11
"Okay, so Madara said he needed you to give your eyes willingly?" Shikamaru asked.
"Yeah. Or at least, something along those lines. Not that I don't appreciate it, but I wonder why he didn't just try and take them and be done with it." Naruto said from the couch.
The group of guests that had used Tsunade's office as sleeping quarters the night before had launched into another explanation when Shikamaru had been brought into the room sometime around noon, complaining, when he saw spotted the four rogue-nin, that everything was far too troublesome.
They'd been at it for nearly six hours; Shikamaru had had Naruto explain what had happened during the fight over and over again and had asked for even the minutest of details. It was already starting to get dark.
"Well, if we assume that applies for Sasuke as well, at the very least, it means that he won't be dead by the time we get there. We all know he's stubborn as hell." After a long pause, Shikamaru turned to the busty Hokage in the chair behind her desk who was staring at him intently. He shrugged.
"Naruto's right. That's the best strategy I can think of with what we know. We should bide our time and then, when we have reinforcements, go after Sasuke."
She sighed. "Alright. Thanks Nara. We only managed to send out messengers to our allies after the battle, so they probably won't be here for a few days yet."
"So what can we do till then?! We can't just sit here!" all the current occupants of the Hokage's office- Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, Konan, Tsunade, Shikamaru, Juugo, and Suigetsu- turned to look at the source of the outburst. Karin.
"No, we can't. You're right. We can't just sit here. We can heal and train and learn all we can about Madara and the rest of the Akatsuki, most of whom I'm sure are still working under him, so that we're ready to take him down when we find him." Naruto stated in the silence that followed. "Baa-chan." Tsunade looked up at him as he continued to speak.
"I know it's not possible for these three," he gestured at Team Hawk, all of whom were sitting in the same spot they'd been last night. "Or for Konan, but, I want to know if I can be allowed to train with the Anbu until we leave. I know they've already reopened their training grounds…"
Tsunade thought about it for a moment. "Yes… I'm pretty sure I could manage that. What about you three? Sakura? Shikamaru? Kakashi-san? What do you plan to do?"
"I, for one, am going to be helping with the rebuilding of the village. It's troublesome, but we don't have a carpenter here right now and all of the blueprints were destroyed. I've read them all before and I can remember them so I have to help redraw them all." Shikamaru shrugged again and let out a tired sigh.
"That's alright. What about you two?" Tsunade looked over at Kakashi and Sakura, who were sitting on the right side of Naruto on the couch. Kakashi answered first.
"Well, I've already had Anbu training so I don't really need it, but they usually teach it one on one so… if Sakura-chan wants to train too, I can go ahead and teach her. Danzou's suspicions will fall on us if we let both of them into Anbu training at the same time."
Everyone flinched as a stream of curses flowed from Tsunade's mouth. "Damn it! I completely forgot about him. The second either he or the council finds out what we're planning we're not gonna be able to do a thing! The council's not going to let Naruto out of Konoha again without him being named as a missing-nin. There's also the fact that there are four rogue-nin in my office and I haven't made a move to report it."
At first mention of a possible road-block in their plans, Naruto had tensed up, but, caught up in her rant, Tsunade didn't notice until he spoke. His voice had become so alien that everyone's hands moved towards their weapons out of reflex.
"Those bastards can do whatever the hell they like. I'm going after Sasuke whether they like it or not. I don't care if I become a missing-nin in the process." Eight heads swiveled toward the sound of Naruto's voice. But at the same time, it wasn't his voice; all of them could hear what sounded like a second voice slipping over his normal one. They saw Naruto's clawed fingers each about a half-inch deep into the leather of the couch. His eyes, which were focused in an intense glare at the carpet in front of him, were beginning to flicker between red and their usual blue.
"We know that, Naruto." Konan, who was sitting to the left of him, put a hand on his knee and spoke in a calming voice. "We're all going to go after him. Calm down, now."
With a deep breath and what seemed like forever, Naruto's muscles began to unclench and the killing aura that had been pouring off of him lessened. Sakura let out a barely concealed sigh of relief and everyone else relaxed.
"Ah…Sorry about that. I've been a little out of sorts and Kyuu's a little worked up. Mentioning Madara, the elders, and Danzou in the same breath might not be the best idea." Naruto laughed lightly in an attempt to calm everyone down and put a hand up to scratch the back of his head. "Since Kyuu broke the seal Madara put on us we've kind of merged. Her instincts and emotions bleed over more easily now. And those three points seem to be a little sensitive for her."
"Why is that?" Shikamaru asked cautiously.
"I don't know, but it seems like it's really important.
It took a second for them to mull over the new information before Tsunade asked the question he'd been waiting for. Or questions.
"Wait, what?! How did you merge with a demon?! And why didn't you tell me sooner?" She asked worriedly.
"Because there's nothing you can do about it." Naruto answered simply. "When I broke the seal during the fight with the last Pein clone, it didn't come back. Kyuu was just there. But to break Madara's seal, she had to merge our chakra systems. It's okay, though. We've…hmm… I guess you could say that we fused. When I talked to her last night, after I first told you guys what happened with Madara, she told me that her chakra can't damage my body anymore and that all my senses have been enhanced. So don't worry, it's not a bad thing." He smiled "It's actually better because I can heal faster now and I can access her chakra supply without transforming. But she's exhausted right now. She's just dozing and listening to us."
