Notes are at the bottom of the chapter since they contain some minor spoilers for this chapter.

Why are you still reading this?

Just Enough

6 Years Ago
Uchiha Compound

Itachi was unhurried as he finished dressing after his much needed shower. The warm smells of dinner would have been worth waiting to be clean, but his mother disapproved of a certain amount of blood at the dinner table. Plus, he didn't particular care to stay in the clothing he had worn while tracking Orochimaru's trail for four days through only kami knew what. The quiet had the added benefit of giving him a moment to consider the faintly smug smile Fugaku had worn right up until he had noticed that his eldest had returned. Sasuke had appeared faintly subdued from his usual mannerisms and there had been a cautiousness to him that was welcome but unexpected.

But it was Fugaku's expression and body language that most interested him. Clearly it had something to do with his little brother and the clan was involved. Eyes narrowing, he considered what exactly his foolish Oto-chan could possibly have done in the four days he had been gone to please himself so greatly. And what Sasuke had managed to let him do… the day Sasuke grew some spine couldn't come soon enough. Rolling his shoulders one more time, he padded silently into the dining area to join his family for their evening meal. They had already started – Fugaku rarely waited for anyone – and his ka-chan was attempting to coax answers out of Sasuke about his training, but from the sound of it Sasuke had slipped back into monosyllabic answers.

Typical and a sure sign that his foolish little brother was internally sulking even if he refused to show it. Wishing he had thought to eat before returning, he slipped open the shoji and nodded his respects before settling at the table. Sasuke looked torn between relieved to see him and grumpy that he had to share attention.

Nodding his thanks to his ka-chan he set about filling his plate, amused that neither Sasuke nor Fugaku seemed willing to break the silence. Itachi was pleased to see that his early assessment had been correct and that none of his internal irritation appeared on Sasuke's expression, although it appeared he was in need of extra instruction on how to hold himself physically. Surely Kakashi would get around to teaching his team the importance of body language, since it was clear none of them had the inclination to do it themselves?

"We were just discussing with Sasuke how his new training regime was going." Mikoto said into the silence, a small smile on her face as she looked at her youngest.

Itachi raised a brow as he chewed his rice in a silent question.

Sasuke scowled at him. "It went well."

Fugaku set his chopsticks down and stared at his son in clear disapproval. "You will do better than 'well', Sasuke. When Itachi was your age he was already a chunin receiving extra training for a position in ANBU. We expect better."

Itachi wondered if Sasuke had learned that 'we' was the clan and they would always expect better. Then the way his brother nodded and tucked back into rice clearly showed that he hadn't.

"It is necessary for you to do your best Sasuke." Mikoto said firmly, ignoring Fugaku's outburst. "I know that you are disappointed that you will not be retaking the chunin exams in six months with your old team but it is for the best."

"Yes, ka-chan," Sasuke agreed, eyes dark.

Ah. So that was what they had done and why Fugaku was staring at him with hard eyes. The clan had been very busy. There had always been a certain amount of clan disapproval for Sasuke's team and what little Itachi had bothered to notice had led him to believe they were near useless. The kyuubi's carrier had no control and even less discipline; the weak, ridiculously pink-haired girl did show some signs of some intelligence and an interesting ability to manipulate chakra, but she was clearly coddled and had very little to offer his brother as a teammate… and the clan seemed to have finally found the wedge needed to break them apart. The failure of the Chunin exam wasn't completely unexpected after the performance he had witnessed in the Forest.

Still, they had managed to keep Orochimaru from getting too close to Sasuke. He found it interesting that Sasuke had apparently chosen to distance himself so fully from his team when in the past he had been reluctant to discuss them with his parents. That sort of change suggested coaching. But Fugaku wasn't watching him with hard eyes because he was worried that Itachi would disagree about the Sasuke's old team – Itachi certainly didn't care who Sasuke was teamed with as long as they didn't get him killed – but because the clan was uneasy. Itachi kept his face completely bland, hiding his internal amusement. They were finally realizing that the extent of their control in his life was far less than they wanted and they didn't want him to influence Sasuke.

