Primal

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Naruto talking to Kyuubi in bold.

Kyuubi talking to Naruto in bold italics.

Chapter Notation: I put warnings up before and after the execution scene. It may be a bit more descriptive than some readers are comfortable with. If you choose to skip it, it will not alter the plot and you should still be able to understand the basic idea of what happened.

Chapter 18

"We can execute them in whatever manner we see fit." Suki informs Itachi.

Itachi raises an eyebrow. He didn't see what good that would do. It wasn't going to bring their family back and the Council in their own way had only been trying to protect the Leaf. Punishing them was pointless.

"I told you to nurse your hatred to grow stronger. I wanted you to kill me so that the Leaf would look upon you as the tragic hero. It was my hope that when you became strong enough to slay me, that you could restore our Clan and begin a happier page in our family's history. Killing the Council has nothing to do with that." He states flatly.

"You actually believe that they shouldn't pay for their actions? You've paid for years. You were a Criminal Ninja. You've had to live with your guilt for all these years. You've allowed your illness to go untreated while they lived in the lap of luxury as if nothing had ever happened. How is that just, Itachi?!" Suki demands.

He sighs and glances at his foolish little sister. It was only natural that she would want revenge. The Council had ordered the death of most of her kin and stolen her childhood, but he doubted it would bring her the peace that she was so desperately seeking.

"They will pay for their actions. Whether that is in this life or the next, doesn't matter. Suki, you have the chance to start over. What you showed them today has given you that. It would be a far wiser option to start over with a clean slate. One that isn't covered in blood." He advises her.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing that I'm your foolish little sister. I'm not wise. I do believe in justice though. If you think that I'm going to allow them to live, you're the foolish one." She hisses.

Itachi sighs. This was not at all how he wanted this to go. Where was Naruto. Surely, he wouldn't sanction such bloodshed.

"What does your Mate think about this? From what I know of Naruto, he doesn't seem like the type that would condone torture. Make no mistake about it, that is what you are planning." The elder Uchiha says.

"Naruto loves me. He understands. The Darkness doesn't touch him in the same way it does most people." Suki whispers.

Well that was something. There was real love in his sister's voice when she spoke of the bubbly blonde. At least, Suki wasn't alone anymore. That made him happy.

"You're determined to go through with this, aren't you?" He asks with a resigned sigh.

"Yes, I am. I'm going to do it with or without your help." The raven haired woman says.

"I surmised as much. You've grown into a very stubborn woman. I suppose that you get that from mother. One would have to be stubborn to win over the heart of our father." Itachi says with a wistful smile.

Suki smiles as she nods in agreement. Her memories of her father and mother were crystal clear, but most of them were superficial. Perhaps that was only to be expected. She had only been a small child at the time of their death.

Her mother had been the archetype of the loving mother and homemaker. Mikoto Uchiha had once been a Jonin, but in the end had been content to be a housewife. She was a beautiful woman with a kind smile and enjoyed making cookies.

"That's certainly true." The younger Uchiha concedes.

Her father had been what Suki called a traditional ninja. He was proud, strong, and extremely rigid in his behavior. Fugaku had been the Head of their Clan and the Chief of the Leaf's Military Police Force.

How her sweet, empathetic mother had ended up with her proud and stern father, Suki still didn't really understand. They were opposites in every way. Then again, so were she and Naruto. He was her Sun and she was his Moon.

"Mhm. What did you have in mind?" Itachi asks warily.

"Well I thought that we would start with a Tsukuyomi." Suki says with a sly smile.

Now, she at least understood why her father had been distant. The man had been planning a Coup. To what extent her mother had been complicit in it, she wasn't entirely certain. Suki could only assume that her mother knew though.

Mikoto had been a Jonin. She wouldn't have achieved that rank, if she was completely unaware of her surroundings. That and she was Fugaku's wife. That entitled her to know what her husband was plotting.

"You can be rather vengeful at times." Itachi observes.

"Yes, I can. I am what you made me, brother." The young woman replies.

Behind that sweet smile, she had likely lived a double life. Mikoto probably had been aware of the Coup. Most likely she had been actively involved in it. That was an unsettling thought really.

She supposed the fact that the two of them had died so tragically, had made it easier for her young mind to put them on a pedestal. Her father had been proud, but he wasn't unmovable. He would act to protect his family in reckless way. Likewise, her sweet mother was capable of sanctioning what amounted to a Civil War within the Leaf Village.

"Yes, you are. You'll never understand how truly sorry, I am about that." Itachi whispers.

Meanwhile Naruto was with Tsunade in her office. Maybe, he could prevent total chaos from breaking out. He had a plan and he thought that it was a good plan.

"Just having them killed isn't going to be enough. The Leaf knows what really happened to Suki's family. People are going to start to wonder if the Council will do the same to their families." Naruto says.

