the intruder was Orochimaru, can you offer any insight into his actions?"

"His goal has always been the destruction of Konoha, but he would need an overwhelming force to defeat Naruto. Have any graves been robbed lately?"

Tsunade pursed her lips. "The original graveyard was also destroyed during Pain's invasion. We recovered many of the coffins, but it is difficult to determine one body from another. It could be done, but it would take an excessive amount of time and energy for little gain. I doubt Orochimaru would consider it worth the effort." Still, it bore looking into; she would assign a team to investigate.

"And the shinobis that died during the war?"

"A seal was placed on each and every grave of our fallen comrades. Plus, many of the families chose to have the bodies cremated rather than have their loved ones resurrected as an enemy. The same is true throughout the five nations. Edo Tensei is no threat to us."

Sasuke nodded. He knew the seals for its release anyways.

"Anything else?" Tsunade asked with a raised brow.

"You should recall Mitarashi Anko. Orochimaru was revived using her cursed seal, which may have forged a connection between them."

Tsunade raised her brows. "What kind of connection?"

"I used a portion of Anko's chakra to revive him, knowing that he would depend on that chakra in the first few days of his rebirth. It was my fail-safe. Kill Anko, and Orochimaru would die too."

The shinobis stiffened at his cold, unfeeling calm. It was times like this they couldn't forget what the Uchiha once was.

Sasuke continued without pausing. "I'm not certain, but it is plausible that her chakra still resides in Orochimaru, just as his was once in us. If that is the case, then Naruto might be able to trace it."

"Rabbit!"

The ANBU reappeared promptly.

"Recall Anko immediately."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Then he was gone.

Tsunade turned back to Sasuke and demanded, "Why are you only telling us this now?!"

He maintained his cold composure even in the face of the Hokage's anger. "I knew you wouldn't agree with killing Anko on a mere suspicion, and I didn't consider using Naruto's Sage Mode because I wasn't aware that she was able to trace Pain back to his hideout until an hour ago when Morino and I were discussing the invasion."

Ibiki nodded to Tsunade, indicating that they had indeed discussed it.

Sasuke's voice held a faint accusatory tone when he said, "As long as he has the Rinnegan, there's no telling what he can do. How did he get it?"

Tsunade studied the former avenger, searching for any hidden motives, any signs that he was discontent with his life in Konoha. He was unreadable. "The prevailing theory is that after your little jaunt to the 'one who knows everything,'" said Tsunade with a hint of annoyance since Sasuke had not been forthcoming with the details of that meeting, "Orochimaru returned to Uchiha Obito's lair, where he found Madara's remaining Rinnegan -"

"I destroyed it," Sasuke interrupted. "I went to the lair immediately and destroyed every eye with Amaterasu." He had watched them burn with a sense of closure, considering it his last act of cleansing for the Uchihas. He hadn't wanted filth like Danzo to profit by the Uchiha's decline.

"Yet suddenly, your former ally appears bearing the eye you supposedly destroyed."

"Orochimaru was never an ally. Just a means to an end."

Che, how cold, thought Tsunade. "Regardless, it is not like you to be so careless."

"That Rinnegan was no fake. It had power."

Tsunade surveyed Sasuke's thinned lips and stiff shoulders - the only signs that he was angry. "I was unable to examine the body that Orochimaru left behind." She had still been recovering from the unfortunate cleaving of her body when the snake was tracked down. "But I am told that it was studied thoroughly by a number of medical specialists who found no reason to doubt that it was authentic. If he could create an entire body that stood up to medical inspection, then it is not surprising that he could fool you with a single eye."

A slight flare of his nostrils. Oh dear, he didn't like the thought of making such a crucial mistake.

"The problem with that theory is that he does, in fact, have two Rinnegan, and it is simply impossible that he could have stolen the one implanted in Obito. Without outside help." Tsuande tapped two papers that lay on her desk. "The Raikage and Mizukage have requested that we interrogate you with or without your consent by whatever means necessary. Though the Mizukage did ask that we avoid injury to your face."