"The meal is delicious, ka-chan."

Her smile of thanks prompted him to nod and return to his food. Let Fugaku think what he wanted. He was perfectly aware that the clan was going to use this time as an attempt to shape Sasuke into what they wanted and in a few years he would be deemed 'worthy' and placed back onto a team that was acceptable to both his parents and the clan. Once that happened, Sasuke would be expected to move up the ranks quickly.

Itachi had some remaining hope that Sasuke would grow a spine between now and his next chunin exam; Kakashi was known for his disregard of certain unspoken rules. Perhaps something would rub off. Interesting that the clan had agreed to leave Sasuke in his charge; his eyes cut to his ka-chan thoughtfully. He was very aware that Fugaku had placed the same pressure on his ka-chan to move Sasuke up into genin quickly that he had when he'd been that age. The idea that the clan expected Sasuke to surpass him at some point in his career was pitiful and amusing. The very fact that the clan had been forced to pull Sasuke off of his team for special training should have been proof enough that Sasuke lacked the mental focus to surpass him in any way. But the clan would continue to try.

Especially once his current plans came to fruit.

"Are you leaving again tomorrow, Itachi?"

"Hokage-sama has given me a few days to rest." Itachi said simply.

"It will be nice to have you home," Mikoto said with a smile. "Should I expect Hana-san or Itsuki-san to stop by over the next few days?"

"Perhaps," Itachi said noncommittal.

Fugaku grunted his displeasure at the idea of any clansmen other than their own inside the compound walls. Itachi briefly considered baiting Hana to come and disrupt his Oto-san's well structured life and then mentally shrugged.

Once she knew he was back she would volunteer herself.

X

Present Day
Konoha Village

Sakura smelled smoke before they were close enough to even begin catching glimpses of the Hokage monument through the trees. They were moving at a fast, chakra burning pace that was pushing her to the edges of her stamina but that was okay. Right now it was more important to have top speed to return to Konoha. It was actually the smell that gave her the best clue for a timeline. To have the wind push the smoke this far into the surrounding woods meant that Sound and Cloud had started burning hours before. There was no wind, only the push of chakra attacks to move it into the forest. She hadn't bothered to slow down as they raced into the haze blurring the forest; she simply snapped off the medical jutsu that would keep her lungs and eyes clear of any dangerous particles. She couldn't do anything for Itachi until they stopped moving.

She hoped she would find Tsunade near the civilians or tower but she doubted it… especially if Orochimaru had entered the village. She hoped Jiraiya was still around to watch her back. Orochimaru…

He hated Konoha with the burning passion of the truly insane, but that would only be part of his goal here. She could make a good guess at what he'd said to convince Cloud to align with Sound; Cloud wanted the secrets of the Hyuuga bloodline just as badly as Orochimaru wanted the sharingan. Just as badly as he wanted Sasuke.

He'd be in Konoha – the destruction of the village was personal to him. And if he was around Sasuke, Orochimaru would be hunting him. Her adrenaline began to pound through her body at the thought, and she clenched her teeth as she ran, forcing herself to think straight. Her first priority was Tsunade and then she would worry about Sasuke. And if she found out he had slipped away from Naruto she would beat him bloody.

Itachi hadn't faltered from their set pace and now that they were actually within smelling distance from their burning home, he began to steadily increase their speed. Her eyes narrowed and she extended her senses to find that his chakra was flaring hot and bright – and steady as a heartbeat. His stamina was amazing…

And to cut off the completely inappropriate thoughts which tempted her to think about anything other than her home burning, Sakura reached into her emergency pouch and took out a standard issue soldier pill. He may not need one, but she wasn't going in to battle Orochi-freakin'-maru without being on the top of her game.

She popped the pill, noting the minute adjustments in their course as Itachi began to lead them away from the most direct route to the gates. Not bothering to ask where they were going – she'd trust him unless he gave her reason not to – she simply increased her speed.

