The Best Laid Plans
Arun
Chapter 21: War & The Uchiha Tragedy
Disclaimer: Feckless.
Er, someone asked me to add the real chapter as a new chapter so could review...
xxxxx
Sasuke tried to shake the feeling that he was missing something obvious as he stalked back to his teammates. His eyes glinted anger at Danzo's insinuations, but he could not deny that the old cripple's argument sounded reasonable to his ears. The idea that Itachi wasn't a crazed murdering bastard certainly had its own undeniable appeal, even though it made him feel green at the gills. If Itachi was a patriot, then Sasuke's life had no meaning because he'd built his life around the vow he'd taken to avenge his clan's pointless murder…
And what of his friends and teachers? For the last two years, old man Sarutobi had been like the grandfather he'd never had, training and nurturing Sasuke and the other two members of Team 7 as they grew into young adulthood. Could that kind oldster have ordered the murder of the Uchiha clan as Danzo accused? What of their teacher, the current Hokage Hatake Kakashi? Did he know of the betrayal of the Uchiha clan as well? And Jiraiya? Was his whole life a lie and his friends and family really his sworn enemies hiding behind a veil of kindness and concern?
It took a moment to realize where his thoughts were heading and Sasuke shook himself out of it. After a fashion, he could bring himself to believe that Itachi was a patriot, because he could still recall the gentle elder brother who'd showered him with love before the massacre. He would still kill his elder brother, of course, for the sullied honor of the clan, if nothing else, but he could forgive his brother in his heart of hearts if he were no longer a monster.
But it didn't feel right that the bonds he'd cultivated since then with his friends, teachers and family were lies. Certainly, Naruto and Sakura were as close to Sasuke as Itachi or his parents ever were. And they'd shown him nothing but companionship and love. The same could be said of Kakashi, Shikamaru and the others. If Konoha had ruthlessly ordered the murder of his clan, the same village had also given him love, purpose and direction in life. The last two, Sasuke had received from Itachi on that fateful night as well, but he'd realized long since that their pursuit would have led him down a path of no return and truly destroyed the Uchiha clan. This way, the way he'd been taught by his friends, was better and like a phoenix returned from the ashes, it led to the rebirth of the Uchiha clan and something resembling normalcy in his life…
All that reasoning mattered for naught in the final analysis, however. Sasuke was driven by an uncontrollable desire to know the truth and as he opened the tent flap, he knew he was committed to a mistake that was probably going to earn him some broken bones and Sakura's tender ministrations at the very least. At the worst…
"Naruto, forgive me," he whispered as the tent flap fell back into position behind him and the blonde's blue eyes made contact with the spinning crimson irises of his doujutsu. Sasuke was transported into Naruto's mindscape and he found himself facing the Kyuubi in its massive cage with his friend and brother beside him. The beast looked even less pleased than usual to see the blonde once it recognized his companion.
xxxxx
Sarutobi was in the middle of some routine paperwork when the toad emerged from the trough placed in a corner of the room for that very purpose. Knowing that he had a few more seconds left, the retired Hokage speed-read the executive summary of the next document on the pile and penned his signature. Then, he carefully set down his brush and addressed his guest.
"I wish I could say that your arrival is unexpected, Jiraiya."
The Sannin goggled.
"You've already heard of the Tsuchi invasion force, Sensei?" he asked his aged teacher.
It was Sarutobi's turn to be surprised.
"Tsuchi no Kuni? Do tell. I'd thought you'd drop by to discuss the Wind and Lightning alliance."
"Well, throw in Earth and Grass into the mix as well."
"The combined might of four elemental nations against Hi no Kuni. The situation is dire."
"It's even worse than you think, Sensei. The officer in charge of the Grass border is Toshigaki's son, that incompetent bumbler Mukai."
Sarutobi knew of the officer in question. Mukai was a political appointee whose father, the Lord Toshigaki had bought him a commission as an officer in the Hi no Kuni army. It hadn't taken much time for Mukai's superiors to realize they had an idiot on their hands. However, the Lord Toshigaki had paid a lot of money to ensure his son was made an officer of the line and called in a lot of political favors he'd carefully accumulated over the years for this very purpose. So, the Hi no Kuni general staff followed tradition and sent him to the quietest border, that being Grass.
