Greetings!
No, you're not seeing things; this really is the next chapter. It's hard to believe, I know, but cliffhangers make me want to write the next chapter as much as they make you want to read it, so here it is.
Reviews: Thank you as always to everyone that leaves a review. My muse really appreciates the sustenance.
Warnings: I forgot to put up a warning for the last chapter, so forgive me for that. This chapter is fairly warning-free.
As always, enjoy!
Posted: 5/17/07
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Chapter 8: Politics
Shikamaru was pulled from a very relaxing sleep when he felt a trace of chakra very near him. He was out of bed in seconds, immediately alert and searching for the owner of the chakra. After a few minutes of concentrating on his surroundings, Shikamaru didn't feel anything else out of the ordinary, nor could he hear or see anyone attempting to get into his apartment. There was something familiar about the chakra he'd felt, and Shikamaru realized with a start that the man it belonged to was probably not in his vicinity. Naruto didn't make it a habit to make late night visits, and on the rare occasion that he needed to talk to Shikamaru badly enough that it required an unexpected visit, the blonde would announce himself with a knock on the window, not with his chakra. Something was wrong if Naruto was projecting his chakra enough to reach him, and Shikamaru was not about to wait around until morning to find out.
He was dressed and racing towards Naruto's apartment in minutes. He had almost reached it when Shikamaru felt four chakra signatures heading in the opposite direction. He stopped and concentrated on the signatures, his shoulders tense and hands close to his weapons pouch in case the chakra belonged to intruders. Shikamaru relaxed slightly, but not completely, when he realized that the chakra belonged to Konoha citizens. The first one he made out was the Hokage's normally soothing chakra. She was agitated about something, but Shikamaru wasn't about to stop her and ask what it was. Once he had recognized the Hokage, Shizune's similar chakra signature made itself clear to the young man. Jiraiya's chakra came next, strong and steady, as it always was. The fourth was a bit harder for Shikamaru to distinguish. It was familiar, strong and wild like fire, but was tainted with something darker and more sinister. Shuddering, Shikamaru realized that it was Sasuke's chakra. He couldn't feel Naruto's chakra among them, however. If they'd just come from Naruto's apartment, then they'd left the blonde behind.
Shikamaru resumed his run and reached the small apartment moments later. The front door had been kicked down, and Shikamaru could feel three of his fellow ANBU already inside the apartment. He still didn't feel Naruto's chakra, however, which further confused the young man. If Naruto wasn't with the Hokage and he wasn't at his apartment, where was he? Shikamaru had a bad feeling that he wasn't going to like the answer.
"You're out of uniform," one of the ANBU, who Shikamaru recognized as a relatively new member, said to him as he stepped into the living room.
"I didn't come in an official capacity," Shikamaru replied. "I came to see why my friend was distressed."
"I don't know why you bother," the man said.
Shikamaru could almost feel the sneer on the ANBU's face, though he couldn't see it under the mask. Not everyone thought that Naruto should have friends, much less friends in high places, which led to jealousy and hatred. Shikamaru had learned early on in their friendship that if Naruto didn't care, or could let it go, then he should do the same, so as much as he'd like to bash heads every time he heard a rude comment, Shikamaru refrained and just ignored them.
"What happened?" Shikamaru asked the man. Even if he was out of uniform, Shikamaru still outranked him.
"We got here after it was all over, but apparently three ninja from Kirigakure broke into Uzumaki's apartment and tried to kill him," the man said. "The Hokage didn't tell us much more than that."
"What?" Shikamaru said before he could stop himself. That was not what he expected to hear. Kirigakure's plan to invade Konoha was just a rumor, wasn't it?
"Uzumaki and Uchiha had killed two of the ninja by the time we arrived. The only one that was left alive is right over there," the man added and pointed behind him, where Shikamaru could now see the ninja, his forehead protector clearly identifying him as a ninja from Kirigakure. The black cloak hid a lot of the man's injuries, but Shikamaru's trained eye could easily see the darker patches where blood had seeped into the coat.
"Where is Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, already dreading the answer. One did not come to a friend's apartment in the middle of the night to find two dead and one unconscious ninja and expect to get good news.
"He looked pretty bad when the Hokage left here with him," the man replied.
"But…" Shikamaru caught himself before he voiced the thought.
He hadn't felt Naruto's chakra when he felt the Hokage's. Naruto had such unique chakra, and in such a great amount, that he couldn't have missed it, especially if Naruto was injured and wasn't consciously controlling it. He'd felt Naruto's chakra all the way to his apartment, so why hadn't Shikamaru been able to feel it when he'd been mere meters away? Did that mean that Naruto was dead?"
