In the event of my death, I leave the entirety of my assets and estates, both owned and governed, to my wife, Uchiha Mikoto.

Should she pass on before me, these assets are to be left to my youngest son and heir, Uchiha Sasuke. My eldest son, Uchiha Itachi, may only use these assets in assuring the safety and wellbeing of Uchiha Sasuke. He may not use them for any personal reason or interests.

Should either of my sons be orphaned before coming of age, the Uchiha clan will collectively choose a guardian for them. If a decision is unable to be reached, for whatever reason, I leave this task to the current governing Hokage.

- Excerpts from Uchiha Fugaku's Last Will and Testament; last known revision September 10th, 8 BU (approximately one month prior to the Uchiha Massacre)

ACT 13

BROTHERS

Chapter 112 - Man Child

Naruto was in the middle of negotiations with the Taki clan, when the news came in.

Well, "negotiations." By that point, the serious talk had melted into easy conversation, since the issue of what was owed was quickly and eagerly dealt with, and all that was left was working out things like later visits. For fun.

The chuunin at the door was out of breath. "Hokage-sama, we need your help immediately," she said.

Naruto, mid-laugh, replied, "Why, what's up?"

"That, um. That boy, the..." Her eyes hovered over his guests, questions of protocol behind her uneasy expression. "The Honbo boy, the one that was supposed to be sent home last week."

"Oh! That kid? The one that was, um…" And Naruto looked around, some; Kiine's face, the one nearest to him, was caught with a half-open mouth. "…was at Sasuke's house before, y'know? What about him, is there a phone call for me?"

The chuunin's partner shook his head. "No, sir, the boy himself's come back. He's with another ninja, some guy with white hair, won't give us his name."

"Ah! What's the matter, why are they back?"

"I don't know, sir, but he wants to talk to you. The boy, I mean," the chuunin said. "And there's more to mention, but I think-"

"Best discussed on the way there, I gotcha," Naruto said. He began to get out of his seat. "Uh, sorry guys, but this is sorta important…"

"Who's the kid?" Kiine said.

"I'll explain later, if I have the time, y'know," Naruto said, nodding good-naturedly. "I'll try to be back soon. Otherwise… well, you'll hear from someone."

("I hope everything's okay," Mikan said, as they left.)

"So what else did you need to mention?" Naruto said. "You said they didn't say why they're back?"

"No, but that's not the only reason we're concerned," the chuunin replied. "The boy doesn't seem well, his speech is… slurred, I guess, and he seems delirious otherwise."

"Oh, man." Naruto put a hand on his chin. "Is he sick? Anyone been able to check for fever or whatever?"

"No, his guardian won't let us near him, much less touch or examine him. But he seemed fine with the idea of you coming down yourself to talk to them."

"Ah, gosh… I dunno what the heck would make Suigetsu-san do this," Naruto said, nodding, "but he is real protective about that kid… I'll see what I can do."

"You know his guardian? This… Suigetsu-san?" the chuunin's partner said.

"Well, sorta." Naruto shrugged. "He asked to help Yakata-kun get home, I approved it, that's about it, y'know. He's from around the area and… oh, whatever, I trust him."

"Of course, sir…" the chuunin said.

"At any rate, I'll get down there, y'know. Where are they right now?"

"Holding station near the front gate. Hatsumoto and Yamada are keeping an eye on them."

"Right. Thanks, guys," Naruto said, and set off at a run for the gate.

The more timid of the two, Yamada, was waiting outside the guard station for him when he arrived. "Ah, Hokage-sama, you're here."

"Yep, I'm here. What's up?"

"Hatsumoto's inside, keeping an eye on the two. We figured since you sent the orders out for the kid, you'd be able to reason with his… guardian, or whoever he is." Yamada wound a finger around one of his black curls of hair. "Since… well, I sorta have my doubts…"

"Huh? Why's that?"

"He doesn't look like the guy the kid set out with, I don't think," Yamada replied. "I was on-call and saw 'em go, and… yeah, this guy seems a bit… different, I dunno."

"Huh. Well, I'll go in and take a look for myself," Naruto replied, managing a diffusing smile. "I mean, I guess I'm more familiar than you, y'know."

