A/N: Thank you for all the great reviews, favoriting, and subscriptions!
Imperial Dragon/DanielHimura: Most of the damage was one-sided from Naruto to Danzo. My reasoning for Danzo not dying every other blow was that Naruto can't have given him more damage than Sasuke's Susanoo was able to in canon, and the man was still able to Izanagi his way out of that. But he's certainly used up the majority of his lifelines by now.
Batamut: The massacre was within six or so months of the start of the story, and as confirmed around chapter 4 or 5 some things take place a little differently since Naruto is no longer in his home universe. Danzo collected his Sharingan prior to the massacre painstakingly, as I believe I left a note by the man that Itachi had ruined all the eyes of the Uchiha he slew.
On with the chapter :)
Panting and gasping from the burn in his chest where Danzo's blade had pierced him just beside the heart, Naruto tensed at the final moment before his Rasenshuriken exploded against the older man so strongly that as their bodies were repelled from one another and slammed into the harsh walls, the stone work shattered and collapsed down upon the passageway.
Just before he was engulfed Naruto stole a glimpse in Gaara's direction and the flight of the stones above. He'll be safe.. was as far as he could think before the first slab of stone bore down onto his shoulders and shoved him face first toward the sands. Several more piled up atop it and crushed his body down farther, suffocating him and breaking bones in a dozen places even through the aura still in place.
Even the fox's chakra couldn't hold that much weight off his body, not at so few tails; thankfully it didn't have to.
Despair sank into Yamato's heart as he looked out from beneath his mask at the destruction to the entrance into Sunagakure. He had arrived in time to catch whatever the ninjutsu was that Naruto had utilized, but he could do nothing to stop the stone walls from coming apart. That's not to say he couldn't prevent them from smearing his assigned apprentice into a fine paste, however.
Slamming his hands together and murmuring as quickly beneath his breath as he could, the former root members fingers danced through the required seals rapidly and efficiently as he called up woodwork from beneath the sands around Naruto's body.
Even at that pace it was still too slow to prevent several large pieces of stonework from falling down around and on to the boys body, but before it could grind him apart the first pieces of wood jutted up and caught the rock all around him, slowly lifting as a complex wooden structure rose up an inch at a time.
Sweat dripped down from Yamato's forehead and hair down his face and occasionally gathered at the corners of his eyes, stinging them sharply and itching to blink. His features were set into a rough grimace as he felt the strain from pushing against the weight, determined not to succumb. Naruto... move.. ! he silently ordered.
A few moments later and one of the tails of chakra twitched violently before fading away, and then the others followed it up. The broken bones across his small body were mended and Naruto's left hand steadied under his body and slowly pushed up, coughing as he spat sand from his mouth before the boy's head turned to see how he was still free enough to move.
"!" Looking at the rising slabs of wood around his body Naruto realized how unstable the rocks above them still were. Sluggishly he crawled forward and out from beneath the wood and rock mass and collapsed again, body still aching all along his back and shoulders where the majority of the pressure and damage had been.
His eyes again roamed over to where Gaara's body lay, and it was with a sigh of tired happiness that he noted nothing had happened to the other boy. He's okay... the stupid one tails didn't succeed after-all... and neither did that bastard Danzo... he thought slowly. Before he could say or think anything further the rocks in front of him exploded upward and a bloodied and broken hand pushed up from beneath.
It was followed by the rest of the arm before heavy roots pushed the rest of the boulders atop the body aside and Danzo Shimura emerged from beneath it with a cage of interlocked wood around his body. Much like Yamato had done, Danzo too had utilized the power of Wood Release to prevent his form from being crushed to death. Unlike with Naruto however, who had been saved within moments, it had taken long seconds for Danzo to recover and save himself from deaths rough embrace.
One lung had collapsed from a pair of ribs shattering and cutting through it, his left arm was severed at the elbow, and the first couple of layers of flesh along his back had been stripped free from the angled rock slashing down upon it. The ground was soaked crimson with his blood, but his eye burned with an inferno of hatred for the jinchuriki before him. "You..." he turned to one side and spat out a mouthful of blood and a few broken teeth, his right fingers twitching as though attempting to close into a fist despite the damage.
Naruto stared in surprise and dismay up at the man, unable to accept what his eyes were telling him. After another moment however Danzo turned and took an unsteady step to the side, then another until he was standing beside the apparently unconscious Gaara. "I will have your power yet, boy... be it now or ten years from now." he swore softly, unwilling to sacrifice his final Uchiha eye to heal his body. Opportunities would exist in the years yet to come. He would wait, and he would recover, and eventually he would succeed.