They all looked skeptical for a moment - really, who would trust one of the tailed beasts so quickly just through someone else's words – but after a minute Tsunade hesitantly nodded her head. "Fine, if you say so…"
"Tsunade. I forgot to ask you…" Konan interrupted before the busty blonde could speak again nearly making everyone jump at the sudden urgency they heard in her voice. "Did you get the message I sent yesterday?"
"What message?" Tsunade asked, confused.
"I was afraid of that. During the fight, I snuck out a message asking for backup."
"Wait. You did that? I didn't even see it." Naruto said.
"It was right before Sasuke and Madara fought. But with all the concentration you were using for that jutsu, I would expect you hadn't noticed." Konan said in such a way that Naruto suspected she was teasing him.
"It must have been intercepted. That means that Madara definitely has at least one ally." Shikamaru said running his hand through his hair.
"I believe that he has more than one. Hoshigaki Kisame and Zetsu are likely to have joined him so that's at least three people we have to fight. He may have even found some new recruits. I'm not sure because he's been keeping his movements quiet for the past few months, but it's possible. Madara also seems to have created a small army of Zetsu clones. I'm not sure how." Konan replied.
"That's bad. We're going to have to have more than just us. We've got eight right now; that's assuming you're coming too, Konan." Shikamaru confirmed.
"Of course. But…if I may add, I don't think that the clones are active yet. When I snuck in to the room they are held to have a look at them one time, none of them were moving."
Shikamaru tapped one of his fingers on a knee. "That might be different, then. If he doesn't have very many strong ninja, we might be able to handle it with only a small group. Maybe only a few more than we have now. But we could possibly propose a mission to the council to destroy those clones as a cover for rescuing Sasuke."
"No. Not a good idea." Tsunade said. "We don't have the forces for that, and the council would want to know how we learned about the clones."
Shikamaru nodded and continued his previous train of thought.
"Well, we've got Sand reinforcements on their way to the village right now but they won't be able to spare very many ninja since they've got to protect their own border from the Ame and the Earth countries' invasions-"
"I think we can handle a bunch of amateur ninja from Earth just fine, thank you." A female's voice floated through the window behind Tsunade. A second later two ninja were standing behind Tsunade's chair. Both with their arms crossed. The leaf ninja in the room only tensed slightly, used to dramatic interruptions from the windows behind the Hokage's desk. The four rogue-nin in the room, Konan a little slower than the rest as a result of her injuries, all jumped up and donned kunai.
"Hey, hey! Wait!" Naruto shouted. He jumped in between the two groups. He was facing the two who had just arrived with a smile on his face and hands raised in a peace gesture. "Hey, Gaara! Umm… if you don't mind, can you not to kill these four? They didn't recognize you, is all."
The Kazekage didn't say anything and stared at Naruto, but Sasuke's team and Konan all flinched as they felt rough grains of sand slide from around their necks and as they watched it all flow back into the gourd strapped on the redhead's back. They shivered, knowing that their lives had just been spared. They put away their kunai in the same movement, eager to show they meant no harm.
"Naruto…" Gaara nodded his head in the blond's direction in greeting and then turned towards the Godaime Hokage. "Tsunade… may I ask why there are four rogue ninja in your office?"
She laughed uneasily. "Well, those three over there, they're Team Hawk, Uchiha Sasuke's team. And that woman over there is Konan. She helped Naruto when Uchiha Madara attacked him."
"And why are they here?" He asked again in the same monotone voice.
Naruto interrupted before Tsunade could and Gaara turned back to look at him. The hardness in the blond's voice caught the attention of everyone in the room. None of them had really ever heard Naruto speak one hundred percent seriously, leaving off, of course, the incident not minutes before, when the Kyuubi's emotions had apparently taken over. Besides, this was more like one hundred and twenty percent.
"Sasuke came back to the village to help me escape a trap laid by a man named Uchiha Madara with his team. Konan was originally part of the Akatsuki, but after the attack that they launched on Konoha and after Pein revived our ninja, she changed allegiances. However, when Madara left, he took Sasuke with him. Now we are planning on going after them. That is why they are here."
"I see." Gaara replied. He stared at Naruto for a quiet moment and Naruto held his gaze. "You're slipping." Questioning gazes were directed at the two of them but they both ignored them. Naruto sighed and averted his gaze.
"I know, but I don't really care at this particular moment. Regardless, we were wondering whether you would send someone with us when we leave to search for Sasuke." Naruto brushed the topic away easily, redirecting everyone's focus.
It was Temari who spoke this time.
"Well, duh! That's why we came! We figured something major had happened when you sent an urgent message to the midpoint village between Sand and Konoha. Me, Gaara, and Kankuro were there making sure they weren't slacking off down there when it came in. Gaara insisted on coming so we left Kankuro in his place and came-"
She was cut off when Gaara glared at her. "Temari and I will come with you." He restated what she'd said (in many less words). He stated it in such a tone of finality that no one mentioned the fact that he held the position of Kazekage and really shouldn't be going at all.
