Kaibunkage
Arc I
Chapter V
"People from foreign nations come to our village in search of the Star's power. But the true power of the Hidden Star is that of its people and its Hoshikage."
- Yondaime Hoshikage, Sutayouji Sumaru
Naruto opened his eyes to a familiar wide grin, one he had not seen since Shion's death a little less than two weeks ago.
"Morning Daddy!" Shiori chirped as she sat on his bedside. "Baa-chan said that the Kazekage is going to be here real soon!"
"Well I guess I should get ready." Naruto replied with a smile.
"Can I come?" Shiori asked. Naruto was preparing himself to tell his daughter no until he saw the pout on her face. "Pretty please?"
Naruto sighed. "Sure. But Shi-"
"Yatta!" the little girl said as she jumped off of Naruto's bed. "Hurry up Daddy! We have a meeting!"
Before Naruto could say anything, the girl had scurried out of the room, her long platinum blonde hair following her. Naruto could not stop himself from smiling before he looked out of his window to see a clear sky.
"Today might be a good day." the Kaibunkage muttered before getting out of his bed.
The nurse walked into the room to see that her patient was missing. Before she had time to turn around and announce this to the head of the hospital, an arm wrapped around her neck.
"Where am I?" Sakura growled.
"At… The hospital… In Kemuri." the other woman managed to get out.
"How long have I been here?" Sakura questioned.
"A few days. Your chakra flow has been disrupted…" the nurse informed.
Sakura released her captive, who believed that that was it. A needle into the back of her neck made the nurse curse the idea of saving the pinkette's life. Sakura carried the nurse towards the bed and lied her down, retrieving the needle from the woman's neck.
"I don't know why I'm still here," stated Sakura. "But I'm about to find out."
With that, Sakura vanished in a swirl of pink petals.
Gaara stopped at the village gates in his kage robes and hat, his siblings at his sides as normal.
"So this is the Village Hidden in Smoke, huh?" Kankuro said. "Doesn't look that special. Just big."
"We're not here on a social visit, Kankuro." Temari reminded.
"Yeah, yeah. Still, it can't hurt to look around." Kankuro said.
Temari was seconds away from chastising her younger brother before two Smoke jonin appeared in front of them.
The two were known as the Fuuma Twins, Mio and Neo. Both twins had black hair, Mio's being the longer as his spikey hair came down his back in a ponytail, while Neo's hair was too short to put in the style. Neo wore bandages across his nose, similar to Kotestu. Both were dressed in standard grey and black Smoke jonin outfits, Neo the only one sporting the flak jacket.
"Lord Kazekage, the Kaibunkage has been waiting for you." Mio said with a bow.
"Yeah. We thought the Hoshikage was going to beat you here." Neo added with a smile.
"You baka! Show the Kazekage some respect! He's traveled a long way!" Mio snapped.
Neo glared at his twin. "I know that! I-"
"Ahem," the sound of Mei's voice caused the two twins to stop their bickering and stand up straight. Mei gave them a chilling glare before looking at Gaara. "This way, Lord Kazekage."
"Thank you." Gaara replied as he followed the woman within the gates.
"See what you did? Now she's going to kill us!" Neo said.
Mio sighed. "Shut up Neo…"
Using her version of Chidori would not only give off light and sound, but chakra as well. She had done well to sneak into the Kaibunkage's office, but now it was time to strike while he was calm and not expecting it. Turning the chair around and preparing to stab the thing within the garments, Sakura froze.
"Hi!" Shiori said as she was nearly swallowed in the Kaibunkage robes.
Sakura frowned. "Is this one of your henges Naruto?"
Shiori blinked before shaking her head. "Nope! My name's Uzumaki Shiori. What's yours?"
"Uzu… Maki…?" Sakura repeated. "You're Naruto's daughter?" Shiori nodded with a wide grin. Sakura took a small step backwards. "He has… A daughter…?"
"You should be careful Sakura," Naruto's voice came from the doorway. "When she's frightened, she becomes quite dangerous."
Sakura glared at her former teammate.
"What the hell did you do to my chakra?" Sakura shouted.
"Language." replied Naruto in a stern voice.