"Right-o. I'll go in with you, then," Yamada said, opening the door for him.

But the man on the bench in the guard station with Yakata was not Suigetsu.

Yes, he had white hair, as described. But his was wild, uncombed, tamed only by an improvised-looking face-guard wrapped at the forehead. His clothes seemed to be nothing more than a sack of pale blue cloth given form and sleeves by straps around his waist and joints, and black pants. An inexplicable mass of matted, dirty fur made up the collar.

He held Yakata in his lap; his bloodless-looking hands cupped over the boy's back, his great shoulders hunched defensively. His head was down, keeping most of his face from view.

Yakata had his eyes closed, his head resting against the man's chest; his expression was not troubled or pained, and he was breathing lightly.

"Hey, Hatsumoto-san," Naruto said, whispering, to the man waiting by the door. "Yamada-san's filled me in on things; so this guy with Yakata-kun hasn't told us his name?"

"No, sir. He seems to think we should know his name already, actually," Hatsumoto said, dryly.

"Huh… Well, Yakata-kun seems to trust him, at least…" Naruto said, tilting his head. "Maybe this is his dad, or a friend from his hometown?"

"Again, sir, you'll have to ask, he won't talk to us…"

"No big. I'll see what's up."

As Naruto approached them, the man with Yakata looked up with a startling jerk of his head. His face seemed young and thin, despite his enormous frame, maybe only fifteen or sixteen years of age. One of his eyes was near-black from a dilated pupil, and the other, rose-pink.

"Who are you, are, you the Hokage?" he said. His voice was a hushed almost-whisper, and sandy around its edges.

"Yeah, I am. I'm here to talk to you and Yakata-kun," Naruto replied. He kept his hands out of his pockets, non-threateningly clasped at his stomach.

"You, what's your, name, what is it," the man continued. His head bobbed on his neck like an owl's, utterly mistrusting.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uzumaki? You're an, Uzumaki? I knew, Uzumaki, knew them…" His voice began to lower with his head as the thought seemed to grip him. "Her, that red hair…"

"Of course you knew an Uzumaki." Yakata was speaking now, his voice muffled from where his head had turned to nestle in further against the man's chest. He sounded sleepy. "Mm, I knew you'd come by, Hokage-sama…"

Naruto chanced a step closer. "You feeling okay there, Yakata-kun?"

"I feel… very good, actually, thanks." He giggled, his shoulders rising slightly with the sound.

"You sure? You sound sorta sick, y'know." He tried to make this sound believable.

"Well, I'm… maybe a little roughed up, but I'm fine, really. I'm being taken care of very well."

"I'm taking, care of, him, I am, nobody hurts my master…" The man had raised his head again to look at Naruto, wide-eyed, as desperate as his voice. He lowered his head again, however, at the slight motion of Yakata against his chest. "Taking, care of him, I am…"

"Who's this guy, uh, taking care of you, Yakata-kun?" Naruto asked.

"A very old and a very loyal friend," Yakata replied. A hand rose, slowly, across the man's chest and towards his shoulder in what was almost a hug.

"From home?"

"Of course." He squeezed, and then brought his arm back down to his chest. The man's grip tightened, in reply, and a low rumble of what would have been contentment in perhaps a dog or a bear creaked out of him.

Naruto tightened his lips, watching this, Hatsumoto and Yamada watching on with him, thin, green silhouettes in his peripheral vision.

"So… Yakata-kun, why have you come back here? Is something wrong?" he finally asked.

"I want to talk to Sasuke." Yakata squirmed with the words, arching his back and crossing his arms over his waist fussily. His voice was a child's whine. "And Karin too. I have a lot to talk about with both of them…"

"Well… Sasuke's sort of busy right now, y'know, and…"

And it was there that Naruto realized that something was truly wrong. Things had been strange, confusing, before then. But what was happening now was…

"…who do you know here in Konoha named Karin, Yakata-kun?"

And Yakata, turning around to face him more properly, opened his eyes.

They were a shade of yellow that did not belong on him.

"My Karin. She's in the hospital. Do you not know her?" He began to sit up some, his sleepy face seeming to sharpen. "Red hair, glasses… She's one of my favorite people… I want to talk to her. Please?"

