D1: There are a few points I think I need to clarify for everyone's enjoyment.
First – THIS STORY STARTS IN SHIPUUDEN (PROLOGUE IS SHIPUUDEN).
Second – the reason Naruto was banished was because he nearly killed Sasuke in their SECOND fight in the valley of the end (same place new fight).
After a discussion with Malix2 where plot holes were pointed out I thought it would be best to sort out these points
D1: Without further delay…
Chapter 12 – Lilac Venom
"Meeting in broad daylight is asking for trouble."
"It's the last thing they'd expect."
"And they're too focused on Orochimaru to bother with us right now."
The voices coming from the burned out building were hushed and urgent. Narrowed eyes kept a lookout for trouble, looking in all directions at once.
"Himeka has overruled our objections to the fox, so what can be done?"
"Pardon the intrusion," a new voice addressed the gathering, causing weapons to be drawn.
Danzo stepped from the shadows and looked over the secret council of Hyuugas.
"State you business!" one growled.
"I believe our goals are the same," Danzo told the other members, "I suggest working together to achieve a common objective. That fox is becoming a bigger thorn in our collective sides than any of us could have thought possible. It shouldn't be in the village. It shouldn't even be alive."
"What is your proposal?" a female Hyuuga demanded.
"A simple solution, eliminate the demon."
"But he is far stronger than any of us…"
"There's more than one way to skin a fox, that is why we use this," Danzo interrupted, holding up a glass vial of almost invisible senbon, "each of these will be coated with a deadly poison. If we use them during an enemy attack then no-one will be any the wiser."
"And what poison will be used?" someone asked.
"I'll leave that to you," Danzo said as he handed the vial to the leading Hyuuga, "and in exchange for helping to keep that fox from our bloodline, what do you want in return?"
"As you all know the Konoha council is made up of the Hokage, the elders and representatives from each of the five noble families of Konoha. Having two of the families under my influence was enough to exile the fox in the first place. But I need the support of three of the five noble families to hold a majority with the Konoha council and to expel that fool of a Hokage. With her removed from power, I can takeover and change Konoha into the military force it was always supposed to be."
"But Himeka still holds power over the Hyuuga clan," someone voiced.
"The old woman is not long for this world. She said it herself, she's almost twice your age. And there is always the possibility of an enemy Shinobi eliminating her, or so it would appear to the other Shinobi of the village. But after her passing a new leader must be selected, perhaps someone easily bent to our will."
Danzo let the meaning of his little speech sink in before continuing.
"Should you assist me in my endeavour to remove the two obstacles in the path then I shall reward you most generously when I rule the land of fire."
The oldest Hyuuga stepped forward looking up into Danzo's one uncovered eye. He held out his hand hesitantly. Danzo took the offered hand and a sinister grin crossed his face.
"Our alliance will blossom into something beautiful," Danzo grinned evilly, "my Root Anbu are ready to enact our plan whenever you wish."
"During the next attack from Orochimaru," the elderly man said, "have your minions remove the fox."
"Are you sure this is wise?" another Hyuuga woman asked.
"To keep that fox from the Hyuuga clan, I'd make a deal with the devil," The old Hyuuga stated.
You just did. The woman thought as she looked at Danzo's sinister expression again.
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Several sound ninja launched themselves through the trees, two leaf Shinobi hot on their tail. Sasuke hurled a kunai at the fleeing squad, catching the trailing ninja in the ankle. He stumbled and crashed to the forest floor. The squad seemed to decide as one that their only choice was to fight. They all dropped through the branches to the forest floor, producing weapons as they landed. Naruto charged into the sound ninja squad, a Rasengan in his right hand. The ninja scattered as Sasuke appeared and launched fireballs at them. Naruto caught the nearest ninja and slammed him into the ground with the Rasengan sphere. Neither Shinobi saw the shadowy figure hidden in the canopy above them. The shadow aimed carefully at Naruto as he landed a kick on an enemy. The hidden figure flicked his hand, throwing a sliver thread at the blonde ninja. Naruto didn't even fell the senbon pierce the skin on the back of his neck as he slammed two enemy ninja's heads together. Sasuke turned to Naruto as he dropped the now unconscious ninja he was holding to the ground.
"One enemy squad eliminated," the Uchiha smirked.
"Now let's get back before my ramen gets cold."
"You and your ramen," Sasuke groaned as he and Naruto took off back towards the village.