"Thanks, Gaara!" Naruto jumped up from the couch and ran around Tsunade's desk to hug the redhead. Everyone flinched, thinking Gaara would kill Naruto for the violation of personal space (what with the 'unapproachable killer' aura that surrounded him), but the man just stood there and nodded.
"Of course"
Tsunade stared at the scene with a very surprised expression, which let the rogue-nin in the room know exactly how unprecedented such actions were, and then shook her head as if to clear it. "Okay, well, now we have ten members for the team. Should that be enough, Shikamaru?"
The brunette was silent as everyone looked at him. He closed his eyes and, a moment later, he slowly nodded his head in affirmative.
"Yeah, ten should work. There should be at least three Akatsuki members. If two of ours go up against each one of theirs, then we'll still have four fresh members on our side if anything unexpected happens. Plus we'll have two medic ninja. I think we should do some group training so we can get to learn each other's fighting styles. We can leave in at least two weeks."
"Can we trust them?" Temari asked bluntly, eyeing each of the four rogue ninja in turn as her gaze swept the room. Everyone else turned to look at Naruto pointedly. He wasted no time in answering the question.
"They wouldn't be here right now if we couldn't trust them. Sasuke trusts Team Hawk with his life and I trust Sasuke and Konan with my own."
"That's good enough for me." Kakashi said, smiling through his mask. "Shall we start training in groups tomorrow, then?"
Tsunade leaned forward in her chair and, elbows on the desk in front of her; she put her head in her hands. After about a minute of silence, she looked up again and answered the question that had been directed at her.
"Yes. But you and Sakura should train together by yourselves afterwards since the Anbu training takes a lot of concentration: we can't risk her joining the Anbu along with Naruto and having the council's and Danzou's suspicions drawn to us. I'll speak to my Anbu captain and see what we can do about his training.
"Until then, Naruto can train with Team Hawk, Konan, Gaara, and Temari at my training grounds. And, Shikamaru, see if you can't put a rush on drawing out those blueprints for the villagers so that you can join them." Tsunade addressed Shikamaru as if in afterthought.
"I'll try, but it will take a week at the least."
"Alright." She sighed. "It's getting late. Gaara and Temari can stay in the rooms reserved for visiting Kage. Sakura, Shikamaru, and Kakashi. I don't believe your houses were destroyed in the blast, am I correct?" All three nodded.
"You'll be fine then. Naruto, I know your home was right in the central area of the blast. And Konan, Suigetsu, Juugo, and Karin don't have lodging, for obvious reasons. I think you five can stay in the Uchiha estate for the time being. I'm sure the brat won't mind, since you're going to rescue him. It should be livable and no one should suspect anyone is there, either. Danzou won't know you four are in the village unless you do something stupid." She gave them all a look that told them clearly not to do anything stupid.
"And, at that, I shall take my leave!" Kakashi stated, just before jumping out of the open window behind Tsunade, attracting Tsunade's glare.
"Okay, well, um, goodnight everyone." Said Sakura, following her old sensei's lead, although she used the doorway for fear of attracting her teacher's wrath.
"Bye, guys! See ya tomorrow!" Temari dragged Gaara from the room, ignoring the glares aimed at her back by said redhead.
"Ahh… so troublesome… g'night." Shikamaru slunk after the Kazekage and his sister, yawning all the way.
After their departures, only Naruto, the Hokage, Sasuke's team, and Konan were left in the large office. Naruto walked around to stand in front of Tsunade's desk.
"I've been meaning to ask you something, Baa-chan. Did the Fourth leave anything for me? A journal or the like?"
Tsunade shook her head sadly. "Not anything that anyone could find, and not for lack of trying. But he could have just hidden it very well for all I know. Minato and Kushina were like children to me and Jiraiya. I loved them and miss them to this day. You look so much like your father that I find it amazing no one's made the connection yet. But only Jiraiya, the Sandaime Hokage, and I knew your parentage. Surprisingly, all your birth records and Kushina's records have disappeared, which would be why no one ever traced your mother's maiden name to you. I suspect it was Sarutobi's doing."
Naruto scowled for a moment then sighed. "I want you to tell me about them after we bring Sasuke back. Until then I'll spend some time in Konoha's Kekkei Genkai records, and see if there's anything about mine in there."
"Of course. Just be careful. Danzou and the elders will try to get anything on you that they can, and if you're caught researching them when you don't have a reason to, from their perspective, they'll have you thrown into a jail cell as a suspected traitor and I won't be able to do a thing about it."
"Yeah, I know, Baa-chan, I'll be careful. I'll come see you after our training tomorrow morning so you can tell me when I can start Anbu training. Bye! Come on guys, I'll show you where Sasuke's house is. It's not too far from here. I've only been there once, myself, and Sasuke showed me around. It's huge!" Naruto jumped out the window while still talking. Konan and Sasuke's team, after saying their farewells, followed.
Tsunade leaned back in her chair and laid a wrist over her eyes. She let out a long tired sigh.
"I really need some sake."