Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

AN: Well, that's it. The last chapter for now. I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I did and I'm grateful for everyone who followed this story. You've been awesome. I won't ramble too long for now. Enjoy the last installment!

Team 7's Ascension

Chapter XXIII - Fallen Leaves V

Sakura knelt on the floor, cutting stripes out of her shirt before using them to tie the ends of Sasuke's cloak around Kakashi's body. "I'm done," she said, finishing the last knot while glancing at the two ways out of the room. The one they had entered through—barely more than a fissured stone arc and a pile of wooden splinters now—led back to the maze of tunnels. The other went past an open door and into another, unknown corridor.

Sakura headed for the former, intent on getting Kakashi to a doctor as fast as possible. She had just stepped over the sill, when chakra flared in the distance. "Someone entered the facility."

Naruto lifted Kakashi into his arms. "Let me guess," he said. "They're taking the same entrance…"

"Only way in from that direction." Sakura put her hands in a seal, strengthening her focus. "It's strange though. The signature feels… familiar."

"Orochimaru?"

She shook her head. "Someone else." That was as far as her sensing went, though.

"If it isn't Orochimaru, we're fine," Sasuke said.

"I'm not sure." Sakura bit her lip. "The signature's around sensei's level."

"Kimimaro was the same."

"And we did him in without luck and injuries, right?"

Naruto cleared his throat. "No pressure, but we should get a move on. No time left."

"Let's attack," Sasuke said. "We've surprise and numbers."

"And Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. "He can't protect himself. I didn't cross the continent with you to have him die in an accident now."

Sasuke nodded to the alternative, the door. "We have no clue where that thing leads to though."

"Maybe an exit," Naruto said.

It wasn't foolproof, Sakura knew, not by a long shot. But it was better than messing around with a shinobi as strong as their sensei. "We should avoid fighting," she said.

Sasuke stared at at her, then at Naruto. "This will bite us in the ass."

The corridor behind the door stretched onward like the never-ending tail of a snake, its low ceiling almost making Sakura dizzy with its concentric, repeating patterns. Team Seven soon reached a large gate and crossed into another room where absolute blackness pressed against them.

Sakura turned around as clothes rustled beside her, coming face to face with Sasuke's glowing Sharingan. "You see anything?" she asked.

Sasuke didn't respond, inhaling deeply instead. "Katon: Endan." He spat a lance of fire into the air and Sakura's eyes widened as it illuminated their surroundings. They stood in a long hallway of staggered pillars, each as tall as a tree, and at the end of it, on an elevated dais, sat an empty throne made of marble.

"Where are we?" Naruto asked as the Jutsu dwindled.

"I'm not sure I want to find out," Sasuke said. "Sakura, can you sense anyone in here?"

She shook her head before remembering that neither of them could see her. "Nothing. It's all clear."

"Forward, then," Naruto said.

Staying close to one another, they moved farther in. They had made it roughly to the center of the hallway, when a surge of chakra rushed through the chamber, igniting dozens of torches in one swoop.

Naruto's lips parted in a humorless grin. "Ominous."

"We can still turn around," Sasuke said.

Stretching her senses, Sakura searched for the signature that was following them, and found it just as it arrived in Kakashi's former prison. From there it began slowly to move toward them. "Not anymore," she said. "Only one way now."

"This shit is coming full circle."

"Not the time to say 'I told you so'—" The echo of footsteps interrupted Naruto. He tensed. "Sakura?"

"There's no one here," she said. "I can't sense anyone at all."

Sasuke drew his sword. "But we can hear someone."

"Don't be too hard on her, Sasuke-kun. It is very difficult to find me if I do not want to be found."

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, ignoring the strange, stabbing pain in his eye-sockets, and took in every detail—Orochimaru's dilated pupils, the Sannin's pale skin, even the single threads of the purple rope slung around his waist.

"I need your tags," Sakura whispered. "Quick."

"Back pocket."

While Naruto put Kakashi on the ground, Sakura used the short distraction to reach for their exploding tags. "Keep him busy," she said.

"Planning your escape already?" Orochimaru's words bounced off the pillars around them like a haunting melody.

"Hardly," Naruto said as he raised his chin, exposing a bit of his neck. "Here to take another bite? Last one didn't go so well."

Orochimaru stilled. "You—"

The moment Sakura's heel hit the floor, Sasuke rushed forward. He covered the distance, and the air dispersed with a violent noise as he landed in a crouch before the Sannin. One step behind him, Naruto entered the fray.

Sasuke's sword roared up. With a hand encased in rock, Orochimaru swiped at it. The blade broke with a sharp clang, its upper half spinning violently past Sasuke's face. He slid back, making space to defend himself, blood pounding in his ears.

Naruto hurled past him, impacting hard on the floor, and the hairs on Sasuke's neck lifted like a bed of nails. Then the weight of an anvil smashed into his stomach, and spittle flew out of his mouth. He staggered to the side, trying to dodge the next punch, but a snake coiled around his leg and pulled him back. The Sannin's fist crashed into his face, lifting him off the ground. Still in the air, Orochimaru kicked him away with a motion too fluid to be human.

Before he hit a pillar, hands grabbed him out of the air. He landed in an unsteady crouch next to Naruto, clutching his stomach. Buying time from a Sannin was harder than it sounded. Their first exchange had lasted all of ten seconds, and they were still racing against the clock. The signature following them couldn't be far now.

Sasuke straightened up. "Ninjutsu," he whispered as Orochimaru prowled forward with silent steps. They had to keep him at distance. Too many hits like the last, and he'd be nothing more than red paste.

Beside him, Naruto wiped blood off his lips. He glared at the Sannin. "Jiraiya punches harder than you. Suiton: Shīdo Jū." His cheeks bulged like those of a toad before he spat out dozens of water bullets, each as thick as a wrist.

Sasuke frowned. Naruto had stronger attacks… those small things would never—

The first bullet ripped into the floor a few feet shy of its target. The ground broke open in a spray of dust and debris. Another bullet followed. By the third, the noise of the barrage resembled a thundering Taiko drum and Orochimaru had to abandon his casual stance.

Orochimaru was distracted.

Sasuke circled the Sannin, racing through hand seals as he positioned himself behind him. "Katon: Dai Endan." Reddish waves of fire surrounded a spire of white, setting the chamber ablaze. Sasuke kept pushing chakra into the Jutsu, holding out for his teammate to react.

Spitting his last bullet at Orochimaru, Naruto smashed his palms together. "Suiton: Mizurappa." A beam of water—triple the Jutsu's usual size—burst forth, a tidal force driving it onward as it rushed to meet the fire head-on. Sizzling echoed. Fog spread.

Sasuke made his way over to Naruto, who crouched by Kakashi. The mist would make it only slightly more difficult for the Sannin, but Orochimaru could still sense them. This way, at least, they might be able to fool the pursuer who could show up any moment now.

"You don't think much of me, do you, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke didn't answer. Not that he could. His throat was as dry as sandpaper.

"They are fools, Orochimaru-sama."

That voice…

"That's—"

Sakura appeared between them, interrupting Naruto. "I hope you can run," she said. "I'm finished."

Naruto shouldered Kakashi.

"Fūton: Daitoppa."

Sakura grabbed them by their wrists. "Run!" she shouted as the Sannin blew the fog away.

"There is nowhere for you to run," Orochimaru said.

Sakura leaped into the air. Mid-jump she turned around, baring her teeth. "We'll see." She slapped her hands into a ram seal. "Fūin: Kai!"