Naruto swallowed.

"I'll… look into it," he said. "For now, why don't we have you and your friend moved someplace nicer than this while you wait?"

"Oh, that'd be lovely. Can you? I'd love that." Yakata drew his knees up to his chest and giggled again, his smile too curled to suit his face.

"Yeah. I'll be back in a bit. Hatsumoto-san and Yamada-san will take care of you while I'm gone, y'know."

"Mm, good, good…" Yakata replied, and yawned. "By the way… why do you keep calling me that?"

"Calling you… what?" Naruto replied, midway through taking a step backwards.

"Yakata-kun. I really thought you'd recognize me by now, even with this new body…" the child's voice whined again. "Then again, I'm rather sleepy right now… Perhaps I'm not acting like myself…"

"Who are you?" Naruto said, knowing the answer, yet not wanting to hear it.

"Orochimaru. Of course." The boy giggled again. "Long time no see, hm?"

Naruto did not reply, instead stepping back further to fold in with Hatsumoto and Yamada.

"Keep an eye on these two until I can get some ANBU to take them to the underground cells," he whispered. "And keep. Calm. Y'know."

"A-Absolutely, sir," Yamada replied, because Hatsumoto was too terrified to answer.

Naruto decided, by the time he got back to the Manor, to send the ANBU down with as little information as possible: escort the two targets to the lower cells and keep them well-guarded until further instructions. And of course, the orders were carried out without question. The boy—whoever he really was—was entirely cooperative the entire way, as was his companion, mistrustful and unidentified and twitchy though he was.

But beyond that, Naruto had absolutely no idea of what to do.

Wasn't Orochimaru supposed to be dead? Karin had confirmed it, and this was after the whole ordeal with Ooda. And that was a factor too! What would be done or said about this if this really were Orochimaru, after the previous hoax?

He wanted it to not be true, but the boy, Yakata's eyes, the new lilt that his voice seemed to have, and the strange companion with him only seemed to confirm this.

…but Orochimaru was supposed to be dead! Gone away! For good! What had brought him back, and how in the world had he found Yakata, at that…?

Naruto's mind felt like broth boiling up from underneath a pot lid, hitting the stove below and sizzling into a hard crust. The amount of information and indecision that had come from this single intrusion into Konoha was—it was too much!

But he had to do something. He was the Hokage. This was his duty.

…though he honestly doubted that any of his predecessors had ever had to deal with anything like this.

…well, okay, yeah, the Third had to deal with Orochimaru coming back in the flesh and trying to destroy every man, woman, and child in Konoha. And the Fourth had to deal with a time-and-space-shifting maniac that also did horrible things with foxes. And the Fifth had a man with seven sets of eyes and a terrorist organization under his command that also wanted to destroy Konoha…

…but this was different. This was a small child, the clone of an infamous Uchiha, seemingly possessed by a man who'd been, for all intents and purposes, dead for the past twenty-seven years. And he had a follower with him, of sorts, which meant there could possibly be more.

He considered turning to Sakura. Because, hell no, he couldn't talk to Sasuke, not in his state. And the members of the council and the elders were all preoccupied with their own matters, and the Kages… this was Konoha business, for now, he didn't want them involved. And turning to Karin, that wouldn't be fair, not at all...

In his office, arms crossed severely over his chest as he thought, Naruto came to the conclusion that he didn't know enough to act further, that this was his responsibility as the Hokage, and he would get as much done on his own before he asked Sakura for help. This was what he had done when Ooda had showed up, and he'd do better this time.

He found the man in Yakata's body speaking quite jovially with the guards in his cell. "You know, I'm not here to hurt you. I honestly want to get through this with as little bloodshed as possible, hmm?" He was giggling practically every other sentence. "I just want to talk to some people."

"And the false snake, master, him, the false…"

"Of course, dear, we'll find out about him, too." He reached up to stroke the man's arm; his guardian was standing above his chair, now, his lap seemingly tired of.

"Hokage-sama." One of the senior ANBU greeted him as he entered the room outside the cell. Naruto recognized her voice as Ten Ten's, but didn't say anything.