Naruto was first to launch himself over the village walls and land in the Konoha camp, Sasuke close behind him. As Sasuke was debriefing the Anbu on duty, Hinata appeared and approached Naruto. Naruto's hand locked with Hinata's as they kissed.
A trickle of blood slipped from Naruto's nose as he and Hinata made their way towards the mess tent. Hinata looked at Naruto and paled.
"Naruto, you're bleeding," Hinata said as she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket.
Naruto touched his face and found blood on his fingers. Hinata dabbed at Naruto's nose trying to stem the flow of blood. A puzzled look crossed Hinata's face as she saw Naruto was wobbling on his feet.
"Are you alright?" Hinata asked.
"I feel kind of …" Naruto couldn't finish as his eyes glazed and he fainted.
Hinata managed to catch Naruto before he hit the ground. Sakura materialised next to Hinata, checking Naruto as Sasuke helped Hinata keep Naruto upright.
"Let's take him to Tsunade," Sakura said with a worried tone.
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Tsunade finished examining Naruto and left him and Hinata in the medical tent. She beckoned the worried observers into the Hokage tent. With a squeeze, the concerned party all managed to fit into the tent.
"It's Bloody Tear poisoning," Tsunade said with a deathly air.
Kakashi and Iruka both went almost chalk white.
"What is Bloody Tear poisoning?" Kiba asked.
"Practically a death sentence," Shizune whispered.
"The Bloody Tear is a rare plant that's roots contain a lethal toxin," Tsunade told the gathered Shinobi, "Once distilled, an almost invisible senbon is coated in the poison then used on the enemy. The senbon is usually small enough to be unfelt when it's used on the target. I found this in the back of his neck."
Tsunade held up a narrow senbon in a glass tube.
"So how to we cure it?" Sasuke asked.
"The flower of the same plant contains a similar compound that will neutralize the poison and act as an antidote, if we can get it to in time," Ino said.
"How do you know that?" Sakura demanded.
"I know medicine and my family owns a flower shop," the blonde replied.
"Naruto's currently in stage one, fever followed be delirium and haemorrhaging," Tsunade stated, shifting into doctor mindset, "we've managed to stop his bleeding, but he'll soon be moving into stage two…"
"What is stage two?" Sasuke asked hesitantly.
"Failure of the circulatory system and chakra pathways followed by coma."
"What are we going to do? We can't let Naruto die!" Sakura almost screamed.
There was a ringing silence through the tent for an eternal minute before Tsunade spoke.
"Shizune, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino and Neji. You six are to head out and find at least one Bloody Tear flower."
"Where are we supposed to look?" Neji asked.
"The Bloody Tear only grows in sandy soil that has seen bloodshed, where there is enough water to keep the roots permanently submerged and where there is plenty of sunlight and warmth," Shizune told him.
"Needle in a haystack anyone," Kiba groaned.
The whole tent shot Kiba evil glares except for Shikamaru. He unrolled a map across Tsunade's desk and pulled up a marker pen into view.
"Seven locations in the surrounding forest that match the criteria," Shikamaru said as he circled seven points on the map.
"Of the seven, two of them are in enemy territory,"
He scribbled over two of the circles.
"And the other two are bone dry."
Shikamaru scribbled no the map again.
"Time is very much of the essence right now, so get going!" Tsunade screamed.
Neji grabbed the map and rolled it back up again before he and the others shot off at top speed.
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Hinata sat on the edge of the bed that held the unconscious Naruto. She held his hand as she was trying not to cry. Sasuke was sitting on an empty bed across the room with an evil expression. Sakura was bussing herself with other patients but her eyes kept wandering to Naruto's bed. Sasuke stood and left the medical tent, deep in though.
The Bloody Tear is only found in the forest around Konoha, so whoever poisoned him must be from Konoha. It's a rare plant and the Hyuuga knows the most about it
Orochimaru is former Konoha but he's fixated on jutsu rather than plants. Kabuto knows medicine but he doesn't use poisons. That only leaves someone from the village. Anbu members are usually charged with assassinations and poison is usually the choice of assassins. But who would want to…
The answer suddenly dawned on Sasuke.
"Root Anbu… and the Hyuuga council…"
The Uchiha turned around and bolted for the Hokage's tent. Tsunade looked up as Sasuke burst into the tent.
"Root Anbu poisoned Naruto," Sasuke said.
"What makes you think they did it?"
"The Bloody Tear is only found in the Konoha forest so only someone from Konoha, specifically the Hyuuga, would know about it. Anbu black ops are usually charged with assassinations and who wants Naruto out of the way? The Hyuuga council and root Anbu."