Bark splintered under his feet as Hiruzen raced through the north-western parts of the Land of Fire, heading toward a small town in Kusa where ANBU had sighted Tsunade. According to the medic-nin, his old student—the last Senju, he added—was the only one with the expertise to heal Jiraiya.

He shook his head. The fate of the Sannin was truly a tragedy. One, perhaps, that he had created, however indirectly. But the freedom he granted them in acknowledgement of his own failure was a luxury of peace, nothing more.

Hiruzen increased his pace. With Jiraiya out of the picture, he was the only one who could convince Tsunade to return. The Tree had need of her. And if she resisted like a petulant child, he would have to spank her like one before dragging her home.

A tremor broke him out of his thoughts. Above him, flocks of bird left the trees, taking to the air in hurried flight. On the horizon, miles to the west, columns of smoke smothered the sky.

Carrying Kakashi, Naruto led his teammates through the forest. His arms still hadn't stopped trembling, and the explosion continued ringing in his ears. Kami, he had seen houses cave in during the invasion, had used enough exploding tags to lose count… but none of that could have ever prepared him for the kind of destruction he had just witnessed.

Beside him, Sakura leaped from branch to branch, wearing a dazed look. "It worked," she said, a slight hitch in her voice. "It really worked…We're alive."

"You had doubts?"

"I wasn't completely sure."

"You're scary," Naruto said.

"Am I hearing complaints?"

Thinking of the stadium-sized hole Sakura had just blown into Orochimaru's ceiling while collapsing all the support pillars, Naruto shook his head. "Not from me," he said. "But…holy fuck. You blasted his roof. That probably makes you the most destructive kunoichi on the continent."

A smattering of red colored her cheeks. "Stop embarrassing me."

Naruto barked a laugh as he noticed the satisfaction gleaming in her eyes. "Sorry. Don't destroy me, please?"

"No promises."

Sasuke, who lagged behind two steps, drew level with them. "Joke later," he said. "He won't be dead from something like that."

As much as Naruto wanted to tell Sasuke to stop being a pessimistic stick in the mud, he couldn't. Sasuke was right, because now that the exhilaration of surviving began ebbing away, the enormity of what had happened was setting in. For the second time they had fought Orochimaru. And again, he had crushed them like bugs. If it hadn't been for Sakura's plan, none of them would have left that hall alive.

There wasn't much that sobered one up faster than the threat of imminent death.

"You recognized the second voice?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke's nostrils flared. "Kabuto."

Naruto nodded. The four-eyed rat had played them from the beginning. "He was the one who told us about Kakashi."

"Maybe he got hit by the roof," Sakura said.

"I sure hope so."

"Sen'eijashu."

Something slippery coiled around Naruto's ankles, binding them together. He got a brief glimpse of three black-striped snakes. Then he was lifted off the branch. Trees flew by in blinding speed as he was thrown sideways until he smashed into the ground.

Sakura and Sasuke landed next to him, cutting the snakes off his legs. Naruto rose, gritted his teeth. They had collapsed tons of stone on Orochimaru, and he still caught up with them in three minutes. Apparently, the Sannin wouldn't leave them alone if they asked nicely, so they had to kill him—simple as that. Well, simple but not easy.

Sulfurous eyes stared at them. No, definitely not easy.

Orochimaru pulled a sword out of his mouth, and Naruto suppressed a shiver of revulsion as the Sannin gripped it with one hand while massaging his pale throat with the other. This had just become a lot creepier. And more dangerous. Orochimaru was bad enough with his hands alone. A sword only complicated matters while also showing the man's intent to finish them. After all, nothing did that better than cold steel. Especially the kind of steel that came with plenty of saliva attached.

"I've had it with you three." Snakes slithered out of Orochimaru's sleeves. "I will have your body, Sasuke-kun," he said, then panned his head to Naruto. "And it will be interesting to see what happens once you die, Jinchūriki."

"Fuck you," Sakura growled, her hands clenched into fists. "I slowed you in the second task. I blew up your bloody throne room. And if you think Sasuke and Naruto are your only problem then you've got another thing coming."

Naruto let out an appreciative whistle. Sasuke smirked. They didn't have much of a chance against Orochimaru, not in a straight fight. But if they were about to die, they might as well give him as much shit as they possibly could for coming after them. All three shifted together until their shoulders touched.

"She's right," Naruto said. "For a Sannin you fail a lot."

"Hn."

The corners of Orochimaru's mouth twitched. Then he hurtled at them, sword trained at Naruto's heart. Naruto bent his knees, bracing himself, his own scream thundering in his head.

"Katon: Kyodaina Honō." The voice was unfamiliar.

A swath of flames blazed up between them and Orochimaru. Shuriken whistled through the air, followed by kunai and even more shuriken. The Sannin weaved through the first wave, ducked under the second. As the third neared, wire pulled at the first. The shuriken arced back and deflected the incoming kunai, two of which sliced fine lines into Orochimaru's skin.

"Suiton: Suikōdan!"

Orochimaru's eyes widened. He brought up a wall of earth just before a water shark as large as a house smashed into it. The improvised shield broke and the shark dissolved into a puddle.

Naruto's pulse quickened. They had survived Orochimaru for now, but something was wrong with this scene—very wrong. Sasuke's trembling body told him as much. As did the shallow breaths leaving his mouth.

"Looks like we caught ourselves a drenched snake, Itachi-san."

Naruto's head snapped over to the voice. A blue man stood not far away from them. His hair, darker in color than his skin, looked like jagged seaweeds. He shouldered a bandaged sword as tall as a grown man. And even if they were concealed by a black cloak, Naruto had a rough understanding of how much muscles that guy must pack if he swung around a sword that size.

Then the words registered. Naruto blanched as he directed his gaze to the blue man's companion. Dark hair framed a face carved out of marble, a black windmill spun in a churning pool of crimson. The likeness to Sasuke was hard to overlook.

This wasn't good. No, this was actually horrible.

Sakura gripped Sasuke's arm, keeping him in their little formation while Naruto forced the feeling of despair into the deepest abyss of his mind. It wouldn't help. But hell, he could have gladly gone several years without encountering that man.

"Helping your little brother, Itachi?" Orochimaru scowled. "Isn't it a bit late for a happy reunion between the two of you?"

Itachi glanced at him. "You will not harm the Jinchūriki."

"Fine with me," Orochimaru said. "I just need Sasuke-kun."

As the Sannin took a step forward, the bandaged sword cleaved the ground in front of him in half. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and the blue man tugged at the bandages in his hand, recollecting his sword. "No way I'd let you get eyes like Itachi-san's," the man said. "Besides, you're a traitor. Jinchūriki or not, I'll flay the skin from your bones."

"I have a name you assholes," Naruto shouted. Three heads turned to him and Sakura tugged hard enough on his sleeve to make him stagger back.

"Are you daft?" she whispered fiercely.

Naruto straightened up as he stared at the trio of nuke-nin. Team Seven had nearly reached its goal, even if Kakashi was banged up from the fight against Orochimaru. Fuck if he let himself be intimidated now when they were finally so close.

"Make it fast, Kisame," Itachi said, nodding toward Orochimaru. "We are expected."

Indecision flickered over the Sannin's face for the briefest of moments. Then his eyes hardened and he pulled a vial out of his robes, blue liquid shimmering inside. Tipping the vial back, he guzzled the content down in one go.

It took a second before Naruto sensed any effect, but when it came, the oppressive aura nearly brought him to his knees. The veins on Orochimaru's head bulged. The ground beneath his feet cracked up.

The Sannin's lips twisted into a snarl. "I will not be denied again."