"I don't think he was dead," said another ANBU, and Shikamaru turned to see the man standing at the door to Naruto's bedroom, unnerved that his thoughts were so transparent. "The Hokage was pretty eager to get him back to the hospital."
"What are your orders?" Shikamaru asked.
"We're supposed to take the dead bodies to the morgue, and take the one that's still alive to be interrogated," the same man answered.
"Then do so," Shikamaru said, his voice harsher than he'd intended. "You don't need to be loitering in the apartment."
The ANBU lowered his head a fraction in acknowledgement and gave the other two quick orders on how to carry the ninja out of the apartment. In minutes, they were gone, leaving Shikamaru alone in the mess that was Naruto's apartment.
"Ninja from Kirigakure," Shikamaru said to himself, "that can only mean trouble."
He entered Naruto's bedroom first and immediately noticed the dresser that had been blown up. It was a small miracle that the explosion hadn't caught the entire place on fire. On the wall opposite the dresser, Shikamaru could see streaks of blood where a body had hit and then slid down the wall. Blood had pooled, and then congealed, on the floor where the ninja had landed.
A glint on the floor, underneath a bloody comforter, caught Shikamaru's eye. It was caught on the bedding, and it took Shikamaru a bit to work it free. When he'd managed, he was left holding Naruto's sword. Shikamaru's lips quirked up into a small smile as he remembered the look on Naruto's face when Jiraiya had presented him with it. It had belonged to the Fourth Hokage, and Jiraiya had said that he felt Naruto was ready to both care for and handle it. Naruto's face had flushed in embarrassment at the compliment, before he'd sheepishly admitted that he knew very little about sword fighting. An argument between Jiraiya and Naruto had ensued, with Jiraiya arguing that every ninja should know how to handle a sword, and Naruto arguing that since Jiraiya had given him the sword, he should be the one to give lessons as well. In the end, Naruto had won and Jiraiya had spent a couple of months training Naruto on how to use his new gift.
The smile dropped from Shikamaru's lips as the memory faded and reality crashed in around him again. He looked around the floor until he found the sheath. He pulled it out from under the bed and sheathed the sword, before working it through his belt. The apartment was ruined, and would undoubtedly be visited by investigators, and Shikamaru didn't want to leave the sword around where it could be stolen. He'd keep it until Naruto was ready to wield it again.
He left the bedroom and found more bloodstains on the living room floor, and then the wall in the kitchen. The couch was covered in blood as well, and Shikamaru had a feeling that most of that was Naruto's. He suddenly felt nauseated and had to fight the urge to vomit. He felt a presence behind him and stiffened, ready for more snide comments from other ninja, until he realized that this visitor was another of Naruto's friends.
"I was on my way home after my watch when I saw the Hokage hurrying towards the hospital with Naruto in her arms," Lee said. "For a second, I thought Naruto was dead, because I couldn't feel his chakra. Then I heard the Hokage saying that she'd do what she could for him, so I knew that he was still alive. Since I couldn't ask her what happened, I came here."
Shikamaru turned to the jounin, who was looking around the apartment in both awe and disgust. "I couldn't sense Naruto's chakra either when I passed them on my way here. If he's still alive, wouldn't we feel it?"
Lee shrugged. "I don't know. He's in good hands if he's with the Hokage."
Shikamaru nodded.
"Who did it?" Lee asked as he walked fully into the apartment and came to stand next to Shikamaru. "Why Naruto?"
"Kirigakure," Shikamaru said. "I saw the three ninja that did all of this, before the ANBU took them. Naruto and Uchiha killed two of them and left one alive."
"Uchiha?" Lee asked, surprised.
"I don't know what he was doing here or how he knew to come, but I felt him leaving with the Hokage. I can still feel his chakra here."
Lee concentrated and then shuddered slightly. "Yes, I feel it too. It's not what it used to be."
"Orochimaru tainted it," Shikamaru said. "It feels more like Orochimaru's chakra now instead of Sasuke's."
Both men lapsed into silence, until Shikamaru walked to the nearest wall and punched a whole in it.
"I've heard rumors about Kirigakure," he said as he pulled his bleeding hand out of the plaster. "Naruto and I sat right here and discussed it over sake a few days ago, but I didn't think that they'd come after Naruto first."
"Why would they be interested in eliminating Naruto?" Lee asked.
"They're planning on invading Konoha. At least that's what the rumors are," Shikamaru replied.
