Hello, everyone. Thank you all for the outpouring of support. It means the world to me. This chapter is sadly shortened by recent life events and a busy work/holiday schedule.
Chapter Thirty
Sasuke didn't know how he knew something terrible had happened as he looked up from his bowl of ramen at Ichiraku Ramen. Since being abducted, he'd always seemed to sense danger a litte faster than in youth. Hinata and Sakura similarly sat bolt-upright as the sound of the explosion. The direction of the boom and the smoke plume wafting skyward sank a sour stone in his gut. That came from the Uchiha Compound! Sasuke abandoned his meal and his compatriots and took off running, ignoring the burning in his chest as one lung did the job meant for two. Goddammit, push through it!
Sasuke's legs thundered him along toward his family home. His eyes took in the column of smoke and his nose filled with the acrid smell of burning wood and charred flesh. Most of the center of the house was now smoldering tangle of rubble. Nevertheless, he ran toward the burning wreckage, Rinnegan scanning for even the slightest sign of someone still alive and in need of rescue. "Itachi!" Sasuke eyed his brother and ran in his direction.
As Sasuke approached, he noticed that his brother's eyes were both red with Sharringan. As hellish as the image was, another figure filled Sasuke's veins with blood. "FATHER!" Sasuke knelt at the limp form of the man who had created him, who had tormented him throughout childhood, and now a man whom Sasuke would give anything for to have back. "FATHER!" Sasuke pleaded, but there were no signs of life.
"Sasuke… SASUKE!" his shoulders shook, and Sasuke found himself standing, his brother staring him in the eyes with both eyes burning like they were afire. "WHY!"
"Why?" Sasuke froze in shock. "Why what?!" Sasuke muttered. God, he thinks I did this!
"Sasuke!" Two men Sasuke recognized as senior members of the clan – The leaders of the Oda and Tensai branches – stood with Sharringan glowing like heated iron. "You will pay for this, and all the other horrible things you've done!"
"I've done nothing," Sasuke protested firm, stoic, "much less nothing of which I am accused."
"A likely story!" The leader of the Tensai branch spoke acidic. "Your father lies dead because he coddled you too much, not seeing how dangerous you were!" The man drew a dagger, "No more!"
"Stop right there!" Hinata's voice called as she shuffled through the wreckage.
"Stay out of this, Lady Hyūga!" The leader of the Oda Branch commanded, "This is strictly an internal affair!" He drew a kunai, "And it's time to erase this little sociopath."
"You will not lay a hand on my suspect," Hinata replied, pulling out her KIB badge, "This is an act of terrorism, and my jurisdiction supersedes both the military police and clan authority in such a matter." She turned to Sasuke, "Sasuke Uchiha, you are under arrest under suspicion of terrorism and murder. You have the right to remain silent. From this point forward any statement or action taken by you may be entered as evidence against you. You have the right to speak to counsel before answering any questions under interrogation."
Sasuke opened his mouth to protest, but he understood Hinata's actions. If he came willingly, he could be held in secure custody until he could sort whatever mess had happened. If he resisted arrest or tried to make a run for it, he'd likely make clearing his name impossible – if his fellow clan members didn't kill him for fun. "All right, I surrender."
Hinata threw down a marked Kunai into the still smoldering rubble, and turned to Sakura, "Start triaging the wounded, I'll be back with more help!" She teleported the two of them to KIB headquarters.
Two security staff stared with eyes and mouths agape at the sight of them. "Gentlemen, I need you to process and detain Sasuke Uchiha, he is a suspect in a terrorist attack."
The two guards familiar to him turned to him in shock. He held out his hands, "Book me. I will not give statements until I have counsel present."
"Call Ino and Sai, and have them meet me at the Uchiha compound," she paused, "In fact, send a whole crime scene team as well as emergency personnel." Hinata disappeared in a flash.
The two guards and him stared at one another, "I believe you should show me to my cell," Sasuke spoke flat, deflated by the events of the past fifteen minutes.
"This way," the guards took him to be processed, fingerprinted, photographed, and finally took him to a holding cell. Thankfully, the cell was private, if austere.
