Okay all, here's the next chapter of The Prince and The Slave. I hope you enjoy it. Although the next few chapters will mostly be action and some angst and misery. So be prepared.
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The Prince and The Slave
Chapter Thirty-One.
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(General P.O.V.)
It had been three days. Sasuke found himself listening to the noises outside. He heard the sounds, of gallows being made. He'd heard those sounds plenty of times in his life. He cringed as he heard the executioner practise his swing against the chopping block that was set up in the courtyard. That was when he heard his cell door opening. Sasuke looked to see Itachi leading a familiar blond into the cell. "Naruto!" Sasuke exclaimed as he looked at his friend. Naruto looked up at Sasuke tiredly. He had dark rings around his eyes and Sasuke could see his hands were a mess. But he was still alive, and that meant everything to Sasuke. The younger prince couldn't help pulling his best friend into a hug. He felt Naruto flinch, but then he felt Naruto's arms weakly hug him back. Both boys looked at Itachi.
"I'm going to bring the others in too. Hopefully this last week has given you some strength." Itachi told them. "I wanted to give you all a chance to say goodbye just in case..." Itachi trailed off, but both Sasuke and Naruto knew what Itachi was saying. If no one came to save them, then they were to be executed this afternoon, at dusk. Sasuke dreaded the moment that he'd watch his friends taken to the chopping block. Itachi had informed him that it was his father's intention to make him watch his comrades die one after the other, before hanging him. Sasuke had made his peace with his own death, but the deaths of the others, was something Sasuke couldn't bear easily. Itachi left the cell so the two could talk.
"What the hell did they do to you?" Sasuke asked. Naruto didn't make a move to answer. Sasuke leapt forward quickly, and before Naruto could even protest, Sasuke had lifted the bottom of Naruto's prison shirt slightly. He saw vast amounts of bandages wrapped around the blonde's torso. Naruto bit his lip. "What did they do to you?" Sasuke asked again.
"They used thumbscrews on me Sasuke! They used a Cat's Paw on me! Pieces of my flesh were hanging off of me! They ripped off my nails, but not before jamming burning splinters of bamboo under them! I was beaten up over and over. My fingers were broken and dislocated and I only feel a slight twinge in each of my hands, except for the pain of course!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke felt sick inside to see his friend so damaged.
"Naruto... I... I-I can't believe that they'd do this to you." Sasuke whispered as he saw the mess Naruto was in. Naruto calmed a little and gave Sasuke a weak smile.
"They only did it because I refused to speak. I screamed a lot, but I didn't speak. I'm such a wimp. I can't believe that I couldn't stop myself screaming." Naruto told Sasuke softly. Sasuke pulled his closest friend into another hug.
"You idiot! You should be proud of yourself. Ibiki and Pein, they're true warriors. They trained for situations like this." Sasuke stated.
"Thanks Sasuke." Naruto quipped weakly. Sasuke shook his head.
"What I mean Naruto, is that... you were thrown in at the deep end. You've never been tortured. You weren't trained to withstand torture, but you did. You never told them a damn thing. You could've done, but you didn't. If you're not proud of yourself, I'm proud of you." Sasuke told Naruto seriously. Naruto grinned weakly.
"Thanks Sasuke. But if I had said anything, they would've killed my family, your mother, everyone else there, including Hinata. If I get killed and you get saved Sasuke..." Naruto trailed off.
"Don't say stuff like that, Dobe." Sasuke shot out. He felt angry, angry with the whole situation. He didn't even want to think of the possibility that they wouldn't get out of this predicament together. Sasuke couldn't imagine his life without his dearest friend in it.
"It's just in case Sasuke. There's a chance that you might get saved, but there's every chance that we could both die. I just... I want you to tell Hinata that I love her. I've been too cowardly to actually say it. I'm such a kid still. But I want her to know how I feel. So if I die, if I die, you have to promise to tell her for me." Naruto told Sasuke firmly. His voice didn't waver. Sasuke couldn't help but admire Naruto's bravery.
"I promise you Naruto. If I should get out of this and you don't, then I will tell Hinata how you feel about her." Sasuke promised. Itachi reopened the door and let Pein and Ibiki into the room, along with Idate. Itachi was supporting Pein, who looked horrible. Ibiki was a mess, but he didn't let it show, he walked determinedly into the cell.
"Are you ready to die yet, men?" Ibiki asked. His voice was strong and unwavering.
"If we are or not it doesn't really matter. It looks like we're going to anyway." Naruto replied. Ibiki laughed.