"Kirigakure isn't powerful enough to take on Konohagakure," Lee pointed out.
Shikamaru turned towards Lee. "They have an alliance with Otogakure. They think that will give them the extra power to make up the difference."
"But Otogakure has been defeated," Lee said. "Uchiha is all that remains, and I doubt he's going to help them."
Shikamaru laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. "I don't think they know about Otogakure yet. Even so, they apparently have something that we don't know about. How else could they have managed to get three ninja deep enough past our defenses to sneak up on Naruto and injure him badly enough to have caused all of that," Shikamaru pointed to the bloody couch, "and to require that the Hokage herself carry him to the hospital?"
Lee's face paled. "What do they have to gain?"
"I don't know. Nothing about this makes sense. Unless…" Shikamaru trailed off as his mind started putting pieces together, pieces that he'd previously discarded as inconsequential.
"Unless?" Lee prodded.
"Unless someone else is, or was, pulling the strings." Shikamaru answered.
"Who?" Lee asked, and then snapped his fingers as the answer came to him. "Orochimaru!"
"It has to be," Shikamaru said. "Kirigakure has no clue that Orochimaru is dead."
"If that's the case, then Uchiha has to know something," Lee said.
"Then we should go find him, shouldn't we?" Shikamaru said. "I felt his chakra with the Hokage's earlier," he added. "I'm sure she would have already talked to him."
"Not if she hasn't realized that Orochimaru was involved," Lee said as he left the apartment, Shikamaru close behind him. "I doubt Uchiha would volunteer that kind of information."
"He shouldn't be hard to find, unless he's trying to hide," Shikamaru said. "His chakra is very distinctive."
Lee nodded. "Then let's hope he's not trying to hide."
&&&&
Tsunade had been clenching her jaw so hard and for so long that it now hurt to unclench it. The pain was minor, however, compared to the overwhelming exhaustion that threatened to pull her into unconsciousness. She had very little chakra left and her body ached from maintaining one position for too long. In front of her, Naruto's wound had almost closed. There was only a small part of it that was still open and bleeding slightly, but there was no longer the risk that Naruto would bleed to death. Sasuke sat on Naruto's other side, performing the Mystical Palm Technique that Tsunade had been forced to teach him when she'd started to lose too much of her chakra. She'd only taught him one part of the technique, the part that uses a large amount of chakra to speed up cell regeneration on the area of the body being healed, but she had no doubt that Sasuke would be able to figure out the second part on his own, the part that focuses chakra into a knife and could be used to both heal or destroy. She'd given him a potential weapon, but it had been a risk she had to take.
Sasuke had learned the technique quickly and performed it admirably. The Hokage had expected no less from a ninja as gifted as the Uchiha prodigy was, which made Tsunade wonder where Sasuke would have ended up in the hierarchy of Konoha ninja had he chosen not to pursue power and leave Konoha. The boy would have no doubt already reached jounin, maybe even ANBU if he'd chosen that route. It was a shame that his actions now restricted his possibilities and the most he could hope for was the life of a civilian. So much talent wasted.
Tsunade shook herself out of her musings. They were almost finished and she couldn't afford to lose her focus now. Having Sasuke speed up the generation of cells had freed her to concentrate on the wound itself, and she'd methodically forced the wound to close. The precision required for such an exacting task had taken its toll, and she was about to reach her limit.
"It's almost closed," Tsunade said and spared a glance at her unlikely apprentice.
Sasuke's intense, dark gaze was focused on the technique he was performing. He was so focused on the task that he hadn't bothered to mask his emotions, and Tsunade had been able to see the young man's concern and determination in his dark eyes. There was also a vulnerability there that went against the usual mask of indifference the young man liked to project. She was the village's Hokage, and as such had dealt with the Uchiha's betrayal as she deemed fit. However, she was also a kind woman, and as such could not ignore the circumstances that had led the young man to follow the path he'd chosen.
"How are you doing on chakra?" Tsunade asked.
Sasuke looked up. His eyes were dull, unfocused, and the lids were half closed. He blinked a few times and, after a moment, was finally able to focus on her.
"I'm fine," he said, his voice barely loud enough to be heard. "I can keep doing this for a little longer."
Tsunade nodded and got back to her work. She didn't believe that he was fine, but they both had to keep going for a little while longer. A few minutes later, the wound was finally closed. It would very likely leave a scar, which bothered her a lot more than it should have. She ended what she was doing and turned to perform a diagnostic on Sasuke. He was so focused on Naruto that he didn't notice that she'd stopped until a few moments after.