"Lang- Oh. Right." stated Sakura as she glanced to Shiori before looking back at Naruto. "My chakra. What's wrong with it? I can't use jutsu properly."
"Oh that? Just a little something Oro-baka used on me years back. I can take it off if you'd like…" Sakura felt uncomfortable at the pause. "But, you'd have to leave the village. Permanently."
"I will get you back to Konoha, one way or another." Sakura said.
"Shiori-chan," Shiori instantly looked at her father. "What have I told you about when a stranger comes up to you?"
"But I knew she was coming!" replied the blonde girl. "It was in a dream."
"Hmm…" hummed the Kaibunkage. He knew that this 'dream' of Shiori was actually a precognition. He also theorized that in this premonition Sakura must have not done anything to harm Shiori or else Shiori would have acted differently.
"Lord Kaibunkage! Haruno Sakura has-"
"She's right here." Naruto interrupted the nurse behind him. "Return to the hospital. I will make sure Haruno-san is okay."
"Hai." the woman behind him said before leaving.
"Shiori-chan, the meeting is going to start soon. Why don't you go take our seat?" Naruto suggested.
"Hai Daddy Kaibunkage!" saluted Shiori with a sleeve covered hand.
Despite the fact that both adults in the room were currently waiting for the opportune moment to attack one another, they both smiled at Shiori's antics as the girl mummified in the Kaibunkage's robes and hat walked out of the room, the bottom of the robe dragging on the floor behind her.
"I'm going to have to wash them again…" Naruto muttered to himself before turning his full attention to Sakura. "Last time, I hardly tapped into the fox's chakra."
Sakura realized that Naruto was telling the truth. She had seen him in his four-tailed mode during a spar he had against Kakashi and Jiraiya. Till this day, that power still frightened her beyond speechless. So she settled with a softer approach.
Talking.
"Why won't you return to Konoha?" asked the pinkette.
The blond motioned his head to the window. Sakura, not fully trusting Naruto, slowly turned around before glancing out of the window. At first, all she saw was the village. In fact, that's all there was to see; Kemurigakure no Sato.
"All I ever wanted is here." Naruto said. "Even if my old friends are in Konoha, I can't leave my home unprotected. I've already made one mistake like that. I won't do it again."
Sakura did not reply, her eyes scanning the marvel that was the Hidden Smoke Village. While she still wanted Naruto to take Danzo's spot as Hokage, she would never destroy an entire village for the sake of one person. Even if Ibuse and her combined could probably take half the village down before Naruto stepped in.
Sakura turned to see that Naruto had left the room, possibly going to the meeting he was talking about earlier. She thought about disrupting the meeting, but decided against it since her chakra was still going haywire. So instead, she turned back out to stare at the village.
Gaara gave Sumaru, who had recently made his way into the room, a small nod. Sumaru returned with a bow of the head as well before taking off his Hoshikage hat and sitting at the small round table, leaving one chair left.
"This Kaibunkage sure knows how to test someone's patience." Kankuro muttered towards Temari, who jabbed him with her elbow.
Gaara studied the two escorts with the Hoshikage.
The woman wore gold-trimmed white robes with a golden hawk on the back. She had long red hair tied in a ponytail, allowing two bangs to come over her forehead protector and frame her face. She had bright green eyes that scanned the area carefully. Her left arm was wrapped in bandages.
She stood next to a larger, built man. The man had short, light blue hair with small green eyes. He wore a black, no-sleeve, tee-shirt and black and white camouflage pants. He carried a battleaxe strapped to his back. The man crossed his arms, revealing the tiger-stripe patterns that covered from his shoulders to his wrists. Gaara knew this man as the messenger from Hoshi, Doki.
The door opened again to reveal a very small body drowned in robes and smothered in a large hat. Gaara's jaw almost dropped as he watched this small person crawl into the only empty seat left. He kept his composure and glanced at the Hoshi Nin. While the redhead woman found this highly amusing, the Hoshikage seemed a bit confused.
"Shiori-chan, where's your dad?" spoke Sumaru.
Shiori took the too-large hat off of her head, revealing her wide grin.
"He's coming! He's talking to… To…" Shiori paused and tapped her chin in thought. "Aw man. What was her name again?"