"Hey, any changes?"

"None," she replied. "We'd have alerted you if anything had happened."

"Yeah, I figured. I'm gonna go in and talk to 'em for a bit, y'know, you got a note-taker on hand?"

"Yes. Be safe, sir."

"Hey, you know I will," he replied, and was let into the cell.

"Oh, hello there," the child in the chair said. He drew his knees up to his chest cheekily. "You came back."

"Yep. I got some questions, y'know," Naruto said. He remained standing.

"Ooh, questions. Questions for questions, then?"

"Only if they're not too unreasonable," Naruto replied. "First off, are you really Orochimaru?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "What, you don't believe me?"

"Just wanna make sure, y'know."

"Well, I am," the boy, Orochimaru, replied. "I'm not entirely integrated into my new body, yet, but it's working well enough. Quite a discovery I made, hm?" He laughed.

Naruto waited until he was finished before continuing. "And how did you find this body you're in, right now?"

"I honestly don't remember, this whole thing's been like a dream," Orochimaru said. "I just remember, after coming to and wandering about for a while, seeing this child and thinking that I just had to have him. He's an Uchiha, isn't he? Looks so much like dear Itachi. Is this his son or something, by the way? I never expected Itachi to be a sower of wild seeds, but you can never tell with some people…"

The man behind him shuffled his feet, almost nervously. He was muttering something under his breath that sounded like "Uchiha… Uchiha…"

But Naruto was still stuck on Orochimaru's words. "Itachi… isn't around, Orochimaru," he said. "He's passed on."

"Really." Orochimaru leaned forward, against the table, putting his legs back down on the ground. "What killed him?" His yellow eyes widened, almost in delight, as he breathed in, smiling. "Ooh, or was it Sasuke-kun? I seem to remember them fighting… Could you bring Sasuke-kun down here so I can ask him?"

"No," Naruto replied.

"Oh, please?" Orochimaru said. "Come, now, you're the Hokage, you can do whatever you want. I want to talk to Sasuke." He leaned against the table's surface, now, resting his head on his arms, smiling sweetly.

"No," Naruto replied, "Sasuke's busy right now."

"But you're the Hokage," Orochimaru said again, "aren't you? He can't say no to you."

The mutterings of Orochimaru's companion were becoming much louder. "Damn, Uchihas, damn Uchihas, always, think they can do whatever they want, so disrespectful, fucking, disrespectful…"

Orochimaru lifted his head. "Please do not interrupt," he said, not even looking at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Master, I'm, sorry…" He lowered his head, but continued to mumble. "Just, the injustice, the, disrespect, how dare, they, no better than, Uchihas, do they not even, know…"

"Riverman." Orochimaru's tone, even borrowing the child's voice, was an intimidating snap. "Calm yourself."

This seemed to do the trick, sending his companion, the apparent Riverman, into inaudible consonants to himself with a further-lowered head.

"So, Sasuke?" Orochimaru returned to smiling, folding his hands on the table's surface.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said, keeping his voice low and his face fixed, "even if I wanted to, Sasuke's not talking to anyone right now, y'know. Not even his family. So, again, no."

This seemed to set the Riverman off again. "Uchiha, Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, that was the Uchiha wasn't, it, that was, him, the curse sealed guy a fucking Uchiha, isn't he fucking haughty, sons of, bitches they're still, at it aren't, they…!"

Orochimaru finally turned to him, while he was still speaking, and reached a hand up into the fur of his collar. "Behave, special one."

"Uchihas… special, I'm, special, yes, you told me, I'm… I'm sorry, Master, I won't, again, I, special…"

Orochimaru's smile, as he returned to Naruto, was a pleased one. "Well, if you can't manage my dear Sasuke-kun, then why not Karin? She's here, isn't she? I mean, I do believe I saw her… unless I'm just hallucinating again…"

Naruto didn't reply, watching as Orochimaru's borrowed face grew somewhat troubled.

"Oh, come on, you have to tell me if I'm crazy or not, dear," he finally said. "Is she really here?"

"Why do you want to see her?" Naruto said.