Completely unaffected by what was happening, Kisame pushed himself away from the tree he had been leaning on, matching Orochimaru's chakra output without breaking a sweat. "Some cocktail won't help you," he said, lifting his sword. "Samehada's been waiting for the chance to rip into your pasty face."

Orochimaru created four shadow clones, and the moment all of them started hand seals, Naruto screamed at Sakura and Sasuke, then scrambled away with Kakashi in his arms. They got three steps away before a shockwave threw them to the ground. Naruto glanced over his back, the noise of destruction throbbing inside his skull.

Orochimaru stood on the head of a snake overtaking the tree crowns by far. Two of his clones spat out fireballs larger than any Jutsu Naruto had ever seen before, while the others fanned those flames with wind until nothing but blinding light remained.

"Susanoo."

Heat burned on Naruto's scalp as though it singed his hair every second anew. He curled his arms over his head, pressing himself against the ground. Inside him, insane laughter welled up. Kakashi had been right back when he first introduced himself. A team like theirs would always encounter enemies who were far above average.

But this was too much. Kakashi couldn't have meant monsters like those three, right?

He lifted his head. There, parting the flames, stood Itachi, a skeletal frame wrapped around his body, and a red haze surrounding the wraith. One huge arm protruded, a gourd in its hand sucking up the fire. The other swiped with a sword at the summoned snake, leaving a trail of devastation on the forest floor.

And Sasuke wanted to kill this man?

Beside Naruto, Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut, fingers digging deep into the dirt. The sight of the usual proud Uchiha reduced to a state like this broke something loose in Naruto. Terror couldn't paralyze him. He wouldn't let it.

Naruto roared, smashing his head on the ground. Still, the fear remained. His forehead crashed down a second time. And a third. Until pain shoved everything else aside, vibrating inside him like the trembling earth beneath.

Naruto winced. This was better. Not by much, but it was a start.

Rising wobbly to his feet, he brought his hands together, and using only a fraction of the chakra released in this place, called up water clones. They reached for his teammates and Kakashi, dragging them away as the world tore itself asunder behind them. With some luck they might make it out of this place while the big-shots barraged each other with more chakra than a normal Jōnin used in a lifetime.

Orochimaru had apparently lost interest in them after Itachi and Kisame arrived. Probably because it took all of his strength and more just to survive. Not that Naruto complained about that. Those guys could annihilate themselves for all he cared.

A minute away from the battle the explosions were still as loud as before, but the distance made it easier on his teammates. Sakura was the first to recover, and slowly, Sasuke, too, managed to stand on his own feet again. Naruto let his water clones dissolve.

"I will kill him," Sasuke muttered, glancing at the direction they had come from.

Naruto nodded, more for Sasuke's benefit than his own. "Someday. But not today."

And he was all for wiping Itachi out of existence even if he had indirectly saved them. For Sasuke, but also because the word Jinchūriki had fallen from his lips too often for it to be coincidence. Kisame and Itachi wanted something from him, or wanted him for something. Whatever the case, Naruto wasn't prepared to greet the Shinigami just yet.

Best way to avoid that was to get them before they got him. In a few years perhaps. Definitely not now, though. And not tomorrow either. The show Itachi had just given them convinced him of that much at least.

They shambled further away from the fight, but stopped abruptly as they heard a chuckle. Turning around, they came upon the sight of Kisame, who grinned at them, showing rows of sharp teeth. "You didn't think I'd let you leave, did you?"

Naruto scrounged up his courage, swallowing the fear that grasped at his throat. He couldn't let himself become afraid again. Hitting his head that often wasn't an option more than once… "I don't see why you shouldn't," he said.

Kisame grunted. He looked amused as he sauntered up to them. Something all powerful people in these parts seemed to do when they spotted someone weaker than them. It was stupid, arrogant, but to Naruto's shame, it worked. Just looking at that huge tower of a man coming closer made his knees weak, and not in the way a cute girl did.

Naruto curled his hands, scratching with his fingernails along his palms. "I've heard your name before," he said. "You're one of the Seven Swordsmen, right? Isn't this kind of beneath you? I thought you guys were all about taking names."

"It is beneath me," Kisame said, grinning. "But shaving off your flesh will be fun. That's something."

Another angle, then. "Didn't you just save us? Why kill us now?"

Kisame grimaced. "Only the pink one. You have another purpose, and Itachi-san wants his brother for himself."

Naruto cursed. This didn't make it any better. As if he'd leave Sakura to the mercy of a guy looking like a shark. One look at Sasuke showed that he thought the same. Not that Naruto really needed confirmation for that. As different as they still were, after the conception of their team they had begun to share a frightening amount of similarities. Not leaving anyone hang out to dry was one of them.

He settled into a combat stance, ready for another round. If that guy wanted Sakura, he'd get her only over his cooling corpse.

Hiruzen had nearly reached the massive wall of black smoke when his chakra senses suddenly went haywire. The area had been saturated as it is, but the surreal increase three miles to the north-east took him by surprise.

He cleared his head and then focused on the colossal chakra not far from him. His eyes snapped open. Itachi. Orochimaru. The third signature held a similar strength.

Hiruzen also felt smaller ones, but the giants between them overshadowed everything else, making it impossible to get a more precise read. Then a skeletal frame rose in the distance, towering over the forest.

His brows wrinkled in thought. He had to investigate, but even he would die against three S-ranked shinobi if he wasn't prepared. It didn't have to be a plan, necessarily, but an ace. He stared at the ground, remembering his original goal.

It might work if he played it right.

Weaving through hand seals, Hiruzen sacrificed a substantial amount of chakra, molding and channeling it into the earth. Soon, an earth clone rose, before taking Tsunade's form. For most strong shinobi it wasn't hard to distinguish between clones and the real deal, but that made clones all the more devastating if you had found a way to create them that confused even the mightiest warriors.

But no matter the perfect disguise, it was still only a clone. It could fight to a certain degree, but would never come even close to the original's proficiency. He could only hope that the bluff would work and that his opponents would be fooled by the fake Tsunade.

Kisame was a beast.

Then again, everyone but them was a beast around here.

Water filled the craters Kisame's slow but strong sword strikes left behind. At first there had only been puddles, filled by the backwash of Naruto's attacks. Then, Kisame had laughed and used his own water Jutsu. Now, the puddles weren't anymore. In their stead, small lakes had formed. Here and there, upturned trunks drifted around on the surface, and the few trees Kisame had left standing were peppered with kunai and shuriken. In a few minutes, a part of forest had ceased to exist.

Sakura supported herself on her left knee, careful not to put too much pressure on the right. There, the fishman's sword had already scraped her several times, shredding her pant leg to pieces. The rips in her skin sent searing stings lancing through her body every time she moved.

Kisame's sword split the air with a whoosh. Sakura ignored the pain in her leg and stumbled out of the way. Samehada hit the ground, splitting it wide open, and Kisame's lips twitched as he turned to her new position.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu."

Kisame batted Sasuke's fireballs away. Naruto threw shuriken at him, before he stormed the man with a war cry—the sixth, or the seventh time. Sakura had lost count.

After deflecting the first punch, Kisame gripped Naruto's fist, then hurled him into Sasuke. Both landed painfully on the ground while Sakura used that time to limp away, bringing as much distance between herself and Kisame as she could.

Fishman wasn't just a beast in that he was strong. He was also twisted and sick.

What he did was a deliberate, slow hunt for her. With Naruto wanted for other things, and Itachi claiming Sasuke for himself, she was the only target he could kill. And for that he took his sweet time, making it into a battle of attrition that she couldn't win.

