Would you look at that? Another double update. I'm getting good at these. And it's long too. Forgiven for taking three months to write it?

Sasuke's head throbbed something awful when he woke. The pain was so intense it hurt to think. For a second, he thought Naruto hit him too hard during a spar. Whenever the two of them were paired together, it was inevitable that both of them would wind up suffering from some pretty serious injuries. They were rather lucky in that regard that Sakura knew medical ninjutsu. Otherwise, they'd spend just as much, if not more, time in the hospital as they did training.

That was what was wrong with this situation. Sasuke didn't feeling the gentle, cool, and soothing sensation he associated with Sakura's chakra whenever she was healing him.

Sakura! Concern for his teammate shot through him like a tidal wave. What had happened to her? Did the ANBU get her? And him as well? Why had they ambushed two teenagers?

What happened before they were taken?

The recent conversation shot to the forefront of his mind. Sakura had told him about the true reasoning behind the Uchiha Massacre and his own part in bringing about the end of the world, which including his complete and utter annihilation of the village. Sasuke quickly put a halt to those thoughts. The lengths he would go to in the future and the actions he had taken and the decisions he had made terrified him.

None more so than the idea that it was he that would be responsible for Naruto's death. He didn't know when, but somewhere between their battle on the bridge and their mission to protect Koyuki Kazahana, Sasuke had come to view Naruto as invincible. His image of Naruto was only cemented when he learned about the blonde's original timeline. Despite be knocked down so many times by opponents ten years out of his league, the dobe would crawl up and keep fighting until he was victorious.

And it wasn't thanks to the Kyuubi. The beast might have sped up his healing rate to a ridiculous and level unmatchable by anyone other than Tsunade with her Creation Rebirth technique, but it was Naruto's own will and determination that kept him going. As long as Naruto was fighting for one of his precious people, he might as well have been invincible.

Sasuke didn't have time to waste moaning about how his head hurt. He needed to know what happened to Sakura. He had to find her.

The dark haired boy shot up into a half-sitting, half-reclining position before the unbearable pain registered. He wondered if this was what a Chidori felt like, as if every part of his body, down to the individual cells, was burning. It was almost enough to make him not want to his favorite jutsu all the time. Almost.

He drew in a measured breath and released it after a count of seven, concentration solely focused on inhaling and exhaling. Meditation always made it easier for him to think. Physically, Sasuke knew there was nothing wrong with him. Aside from the fact that lava must be coursing through his veins, he was completely uninjured. Not a scratch or even a bruise to be seen.

Sasuke breathed in deeply. If the pain wasn't physical, it had to be mental. Which meant it was a . . .

Tsunade, along with Ibiki and one of his underlings, observed Sasuke from a one-way window. Tonbo Tobitake was chosen to assist with this interrogation specifically because the upper half of his face was completely wrapped in bandages and his forehead protector was drawn down all the way over his eyes. She knew the brat had already unlocked his Sharingan but didn't know how skilled he was using it.

However, she wouldn't take any risks. Tonbo would maintain the genjutsu, and should Ibiki require the chuunin to step inside, the Uchiha would not be able to ensare him with his hypnotic eyes.

"Genjustu." He whispered, disdaining. Like he had expected more of them. As much as she disliked it, Tsunade was expecting more of Ibiki as well. But he had assured her that Tonbo's genjutsu would have the boy begging to spill his secrets.

Tsunade clenched her fist. The boy had a higher tolerance for pain than she anticipated. It wasn't unsurprising. She had read his profile, his psych evaluations after the massacre. Whatever Itachi had done to him was probably worse than Tobitake's genjutsu. The chuunin was talented, but he was no match for a prodigy like Itachi Uchiha.

Still, she hadn't expected he would discover the trick so soon. He was supposed to be unable to think about anything other than the excruciating pain he was feeling.

Next to her, Ibiki was smiling. One thing she had learned, it unsettled prisoners when they thought their torturer truly enjoyed inflicting pain. She also thought he took perverse pleasure in cracking the tough ones wide open. He was infamous throughout the Elemental Nations for his skill set. He believed with his very essence that pain was an effective form of communication. Morino was a master of interrogation both physically and psychologically. He had the ability to subject people to great suffering without ever using physical torture. He also had complete knowledge of human psychology; by attacking a person's mind, he could gain control over their spirit.