"A woman?" Sumaru said. He remembered Naruto saying that he was going to talk to Sakura when he was in the Hidden Star Village. "Did she have pink hair?"
"Yeah." Shiori said while nodding.
Gaara frowned. There were not many people he knew with pink hair. In fact, only one of them stuck out in his mind; Haruno Sakura. If this mysterious Kaibunkage was talking to Sakura, then something was wrong with this village and he should have taken Danzo's helping hand.
"I'm sorry about that," the two parties in the room and Shiori all turned to see Naruto walking into the room. "I was talking to an old associate of mine." Naruto lifted Shiori into the air before sitting down and putting her in his lap. "Welcome to Kemurigakure, Lord Kazekage."
Gaara said nothing for a moment. Here was the only reason Gaara was going to sign an alliance with Danzo. The fact that Gaara did not only made Gaara more relieved.
"Glad to see someone grew taller." mocked Kankuro.
"Still wearing make-up, I see. You're giving my daughter the wrong idea on men." Naruto responded with a grin.
"Are you sure that it's safe to have Shiori here?" Sumaru said to Naruto. "We will be dealing with matters of… You know. The last thing we need is for her to attack Gaara."
Gaara frowned. "Me…?"
"Tell me Gaara," said Naruto. "What makes Shukaku ticked? I mean, what is the only way for him to break free?"
"…" Gaara had no clue on what Naruto was getting at, but he decided to answer the question. "Blood." Naruto produce a kunai and held his palm towards Gaara. "What are you doing?"
Naruto cut his palm with the kunai, making sure the bloodied palm was directly in front of Gaara's face. Gaara immediately closed his eyes, but the sight was pretty much in his head. He heard and felt Shukaku breaking free.
"What the hell are you thinking?" Kankuro shouted as he prepared to calm his brother or attempt to beat him.
"Watch." Naruto said calmly.
Shiori's eyes had yet to leave Gaara and before long, her purple eyes became two pools of white light. While this was going on, Naruto began to bandage his hand. Sand shot from Gaara's gourd, but it instantly fell to the ground lifelessly.
"What is she doing?" Temari asked.
Gaara took in a deep breath before moving away from Shiori, stumbling back into his siblings. He began panting heavily as Shiori's eyes became normal. Naruto looked down at his daughter who slowly drifted off to sleep.
"You did well, Shiori-chan." Naruto said quietly as he stood up, lifting his daughter as well. "I'll be right back." Naruto vanished from his spot. Sumaru glanced at Gaara, who was slowly catching his breath. Sumaru was seconds away from asking Gaara if he was alright before Naruto reappeared in the room. "Shiori-chan is sleeping, thankfully. We can talk now."
"That power…" Gaara stated as Naruto sat back down in his previous seat. "She was in my head… Chains were around Shukaku…"
Naruto nodded. "I know." Naruto revealed the necklace he received from Tsunade. "Somehow, as long as I wear this thing when I'm sparring around Shiori-chan, she doesn't do the same to me and the fox. Of course, it could be because this stops me from losing control, but it's just a theory."
Gaara took a deep breath before regaining his normal stoic composure and sitting down. Chojuro and Ranmaru entered the room and stood behind Naruto.
"You two are late." stated the Kaibunkage.
"We received a message from the Hidden Leaf," Chojuro replied. "The Kurama Clan."
"It can wait." Naruto said before eying the Kazekage and then Hoshikage. "Now. Let us begin."
To say that Danzo was angered at the moment would have been the understatement of the year. That child of a kage had turned his offer down for two weaker villages?
But… Showing anger was what a weak Hokage did. Giving in to one's emotions is what a weak shinobi did. No matter how pissed he was, he would keep it from showing on his face. Instead, he would make this work out in his favor. He would get Kemuri to join their alliance one way or another, bringing Hoshi and Suna with it. He would put those villages in front of Akatsuki and then have his men take out their tired foes… And then Suna for rejecting his offer in the first place. Only to make a statement, of course.
"You wanted something, Lord Hokage?" questioned the masked jonin known as Hatake Kakashi.
"Yes," Danzo answered. "I need you to form a four-man team and go to Kaibun no Kuni to meet up with this self-proclaimed Kaibunkage."