A few seconds later and Danzo collapsed to the ground as two more of Suna's Jonin arrived on the scene. A trio of shuriken stuck out of the back of Danzo's spine in three different places, paralyzing the man. "Whoever the hell you are, you won't be doing anything regarding the demon boy. Any of you freaks." the man who spoke directed his gaze down onto Naruto as well as back over one shoulder to where Yamato was still keeping the passageway from being collapsed again.
An hour and a half later and an unpleasant meeting was currently underway in the Kazekage's office. Yamato, still in mask, Gaara, now awake, Danzo, severely restrained, and Naruto, in his clothed Oiroke no Jutsu again were gathered in around the man's desk. Various ANBU surrounded them all.
"... Somehow I doubt your claims." the Kazekage spoke loudly, his frustrations apparent as he paced back and forth. "And even if they were true, you disabled up to four gate guardians, destroyed the structure of our passageway in and out of this village, and put the remainder of the wall protecting our village in vital danger of collapse." he continued.
So far they had been able to claim they were hunter nin tracking down a dangerous criminal from Konoha, hence their efforts and what had come of it. Naruto spoke whenever Yamato wasn't able to create a sheet of wood to explain something, and he was attempting to convince them that this was his natural form- and part of their methodology in tracking down said criminal.
"Since you say you're from Kohoha it seems fitting to charge the Hokage with espionage and attempted destruction of Sunagakure, via this 'criminal' you failed to apprehend in time." the Kazekage stated in a tone of forced restraint. Naruto began to protest but was cut off quickly. "Do you think I don't recognize the man before me? I know Danzo Shimura, child! His efforts in ending our search for my predecessor are still well remembered!" he snapped before grimacing, as though realizing he had said something not meant to get out.
Naruto turned a curious glance toward Danzo before looking back to the Kazekage. "Enough of this nonsense! Danzo Shimura is to be executed tomorrow at dawn, and the two of you are going to be held in prison until Konoha's Hokage answers the summons to stand trial for the aforementioned charges! Whether or not he'll be joining you will be decided at that time! Anbu!" rising to his full height the Kazekage waited for his orders to be carried out.
Well shit. Look's like I'm gonna have to do something very unpleasant. Naruto thought with a grimace, fingers twitching as he glanced around at the various ninja closing in on them. It came as a surprise when a soft voice spoke up for the first time since the meeting began.
"Father..." Gaara said. The Kazekage glanced down at his youngest son with a look of disdain. Looking about himself at Naruto, Yamato, and the various elder shinobi, Gaara slid off his seat and returned the disdainful glance. A small flicker of annoyance followed by anger crossed the older mans face at the look.
"What?"he barked. Outside sand began to swirl to life and trickle in through the windows, gathering discreetly along the walls. Yamato and Naruto were held already and limp without resisting, waiting on what the small jinchuriki was about to say.
"Let them go." Gaara responded in the same soft tone. The Kazekage scowled sharply and slammed his hands down on the desk, leaning over to glare at his child.
"And who are you to make such a demand?" he questioned. Gaara did not flinch as he usually did from the tactic, though his eyes did darken slightly, and when he responded his voice held a slightly higher weave to it. His hands clenched tightly and the sand along the walls answered, soaring through the air to wrap about the Anbu's heads tightly.
"It wasn't a demand. A request. For a friend." turning toward Naruto as the Anbu struggled to breath through the traps around their heads, he looked up into the others blue eyes and saw only recognition and, to a degree, silent approval. Not fear, hate, panic, or loathing as he was used to. The Kazekage grunted as he leaned back from the jinchuriki and examined the state of his shinobi.
Then Gaara turned toward Danzo and his expression hardened, the darkness to his eyes growing as he unconsciously dug his fingernails into his palms again. The Anbu collapsed to the ground amid choking sounds. "Kill him," the boy almost snarled, looking into the one good eye the man had, "but spare the others."
Never before had the Kazekage heard such malice to his sons tone. Some part in the back of his mind was actually happy. The other parts bristled with anger, mild concern, and dismay. "Will you finally start training like your brother and sister?" he demanded in a low tone. Gaara did not turn his vision away from Danzo as the sand began sliding from the Anbu and working toward the former Root leader, his control starting to slip.