Tsunade pours herself a glass of sake and nods. As much as she hated to admit it, the other blonde was certainly right about that. In particular, she was worried about the other Clans.

The Hyugas would have the most justifiable fear. They were similar to the Uchihas in a lot of ways. They were large, functioned semi autonomously, and had a bloodline trait. They weren't as insular as the Uchihas had been, but they weren't fully integrated into the village either.

"You're right. Unfortunately, I'm at a loss for how to reassure them. Well other than the execution." The Hokage admits as she takes a sip from her glass.

"We need to show them that something like this will never happen again. Granny, I want to be Hokage. I'm going to ask Suki to marry me. I'll take her last name. That way an Uchiha will be Hokage. That might be the only way to put this behind us." The Leaf Ninja pleads with her.

Tsunade blinks. Well that wasn't a bad idea in theory. Though she was rather surprised to see Naruto behaving so strategically. Perhaps Suki was rubbing off on him.

That was a frightening thought. How much of this was really Naruto's idea and how much was Suki's? She had never particularly thought of the Uchiha as a seductress, but was that what had happened?

"Was this your idea or hers?" She inquires cautiously.

If this was Suki's idea, Tsunade wasn't sure how she felt about it. It was quite clever, but also extremely ambitious. The youngest Uchiha had never really shown much ambition before. Well other than wanting to kill her brother.

Now that Suki knew the truth, that could change. That might not be a good thing. She was far too intelligent to think that she could ever officially be Hokage, but Naruto could. Suki could lead from behind the scenes.

"No. This was my idea. She doesn't know that I'm talking to you about it yet. Gaara and Killer B would back me. That means the Raikage would." Naruto reasons.

Tsunade sighs in relief. Well at least Suki wasn't making a power grab. That was something. Sadly, that didn't mean that her troubles were over though.

Just because it wasn't her idea, didn't mean that the raven haired woman wouldn't take advantage of the situation. After all, Naruto was her Mate. That meant she'd be in a position of influence, if he became Hokage.

"After the execution, I'll transfer the Hokageship to you." Tsunade says with a sigh.

She had never wanted to be Hokage to begin with. Jirayia had sought her out and practically begged her to take the position. Well maybe begged was a bit of a stretch, but she digressed.

Naruto would make an excellent leader. Like her brother and Dan, this was his dream. He cared about the Leaf and its people. He would do whatever was necessary to protect it. Of that much, Tsunade was certain.

"Really? That's great! Don't worry, Granny Tsunade! You won't regret this! I promise!" The Jinchuuriki vows.

"I hope you're right, Naruto. I really hope that you're right." Tsnuade says as she downs her sake.

She couldn't believe that this was actually happening. Tsunade was sanctioning the death of the Council and she was retiring from being Hokage. It was a strange day to say the least.

Meanwhile Kisame eyes a pink haired woman with amusement. Pink hair? That couldn't possibly be natural, could it? Who had ever heard of a pink haired ninja?

"Lady Tsunade sent me to make sure that you don't cause any trouble. It seems like you don't have any problem breaking out of your cell, so we'll need to take other precautions. You're too dangerous. We can't just let you wander around." The female ninja says.

Kisame snorts in amusement. That was adorable. Really. They actually thought they could control him? Oh this should be funny.

"I'd like to see you try, Princess." He states with open mirth.

"Princess? Why are you calling me Princess?" Sakura replies in confusion as she watches him warily.

"You have pink hair. That's like something out of a fairytale. That's not natural is it?" He asks.

Sakura feels herself twitch. She couldn't believe that the Akatsuki Member had the gall to ask her that! He was the one who had blue skin, shark teeth, and gills! Her hair was perfectly normal! She was the one who should be asking him, if he was natural!

"It is! TAKE THIS!" She says as she slams a punch in his gut and throws some chakra cuffs on him.

"AHHHH!" Kisame cries out in pain.

Well he supposed that would teach him a valuable lesson. He probably shouldn't have judged a book by their cover. Damn. Princess could punch!

"Owe. Alright. Alright. I deserved that one." Kisame mutters.

"Yes, you did. Is every member of the Akatsuki crazy?" The medic demands.

"Well for the most part. Konan is fairly normal and so is Itachi. Everyone else is pretty certifiable though! We have high standards!" The blue ninja states cheerfully.

Sakura rubs the back of her head. She honestly didn't know how Itachi had done it. This was considered normal by Akatsuki standards? She would have gotten as far away from the group as she could have, if she was in his sandals.

"Right. Well now you can't cause nearly as much trouble. Without the use of your hands or chakra, you should be at least somewhat more civilized." Sakura states proudly.

She had done it. Sakura had successfully restrained an Akatsuki Member without getting a scratch on her. That had to be some kind of record. She was sure of it!