"What are you doing?" he asked when he saw her hands hovering above his head.
"It's just a diagnostic. I need to know how much chakra you've used. Bear with me for a moment, please."
He turned his attention back to Naruto, which she took as permission to continue. The diagnosis told her that in addition to being exhausted, Sasuke was also dehydrated and slightly malnourished. His body temperature was elevated and his chakra pathways were slightly out of sync. Sasuke had lost quite a bit of weight since she'd first diagnosed him, and Tsunade had no doubt that the exhaustion she was picking up was not solely related to tonight's activities.
Sasuke's body and mind were both still adjusting to the loss of Orochimaru's presence, which was something she'd known would happen since the night Jiraiya had brought the boys back. The body had been forced to change in order to host Orochimaru, and now that the snake's presence was gone, it was being forced to adapt once again. If she had to diagnose the situation, Tsunade would say that Sasuke's mind and body were going through a kind of withdrawal. The diagnostic she was performing had just told her the physical toll of the withdrawal, but she could only imagine what the psychological toll would be.
Sighing, Tsunade resumed her diagnostic, knowing that even if she wanted to help Sasuke deal with the psychological symptoms, he wouldn't let her. She made it a point to talk to Kakashi and inform him of what was going on. Maybe Sasuke would accept help from him.
"You can stop now, Sasuke," Tsunade said as she stopped the diagnostic technique on him. "Your chakra reserves are down to twenty five percent. Any lower and it'll be too risky. Besides, we've done what we can."
Sasuke disengaged the technique and let his hands fall down to his lap. He blinked a few times and then rubbed his eyes. He clenched his right hand into a fist and after a while, Tsunade could see blood leaking out from between his fingers. When she looked at him again, he looked a lot more alert.
"Don't do that," Tsunade chided. "You're already on the brink of exhaustion; I don't need you suffering from blood loss too."
Sasuke wiped the blood on his pants and said nothing. When Tsunade took his hand to heal it, he pulled it away from her.
"Leave it," he said.
Tsunade pierced him with a look, but it did not intimidate Sasuke as she'd intended. She sighed again and then looked down at Naruto.
"As soon as Shizune and Sakura find an antidote, he'll be back to normal," she said, but she wasn't sure if the words were meant to comfort her or Sasuke. "Thank you, Sasuke," Tsunade added. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without your help."
Sasuke locked eyes with her for only a moment, but it was long enough for her to see his mask slipping back into place. "I owe him," Sasuke replied and looked away.
She nodded at the statement, although she was sure that Sasuke hadn't just been repaying a debt when he'd sent a summon to help Naruto, or when he'd gone to help Naruto himself.
They lapsed into silence, and Tsunade jumped when the door slammed open.
"We have it!" Sakura said as she burst into the room. "Can you bring Naruto to one of the examination rooms?"
Tsunade quickly picked Naruto up and left the room with Sasuke following behind. Sakura held the outer door to the lab open as well, and Tsunade made her way to the closest examination room. Sasuke held open the door for her this time, and as she walked into the room, Tsunade was surprised to see that the dawn was slowly approaching. No wonder she was so exhausted. She and Sasuke had spent at least 6 hours with Naruto. Shaking the thought aside, she placed Naruto on the bed closest to the door.
Shizune came in shortly after holding a syringe. Both Sakura and Shizune looked as tired and haggard as Tsunade felt. Even in their exhaustion, however, they both looked very pleased with their success.
"Was that all you were able to make?" Tsunade asked, eyeing the small amount of antidote in the syringe.
"In this short span of time, yes," Shizune answered. "I still have the sword and some of the snake's venom, so it shouldn't be a problem to make another batch of the antidote."
"Good," Tsunade said. "I don't want to be caught off guard like this again."
Shizune turned Naruto's arm so that it was lying palm up and gently inserted the syringe into the crook of his elbow, where the veins were more visible. She depressed the plunger and sent the antidote into Naruto's bloodstream.
"How long will it take?" Sasuke asked.
Sakura turned to him. "We don't know. It could be hours or days. It depends on how much damage was done since he was initially poisoned."
"The crisis is over and all we can do now is wait," Tsunade said. "Sakura and Sasuke, both of you go home and rest."
She got the expected response as both teenagers shook their heads.
"I'm staying."
"I'm not leaving him."
Tsunade glared at them, but neither backed down. Sakura was too used to the glare for it to frighten her, and Tsunade had a feeling that, after being with Orochimaru for as long as he was, there was little that intimidated Sasuke anymore.