First a leg and then the other, he had said. And his excitement seemed to have only grown as his eyes roved over her body. Not in a sexual way, but more like running a calculation in which order he should shred her for his maximum pleasure.

Naruto and Sasuke had tried to stop him, and so far had managed to keep him from killing her. But only because he let them. Kisame visibly enjoyed swatting their attacks away like annoying bugs before he continued with his cruel slow-paced chase. And each time he closed in on her, Sakura felt her heart constrict.

Kisame stopped for a moment, cocking his head. He glanced at the direction where Orochimaru and Itachi were still fighting and his brows knitted into a frown. The noise still hadn't died down, and the chakra output had only risen higher in the meantime. He heaved a sigh. "Seems the fun is over. Time to die."

Sakura blinked. Kisame appeared in front of her, a shower of water exploding where his foot touched the ground. He swung Samehada in a wide arc. As Sakura shifted back, her leg gave in. She fell down on one knee. Samehada missed by an inch, but the air pressure from the slash alone was enough to make her lose the rest of her balance. With a splash, she landed in the mud, back first.

Kisame lifted his sword and struck again. But Samehada failed to find its target.

Gray plates of armor blinked up for the briefest of moments. Red and white robes flared behind the last person Sakura had expected to see in this place. The ground fissured like a spiderweb where the Hokage had landed. He grunted as he thrust his staff forward, shoving Kisame away from her.

Then the Hokage became a blur, as did Kisame. Confused, Sakura looked around and found them a few feet away, engaged in a vicious exchange of blows. The Hokage jumped up, and with an earth chakra enforced spin kick, sent Kisame flying. Kisame bounced off the ground several times, careening straight into the direction of Orochimaru and Itachi, soon leaving their field of vision.

The Hokage turned to them. A beautiful woman with blond pigtails stood beside him, hands on her hips. "Get out of here," he said.

Naruto hauled himself and Sasuke over to Sakura. "Jiji—"

"No argument. I will meet you at the next outpost."

Then the Hokage and the woman set off, leaving Team Seven behind.

Hiruzen had seen many battlefields in his life. Places where the dead piled up in such amounts that valleys became flat land again. Mountains, once crusted with snow, leaking torrents of blood. Scorched earth, where rotten limbs stuck in charred trees. Atrocities against nature, human and otherwise, that were usually perpetrated by whole armies, not single men. The sight he came upon was different. It lacked corpses. The horror it inspired, though, was just the same.

Trees had been flattened and burned for miles in every direction. The remains of a large metallic gate stood askew, half buried into the dirt. Black fire was still burning at several places, melting even the mighty Rashōmon. The two humongous black bells attached to its roof hit the gate, sending echoes of dull chiming through the air.

Hiruzen steeled himself, gripped his staff tighter, and leaped forward. His heart hammered uncomfortably against his ribcage. The amount of destruction before him seemed surreal. As if a Kami had walked the earth, shaping it to his will in a fit of impotent rage.

He stopped several feet away from the group of fighters, waiting for Tsunade to join him. From all of them, Kisame appeared the fittest. He had a slight rip in his cloak, but otherwise no injuries to speak of. Itachi's reserves had diminished if compared to the amount Hiruzen had sensed before. Then Hiruzen stared at Orochimaru, who's chakra level overtook all of theirs. Lines criss-crossed over his traitorous student's body, glowing with an ethereal blue light.

Itachi glanced at his partner. "Kisame?"

Kisame grunted. "Not my fault," he said, spitting blood on the ground. "Bastard came out of nowhere."

Orochimaru laughed. "Sarutobi-sensei, Tsunade… a pleasure to see you. Where is that fool, Jiraiya? We need him for this little reunion."

"You know where he is."

"Of course I do. The first Hokage is a terrifying opponent, no?"

Hiruzen stiffened. Had they been alone, he might have jumped at the chance to end what had he started during the Chūnin Exams. Like this, though, there was no way. Orochimaru had enhanced his strength somehow, and in the presence of two other S-ranked shinobi, one misstep could be the last he'd ever make.

"Why don't we team up, Sarutobi-sensei?" Orochimaru's lips curled into a smirk. "You know about Akatsuki, don't you?" He nodded toward the side, where Itachi and Kisame conversed in hushed whispers. "They're after your precious Jinchūriki after all."

"I never knew you to be much of a talker, foolish boy."

"Very well."

Orochimaru raced toward Hiruzen, Kusanagi enveloped in tearing winds. Mid-way, Kisame barreled into him, blocking the strike and pushing him away from Hiruzen and Tsunade. Orochimaru screamed as Samehada tasted his flesh. He leaped farther away, frantically bringing space between himself and Kisame, who was the superior swordsman no matter what transformations Orochimaru had gone through.

"Sarutobi-dono. Tsunade-san."

"Itachi."

"It has been a long time. I hope you have retained your strength."

Itachi moved and Hiruzen had scarcely time to blink. A kunai slid into Itachi's hand as he appeared in front of the Tsunade clone. It arced toward her, and Hiruzen barely made it in time. He angled his staff to the side. The kunai caromed off it.

Itachi, though, was already moving again. He pushed against Hiruzen's hurried defenses, displaying a fluidity the Hokage had seldom seen in another shinobi. There was a grace in his movements that seemed otherworldly. No movement was wasted. Each attack carried the intent to kill.

The clone attacked from the side, her fist hitting home, but Itachi burst into a flock of crows that set off toward the sky. He reappeared behind the clone, gripped her wrist, then threw her after the crows.

Hiruzen closed in on him again, but just as he was about to land his punch, Itachi raised his eyes.

"Tsukuyomi."

The roar of violence decreased as Sasuke distanced himself from the battlefield. Sakura leaned against him for support, and he helped her move. Beside them, Naruto still carried Kakashi.

Minutes passed in silence, until they moved past a lake, and Naruto stopped. He turned to Sakura. "Is this the right way?"

Sakura glanced at mass of water and nodded. "This is Lake Ketsuron. It should be, at least."

"Never heard of it."

"It's two days north-west of Konoha. Still inside the Land of Fire though," she explained. "But I've no idea where the outpost is."

"Are we even going there?" Sasuke asked. "We're still traitors."

"We are," Naruto said, "but we don't have much of a choice, do we? Look at what happened to us. Nearly everyone we met so far wanted to off us. We got kicked around. Should have died dozens of times, really. From Nikujī to Orochimaru to your brother..." He sighed. "I don't think Jiji will let them kill us. Or he wouldn't have saved us in the first place, right?"

Sakura hummed in agreement. "Probably. Besides, how long would it take for people like them to find us if we hide? Having Kakashi around makes us even more vulnerable than before."

"So what, we get to Konoha, turn ourselves in and hope for the best?" Sasuke asked.

"I guess. Maybe they'll be lenient because we're bring—" Sakura stopped abruptly, her head snapping toward a location in the trees not far from them. "Come out," she hissed through clenched teeth. "You treacherous little fuck."

Kabuto stepped around the tree he was hiding behind. His left sleeve was in tatters and the rest of his outfit had seen better days, too. "Ah, Sakura-san. You're not really in a position to lecture me about treason, are you?" He laughed. "I must say, it is surprising that you three are still alive."

Sasuke steadied Sakura as he entangled herself from him. As their team's Taijutsu fighter, he needed to have more mobility. "Orochimaru won't get my eyes," Sasuke snarled. "I'll sooner scratch them out myself."