"That is bad," Sarutobi observed with a grimace. He could guess how badly Mukai had managed to screw up the situation on the ground.
"The situation on the Grass border is dire. The invasion is imminent and the regular army units are badly out of position. Our Nin units are stretched and the enemy has a clear and unopposed route to the hinterland of Hi no Kuni."
"In other words, we have exposed our jugular," Sarutobi nodded grimly. "I suppose the Godaime put you in charge of defending the Grass border."
"Yes, which is why I came to you. I need Anko and her unit."
"I've dispatched them to Rice already to reinforce Hanzaki's troops to defend the Kumo front."
"Hanzaki will have to make do with the resources he has in hand, Sensei. He can certainly hold on for a week or two. We don't have that luxury on the Grass border. We need heavy hitters there and we need them now."
"Yes, yes, I understand," Sarutobi replied, picking up his brush and pulling out a fresh parchment. "But I can't leave the Kumo border as is. By all accounts, the Raikage's younger brother has absolute control of the Hachibi and we need some heavy hitters to keep him and his Storms occupied."
"Iwa's got two berserk jinchuuriki on their hands and they're going to be deployed against Mukai," Jiraiya pointed out evenly as Sarutobi frowned in thought.
"Tell you what," the retired Sandaime said after a while, "I'll ask Anko-chan to loan you two companies of her unit. She'll be left with the remaining two companies. I hope the Godaime's promised reinforcements on the Grass border because I'll be sending whatever I can scrounge to Rice."
"I suppose that'll have to do. Now, I don't suppose you have any idea where Anko and her unit are at this moment?"
"Check at the depots between here and the Rice border. I'd start at the halfway mark, if I were you," Sarutobi replied, handing his orders to Jiraiya.
"Good. Thanks, Sensei."
xxxxx
"Lord, the ambassador from Kumo craves the boon of an audience with the Daimyo," the gofer informed the chamberlain of Kaze of Kuni.
The chamberlain scrunched his face. He could guess why the ambassador would want to meet with him. With the Nibi no Nekomata captured, there was a tremendous loss of face and Wind needed a victory against Danzo before the Daimyo faced the worthy. And the Daimyo had provided very clear instructions on what he was to do when Kumo's emissary approached the court with this request.
"Tell him the Daimyo is currently indisposed and will meet him at the earliest."
xxxxx
Sasuke and Naruto appeared inside the latter's mind and an instant later, the blonde's fists crashed into the former's face with the force of a wrecking ball.
Sasuke spun into the air and splashed back down. He lay clutching his jaws as Naruto glared down at him.
"Sasuke, when this mission is over, I'm gonna rip you apart for what you did just now," Naruto growled angrily.
"Okay," Sasuke said, sounding resigned to his fate. He's known the consequences of his actions before he acted.
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
"Is that all you got to say, asshole?"
"I'm sorry, Naruto, but I had to confirm something and the Kyuubi can give me the answers I seek."
"You could have asked," Naruto growled. "You didn't have to sharingan into my mind without permission like that."
"I'm truly sorry, Naruto."
"No, you aren't. Not right now. But after this mission, you'll be sorry, all right. Sorry that you ever violated my mind like that." Sasuke looked as contrite as the blonde had ever seen him, but if he thought it was going to get him out of what he had coming, he was wrong.
Sasuke did not say anything in reply.
Naruto snorted in disgust.
"Let's get this over with. What do you want?"
"Kyuubi."
"Then, Kyuubi, you'll meet," Naruto spoke with a tone of finality.
An instant later, the two teens winked out and appeared at another corner of the maze of tunnels that was both Naruto's chakra system and mindscape.
"Pitiful worm," the Kyuubi growled as soon as it espied Naruto and Sasuke before its cage, "you dare approach me bearing your accursed eyes."
The Kyuubi did not like Sasuke much. In fact, it hated him more than it hated Naruto or the Yondaime, which was saying something. Its chakra began to push against and out of the cage to poison the teen even as the beast struggled to escape its prison and grind Sasuke to dust.
Sasuke's Sharingan spun fast and bore into the Kyuubi's eyes. Entranced, it held his gaze for a few seconds and its chakra flowed back into the cage. Finally, the beast's struggles ceased altogether. Its docile behavior amazed Naruto, even though he'd seen Sasuke do this several times during training in the last two years.