Calling in the head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation force was like calling the Sannin, when they were still a team, in for a mission. The man was usually a last resort, except in the case of high priority prisoners.

The Fifth Hokage felt the current situation justified his involvement. Team Seven was a security risk. How could she entrust higher ranked missions to a team that felt no remorse for jumping ship when they wanted to? Nobody would get her answers faster than Ibiki.

"Looks like you're up," she said grimly, frown marring the youthful look she wore.

Ibiki's answer was to slip into the Uchiha's cell. Tsunade's frown deepened. It went against all her morals, as both a medic and a human being, to sic the master interrogator on a young boy. Especially on that had been previously traumatized.

But, she reminded herself, she had to look after her people. She was the Hokage now. It was her duty to protect her own from threats inside and outside the village's walls.

It was little consolation for her.

She watched as Ibiki entered, smoothly gliding across the tiny room, very much reminding Tsunade of the way a predator stalked its prey before it pounced. The scarred man towered over the boy, who had shifted to sit upright on the bed, but with shoulders hunched and neck bowed.

"Do you believe that someone could commit a heinous act for a good reason?"

The only female Legendary Sannin wanted nothing more than a bottle or five of sake. Just who was running this interrogation? The brat seemed to be treating it like a visit to the psychiatrist if his question was anything to go by, and Ibiki was visibly amused by the Uchiha's audacity.

"Is that what you think I'm doing? Don't tell me you doubt your choice of career. What happened to getting vengeance for your clan's deaths?" Tsunade flinched at the barb. Ibiki was aiming for the kill from the beginning.

The brat didn't react like expected. There was no flying off the handle as he swore to stop at nothing to kill his brother. He didn't even lift his head.

"That's the life of a ninja," Ibiki continued. "I'm surprised you made chuunin with that wishy-washy constitution. If you're not prepared to do the unthinkable in the name of your village, you're not fit to be a shinobi."

"I see."

Tsunade observed, speechless. It was a short conversation, but she couldn't help but feel that Sasuke was getting more answers than Ibiki was. Just why had the brat asked that question? Did he worry about what his teammates were planning? Was he hoping to assuage his guilty conscience?

Maybe she should make that a crate of sake. Surely Shizune would understand?

Sasuke was acutely aware of the way his former exam proctor loomed over him. He was surprised to see Ibiki, to be honest. He had thought it would be a Yamanaka for sure. Why waste time questioning him personally when they could have someone from the Yamanaka clan enter his mind and discern the truth for themselves? After all, memories couldn't lie.

Idly, he wondered how long he would last before he told Ibiki that five people had somehow miraculously traveled through time to prevent the world from going to ruins. Would they even believe him?

Sasuke wouldn't have believed Naruto if he didn't know the dobe was incapable of lying. Although that might have changed in the future, he just didn't think the blonde had it in him to lie.

His mind drifted. A million different thoughts were flying through his head. What was he supposed to do in this situation? He recalled that this wouldn't be Sakura's first time being questioned. How had she handled it? How did the rosette manage to keep her secret?

And, unbidden, would they forgive him if he was the one to reveal their hard kept secret?

"Why don't you make this easy on yourself? Tell me what really happened on your mission and you'll be free to leave," came Ibiki's offer.

"That's what mission reports are for," the teen drawled. "I'm sure the Godaime would hand it over if you asked nicely." It was snarky, but hopefully it would distract the older man. Maybe Sasuke could get away with some half-truths and truths mixed in with lies.

Because there was one thing the black haired boy was sure of. He wasn't going to betray the trust Sakura and Naruto had put in him. Not after everything they had done to save him from giving in to the beast within him. Not after Sakura revealed that Itachi was still his aniki and was protecting him, going as far as planning to die to make him happy. Not when Naruto was going to bring his brother back.

