Here's the next instalment. Hope it's alright for y'all. Sorry about the lateness and sorry to Rach for posting it before I hear back from ya. But everyone…she has a baby now! Yay! He's so beautiful.

Naruto

Naruto sat in the hospital room, trying with all his might to concentrate on the scroll before him. A half-finished scroll with musings and possibilities. His and Itachi's work. He fingered the necklace resting upon his nape. The Hokage necklace. The whole thing was surreal. Just four days ago, they were finally on the right track to fixing everything, but now…now everything was so much more messed up.

Sasuke was free. As free as a man with three Hokage appointed ANBU could be. Or should he say Sub-Hokage; because Jiriaya loudly declared he was only covering for the comatose Tsunade. And it was his fault Baa-chan was that way. His and Itachi's. Now he had a Hokage's necklace with a modified seal Jiriaya had placed upon it that drew chakra to help one of his dying babies stay alive.

And Itachi was dead. His life lost to the cruelty of Shinobi.

Naruto sighed and glared at the mask of the ANBU leaning on the wall across from him; his stance casual yet his aura anything but. Naruto knew it was Neji. He had been stationed with him after Sasuke had barged his way into the room and demanded answers. Neji obviously wanted them, too, with the way he was studying him intensely from behind his mask.

"Why don't you just ask your questions and get it over with?"

"I'm on duty."

"Oh stop being so stuck up! What's got your back up, judging me?"

"You really thought it was a good idea to associate yourself with an S-class criminal?"

"Do you think I planned this? It's not my worst decision as of late. Or haven't you noticed I'm knocked up and in hospital?"

"I just expected more of you, Naruto."

"Yeah well, you're not the only one." Naruto mumbled, looking back down, staring blankly at the scroll and not realising that he was crying, until a fat blob dropped down onto the parchment.

His eyes widened, shocked, as more joined it. A soft sob escaped him before he stifled it. Suddenly, he just felt so exhausted, that he just let the tears fall as they wanted. He leant back on the pillows, his head tilted back and his hands keeping their place on his scroll. He just needed a moment – one to let himself grieve for all that had happened.

His eyes, that had found themselves closed, shot open as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He followed the hand to Neji's mask, half toward him and half away, as if giving him some semblance of privacy. Sometimes this man was so contradictory. Hinata didn't have a chance. A soft smile appeared on the blond's lips.

"Thanks Neji." He breathed in the other's support.

"I was waiting for this." Came the gentle response, dissimilar to the earlier harsh tone. "Like Hinata-sama, you're too sensitive. A lot has happened, Naruto, for you to be so unaffected."

"I'm not unaffected…I just don't know what to do."

"About what? I hear you've sorted the Kyuubi issue."

That was before I fucked up." Naruto chuckled drily. "Kyuubi's chakra got into one of the umbilical cords and completely messed up the underdeveloped chakra coils. At the minute, it's stable – the baby. But it's stopped growing. It's barely getting anything. Nutrients, yeah, but it's rejecting my chakra, so Tsunade had to cut the chakra feed."

"That will stunt the growth."

"Yesh but the worst part is after it's born. It won't live long without chakra, but you understand all that more than me. I thought Lee didn't have any chakra, but it's an access thing, apparently. So for now, this necklace is providing it's chakra. Kyuubi wanted an heir, or something and I guess he got one, since it's drawing out his chakra."

"So when it's born…?"

"That part we don't know yet. It's easy enough to modify the necklace and attach chakra strings, but to rebuild a whole chakra system? If nothing can be done for Lee, what could I do for this kid? For my kid? I would be happy enough if it could never access her chakra and be a civilian, but this is worse than that, Neji. So much worse."

"Have you spoken to Hiashi-sama? If there is someone that knows the inner workings of the chakra circulatory system, it would be him."

"You know, Ino's the one that applied the chakra strings. If she hadn't been training with me and learned to apply her chakra against the Kyuubi's, I would have one less kid to carry. As it is, she came away with burns on her hands. Kyuubi's chakra is volatile, you know. And every cell of this child is riddled with the Kyuubi's chakra, but it's not self-sufficient-"

"Because the chakra coils aren't yet fully developed. Is there any chance of it recovering from this?"

"No one knows. Tsunade might, but she's not well. The whole plan is falling apart. Tsunade and Ino are supposed to help control the chakra and at the minute neither of them can right now."

"It seems you have a lot to do in such a short time, Naruto."