"Fine," Tsunade said, seeing no point in arguing or making them leave, since they'd end up back here anyway. "There are two other beds in this room. Use them to get some rest. I'll assign a couple of guards to this room until Naruto wakes up."
Tsunade put her hands on her hips and watched the teenagers until they each lay down on a bed. She had a feeling that they weren't going to sleep, but she'd at least given them the opportunity.
"I need to go talk to the ANBU and the council. Let me know immediately if Naruto wakes up."
Sakura and Sasuke nodded, and Shizune left the room with her. Tsunade hadn't taken two steps when a chunin guard came up to her.
"There are two jounin that wish to speak to you, Hokage-sama," he said and Tsunade recognized him as the one on duty when they'd come up to the lab.
"Where are they?" Tsunade asked and the man pointed to the small office beside the guard's station.
When Tsunade reached it, she was surprised to find Nara Shikamaru and Rock Lee, neither of which was in uniform, waiting for her. They got up and bowed formally when she entered.
"What are you two doing here?" Tsunade said. She was thinking of how to tell them about what had happened to Naruto, when she noticed that Shikamaru was wearing Naruto's sword. "You already know, don't you?" Tsunade asked.
"Yes, Hokage," Shikamaru said. "We've both already been to Naruto's apartment. The ANBU that were there told me what happened and we wanted to talk to you about it."
Tsunade motioned for them to re-take their seats, while she leaned on the small desk and crossed her arms.
"How is Naruto?" Lee asked.
"He's unconscious. He was poisoned, but Shizune and Sakura were able to come up with an antidote for the poison. It's been administered, so now it's just a waiting game."
"We'd like your permission to talk to Uchiha Sasuke," Shikamaru said.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the request. "You don't have to ask my permission to do that," she said, wondering what had prompted Shikamaru to ask. "You can talk to him whenever you want."
"You don't understand, Hokage. We think Orochimaru was involved in what happened today," Shikamaru said, "and we think Uchiha might know about it."
Tsunade couldn't help but be impressed, once again, with the jounin's sharp mind. There was a reason Shikamaru was an ANBU captain.
"So you want to question him, not just talk to him," she said and Shikamaru nodded. "You'd be wasting your time," Tsunade continued. "Uchiha has already told me all he knows." Tsunade paused, wondering how much she should say, but then figured that as Naruto's friends, the two young men should know the few details she had. "You are right, Orochimaru was involved. The poison Naruto was given was made specifically for him on Orochimaru's order. Apparently, Otogakure and Kirigakure were conspiring against Konoha, but I don't think Kirigakure knows that Orochimaru is dead."
Both Shikamaru and Lee looked surprised that she already knew so much. They'd apparently thought that they'd have to force the information out of Sasuke.
"I thank you for your vigilance and concern for your friend," Tsunade said, "but I think Uchiha has already told us everything he knows. You can feel free to talk to him if you still want. He's down the hall in Naruto's room with Sakura. Shizune can take you there."
"We'd like to see Naruto," Lee said.
Tsunade straightened. "Don't stay too long, though. Sakura and Sasuke are both exhausted and need to rest."
She motioned to Shizune, and the woman took the two young men down the hall. Tsunade waited for a moment before steeling herself. She had to go talk to the council.
&&&&
Utatane Koharu did not like to be kept waiting. She made her displeasure known by pacing the length of the council chamber, even though there was only one other person in the room with her.
"You're letting her get to you, as you always do, Koharu," Mitokado Homura said from where he sat in his usual seat to the right of hers. "Take your seat and calm down."
"Tsunade should have made a report to us immediately after the altercation and left the Uzumaki boy with someone else," she said. "I shouldn't have had to find out about it from a conversation I overheard between two jounin. When I questioned them, they knew very little, but it was enough to outline the danger of the situation we find ourselves in. If I hadn't been awake to overhear the conversation, we probably still wouldn't know that enemy ninja had infiltrated the village."
She turned to Homura, whom she'd known for most of her life, ever since she'd been assigned to a genin team with him and Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage. "Surely you see the break in decorum in this?" she asked.
Homura sighed. "We knew what we were getting ourselves into when we agreed with Jiraiya's suggestion to make Tsunade the Hokage instead," he said in that same calm voice that had driven Koharu mad since they'd been genin. "It's the price we paid for having to fill the position so quickly." The man smiled. "Jiraiya would have been worse."
Koharu took a deep breath and took her seat. "Yes, you're probably right," she admitted as she looked around the council chamber. She hadn't felt the need to call the other members of the council this early, since the situation was under control. She and Homura would be enough for what she would ask Tsunade to do once the Hokage finally decided to grace them with her presence.
