19

Tsunade had been bombarded with paperwork the moment she returned to her office from the hospital, and she'd been reading and signing them for hours. She was tired, but she was happy with how everything had turned out. Naruto was safe and Jiraiya had practically come back from the dead. Most of her ninja actually had come back from the dead. Her village was well on its way to being rebuilt and being even more magnificent than before, especially with the helpful artisans Gaara had sent for the same day he'd arrived in Konoha.

The only things that put a dent in her good mood were the deaths of the regular villagers and Sasuke's abduction.

A mass funeral had been performed early the previous morning, which she had presided over. She was sad to see the loss of so many good people that she had seen and talked to most every day. She wondered how anyone could truly want to be Hokage with all the responsibility it gave. Then she wondered if Naruto, the little twerp, knew what he would be getting himself if he still planned to take the job.

And the other thing, Sasuke's abduction… She didn't feel too much in particular about it herself. She'd never known the boy. But she was very thankful to him for trying to protect Naruto, even though he'd hurt the blond plenty all by himself. And she knew Naruto must have been beside himself with worry, even if he didn't show it. That was the main reason she was supporting the mission that Naruto and the rest of his new allies had planned. The other reason, the one she would present to the council if they ever got word of the mission, was that they would get revenge for the village by killing Madara. The council would have a fit.

Signing what must have been the two hundredth paper, Tsunade threw her pen across the room in a sudden fit of anger. Why did she even have to come up with a cover story for something that should be done for its own sake? The council was just made up of a group of old bats that needed to find a cave to hide in, or die in.

But Danzou…him she worried about.

He had more influence than she did on the council. She could even say that he controlled it. And with his secret ANBU Root group…well, he could overturn just about any mission that she assigned if he found out about it. Just by saying that his ninja were better suited for it. And she didn't have enough power to get rid of those ninja simply because of the fact that they provided results.

She pushed her chair away from her desk and stood up abruptly. She opened one of the bottom drawers in the desk and pulled a miniature bottle of sake from it, something that she'd managed to hide from Shizune for a while. She tipped it down quickly enough and laid down on one of her couches, crossing her legs at the ankles.

She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing, trying to calm down enough to take a quick nap before she got back to work.

xXx

When she next opened her eyes, Tsunade's senses were on high alert. She didn't open her eyes, but she extended her senses to examine her surroundings. Her ears strained to hear any suspicious noise, but she couldn't hear anything. But, then again, that didn't mean anything. She lived in a world of ninja, after all. She could practically feel another presence in the room with her. The feeling of danger was palpable.

"Tsunade. I thought I'd pay you a visit to see how you were. I was beginning to think you were overtaxing yourself, planning such an important mission."

Her heart sank. Nothing good would come from this particular visit.

Nothing at all.

xXx

Naruto could have walked down the streets whistling in happiness had it not been for the still-sober setting in the village. It was still early- the sun was only beginning to peek up from behind the trees- but he expected Tsunade would already be awake and hard at work. On his way to see her, he could barely contain his excitement. And he felt so full of energy that he could run all the way to meet Sasuke at their old training ground without a single stop.

He was happy to know that all their planning was to go down the drain. There would be no need to risk the lives of good ninja now. He swore to himself that, if the letter was proven for sure not to be a trap, he would personally thank the ninja that had gotten Sasuke away from the clutches of Madara. As glad as he was now, though, he thought he might actually hug him, too.

He lost track of time as he thought of what he would say to Sasuke when he met him again, and before he knew it, Naruto stood at the double doors that lead to the Hokage's office. His hand poised to knock, he suddenly heard raised voices coming from behind them. He sighed, not recognizing the voices at first. He'd only wanted to come tell Granny Tsunade that they'd be leaving to meet Sasuke soon and then head off to make preparations to leave. He was sure she'd be glad to hear that their elaborate mission plan was completely unnecessary, but for now he'd have to wait until she was done with her meeting.

He reminded himself that he'd have to go talk to Kakashi and Jiraiya after talking to her and his mood sunk at having to delay his departure for even a minute longer.

He settled in to lean against the wall next to the doors of the hokage's office, scowling before closing his eyes and focusing his attention on the voices inside the room. He figured, if they wanted to raise their voices, they could provide entertainment for his wait. He couldn't tell exactly what the people in the room were saying, even though he knew their voices were raised, but then, he had a solution for that.

True to what he had told everyone earlier, when Kyuubi had merged their chakra systems together, his senses had improved. Not in the sense that anything was stronger, no, it wasn't that simple. Rather, he could tell exactly what ingredients had been used to make a certain meal, or differentiate specific smells from one another easily. He'd practically been turned into a human tracker dog.