"Tell me why you attacked Hi no Kuni, Kyuubi," Sasuke asked, maintaining eye contact.
"One from your accursed clan, the one whose chakra is even more vile than mine, the one whose eyes are as powerful as yours made me," the tailed beast replied in metronome.
Naruto startled at the admission. No wonder Sasuke had acted so with his Sharingan.
"Uchiha Madara?" the raven-haired boy asked, ignoring his teammate for the nonce. If he took his eyes away now, the Kyuubi would be even more of a bitch than it usually was. And as far as he knew, he was the only Uchiha beside Madara who'd ever been able to control the Kyuubi in any manner.
Even caught in the Sharingan's spell, the Kyuubi growled at hearing the name of Sasuke's ancestor.
Sasuke nodded and deactivated his doujutsu. That was all the confirmation he needed. Now, to verify what old man Sarutobi knew.
xxxxx
Naruto staggered as Sasuke dropped out of his mind. He knew from experience that only a few seconds had passed since his friend dragged them both to meet the nine tail, which made the event all the more disorienting.
Sakura looked concerned and started towards him, but Naruto shooed her away. He flashed the hand sign for security and she nodded. The seals she'd placed on the room as soon as she saw Sasuke catch the blonde with his doujutsu would take another ten minutes to break by a seal master.
Naruto nodded at her and turned his attention to the matter at hand.
"It's gotta be a lie, Sasuke," he said as Sakura, Hinata and Shino watched in interest from the sidelines.
"I don't think so," Sasuke retorted.
"He died more than half a century ago at the Battle of Valley of the End," Naruto replied.
"There haven't been more than a handful of people in the history of the Elemental nations, myself included, who could control the Kyuubi, Naruto."
"He's dead, Sasuke. You can't control the Nine Tails from the spirit realm."
"What if he isn't? His body was never recovered," the raven-haired boy retorted.
"What are you guys talking about?" Sakura interjected herself into the conversation finally, speaking, she knew, for both Shino and Hinata both. The Battle of Valley of the End? Kyuubi? What was going on with the boys?
"Later, Sakura. I promise I'll tell you as soon as I myself find out what's going on," Naruto replied.
The pink-tressed kunoichi turned to her other teammate.
"Sasuke?"
Sasuke ignored her, focusing his attention on his other teammate.
"I have to meet Sarutobi-sensei. Take me there."
Naruto shook his head.
"You're being a stubborn and idiotic SOB today," he muttered as he formed two clones as decoys. To Sakura, he said, "He won't answer you, Sakura. The idiot's gone crazy on us. Hold the fort while we're gone and make as if the two of us are already here. I'll send a toad ahead before we return so that you can get the security arrangements back in place."
"How long will you be gone?" she asked.
Naruto cast a glance at the agitated Sasuke.
"Not too long. This is a fool's errand if there ever was one," he replied, summoning Kosuke for the journey.
"Hey, Boss, need me already?" the toad asked.
"Yep. I need you to take Sasuke and I to Sarutobi's place in Tea."
Kensuke whistled.
"That's some way off, Boss. I need a bigger bonus."
"I'll get you grasshoppers roasted to a crisp and dipped in chocolate."
Kensuke drooled at the offer. The boss must really want this favor to offer such a succulent treat! But Kensuke wasn't a born yesterday tadpole.
"How much?"
"A handful and not a grasshopper more. And only after I return to the village."
"Sasuke-san's hands. Not yours. They're too small."
Naruto grumbled but nodded. Knowing Sasuke as he did, the bastard wouldn't even lift a finger when it came to catch and fry the stupid insects. He'd have to pay for a D-rank to get the little critters.
"Hop on board, Boss," Kensuke enthused, pulling both the blonde and his teammate into his mouth for the ride to Tea.
xxxxx
His teammates watched Juugo with a mix of disbelief and humor as he mooned another villager. The man shook his head in disgust, cursed drunks in general and walked away with his eyes averted.
"How many does that make?" Karin asked aloud as the guffaws died down.
"That's the seventh one," someone piped. "But the reaction of that matron was a sight for sore eyes."
Karin shook her head wryly.