Naruto placed one hand to the boy's shoulder and clenched down slightly, enough to get his attention, and Gaara answered his father in a slightly less malicious tone. "Yes, father." he said. The Kazekage grimaced. He pointed one finger sharply at Naruto.
"Take your friend and begone from my village. If you ever set foot within Suna's boundaries again you'll be killed on sight." he told them in the same low tone. His eyes betrayed his true emotions as he looked at them, and Yamato merely nodded his head before turning and marching out of the office.
Naruto hesitated a moment more and patted Gaara on the shoulder. "I'll see you in several years then, Gaara. Well done." stepping quickly after Yamato he paused again as the Kazekage continued as if it only just came to him.
"And tell the Hokage this isn't over. I'll be expecting compensation for the damages to Suna before the month is out."
Within Konoha almost a full month passed following Naruto and Yamato's departure. Sasuke continued his practice with chakra exercises and chakra injections every several hours, and though it still burned monstrously whenever he even so much as tried to move a toe, the doctors opinion was optimistic.
"You are making a steady recovery, Sasuke. The extra chakra you aren't losing with your exercises is flowing exactly as it needs to and seems to be aiding the process by a fraction. You might be capable of walking again, with aide of course, within three months more or less. Running before a year has passed!" he said with a smile.
Sasuke just stared as he was want to do whenever the doctor tried to cheer him up. The doctors smile became a little staler as he turned away, fading before he was out the door to visit the next patient. Rock Lee slipped in a few moments later with a flustered expression.
He bowed once, sharply, in greeting toward his injured Eternal Rival before pulling up a seat and dropping the backpack he wore to the ground. It made a solid thunk as the forty pounds of weight fell from a two foot height. Sasuke scowled. He hated the way the other boy was able to so freely walk around and train, while he, one of the last of the noble Uchiha lineage, was bed bound.
His nightly exercises were paying off, true, which is why the doctor was seeing a slight improvement. But it was already passed the deadline he had set for himself- sure, he had maybe a day or two left, but how in the hell was he supposed to get up and walk in that time frame? He was barely able to wrap one leg in enough chakra threads to lift it a few inches before the pain grew too much to handle and he had to lower it, wait a while, and try again, slowly exercising the brutally damaged limb.
He suspected Kakashi was secretly watching him whenever the man appeared to be asleep. Apparently Hyuga Ko's words had stung his sensei's pride. Sasuke was drawn out of his thoughts as Lee offered him a rice-ball from the small lunchbox dug out of the backpack. Warily the Uchiha took it from him, using a few threads to make sure it wouldn't slip free, and absently sliced it into quarters with a rough jerk of his fingers once held over the other hand.
Lee watched in fascination. His complete lack of ability with such a skill likewise drew his envy of the other boy, but he continued to come day after day as the middle point of his training and watch.
Both of them gave a start as an orange and tan colored, blond haired blur skidded into the room amid cries of outrage from further down the hall. Panting, Naruto leaned his hands on his knees and looked his young future-team-member over. "What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked incredulously.
Naruto grimaced as he looked over to where Lee was likewise eyeballing here, though with curiosity. Dammit. How do I explain this without giving too much away? he thought. A pair of guards finally caught up to where the jinchuriki had left them in his dust and rubbed their hands together in frustrated vengeance.
Four shadow clones disabled them proper a few moments later as Naruto approached the foot of the bed. "I'm here to help speed up your recovery progress." he stated as the other two stared at his accomplishment with mingled disbelief and awe.
A ways off, Yamato was still conveying their situation with Suna to the Hokage. The old man rubbed his eyes wearily. Naruto had shot off the moment he learned of Sasuke's situation, leaving the former Root member to explain their month long absence and the reasons behind it. He was only now catching up to the end of the Kazekage's meeting.
"Did you at least get a tally for how much the Kazekage wanted in recompense?" Sarutobi questioned. Yamato shrugged slowly and shook his head no. "I doubt he will request an amount we can easy repay." Sarutobi stated flatly.
A third voice decided to pipe up from just outside the office. "Then why don't you tell him to go blow himself? The man's brat was saved from a fate worse than death at Shimura's hands, and they get to keep their little bijuu. I don't see what he's got to bitch about!" the old man's eyes widened as he looked toward the doorway and a well familiar, white haired man with slouched shoulders glanced over toward him. "Nice to see you again, Hokage-sama." he added as if an afterthought.
End Chapter Eleven.