"So she is here," Orochimaru said. "Well, I just wanted to ask her some things… just like I want to ask Sasuke… though I have more in mind with him…"

"And the false snake, master, him, the false, the one who impersonated, you…" came a soft, raspy chorus from behind him.

"Oh yes, that too," Orochimaru said, leaning forward against the table. "Apparently, my friend here came across a young man that resembled me quite uncannily. A false snake, as it were. And I'm inclined to believe he's telling the truth. Do you know anything about what he's… referring to?"

Naruto's silence was more to do with his confusion than his resistance.

"…no, really, what is he talking about?" Orochimaru continued, waving his hand by his face. "I'm not being sarcastic, you know, I'm genuinely curious about this boy."

"I… have no idea what you're talking about," Naruto said.

"Liar, liar, he's, lying, he's lying, Master he's LYING." The man behind the chair lunged forward, bracing his hands against the table, leaning over the boy. "HE'S HERE HE CAN TELL HE KNOWS HE KNOWS HE KNOWS-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, calm down, I'm just confused, y'know!" Naruto, despite himself, took a step back, raising his hands. "I don't know what the heck a 'false snake' is, so there's nothing I can tell you! Honest."

(Though he had an idea.)

(But the unsettling, constantly-shifting, constantly hostile emotions coming out of that man were enough to stay his words.)

"If I did know, though, what would you want to do…?" he added.

"Make him, pay," the man said, his head lowering, almost covering the boy's head. "Make, him suffer."

But Orochimaru poked his head out below him, and nestled his nose and mouth into the curve of his shoulder. "Calm down, special one. Calm down, now. I don't mean to do anything that extreme. I just want to see who the fellow is, you understand. I'm truly very curious about him."

Naruto took a few, even breaths, waiting for the hot, blue-colored anger to die down from the room.

(Though nothing could be felt from Orochimaru, except for black, slimy contentment, wound around a thin, almost invisible fear.)

"I don't want either of you causing trouble, and I don't want you hurting anyone. And you're staying down here until further notice, y'know."

"Why do you think I would want to hurt people?" Orochimaru replied. "I just woke up. I'm trying to enjoy myself. Get myself re-acclimated. That sort of thing." He tilted his head with the laugh that punctuated his sentence. "Nobody wants to do work on their vacations."

Naruto pursed his lips. "You taking this kid's body doesn't exactly help you, y'know. He has a family and people that are very concerned about him, and they wouldn't want to see him used like this."

Orochimaru laughed for a long time, after that, an airy, almost delicious thing. "Concerned? This boy's 'family' can't stand him. They think he's a monster! I'm honestly doing him a favor. Making use of a life and a body that would have otherwise been wasted."

"And how do you know… that?"

"Well, I saw how they treated the poor child. And other things, like how he was treated at Sasuke-kun's house… Oh, which reminds me… if this boy isn't his son, is this dear Itachi's reincarnation? I never thought I'd even consider such things, but this boy is so remarkable, and from what I've heard and seen in him… Well, I can't think of anything else…"

"I don't think… I have an answer for that, y'know," Naruto replied. He put his hands in his pockets. "I'm gonna go talk to some other people. You two stay here."

"Will you come back?" Orochimaru said.

"Probably."

"Then don't take long, dearie-dear." He waved sleepily at Naruto as he backed out through the door, the ANBU opening and closing it for him.

He had to find a quiet, isolated place after that to fight off his shivers, before going to Sakura.

Sakura was called to his office with a brief explanation of things from an ANBU. He didn't want to waste time, either in having to get her himself or in having to explain what had happened. She'd know it was important, if she had to be summoned.

She arrived in his office with sweat shining on her forehead. "Naruto, what happened to Yakata-kun? What's wrong?"

Naruto was standing by the window, his arms getting stiff from being folded into each other too long and too tightly. "Orochimaru got to him," he replied.

"What?!"

"I don't know, okay? Apparently he's still alive or he came back or something, and he's… taken over Yakata-kun's body." His arms wrapped into each other even more tightly. "And he's back in Konoha because he wants to talk to Sasuke and Karin-san, y'know."