Kabuto smiled. "You misunderstand my motives, Sasuke-kun. It is very unlikely that Orochimaru-sama will survive this fight. The tincture he swallowed is quite deadly if used for too long. His plan was probably to transfer into your body directly after killing Itachi, but with things as they are… well, it seems I'm in need of a new employer."

"Why come after us then?" Naruto asked. "We're barely Chūnin."

"Oh, you are much more than that. But you know that already." Kabuto's hands glowed blue as he moved toward them. "You will be a wonderful gift for Kumo, Sasuke-kun—the perfect entry ticket, you could say. I hear they have a thing for special eyes."

Instead of shifting away from the incoming predator, Sasuke took a step forward. He held eye-contact with Kabuto and began bouncing lightly on his toes. Behind him, Naruto had put down Kakashi and amassed chakra as Sakura began weaving through hand seals.

Kakashi had told them about the roles each of them had in the team. Against shinobi like Orochimaru and Kisame, they hadn't had the chance to adhere to his advice, though, as the difference in strength had been far too great even when they fought three on one.

"You know," Sasuke said, his lips lifting into a smirk. "We saw so many monsters today, you don't really compare."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke charged. He reached Kabuto in a flurry of motion, red eyes blazing in their sockets. Kabuto weaved through the first two punches and jumped over a leg sweep. He retaliated with precise strikes aimed at Sasuke's arms. The commas of his Sharingan spun faster and Sasuke dodged the surgical strikes. Sweat trailed down his brow after only a few seconds of combat.

Fighting a Hyūga would have been similar to this.

Kabuto got him with a kick, but his eyes bulged as the follow-up strike to Sasuke's shoulder went wide. Sasuke flipped backward and out of range, just in time to see a room-sized ball of water smash into the ground barely missing Kabuto. Sakura and Naruto were doing their job, then. Just as Kakashi had taught them.

Four water clones formed out of the puddle the bullet had left behind.

Three engaged Kabuto.

Sasuke rejoined the fight. With Sakura weaving Genjutsu to throw Kabuto off, and Naruto covering Sasuke through Ninjutsu, he could fully concentrate on Taijutsu. Kabuto was still a dangerous opponent, though. Together they barely scratched him, and in the short time of this battle, his glowing hands had come very close to touching Sasuke several times already.

Sasuke leaned back, twisting out of the way of another attack, when Kabuto suddenly formed a shadow clone. Without delay, the clone sped toward Sakura, who still sat on the ground, racing through seal after seal, layering illusions three at a time.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, darting to the left, evading Kabuto's deadly hands.

"On it," Naruto said, stopping the seals for his previous technique and quickly forming new ones. "Suiton: Mizuame Nabara." Naruto spat a circle of sticky water around Sakura, tight enough that only she had place within.

Kabuto's clone vanished into the earth, but before he could pull Sakura under, she had clapped her hands together. "Doton: Doroku Gaeshi."

The spot of earth she sat on rose into the air, a pillar of stone looking like a throne.

Kabuto's clone emerged outside the puddle and jumped at the pillar, scaling it.

"Oh no, you don't," Naruto shouted. "Suiton: Mizurappa."

The sharp beam of water sliced through the pillar and Kabuto's clone, destroying both. Naruto sprinted over to the crumbling technique and caught Sakura before she hit the ground.

Sasuke's pained cry made both of them look up. With the temporary withdrawal of their support, Sasuke had fought alone against the original. He stood two feet away from Kabuto, lines of blood trailing all over his face.

Kabuto smiled, then sped forward. Sasuke evaded the best he could, but more and more, Kabuto seemed to win the upper hand even though Sakura had restarted her efforts to slow him down through Genjutsu.

Naruto took a kunai and stabbed it into the ground beside him. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke glanced briefly at the kunai, avoiding an almost fatal strike to the heart. He jumped back from Kabuto, and in the instant the man followed, he substituted himself with the kunai. Appearing in a crouch next to Naruto and Sakura, he panted harshly.

"I told you it wouldn't be that easy," Kabuto said as he walked up to them.

Naruto spat on the ground. "Fuck off."

"We need a plan," Sakura whispered. "We won't get him like this."

"You remember Kimimaro?" Sasuke asked in a low voice. "Let's try it."

Before Kabuto could initiate another attack, Sasuke barreled into him at the same time as Naruto bombarded the area with enough water techniques to drench the whole place. When it was enough, he changed the water's properties, making it thick like glue. Sakura then erected a triangular prison of stone around the captured Kabuto.

Sasuke inhaled deeply, standing on one wall of the prison. "Katon: Dai Endan."

Naruto had no exploding tags to hurl into the mix this time, but he didn't need them. The heat from Sasuke's fire almost melted the stone. After the Jutsu fizzled out, Sasuke jumped off the wall and joined Naruto and Sakura. Once the walls crumbled, they stared with anticipation at the result.

On the ground lay a charred, black corpse.

Naruto's shoulders slumped, his knees buckled. They had done it. He wanted to say something, anything, but struggled to find the right words. Once Jiji kicked those other guy's asses, everything would be fine again. Well, as fine as traitors could be.

But Kami, they were alive.

That's all that mattered.

Sakura reached out to her teammates with trembling hands. "We did it, right?" she asked weakly. "We killed that son of a bitch."

When Sasuke nodded, her eyes went up, looking heavenward, and she let her head fall back. The tension seemed to leave her body all at once, and she sagged against Naruto, who had seated himself, unable to stand anymore now that adrenalin had left.

Laughter rang in the clearing. Not hers, though. And neither her teammates'.

Sakura's head snapped around to the source. The burned corpse struggled to its feet. Out of the wounds on its face, black eyes looked at them with loathing and cruelty and amusement all at once. Slowly, the burned skin rippled and twisted. Flesh was reborn, stretching over every limb, knitting itself together.

Sakura stomach heaved, and she emptied it all out on the forest floor, leaving a bitter tang in her mouth. And even after the revolting transformation was over, her mind replayed the scene in agonizing detail.

They had been wrong when they excluded him from the monsters they met today.

He was more of one than all the others.

"That was quite effective," Kabuto said, almost fully regenerated. He was bald now, though, not one silver hair left on his head. "But as you can see…well, no need to explain it."

Sakura jolted as Naruto laid a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down," he whispered in her ear. "Only a setback. We'll get him."

She nodded, feeling courage rise in her once more. One day she'd ask Naruto from where he got his determination from. Now, however, she had a job to do. Hell would freeze over before she'd surrender to a sick freak like Kabuto.

"Suiton: Teppōdama!"

Naruto entered the fight, slightly lagging behind Sasuke who had already stepped up to engage Kabuto in Taijutsu again. She layered two illusions to throw off his depth perception, one to make it seem as though Sasuke moved faster than he truly did. They wouldn't hold for long, but every bit was vital.

Afterward, she concentrated, focusing her senses on Kabuto. To kill him, they had to learn about his ability. About this frightening skill that allowed him to heal from wounds that would've killed almost anyone. For seconds, she felt nothing but his chakra moving fluidly around. He had impeccable control.

Frustrated, she opened her eyes. This led to nothing. She was about to initiate another illusion, when Naruto and Sasuke both stilled around Kabuto. As one, they jumped forward. Kabuto ducked under Naruto's wide punch and kicked him away. Sasuke moved in ready to strike.

Before, Sasuke's Sharingan had enabled him to dodge the most dangerous attacks. This time, though, Kabuto's glowing hand tapped Sasuke's shoulder and his left arm went limp. Sasuke smirked.

Sakura's eyes widened. Sasuke had sacrificed his left arm. The right was finally close enough to Kabuto. He gripped the man's wrist and used the first Jutsu Kakashi had ever taught him. The only one he could use without hand seals.

