Wrong Again

Chapter 7

Hey, I felt bad for going on forever without an update so here's chapter 7 nice and fast, but it's the first draft so this chapter may be edited and reposted. I'm looking for some feedback on this chapter so please let me know what you think!

Anyway, read on!

"That is all, Hokage-sama."

"Thank you Hawk," Minato replied with his fingers interlocked underneath his chin while he contemplated his next decision. The Uchiha clan had for the past year been exceptionally quiet. Ever since he had taken Sasuke under his wing, he hadn't heard more than a peep politically from them which in itself was odd. The clan was always barging into council business and demanding this and that with their arrogant attitudes.

Fugaku and he were not on friendly terms especially due to the difference in opinion regarding Obito. Yet so far the man had managed to be civil to him the rare times that their paths crossed. ANBU reports contained little information regarding the clan actions as their meetings were held in secret with warded walls.

It wasn't until two month ago that Uchiha Itachi had been inducted into ANBU. The boy had just recently taken over Toru's captain position of one of the squads. It was a big deal, especially when the boy was no more than thirteen going on fourteen.

To think, had Kakashi still been alive he would have been, well, as his former teacher, he would have never let Kakashi join ANBU.

But that was beside the point. Itachi, despite his Uchiha upbringing, loved his little brother. Obito hadn't managed to keep the knowledge that Sasuke was staying with him secret from the other boy.

Fugaku had advised his oldest son to relate ANBU activities to the clan while he was to do the same for Minato. Only once had Itachi joined ANBU had he finally been allowed into the clan meetings. According to his information though, the meetings were more of an announcement than any actual debate. The elder members with more power and influence made the decisions elsewhere and shared with the others at these weekly meetings.

The most Itachi could do was report what was said. Now that they were planning on making their move, it was time for him to make his. He summoned the four captains of the individual offensive squads. As they all lined up and bowed before him he relayed his plan to them.

With an entire clan of shinobi as powerful as the Uchiha, a good majority of them wielding the sharingan, it would be impossible to completely stop a full out coup de tat. With that in mind, Minato and several other members of the council had decided that their best chance was to strike before they could.

As the four captains departed to relay the plan, he frowned in deep thought. The decision hadn't been an easy one but it would spare the most lives. Theoretically no lives would be lost if no one put up a fight. He had his reason to believe though that there would be no avoiding that tonight.

It was a beautiful night; dark with no moon yet the stars still shone as if they hadn't completely abandoned the world. Yet who they shone for was anyone's guess. He turned and looked out the window. Even now Naruto and Sasuke were asleep in bed. If everything went according to plan, they wouldn't be disturbed tonight.

Sasuke for the most part had been an oblivious child, much like Naruto. Yet every now and then Minato or Obito would catch him with more than childish intelligence in those dark eyes. He had been especially observant when they were talking about the Uchiha clan. As such, he had seen to it that the two boys were not in the room whenever anything regarding the clan was mentioned.

With thoughts of countering the coup on his mind along with his other load of daily duties, he hadn't been able to fully look into the issue of the boy. If he was an imposter, a year was a long time to bid one's time when in the form of a child. Not to mention Naruto was with the boy practically every hour of the day; who could hold a jutsu for that long was beyond him.

Despite the small naggings of suspicion, he had put if off day after day simply because every time he thought about taking Sasuke away he would hear Naruto's laughter. He would not be the one to cause misery to his little boy, not if he could help it.

The door opened with one knock and Obito walked in.

"We're ready," he said quietly. His eyes were solemn; despite his dislike of the clan, he wasn't looking forward to this. Minato had offered him the option of opting out of the mission yet he had adamantly refused and responded that he had to be there.

"Alright," the blond responded and he stood up. He hadn't been in actual fight for quite some time but he was by no means rusty. Rarely did he ever wear his white coat into battle but tonight was a night for it. The coat was a hassle the way it fluttered around him but tonight it would stand for his position as Hokage and his duty to do what was best for the village.

"Let's go," he spoke his voice low but strong. They met each other's eyes and in a swirl of leaves they disappeared.

"AAaaaaaaaggghhhh!" the scream pierced the night followed by several other screams seemingly from different parts of the compound. Obito froze in place as he was about to move out of the shadows of the room he had snuck into. Minato-sama hadn't given the signal yet. Had someone gotten caught? Obito wondered but his time was brief as his target was startled awake and made an automatic grab for his kunai.

