2
Extending out below Tsunade were the remains of her beloved village. Where once there had been large groups of homes and shops, there was now a gargantuan crater. The battle was thankfully over, but she was preoccupied by thoughts of how much damage had been caused in the attack that had only lasted two hours at most.
Only a quarter of the ninja she had sent to counter the attack by Akatsuki and Sound had been found and all of them were injured. Thankfully, the Sound ninja and the minor hidden villages' shinobi had been eradicated quickly, but the Akatsuki, or at least what remained of it, had wrought havoc.
Their attackers had first been spotted shortly after noon. There had been four figures in black cloaks with red clouds standing at the head of the small army just outside the forest of trees that Konoha was nestled in. Tobi, Zetsu and Kisame were the first to be recognized right off as they had been described from various encounters with Leaf shinobi. When five figures, who looked very similar to the fourth Akatsuki member standing to the right of Tobi, suddenly appeared in different areas of the village at the same time, it was assumed that he was Pein, who Jiraiya had warned them about shortly before his death.
The forces led by the Akatsuki attacked sloppily and at random, and caused a great deal of damage on their own, but after Pein created the crater she now stood over, the other three - Kisame, Zetsu, and Tobi - all suddenly disappeared from the battle field.
Her summons, Katsuyu, informed her that many of her ninja had lost their lives in the attack that caused the central district of Konoha to be obliterated. Suddenly filled with rage after hearing of this, she'd decided to take action. Tsunade had gone herself to confront Pein even though she had spent nearly all of her chakra sending it to Katsuyu to help heal anyone she could. She knew she was being foolish, but she needed to do something, frustrated at the feeling of helplessness that had washed over her. When she'd come face to face with him, he had questioned her and apparently she'd aggravated him by not telling him where Naruto was.
To be short, one of the Peins rushed at her, and, at the very same moment, Naruto appeared.
The blond had grown stronger… so much so that he had crushed the first Pein in one blow. After that, he'd convinced her, without much trouble, to stand down, and he'd proceeded to take on the rest of the Peins by himself. She had looked on in amazement from the place she'd taken atop Hokage Tower, which had amazingly remained intact. In a matter of a few minutes, and with the help of some of his toad summons, Naruto had taken out all but the final Pein.
After trading a few blows and, of course, quite a few Rasengans, Pein seemed to become impatient and, as she felt a huge blast of chakra, Naruto, along with much of the ground he'd been standing on, was sucked towards an enormous sphere in the sky that was being built of surrounding debris. And then, she'd watched, transfixed in horror as she felt the chakra of the Kyuubi burst through its seal and Naruto began to transform into the Demon-Fox. The fox tails began to form and she cringed as she saw the skin peeling from Naruto's body.
She had nearly collapsed from the feeling of despair that had filled her. That Konoha had nearly survived two great attacks only to be ravaged again by the Demon-Fox was something she couldn't bear to think about. If the demon escaped, there would be no stopping it.
But then, just as the ninth tail was about to emerge, the chakra surrounding Naruto contracted suddenly, leaving a whole and fully healed, Naruto in its place. She couldn't see his face from where she stood on the ruins of Hokage tower, of course, but she could feel his chakra and she'd known he was mad. She'd suddenly felt very light-hearted and cheered for him at the top of her lungs.
And only moments later, Naruto had finished the battle with a huge Rasen Shuriken, surprising his enemy and destroying any chance that Pein might still be able to move. He stood over what remained of Pein for a while until he began to walk away from the huge crater and from the village. She tried to go after him but her legs failed her and she was caught by the Anbu that was standing close behind her.
"Tsunade-sama, I think he needs to deal with whatever else he has to on his own. He'll be back if he has to crawl here." Sai lifted his mask and smiled. "Besides, you're needed here."
Tsunade stared at Sai for a moment then nodded. The two of them watched Naruto disappear into the forest surrounding what remained of Konoha, never once looking back. Regardless of Sai's statement, Tsunade felt like something bad was going to happen soon. Looking at her newly wrinkled hand, she thought to herself:
And I don't think I'll be able to do anything to stop it.
xXx
Sasuke darted through the village searching for the blond.