"Raiton: Hisan Ikazuchi."

Lightning arced over his hand, giving Kabuto a shock. Kabuto shoved him away. He reeled only a second from the attack, but that was enough. Naruto stood behind him, fingers forming a circled around his lips. "Suiton: Shīdo Jū!" Naruto's bullets ripped through Kabuto, blasting holes in his chest as Sasuke stumbled away.

This was her chance. Sakura focused again, examining Kabuto. His chakra circulated quick enough to make her head spin. It congealed around the wounds, imitated the adjacent healthy cells, then regenerated them.

It took a boatload of chakra. Sakura thought of the amount she had sensed back in Orochimaru's dungeon. Kabuto had only a third of it left if that much at all. His technique was so exhaustive, she doubted he could use it anymore after this time.

And from the look on his face, he realized it, too.

The chakra in his body spun even quicker, patching up the holes at a faster rate than Naruto's bullets inflicted them. Insanity in itself. Sakura cried out a warning, but it was too late. Kabuto darted to the side, gripped Sasuke's limp arm and threw him against the oncoming storm of bullets.

In the last moment, Sasuke substituted with the kunai he had used before and landed far away from Kabuto. Too late, did they discover what Kabuto was after. He sped toward Kakashi's prone body on the ground, only Naruto in his way.

Naruto bent his knees, digging his feet into the earth. As Kabuto neared, a shimmering haze built up around him. It was only for a second, but Naruto's surprise at the flashing images of Tobaku and Mika was enough for Kabuto to pass by him.

Sasuke helped Sakura up, and together they limped over to Naruto. There, all three glared at Kabuto, who held a kunai to Kakashi's jugular. "Now isn't this an interesting development? Why don't you stay where you are?"

Hiruzen's eyes widened as he took in his new surroundings. On dark soil, sinuous gray clouds drifted, curving as they came upon black trees rising to the heavens. Looming like the promise of death, a sanguine moon soaked the world in blood. Itachi perched on a three-legged stool, feeding acorns to a murder of crows that had gathered around him. Nothing in his posture spoke of anything but control and poise.

"You always were partial to them," Hiruzen said, walking up to him and the birds.

Itachi didn't reply at first. After giving the last acorn away, he said, "Legends say that the crow is a bearer of information, but also a trickster, a liar. Ironic, would you not agree?"

"Quite." Hiruzen panned his head around, staring at the illusion that held both of them. "This is remarkable."

"You have seventy-two hours if you want to indulge yourself."

Hiruzen shook his head. "This is hardly the time." He gave Itachi a level look. "Why are you here? Why is a man like Hoshigaki Kisame inside the Land of Fire?"

Itachi glanced up. "Akatsuki learned of the whereabouts of Naruto-kun. Outside of Konoha he is an easy target."

"Already?"

"He will not risk much until he is ready, but a Chūnin Jinchūriki? There is a limit to how much he can hold himself back."

"Then it has begun."

"It began six years ago."

Hiruzen closed his eyes at the remainder of that day, one of Konoha's darkest moments.

Itachi rose from his seat and began walking away. "The clone you used is well-structured," he commented offhandedly. "I doubt many could see through it."

Hiruzen fell into pace at his side. "You did."

"Which was your intent, I presume? When I felt you approach, I thought it better to send you a signal."

"And what a signal it was," Hiruzen said. "I never believed I would get to see the Tempestuous God of Valour in my remaining time on this earth."

Soon they arrived at a pond rimmed by black columns. Inside, red koi swam lazily around one another, floating beneath the silver water. Itachi halted there and Hiruzen felt the air shift around the prodigious young man.

Itachi looked at him, something unknown glimmering in his eyes. "You promised to keep him safe," he said. "Yet he was fighting Orochimaru."

Hiruzen returned the look. "He has grown up. He now makes his own choices."

"It was his choice to challenge a Sannin?"

"It was his choice to leave Konoha in order to rescue his sensei."

Itachi's eyes widened before he got himself back under control. "He left Konoha?"

Hiruzen nodded. "His whole team did. They used the confusion after the invasion."

After a pregnant pause, Itachi's lips twitched into a small, genuine smile. "He found friends, then."

"For better or worse, yes." Hiruzen uttered a short laugh, before his countenance became grave again. "They broke him out of his darkness, freed him from his loneliness. He still wants to kill you, but at least, it is not everything he cares about anymore."

"Good." Itachi sighed. "This is all I need to know. You should return them to Konoha now. All of them."

As they continued their stroll, Itachi explained his plan. It was likely that the fight was being watched by another member of Akatsuki. As soon as the Genjutsu would end, Hiruzen was to lay into Itachi.

"Making it look like I broke your Tsukuyomi?" Hiruzen asked, his brows knitting into a frown. "Is that even possible?"

"Perhaps. In any case, it will remind people of the power you possess. Hesitation is a good deterrent for war."

"I doubt my deeds have been forgotten already."

"Age and use dull even the sharpest of blades with time," Itachi said. "That, at least, is what most people think."

Soon, Hiruzen saw the footstool where they had started. He turned to the young Uchiha. "Itachi…I am—"

"Make him strong," Itachi interrupted. "If you cannot keep him safe, see to it that he grows enough to defend himself. Him and his teammates. When the time comes that Akatsuki moves again, Sasuke must be strong."

Hiruzen dipped his head low as he bowed. "You are the epitome of Konoha, Itachi. Never forget that."

He got no response.

Tsukuyomi shattered.

Back in the real world, a grimace of surprise appeared on Itachi's face. Hiruzen adjusted his own expression, then hurtled himself forward, barraging Itachi with a combination of punches and kicks. Hiruzen planted his feet squarely into Itachi's chest, sending him skidding over the destroyed area. The Tsunade clone touched down beside him at the same time as Kisame landed next to Itachi, his cloak damaged.

"What happened to you?" Kisame asked.

Itachi got to his feet. "It was foolish to take them on without preparation."

Kisame sighed. "The Snake left, too. Slippery fellow that."

Hiruzen sent a mental command and the clone cracked its knuckles.

"We should retreat for now," Itachi said.

Kisame grumbled under his breath, but accepted soon afterward. Together, the two S-ranked shinobi vanished from the field, leaving Hiruzen and Tsunade behind. Hiruzen waited another two minutes, before he let a breath of relief escape him.

Sasuke's fists shook as he gave Kabuto a fevered, intense look. Around his neck, veins stood out like the cords of a thick rope. Leading them on, posing as Mika, as Tobaku, now taking Kakashi…Itachi would always remain the number one on his blacklist, but Kabuto had managed to move up to number two within three weeks. And Sasuke would make him pay for it, one way or another.

He shifted forward, but instantly Kabuto pressed the kunai closer against Kakashi's throat. Blood trickled down the scarred flesh, leaving trails on the blade also. "I wouldn't do that, Sasuke-kun. Your sensei's life is precious, yes?"

"You will die."

"Someday, perhaps, but not by your hand."

The weight of Sakura on his shoulder came as a surprise. Sasuke glanced at her right leg, which was trembling under the strain of standing upright. She put her hand around him, holding fast. Then he felt it. Light tapping on his back.

Get Naruto.

Sasuke held Sakura for another two seconds, before he faked his own body shaking. Naruto moved in to help both of them, and Sasuke was sure they made for a pitiful sight, leaning on one another, barely able to keep standing straight.

Kabuto laughed. "You three look terrible. What a sight."

He's at his end, Sakura signed. Needs chakra to heal. One more round.