He launched himself at the semi conscious man and disarmed him with a sharp twist of his wrist. A hard blow to the man's temple stopped his struggling immediately. Obito dropped the man and left the room. As he made his way out the front he could make out the distinctive sounds of fighting.

What the hell had gone wrong? He heard more screams and he jumped to the roof. Across the compound he saw a flash of white. Minato looked like he was in hot pursuit of someone. Another quick glance around showed other ANBU fighting and trying to detain the Uchihas.

It looked like they could handle themselves so he made his way over the rooftops to catch up to the Hokage. Several roof tops later he lost sight of the white coat and stopped. Two streets over though he froze when he heard Minato's voice.

Obito jumped over quickly and moments later landed beside the Yondaime. He eyed the dark figure opposite them with a critical eye. The man wasn't masked yet Obito didn't recognize him. He had the features of an Uchiha though, the pale skin and black hair. In the shadow of his hair, he could make out the red glow of the activated sharingan.

The man lifted his face and merely smiled at the intrusion. He took a step back, the other two tensed in preparation to defend or give chase.

"Ah, Yondaime, how inconvenient. You should have died long ago. Those arrogant fools couldn't even pull that off," he taunted amusedly.

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" Obito snarled. The man just laughed and he casually lifted his bloodied katana. Minato glanced at the blade briefly but returned his gaze to the man's chin. The unknown man took another step back.

"Unfortunately I don't have time for you at the moment. Why don't you move along, after all, I am doing the village a favor tonight," with that he disappeared before their eyes. Obito jerked his head around looking for the mysterious man. Minato stood still as he concentrated on tracking down that chakra signature. It astounded him though how he seemed to be in multiple places at once.

It was impossible. Aside from his Hirashin, he knew of no other technique that could transport someone around with that much speed. Yet the man had vanished before just as fast. However he was doing it, the man was out to kill the Uchiha clan and Minato had to stop him.

Sasuke woke up with a start. In his mind he could hear the screams and see the blood splatters along the floor and the walls. It was the Uchiha massacre all over again; albeit this time it was just a memory. He let out a breath and inhaled once more slowly. A snore to his left had him turning to face the sleeping moron in the bed a few feet away from him.

Naruto slept on oblivious to the world. Most days Sasuke wished he would stay just like that. Hell, he wished half the shit never happened to Naruto or him for that matter. However, lately he had been listening for news regarding his clan. The time for the massacre had long gone and passed with not so much as a sign as to it happening any time soon.

It didn't help that the Yondaime had caught him listening too intently and no longer mentioned anything about it. He hadn't seen Itachi in over a month either since his new promotion to captain. With the powerful Fourth in charge, Sasuke wondered if the massacre would happen. Having been living with the man for the past year now with Naruto as well, he had deduced that the man wasn't easily influenced by political means and probably wouldn't make the same decision the Third had made all those years ago that had changed his life forever.

Minato was astute and keener than his easy going demeanor let on. Sasuke had caught himself more than a few times over the years making mistakes and acting un-childlike. The man hadn't said anything yet.

He was brought out of his wonderings when Naruto groaned and squirmed. The blond mumbled something unintelligible but Sasuke felt his chakra spike suddenly. It wasn't huge and wouldn't have been worth any investigation hadn't he recognize the chakra that was mixed in with Naruto's chakra.

It was Kyuubi.

He could never forget that red burning source of energy ever since he saw into Naruto's mind and witnessed the downplayed might of the caged fox. Cautious about what was going on he tried to wake the other boy by calling his name.

"Naruto, Naruto!" still the blond didn't wake; he kept murmuring and the frown on his face grew darker.

Sasuke climbed out of his bed and carefully shook the blonde's shoulder still calling his name.

"No! You can't!" Naruto growled and struggled faintly. Sasuke shook him a little harder but short of slapping him or dumping him on the ground, Naruto was not waking up. He didn't even think twice about leaving him alone to his nightmare.

"Naruto, wake up!" he called out louder.

Eyes snapped open and red gleamed up at the startled boy. Completely taken back Sasuke could only stare down at the slitted eyes and the expression of hate on the blonde's face.

"Uchiha," it growled a moment before it leaped at Sasuke and pinned him to the floor. Red chakra was starting to seep from Naruto and Sasuke struggled to throw the other boy off him. The red chakra burned and he tried adamantly to summon what little chakra he had to fend off the possessed boy.

"Naruto! Wake up!" he shouted. Claws ripped into his tender flesh and pain tore through his shoulder as the other bit him hard. Sasuke struggled helplessly but to no avail.