"Seems so…"

Naruto

Kakashi and Iruka were waiting for him in the cabin, recently made in the woods surrounding Konoha. All it took was a few hand seals from Yamato and it was in existence in seconds. It was fairly simple, but also fairly big. After all, it was due to be housing a few people. Of course, he was then dispatched back to Konoha immediately, as due to his special gifts, he was key in the redevelopment of the fallen village.

The cabin had to be far enough away that no sensory ninja could sense the chakra signatures from the village, but close enough that reinforcements could be obtained from or to Konoha if needs be. The next two jobs were a seal and illusionary technique to hide the residence as best as possible. With the company he was in, that was easily done.

The scrolls got laid down on the table before him and the men and women got to work. Until Tsunade was recovered and Jiriaya was free to join them, they would have to make do with the best and most trustworthy minds Konoha had to offer. That, obviously included Shikamaru, along with Ino, and Hinata, the latter of which, bringing Hyuuga documents on chakra access and manipulation.

The problem was that even after two weeks and less than a month away until they would ideally want Naruto in for a caesarean section, they were still coming up short on how to tackle the situation. The only thing they could really think of as a permanent solution was to seal the Kyuubi into the child, but Naruto vehemently argued against it. No son or daughter of his was going to be a Jinchuriki unless there was literally no other option.

Ino seemed to think that through a series of chakra surgeries, the chakra coils could be built and maintained through growth, with the aid of continuous chakra 'transfusions' from the Kyuubi. The problem was the long term effects of the Kyuubi's chakra. It had already denatured the chakra pathways in the foetus. The continuous supply could shorten the child's life span. Just like with Naruto.

The only other option was finding a similar, volatile chakra to replace the potent Kyuubi chakra. One that was compatible. But the child would have to be old enough to withstand the change in chakra. If they tried too young the child would die anyway from shock. It was a double edged sword and the likelihood of the child being able to use the chakra was exceptionally slim.

The worst part was that during all of this, Hinata had to learn all that Ino had in a shorter time, whilst Naruto just ballooned and felt like he was becoming even more useless. Shizune had the unfortunate task of tidying up all of the Hokage's paperwork and finding the plans for Naruto's operation in all the mess. If Tsunade didn't wake up, she was going to have to stand in, whether she felt she was ready or not.

Jiriaya, the perverted, fun loving writer, on the other hand, had a whole other situation to take care of. There were reports that there was a war brewing. The eight tailed Jinchuriki was targeted and now there were talks of the five Kages meeting. The only problem with that is that Jiriaya couldn't possibly leave the village. There was far too much at stake here.

Naruto's situation was the perfect opportunity for 'Tobi' to come after the Kyuubi. He had the best minds on strategy planning and reconnaissance; Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi. All the evidence, including Itachi's previous infiltration pointed to Uchiha Madara being involved. And that was where everything got worse. The only person to pull his own weight against the man was already dead.

Plus, looking at the mission reports, it seemed Mitarashi Anko was well overdue for reporting in on her mission. The last report was when Sai was recalled a week ago for infiltration back into Root. Since Tsunade's coma, Danzo had been seen starting to take matters into his own hands. And when that man was involved, all sense and planning went out the window.

The last thing Konoha needed now was more mess made in the shadows.

Naruto

Sai stuck close to Danzo, but he knew it was a thin line that he was treading. The man did not trust him in the slightest. At least not anymore. Since his friendship with Naruto had become so prominent, he was a liability to Root and what it stood for. Sai wished to high heavens that he could get some information to Naruto or Jiriaya that could be helpful, but the seal he carried stole his voice.

As it was, all he was really able to do was fight the man if it really came to it. And obviously, he wouldn't get very far in winning that fight. Right now, however, it seemed that Danzo was far more interested in getting rid of the last Uchiha. He was seeing plans unfold between two of his fellow root members and the man he would have once followed carelessly with his life.

"Hello, Sai." Came the evil voice from his once-master. "What a shame you can't open that pretty mouth of yours and speak against me." Danzo looked behind him as Tenzou approached the two. On a bench, previously sat reading, Sai was looking up at the man that he used to do more figuratively. "I would be careful to stay out of my way, boy. Or you might end up the same way as your 'brother' and that Uchiha brat."

Danzou kept walking at his own smug, slow pace so Sai was frowning at his retreating back by the time the wood controller was beside him. Tenzou waited until the younger man looked toward him with his blank, expressionless face. He took note of the umpteenth book on social relations that was resting open in the brunettes hands and realised how hard life must be for him.