"Kaibunkage…?"
"It's merely just a title." Danzo said.
Kakashi nodded. "Hai. I will leave as soon as possible."
"Hatake," Danzo stopped Kakashi before he could leave the room. "Kemurigakure no Sato is also the village Haruno Sakura is speculated to be. If she is there bring her back alive. I want all the information out of her before she is executed."
"Yes, Lord Hokage." Kakashi said leaving the room.
Danzo closed his visible eye and leaned back in his chair. For Sakura to defeat Sai a year ago meant she had grown in strength. While Danzo was angry at Sai for his loss, he was pleased that the overall mission was a success. He had destroyed one of her hideouts, taking along her medical experiments with it.
He did not know what they were for, but better safe than sorry.
A Root member appeared in front of his desk in a kneeling position.
"Danzo-sama," he said. "We have spotted Uchiha Sasuke and his group in what we believe to be another one of Orochimaru's hidden labs."
Danzo hummed in thought. "Hmm… Let him be."
"Sir?"
"I said, let him be. I will deal with the Uchiha later. Now leave." Danzo stated.
"Hai." the Root member said before using a Shushinto leave Danzo's office.
Danzo considered what Orochimaru was up to for a brief second. His main objective was to destroy Akatsuki. Only after that was done would he care about his intermittent associate.
Sakura made her way to where she and Naruto had fought nine days ago. She saw large holes in the ground that were not there when they battled. In fact, the craters looked relatively fresh.
"To think," Sakura nearly jumped when she heard Mei's voice. "He regained the energy to put Shiori down for a nap minutes after your battle."
Sakura looked at the auburn-haired beauty.
"You came with ANBU?" questioned the younger woman.
Mei smiled. "I don't need them to take you out."
Sakura snorted. "I took Naruto the limit. What makes you think that I couldn't do the same with you?"
"Simple. I don't care whether you live or not." Mei said with a polite smile. Sakura frowned at the statement. "Rasenshuriken. Have you heard of it?" Sakura shook her head. "One of Naruto's Kinjutsu. All in all, if it hits, you're dead, no ifs, ands, or buts about it."
Sakura's frown deepened. "How do you know that?"
"I've seen it of course." answered the former Kiri-nin. "Even Ranmaru could not fully see the damage done and his dojutsu is said to see greater than that of the Byakugan and Sharingan." Sakura's eyes widened. "And that's only the beginning."
"The beginning?" Sakura asked.
Mei nodded. "Yes. The multiple blades damage the nervous system, which counters the problem with the Rasengan. If Naruto nips someone with the Rasengan, they can instinctively move away. If one is nipped with the Rasenshuriken, you're paralyzed and then it expands to give the poor person the full effect." Sakura looked at the craters. "Worst of all, there's not a medical ninjutsu in the world to fix the effects."
"If what you're saying is true," Sakura said, still looking at the craters. "Then why didn't he use it on me?"
"That's what I've been wondering." Mei said. "The fact that he didn't, plus toyed with you in Sage Mode confuses me. Especially when he had so much pent up anger after the death of his daughter's mother."
"I didn't know that." Sakura said.
"You wouldn't have cared." stated Mei. "You're so bent up on what you want that you don't see what everyone else needs. The village needs its leader. Shiori needs her father. And you need to let the past go, Sakura."
Sakura looked away. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Forget about taking Naruto out of the village. I'll stop you myself if you continue with this foolish dream of yours." Sakura glared at Mei.
"You're starting to piss me off." Sakura growled.
"Naruto is a lost cause for you and so is Sasuke." Mei said. "If you want my honest advice, I suggest you do what they did," Sakura saw Mei's demeanor change into a serious one. One she had seen Tsunade used during her training. "Grow up."
"I have grown up." Sakura said.
"No, you haven't." stated Mei. "Naruto gave up on Sasuke before he ended up like you." Sakura fought the urge to childishly roll her eyes. Just who in the hell was this woman? "You're strong, I'll give you that. But your mind isn't right. I suggest you simply walk around the village and see what I'm talking about."
"And just what would I find? Kids playing? People talking? ANBU following me?" retorted the former Leaf-nin.