The Kyuubi-possessed Naruto jerked his head back suddenly as if yanked. He howled loudly and snarled down at Sasuke once more before in a giant leap, crashed out the window and into the night. Sasuke scrambled up fast as he could and ran to the window. The only sign he saw of Naruto was the red glow of chakra fading away over the rooftops.

"Naruto!" he shouted then gritted his teeth. He had to get the Yondaime. Pulling back he dashed out of their room and slammed into the older man's room across the hall only to find it empty. Where the hell was he?! Sasuke scrambled back to his room and launched himself out the window as well automatically using chakra to leap from roof top to roof top.

It wasn't long before he realized that Naruto was heading for his clan's compound. The closer he got the more dread he felt. He could now hear the sounds of fighting and screaming. A child was crying for her mother while chaos reigned.

Right in the middle Naruto stood on a pole and let out an inhuman cry. The sound pierced everyone's concentration, dragging their attention to the small boy with the burning red chakra.

"UCHIHA!!" the rough hallowed voice of Kyuubi combined with Naruto's higher pitched one was eerie and ominous. Silence reigned for the breathless moment after the cry before everyone sprung into action. Those that had lived through the horror of Kyuubi before scrambled and fled, dragging along others in their way.

Sasuke knew exactly which Uchiha had Kyuubi riled up; he couldn't believe that he had forgotten that Madara had been here that-this night as well.

"Naruto!" Obito had looked up just like everyone else only to see the little boy taken over by the fox demon. He had lost sight of Minato again but now saw him racing toward his son; he prayed that the Hokage could get to the kid before anything happened.

"Show yourself!" Kyuubi roared; his red eyes swept the compound looking for that one man. His hatred for the man was strong enough to traverse time itself. Now that he had a chance he would take it. Red chakra began to leak out heavily. A large blob formed one tail and more quickly amassed and created the second.

"Naruto!" Minato stopped a building short of his boy; any closer and he could be attacked as well. It was easier to forget the results of his decision some days when all he can see and hear is the boy laughing, but like this, vulnerable and being used by the thing that is meant to protect him; Minato's heart clenched painfully.

His little boy is staring at him with foreign eyes of hate, a look that he has never seen before; it doesn't belong to him at all. He wants nothing more than to hug his little boy and hold him close; tell him that everything will be okay because he can make it okay.

"Wake up, son, it's me," he pleaded earnestly hoping that the boy could hear him and do something about it. The only response to his plea was a harsh laugh.

"That brat isn't strong enough yet to fight me," he hissed, "Where is that man? Uchiha Madara! I want to kill you slowly and slice you up and eat you alive for what you've done!" Kyuubi jumped from the pole and landed hard on the roof of the next building causing tiles and part of the roof to collapse. The demon jumped away before he would have fallen through as well.

"Naruto!" Minato called out as he gave chase. Several ANBU tried to stop the fox but with a whip of red chakra, two were sent flying with scorch marks on their uniforms and armor. A blast of chakra from his mouth sent the last one dodging into the air only to be caught by a chakra claw and slammed into the ground. The sickening sound of breaking ribs could be heard along with the gurgle of blood and air from the person's mouth as he went limp.

Three kunai flew toward the demon but they were knocked aside by the red chakra. In a flash Minato was there; he threw a punch which landed and knocked Kyuubi back a pace but Minato teleported before the clawed hand could grab him.

"Stand back!" he ordered before teleporting forward once more. The surrounding ninja reluctantly stood back unable to help out.

For a several moves this went on until the Fourth pulled back and panted from the burns that he suffered. Kyuubi wasn't any worse for wear. He'd have to think of something fast, yet how do you seal a demon that's already technically sealed away?

"Naruto!" a small voice called out. Too busy trying to find a way to stop Kyuubi Minato hadn't noticed little Sasuke creeping closer and closer. He didn't know how the boy had gotten there but one quick glance at the kid showed that he was already wounded.

The boy was clutching his bleeding shoulder and despite the pain he must have been feeling, there was no expression on his face. But standing there in the dark and looking so tiny, it astounded Minato when the demon turned to him and growled.

"Dobe, what the hell are you doing?" Sasuke proceeded to ask in a dead voice. Kyuubi snarled and leapt at Sasuke. Minato jumped over and snatched the boy out of the way. Was the kid crazy? The boy struggled out of his arms expertly and dropped back onto the ground. The Fourth made a grab for him but he darted forward and headed straight for the demon.