"The bastard's fucking crazy," she guffawed as Juugo did something else insane.
"Watch this, Karin," Juugo announced loudly just before he projectile puked into the middle of the street.
"He can't handle his liquor, but at least he's a happy drunk," Anko commented cheerfully from her seat. "Anyways, the ass is going to have a terrible time marching tomorrow morning."
"We'll probably have to toss him on one of the wagons, the idiot," Karin agreed.
Anko stood up and motioning Karin to follow her, retired to a quieter corner of the bar. Karin left the revelry behind quietly and followed her commanding officer.
"You haven't shared your thoughts about our orders," Anko observed once they were out of earshot. "And I know the look on your face. Do you have any reservations about them."
Karin shook her head. It wasn't going back to Rice country that she minded. Some of the other survivors did, but she did not. No, but the thought of Rice did bring back memories of Kimimaro, and how she and Kabuto had killed him with Jiraiya's consent after they surrendered to Konoha three years back. The bone-wielder had been entirely too loyal to Orochimaru that it served the best interest of his comrades and Konoha to have him pass quietly into the night. Once Kabuto convinced Jiraiya of that fact, the Sannin had looked the other way as they committed the deed. With that murder, Kabuto had secured his place in Konoha's research division and she had saved the life of the surviving cursed seal bearers who'd depended on her.
To say the truth, she wasn't bothered by the memory of the coldblooded killing. Kimimaro's death had opened her to a world of friendship and opportunity. Juugo was her best friend now and the sky was the limit within Konoha's Ninja Corps so long as he worked diligently and was loyal to the village. So, no, she did not mind killing the last Kaguya at all.
"No, if anything, I'm ambivalent about our orders."
"Obviously something is troubling you," Anko pointed out, "what is it?"
Anko, her present commander, did not know of Karin's last act of treachery committed after the surrender and Karin had long since decided she would take the truth of what happened to Kimimaro to the grave. So, she redirected her superior's thoughts on a harmless path.
"Orphans though most of us were, I've been thinking about how gullible we must have been that Orochimaru was able to suborn us to his cause so easily, Major."
Anko nodded. She understood exactly what the red-haired NCO was talking about, having been caught in the mad man's influence at one time herself.
"He always had a way with words."
"That he did," Karin agreed. "Anyways, I'm glad he's dead."
"No one misses him for sure and certain," Anko replied with a smile. She herself remembered when the Godaime, Jiraiya and Sarutobi approached her to take command of misguided kids who'd suffered at Orochimaru's hands as she had. She'd been only too happy to oblige, and she'd slowly molded the original survivors and other newly created bearers of the Seals of Power into a loyal battalion of Konoha nin with help from both the head shrinkers and the research division.
"Very true," Karin acquiesced again. Then, noting one of her people on watch duty approach, "Yes, Hiro?"
"Jiraiya-sama's here to see the Major, Sergeant," Hiro replied.
"The old perv?" Anko wondered aloud. "What's he doing here?"
"I wouldn't know, Major."
Anko nodded.
"Well, you'd better see to escorting him here, hadn't you, Hiro?"
Without snapping a salute – they were on the field and Anko was no idiot to demand her personnel salute her in public and identify her for assassins – Hiro turned on his heels towards the nearest exit of the bar, but his actions were moot. Jiraiya had followed him into the bar and now introduced himself.
"No need, Son. I'll take it from here," the Sannin said.
Hiro turned to Anko for further instructions. She dismissed him with a curt nod and he left.
"Jiraiya-sama," she greeted the Sannin, "what brings you to our little corner of the woods."
Jiraiya produced a scroll from nowhere and handed it to her. He waited patiently as the Anko read it and turned it over to Karin.
"You put me in a difficult position," the Major confessed, "I need every hand I can get. The Hachibi is a monster."
Jiraiya shrugged serenely. Orders are orders and…
"We have a new front opening along the Grass border with an invasion imminent and we need the forces, Anko."
"Don't see how my people can help there. We're days away from Grass. If that border's undefended, we'd be better off pulling forces closer to the action to defend it."
"Someone else is doing that," Jiraiya replied. "As for why your unit, there are three reasons. One, your unit is cohesive. Two, they have the necessary firepower. And three, I can transport them to the front much faster than you realize."