"Let's get to business, then. This isn't what I had planned, but it works, too."

Get him to the lake, Naruto tapped back, glaring at Kabuto with venom.

What about sensei?

Naruto extracted himself from his teammates. "Time's up, you piece of shit," he said, walking up to Kabuto with deliberate steps. "It's been up for a long time now."

Sasuke couldn't agree more.

Kabuto smiled. "You're willing to chance it?"

"I'm willing to cave your face in." Naruto put his hands together, never losing eye-contact. He formed the last hand seal, and said, "Suiton: Mizuame Nabara."

Kakashi dissolved into water in Kabuto's arms, gluing him to the spot. Kabuto's hands glowed blue and he cut himself out of the water. He snarled at Naruto, who was in his face now, fist cocked back. He ducked the first punch, but the second landed. Kabuto staggered backward, then turned around to run.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Beside him, Sakura planted her palms on the ground. A shallow hole, maybe a foot long, opened up just as Kabuto set foot on the ground. He stumbled forward, Naruto close behind him. Sasuke followed them, using the last of his chakra to spit lances of fire at Kabuto's escape paths.

Naruto's jaw was set as he caught up to Kabuto on the lake. His ruse with the water clone he had made at the beginning of the fight had worked—Kakashi was safe. Was it good that he felt anticipation, though? The thought of killing shouldn't feel good, right? Yet it did, and no force on earth could convince him to spare that man.

Clones grew out of the water, chasing after Kabuto, hunting him down. Naruto closed his eyes, concentrated, focused as chakra surged through his pathways. The water rippled. Naruto's heartbeat pounded in his ears and his chest fluttered. He had used that Jutsu before, but never with that much chakra, that much water.

Ripples grew into waves, rising around him—violent, savage, destructive. The gathered energy scraped at the insides of his tenketsu, begging for release. The lake soared high, towering above all, its shadow reaching even the far shoreline.

This was his element.

Several feet away from him, Kabuto had stopped running, held down by a mass of clones. His glasses were askew, and the white of his bulging eyes showed as he struggled against his captors, staring unbelievingly at his sentence.

The power of a human sacrifice—inconceivable force, condensed to fit a vessel without breaking it. Naruto smashed his palms together, the chakra weighing his shoulders like a heavy mantel.

It would end here.

He roared, letting all his anger, all his doubt, all his frustration flow into it. "Suiton: Suijinheki!"

And the lake responded, heeding his call. Kabuto's terrified scream rang in the air as a wave reaching the heavens came crashing down on him. The howling water drowned everything else out, until, after almost a minute of thunderous noise, it calmed into a low rumble.

Then came silence.

Naruto's legs gave in. Before he sank into the water, a hand gripped his shoulder, steadying him. He glanced up. Sasuke didn't look at him and let his eyes swivel over the lake instead. He let out a sharp whistle.

"Too bad I took your kill," Naruto said between breaths.

"You'd never have gotten him here without me. Half of his kill belongs to me."

"I was the one to finish him, though."

"Which you couldn't have done without my help."

Naruto grinned. "A third for each, then. Don't want to make Sakura angry."

Sasuke's lips twitched. "Fine with me."

They marched back to the shore, where Sakura sat cross-legged in the sand, resting her chin on her palm. She blew a strand of pink hair out of her face. "Question. You think the Hokage will pardon us?"

"Only one way to find out," Sasuke said. He helped up Sakura and they followed Naruto, who led them to a large tree.

"If he does, where do we go?" Sakura asked. "Our houses are nothing but rubble."

Naruto hummed as peeked behind the tree. He vanished, then reappeared with Kakashi in his arms. "We can build a new one."

"A new one?"

"If you want that is."

Sasuke shrugged. "Sounds good."

As they began the trek toward Konoha, Sakura turned her head to Naruto, looking at him with iron swimming in her green pools. "Naruto, if we do this, there's no way we're getting a pond."

"Oh?" Naruto stared back, unflinchingly. "And why not?"

Sakura thumbed over her shoulder toward the lake. "You can't be trusted with water."

Sasuke grunted in agreement.

A fluttering breeze caressed Sakura's cheeks, prompting her to wake up. She moaned into the pillow, turned around and then continued to sleep—at least she tried to. Something was bothering her, staying out of reach from her consciousness but hovering close enough to keep her from returning to blissful hibernation. She ignored it in the same way she tried to ignore the lingering sweet smell. After all, she had earned the rest, what with that whole rescue—

Sakura's eyes shot open. She threw the blanket on her aside and her eyes darted around the room, taking in no details until she found what she was looking for. Naruto snored on a bed at the wall; Sasuke in the one beside her own. Her fluttering belly calmed. The tension left her body and with a sigh she sagged back into the pillow, her mind racing to find answers. Why were they in a hospital room? The last thing she remembered was walking away from the battle, when all of them had been decidedly conscious.

"You look lost," came from her right. Sakura's head snapped around, her eyes widened. There, at a round table near the open window, Jiraiya sat on a chair, a stack of paper in front of him. His face was covered in bandages, spikes of white hair poking out at places where the tight-wrapped gauzes lost the battle to contain it. He held a brush in his right, and a pipe in his left, a bemused smile playing on his lips.

"Jiraiya-sensei," she said, leaning over her bed and picking up the blanket. "We're in Konoha?"

Jiraiya nodded, putting the brush away. "You are. Feels good to be home, eh?"

But if they were back in Konoha, then someone must have knocked them out, because she couldn't for the life of her remember ever reaching the village. The only one who she knew had been nearby was the Hokage. Why, though? She grimaced as her brain supplied the answer—they hadn't exactly rendered outstanding services when it came to following orders.

"Hokage-sama brought us home."

"He did. Used his summons for the delivery as far as I know. Had other business to attend to. I'm quite thankful for that." Jiraiya leaned forward and grinned. "Tsunade-hime patched me up really good. And let me tell you, she's lost none of her beauty. Not even a hint of sagging."

Sakura ignored the last comment, concentrating on the important parts. Two of the three Sannin were back in Konoha now. Hopefully the third one wouldn't show up, too. She could go another lifetime without meeting Orochimaru again. Gesturing at the room, she asked, "Why are you here?"

"Good working atmosphere." Jiraiya held up a sheet of paper, although his eyes lingered on Naruto for a brief moment. "And you fought my old teammate. That makes you my responsibility. Somewhat." Sakura didn't believe half of that, but did not pry further. He hardly was someone who would talk more than he wanted to.

There was a short silence as Jiraiya puffed on his pipe, seemingly lost in thought. Sakura bit her lip. Now that they were back in Konoha, the consequences of their actions would follow. She hadn't the faintest idea what those entailed, though. Soon, Naruto and Sasuke would wake up, but what then? "What's going to happen to us?" she asked, playing with the hem of her blanket.

Jiraiya hummed. "Who knows? That's for Sarutobi-sensei to decide. By the way, you three have got a meeting with him at five."

Not the most assuring information he could have given her. Was fleeing Konoha a second time possible? Probably not. Besides, the Hokage wouldn't execute them, right? After all, if he wanted that, she would've woken up in chains, not in a cushy bed. That left only one option. They had made their choice, and now they had to live with the fallout.

Sakura glanced at Jiraiya, who hadn't taken his gaze off her for a second. Inside of his eyes shone a knowing glint. "You know," he said, "you'll go crazy if you worry too much about it. He won't kill you."

She sighed, combing her hair with her hand. "We still betrayed the village."