"And?" he asked with subtle mockery, suggesting that they would get no more out of him than he was willing to give.

"Impudence," growled Frog.

"No, his anger is understandable," she said, frowning at the ANBU who was meant to be neither seen nor heard, yet here he was - both. "I am questioning his motives and his integrity. If he were not offended, I would be more concerned." Tsunade returned her gaze to Sasuke. "Konoha law dictates that we cannot interrogate a shinobi without their consent if there is no probable cause, and I have deemed that there is none. I have chosen to trust you, Uchiha Sasuke, and unless I am given evidence otherwise, I will not violate that trust."

Sasuke nodded in understanding and some gratitude and left the office along with Ibiki at her dismissal. Kakashi remained behind. Frog, realizing that he had incurred his Hokage's displeasure, returned his usual state of mute invisibility.

Shikaku sighed, "It is unpleasant to doubt one of your own."

Kakashi didn't bother to pull out his favorite Icha Icha book from his weapons pouch - proof of how serious the mood was in the Hokage's office. "Sasuke was aware that he would never have our complete trust when he returned."

"He could be laughing at us right now, calling us gullible fools," grumbled Tsunade into her hands.

"In retrospect," said Shikaku, "placing Sasuke in Konoha would be a clever ploy of Orochimaru's."

"We couldn't have defeated Madara without Sasuke. There's no doubt of that," said Kakashi firmly.

"No, but then neither Sasuke or Orochimaru would have wanted to fall under the Infinite Tsukuyomi, so doing away with Madara was in their best interest," countered Shikaku.

"Sasuke claimed that Moon's Eye was a fool's plan. He told Madara and Obito that he was ashamed to be an Uchiha if he meant he shared the blood of cowards who were too weak to exist in reality and that through their deaths he would restore the honor of the Uchiha clan."

Tsunade grunted, "The boy's a damn good actor if it's all a front."

"For argument's sake, let's say they're allies." Shikaku cleared his throat and continued, "Sasuke gains our forgiveness and conditional trust by defeating Madara before returning to Konoha where he lives and works in close proximity with our most powerful shinobi and future Hokage - in a perfect position to act when the time comes. Meanwhile, Orochimaru obtains the Rinnegan, which Sasuke purposefully didn't destroy, and recovers his power. They bide their time until the right moment." Shikaku brought his hands together in a familiar sign - the same one Shikamaru formed when he was thinking deeply.

Kakashi shifted on his feet and said, "Though he wears a mask of indifference, Sasuke has powerful emotions that he ultimately allowed to direct him in the past. Two years ago, his love for his brother was rivaled only by his hatred for Konoha. Honestly, I don't know if he has the self-control to hide such an intense hatred from us for so long."

"When Naruto and Sasuke fought, it truly appeared that Sasuke intended to kill him," noted Shikaku.

Kakashi inserted, "Then Sasuke saved him."

"Yes," Shikaku considered. "Was his change heartfelt or an elaborate ploy? And if it was a ploy, why take such a huge risk in saving their strongest opponent? Unless a living, breathing Naruto somehow factors into their plans." The thought was unpleasant to say the least.

"Naruto is convinced that Sasuke relinquished his desire for revenge...and I was too before now."

Tsunade grit her teeth. "They knew that we would be suspicious of Sasuke the moment Orochimaru made an appearance."

"Yes," said Shikaku knowingly, "and even that plays into their favor. This conversation is proof of it. We want to believe in Sasuke and thus quarrel and feel guilty when we doubt him, thereby weakening our judgements. More importantly, Naruto would be up in arms if he knew that Sasuke's loyalty was in question, and there you have it. Internal dissension."

"And next the destruction of Konoha," ended Tsunade. Hmph, not while she was goddamn Godaime Hokage! All she needed was just one good hit on her former teammate. One. Good. Hit.

