The Uchiha Platoon

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/34210795.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: Multi
Fandom: Naruto
Relationship: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, Dai-nana-han | Team
7 & Hatake Kakashi
Character: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi
Additional Tags: Time Travel, Fix-It, Time Travel Fix-It, BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7
(Naruto), BAMF Uchiha Sasuke, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, BAMF Haruno
Sakura, Canon-Typical Violence, Relationship(s), Found Family,
Friendship, Family, Unreliable Narrator, Education, Child Abuse,
Mokuton User Haruno Sakura, Asexual Uchiha Sasuke, Bisexual
Haruno Sakura, Everyone Is Gay, Kage Bunshin | Shadow Clones,
Fuuinjutsu Master Uzumaki Naruto, Revolution, Socialist revolution,
Fuuinjutsu is art, Ninjutsu is science, Genjutsu User Sakura, Politics,
Political Alliances, Dungeons & Dragons References
Language: English
Collections: AverageFish Discord Recs, Lyrane’s treasure trove, SakurAlpha's Fic
Rec of Pure how did you create this you amazing bean, Characters
Explores Fix-it | Time Travel | Alternate Universe, Ajax Explores
Polyamory, Lilranko Great Stories to Rediscover, Different and
interesting Naruto stories, completed_Zmark, Fics To Save, Anime Fics
I Can't Forget, Stories that I want to remember, Ashes' Library, Mass
Interest, Marvelous Tales, Lady's collection of PERFECT fics., THE
UBIQ ☠ THE UNIQUE , Naruto Time Travel Fics Rec, The Forest,
My Best Bookmarks, fandoms listed
Stats: Published: 2021-10-01 Completed: 2022-05-12 Words: 293,725
Chapters: 27/27

The Uchiha Platoon

by WriterBen01

Summary

Sasuke, over forty years old, is one of the few Konoha ninja left. With no more precious
people left to lose, he uses one of most secret and forbidden techniques known to shinobi.
He travels back in time. He will create the strongest team that ever existed, face all the
threats that are coming, and do it with the two best ninja that ever lived by his side.

Notes

I started this story with Nanowrimo in november of 2013 and I've been slowly working on it
 for the last eight years. And I can't express how happy I am to finally be at a point where I
can share it with you. This project has taught me a lot about long-form writing and finding
ways to maintain motivation (and also, what mistakes to avoid). I've rewritten and edited
the first chapters so many times I've lost count. But that's what happens when you regularly
leave a story for up to a year and then have to read it to get back in the mindset of
continuing to write it.

As has become custom for me, I'll spend most my time editing while posting new chapters
weekly or bi-weekly. I rely on comments to give me feedback so I know what parts of the
story to emphasise and where there's more need of polish. Please don't be shy and let me
know what you think.

The total story is about 235-240k words long, divided into 24 chapters and an epilogue.
Most of it takes place before the time skip, with Shippuden acting as a setting for the final
chapters. This story is very much about the journey and about a team becoming closer as
they do impossibly well and learn to rely on each other as family.

See the end of the work for more notes

 Rebirth
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Naruto banged his fist on his desk. “We’ve beaten him before. How hard can it be to do it again?”

Sasuke did not share his optimism. “He plays the long game. It will take years before he makes
another move and there is no telling what it will be.”

“We are working together with the other villages to find him. He may have convinced the universe
to make him immortal, but he is not… not… impotent? Sakura, what’s that word you were using
last week?”

“Omnipotent. But I’m pretty sure you heard me say it less than two hours ago.”

“Yeah, that. Look, Sasuke, I really don’t like ordering you around. You know I don’t. But I’m going
to have to order you to drop this. We have a butt-load of problems to fix that are a lot closer to
home and that require our attention a lot sooner.”

“Fine, Hokage-sama.” Sasuke shook his head. “I’ll leave Madara be. It’s not like one man could
destroy the world all by himself.”

~*~

Breathing was difficult. He did not used to have trouble breathing. Though his eyes had shot open,
he could not see right. His fingers were shaking as he reached for his forehead. His chest
contracted suddenly. The contents of his stomach were splattered over the floor before he realised
it was happening.