"The Hokage wants to see us. We've not heard anything from Anko's group in a while." When Sai merely nodded and stood, Tenzou frowned. "Are you okay, Sai?"

Biting his tongue, literally, the dark haired boy paused and asked something of his commander. A personal and professional something. For his help and his guidance. It was time the ANBU were taken away from the two that were causing them so much trouble and for them to tear each other apart. There wasn't much that the teen could do, but there was a lot that he could set up.

Together the pair went to see their sub-Hokage, knowing if there was anything ever to be done against Danzou, it would have to be under the more lethal ruler ship of a man living without consequence. Choosing Jiriaya to be the temporary Hokage might just cause more trouble than the council had imagined.

NARUTO

Sasuke didn't know if he was pissed off with the council or not. He knew he was a baby making machine and he knew that once they were finished with him, they would probably order his execution. But they had let him go free and he knew that killing Ino would be in her report, if not Naruto's. They were playing with fire and as he smirked maliciously, he knew they would be the ones to get burned.

He also knew that Naruto was being kept somewhere away from the village because he had Karin check for him. Unfortunately, the whole village was pretty much on lock down, what with the invasion and complete destruction of the village. The only good thing about that was that his hated brother had fallen with it. This God forsaken village had hindered his growth and kept him from his goals.

He growled softly as Sakura walked in the door, groceries in hand and head down. She looked up at the sound and saw him sitting alone in the dark, in his classic thinking pose. Immediately, her head went down as she struggled with changing her footwear. She didn't greet him, but avoided his eyes as she quietly walked past him and into the brighter kitchen.

Somehow, she didn't know quite how it had come to this. She looked up into the tree outside the window and saw the few leaves that swirled there. She sighed. Her Taichou was ill and there was not much she could do. Just like how there was not much she could do about the fact she married an immovable object. Or the fact that her life seemed to be falling apart at every seam possible.

She always thought that everything would fall into place, but as she stated at the spot the ANBU had occupied just moments earlier, she knew there was more going on than she let herself see. She had been blinded for so long with Sasuke, that when he waltzed back into her life, it was so easy to let herself put the blinds back up. She let the tears fall, looking out into the world she felt she was no longer a part of.

Naruto

It wasn't long before the two met up. It wasn't by coincidence, Danzo knew, but somehow, Sasuke didn't. At least so the older man saw. He knew what the council wanted out of them. He hated the younger boy, after all. He had been the weakness in his plan to destroy all the Uchiha. Then the council members thought they could breed a newer, better generation.

He was not that stupid.

Their volatile chakra was something to conquer and use as an advantage. The Uchiha breed was something that deserved to be extinct. But he was not above using this boy's twisted mind to his advantage, just as he had used his pacifist brother. And one advantage the boy had was the young Uzumaki girl. That clan had so much potential; though once again, a power to be conquered, not shared.

Just like the Kyuubi. And with the power he had in his right arm, he would one day also wield that power.

NARUTO

Already working on the next one! =^.^=

TIMELINE

October - (Late) SasuNaru begins.

November - (Early) Pregnant, (Around 10th) Party, (Mid) Day mission, SasuIno (Late) Mission starts.

December - (Early) Mission ends, Sakura Pregnant, (Week later) SasuSaku marriage told, Naruto moves teams, (Late) Failed visits, Observe NejiHina, KakaNaru talk.

January - (Early) Kakashi makes a lie, NejiHina told to be false. (Mid) Sakura tries visiting. (Week later) last failed visit.

February - (Early) Questions of father stop, (Mid) Sakura's baby's sex, Sasu rapes Naru, Naru moves. (Late) Meets Sakura, Stops training.

March - (Mid) Finds Itachi, Saves Itachi, finds Itachi's curse seal, InoSaku talk, Stag do (interrogation), SasuSaku wedding, ItaNaru consummated, Naruto taken out of Konoha, the aftermath (Late) In world of summons

April - (Mid) Found answer to Kyuubi's seal

May - (Early-Mid) Shizune, Tsunade and Ino in the world of summons. (Mid) NejiHina

June - (Early) Attack on Konoha. (Late) In cabin.

July – (Mid) Naruto's induction date

August - (Early) Naru's due date.

September - (Early) Sakura's due date.

In order of occurrences (bold is this chapter), tell me if I've missed anything and I'll add more as it's revealed.