"I do not want to know how you're doing to do it, do I?"
"Nope. Need to know and all that."
"What I figured. Karin, see to it that Jiraiya-sama gets our two best companies."
xxxxx
As Jiraiya and Karin walked away, he just had to ask the red-haired kunoichi one question.
"I'm going to get your two least strength companies, aren't I?"
Karin flashed him a bright smile.
"Yep."
The Sannin sighed.
"What I thought."
xxxxx
"Aren't you two supposed to be in Kaze no Kuni right now?" Sarutobi asked, eyeing the two boys standing before him with a stern expression.
Naruto shot a glare at Sasuke.
"We are, Sensei."
"Then what are you doing here so far from your Area of Operations?" the retired Hokage asked pointedly.
"I had a meeting with Danzo and I learnt a few things that brought me here, Sensei," Sasuke replied.
Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully.
"Tell me what happened during the meeting."
Sasuke narrated his tale including what he'd done to Naruto. Sarutobi listened silently through the whole narration and frowned his disapproval when Sasuke got to the part where he'd invaded Naruto's mind without his permission to confront Kyuubi.
"And you suspect that we lied to you," he asked at the end.
Sasuke shook his head but looked unsure.
"No, I don't…"
"Go on, spit it out," Sarutobi urged, seeing the teen hesitate.
"Well, either my family were innocent victims murdered by a madmen or they were traitors. If the former, Sensei, I'll honor them and hunt my brother down like a mad dog. If the latter, they are traitors. Incompetent ones at that and they deserved what they got."
Sarutobi nodded.
"Thing is, if they are traitors, then like Danzo said, my brother's a patriot and he's been dealt a shitty hand at life."
"And you're curious about your brother because even after what he did to you, you love him just as you hate him."
Sasuke nodded.
"Very well. Sit, this is going to take a while," Sarutobi murmured. "I'd rather that I never had to tell you or anyone else who wasn't in the compartment, but I'd also rather not have you go out snooping about one of Konoha's darkest secrets on your own volition. It's liable to get you and your team killed. So, as owner of the compartment, I'll grant you access. Remember that the knowledge of the incident is Deep Purple coded, the highest level of classification for state and military secrets. What I tell you will not make it outside Team 7. I would say outside this room and ask Naruto to step out, but I know you'll share the details of our conversation on this subject with him and Sakura anyways trapped as you are in Danzo's camp. And I'd rather not have the three of you executed for that offense. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Sensei," the boys echoed.
"Good. Itachi is a patriot of the highest caliber. The boy would have made a good successor for me if your clan's business hadn't ruined his life. You see, relations between your clan and the village had always been strained since Uchiha Madara went rogue and tried to get the whole clan to revolt. Why, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that relations were none too civil right from the founding of the village.
"You see, when Senju Hashirama convinced Uchiha Madara to join their clans together to build the first hidden village, something never before seen in the annals of the Elemental nations, the latter agreed thinking that he'd be the first among equals. Too bad for him that Hashirama thought along the same lines himself and unlike Madara, the Shodai had favorably viewed by many of the clans as well as the reigning Daimyo of Hi no Kuni. So, instead of being appointed leader of this new village, your ancestor found himself a subject in it. A powerful one but a subject nonetheless.
"Over the next few years, the egos of the two founding fathers clashed more and more often. The Shodai wanted to integrate the Uchiha into the village and most of the clan were willing, but Madara was adamant that the clan remain separate. The Shodai could not be swayed from this goal and it's widely held in scholarly circles that Madara could not reconcile himself to being the servant of a man whom he considered his equal. Furthermore, the two of them could not agree on the fate of the bijuu. Between Hashirama and Madara, Konoha controlled all the tailed beasts. Madara wanted Konoha to hold them all to ensure our lasting supremacy, but the Shodai gave them away to the other villages in the interest of forging a lasting peace between the nations.
"Tensions between the two rose to the point that Madara became convinced that the village was no longer a good idea. But his arguments for independence lost against the promise of peace the Shodai gave his clansmen. They wanted an end to the endless conflict that had afflicted the world of Ninja and they believed Madara offered them a return to those dark times. At this point, in one of history's great ironies, the Shodai offered the Uchiha clan the right to live apart from the village, which had been the cause of his falling out with Madara, to preserve the peace. Unfortunately, the gulf between the two founding fathers had grown too much and with his clan turning their back on him, Madara refused a compromise and went rogue.