"Me? Civilized?" Kisame asks as he begins laughing at the mere idea of such a thing.

"Well semi civilized. Anyway, you're not going to cause any problems while we get everything straightened out!" She informs him.

""Yes ma'am." Kisame states between gales of laughter.

Ah. It must have been years since he'd last laughed like this. Usually, he'd chuckle or laugh maliciously. This was a different kind of laughter though. One of amusement and that made a big difference.

"You can stop laughing so much now!" She snaps at him.

"Sorry. I just can't do it, Princess. You actually expect me to be partially civilized. Awe man. I wish that Itachi was here. He'd get such a kick out of that." Kisame laughs.

Three days later, the Council is drugged off to the Forest of Death. Suki had debated about it, but decided a public execution would be too good for them. It made them more important than they were. They could die alone.

"They will die screaming. I'm not sure exactly what she's planning, but her chakra is laced with fury." Kurama comments.

Naruto couldn't disagree with that. The panther was ready for blood. It was pacing wildly inside their bond. The mighty beast's claws were unsheathed and its teeth were bared. Kurama was right.

"Itachi doesn't look too happy about it though." The blonde observes.

Itachi had the look of a resigned man. For whatever reasons, the elder Uchiha apparently didn't want to go through with this. Naruto wasn't sure, if he would ever fully understand the man.

The Council had forced him to kill his entire family, but Itachi didn't want to see them executed. It didn't make any sense to him. Not that it mattered. As log as Suki was happy, he was happy.

"Lady Tsunade, you can't possibly sanction this!" One of the Council Members says.

"She's sanctioning it to save her own hide. The woman isn't stupid. Do you honestly think the other Leaf Villagers are going to just overlook a genocide?" Kisame asks.

"I wasn't aware that you even knew what the word genocide meant." Suki taunts him.

"Itachi, your kid sister is such a brat." Kisame grumbles.

Itachi chuckles quietly in amusement. Well if nothing else, having Suki and Kisame around each other was going to prove to be a most entertaining experience. Unfortunately, that didn't solve their current predicament .

"One can't entirely blame Suki for that assessment. You do not exactly go to great lengths to prove yourself to be a scholar." Itachi offers.

"I think Itachi just called him dumb. Did he just call him dumb?" Naruto whispers to Suki.

"I didn't call him simple. There are many kinds of intelligence. Academic intelligent is but one of man." The elder Uchiha sibling clarifies.

Tsunade smacks her forehead. She couldn't believe that that they were having this conversation before the execution. Honestly, everyone needed to focus!

"Suki, Itachi, have you chosen their manner of death? Oh and if anyone has any last words, you may speak them now. Do not go to your deaths with anymore regrets than you absolutely have to." The Hokage says.

"Demons! The lot of you! Tsunade, you're no lady! You're consorting with Akatsuki Members. As for Suki and her pet demon, we should have had them killed years ago. I can't believe that Itachi is behaving this foolishly though. I thought that the safety of the Leaf meant something to him!" The first Council Member hisses.

Itachi clenches his fists. On second thought, perhaps Suki had a point. No one would miss the Council. They were all fools who were too afraid to do their own dirty work. Fools who needed to be silenced.

"We were naïve to think that any Uchiha could be trusted. Not even Itachi. I suppose the Curse of Hatred will always win out in the end." A second says as he spits at them.

"Naruto, calm yourself. It doesn't matter. They're all going to be dead very shortly. Whatever they say is absolutely meaningless. Their words are the words of dead men and dead women." The Nine Tails says.

"It's not right! They have no right to talk about her like that!" Naruto snarls mentally.

Suki sighs and places her hand on Naruto's cheek. She could feel his rage. Her Mate was outraged on her behalf. It was very sweet in a disturbing way.

"Naruto, it's alright. They can't hurt anyone else." She whispers.

"Yeah. I know. Things would have been a lot better, if none of these people had ever been born though." He grumbles and leans into her touch.

Her touch soothed him. Idly, that thought amused Naruto. It wasn't that long ago, that her touch only brought him pain and vice versa. He'd lost track of the number of times that they had almost killed each other and now, they were loving Mates!

"You'll pay for this. Go to Hell!" Another Council Member screams at the Uchiha Siblings.

"Thanks to you and your friends, I've been living in Hell almost every single day, since I was seven. So has my brother. Things are better now. I have Naruto. I want you to go to your deaths, knowing the truth." She hisses at them.

Naruto feels himself shiver. That voice was cold. It was colder than the unforgiving icy gales that were famous in the Snow Country. He almost couldn't believe that his Suki could talk that way .

"And what is that?!" They demand.

"You're going to die and no one is going to care. I'll make sure that the bodies are buried, but I won't give you the courtesy of marked graves. No one will mourn you. They'll likely be relieved that they aren't going to be your next victim." She tells them with a ruthless smile.