"But, that's…" Sakura's hurried breathing roughened with agitation. "That's impossible, he can't have found-"

"I know, I know, I know, though from the sounds of things, he didn't actually target Yakata-kun or anything, he just chose him as his… vessel or whatever 'cos he looked like an Uchiha, y'know. He, uh… doesn't know where Yakata-kun actually came from…" Naruto added, quietly, drawing closer to Sakura. "Ain't much of a comfort, is it."

Sakura was staring at her hands, her eyes nearly closed. "You have him detained?"

"Yeah, he's in a cell with his buddy, some weird guy that's giving me seriously bad vibes. But I got ANBU in there, they're keepin' an eye on them."

This did nothing to soften Sakura's face. "Have you told anyone he's back?"

"Who, Orochimaru?"

"Or… Yakata-kun, since it's his…" She exhaled with a groan. "I know Ino would be worried about him, though Sasuke…"

"Let's not tell Sasuke for now," Naruto said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "He's not in a good state of mind right now. I doubt he'd even let us in his house, at this point…" he added, trying to smirk about it. "But if you want to tell Ino-san, you can. I think it's fair to let her know, anyways."

"…and what about Karin?" Sakura said. "This… concerns her in a lot of ways, so…"

"…if you wanna tell her, again, it's up to you. You're closer to her than I am, y'know, an' you're a better judge of how she's doing."

Sakura lowered her face again, grimacing. "I can't believe this is happening…"

"I know, I know, it's nuts, but we'll get through it, all right?" Naruto said. "We at least gotta keep things stable 'til the other Kages go home. This is our business. I mean, especially since Orochimaru seems… well, sorta agreeable for now. I'm more worried about the guy with him, t'be honest."

"You mentioned him before. Who is he, exactly?" Sakura's voice brightened with the shift in subject.

"No idea. Orochimaru's calling him 'Riverman,' or something. They seem to have some sorta… master-servant thing going on, I dunno," Naruto said. He went to his desk, where a folder of notes and instant photographs rested. "Whoever he is, though, this Riverman guy is seriously unstable, has mood swings all the time, talks weird, and he's got a lot of anger inside of him that's bothering me."

Sakura joined him at the desk, her fingers sliding the notes aside to look at the photographs. "That's… weird, he looks almost… familiar," she said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, but I can't… place where I've seen him before." She picked up one of the photographs, bringing it close to her face, studying the thin, stretched features of the man. "Maybe he's a Sound ninja?" She began skimming the notes.

"I dunno, it's a possibility. I mean, one of 'em found Ooda-kun, so I guess they're still kickin' around up there," Naruto said.

Sakura, however, barely heard him, reading over a line of the notes a second, a third time, tracing it with her finger. "He mentioned a 'false snake'?"

"Huh, what? Oh, yeah, he seemed pretty fixated on that, y'know," Naruto replied. "Why'd you pick that out?"

"It's just… I heard Ooda-kun mention that the man that hurt him—that Sound ninja—kept calling him that, when we were healing him the other week. False Snake. You don't think that they're the same person, do you?" she said.

"It's a possibility?" Naruto said. "Or maybe they're like those clone-things in the war? Shape-shifters an' stuff."

"I hope not," Sakura said, lowly, her free fist tightening from the echoes of memories. "At any rate, I could always show Ooda-kun the photographs, see if there's any similarity."

"Good idea. Um," Naruto continued, fidgeting a little, "so you're going to Karin-san and Ino-san to tell them what happened to Yakata-kun?"

"Karin, yes, definitely. But Ino… I think it's best if you just send someone to tell her that Yakata-kun got into some trouble and he's… safe here, at least. The Orochimaru bit might be a bit too much; we have to keep up hope, anyhow…"

"Yeah. It'll be okay. I'll keep the country going, keep the Kages happy, and you take care of the people that need takin' care of, y'know," Naruto said, clapping her on the back. "I'll be back in the evening, but you know how to get to me in case something happens with Karin-san, okay?"

"Okay." Sakura took the folder and tapped it against the desk to neaten it. "I'll keep in touch."

Naruto returned to the day with a note to the Taki family apologizing for the postponed meeting, and another meeting with the Kages before dinner, as scheduled, as if nothing were going wrong.

Sakura's venture into her duties was far less easy.