"That boy has always been trouble," Koharu said, returning to her first complaint about the reason for Tsunade's tardiness, and she could tell by the narrowing of Homura's eyes that she didn't have to elaborate about who she meant. "I don't know why Tsunade favors him so much. If we could keep a tighter leash on him, he'd be useful to us. As he is, he's too unpredictable and brings us more trouble than any other ninja in the village."
"It can't be helped. We have to keep him here, where we can at least watch him and direct what he does," Homura said. "What he carries is too dangerous to be kept anywhere else."
Koharu sighed. "If Sarutobi had taken our advice and gotten rid of the child at the beginning, this village would not have been subjected to some of the dangers that boy has brought to it."
"The Uchiha traitor being the latest in that list," Homura pointed out.
Koharu felt her blood go cold at the mention of that now hated name. "If it had been up to the two of us, Uchiha Sasuke would have been executed the moment he'd stepped foot inside the village. Uzumaki Naruto's actions would have been grounds to execute him as well."
Homura nodded his agreement, before his face hardened. "Unfortunately, there are six members of the council, and, at the time, a majority voted not to execute the traitor, which was what Tsunade wanted. This time, however, Tsunade doesn't have a way out, and she's not going to like what you're going to tell her to do."
"No, I don't suppose she is. She was against the idea the first time we mentioned it, but we now have a valid, security reason to have it done. She can't refuse this time."
The door to the council chamber opened and an out of breath and slightly worse for wear Tsunade walked into the room. She came to stand before them and bowed deeply.
"I apologize for my tardiness Utatane-san, Mitokado-san. There were other matters I had to attend to first."
"The Uzumaki boy?" Homura asked.
"Yes," Tsunade said. "He was poisoned and it took a good deal of work to counteract the poison. He's recovering now."
"Good to hear it," Koharu said with no trace of sincerity in her voice. "Now, would you care to tell us what happened, or do we have to rely on a conversation I had with a couple of jounin?"
"Who?" Tsunade asked.
"Nara Shikamaru and Rock Lee. They were looking for the Uchiha traitor because they thought he might know more about the ninja from Kirigakure that tried to kill Uzumaki Naruto," Koharu said, making no effort to hide her displeasure. "Surely, as Hokage, you would have been a better source of information. Don't you agree, Tsunade?"
Tsunade's face hardened and she, too, made no effort to hide her displeasure at the older woman's words. "Forgive me, Utatane-san, but I was busy making sure that Uzumaki Naruto would stay alive and could not get away to bring you the report earlier."
Koharu's jaw tightened as she stared at the much taller woman, who stared right back. Tsunade was not going to back down, but neither was she. Her authority was above the Hokage's, especially in cases where the village's security was involved, and she would not tolerate insubordination.
"Ladies," Homura intervened. "Perhaps we should get down to the report?"
"Where are the other council members?" Tsunade asked. "Should we not wait for them?"
"They weren't called to this meting," Homura said. "We will fill them in later today."
Tsunade looked from one to the other, and then nodded. She gave her report quickly, and when she was finished, Koharu was even more concerned.
"We need to take action now, while Kirigakure still doesn't know that Otogakure no longer exists and that Orochimaru is dead," Homura said. "Send out scouts to find out exactly where their army is. They are to be reconnaissance only for now. We need to know exactly how many there are and where they're coming from before we can formulate our own plan of attack."
"Yes, sir," Tsunade said.
She turned to leave, but stopped when Koharu spoke.
"There's one more thing, Tsunade."
Tsunade turned and regarded her with a look that told the elder woman that she already knew she wasn't going to like what Koharu said.
"We want the ANBU Interrogation Force to interrogate Uchiha as soon as possible."
It took Tsunade a few moments to react to that. "What?" she finally said, "Uchiha is one of our own. We don't subject our ninja to the Interrogation Force."
"He's not one of our own," Homura pointed out. "He betrayed the village and chose to ally himself with Orochimaru. We know that Orochimaru was involved in what happened last night and there is no one better to give us information than Uchiha."
"You can't do that," Tsunade insisted. "He just spent the last six hours helping me keep Naruto alive. He's exhausted and has used up most of his chakra. If you subject him to an interrogation now, it might kill him."
Homura stood up. He wasn't as tall as Tsunade, but his presence alone was enough to make Tsunade flinch at her outburst.
"If he's already weakened, then he'll be less able to resist the interrogation, and therefore provide us with more information, don't you think?" he asked.