"Have you ever asked Naruto why he truly left the village?" Mei then questioned. Sakura gave Mei a confused look that caused the older woman to smile. "You didn't think it was because he was being watched by Danzo's lapdogs, do you? I mean, he's the Kaibunkage. There's not a moment he breathes that at least one ANBU isn't there to record it."
"What are you talking about?" asked Sakura.
"Maybe you should-"
"I figured you'd find her." the voice of the Kaibunkage caused the two women to turn their attention towards the blond who was walking towards them. "Of course, I also thought you might take advantage of her weaken state and kill her too but… Oh well."
Sakura glared at her former teammate. "What the hell are you up to Naruto? Why'd you heal me and why aren't I being shipped off to Konoha like you said?"
Naruto shrugged. "I didn't think you had that big of a death wish. I mean, I know you're a bit deranged right now but-"
"Deranged?" the pink-haired woman nearly hissed.
"Tell me, Sakura," Naruto said. "We return to Konoha. Then what? We're attacked, jailed, interrogated, and killed. As simple as that." Sakura's anger seemed to cool a bit. "Or were you thinking about using your father's pull on the Civilian Council to help? I mean, it's a good thought if we were still kids. But Danzo knows that I won't bend for him. Not today and not tomorrow. He'd kill me and find some way to extract the Kyubi for his own personal gain. Well… If I let him that is."
"That's why we're going to kill him as well." Sakura said.
Naruto glanced at Mei who gave him a small disappointed shake of her head. Naruto then turned around.
"Follow me Sakura. I want to show you something." Naruto said.
Mei saw the Kaibunkage walk away with his hands behind his back and soon Sakura followed. The sunlight reflected something in Sakura's hand which alerted Mei. Mei went to warn Naruto, but the blond raised his hand.
"There's nothing she can do to a Shadow Clone, Mei-chan. I'm still with Gaara and Sumaru."
Sakura's eyes widened. Here was her perfect chance to subdue and abduct the Kaibunkage and return to Konoha like planned.
Mei only smiled. While Naruto was still very unpredictable and at times quite thickheaded, he was appointed Kaibunkage for a reason. He was strong, determined, and, dare she say, as witty as a fox. There was no way that Sakura, full-powered or not, could ever take him on. No matter what feelings he still had for the woman.
Walking the streets of Kemuri, Sakura noticed that many of the people were actually surprised to see Naruto walking about and stopped whatever it was they were doing to wave and greet him. One group of children even went as far as tagging along until their parents called them back to the playground.
"So," Naruto said. "You still have that dream huh?" Sakura did not answer Naruto, too busy looking at the others around him. "Tell me something Sakura, even if you did somehow get me to Konoha and we did kill Danzo, just how were you going to get Sasuke out of Orochimaru's grasp?"
"I would-"
"Die trying. Nothing more and nothing less." interrupted the blond. "There's no way that you could defeat Sasuke, let alone Sasuke and three others. And who's to say what would happen if Orochimaru actually got his hands on your body, dead or alive. You'd end up as his vessel or worse."
"Why do you care? You've given up on Konoha, remember?" Sakura snapped.
"You're no longer a part of Konoha, now are you?" Naruto replied with a grin.
Sakura opened her mouth only to close it with a huff. Despite the years that had passed, she would probably always see her as the intelligent one between herself and Naruto. So being trumped like that secretly angered her more than it appeared.
"One of the reasons I left," Naruto said as he remembered the day. "Was the same reason you left." Sakura frowned at this. "Danzo had had given the order that Sasuke was to be killed on sight with me being the on the first team to go find him." Naruto paused. "If I didn't kill him…
Sakura did not like the way his voice trailed off. There was something completely wrong about this pause. She was admittedly afraid to ask what would happen if he failed.
But she had to.
"If you didn't, then what would happen?" Sakura asked.
Naruto paused in his step, stopping in front of a small field where a few children were playing Ninja.
"To make me into a loyal, emotionless soldier," Naruto said. "I had to make a choice. Kill Sasuke and bring his body back… Or watch you die because I didn't."
"What?" gasped Sakura.