By the time they reached Konoha, the air was thick with smoke and expelled chakra. Blinking through the haze, she looked around, not recognizing their location. The wall in front of them was most certainly Konoha but how…

The hiss of metal un-sheathing caught her attention. Itachi had pulled out a kunai and used it to prick the tips of three fingers. Re-sheathing the blade, he waited until the blood had beaded before reaching up and dancing them across the complex stone in front of her. Sakura's heart started to hammer in her ears as the stone separated and opened to the back of the Uchiha complex.

Silently he motioned her forward and Sakura slid through the opening just before it closed. Reaching out, she caught him by the sleeve. He paused and lowered his eyes to stare at her. She would think about what this meant later, letting her see this secret. Eyes scanning the immediate area, letting the bursts of chakra in the air hide hers; she went through the same jutsu she had performed earlier on herself. Itachi studied her for a moment before nodding his thanks and moving his hand in a sharp command.

Follow.

Sakura made a point to follow his footsteps exactly. This far into the Uchiha compound all but guaranteed heavy traps and guards; Sasuke had dropped the occasional hint over the years when Naruto was being his most pesky about sneaking in and murdering certain clansmen. Sakura did not want to risk accidentally tripping something she was unaware of; something that would react badly to anything that wasn't Uchiha blood.

Itachi led them through the Uchiha compound without incident. There was a strange sort of buzzing chakra coming from the center of the village and it was making the hairs on the back of Sakura's neck stand up. She couldn't wait until they made it out of there – she needed to find out what was causing this sensation. It felt unnatural and wrong. She glanced at Itachi for any sign to see if he'd noticed, but of course his face was a perfect stoic mask.

"I need to find Tsunade," she said, choosing to talk before they got into the thick of things. "In the event of an emergency, my orders are to go straight to her and provide cover unless she dispatches me to the wounded."

Itachi nodded, a terse minute gesture. "The compound is still secure. The Hokage will be where the most trouble is."

Sakura nodded and stayed close to his heels. It didn't take long before the familiar gate to the compound came into view. From the sounds outside it, it was clear that several nin were attempting to enter. Itachi was unhurried, but the way he shifted his weight changed his gate to the familiar, stalking strides that told Sakura they would be cutting their way to Tsunade.

Or at least, until they reached the rooftops.

"Holy hell," Sakura whispered. "What in the name of kami…"

Erected in the middle of town was a large, square glowing – field of some kind. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was staring at the source of the wrong feeling chakra. There were figures moving on the inside, but she couldn't see any more than blurs through the shimmering field. Glancing around, Sakura quickly took stock of the chakra signatures and destruction around them.

There was a mass of chakra signatures in the direction of the Hyuuga compound – expected, considering Cloud's goals – and a hell of a lot of smoke. She couldn't see through the mist there either, but the Hyuuga were not her concern. There was fighting all along the walls and some of the Sound-nin had made their way into town, but were being held off before they could reach the civilians. She didn't see Tsunade. She didn't see Naruto or Sasuke.

"We have to get closer," she said before springing off the roof and making her way towards the field. Itachi had said that the Hokage would be where the most trouble was – and as far as she could tell, that was that pulsating chakra square in the middle of her village.

They finally skidded into the area demolished by the dome and Sakura squinted into it. It was hard to make anything out through this smoke, even with her jutsu. The chakra-thick shield was almost blinding if she watched it with unfocused eyes. It was impossible to feel anything inside the shield and she shifted her gaze to Itachi. His eyes were watching something to her left so she turned calmly, hand going to the kunai pouch on her thigh.

Three ANBU members appeared, masks firmly in place.

"Uchiha-san," the one wearing the tiger mask spoke. His hand moved in a complicated hand gesture that Sakura couldn't follow but Itachi must have made some movement behind her because some tension she hadn't seen was just… gone.

"We have experts working on the seals, but so far the shield is impenetrable," said the ANBU with the dog mask. "Hokage-sama is trapped in there by Orochimaru. Jiraiya-sama is with her. He used a resurrection jutsu and—"

"The kages," Sakura said, her mouth dry as the Sandaime came into view. "Oh kami, he's using the kages." The battle raged within the shield as Tsunade was being forced to fight her father, her grandfather… And she couldn't get to her to help.