"What followed was the Battle of Valley of the End at the conclusion of which the histories would have us believe the Shodai killed Madara. But apparently, if you're tale is to be believed, he's alive.
"Now, initially, the rest of the clans were okay with the Uchiha being treated as the first among equals, but slowly, as the village prospered and grew ever more powerful, voices of dissent arose from the ranks and file of the nin corps as well as the various clans. This strained relations between the village and your clan again, but not too much because the complaints were always few in number.
"And then came the Kyuubi. Konoha was weakened by its attack. The Uchiha survived intact for the most part and fearing for their security, the other clans wanted to weave them tightly into the fabric of the village. With a large number of backers for integration, the movement gained strength in official circles. Of course, your clan saw this as stepping on their traditional rights and resented the calls.
"In this climate, there was also the fear that the Kyuubi was directed at Konoha for the same reasons Danzo'd stated in your conversation. So, when your clan argued vociferously against integrating into the village, the other clans began to think that perhaps there was credence to those unfound suspicions about the Kyuubi's attack, after all. As time passed, relations continued to fray, though as far as we have ever been able to verify, only the Uchiha had plans for taking up arms.
"In this milieu, Fugaku, your father, sent Itachi to infiltrate ANBU as an informer, even though Itachi opposed plans for armed rebellion against the village. Itachi did not come to us until the very last stages of your father's plot. If he had, perhaps I could have talked to Fugaku and made him see reason. But at that point, when Itachi reported to us after realizing your clan was committed to arms and could not be swayed, it was too late.
"We did not have the forces to fight your clan and then, defend ourselves against the carrion eaters from Kumo or Iwa who'd have descended upon us sensing weakness in the aftermath. I was the only one in the Ruling Four who thought that a compromise was still possible, but the other three within the village and the Daimyo outvoted me.
"The decision was taken to execute your clan with a first strike and your brother volunteered for it, though the decision must have cost him dearly. He did it out of a sense of honor – it behooved upon him as the heir to deal with his errant relatives and reclaim lost face and honor – as well as to save the village. It would have sown a climate of fear and distrust amongst the other clans over their own fate if it ever came to light that Konoha ordered the execution of the Uchiha. Such an environment would have destroyed the village in the long run, of course and we wanted to avoid it at all costs. With this goal in mind, Itachi volunteered to fake madness so that suspicion would never fall on the council and on me.
"On that fateful night, Sasuke, he was under orders to kill everything inside your clan compound, down to the cats and dogs. Itachi followed that order to a tee but for a single lapse. He spared you. And before he fled the walls of the village, he sought one last audience with me and asked me to not let the actions of your people cloud my opinion of you and to protect you. He was very particular on the last point, in fact, going so far as to threaten the lives of the other three members of the Ruling Four with their lives should an unfortunate accident befall you. What more proof do you require that your brother loved you dearly?
"Of course, I'd be the first to admit that he had a strange way of showing his love. We never understood why he tortured you the way he did. You'd have hunted him down anyway to redeem the clan's honor at falling victim to a single assassin without him ever resorting to that crude technique. That's one of two mysteries about that day, anyways."
"Thank you for your explanation, Sarutobi-sensei. I'm deeply in your debt," Sasuke replied solemnly.
Sarutobi nodded.
"Now, what's this about Madara and the Kyuubi? Are you telling me that our suspicions about the Nine Tail's motivations weren't baseless and that Madara is actually alive?" he asked.
"It would appear so," Sasuke replied. "The Kyuubi confirmed it."
"Maybe," the retired Hokage said thoughtfully.
Sarutobi didn't sound so sure he believed it, but then, he didn't know just how well Sasuke could control the beast. Team 7 had never shared that secret with anyone else. All that even Jiraiya knew of Sasuke's abilities was that he could use his doujutsu to force the Kyuubi's chakra back.
"You said there are two mysteries about the day Itachi executed my clan, Sensei. What's the other?" Sasuke asked, switching topics.
"Oh, the forensics evidence was clear that he didn't do it alone. He had someone else helping him. We've never found out who, though."