"He was going to send you on a mission where you would be captured by rogue ninja. Only, they would be some supporters of Danzo that lives outside of the village." Naruto explained. "Someone in Jiraiya's spy network picked up on it."
"How… Why…" Sakura could not get her question worded. Her mind going through the last days Naruto was in Konoha. From what she could remember, he was constantly smiling and training, telling her that he had to get strong to bring Sasuke back. Even during and after the small missions they went on, he did this things. Smile like an idiot and tell her that he would bring Sasuke back. "Naruto…"
Naruto gave her a grin. "You're alive, aren't you?"
"You're lying." Sakura said. "If what you're saying is true, Danzo would have-"
"Killed the prized student of Tsunade as well as one of the few people that kept me in line? No. In fact, I don't think he was going to kill you at all." responded Naruto. "Of course, at the time I did, which is why I left. If I brought Sasuke back on my own and somehow was able to change Danzo's mind, we would've had our entire team back. But…"
"You became the Kaibunkage instead…" Sakura finished. "But you can fix that now. We can bring Sasuke back and-"
"Mei is right, Sakura. We do need to grow up." Naruto said. "If any of us were to step in Konoha again, we'd likely be jailed. Well, sans me of course but that's only because of diplomatic immunity." Sakura hated to agree with him, but Naruto was right, again. Danzo would not touch Naruto until he knew exactly what kind of power both the Kaibunkage and the Smoke shinobi had. "Which is why I've agreed of doing one thing and one thing only. Defeating Sasuke and sending him to Konoha. Afterwards, it is out of my hand. I would have lived up to my word, and I never go back on my word."
Sakura looked up at the taller blond before her face settled into a disapproving and angered one.
"If you're not going to help me," she began. "Then I'll do it on my own. But I will fix this. We will be back in Konoha again and everything will be alright instead of…"
Naruto sighed. "Fine. If you're so bent up about kidnapping an Oto jonin and the Kaibunkage, then I'll let you try. Let me restore your chakra."
"What? What are you playing at?" Sakura asked accusingly.
"I'm not going to beat reality into you Sakura. I'll let Sasuke do that." Naruto responded. "Now, do you want that seal removed or not? If you're going to find Sasuke, you might want to hurry."
Sakura's expression changed from angered to pure confusion before she nodded. The fingertips on Naruto's right hand began to glow before he poked her forehead. Sakura gasped as she felt her chakra return to normal.
"Th-thank you." Sakura said.
Naruto nodded before turning his back to her.
"The only tip I can give you is that Sasuke was last in Ishigakure." the Shadow Clone of the Kaibunkage said. "If you want to find him, I'd start there."
"And what are you going to do?" questioned Sakura.
"I'll be waiting to mop the floor with you again." grinned the blond. "You should go. I promise I won't have ANBU after you."
"Hai." Sakura said before dashing off.
The clone sighed at Sakura's retreating figure.
"And if I can't change your mind, then hopefully seeing him will."
Sasuke looked at the young woman with mild interest. Thin, long black hair, dark amber eyes. She would probably be a weak mother, but after she had conceived at least three of his children, she would be of no use to him any longer. Of course, he would never kill the mother of his future children unless it was an absolute necessity.
He was not Itachi.
"Go with the others." Sasuke ordered.
"Hai, Sasuke-sama." the woman said before making her way through the compound to find the other wives of Uchiha Sasuke.
"So, what do you think, Sasuke-kun? Is she up to standards?" asked the Snake Sannin as he stood beside his treasured student.
"Hn." was the Uchiha's response.
"You know Sasuke," Kabuto said. "You haven't even slept with one of your three wives. It makes me wonder that you're either not interested in them or not interested in women at all." Sasuke's Sharingan blazed to life at the statement, though the grey-haired medic showed no fear. "It was merely an observation."
"I have all the time to restore my clan. But Itachi… I have to kill him first." Sasuke said.
"After my meeting with Dōsame and Kageno, we will begin our attack on the Hidden Leaf." Orochimaru stated. "I want Hebi to go in last." Sasuke gave a grunt. "I know that you're anxious to see your old friends again, but patience is a virtue, Sasuke."
"Whatever. I'm going to go train Orochimaru." Sasuke replied.