The world was blurry, just vague impressions of shapes around him. Sounds were muffled, but he
could hear it when he moved a blanket off of him. This was not death, which was a surprise by
itself. The technique they had used was fundamentally experimental and it had been a long shot by
any measure.

He steadied his mind so the dizziness would stop affecting his judgement. The pain and
disorientation were pushed aside. His laboured breath would still kill him if it did not recover, but
the panic affecting his judgement was gone. He was not getting enough oxygen into his system. A
quick estimate told him he had about three minutes before he would pass out if nothing changed.

He counted down ten seconds and made his chakra settle around his heart to let it measure and
gather information. He was glad to find that, though his body was failing, his chakra obeyed him
perfectly. His heart rate was dangerously high, but it was slowly coming down. The O2 saturation
in his blood was dropping, but was starting to level off. Both his body temperature and blood
pressure were much higher than they should be, but these too were coming down.

He was not in extreme danger. Presuming the trend continued until normalised, he had at least ten
minutes before he would pass out instead of three. While passed out his body would recover on its
own and he would wake up fifty to seventy minutes later. If he let it get to that, he projected
damage to his muscle mass, chakra pathways and brain functions to be at most around five percent.

He would not die from whatever was wrong with his body. Which meant he was ready to check for
other dangers. If he was going to spend an hour passed out, he needed to be sure there were no
enemies around. None of his regular senses were fully reliable against a ninja able to hide
themselves, but they were not useless. He had not seen any shapes. He had not heard anyone
approach him. Even if a ninja as inexperienced as a genin was able to sneak up to him in such a
state, he could rule out any civilians coming to him. Wherever he was, he was at least a little
isolated.

He took a deep breath and focused on his chakra senses. He had to be in a ninja village. There were
vague impressions of genin and chunin all around. He could even sense some jounin. They were
relaxed enough to turn off their suppression, which suggested a peaceful surrounding. That by itself
was unlike anything Sasuke had grown used to.

He let thin layers of chakra stream from his body, creating a webbing that grew until it had
expanded to two feet around him. There were a few spiders under his bed and a few more insects
under the floorboards. No ninja.

He would now know if anyone got too close, but he was still unable to fight them.

To fix himself, he had to know what was wrong. He had ideas, but without certainty he was more
likely to do harm than good. He took another ten seconds to shape medical tests with his chakra.
Four hundred small tests which he had performed so many times they had become routine. The
results did not need analysis. He recognised the pattern of successes, inconclusive results and
failures.

This is what his body went through when another ninja donated too much chakra for him to
handle. The body he was in was not used to such reserves. Could he count this as evidence of the
time travel technique working, or was that just wishful thinking?

In any case, he was not in immediate danger, internally or externally, and he had a way to fix what
had happened to him. He focussed his chakra on his lungs and heart first. It took thirty seconds
before the pathways were healed from tearing and another thirty to clean up the piled-up chakra
excesses that had leaked into the organs. He fortified his chakra stores to isolate them from the rest
of his body, preventing further problems.

No longer in danger of passing out, his eyes were next. The Sharingan was his most important
weapon and it was his greatest chance to defeat a ninja who wished to take advantage of his
weakened state. It took a few minutes before he could see.

The room looked like his old bedroom. Every single detail was as he remembered it. There were
kunai marks on the wall from when he got too frustrated. There was an ever-growing pile of
laundry in the corner. His desk was cluttered with discarded drafts for assignments.

It was dark out. When he had emptied his stomach, he had thrown up his dinner apparently.
Judging by the state of digestion of the food, it was currently around midnight. He could make out
some of what he had eaten. Nothing unusual for his childhood diet.

It was hard to tell anything apart in the distance with this little illumination. Buildings in the
distance were lighted, but too irregularly to tell their shape. It felt familiar to him, like it could be
Konoha, but it was too early to tell for sure. Travelling through time had been the intended effect,
but what were the chances it had actually worked?

Further tests of the technique’s effectiveness had to wait. He started healing himself fully. His
organs were important, as were his senses. The muscles in his legs were needed for mobility. He
needed the muscles in his arms for offence and defence. He needed all his joints to tie it together.
He needed his bones for proper structure. He needed his blood vessels to fuel his body physically.
He needed his chakra pathways to fuel his body spiritually.