"Are you that weak?" he taunted the blond boy, seemingly oblivious to the danger heading his way.

"Sasuke! Get the hell out of here!" the Fourth yelled as he made another close rescue before that red claw would slash the boy to ribbons. The swipe of the red claw tore chunks off the nearby wall as Kyuubi charged yet again intent on killing Sasuke.

"Hokage-sama!" Obito called out as he darted to his teacher's side. Minato threw the fighting Sasuke into the other man's arms and shoved him back.

"Get him out of here!" he ordered and rushed forward to meet an oncoming claw with a Rasengan. Obito darted off to the edge of the compound with a struggling boy in tow.

He yelled at his cousin to let him go but the man ignored him as he kept going, further and further away from Naruto. Damn it! He could snap the idiot out of it they just had to give him the chance! Outside the compound Obito practically threw the boy on the ground and with a harsh order to stay put he raced back inside unwilling to let his teacher face off against that demon alone again.

As soon as Obito was turned Sasuke began making his way back. If there was a time for his sharingan to activate it would be now. Of course he hadn't been training at all since becoming a kid again and what little he could do exhausted him. The only times that he had ever been this frustrated were back in his genin days when he wanted to kill Itachi so bad. When this was over he was so going to train again.

Speaking of his brother, where was he anyway? The compound was a mess with people running around and trying to escape. By now the rest of the village was getting involved; Kyuubi wasn't exactly being subtle about his presence and all the screaming had woken up the entire village.

There were ninja everywhere but nobody paid attention to the little boy going against the tide of panic. He gritted his teeth as he fought his way through. It'd be easier to take to the roof tops but he had to conserve his chakra.

In the meantime his mind raced as he tried to think about what the hell just happened; what was still happening.

Tonight would have been the night of the massacre, or at least some version of it, he was sure of that. Yet with the amount of ANBU here and the Fourth himself being here, it wasn't the same as it was before. There didn't seem to be any order of annihilation but one thing was for sure.

Madara, that scheming bastard was definitely here. If there was any doubt, Kyuubi wouldn't have gone crazy if he didn't know that the man was here in Konoha. Sasuke grunted as someone kneed him in the stomach in their hurry to leave.

He shoved away from the person only to falter when an explosion rocked the area. Bright red light lit up the dark sky for a few heart beats before fading away. If people hadn't been in a panic before, they were now. ANBU were urging people to leave or detaining others. Women and children screamed and cried in their haste.

The boy plowed on. After what seemed like an eternity of people he finally exited onto a street that was bare. Taking his chances he went for it and started running faster. He could smell the smoke in the air from the explosion. The sounds of animalistic growls and fighting became louder and he knew he was almost there.

Sasuke burst from around a corner only to be assaulted by the burning heat of red chakra. It was painful and hard to breathe; like getting hit by a wall of fire, it took him a moment to orient himself and finally see Naruto crouched on all fours facing off against his father. The Fourth was flashing all over the place; Sasuke couldn't make heads or tail of where he was. The only indication that he was there was the flash of the white coat here and there. Even still, it didn't seem like he was making any headway with Kyuubi.

The entire area resembled a blast zone with the building he was by quickly crumbling away to rubble. Whatever ninja that had been standing by before were now gone leaving only the two blonds. He had to get Naruto's attention and pull him out of his mind. The boy had formed two tails and it looked like a third one wanted to form but Naruto's young body couldn't handle that much. It seemed Kyuubi knew that yet it didn't stop it from trying though.

He didn't have anything on him, no weapons or anything, not that it would help but it would at least be a distraction. He settled for a piece of the crumbling building beside him. With a grunt he heaved a chunk as hard as he could at the furious being. The chunk of concrete was whipped away by a flailing tail. Immediately following the tail Kyuubi whipped its gaze onto Sasuke and quicker than the boy had anticipated it lunged at him.

Not even close to his previous genin level he darted to the side and ducked the swipe of the red chakra. A quick roll saved him from being crushed by a downward slash of a tail. A blow from the side had Kyuubi staggering preventing him from stabbing the downed boy with the second tail. Sasuke looked up to see not the Fourth but another man.

There was no mistaking the long black mane and the posture of Madara.

The appearance of the man didn't confuse Sasuke; he knew Madara wanted him alive. Yet the sight of him caused Kyuubi to go crazy. The fox went into a frenzied rage and charged with a blood thirsty roar.