"There's still the limiters," said Kakashi. "Even though Naruto is at ease with Sasuke, I doubt Sasuke could kill or capture her by sneak attack. Not to mention Kyuubi-sama is keeping an eye on him."

"Naruto is with him constantly," murmured Tsunade in thought. "She may have noticed something without realizing its significance."

"Naruto would never voluntarily give up information on Sasuke if she thought we suspected him."

"She?" asked Shikaku finally, having noticed the use of the feminine multiple times.

"Naruto is a girl."

Shikaku stared at Kakashi and then Tsunade before saying, "Oh. That must be why my son was muttering about troublesome nature seals."

Kakashi looked at Tsunade. "If Naruto figured out that we were trying to wangle information from her, she'd be furious."

"You're quite right. However, Naruto does have a bad habit that we can exploit."

"Which one in particular are we talking about?"

Tsunade smiled grimly. "The one called diarrhea of the mouth."

... ... ...

From the moment she had learned of the intruder, Naruto was incensed that she hadn't been called to join in the search, and she had stormed into Tsunade's office demanding an explanation. In Kyuubi mode, she could sense negative emotions, so of course she could have found the intruder! Tsunade reminded her of the last time she had "gone Kyuubi" within Konoha's borders. Mass panic erupted on the streets, and an outpouring of negative emotions had struck Naruto like a blunt weapon, rendering her sensing capabilities useless. Plus, Orochimaru was certain to know the benefits of her Kyuubi mode and would keep his killer intent to a minimum.

Naruto was hardly mollified by such a reasonable argument and demanded to know what the intruder had come for.

"Now you sound like the useless members of the damn council!" yelled Tsunade.

Such an insult, while severe, didn't shut Naruto up for long, but her voice was less loud when she asked, "What about Kabuto?"

"He has not yet emerged from Izanami." Of course, Kabuto's cell was one of the first places they'd checked.

"And Juugo?" The gentle yet insane shinobi had voluntarily surrendered to Konoha after the war, primarily because Sasuke done so. Now, he resided at Konoha's Mental Health Institution where he was undergoing therapy. He was given considerable freedom on his good days, which were occurring more and more often. Surprisingly, Naruto had been the one to help him the most. With her expertise in natural energy - the source of Juugo's rages - she had been able to help him direct the natural energy rather than having it take him over. His control was far from perfect, but he credited his improvement to Naruto and Konoha. So, Naruto thought it unlikely that Juugo would return to Orochimaru, but if the snake bastard had come for him, claiming to have a cure -

"He's been having one of his bad days and was under lock-down for the duration of the intruder's stay. We have yet to find a trace of the intruder in Konoha."

Naruto heaved a frustrated sigh. "Damn."

"We must wait for more information, Naruto. It will come," said Tsunade, echoing Shikaku's earlier words.

Naruto disliked the thought of waiting as much as Tsunade had.

"So," said Tsunade conversationally, leaning back in her chair, "I heard from Sai that you pranked Uchiha."

The blonde's mood suddenly skyrocketed. "Yep! Sure did! It was an old classic -" Naruto began to brag about the awesomeness of the prank, her extreme stealth in sneaking past the sleeping shinobi, and the ridiculous sight that Sasuke made covered in ink. She went on to laugh about the chase through the village and how the villagers were pointing and snickering at Sasuke, which Naruto greatly preferred to the cold looks they usually gave him. "- but then Sasuke had to blow the best part of the prank 'cause he went all anal and left all of the sudden -"

Tsunade sharpened her gaze.

" - Stupid bastard's been acting weird lately. Haven't figured out why yet."

"Perhaps he realized you were leading him into a trap?" suggested Tsunade, digging for more information.

"Nah, it wasn't that," dismissed Naruto. "He just stopped all of the sudden and got this weird look on his face. Then he turned tail and ran. Stupid bastard."

That would have been right around the time the intruder was noticed. "Hm. Did you run into anyone peculiar on your last mission? Someone that might have upset Sasuke? Like a stranger in a bar?"