The acid smell of vomit reached his nostrils. It was unpleasant, but he needed his nose. He turned
off the part of his brain that responded with disgust and let only the information remain. It was the
same techniques he had used to get through tortures. It separated his mind from his emotions
enough to stay rational.

It had been decades since he had last thrown up. Usually his body told him it wanted to gag, which
Sasuke then promptly ignored. His body obeyed him. As a ninja, he ruled his own reactions. He
was careful about what he ate and he knew that the feeling of getting sick was an evolutionary by-
product that was no longer useful to him.

Yet he had not succeeded now. He wondered how much of it was the attempted jump through time
and how much of it was the gruelling ritual to achieve that result. He had needed to shut off most
of his brain to get through it. He locked away the emotional aspects of the memories of pain and
screaming before they could distract him. Until only the information remained without any of the
attached feelings.

He took a few deliberate sniffs. His scent was all over the room. Nobody else’s.

When he was finally done, it was time to fully take stock of his surroundings. He structured his
chakra further into the room. It took a lot of work before he had a proper net that let him know of
any ninja within ten meters of him. There was nobody in the house but two ANBU agents hiding in
the crawl space between the ground floor and the first floor. They were slightly agitated from
Sasuke’s behaviour and were watching him closely. Bodyguards. He never knew the surveillance
had started when he was this young.

He dragged his now responsive body to the bathroom and threw some water onto his face. Staring
back at him from the mirror was a much younger him than he was used to looking at. No scar on
his forehead from the final battle with Naruto as a rogue ninja. No grey streaks in his hair from the
stress it took to be a consultant to an Uzumaki Hokage. No bags under his eyes from the countless
sleepless nights trying to keep his platoon save from harm.

It had worked. He was actually back.

Now what?

He had started the ritual with the assumption it would fail. Seals were more art than science, after
all. He had never dared to hope it would succeed. There were general ideas, of course, fantasies of
fixing the past. Nothing specific. Even now his mind stubbornly refused to plan. Just in case it was
still fake.

Sasuke was a ninja though. He would not stand still. If his mind could not picture long term goals,
Sasuke would start with short term ones.

There was sick staining the floor. He gathered up a mop and cleaned it.

Some had gotten on the bed. He changed his sheets.

He still felt dirty. He showered and got dressed.

He was not sure when exactly in time he had turned up. He did not have his forehead protector
though, so he had not graduated yet. He checked his desk. Very few papers had been dated and
those that had, were in the middle of the stack. At least he had a lower bound. It was no earlier than
October of his final year in the Academy. He knew the graduation exams were in January. He was
somewhere in that three-month space of time.

He needed much more information. He could not help but feel that Sakura and Naruto would have
been better suited for this task.

Sakura would have been more optimistic time travel would be possible. She would have gathered
every single record of the past and then memorized her entire youth and the village’s complete
history. She would have done it as a hobby in her spare time. A fun little activity to lift her mood in
the middle of the apocalypse. When there was nothing left of her own childhood to memorise, she
would have started on the records of her classmates so that she would have been able to save the
world even if the technique accidentally dropped her into another body. She was thorough like that.

Naruto would have understood the time travel seal much better. He would have instantly
determined whether it would work or not and would then have been able to intuit the exact date
where he would show up. He would also have devised some elaborate prank to pull, achieving all
of his goals without ever getting serious.

The problem was that neither of them would have made it through the ritual. They would have
stopped it before the end. Sakura liked to say that each of them had different strengths. Sasuke did
not feel strong for this.

History would have to do with Sasuke. The last survivor of the Uchiha clan. History could do much
worse for itself.

And not like there had been much of a choice. Sakura had died in an ambush. Naruto had died in
the attack on Konoha. With them, most of Sasuke had died as well. But this was before all that
happened. Naruto and Sakura were alive again.

Sasuke’s heart skipped a beat. They were alive again.