"That is not Orochimaru." Itachi said flatly, the monotone of his voice served to emphasize the importance of his words.

"What?" Sakura turned to face him her eyes wide, "It has to be. He performed the blood resurrection! Only Orochimaru has enough power to—"

"That is not Orochimaru, Sakura."

Itachi stared at her and refused to provide any other evidence than the swirling of his sharingan. Unfortunately, the ANBU with the dog mask also had sharingan visible, and he had said it was Orochimaru – surely Itachi's sharingan was not that far advanced. She swore, they didn't have time for this, and turned all her attention to the fight inside the chakra field, her fingers blaring through a technique that would allow her to flare her chakra senses as she set aside all assumptions and, for a moment, just watched.

It felt like Orochimaru. But he was avoiding the confrontation with Jiraiya which was as out of his characters as Sasuke avoiding a fight with Naruto. He had the kages fighting for him instead, a fact which made her recoil with the wrongness of it – using Konoha's greatest protectors to destroy Konoha, only Orochimaru would be that twisted. And yet – there. She could sense corpses. Far more

"How many Sound-nin were within that barrier, ANBU," she snapped the question.

"Ten," he reported.

Ten. With ten blood sacrifices… "Fuck." Ten blood sacrifices would be enough for a clone to do the jutsu and remain in control. Orochimaru had sacrificed ten of his most powerful shinobi in a desperate gambit to trap his old teammates, turn the old kages against them, and keep the ANBU attention on the fight inside the chakra shield while he was free to do whatever he wanted. It was brilliant. Where was he?

Sakura closed her eyes, and expanded her senses outward, but her jutsu ran out in a snap which caused her to stumble. So if she couldn't find him using her senses, she would have to reason it out. Why would he do this?

"Damnit!" She turned wide eyes to Itachi. "Sasuke!"

X

Naruto ducked underneath a shuriken and watched out of the corner of his eye as one of his kage bushin gutted the sound-nin with a kunai. They were holding the ground between the gates and the tunnel that the civilians and genin had used to hide from the brunt of the invading force, responding to a surge of nin that had overwhelmed the ANBU forces already there. They had barely made it to the line before they were ambushed by what appeared to be a mixture nin from Sound and Cloud.

Throwing himself at the nin who was trying to attack Sasuke's blind side, he snarled as he shoved his fist through the enemy's chest, the chakra around his hand a bleeding crimson. Long hours of fighting were starting to take their toll and everything was sharpening around the edges; he didn't bother even looking as he reached out with a clawed hand to rip out another nin's throat – he could smell him.

Just like he could smell the stench of who had directed this ambush. He bared his teeth and snarled in inhuman challenge.

"Dammit, Naruto, get yourself under control!" Sasuke's voice lashed at him over the din of the battle. A moment later, the familiar crackling of a Chidori cut through several nin not wearing headbands.

Twisting around he pressed his spine up against Sasuke's and calculated how many more fucking shinobi there were to kill and bared his fangs. A flicker of movement caught his attention and he twisted around and howled at the sight of the prey he had been hunting.

"Kabuuuutooo."

Sasuke swore furiously under his breath and lunged forward, cutting of Naruto's immediate line of sight. Throwing a handful of kunai too gain some breathing room he snapped his hands through the familiar jutsu and let loose a fireball.

"It's a fucking trap!"

Naruto bared his fangs and gathered the chakra closer to his skin, letting it wash over him in a red, burning rage. Kabuto. The arrogant bastard who had helped Orochimaru trap Baa-chan in that damn chakra field that wouldn't budge no matter how hard he threw himself at it. Howling his fury, he snapped his fingers through a jutsu and relished the way he could feel the heat of it scalding through his veins. Sasuke bit off something filthy behind him and he snarled as the rasengan formed in his hand. Lunging forward, he used it to clear the path between him and his target.

Kabuto would die today.