"You did. It was a stupid thing to do, really. Sooner or later, we would've made a move to get Kakashi back." Jiraiya pocketed his pipe, stood up, and stretched his arms. "But it was also a brave thing," he said. "A world where friendships and bonds mean nothing is an empty one. I don't want to live in such a world. And I'm sure the same goes for Sarutobi-sensei."

Sakura swallowed. "You think so?"

"It is the right of the young to be brash and emotional." Jiraiya gathered his sheets of paper and his brush. "Well, what you did was exceptionally stupid nevertheless. So, live with the results, learn from your mistakes, and don't repeat them."

The door closed behind him with a soft click.

A minute before the clock struck five, a stern-looking woman, her hair done up in a bun, rasped her knuckles against the wooden door that led to the Hokage's office. Behind her, Team Seven stood assembled, kitted out in gray slacks Jiraiya had organized for them after he left the room. When the confirmation to enter came from the other side, the secretary ushered them in and then closed the door as she left.

Inside, the Hokage and two of his former students were waiting for them. Naruto shifted his eyes away from them, glancing around the room. The red couches he had once relaxed on with his surrogate grandfather to smoke pipe were gone. A large table replaced them, several maps and scrolls having been unfurled on it. Through the glass pane behind the Hokage's desk, Konoha's afternoon sun shone onto the red carpet.

"Team Seven," the Hokage began. "Welcome back to your village." He rose from his chair and walked around the desk until he stood directly in front of them. "You will be pleased to know that your A-ranked mission to rescue Hatake Kakashi has been a complete success, congratulations."

Naruto averted his eyes as the Hokage spoke to them. The triangular hat shaded part of his hoary face, but Naruto could see that there was no emotion in it at all, just like his voice had absolutely no inflection.

"But let us dispense with what we all know to be a lie," the Hokage continued, holding his hands behind his back. "You left your village. You betrayed Konoha when she was most vulnerable."

Naruto swallowed the thickness in his throat. "We—"

"Silence." The word was barely a whisper, but Naruto's spine straightened and his mouth snapped shut. "I will not hear a word from you on this matter. You have done quite enough already."

The Hokage stared at them, chips of gray boring into each in turn. "Without leaves, however, the Tree is nothing. Especially in such troubled times. Your escapades have been classified as a mission, therefore the punishment cannot be too heavy, or others will notice." He handed each of them a stack of papers. "You will be suspended from active field-duty for the next six months. During this period, you will work to rebuild Konoha in whatever capacity I deem necessary—without pay, of course."

"The rank of Chūnin you have rightly earned, but you showed a startling lack of rationality. Therefore, you are barred from taking the regular Jōnin examinations. The only way for you to attain said rank now is through a field promotion. In addition to that, the events of the last weeks will be classified in a record accessible only by the Hokage. May the Kage of the future know what you have done."

Naruto's face tingled, but he nodded in tandem with Sasuke and Sakura. The sanctions were heavy, but not nearly as heavy as imprisonment, exile, or death. All in all, the Hokage had been lenient.

"There are things you are not privy to," the Hokage said. "Information your rank excludes you from. That, however, is the reality of our chain of command. And it is there for the sole reason of avoiding blunders like this." He shook his head. "Time and again you learned that Konoha takes care of her own. Kakashi would have been with us again before long."

Naruto's head snapped up. He stared into the Hokage's eyes, his jaw set. "You haven't seen him. Hanging at the wall like meat. You haven't—Each day he had to wait they tortured him!"

Beside him, Sakura and Sasuke mirrored his expression. Speaking out against the Hokage wasn't the best of ideas, definitely not at the moment. He knew that. But before long wasn't enough when it came to someone getting tortured. Not by a longshot. Not after what he'd seen in that dungeon.

The Hokage said nothing, letting them fidget for half a minute, before he turned to his old students. "Tsunade, Jiraiya…please show Uchiha-san and Haruno-san how to write up a detailed report."

They nodded and walked the rest of Naruto's team out of the office. Not without protest, but Naruto had noticed Sasuke's pained grimace as he tried to wriggle out of Tsunade's iron grip on his shoulder.

At length, he was alone with the Hokage. They stared at each other, neither one blinking as the Hokage stepped closer to him. Naruto had grown a fair bit, but the Hokage was still a full head taller than him. This time, Naruto didn't look away. Each second they had wasted to rescue Kakashi had been another scar on the man's body. That was something he'd stand by, no matter what kind of punishment he'd get for saying so.

The Hokage's flat hand smacked against Naruto's cheek and his head reeled to the side. His eyes widened, but before he could really think of anything to do, to say, strong arms closed around him, pressing him against the red and white robes.

"Jiji," Naruto whispered.

"Stupid boy," the Hokage murmured into his hair. "You stupid, brave, idiot boy."

Naruto's breath hitched. "I'm…I'm sorry. I didn't—We had to…"

"I know." The Hokage let out a sigh as he put an elbow's length distance between them. He bowed slightly to be on the same height and then grabbed Naruto's shoulders. "The next time you go out to change the world, you have to be stronger," he said. "My heart almost gave out when I saw you with that rotten shark."

Naruto gave him a weak smile. "I will…We will. I promise, Jiji."

A purple sky stretched over the horizon as Naruto stood on the head of the fourth Hokage, staring at the moving lights below. Most of Konoha still hadn't been rebuilt—the forest-covered stadium, the southern parts where Orochimaru's mercenary force had struck, the countless ruins of family homes—but that would change, he was sure. One brick at a time the village would regain its splendor and with that its hope for a better future.

His team arrived beside him, having scaled the Third's head. "Here you are," Sakura said. "We looked all over for you. Tsunade-sama said Kakashi will be fine eventually."

Naruto nodded. "And his Sharingan?"

"Still got it. He sent it back with Pakkun before they took him." Sakura shook her head. "He's lucky. Tsunade-sama is the only one who could implant it again."

After a moment of silence, Sasuke asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I…wanted some quiet."

Sakura frowned. "That bad?"

Naruto sat down cross-legged and stretched his arms. "Not really. Jiji and I had a talk. Made me think, that's all. About Konoha. The world."

Sasuke settled down next to him. "Let's hear it, then. Your thoughts make good comedy."

"You suck, Sasuke."

"Don't listen to him, Naruto," Sakura said.

Naruto laughed, then became serious again. "I can't say I'll ever love Konoha as much as Jiji does. We're shinobi. We murder, we spy, we steal. And we do it in the name of our village." His smile wavered. "But after all the shit I've seen in the last year, I can say that the whole world is fucked up. It's not just us. Everyone's a villain." He shrugged. "And when it comes to choosing which villain to follow…I'll take the one with the people I love."

Naruto stood up, letting his gaze wander over the village. He didn't love Konoha. But he loved some of the people living here, which was a start, right? "You know," he said, rubbing his stomach. "I haven't had Ramen in months. I'm going to see if Ichiraku's made it through the invasion."

FIN

AN: That marks the end of this chapter, and with it, the end of the first book. As usual, thanks to everyone from DLP. I wonder if there's something I should write at the end. Something profound. But, honestly, I don't know what that something could be, so it might be better to leave everything as it is before I muck things up with subpar speeches.

It'll take some time before the sequel commences. When that happens, I'll post a new chapter here, informing everyone. I'm also looking for a nice cover art for the story now that it's finished. Nothing elaborate. Something simplistic, but nevertheless fitting. If you have any ideas, or are willing to help, feel free to do so. I'm happy for any assistance I can get.

If you have any questions, I check my pms regularly. Don't hesitate. I'm always interested in getting different perspectives on the story.

Cheers,

Eilyfe