He focussed back on his notes before he would become completely undone. Looking through the
most recent ones, he determined Iruka was currently working on some physics theory about
calculating the trajectory of a thrown kunai. It was the preliminary work, stuff that students were
supposed to learn before moving on to practical exercises. That material was covered in the third
year of the Academy and revised a few weeks before graduation.

That was his best guess for now. He knew there were no calendars inside the house. His younger
self had no use for them. For the old Sasuke, there had only been school days and training days.
They had all blended together and he had preferred it that way. He had not wanted to count the
days until he graduated. He had not wanted to plan a realistic course and face how far behind he
was on the big brother he wanted to destroy in retribution for the genocide of their clan.

Even graduation had been just a formality. He had needed to become a jounin as fast as possible.
Graduating the Ninja Academy had been such a tiny step on the road he had been walking.

So, worst case scenario was a few weeks before graduation. A few weeks of ignoring his
teammates, resisting the urge to help them or bond with them. And all that time Naruto would be
all alone. Sakura would be killing herself trying to maintain a persona because she was raised to
shove away her real emotions. If he risked reaching out to them sooner, he risked changing the
timeline and causing different teams.

Sasuke needed them on his team or they would not become friends. And he needed them as friends,
or he would go completely insane. Losing his sanity once was more than enough for him.
But he could stand a few weeks of being alone. He had been forced to practise solitude. He may as
well make use of it. A few weeks of additional time would also give him some more time to plan
and to train. He could use the time to get used to his new body and to master both his skills and his
ability to hide them.

All that mattered was that Naruto and Sakura were alive. They were here. They were breathing and
thinking and feeling, so close that it was hard to truly believe. And while Sasuke might not be able
to interact with them, he could watch them. He could see them again, finally.

Sasuke had his next goal figured out.

Before he got out of the house, he needed to take inventory. He grabbed his weapon pouch from his
desk. Checking it, he found that it held a few kunai, some ninja wire and a few exploding tags.
There were three kunai in his nightstand, which he added to the pouch. By the desk was a family
scroll his younger self had been working on and a few smoke bombs. It was not nearly enough. He
collected everything and went to the next room. His parents’ bedroom.

It had been years since he had seen it like this. After he had become the official head of the Uchiha
clan, he had moved into that bedroom and replaced most of the furnishings. Seeing it in its original
state brought back unpleasant memories. For now he pushed it all those memories aside and headed
straight for the closet. There were two cases in there that he took with him after he had disabled the
six trap mechanisms protecting them.

Itachi’s bedroom was next. A lot of his gear was missing or had been confiscated, but some of it
remained. There was a box of blunt kunai and shuriken by the desk. A kit to sharpen weapons was
by the bed. In his closet was the gear he had outgrown. There was a bookcase with technique
manuals.

He brought it all to the living room and laid it out. He strapped his brother’s old weapon pouch to
his left arm and filled it with blunt kunai. He restocked his own weapon pouch and strapped it to
his right arm. His parents’ cases were next. They were easy to open once you knew the trick.

His mother’s case held her uniform and a white weapon pouch. Trying to open it would activate
the explosive seal designed within. But sending chakra through the clan symbol embroidered on
the front would summon shuriken. It held a dozen, but could easily be restocked. It had been a gift
for her wedding from Naruto’s mother. As he had thought, it was bigger than the standard issue
weapon pouches Itachi and Sasuke had used. He wasted no time strapping it to his left leg. It
looked a little bulky, but it fitted better there than it would on his arm.

He rummaged through the pockets of his mother’s uniform and retrieved a small bracelet. He put it
on his left wrist. It held a hidden container of ink and a small brush with some parchment, for
writing short messages. It would also work for creating seals in a pinch.

His father’s weapon pouch was even larger. It had to be to not only contain a decent amount of
kunai and ninja wire, but also a folded-up windmill shuriken. It had been his father’s favourite
weapon. He used it both for close range and long range. It would do nicely. He strapped the blue
pouch on his right leg.

Armed like this, he felt naked. This was not enough. It did not feel like enough. He was used to
having more weapons at hands, being able to summon thousands of projectiles with the smallest
movements. He missed his sword. He missed his armour. He missed his medical supplies and his
emergency rations.