Sasuke sprawled out on the cot attached to the wall and began contemplating the situation. Someone blows the compound, and they think it was you… No, they know in their hearts it was you. Thank god you were at lunch with over a dozen witnesses and at least two highly credible witnesses.
Sasuke chewed his lip as he eyed the ceiling tiles and the fluorescent light. He'd beat the charges in the legal system, but the clan wouldn't hesitate to dole out justice beyond the court. Always right, even when we're wrong. No, you're going to have to figure this one out or you'll have a death mark the rest of your life. He closed his eyes and began pouring over every microscopic detail of his day since waking up, knowing he'd need to account for everything, and explain everything as it was picked apart. Whoever you are, what are you up to and why? He began calculating in his head who might frame him for murder and their potential motives.
"Are you serious!" The Lord Raikage boomed in response to Naruto telling the assembled five Kages about the recent mission to the Land of the Whirlpools. Even Gaara, a close friend, balked at the revelation.
"Yo, Naruto, I know things have been whack lately," Killer B spoke as only he could, "but even you weren't down with being outright crazy!"
"Lord Kages," he bowed his head, feeling very much the boy called the headmaster's office at the Academy. "I understand this comes as a shock."
"A shock," the Tsuchikage spoke indignant, "do you have any idea how many treaty violations you're admitting to!"
He felt small, being a lay shinobi addressing the Kages. You'll be one of them one day. Time to show them why! Give as much as well as you can take! "And do you have any idea how dangerous something would have to be for us to risk violating those treaties, much less openly admitting to violating them!" Naruto spoke with fire, feeling Kurama giving him just a hint of chakra for good measure. "Let's not play innocent here," Naruto said, "Kumo keeping the chakra cannon it had was in violation of several treaties as well," he stared A in the eyes before turning to the Tsuchikage, "And Iwa has still been conducting black ops incursions into several countries despite the treaty forming the Shinobi Union! We've all committed transgressions without breaking this union, and this is no different."
Naruto paused, extracting from a metal case with one of the scientific ninja tools taken from the Land of Whirlpools, "And we all have been developing for some time scientific ninja tools." Naruto put on the gauntlet and made the hand seal for a fire release, causing a dramatic spray of fire that set off the building's fire alarm momentarily. Naruto waited patiently for the alarm to be reset. He took of the gauntlet and tossed it to A, "I assume Kumo has nothing this sophisticated?"
The Raikage scrutinized the gauntlet along with Killer B. "You trying to scare us all, Naruto? Showing off some tech the Hidden Leaf has been brewing under our noses?"
Naruto exchanged looks with his mom. She gave a nod of the Hokage's headdress. "Lord Raikage," he answered, "this is not Hidden Leaf technology. This was stuff we pulled off the mercenaries we stumbled across in the Land of Whirlpools. This wasn't made by any shinobi country, and it's years ahead of anything any of us have."
"You mean," Mei, the Mizukage, spoke, "this stuff wasn't made by any of us?"
"Imagine private armies armed with this shit," Naruto threw the gauntlet into the middle of the table. "No shinobi training required, just raw destructive potential that anyone with an axe to grind could unleash in bulk without mercy."
Muttering broke out among the other Kages and their aides. Naruto stole a glance from Mom, who rewarded him with a smile and nod. "Naruto, you and I have been friends a long time," Gaara spoke up, "Does this have something to do with what happened on the moon?"
"Yes and no," he answered the young Kazekage.
"Be more specific," Kankaro gestured for him to continue.
"When we were on the moon, we were warned by the ones we encountered that more Ōtsutsuki were coming." He gestured to the gauntlet, "And this is a sign that they are already here, and have been here for some time." More troubled muttering broke out among the group. "Quiet, everyone," Naruto raised a hand, "I know this is disheartening information, but we can choose to panic and flail about aimlessly, or we can keep our heads and work together on this."
"What are you proposing?" A asked.
"For one, we agree to disclose our progress with scientific ninja tools to each other, all of it." The Kages and their attendants all shifted nervously at the suggestion.
"For two?" the Tsuchikage asked.
"For two, we ban further testing, by governments or corporations, or any new scientific ninja tools with any military applications."
"Naruto, where is this coming from?" the Mei asked.
"There are agents working on behalf of the Ōtsutsuki, developing this crap."
"For what purpose?" Gaara asked, face cracking in deep concern.