Ibiki's pleasant smile had crept Sasuke out, but it was better than the sadistic one that took its place. The uplift curl to his lips only made the skin on his face stretch, making the two long scars on his face more prominent. "Resistance is futile. You'll tell me what I want to know. The only thing that's going to change is how much pain you'll put yourself through before you surrender. How long do you think you'll last, hm?"

Sasuke leaned away from the hand that reached out to stroke his face. He had seen all of the man's scars during the written exam Ibiki had administered. He imagined how tough that had made him. Marveled out how he didn't break even though they were drilling holes in his head. Even admired his unwavering loyalty.

Seeing the mess that was his skull had provided the Uchiha was a certain image of the master interrogator. A man that was tough as nails. One that understood that pain was the world's greatest motivator and one that wouldn't hesitate to inflict it to achieve his goal.

But Morino was acting nothing like he expected. Aside from the weak genjutsu, and the stabbing pain was only a memory now, Sasuke hadn't been hurt. He didn't know what kind of games Ibiki was playing, but he would prefer it if he brought out the thumbscrews. At least then Sasuke would know how he was supposed to react.

"An hour? Maybe two?" Sasuke retreated until his back was against the wall behind his cot-like bed. The older man continued his approach, still speaking in his soft, gravely but powerful voice. "Definitely not more than that. You can't protect your teammates. If you don't tell me what I want, I'll have to try one of them."

"Shut up!" he snarled. His chakra, which he was only just realizing was unresponsive before now, was pulsing. When he looked up to glare at Ibiki, his Kekkei Genkai had been activated. His Sharingan clashed with emotionless black eyes.

"Don't you dare touch Naruto or Sakura!"

Amusement made Morino's face light up. Sasuke thought joy was one expression that didn't belong on the heavily scarred man's face. "That's the pink haired one's name? How long do you think she last before the pain becomes too much? Twenty minutes?"

Tsunade observed the interrogation with no small amount of anxiousness. Ibiki was wasting no time, and while that was what she had wanted of him, she couldn't help but feel uneasy with his tactics. The blonde had never seen an Uchiha so rattled.

Ibiki had complete control and the boy didn't know it. He might have thought he stood a chance, but it was foolishness on his part. Ibiki was the head of the Torture and Interrogation Force for a reason. He was good at it. Unparalleled good. No one could match him.

And no one stood a chance against him. They all fell victim to his games.

Pushing their buttons, provoking emotions was how Ibiki worked. He needled and taunted until his prisoner lost control of their emotions and started reacting to him instead of acting for him. Then he would pounce. Before they knew it, Ibiki had learned everything he needed to know from them.

Usually, Konoha's most fearsome interrogator could deftly pinpoint the triggers that would have his victim singing like a canary and avoid those that would only serve to make his victim confident in their ability to withstand his questioning.

Ibiki must have been working under the assumption that the Uchiha brat was still obsessing over his clan's murder at his brother's hand to the point of self-destruction and could care less for the other two gennin that made up Team Seven. The man had clearly not read the file. Otherwise he would have known that Sasuke had put himself and his goal on the line to cover his teammates' asses.

Ibiki probably figure, considering the boy's anti-social attitude, that attacking his teammates was a safe button to push. He couldn't have been more wrong.

To be fair, Tsunade knew part of the blame was on her shoulders. It was her that misread the situation. Sasuke was just as vested in this secret. Although she never imagined he would come to care for his teammates. The boy was every inch one of Kakashi's students. He was willing to suffer to protect his two teammates.

Perhaps she should force Kakashi to take on more gennin teams. If his preaching could change an Uchiha, there wasn't anyone it wouldn't work on.

Then everything went to hell when Ibiki brought up his female teammate.

Previously he had been shaking. Fear or fury, the Fifth Hokage didn't care. Ibiki had had him on the defensive. If the boy had been a porcupine she probably would have seen the quills standing on edge.

Then he suddenly tensed. Every muscle in his body stiffened and the kid might as well have been a statue.

That's when it happened. The thrice-damned Cursed Seal Orochimaru had given him went haywire. Purple chakra violently spread out in every direction with the boy writhing in the center. The inky black marks that crawled across his skin also emitted a faint orange glow. Tsunade was separated by a chakra enforced wall, not getting the brunt of it like Ibiki was, and she could feel the malevolence. It was slimy and sinister. Very befitting of a man that resembled the beasts he summoned.