"He's told me all he knows about Orochimaru's plans," Tsunade said. "I've already told you that."
"You believe him?" Homura asked.
"Yes," Tsunade said with little hesitation, which made Koharu a little weary of the trust the Hokage was putting in a known traitor. "He has no reason to lie."
"Then you shouldn't be worried about the interrogation," Koharu said. "If he's not lying and he's told us all he knows, the results will tell us that."
Tsunade looked from Koharu to Homura, and Koharu could see the disbelief and disgust in her eyes. Tsunade would do as she was told, however. She had fought, and won, the case against having Uchiha interrogated when he'd first come back to the village. This time, however, there was a very good reason to get as much information from him as possible and not even Tsunade's friends among the council would disagree.
"We expect the report from Uchiha's interrogation as soon as it's done," Homura said.
Tsunade bowed stiffly and left the room, letting the door slam shut behind her.
&&&&
"I can feel his chakra again," Sakura said as she finished her diagnostic of Naruto. "That's a good sign, since we weren't feeling it before."
She ran her left hand over Naruto's hair and then rested it on his forehead. He'd looked so bad when she'd first seen him and it had scared her to think that while she'd been sleeping peacefully, he'd been fighting for his life. Never had finding an antidote meant so much to her and she'd thrown herself fully into the task. Time ceased to exist, and minutes had turned into hours. Failure wasn't an option in this case, and that knowledge had kept her going when she thought she couldn't go anymore. When they'd found the antidote and she'd gone charging into the room where Naruto was, Sakura had been afraid that she'd get there to find that Naruto had died. That had not been the case, and she was grateful that they'd been given a chance to make it better. All Naruto had to do now was wake up and recover, and things would be okay again.
She let her hand move off the forehead and land on Naruto's left cheek. It was warm, but not as hot as it had been when they'd first brought him in. Sakura smiled slightly and then removed her hand. He was no longer running a fever, which was also a good sign. She looked away from Naruto and directed her gaze at the unexpectedly crowded room. Sasuke sat on the bed closest to the window and had his head turned towards the rising sun. Shikamaru and Lee, who had been brought in by Shizune, sat on two chairs they'd pulled in from another room. They were facing Naruto's bed and were pointedly ignoring Sasuke.
Shikamaru and Lee had insisted on questioning Sasuke about what happened to Naruto shortly after Shizune had left them and they'd made sure that Naruto was okay, which Sasuke hadn't taken lightly. He'd refused to answer any questions, saying only that the Hokage knew what she needed to know. That had irritated Shikamaru, which had led to harsh words being exchanged between the two. In the end, Lee had calmed Shikamaru while Sasuke had simply ignored everyone in the room. The fact that Sasuke hadn't simply jumped out the window and gone back home told Sakura that the young man was feeling a lot more drained than he let on.
"Naruto's chakra feels strange, though," Shikamaru said, responding to Sakura's earlier statement. "It's very erratic."
Sakura nodded. "The poison was intended to damage his chakra pathways specifically, and since the antidote hasn't had time to complete its work yet, the pathways are still fairly damaged. With time, it should get better."
"Why target Naruto?" Lee asked. "He's a very powerful ninja, no one doubts that, but why risk your entire plan to kill one ninja?"
Sakura looked at Lee, but Lee was staring at the back of Sasuke's head. When Sakura turned her attention to Shikamaru, she found his gaze on her. He nodded slightly, and with that nod she realized that Shikamaru also knew about the demon sealed inside Naruto.
He told me, Shikamaru mouthed in response to Sakura's silent question.
"I don't know, Lee. It doesn't make sense," Sakura said, returning her attention to Lee. "One of the ninja was left alive, so hopefully he can provide answers when he's interrogated."
Sakura's senses suddenly picked up her teacher's agitated chakra and, moments later, Tsunade was standing at the door flanked by two ANBU.
"Uchiha, come with me," Tsunade said without preamble, her eyes focused solely on Sasuke.
The Hokage's voice was calm, but Sakura had been around her long enough to know that Tsunade was furious. Sakura heard movement from behind her and she turned to see that Sasuke had gotten to his feet.
"Where are we going, Hokage-sama?" Sasuke asked, voice calm, but posture tense.
Tsunade clenched her jaw before replying. "The council has ordered that you be interrogated. You have information about what happened last night and we need to know what you know."
Sasuke's hands clenched into fists. "I've already told you what I know," he said, his eyes fixed on Tsunade. "Was that not good enough?"
"Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Uchiha," Tsunade said.