"If I could guess, it's the same reason Kaguya's minions manipulated humanity into countless wars in the past – they want to consume all of this planet's chakra, killing all of us, and they need to be sure no one stops them this time." Naruto scanned the group, "And… it gets worse."
"Dear god, how?" Onoki asked with sharp frustration.
"Lord Tsuchikage, you're old enough to remember the Second Shinobi War, right? And the Third?"
"What is your point?" the other man asked impatient.
"Then you and possibly the Raikage should be old enough to remember the slaughter of the Land of Whirlpools," Naruto spoke grim with what he was about to reveal.
"What is your point!" The Tsuchikage's already red nose turned impossibly more blood-red.
"What sparked that conflict?"
"We deemed the village too great of a threat to leave it standing."
"But why, do you remember what it was that made you and the others decide the Uzumaki Clan were so damn dangerous as to order all of them dead? To put death-marks on all of the White Kitsune?"
"I…" for a moment, the aged Tsuchikage stared with his mouth hanging down, but soon his mouth closed. Naruto could almost see ancient cogs grinding and pounding as he searched his memories for an answer, only to find they weren't there." "I… I don't remember!"
"A?" Naruo turned to the man. The other man crossed his arms and shook his head. He did a good job of hiding his apprehension, but B much less so.
"Naruto," Gaara's mouth held down, fearful in a way he hadn't seen his friend since their Chunin Exams, "What exactly are you trying to get at."
"Gaara, can you tell me any of the events in history related to the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools – the names of battles, the timeline of the war, anything?" Gaara and Kankuro both exchanged troubled looks. Both men were avid readers of history, and both were visibly mortified that they couldn't recall an event less than fifty years past.
"Naruto, you can dispense with the parlor tricks," Mei demanded, "What the hell is going on?"
"Lord Mizukage, no one here who should be old enough to remember that event can remember anything other than it happened. Everyone can give a dictionary answer, but no one can recall any level of details…" he let his voice hang, "… because they made everyone forget."
"They?" Mei's composure cracked.
"The Ōtsutsuki," Naruto stared her in the eyes, "Someone even worse than Kaguya came at some time," Naruto explained. "He wielded an incredible power called Ominpotence. Before Ashina Uzumaki was able to slay and seal the beast, it used that power to turn the world on those trying desperately to protect it!" Naruto's fire rose, knowing his great grandfather died reviled and hated by others despite having probably saved the planet and everyone on it from dying. "When we were in the Land of Whirlpools, the mercenaries were digging up the remains of whatever Lord Ashina had killed and sealed away; they got away with the things femur before whatever boobytrap Ashina left behind turned the rest of it into dust."
"Why didn't he just destroy the remains?" Enoki asked with a tone sharp with acid.
"Most likely, he was setting it as a trap for others like the thing he'd killed," Mom finally spoke up. "There was an incredible mass of an unknown type of energy hidden beneath the remains, and the grave robbers broke the seal on it as they dug up the remains; hence, the big explosion about a month ago."
A was the next to speak, "What did they hope to get out of a thigh bone?"
"The genetic code of that thing," Naruto answered for his mom, "Imagine for a minute how destructively powerful of a scientific ninja tool they could craft with it." Naruto paused letting the Kages stew in fear for a moment, "Imagine something that would make your chakra cannon obsolete, small enough to fit on your wrist." Naruto stared at A, then Onoki, then Mei, and finally Gaara. "Imagine having the memories of your friends, the ones you loved, all erased and replaced with fear and anger of those same people," chills traversed Naruto's spine as he spoke. "Imagine your heroes and mentors being twisted in your head into villains, and you had no idea that they were innocent."
Mom again spoke, "Gentlemen, what Naruto is trying to say is we are possibly being played into developing or funding the development of weapons that could destroy the shinobi world and leave us ultimately defenseless to the Ōtsutsuki when the times comes for them to emerge from the shadows." Mom turned her violet eyes person to person, scanning the other Kages, "For too long, we've seen each other as rivals and enemies, but we proved we could put aside our differences once before, and now we have to do it again."
At that moment, a knocking came at the door, and the door to the room revealed a samurai retainer, "Lord Naruto, there is an urgent phone call from Lord Hinata Hyūga." Shit, it has to be real bad if she's calling while I'm at the summit!