He and his team had arrived during the end of the fight between Pein and Naruto and had been able to see it from the hill they'd arrived at, but he hadn't been able to make it in time to intervene, though he'd rushed to the site of the battle. He'd only just been able to witness Naruto push back the influence of the Demon-Fox's chakra and the massive attack Naruto had finished Pein off with, yet he had still been almost a mile away. He'd wondered at what the attack had been but he'd pushed back his curiosity when he realized that Naruto had left the battlefield.
As he searched, Sasuke saw the many ruins. He averted his eyes as he saw the bodies, some of them crushed under the fallen houses and some burned beyond recognition. Finally, however, he reached the outskirts of the gigantic crater that now occupied most of Konoha. Regardless of what had caused the crater, nothing in the immediate area had survived; there were no plants or houses, only rock and rubble.
Looking away from ruins, the first thing that entered his sight was the monument that was carved into the side of the mountains surrounding Konoha, depicting the previous Hokages, which had miraculously survived the onslaught. The very next thing he noticed was a figure standing atop Hokage tower. Looking more closely, he found that the figure was indeed the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. She was staring at him, apparently recognizing him.
Sasuke thought for a moment. He had no idea where Naruto had gone, so maybe it was time to pay a visit to the Fifth Hokage.
xXx
She was extremely annoyed.
She'd been staring at the spot where Naruto had disappeared from; thinking about what she should do now that everything had quieted down and was being brought under control. Then, she'd seen, movement out of the corner of her eye. She directed her gaze towards it and scowled in surprised recognition.
"Uchiha..." She growled and glared at him though she was pretty sure he could not see it. She kept the look in place; just in case. The reason? She just didn't like the brat.
The Uchiha had abandoned the village for nothing more than power. That was enough reason to dislike him on its own merit, but then he had hurt Naruto. That simply wasn't acceptable.
She saw Sasuke notice her presence atop the tower and watched as he dodged his way through the rubble of Konoha towards her. Too soon, she was face-to-face with the arrogant brat.
"Tsunade…" Sasuke acknowledged her with a nod of the head. She didn't remember ever meeting him before, but Orochimaru must have told him about her.
"What are you doing here? Did you have a part in this?" She questioned harshly as she gestured at the village below them.
xXx
A flash of anger washed through him, but he managed to keep any expression of it from reaching his face.
"You honestly think that I would come back only to destroy my home? You must really hate me." Sasuke scowled suddenly. There was no time for this. "But no, I only just got here. My brother, Itachi, informed me that there would be an attack on Konoha led by Madara."
"Madara? Uchiha Madara? I thought he was dead." Tsunade answered back.
"I thought so, too, but, apparently, he has the ability to use a higher level soul transfer than even Orochimaru."
"And where did you learn that from, Uchiha-gaki?"
"Itachi told me." Sasuke answered simply, ignoring her use of his name.
"So where is Itachi? And why would he tell you this? Wasn't he working with the Akatsuki who just attacked our home?"
"I don't have to tell you anything and we don't have the time for it! Where is Naruto? He is the one that Madara is targeting."
"What?!" Tsunade asked, surprised. "Why?"
Sasuke sighed and shook his head, looking exasperated, like it was obvious. "What else would he want the dobe for? Madara wants the Kyuubi. Now, where. Is. He?" He emphasized harshly.
"He left a little while ago after his battle with Pein and went that way," She pointed, disgruntled, in the direction that Naruto had disappeared in. "But I don't know where he was going."
"Damn it! I'm too late." Sasuke began to run and just as he was preparing to jump to the roof of a house that had miraculously escaped destruction, he paused.
"My team is in Konoha, searching for survivors. Try not to kill them." Tsunade nodded.
Then, Sasuke turned to chase after Naruto in the direction Tsunade had given him. He felt great irony in the situation and the fact that he was the one chasing Naruto this time and not the other way around. But he felt he now had a glimpse of how Naruto had felt for all these years.
Helpless.