It didn't stop there. The flame shaped marks continued to spread until his whole body was covered by them. The Uchiha arched his back, mouth open in a silent scream. It looked like it was mutating to Tsunade. His skin turned dark grey with a black four-point star-mark between his eyes and across the bridge of his nose. His hair extended until it was waist length and practically as spiky as Jiraiya's.

The raging chakra calmed, dissipating like it had never existed. If not for the effect it had had on the brat, Tsunade would have thought it a horrible hallucination brought on by drinking too much sake.

"Interesting," chuckled Ibiki. He appeared wholly unaffected by the disturbing scene he had just born witness to. "A nice parlor trick, but it won't stop me."

Tsunade felt faint. Her one time teammate was one of the Legendary Sannin. She, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were hailed as the greatest shinobi of their time. Orochimaru was her generation's prodigy. Whatever the purpose of the Cursed Seal, it was not a parlor trick

And Tsunade's fears were realized not even ten seconds later when the boy lifted his head. Black and yellow eyes, blue lips, grey skin, and that demented grin left her no doubt. It was no longer Sasuke Uchiha in that cell. The cell had taken control, leaving a monster in his place.

His grin became feral. The room was filled with the sound skin ripping open. Blood flew, splattering against the hidden window the female Hokage was watching morbidly, horrified by what she saw but unable to turn away. Her vision narrowed in on the red liquid slowly sliding down the viewing window.

Her hemophobia was so paralyzing that she didn't notice the Uchiha had sprouted a pair of monstrous wings from his back. Large hand shaped wings with webbing that easily allowed him to lift off the ground. Then he moved at a speed Lee could only hope to achieve one day and plowed Ibiki through the wall with a single clawed hand.

When Tsunade found the strength to move, the Torture and Interrogation tower was in an uproar. Chuunin and jounin dressed in the standard uniform of a grey button-up suit with pockets and lapels were running back and forth frantically. The Uchiha had left a very distinct trail of destruction behind him.

And she would bet everything she owned that she knew exactly where he was going.

What Tsunade wouldn't give to lose a bet for once.

For someone in a situation out of his control, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze was remarkably calm. If one were to look at him propped up against wall next to the bars of his cell, they might think he was unperturbed.

He wasn't restless or perspiring. He didn't pace, bite his nails, or retreat into a corner to huddle in on himself. He didn't jump at every sound, afraid that Ibiki would pop out of the wall next to him and drag him off.

Naruto wasn't showing it, but he was worried. Everything had spiraled out of control so fast. Maybe it had been naïve of him, but the he honestly believed if they dealt with Orochimaru early the fate of the world would change. Then Sasuke wound up getting bitten by that bastard Kabuto instead, Temari got abducted, their secret was no longer between the five of them, Baa-chan was suspicious, and he was in the heart of the last place he wanted to be.

The blonde was usually one for rolling with the punches. He excelled at it. Improvising was one of his strengths. But his current predicament was so far out of his hands.

It would be all too easy for Naruto to free himself from his cell. But, for the same reason he hadn't removed Sasuke's Cursed Seal in the forest, Naruto couldn't break out. Shikamaru had warned him that all three of them surviving a meeting with the Snake Sannin unscathed would draw unwanted attention to them. There were too many people who knew Orochimaru and would have known why he was there, Anko being one of them. She and the Sandaime Hokage would have expected Orochimaru to bestow the Cursed Seal upon Sasuke, so Naruto wasn't allowed to tinker with it in any way.

Despite knowing that his strategist's logic was sound and was responsible for the three of them passing under the radar until know, Naruto wanted to break all of them out.

But he couldn't do that. Doing so would only give him the illusion of control. A jailbreak would only see him and Sakura and Sasuke (the blonde wasn't going to leave him behind this time) on the run. He would just have to wait until he was released. Kurama would ensure that any memories related to the future were untouchable, and Inner Sakura would do the same for her.