He took a deep breath and concentrated on the chakra of his teammates. He found Sakura’s first,
just two minutes away. Her dense reserves, conditioned by her superior control, smelling of earth
and sounding like dripping water. She tasted bitter and felt like fresh bandages.

Naruto was only a little further away, three minutes at most. Even as an academy student, his
reserves were wild and massive. He was the feeling of sunshine in summer and the scent of
spring’s first storm wind. He tasted salty and felt like a prick of static electricity.

There would be ANBU patrols in the way, and there were still the two ninja in the Uchiha
compound. None of that bothered Sasuke. He opened the front door and left quickly. The two ninja
tried to follow him, but a covert replacement technique had them chasing a tree log for a few
hundred feet instead of the original. He would lead them to the Hyuuga clan estate. When they
would lose Sasuke, they could take the opportunity to check on them.

As soon as had replaced himself, he fully suppressed his chakra signal. Then he moved as quickly
as he could. His muscles were well trained for a boy his age, but there was only so much
improvement chakra pumping could do. Especially when he did not want to be detected and could
only sense ANBU patrols when they were within ten meters of him. At least his chakra felt normal
even in extensive use. He would need to perform a more comprehensive evaluation later to
determine how much of his power had survived the trip back in time.

Two minutes seemed to crawl by as Sasuke moved closer and closer to Sakura’s home. But he got
there in the end. While slowing down, he made a hand seal and sent two clones ahead. Then he
jumped to the first floor window and saw Sakura’s face.

He was holding his breath, until he had made sure she was not. Her chest was moving. She was
okay. He took a few selfish moments to look at her face. She looked so young and innocent and
frail. It unnerved Sasuke, but any Sakura was better than none.

A very large part of him wanted to step in to protect her. It had been so long since he had last seen
her outside of his nightmares. It had been so long since he had seen her without the world turning to
fire as it took her away again. When the enemy had killed her, they had destroyed all of her
physical body. He had only been able to identify her by the small bits of chakra that had remained.

Here, she was alive.

Her long pink hair looked a little messy from tossing and turning. His Sakura would not have cared
much, but this one would spend a large part of her morning fixing it. He could see her desk,
completely cluttered with books and notes. She was usually tidier than this. She had to be nervous
for it to get to this state.

This was what it had all been for. Different people helped him with the time travel for different
reasons, but this was why he had gone back. Because Sakura and Naruto were dead where he came
from and he would have done anything to get them back. He had gone through hell. It was all
worth it.

His thoughts halted as memories from his clone came flooding to him a minute later. Naruto was
safe as well. He set two clones to guard Sakura’s house and then continued to the next destination.

Naruto’s apartment complex looked like a slum, and Naruto’s apartment looked like it dropped the
property value of the whole block. The remaining clone had moved around the building to find
guards, before dispelling at his approach. There was a single ANBU watching. Sasuke made his
way over to the guard and then reached out with genjutsu. It took a few seconds, but the ANBU’s
scanning eyes were replaced with a blank stare.
Sasuke took a single leap to Naruto’s apartment to confirm it with his own eyes. He was sound
asleep. He was not dead. He would normally wait until he saw Naruto’s chest move, but the
snoring already confirmed it.

Sasuke felt complete. Like there had been this huge hole inside that had been filled. The world had
broken when those two had left and it was finally right again. This was exactly what he had
needed.

Ideas started forming in his mind, slotting together to build larger plans. For the first time in years,
he knew exactly what to do to get what he wanted. For the first time in years, he wanted.

He posted two new clone guards out of sight and let them slowly wean off the genjutsu on the
guard. He sent out two clones to relieve Sakura’s. The ones he had posted had not seen Naruto and
would become useless without the reassurance.

He sent out three more clones to do reconnaissance on the town and then made his way back to his
house via the Hyuuga compound. As he entered the Uchiha compound, it felt like home. The
rooms were wrong. The items inside were wrong. But it was in a village where Naruto and Sakura
lived. That meant it was home.

He sat himself in the living room and started putting his organised thoughts to good use.

Sasuke’s goals were simple.

Keep that bastard Madara from becoming immortal. Destroy all of Madara’s agents and
sympathisers. Keep Naruto and Sakura safe and protected.