But hearing…well, that was the most improved.

If he focused, which was what he was doing now, he could ignore all the soft, continuous background noises that were always present around a person and focus in on a specific area to listen in on. It didn't make what he was listening to any louder, but it clarified the sound, bringing it into focus. If he had any say in it, this was definitely the most useful ability to have if you were a ninja, not to mention fun. Oh, the things he could listen in on. Naruto could see all the havoc he could cause now and it made him grin.

As the voices in the room became less muffled, though, Naruto's grin dropped from his face. There was no one in the hall with him, which was probably good, considering what he was suddenly hearing from the mouths of three of the most important parental figures in his life.

He could now identify who the voices belonged to. One, of course, belonged to Tsunade. The other two people, however, surprised him. They belonged to the very two people he'd meant to find after speaking to Tsunade; Kakashi and Jiraiya. Considering the fact that Kakashi of all people had his voice raised, it must be a very important argument.

He was tempted to check the room over with his chakra sensing abilities, but he remembered reading in a book once that the Hokage's office was invulnerable to any reconnaissance abilities. And any attempt would be picked up and would set off alarms. He certainly didn't want that. Though it would be helpful to know if any other people were in the room.

Finally, seconds after he identified the voices, they came into clear focus and he could make out what they were saying.

"-Tsunade? You know how Orochimaru was! And you can't blame him for wanting revenge. Orochimaru was offering to grant his life's goal! To make him stronger! That's every ninja's goal!" Jiraiya shouted. Naruto stopped breathing for a moment. They were speaking about Sasuke. There wasn't anyone else they could be talking about.

"I realize that, Jiraiya, but you know the laws. I can't let the brat off easy. The best thing I can do is to give him the death sentence. That would be better than life in prison, and you know it! Those are the only options, unless he plans to run all his life."

"That would certainly be better than returning here!" Naruto was surprised to hear the vicious tone from Kakashi's mouth, speaking so loudly and angrily. The man always kept his cool. "This is ridiculous! You can give his team pardons but not him?!"

"They helped save the village-"

"And he helped save Naruto, Tsunade! He made a mistake, damn it! He's more than made up for it." Jiraiya practically spat.

"He nearly killed Naruto, too, if I remember correctly. Besides, the villages are pushing for-"

"So you're doing this for the other villages?! What of our own! Are we not supposed to protect our own?! I never thought you were so shallow!" Kakashi said.

"I AM THE HOKAGE!" the voices in the room were silenced immediately. "I am the one to make these decisions whether you like it or not! The elders agree with me. If Sasuke is captured within the Fire country, he WILL be sentenced to death. Is that understood?"

There was silence.

"What of his brother, Itachi?" was the question asked by Sai, which made Naruto jump out of the stillness he had suddenly adopted.

"As he can no longer manipulate his chakras and is one of the last three in his line, Itachi will be put on house arrest for an undetermined amount of time. He will be expected to take a wife and continue his line to keep the Sharingan alive. He cannot and will not be reinstated as a ninja. Now. Are my orders understood?" Her voice was hard, almost alien to Naruto's ears. Something itched at the back of his mind, but he couldn't follow his thoughts out of the stupor he had fallen into.

More silence.

"Understood…Lady Hokage." Came the replies of Jiraiya and Kakashi. They sounded like they wanted no more than to overturn the woman's position right then and there.

At that moment, Naruto's eyes snapped open and his hearing returned to normal. He heard a growl that didn't belong to him and that he was sure hadn't been heard by anyone besides him. He shoved himself away from the wall he was still leaned against and gripped the handles of both double doors in his now-clawed hands. Without hesitation, he flung the doors open wide.

He heard the crack of what must have been the door's lock as it broke unceremoniously against his strength. And, though he was sure he must have made an impressive figure as he strode in, he took advantage of the inhabitants' shock at his entrance and slammed the flat of his hand against Tsunade's desk. Out of the corners of his eyes, he saw Jiraiya and Kakashi inch away from him. He saw Sai, the duty-bound fool that he was, inch forward uncertainly, as if to protect Tsunade.

As he stared into the eyes of the woman in front of him, he was surprised to see the lack of fear, or even wariness. Instead, her face was…hard. Just like her voice had been before. There was no remorse, no sadness in her expression. She only looked calmly into his eyes.

Taking a quick survey of the room, Naruto gathered the expressions of the other three men in the room. Jiraiya's face revealed shock and worry, but Kakashi's blatant anger was all pushed into the glare he directed towards Tsunade. Sai's face was blank as always, but Naruto noted that Sai hadn't answered Tsunade's forceful question before, assuming he had been a part of the argument, so maybe the man was on his side after all.