Sasuke, even without have a demon or second personality to protect him, would be safe. Naruto hadn't told him enough to incriminate him. Without actually having memories of the war they lived through, Sasuke's words would be nothing more than a story.

Seeing as how that story came directly from Naruto, the attention would switch to him. Any way Baa-chan looked at it, she would find nothing. Eventually, she would have to release them. If for no other reason than Kakashi-sensei would raise hell.

He leaned his neck back so that his head was supported by the smooth stone wall that separated him from Sakura. "You doing alright over there?"

"I'm fine, Naruto." She answered. "Bored, though. It's been hours since I've so much as seen one of Ibiki's minions. Don't suppose you could do anything about that?"

Sakura was well aware that he could but wouldn't. But that wasn't why she had asked. What she wanted was to take his mind off his worries. It worked. Soon enough they were both laughing as they spun nonsensical stories about what a tower of interrogators would be so busy with that they didn't have time for them.

It was Naruto's turn when the explosion sounded. He leapt to his feet and knew without being able to see her that Sakura had done the same. There was a heartbeat of silence. Then the sounds of destruction picked up again. The tower was shaking and he could hear people screaming.

It wasn't long before shinobi were sprinting down the line of cells, shouting instructions and generally acting like chickens that had lost their heads. To Naruto, it seemed to be an age before Tsunade stood before his cell.

His grip on the bars was so strong he could fell them compressing. "What's going on? What the hell was the explosion? Where's Sasuke?"

Amber eyes sharpened. "Your friend has transformed into some kind of monster."

Naruto's heart dropped to his stomach. Why would Sasuke have entered the second stage? In the aftermath of the invasion, Sasuke had said he didn't want to use the seal's power. Why would he use it now?

"He would never!" Sakura defended.

He could only draw one conclusion. "What do you do to him?" he snarled. The whisker marks across his cheeks thickened.

His predecessor shrugged cavalierly. The iron bars beneath his hands creaked.

"We didn't do a damn thing. Interrogation barely started before the brat went berserk. I don't have any clue what he thinks he's going to accomplishing by storming around and putting holes in the wall. Nor do I care." Naruto opened his mouth to rant about what kind of Hokage was she if she didn't care about one of her shinobi, but the woman didn't give him pause to speak.

"What I do know," Tsunade hissed, voice sounding positively predatory, "is you two brats, and that Nara one too, have some manner of tracking down wayward shinobi quickly. And if you don't want him added to the missing nin's list, you're going to do just that.

"If he's not back here in twenty-four hours, I'm going to have him exterminated."

Naruto's hands clenched, shattering the metal in their hold. Pieces of iron dug into his palms, but he didn't care. The blood dripped in silence as he and Sakura took in the woman's threat.

The pinkette objected loudly. "You can't do that! It's not right!" she insisted.

Tsunade's head turned sideways to glare at the young girl that presumed to tell her what she could and could not do. "I think you'll find that, as Hokage, there's not much I can't do."

Sheer, unadulterated rage flooded Naruto's mind. Had he changed her completely when he refused to give up on their bet? Confronting Kabuto with the Rasengan she swore he could never master? Even then she had ridiculed his dream to be Hokage, but this Tsunade was spitting on everything the hat stood for.

The Will of Fire. Loving, believing in, cherishing, and fighting to protect the village, as previous generations had done before them. The hopes and dreams of the next generation. How could she have agreed to become the Fifth Hokage without that philosophy in her heart and soul?

"You're . . . the worst."

A bug could have crawled across the floor and all three of them would have heard it.

"What did you say, brat?"

"You don't deserve to be called Hokage." Naruto said in the same flat tone he had delivered his admonishment of her character. Tsunade bristled at the boy's nerve. What right did he have to say that? What did he know about being Hokage? He was only twelve.

"Fine. You want us to bring Sasuke back? Fine. That won't be a problem." The Rokudaime Hokage bit down on his thumb, using it as a substitute for ink to write a seal over the door's lock. There was a slight hiss and faint wisps of smoke as the boy literally melted the lock off and strode out.

Naruto released the pink haired girl from her cell in the same manner. "Find Shikamaru. We'll meet at the gate."