"Is that really Suki?" Naruto asks.

"Yes, it is. Never cross an Uchiha. They aren't the most forgiving people." Kurama replies.

Naruto watches as the Council's faces go pale. Apparently, that threat had worked rather well. Sadly, they didn't stay silent for long.

"Itachi. Do it." Suki whispers as the Council screams at her and Itachi.

"Tsukuyomi!" The older Uchiha says and Naruto watches in awe as the screaming suddenly stops.

Warning Execution Scene

"Where are we?" A Councilman demands.

"You're inside my Genjutsu. This world is entirely of my own making. I control everything in it. To the outside world, only a few seconds will pass. To us, a few days will pass. How did you want to do this Suki?" Itachi asks softly.

Suki smirks at their horrified expressions. Good. She wanted them to know the terror that she felt that night.

"Force them to walk a mile in our sandals." She murmurs.

Itachi needed no further clarification. Soon enough, the Council was forced to witness the slaughter of their own families in front of them. Of course, it wasn't real and Itachi knew that most of these people were long dead. That didn't mean that it wasn't traumatic though.

"Because you, they are suffering. Because you were not able to do your jobs and protect the Leaf in the way that you should have, your families now have to suffer the same fate that ours did." He hisses.

Blood splattered everywhere. Some of it even splashed onto the Council Members' pristine white robes. That didn't matter though. Itachi set about killing their imaginary kin in the exact same way that he was forced to nearly annihilate his own Clan.

Suki watches with no small amount of horror as he reacts the Massacre. Finally, he brings his sword through the imaginary parents. This was how Itachi had killed Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha. He'd done it quickly, but the blood soaked the "streets" of the imaginary world.

"You're a monster!" One of them spits.

"I am what this village made me. I was willing to do this to keep the Leaf safe. I did it to keep the Ninja World from falling into another war and it almost didn't work. I suppose the Road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Have no fear, Suki and I shall send you there shortly." He says.

With that being said, Suki slashes at them with her sword. She made sure not to cut any major arteries or veins and to stay away from vital points. The Uchiha woman wanted them to suffer for as long as possible.

Allowing them to bleed out, even in this world was too good for them. They were slowly bleeding to death and she could hear their snarls and cries of pain. Each one was music to her eyes. They deserved to suffer.

"Never again. You're never going to be able to hurt anyone else!" She growls at them.

Her rage was a primal thing. It was white and hot. It burned her on the inside, but she couldn't stop. Again and again, she brings her sword down. By the end, Itachi was still reenacting the Massacre with the Council's loved ones and she was cutting off limbs and other body parts.

"Release!" Itachi says and with that, they find themselves in the real world once more.

The Council Members fall to the ground. Some were gasping for air and others were literally foaming at the mouth. It was clear that Itachi's mental torture had been a success.

"I think that it's appropriate that you die by the Jutsu that my Clan was most famous for." Suki says.

"What's she talking about?" Kisame whispers to Naruto.

"Not sure. I'm thinking some form of Fire Style though." The blonde whispers back.

It didn't take long to find out exactly what Jutsu Suki was referring to. A moment later, she breathes out a truly massive fireball. The last female Uchiha wields it without mercy.

"AHHHH!" A Councilwoman screams as the scent of charred flesh filled the air.

It was a sickening scent, but that didn't stop Suki. If anything, the screams appeared to encourage her. The raven haired beauty directs the flames to target their legs and arms first. The elders were fully restrained by the cuffs on their arms and legs. They couldn't escape.

"MAKE IT STOP!" A second pleads for mercy.

Suki wasn't feeling merciful though. Naruto could see the panther slashing at everything with its claws. She was going to kill them. Today, the Forest of Death was certainly going to be very aptly named.

The sounds of their screams and the scent of fire filled the forest air for what seemed like hours. It was almost overwhelming to say the least. Somehow though, Suki was able to ignore such things. Hell, Naruto would go so far to say that she was delighting in them.

End Execution Scene

"Suki! Stop! They're dead!" Itachi calls out.

Suki blinks and looks down at the ground. The elders' bodies had completely collapsed. They were lifeless and there was nothing left, but bone and the tattered remains of their clothes or hair.

"Yes, they are." She says in shock as she tries to process the fact that it was really over.

The Council was dead and she knew the truth about Itachi. So did the entire life. Now there was really only a couple of things left to do. First and foremost, she was going to marry her lovable idiot.

"Suki, that was crazy. Don't ever freak me out like that again!" Naruto tells her.

"That's rich considering what you did to Orochimaru, but it's alright. It's over now." Suki says as she walks over and embraces her Mate.

It was hard to go from experiencing such rage to complete love. Suki almost got whiplash because of how quickly her emotions changed, but that didn't matter. Nothing else mattered, except for Naruto and the fact that her Clan finally had been avenged.