He mentally shook his head and focused back in on Tsunade. She almost looked startled at the return of his, perhaps unwelcome, attention. He knew, after all, that his demonic cloak, Kyuubi's chakra, was beginning to form around him, making an aura of dark, red-orange light around him. And his eyes must have turned into the feral slits that so unsettled others.

"Tell me now if what I just heard was the truth, Tsunade." Naruto leveled his gaze at her, a demonic voice bleeding into his own, hinting at the power he now held. She looked down at her hands, unable to lock eyes with a demon.

"It was."

"When were you going to tell me?" The corners of his lips pulled back, revealing sharpened canines.

"I wasn't."

"You were going to have me go to Sasuke and bring him back to meet his death." It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

Naruto watched her face with a predatory glare. "I trusted you. Even Sasuke trusted you. You promised you would help us." She didn't say a word. Naruto knew she wouldn't. "Add me to your list of missing-nin."

"Why?" She must have known why. She wasn't stupid. Her eyes rose to meet his, and this time they held his biting gaze. Naruto turned around before he could lose his temper.

"I can now be accused of aiding and abetting a known criminal." As he turned around, he gave a decisive nod to Kakashi and Jiraiya. They both had pained looks on their faces. He knew they wanted to join him, but they had too much to live for in the village, too much to give up on. He turned to his teammate.

"Why are you giving me that look? I'm coming with you." The man said in reply to his glance-over. Naruto studied Sai, who had almost a smile on his face, and nodded slowly.

"Naruto…" Tsunade said, catching his attention.

"What Tsunade?" he indulged the woman, having acknowledged that the only reason he had not ripped her throat out was that he, in a very tiny portion of his heart, still cared for her.

"As there is no evidence yet that you have helped Sasuke, I cannot put you on that list. However, the next time you are seen anywhere near Sasuke, you will be labeled as a rogue ninja." She said formally. Naruto snorted and, with a nod turned and spoke to Sai. "Meet me at the Uchiha compound."

Sai nodded then. Naruto disappeared from the room the next second.

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade for a long, hard, second. "I don't know what made you do this, but you're a fool, and you've attracted a fool's enemies." Then he turned and followed Naruto's example with Kakashi on his heels.

With that, Tsunade was finally left alone in her office, her chin resting on her hands, which were propped up on her desk. Her hard expression withered, crumbling into a look of complete heartbreak. One of her hands slid down to clutch at her heart and tears slid down her cheeks to drop to her desk. She squeezed her eyes closed, hoarsely mumbling into the still silence of the room.

"Indeed. A fool I am. But the fool's choice was the only choice I had to make. He would have died if he'd stayed, taking the village along with him. I'm just sorry that I had to threaten Sasuke's life to make him leave."

xXx

The forest around him flashed by in blurs as he jumped from tree to tree, not entirely caused by the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. Betrayed. They'd been betrayed. She said she would help him. She lied. But why? What reason did she have to do it? What use could Sasuke's death possibly serve?

A huge snake reared from its hiding place suddenly from Naruto's right. It went to strike. The next moment, its body fell in pieces to the ground, Naruto having never paused for a second.

Kit. You can't do this to yourself! You need your strength. Go find the others and tell them what you learned. They need to know. From there we can figure out what to do.His demon's voice was calm, though there was a slight growling edge to the words. He couldn't help but manage a small smile at her protectiveness

Kyuu… The nickname, even in his own mind, came out like a whimper. I'm afraid I won't be able to control my temper. What if I hurt them?

The only reason you hurt others in the past is because I wanted to hurt them. Because I wanted out. Now, I don't want out. I can't get out. The only way you will hurt them is if you want to hurt them.

But…I think I almost hurt Tsunade.

Because you wanted to.

Silence.

Stop running around in circles trying to burn off your temper and go find them. We should go find Sasuke before he leaves the Wave Country.

Fine. Naruto forced his fists to unclench and slowly turned back towards Konoha.

xXx

"Tsunade is prepared to offer all of you pardons. If you go with me, you'll be giving that up." Naruto warned finally after a brisk retelling of his experience in Tsunade's office.

"We'll go with you, of course." Konan stated firmly. The others around the table nodded. Suigetsu looked furious, and so did Juugo, which would have worried Naruto had he not grappled with Juugo's demon only two days ago. Konan and Karin actually seemed as if they were about to go and attack Tsunade themselves. Itachi stood up without saying anything.

"What about you, Itachi?" Naruto asked.

"I'm going to pack. If I'm not going to be coming back, I want to take some things with me." He said in his calm voice. Naruto smiled, but then frowned as he remembered something.