"That's a truly honest answer, Naruto. If you had said you were ready, I wouldn't have believed you. No man is ready to die." Ibiki stated cryptically. After Ibiki's speech there was silence as the men waited for what they assumed would be their deaths.
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(Akatsuki Army P.O.V.)
The small army had hidden in all sorts of spots, all around the Fire Country castle. Ino, Ten Ten, Hinata and Sakura all shuddered as they recognised the gates out of town, the red bridge they'd met up at, to escape together. Now they were returning. "They're being executed today!" The girls heard Sasori when he came back to inform Deidara of what was going on. As the two senior members, they were leading the army. Minato and Jiraiya clenched their fists and Tsunade jumped to her feet.
"Naruto?" She asked fearfully.
"He's the first scheduled for death. Fugaku intends to kill them all one by one. Sasuke is to be hanged, after he watches his comrades die. Most men died under interrogation, but Naruto, Ibiki, Idate, Pein and Sasuke are alive. From what I've heard, none of them would divulge any secrets. They were tortured endlessly and never gave out any information." Sasori told the group seriously. All of them felt sick to their stomachs.
"Sasuke and Naruto weren't trained for interrogation." Deidara stated.
"Sasuke wasn't tortured. Fugaku's claim to the throne is based on the sanctity of royal blood. Hanging his traitorous son doesn't mean spilling any blood. Torture and beheading do." Sasori quipped.
"What about my son?" Minato asked firmly.
"He's stubborn. He refused to talk. From what I heard, when I managed to catch conversation between Itachi and Fugaku, Itachi isn't happy that the prisoners were refused post-interrogation healing. Naruto's hands may never work properly again. He may also have internal injuries that no one knows about. His fingers were dislocated and broken, his nails ripped off, burning bamboo splinters were jammed under his nails when they were there. Pein is apparently worse off, along with Ibiki, but not by much. Mizuki was Naruto's interrogator, and he hates it when his prisoners are uncooperative. So, he spent more time on torture than interrogation. They even used the Cat's Paw on him. Poor kid." Sasori answered. Minato's eyes went dark.
"Those bastards. I'll find Mizuki and I'll damn well make him suffer." Minato hissed. Kyubi looked like he was ready to agree.
"What about Ibiki and Idate?" Anko asked.
"Idate is missing three fingers on one hand and two on the other. When Kabuto realised that Ibiki wouldn't talk to save Idate, and that Idate wouldn't ask Ibiki to talk to end his pain, Kabuto decided Idate wasn't worth the trouble and threw him in a cell. For all we know the kid could be delirious from gangrene or he could be on the verge of death from blood loss. There are no guarantees. They tortured Ibiki until the man actually started screaming, but didn't get a word out of him." Sasori told Anko.
"That doesn't surprise me. Ibiki is a tough bastard. There isn't anyone tougher. Idate would've told Ibiki not to say a damn thing if they started torturing him in front of Ibiki." Anko stated. Sakura looked at Sasori. She didn't want to ask but she had to.
"What about my brother, Sasori?" Sakura asked. Sasori sighed.
"Sakura... it's not pretty kid. He is the leader of Akatsuki. There was no way that he was going to get anything easy. The King tortured Pein himself. He used a head crusher on him Sakura. If he's lucky, Pein will be able to have his own coherent thoughts once he heals, if he heals." Sasori told Sakura bluntly.
"He will heal." Sakura stated coldly. No one wanted to argue the point with her. The group got ready to move. Shikamaru took a deep breath as he shouldered his pack. He heard someone walk up behind him and turned to look at Ten Ten. She looked back at him, straight in the eye.
"I need to ask you something Shikamaru, and I need you to tell me the honest truth." Ten Ten told Shikamaru seriously.
"What is it you want to ask?" Shikamaru questioned. Ten Ten took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders to ease the heaviness of her own pack.
"You saw what happened to Neji right?" Ten Ten asked. Shikamaru nodded. "Who was the one that hurt him, Shikamaru? I need to know who hurt Neji and how it happened." Ten Ten stated firmly. Shikamaru sighed as he took note of the fiery look in Ten Ten's eyes.
"We were fighting a losing battle. Neji had already gotten rid of three opponents. But..." Shikamaru didn't want to carry on, but Ten Ten glared when he stopped. Shikamaru sighed. "He was run through from behind, by Kabuto, he couldn't have defended himself. Kabuto attacked from behind, when Neji was vulnerable against other opponents. After that, we retreated. We didn't get much choice." Shikamaru told Ten Ten earnestly. Ten Ten nodded.