"That's 'Lord' Orochimaru." Kabuto said. Sasuke did not respond as he walked away from the two. "Something's different about him. I don't we can trust him anymore."
"If you're talking about his so-called secret plan in defeating me to take over Otogakure, then you're already too late. I already know." Orochimaru said with a smirk. "However, the Mizukage was more than generous as he has given me my next vessel. Sasuke would just be walking into his ultimate defeat. And once that happen, I want you to preserve his body. One way or another, I will have what I want!"
"Hai, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said as he pushed his glasses up with a finger.
"…and that's why I believe it was someone from within the palace." Sumaru concluded. Naruto sighed, trying to keep himself calm. If someone did betray him and Shion's trust, they would surely meet a very brutal end. "Naruto, I understand that you're probably going to go head-in and just line them all up, but the truth of the matter is, once they know we're on to them, they'll probably attack again."
"You know how I don't like to wait," said the Kaibunkage. "But you're right. I can't rush in no matter…" Naruto paused and slammed a fist onto the table, shaking it and frightening Temari and Kankuro a bit. "What have you heard from Ishi?"
"It's true. Whatever Orochimaru is up to, he has recruited them as well." Sumaru answered.
"This isn't good. Akatsuki after Shiori-chan and Orochimaru running about." Naruto said. "I guess my only real concern is Akatsuki."
Gaara raised a brow. "Real concern?"
"I don't care about Konha as a whole," Naruto replied. "But there are certain people like Pervy Sage and Grandma Tsunade that I do care about and will still do everything in my power to keep them alive. Besides, they'd kill me if I kept Shiori hidden from them."
"And just how did you have a child with the Demon Country's High Priestess?" Gaara asked.
Sumaru snorted. "The baka made a promise that he would help her 'pass on' her powers years ago and didn't know what he was actually saying. She nearly raped him for him to go through with it."
The Sand Siblings all stared at Naruto in disbelief.
"She did not 'rape me' as Sumaru put it, but…" Naruto paused. "I don't think I need to go into details."
"And where is Sakura now?" questioned the Godaime Kazekage.
Naruto's eyes traveled towards the window.
"I don't know."
Sakura was in the village of Uzushio in Ash Country, staring at the waters in front of her. She knew that once she stepped foot out of Kaibun no Kuni, there would be no turning back. Naruto has already stated his wishes for her to leave, permanently, and there was no doubt in her mind that Sayuri and Mei hated her very existence.
However, there was one thing that replayed in Sakura's mind. Uzumaki Shiori. She was her teammate's daughter and while she was not a spitting image of him, she had a lot of his traits such as that wide smile. But who was her mother? That question alone made Sakura pause in her advance. Who was Shiori's mother?
Sakura shook her head. It did not matter. Naruto had moved on. He was no longer in love with her like he was. Or at least, she thought he was in love with her. Her new perception of life told her that deception was a ninja's greatest tool and with a smile that had masked pain for so many years, Naruto was a master of the art.
"I'm going to find Sasuke." Sakura said before pausing as her mind replayed a part of her and Naruto's conversation. One of the reasons. There was more than one reason that Naruto left the village. So what were they? "After I get that baka to talk."
And with a new thought, Sakura turned around and began to make her way back to the Hidden Smoke Village. She would find Sasuke after she learned why Naruto truly left.
Kurama Yakumo sat in her room painting to pass the time. She did not know whether or not Kemuri got her message, but she hoped they did. The contact told them of the place and from what she heard, Yakumo liked it. Her clan would not be subjugated to test and experiments like they were here in Konoha, nor would they be looked at as if they were demons. No. Yakumo has heard about the Kaibunkage and how he allowed any and all renegades to come to his village.
"Lady Kurama, there is still no word from Kemuri." a guard said through the door.
"Very well. Keep me posted." was Yakumo's response.
Yakumo sighed as she finished the painting she had been working on for three days now. It was a picture of the four previous Hokage.
"Hopefully Danzo doesn't know about this," stated the heiress of the Kurama Clan. "Or else we'll be wiped out just like the Uchiha."
A/N: I gave Sumaru the surname Sutayouji because Suta- means "star" and youji means "child" or "infant". Review and tell me what you think.