"But it'll be dangerous." Itachi turned back with a raised eyebrow. Naruto elaborated, recalling his surprise when Itachi had told Tsunade that he no longer had access to his chakra; it had been not long after he'd showed up in Jiraiya's room in the hospital. "I thought you couldn't manipulate your chakra." Itachi smirked.

"Just because I told her that does not mean it's true. How else would I escape persecution? Did you think she would let me roam around with the ability to kill anyone anytime I wanted?"

Naruto held his hands up in a sign of submission, a small smile playing on his lips. At least that was one thing they had that Konoha wouldn't know. "Just wondering." As the Uchiha continued out of the room, Naruto turned back to the rest of the people grouped in the kitchen.

"I think we should all follow Itachi's example. I want to leave as soon as possible and I have to get some things for Sasuke, too."

They all dispersed to their personal rooms.

xXx

Altogether, in their large group of seven, with the addition of Sai, they left the gates of Konoha not an hour after Naruto brought them the news of Tsunade's betrayal. Itachi had been kind enough to get Anbu masks for all of them to use to cover their features. It turned out that he had had a stash of them in his room in case his own had gotten messed up. They each wore a different mask.

Itachi wore his original raven mask. He had handed Naruto a mask that resembled the face of a fox. They'd both thought it rather ironic. Konan wore a Noh mask. There was no painting on it whatsoever, but it was sculpted into a woman's face, which fit her well. Naruto noticed that Karin and Suigetsu had received similar masks, both resembling deer, but with hers more feminine while his was more angular and strong. Juugo wore the mask of a bear. Sai had met up with them not long before they'd left the Uchiha compound with his own ANBU mask in place, having had the same idea as them. The less people who knew who they were and where they were going, the better.

They were met at the gates by seven more people. Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Sakura, Shikamaru, Gaara, and Temari. Naruto completely ignored everyone else and stepped up to Gaara. Sliding his mask to the side of his head, Naruto smiled at the redhead. Not a second later, he was gripped in a tight hug, the Kazekage's arms around him.

"You're a fool."

"I know."

"If you ever need any help…"

"I know… Thank you."

The two parted, conscious of the stares that had been directed at them, but uncaring. Moving down the line, Naruto was slapped upside the head by both Sakura and Temari as they came up to him, then they both threw their arms around him, crushing him with all their strength, knowing they wouldn't see his again for a long time. Naruto did his best to return the motion.

When he was again released, his senseis both converged on him. Kakashi and him both locked eyes for a long moment and then the man held out two long, thin packages. When Naruto gave him a questioning glance, Kakashi explained. They're for you and Sasuke. Open yours once you're gone. Give the other to him when you rescue him. I'm just sorry I didn't work up the nerve to give them to the both of you sooner." Naruto blinked, remembering that everyone but the ones leaving with him still thought Sasuke was a captive of Madara. All the better, he supposed.

He registered the last of Kakashi's words, and the odd ring they held. He would never have accused Hatake Kakashi of lacking nerve.

"…Thank you, Sensei." Kakashi just nodded and backed away. A sorrowful, still-angry look was evident in his eyes.

"Don't forget about me!" Naruto found himself the object of a crushing hug from the overactive toad sage. A whisper met his ear. "Keep in touch. I will come meet you when I can. You are my godson, after all."

Naruto jolted back with wide eyes. Jiraiya nodded. "It's true. Here, I have a gift, too." He held out a large scroll for the blond to take. When he did so, Jiraiya spoke again. "I thought I'd wait until your eighteenth birthday to give you these, but it just didn't work out that way. This holds your father's journals, and his summoning contract. I trust you'll have some use for them?" Naruto's mouth opened and closed a few times before anything came out. "Thank you. You have no idea…" He trailed off, shocked out of words.

"Naruto." Itachi's voice met his ears. He looked back at his group, who were all standing off to the side together, having no reason to speak with the people who had gathered to see them off. "We have to go. Before someone changes their mind." There was no little hostility in the words that were obviously directed at Tsunade. The woman just kept watching them, not saying a word. Naruto dug in his pocket for a moment and then approached her. Seeing what he held out to her, Tsunade shook her head. She pushed the small crystal necklace back towards him.

"Please." The first words she'd said yet. They were strangled, as if caught in her throat. "Keep it."

"I can no longer be Hokage." The words seemed to physically strike at Tsunade.

"Keep it." She repeated firmly. Naruto nodded after looking into her face, searching it for answers. He found nothing. He backed up to stand with Sasuke's team, Sai, Itachi, and Konan and slid his mask back into place.

"Goodbye."

He walked out the gates of Konoha, fully expecting to never see it or its inhabitants ever again. Strangely, he didn't falter.

He felt lighter than ever.