Sasuke nodded.
"What about Danzo, Sensei?"
"Pretend you're interested for now, all three of you and put this out of your minds now that you've informed us, your superiors. The situation will be handled," Sarutobi replied.
Sasuke nodded again and rose from his seat. Naruto mirrored him.
"Thank you for this audience, Sensei."
"You're welcome, Sasuke. You two take care of yourselves, you hear."
"Yes, Sensei."
After the boys left, Sarutobi turned to his papers and began composing a new letter. This one addressed to both the Daimyo and the Godaime Hokage. It was clear that Danzo's overweening ambitions had finally grown to the level where he'd lost whatever modicum of common sense he'd ever had. There were plenty of dark secrets in Konoha's closet other than the Uchiha clan execution and it was clear he could no longer be trusted to keep them. The very nature of the secrets was such that they'd turn friends into enemies and break alliances, and the security in this area could not be compromised.
It was time to bury Danzo.
xxxxx
Naruto and Sasuke weren't surprised to see that neither Hinata nor Shino were around on their return.
"What's happening, Naruto?" the Team 7 medic and ambush specialist asked.
"Security?" he asked.
"I rigged the room for light and sound just now. It should be good for a quarter of an hour, probably."
"Danzo tried to suborn me with a revelation about my family," Sasuke told her, "I had to confirm it."
"But why did you use the Sharingan on Naruto?" the kunoichi asked.
"Because it's been a while since I busted his bones and he misses it," Naruto replied touchily. He was going to extract his pound in flesh for that offense from Sasuke when the time was right. Shooting a glare at his errant teammate, he said, "Don't think that I'm going to let you off the hook because of today's revelations."
Sasuke grimaced.
"I know I screwed up, Naruto."
"Damn right, you did."
Sasuke ignored him and turned to his teammate.
"I'll tell you all the details later after we get out of this snake's pit, but for now, suffice to say that the rumors of the death of my ancestor, Uchiha Madara, one of the founding fathers of our village, were exaggerated and he was responsible for the Kyuubi's attack. Moreover, it turns out that my clan was executed for planning a coup against the village. My brother carried out the execution."
Sakura blinked.
"And Danzo told you this to win you over?" she asked.
"More or less. We have individual confirmation of both the Kyuubi attack and my clan's fate from Naruto's permanent and quite ungrateful guest as well as the Sandaime."
That gave Sakura pause as she thought over the proper course of action. She did not find any so she turned to her teammate for action.
"You think we ought to go missing nin?" she asked, sliding into a chair facing her teammates.
"Do we, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, making eye contact with his friend. "It's your decision on this matter."
"Don't be dumb, you two. We aren't leaving. Konoha's our village and I'm not going to dishonor my ancestors again by trying to betray it like my relatives did."
"Then we better start sucking up to Danzo right now. It'd be advisable to start slow and accelerate on the ass kissing as we go for something tells me that a wrong step on our part is liable to earn us a poisoned meal, a slit throat, a garroted neck or a dagger in the back," Naruto opined, heaving a little sigh of relief. He knew he'd have left the village without so much as a backwards glance if that was what Sasuke wanted – as would have Sakura – but it'd have made for some awkwardness in the future.
"That's for the immediate present," Sakura agreed, "what of the future?"
"I have to establish correspondence with my brother somehow. That's going to be a bitch seeing as how we don't even know where he is or what he's been doing all these years."
"You going to spare him?" Naruto asked.
"No, Itachi wants to die for some reason. There's no other reason I can think of for why he gave me his instructions on that night. It's probably because he wants to be killed like a dog for his sins against our clan. Of course, I'm not going to treat him like that. Not when I know the truth now. But I will help him commit seppuku as atonement. Either on the battlefield or off it. It is my duty as his second."
"And after that?"
"You heard the Sandaime, Naruto. My clan wouldn't have died without the Kyuubi attack creating so much distrust and feeding the turmoil between my clan and the others. Simmering tensions aggravated to the point of no return after its assault. Nevermind that Madara is guilty of attempting to wipe out the village and my clan when he controlled the Nine Tail so. As such, it's my responsibility to deal with the rogue."
Naruto chuckled at Sasuke's words.