"Everyone, may I be excused?" Naruto asked.
"Go, son, you've done your part today," Mom assured him.
Naruto took off out into the hallway, down the hallway to an attendant at the security desk, holding a phone receiver. "Here he comes, Lady Hinata!"
Naruto took the receiver, "Honey, what's happening? Are you all right?!"
"Na-Naruto-kun!" Hinata was flustered for sure. Flustered enough to revert to honorifics! "I need you to come back to Konoha!"
"Honey, what happened?" the cascade of nightmare scenarios involving Ōtsutsuki raced through his head.
"It's Sasuke!"
"Sasuke?" I was not expecting that of all things. "What happened to Sasuke?!"
"He's been framed for a terrorist attack; there was a bombing at the Uchiha Compound."
"Framed, how?"
"An imposter brought a bomb into the compound and detonated it among the clan elders…"
"Is Itachi okay!" Naruto cut her off.
"Yes, but his father…"
Time dilated and cold filled Naruto throughout, "What about Fugaku?"
"He's in surgery now with Mom and Shizune," Hinata sobbed, pausing to breathe, "His chances are not good!"
Framed for a terrorist act, framed for trying to murder your father and clan leader. The only thing that is worse would be trying to murder the Hokage! "Hinata, where is Sasuke now?"
"Konoha Investigation Bureau Headquarters, in a holding cell," She again heaved, "I had to arrest him; the other Uchiha were ready to execute him on the spot!"
"Keep him there, gather whatever evidence you can in his defense." Naruto began calculating in his head how much longer they had at the summit. "Hinata, I'm slated to be home in two days."
"Naruto, I'll try and keep him from the gallows, but just know…"
"What?"
"I'm a witness for the defense, so is Sakura! We might not be considered impartial by the council!"
Shit! Naruto calculated the odds in his head and realized how long a shot he had with the other Kages. "Aren't you the one always saying, 'Never tell me the odds,' Naruto?" Nine-Tails reminded.
"Honey, I'll be back within the hour. Make your statement and gather all the facts you can; I'll be there soon!"
"Thank you, love!"
"Don't thank me yet," he sighed, "I'll see you soon." Naruto hung up the phone and put on his best poker face. If I'm right, I've saved us all. If I'm wrong, I've probably doomed this whole plan! Naruto went back into the conference room, and all five Kages were staring at him intently. You'll be one of them soon, don't be intimidated! "Everyone, I've just been informed that a major terrorist attack took place in Konoha, and many high-ranking members of the Uchiha Clan are dead and more are not expected to make it."
Everyone, especially Mom, let their jaws drop. Naruto paused for dramatic effect, praying he was right and this somehow related to the current crisis. "This is only the beginning. If we don't act now, who knows how many more lives will be lost, how many more petty rivalries will be exploited by our enemies hiding in the shadows." He paused, eying everyone. "Everyone has seen the text of the Scientific Ninja Tools Nonproliferation Treaty by now, and now we know the stakes of inaction." He stared at Mom, and she nodded. "I motion that we ratify the treaty as the Shinobi Union."
"I'll second that," A said, much to Naruto's surprise. "If we can by voice and show of hands; all in favor say 'Aye."
"Aye!" all five Kages raised their hands in affirmation. Naruto silently prayed that he was right and there would be evidence of something like a scientific ninja tool found at the site of the bombing. Sasuke, please tell me you didn't go off the deep end, old friend. Naruto's heart raced. If Sasuke was guilty, Naruto would be the laughing stock of the Five Kages and could kiss his chance at being Hokage good-bye. It doesn't matter. People who break the rules are garbage. People who abandon their friends are worse than garbage. A wise man once told you that!
Author's notes: Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this rather shortened chapter. I was hoping to have two more POVs included, but I ran out of time to finish them. Due to my recent work schedule, life events, and other holiday-related stuff, the story will not update until around Christmas.
Please stay healthy and stay safe until then. I'll see you next chapter with some interesting developments with Temari and Shikamaru's mission. For those following Boruto, several major changes will occur/have occurred that will impact major characters' futures. Thank you all again for reading and all the kind words of support.
- Adam