Sasuke was forced to follow Naruto, using his chakra-enhanced speed to keep up – Naruto was once again lunging into a fight without thinking; the rage of the Kyuubi turning his chakra dark red and crackling around him; giving him the control he needed for the damn rasengan to work without a clone. Fuck. Tails were going to start forming soon and they didn't have time the fucking time to deal with personal grudges.

Kabuto was leading them further and further away from the tree cover, away from the village, trumpeting to anyone with half a brain that they were being set up. He wasn't scared for Naruto – in this heightened state the dobe would be able to take Kabuto on just fine, right along with the gnats that one of Naruto's clones kept picking out of trees. But Sasuke didn't have as much faith in Naruto's control. If Kabuto managed to provoke him, or drug him, or do something to bring out the Kyuubi…

"Fucking hell, dobe," he hissed, trailing a bare foot away from him as they raced after Kabuto, "if you make me knock you out to subdue that thing I swear to kami you'll regret it."

Naruto didn't respond, his brow was furrowed and Sasuke recognized that look on his face for the strange sort of intensity that always meant that he was coming up with the most off the wall strategy... one of the ones which by all logic, shouldn't work, but always did. They burst through the tree cover and into a wide clearing, with Kabuto waiting for them in the center, smiling. Naruto skidded to a halt a few feet away from Kabuto and growled.

"You're going to die, Kabuto."

"Ah, Naruto-kun," Kabuto snapped his fingers. Ten more Sound-nin appeared. "We all die sometime. Today is not my day."

Sasuke cursed when the Sound-nin cut him off from Naruto, but it was the flicker of motion out of the corner of his eye that caught his immediate attention. Twisting around, he studied the waving green grass and tensed, scanning the area. The shinobi at his back weren't even bothering with him and his dark eyes narrowed into slits because that meant…

Near the back of the forest the waist high grass started to move, as if it was caught in a sudden breeze. Bringing his hands up in front of him into the start of a familiar jutsu, he watched at the movement, knowing what was coming even though the Sannin was supposed to be in the chakra dome with the others. A flicker of dark purple tail to the left and then the dark head of Nagi lifted into the clearing. The large, narrow mouth opened wide with a snarling hiss that was familiar and the face and upper torso of Orochimaru was clearly visible resting in-between Nagi's fangs.

Bloody. Fucking. Hells. Sasuke swore internally as he completed the jutsu with a snap before immediately starting on another one. This was one Sakura had pounded into Team Seven – literally – a medical jutsu which, when activated with the sharingan, allowed him to perceive hidden traps. Orochimaru had chosen this battleground; Sasuke would be a fool to think he hadn't prepared it thoroughly.

'Do not let him touch you.' His brother's words echoed through his mind, and Sasuke smiled grimly for a moment, his eyes burning red with his bloodline limit. No one ever said anything about me touching him.

If his past experience was anything to go by, Orochimaru would waste at least a minute gloating. That should be enough time to think of and implement a plan. The fact that Orochimaru wanted his body mostly undamaged would give him room to maneuver and he would need those edges in this fight. The jutsu he had completed would take a few more moments to flair in warning for those pockets of chakra. Nagi was coiled into a strike position and he kept an eye on her movements, waiting for the obvious move from Orochimaru. It came in the form of his body stretching into a long, thin slide of white scales that flowed out between Nagi's fangs. The white-scaled body that rolled in the impression of dozens of snakes, slipped into the tall grass to rise up half a dozen yards from where Sasuke was standing.

Grimly, Sasuke watched as Nan no Kaizō rippled strangely, snakes wiggling and twisting around each other as they slid back into skin and bone. Orochimaru was arrogant enough to believe him stunned with shock at his appearance and each moment was buying him time – the jutsu was starting to flare in faint bursts of power along the field but it wasn't finished. Attacking Orochimaru now would limit the choices he had to attack and the idea niggling in the back of his head would take time.

Time he had to buy.

Orochimaru undulated a few steps towards Sasuke and licked his lips with that ridiculously long tongue of his. "At last," he said, the 's' slightly more sibilant than normal speech, "we have some time alone."