Tsunade went pale then red in anger. She stood up slowly, seemingly in control.
"As soon as Naruto is cured," Tsunade said calmly, "I am going to kill them."
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Shizune looked over the map as Kiba and Akamaru were rooting around in the undergrowth. Shino recalled his insects as Neji scanned the area with his Byakugan. Kiba's head popped out of the bushes and looked towards Shizune.
"What does the flower smell like?"
Shizune was flummoxed for a second, "honey mixed with vinegar."
Kiba stepped out of the bushes, scenting the air.
"Nothing," he muttered.
Shizune scowled as she scribbled on the map, "on to the last location."
The team gathered then took off into the trees. They all rushed through the forest, moving as fast a possible. In no time they had reached the clearing and landed.
"There's a lot of sand around here," Kiba muttered as his foot sank up to his ankle in the soft ground.
Neji looked around the whole area with his Byakugan, noting the landmarks.
"This is where Gaara fought Kimimaro," he said.
"That explains the sandy soil and the bloodshed," Kiba noted.
"Looks like something good finally came out of the sound five incident," Neji replied.
Shino sent his bugs out through the forest as Kiba started searching the bushes again. Neji's Byakugan found a stream and he followed it but cursed as it vanished underground. There was a cry and Kiba vanished with a splash. The team immediately looked over to where Kiba had bee standing and saw a skid mark in the soft ground, leading down a slope towards the edge of the forest. Neji followed the slope and found Kiba on his back in a pool of water.
"What happened?" Kiba asked, sitting up.
"You hit the jackpot," Neji replied, pointing over his shoulder.
Kiba looked around. There was a cluster leaves on the bank of the pool with five long stems sprouting from the centre. Each of the stems sported a long crimson flower the drooped over the edge of the water.
"Lucky I missed them," Kiba smirked.
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Tsunade left the medical tent after checking Naruto for the tenth time. She looked around as Shino, Kiba, Shizune, Akamaru and Neji entered the village at a run.
"Someone order a cure?" Kiba asked, holding a pouch with a crimson flower sticking out of the top.
Tsunade grabbed the pouch and dived into the medical tent again, Shizune following her. Tsunade stripped the petals off the flower and dropped them into a waiting bowl. She proceeded to grind them into a paste then watered it down. She handed the bowl to Sakura.
"Make sure he drinks all of this," Tsunade instructed, beckoning to Sasuke.
"I believe there is a matter we must attend to."
Tsunade strode off the tent with Sasuke hot on her heels. They marched through the camp until they reached the Anbu tent. Tsunade disappeared inside the tent and quickly reappeared, dragging Danzo behind her. The old man seemed too stunned to object as Tsunade dragged him towards the Hyuuga compound. Himeka looked up from her tea as Tsunade walked through the Hyuuga compounds main doors.
"Is Naruto alright?" she asked.
"He'll be alright but it's the cause of his 'illness' is what we've come to talk about."
Himeka raised an eyebrow.
"It was Bloody Tear poisoning."
Himeka's other eyebrow joined the first.
"Sasuke and I believe that the Root Anbu has collaborated with certain members of the Hyuuga council behind your back."
"Lies," Danzo objected only to be silenced by a kick in the ribs from Sasuke.
A flush appeared on Himeka's face as her anger boiled up.
"Hiashi," she bellowed, making Sasuke and Tsunade jump.
"Yes mother," Hiashi replied as he appeared.
"Assemble the council," Himeka told him.
Less than five minutes later the council was assembled. Himeka lined up the council in the courtyard, giving each of them evil glares.
"Hold out you hands," Himeka ordered.
The council members reluctantly held out their hands, Tsunade dropped Danzo and moved up and down the line until she found a member with red patches on their hands. She grabbed him and hauled him out of the line up. It took less than five minutes of threatening for his co-conspirators to be identified and dragged out of the line-up.
"I want each of these traitors' bloodlines bound then thrown out of the village!" Himeka ordered.
Hyuuga Shinobi appeared and dragged the council members out of the courtyard, each off them protesting loudly but their objections were soon silenced.
"Now if you will excuse me I need to take care of those idiots."
Tsunade nodded and smirked as she looked at Danzo.
"Now to take care of you," she grinned evilly.
Danzo tried to back away but bumped into Sasuke's legs. He looked up into crimson eyes and whimpered.
"For the next seventy two your ass is mine."
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D1: I've finished university for the summer so the next chapter should be up in a while. Please R&R.