Sakura nodded, face serious.

It didn't even cross Tsunade's mind to call after them as they walked away, backs straight with pride and determination. The two of them seemed so large and untouchable. She didn't see a pair of unexperienced chuunin walking away from her.

No, the vision before her was of two hardened warriors who fought to get inside hell and again to get back out.

And even though the three of them didn't match their files at all, Tsunade no longer believed them to be imposters. The emotions she saw in Naruto's cerulean eyes could not be faked.

Naruto and Sakura split up once back on street level. The boy was gone in a blur of orange, racing to his apartment so he could contact Temari and Gaara. Sakura raised her eyes to survey the sky; her first thought being that the sun was too damn bright.

She noted the sun's position, guessing that it was a little after noon. Shikamaru was usually training with his team at this time. Sakura practically flew in the direction of the training grounds Team Ino-Shika-Cho had claimed as theirs.

Sure enough, the Nara was in the middle of training with his team. If training could be defined as him pretending to sleep under the shade of a tree while Ino improved her reflexes by dodging a human boulder.

Sakura came to a halt beside his head and he cracked an eye open to give her a lazy look. One that promptly vanished when he caught sight of her we're-in-deep-shit expression.

"Forehead!" the Yamanaka heiress shrieked. "What are you doing here? We're in the middle of practice!"

Sakura ignored the girl who had once been her best friend. She faced their sensei, bowing politely. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Asuma-sensei, but the Hokage asked me to find Shikamaru."

She made her eyes a little larger so the light would reflect off them. Combined with the apologetic smile, she was the picture of innocence. The jounin told Shikamaru that he was excused and the genius followed Sakura back to Konoha's main street.

"What's really going on?" the genius asked once they hit the rooftops.

"Sasuke's entered stage two and gone AWOL. Tsunade threatened to have him killed if we didn't bring him back within a day," she said curtly. Shikamaru pulled a face, understanding without her having to say explicitly how heavy a blow that was. Just the idea that it could all fall apart after they had succeeded was heart wrenching.

"Hokage-sama said he'd meet us at the gates. Anything you need to grab?" Sakura threw back at him.

The brunet shook his head. Sakura was unsurprised. Ever since they had come back, the three of them always carried anything they might need in storage scrolls. Unpreparedness was one of the deciding factors of the war.

They had been entirely unprepared to fight a war on Madara's level. The main attacked the Five Great Shinobi Nations without warning, dealing massive damage. They never really recovered from the start of the war. They scrambled to mount a defense and put together an offense.

Konoha had been days away from getting crushed. Their attempts had failed spectacularly. Madara had fallen from his pedestal because of his own arrogance. After so many missions to kill him had ended with every ninja's head sent on that mission returned to their village, he had fancied himself some unbeatable god.

It was still a mystery as to who had dealt the killing blow. None of the villages left standing claimed the act, though most believed it to have been Konoha's doing. Sakura favored a different idea; Sasuke.

Of course, even if her guess was right, Sasuke had razed Konoha to the ground not even four days later, so she hadn't felt particularly grateful to him for singlehandedly ending the war.

Naruto, in what had come to be called his Hokage mode amongst the five time travelers, was waiting for them at the base of Konoha's south gate. Heading south and then east was the best way for them to get to Suna. It wasn't the fastest, but it was the safest. Sprinting a straight line from Konoha to Suna would put one of Akatsuki's bases directly in their path.

"Contrary to popular belief," he started. "I don't have any way to track Sasuke. We're going to head to Suna. Gaara and Temari have been looking for Orochimaru's old bases. Chances are, Kabuto's hiding in one of them and that's where we'll find Sasuke."

His co-conspirators nodded their assent, so Naruto gave the order to move out. Even going out of the way to accommodate a potential Akatsuki base, the trip wouldn't take more than nine hours. Eight if they pushed themselves.

"Let's go, then. Clock's ticking. Time to go rescue Sasuke."

I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this, but Kakashi, the Third Hokage, and everyone aside from our favorite band of time travelers assumed that Orochimaru bit Sasuke before he was killed.