Naruto gave the Hokage an odd look and scratched her chin in thought. "Uh, no strangers in bars. There are plenty of Kumo shinobis that don't like him, but he's never been bothered by that before. I kind of thought it was my whole gender change thing that's thrown him off. Whatever," she said, suddenly cheerful again, "I'll just beat his weird mood out of him, dattebayo!"

"I've no doubt you will. Now, don't you have a birthday party to get to?"

Naruto scrunched up her face in irritation. "Yeah, when you called for me, Sakura was trying to force me into a dress. So not happening."

Kakashi looked at his former student with smiling eyes. "It might be cute, Naruto-chan."

"Pervert!" she declaimed.

"Get going, brat, or you'll be late."

With a quick wave, Naruto body-flickered out of the office, leaving three concerned shinobis in her wake.

"Tsunade-sama -" Shikaku began uneasily.

"No," she said firmly. "That's hardly proof of his involvement. We wait a little longer."

... ... ...

It was now past dusk, and Naruto stood outside the door of Sasuke's apartment yelling furiously at its occupant.

"Teme! You said you'd come!"

"I'm not in the mood," he said in a monotone from the other side of the door.

"You never are! Doesn't change the fact that you said you'd come!"

"I changed my mind."

Deciding words would get her nowhere, Naruto channeled a bit of chakra into her fist and punched through the lock. In one swift motion, she kicked open the door, which gave way easily before her anger, and stepped into the teme's apartment.

Sasuke looked from her to the irreparably broken door. "You're paying for that."

"Sure. Right after we get back from my party."

"Hn."

"Bastard!"

"Hn.

Naruto launched herself towards the ex-avenger, and Sasuke dodged behind the table.

Again! Again he hadn't acted like he usually did. Just the other night when Naruto was still a boy, they had had a similar scuffle. Sasuke hadn't dodged then; he had counterattacked and slammed Naruto's face into the floor!

Blue eyes surveyed Sasuke in betrayal, and Sasuke felt an unfamiliar feeling of guilt. "What do you make of this intruder?" he found himself saying.

Naruto blinked at the sudden change in Sasuke's behavior. "Well, it sucks that he slipped past our defenses, but if it's the snake bastard, I'll kick his ass!"

And Sasuke stared at her, not truly surprised but still at a loss. Naruto had complete faith in him. It honestly never even crossed her mind to doubt him. She was blind to the point of idiocy. Part of Sasuke wanted to call Naruto a fool, but instead he cursed himself for the sudden relief he felt.

"We really should get going," said Naruto with her never-give-up attitude.

"You are perfectly capable of attending your own damn party without -"

"I want you there. I - I'm nervous about telling them, all right!"

Her confession made him pause, and before he realized what he was doing, he was reassuring her in his own special Uchiha way. He sneered coldly, "How stupid. As if those morons would care either way. Nara and Sakura already know. The Hyuugas would kiss your feet if you asked them to, and Gaara would join them in a sandy flash. Akimichi won't pull his nose out of his chips long enough to notice. Inuzuka will take it as a great prank. The freaks -"

Naruto guessed he meant Shino, Lee, and probably Sai, even though he already knew.

" - quite frankly, who cares?" Sasuke stopped. He had trouble remembering all of Naruto's friends, and though he was pretty sure he'd left out a couple of them, it hardly bothered him enough to dig them out of his memory. "So stop being an idiot and go to your damn party. Without me."

Naruto was secretly pleased with his pathetic attempt to make her feel better, but that didn't deter her from her goal. She looked into his dark eyes. "Please, Sasuke."

Dark eyes widened. There was rarely a hint of begging in the blonde's voice. It was usually filled with stubborn determination. Was this pleading-through-long-lashes a new strategy for Naruto to get what she wanted? And why did Sasuke's resolve suddenly give way?

"Che, one hour. Then I'm gone."