Sasuke said nothing, and his face was impassive. He did not even allow his eyes to narrow in disgust. He just watched as Orochimaru continued to slowly advance as he felt the jutsu settle over him. Traps across the field sprung up into his vision, highlighted in shades of red.

Orochimaru stopped a good distance away from him, out of range for his hands, and close enough for that tongue to try to get him. He dropped his gaze and slowly dragged it up Sasuke's body, a leer distorting his features. "Well, it seems as if you've taken good care of your body for me. Shame that we've had to wait so long. You would have been so deliciously moldable younger."

"Fucking Orochimaru," Naruto shouted from where he was currently occupied with the Sound-nin, "You get the fuck away from him!"

Sasuke wasn't sure who Naruto was talking to, but he knew that he did not like the way that Orochimaru smirked at his words. "That would be difficult, Naruto-kun, since I plan on spending a long, long time with Sasuke-kun, here. It's a shame it's taken so long… I have a lot of lost time to make up for."

Then his smile widened, the muscles in his arm bunching and flexing outward. Sasuke flung himself backwards, unwilling to take his eyes off Orochimaru and trusting none of the nin Naruto were fighting was close enough to be a danger. The first movement against the bones in Orochimaru's wrist told Sasuke what he was dealing with: Sen'eitajashu. His eyes narrowed as long, streaming snakes followed him; jaws open and fangs glinting in the smoky air. Cursing he sprang up and out, keeping an eye on the glitters of color around him. As soon as he used another jutsu the medical would disappear and if he was using Sen'eitajashu that meant…

Even with the Sharingan he had to move fast. Orochimaru only had to bite him to pass along the mark and with his sharp fangs and an extendable neck; it was a matter of just getting close enough. The snakes were a diversion and he released the medical jutsu, fingers flying through a series of seals. When Orochimaru's elongated neck and extended fangs cleared the rest of the nuisance snakes he blew through his fingers, Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu.

They were only a few yards apart when they landed on the ground. Orochimaru's disgusting smile was still in place and he looked inordinately pleased with himself. Naruto was raging from behind a pile of bodies and Sasuke was mentally laying the map of red dots over where he was currently standing. Laying down jutsu traps so that he didn't have to show the seals for the technique was a technique Sasuke wouldn't put past the snake. Which meant whatever Orochimaru's plan; it involved forcing him into the tall grass… and he wasn't worried about Naruto or the fox.

"Oh, very impressive, Sasuke-kun. Such... dexterity." His tongue was running along his lips and he curled his fingers into the beginning of a jutsu. "I am pleased to see you have prepared yourself for me."

Orochimaru wasn't bothering to keep his voice low and Naruto was screaming from the sideline a series of expletives that would have been impressive under any other circumstances. His eyes were red and wild and the air around him was shifting with the suggestion of tails. Before Sasuke could stop him, he watched in disbelief as Naruto howled in fury, lifted the dead body of a cloud-nin and threw it at Orochimaru. The Sannin grinned and leapt away – leaving the impromptu weapon to crash right into a tangle of red threads that roared to life with the sounds of rushing, terrible winds. Cursing viciously, he kept his eyes on Orochimaru. He had stood in the wake of the Rasengan enough to know the feel of a wind jutsu and he curled his fingers to disappear under ground to let the gale force winds rush by him. It risked coming up to the unknown but…

The grass around Orochimaru twisted and swirled and water flowed upward in jagged spikes just as the worst of the winds ripped through the clearing. Flickering in and out of the ground, he came up in time to watch Orochimaru use Nagi to escape the ring of water.

Suiton: Suigadan… which meant…

"You're letting him too close, foolish little brother."

First, we would like to say that this chapter was a bitch. We've had 90% of it planned out for months now, but Orochimaru was being a drama queen like you would not believe and refused to be written. Couple that with a series of crazy life experiences (some good, some bad) and things just sort of stalled out. Since we have the entirety of this story planned out, it will be finished but it won't be next week when we update again. =)

Especially since, obviously, Orochimaru is in the next chapter too. Jerk.

Please Comment.