Orochimaru was out there planning the Konoha invasion. Obito was preparing the Akatsuki for
capturing the tailed beasts. Kaguya was manipulating everyone through Black Zetsu. Danzo was
working from Konoha to selfishly further his own agenda.

Sasuke could deal with some of these challenges on his own, but he needed allies to face them all.
He needed Naruto and Sakura to get stronger a lot faster than last time.

In order to build a brighter future, he had to use the gifts from those who had come before.

His parents had loved them, in their own way. They had seen the Uchiha name lose standing and
had finally planned a rebellion to regain their power. He disapproved of their methods and he did
not hold their ideals. But a strong clan had its advantages. It would help Naruto secure a place as
Hokage and it was a place for Sakura to be safe.

His brother Itachi had always wanted to protect him. He cared for the village and for peace. He
died without telling Sasuke the truth, so that Sasuke would not cause war for Konoha. Sasuke
would find a way for Itachi to live through this all. His strong genjutsu would help tutor Sakura and
his information on Akatsuki’s plans for the jinchuriki were essential to keep Naruto safe.

His teacher Kakashi had sacrificed himself to keep the village safe. He was the embodiment of
what war and death could do to someone. During the war, Sasuke had seen more and more ninja
take the road that Kakashi had taken. After they had been forced to leave the village, these ninja
had created a new, lighter memorial stone that they brought with them wherever their temporary
accommodations were located. It had been agony for those ninja. Naruto and Sakura would be
happiest if Sasuke prevented as much death as possible.

His mind went to Danzo. The man who had robbed the Uchiha. If Kakashi represented those left
behind after war, Danzo was the war. He was no longer human. He was a force of pure evil that
needed to disappear. As soon as possible. But Danzo was not alone, and he was not the worst.
Sasuke needed the traitors, the people who smashed the shinobi alliance, to die. Even when not all
of them had actively chosen their paths, they had all been a part of causing the disaster that
followed. They had to be removed.

His teammate Sakura.

His teammate Naruto.

How could he even start to describe how it felt to have lost his most precious people? He could not
capture in a finite list of promises the infinite lengths he would go through to honour them.

His eyes burned and he rubbed at them. It was a weird sensation and Sasuke was not sure what was
causing it until he realized that his twelve-year-old body had not cried since Itachi had killed his
parents. The Sasuke that he had been had spent his days training to drown out the hurt, using hate
to drown out the sadness.

His first life had been spent obsessing over his loss. His younger self had believed everything
would be better if he had his revenge. He had believed that Itachi had done something unfair, and
the world would only be right again if he could made it fair.

It was naïve. He had since learned to take a less extreme outlook on life. He would allow himself
to be sad when his loved ones died. He would allow himself to be angry at those responsible. And,
most importantly, he would allow himself to be happy when around those he loved. He would shut
out only the useless emotions.

He would allow himself to be protective, if those close to him were threatened. He had a new
chance to save them. He needed Sakura and Naruto to stay alive. Even if it cost him the lives of
other good ninja. Even if it made the peace he was going for more fragile than it could have been.
Sasuke had outlived them once and it had shattered him. Absolutely nothing was worth their death.

It was selfish of him, but if fate had wanted a martyr, it should have sent a different Uchiha.

With those goals in mind, he started planning the specifics. He knew enough about the chunin
exam invasion that he would be able to use it to increase the team’s reputation. They would need to
be very strong and already have a reputation for extraordinary feats. But he could take care of that.
He would make sure they were at least jounin by the time Madara enacted his plans. With his
knowledge of the future, if everything worked out, the three of them could form the perfect strike
force and take out the members of Akatsuki one by one.

If things did not work out, there were other plans. He started brainstorming all the possible
complications along the way, then cataloguing them all by how bad they would be and how much
time he would have to respond to them. Someone discovering he was from the future was a big
concern, but would happen gradually enough to deal with in time. An assassin being sent to Naruto
or Sakura had a smaller chance of happening, but it was more immediate and preventing it needed
mental attention as soon as it happened. Keeping body guards on them at all time was a precaution
for most of the threats of that nature.