"That's a relief," the blonde piped to his teammates, cheerily. "I was afraid for a second there that Sasuke's plans have changed. That'd have been like the end of the world or something."
"They have, you idiot," Sasuke growled, swatting at the blonde.
"No, they haven't. The basic premise is still the same: Hunt mass-murdering relative and kill same."
"I swear I'm going to strangle you in your sleep one day, Naruto!" Sasuke retorted hotly.
Sakura guffawed at that. Sure, they were going up against someone who had enough power to rival the Shodai sixty-odd years back and it was certain as sunrise that the man had grown more powerful over the years, but all was well within her family and that alone mattered.
Her family was united and that, certainly, was more than enough.
xxxxx
"Are the troops ready?" the Godaime Kazekage asked his ANBU staff.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama," the faceless ANBU commander whispered.
The Kazekage stared down at the five hundred ANBU, jounin, chuunin and even genin illuminated by numerous torches and arrayed into neat ranks on the ground below. This was all the nin Suna could assemble on such short notice and he was going to thrown them at Danzo's camp. By sunset the day after tomorrow, many of his shinobi would be dead, but then, so would Danzo's camp down to the last rat. In the Godaime's considered opinion, that was a fair enough price for the blood of these heroes.
"Brave shinobi of Sunagakure," the Kazekage spoke, "the people of Kaze no Kuni have toiled under the yoke of Fire country for over three years now. In that time, the Fire ninja have raped and killed, and looted and pillaged with impunity, taking advantage of our weakened state to prey on us.
"That time comes to an end today. We're no longer weakened. The Hidden Village in Sand is strong. The Land of Wind is strong. We have righteousness and justice on our side. And we will emerge triumphant.
"Today, you're assembled to avenge the spilled blood of your family members and your countrymen. You will work in concert with the samurai units surrounding that worm Danzo and his coterie, and you will reduce his fortress back to the dust from which it rose. You will crush those vermin and leave no stone unturned hunting down those thieves and murderers. Abide not a rat to live within those walls!"
xxxxx
"Danzo-sama," the masked nin said in metronome, as he knelt on the floor.
"What do you have to report on our young Uchiha and his friends?" Danzo asked, picking up a glass of water.
"Their tent was rigged for light and sound twice after his meeting. For a stretch of about fifteen minutes both times. The second time, the survivors of Team 8 attached to their unit weren't in the tent."
"And what are they doing now?"
"They've put a rotating watch and turned in for the night."
"What were they doing when the screens went down?" Danzo asked curiously.
"They were carrying on ribbing each other as usual."
Danzo nodded. The fact that they used the screen told him they were aware of being observed or at least conscientious enough of security to act as if nothing had happened. He reflected that on hindsight, it might have been better to use Shisui's gift on Sasuke during their meeting, but the risk of using the eye against a Sharingan prodigy hadn't seemed worth the reward then. Maybe he should have…
Anyways, he'd observe the three nin tomorrow before deciding what to do about Team 7.
xxxxx
"Well, kiddies," Jiraiya said jovially, "here we are."
Several members of his temporary command recently emerged from the belly of toads looked grossed out, remembering their journey up and down the throats of the critters. The Sannin ignored them.
"That right there is the Grass-Fire border, where loads of fun awaits us fine adventurers. So does much booze and cooze," he crooned gaily.
"Yeah, lucky for us you brought us here to face two bijuu," someone commented sourly from the back.
"Hey, don't be so down," retorted another wiseass in the darkness. "You ask me, fighting jinchuuriki is a definite improvement over being regurgitated as toad puke."
Others assented vociferously at that statement.
"The whole generation's made of ungrateful brats," Jiraiya groused half-heartedly while he stared intently towards Grass country. "It's probably that brat Naruto's fault."
xxxxx
The first unit of the Iwa-Grass alliance crossed into the Hi no Kuni border at four in the morning the same day. They encountered no resistance as Mukai's troops were sound asleep in their barracks.
xxxxx
Author's notes:
Please leave reviews!
This chapter is approximately two thousand words longer than I planned, but I think I've done the characters and the plot threads justice. Hopefully, you, the reader, feel the same.
Thanks to warslasher for his suggestions and corrections! Thanks also to wirespeed91 for reminding me of a lesson I'd forgotten. LOL