Madara dodged several attempts to end his life but all of a sudden things went still. Kyuubi stopped before he could start off on another lunge. Sasuke held his breath but then he realized that Madara must have finally caught the fox with the Mangekyou. The man walked forward confidently and drew up his sword.

"I have no use for you yet fox," he announced as he got closer. Horror filled Sasuke as the thought of Madara killing or even hurting Naruto made it through his mind.

The moment slowed down. Every step that Madara took brought him closer to Naruto, closer to hurting him. Kyuubi stood still, unable to defend himself, the Fourth was nowhere in sight. Sasuke didn't even think. Next thing he knew he could see; his hands flew automatically into the seals for the first fire jutsu that he learned. He exhaled and the ball of fire blew from his lips.

Enormous and backed by the will of fire, it flew toward the man at an alarming speed. All Madara had time for was a glance over his shoulder before he jumped out of the way. Sasuke didn't have time to be relieved as he dashed over to Naruto's side. No longer held in the genjutsu the boy fell over as the red chakra receded back into his body like it had never been.

Sasuke's eyes darted around. When they landed on Madara a few yards away he stood up in front of Naruto protectively.

"You'll have to kill me if you want him!" he growled at the older Uchiha. He knew damn well the other man wouldn't kill him or Naruto, but he wouldn't stand by and let him hurt them either. His sharingan, only in its infant stage still swirled dangerously as he glared defiantly at Madara.

He laughed at the act the boy put up.

"How courageous. At least there is still some genuine Uchiha blood in you," he sneered. Madara replaced his sword in his sheath and stepped back but not before he murmured, "In time, my dear Sasuke." With those ominous words he disappeared into the night.

Sasuke stood still for the next moment before he let out a breath. The wave of exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed him and he felt the effects of using chakra that he barely had. The red glow of the sharingan faded to black; he turned and looked at the unconscious Naruto. The boy's clothing was burned and scorched; otherwise he was injury free and blissfully unaware. His vision wavered. Suddenly the blond hair and dirty white undershirt looked a lot closer than it was.

Sasuke collapsed and landed in a heap on top of Naruto. He didn't see the Fourth approach along with spare ninja.

Minato had taken the distraction as a chance to move back and form another plan. He landed on the rooftop only to find to his dismay that the distraction had come from Sasuke. How the boy had gotten back there was beyond him.

When Kyuubi had rushed him and the boy had managed to dodge, Minato held back. This was something else; another clue or piece of the puzzle to Sasuke. The boy hadn't been fast but his actions were that of a ninja. As far as he knew, the boy hadn't received any training yet.

Just as he thought he would have to step in to save him Madara appeared of all people to save the boy. Minato began forming thoughts. Why would Madara save a Sasuke when he was trying to kill the clan? Then Sasuke turned right around and defended Naruto. That wasn't a surprise but the fire jutsu was, especially one of that size.

He had seen the glow of the sharingan in the boys eyes and the effortless way that he performed the seals to the jutsu left Minato reeling. With this, there was a lot more weight to the clan's investigation than ever before.

He approached both unconscious boys slowly. Obito landed behind him and voiced his apology. Minato waved it off as he bent down and picked Sasuke off Naruto carefully. The boy's shoulder wound was still bleeding sluggishly. He groaned when Minato lifted him and handed him over to Obito. He then picked up Naruto as well.

He handed Naruto to another ninja, Izumo, and turned to look at Obito.

"Take them to the hospital. Don't leave either of them alone," he ordered. With things like they were he didn't trust anyone alone with Naruto and he couldn't leave Sasuke either.

"Obito, keep them together and don't let them out of your sight," he added.

"Yes, sir!" the man nodded and the two ninja jumped up and away in their haste to get to the hospital. Minato looked at the carnage around him before he took a breath and started issuing orders to contain the mayhem. What was supposed to be a well planned night turned into a complete nightmare; he didn't know what the hell was going on at all.

It had just turned into the longest night of his life.

A/N:

Well, what do you think? Sasuke has activated his sharingan. I figured with his previous life experience on top of the stressful situation that it was fertile grounds for the sharingan to develop. And yes, he's in trooouble!! He's got some explaining to do to Minato. Naruto's oblivious.

Anyway, I'm looking for some tips or thoughts as to how I can make this chapter a little more…I don't know, tell me if I should do anything differently. This is the turning point of the story and a lot of things will be affected by this chapter so I want to do it right.

Thanks for reading! XD