Sakura looked from one to the other, and then her eyes shifted to Shikamaru and Lee. They'd come here to question Sasuke as well, which meant that they, too, suspected him. Had they told the Hokage, or members of the council, that Sasuke knew more than he was telling them? The Hokage hadn't given her an indication that she doubted Sasuke when they'd spoken earlier, so what had changed? Shikamaru must have sensed her gaze on him, because he turned to her, and she could see that he was as surprised by the turn of events as she was.
Soft footsteps broke Sakura out of her trance and she watched Sasuke as he made his way to the door.
"Tsunade-sama, you can't let them do this. He's…"
"Sakura," Sasuke said and turned to fix her with a steely glare. "Don't bother, they won't care."
Sakura wanted to argue with him, but she knew that he was right. She couldn't tell them that he was not at his full capacity, or they'd exploit that weakness. It was the game the interrogators played, after all.
Tsunade stepped aside and the two ANBU entered the room, grabbed Sasuke and twisted his arms behind him. They had almost made it to the door when Tsunade stepped in front of them to halt their progress.
"Sasuke, I…" she started t say, but Sasuke cut her off.
"I was wondering when you'd get around to this, Hokage-sama," Sasuke said, making the title sound like an insult. "I'm sure you're eager to see what other tidbits of information Orochimaru left behind in my head. Frankly, I'm surprised you waited this long."
Something crossed Tsunade's face, before it was replaced with anger. "I don't have to like my orders, but I do have to obey them," she said to Sasuke, before turning to the ANBU. "Take him. Report back to me when you're finished."
The men left, Sasuke walking placidly between them. Not that Sakura had expected Sasuke to resist, not in his current, and very precarious, standing with the village. Not to mention that resisting would make him look even guiltier than people already thought he was. Shikamaru and Lee's reaction to what happened was proof enough.
"With all due respect, Hokage-sama," Sakura told her teacher, who was still standing at the door with her back to them, "Sasuke has been with you for the past six hours. You know what condition he's in."
Sakura could see the Hokage's shoulder's tense even more. "I am aware of that, Sakura."
Sakura looked down at her hands, which had wrapped around Naruto's arm. She squeezed slightly and wished that Naruto could squeeze back. If he were awake, he'd be fighting with everything he had to get Sasuke away from the interrogation force. Then again, if Naruto were awake, there'd be no need to interrogate Sasuke.
"If a medic is needed during the interrogation, I want to be the one that goes in to treat him," Sakura said.
Tsunade did not immediately reply. When she did, she didn't bother to turn around.
"I'll see to it," Tsunade said and left the room.
Sakura took a couple of steps back until she hit the bed she'd laid on earlier. She let herself sit on it and dropped her head. She'd witnessed, and taken part in, a few interrogations after she'd become a medic. They were messy and horrible affairs meant to break down the person's mind so that they were pliable and answered anything you asked them. Sakura had even seen one interrogation where the mind was so broken that the person had been made to believe anything the interrogator wanted her to. If the interrogator could not break the person, then he would forcibly extract the information that he wanted. Sakura didn't think that Sasuke knew more about the attack on Naruto than he was telling them, but she had no doubt that there were memories he wouldn't want anyone else to know about. She knew that Sasuke would resist, even though he was in no shape to do so. She also knew that Ibiki would get his answers sooner or later. She had yet to witness an interrogation that didn't end up with the desired results.
"Did you tell anyone else about your theory, Shikamaru?" Sakura asked after she'd gotten her thoughts into some semblance of order. "Sasuke was the one to call the Hokage initially, and he told her about the ninja, the poison, and what he remembered about Orochimaru's visit to Kirigakure. Why would they feel the need to subject him to the interrogation force?"
Shikamaru looked at Lee and then back to Sakura. "I didn't talk to anyone else about this but Lee," he replied.
"There was Utatane-sama," Lee pointed out.
"That's right," Shikamaru said. "On our way here, Lee and I ran into her. I have no idea what she was doing wondering around the village that late, but she had apparently overheard us because she asked me for a report. I gave it to her."
Sakura shook her head, finally understanding. "Utatane-sama has the authority to order the Hokage to do something she obviously didn't want to do," Sakura said. "I just hope that…" she trailed off.
"You hope that what, Sakura?" Lee asked.
"Nothing, Lee," Sakura said. "I'm sure everything will be okay."
She looked at Naruto's sleeping face and felt her heart constrict a little.
Please wake up, Naruto, she thought, we need you back with us.
&&&&
You have to love village politics. There are so many people with so many hidden agendas that it's a wonder anything ever gets done. Anyway, see you next time!