"I know who I'm looking for first, when we attack." Ten Ten stated firmly. She turned to go and join Ino, Sakura and Hinata, then she turned back to look at Shikamaru again. "Thanks for telling me Shikamaru." Ten Ten added. Then she was off, and Shikamaru wondered if he'd done the right thing by telling her.
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(General P.O.V.)
A cloaked figure snuck into the great citadel, as people gathered in the town square, ready to watch blood flow. They took a position near to the doors of the castle, ready to keep watch on proceedings without being noticed.
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(Sasuke's P.O.V.)
We were dragged out of the cell, close to dusk. I saw them pull Naruto along and then Pein, Ibiki and Idate. I was last. As I was dragged into full sunlight for the first time in… I'm not even sure how long, I saw how the courtyard had been prepared. I saw the gallows ready for my hanging. Then I was dragged, tripping over my own feet to sit next to my father. I was bound tightly with rope and I knew I couldn't escape. I watched them lead Naruto up to the executioner's block and I heard my father whisper in my ear. "I warned you. This is what happens when you betray your own father, boy." He hissed at me. I stood up and looked into Naruto's eyes. I wanted to let him know he'd be alright. I wanted to comfort him, I could see, very deep into his eyes, that there was a spark of fear. But he was trying to be brave. If I screamed, or tried to run to him I knew it would just give my father pleasure, that he didn't deserve, and it would hurt Naruto. Then I heard the executioner reading Naruto his last rights.
"This boy, Naruto Uzumaki, son of Minato Uzumaki, former Hokage of Konoha and former General to our great King, son of Jiraiya Uzumaki, has committed treason. He has been found guilty of consorting with enemies that wish to take Fire Country from our beloved sovereign, Fugaku Uchiha. He has participated in acts of violence, against the good people of Fire Country, in order to free slaves. Naruto Uzumaki has been sentenced to death by beheading. Do you have any last words boy?" The executioner asked Naruto. I wanted to scream. I wanted to scream as loud as I could, as I looked at Naruto's face. I kept it all inside, as I kept eye contact with my first friend.
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(Naruto's P.O.V.)
"Of course, I have some last words." I heard myself say. I could see Sasuke's face. He wanted to help me and I knew that. But I also knew that he was doing the only thing he could to help me. That was keeping eye contact with me. I had a feeling he would keep that contact until the executioner cut my head off. "I'm accused of treason, but with no trial, I've been found guilty. I was tortured like I wasn't even human, but I'm still standing. If wanting to see every human treated with humanity is treason? If wanting to free slaves from tyranny, and give them their own lives, is treason? Then I am a traitor! What's more, I'm proud to be a traitor!" I told the crowd. At the moment, I really was proud. I was proud to stand with these men, proud to die with them. I may have regrets, but I know that I'll never regret wanting to set Hinata free, or helping the other slaves we've helped in the last year. I know that I've finally learned, what being a man and taking responsibility, actually means.
"Kill him." I heard Fugaku say bluntly.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Over the boards of the platform, I heard the heavy steps of the executioner heading towards me. Once he stood next to me. I looked up at the sun, and I prayed to God to keep my family safe. I prayed to God, that if I died, that the others might have a chance.
"On your knees boy!" The executioner barked next to me. I didn't move. I felt the executioner's hands on my shoulders and he pushed me down to the ground on my knees. I felt pain going through my stomach and arms, where the newly stitched wounds from the cat's paw were. Then he pushed my head on to the block. My head was sideways, looking out at the royal dais. There was Sasuke, looking right back at me. He didn't break eye contact with me. Just as I knew he wouldn't. I heard the drums beating, and the axe moving. I didn't close my eyes. I just kept them on Sasuke.
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(Sasuke's P.O.V.)
I wanted to be sick as I saw the executioner pick up the axe. The drums were still going and all I could do was pray that if no one came to rescue Naruto, then that his death would be quick and clean. Then I saw the axe swing, and couldn't help but feel my heart lurch into my throat.
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(General P.O.V.)
As the axe swung high in the air, an arrow came out of nowhere and struck the executioner in the heart. The axe dropped to the ground with a thunk, along with the executioner, and the crowds of people started running and screaming in terror.
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Okay all. I'm ending it there. Next chapter, all the fighting action begins. So, I hope this was a good chapter for you all. Please R&R and let me know what you thought.