He registered the return of the ANBU after half an hour. He ignored them and continued his
thoughts. All they would see was a teenage boy staring at nothingness. He did not move from his
spot until sunlight streamed through the windows.

The ninja in the ceiling had not left yet. Sasuke stared up. An eight-hour shift did not indicate any
kind of isolated surveillance order. They were not simply checking up on one of the academy
students. They were guarding him specifically, the only surviving member of the noble Uchiha
clan.

He had not known he had been watched that extensively during his youth. He also did not know
how long this would go on. Would they monitor him until he became a genin? Until he became a
chunin? Until they were fully satisfied Sasuke could protect himself?

Or, as had happened last time, until he left the village to become a missing ninja and join forces
with the person whose number one goal was destroying the whole of Konoha?

At the prospect of being watched without fail, Orochimaru was sounding a little tempting.

He needed to know how far this went.

He gritted his teeth and went to the kitchen to wash his face. He dried himself off and ate a simple
breakfast from the ingredients his younger self had purchased. He checked his inventory of
weapons again and mentally cursed. Sasuke was well prepared for an academy student, which still
felt hopelessly under-equipped for a former village leader.

He headed outside and went to the training area behind his house. Some of the chakra signatures
surrounded the training area, but they kept their distance at the limit of his range. It was a relief to
know they did not follow him too closely there.

He threw some kunai for a while, pretending to practice, until he was convinced the ANBU were
not going to come any closer. The efficiency with which they had taken their positions indicated
routine. This is what they did every time Sasuke went to train. He made clones that hid their
signatures beyond normal levels. He tasked them to trail the ANBU as he moved to observe them
even beyond his own personal scouting range.

Then Sasuke tried some other locations his younger self had frequented. There was a forest near his
house where he used to jog. The ANBU followed him, but again kept their distance. As he went
through town, the ANBU followed over the rooftops. They did not let up on him until he
approached the Academy. Once they realised that he was heading there, the ninja deviated from
their formation.

At the academy itself, the ANBU took up position in a large radius around the building. Though
that was easily explained by the number of ANBU present there to protect the students. He knew
exactly how many there would be and where they would be stationed. Heck, he had taken a few
shifts himself when there were scheduling problems. It would be easy to find one of the blind spots
and disappear. Among all those students it would be very hard to notice.

He was just ironing out the details of a third plan to get rid of all those prying eyes, when another
student bumped into him.

“Watch where you’re going, Teme.” An obnoxious orange-dressed boy said.

Sasuke had the breath stolen from him. In front of him stood the seventh and greatest Hokage. The
man who saved him in more ways than he could describe. The ninja who defied logic, the warrior
that had wrestled the ten-tails into submission, the scholar that had unravelled the secrets behind
the technique that had destroyed the world.

“Hmph.” Sasuke said, standing beside Naruto while quite stoically not hugging him.

Naruto seemed to take it as a question and he motioned for the gate. “They won’t let me in. Afraid
I’ll wreck something if I get to the playground too early.” His cheap orange clothes looked
crumbled up like he had slept in them. There were a few small stains that would go out in a wash.
The stains looked old. There was also dirt on his clenched hands. He smelled like sweat and rain
and forest.

“They are probably right.”

“Hey!”

“You defaced the sacred Hokage monument. Surely you do not hold the Academy’s training
equipment in higher regard?”

“You bastard.” Naruto complained, before turning the other way in silence. It took Sasuke a few
seconds to realize that this Naruto would not in fact be cheered up by bantering with him. It would
take a while for things to be back to being like that again. Right now he was not talking to Naruto,
Hokage of the Konoha village, leader of the Shinobi alliance. He was talking to a potential Naruto.
In a way, he was talking to a million potential Narutos. His actions determined which one the world
would end up with. There was a very precise path, only one, that led to the Naruto Sasuke had
known. The more Sasuke changed, the more differences would accrue. Every different decision
would kill his Naruto a little more. Death by a thousand cuts. Good, in a way. His Naruto had died
at thirty-five. This Naruto would last a god-damn time longer. Sasuke would make sure of it.

Sasuke sighed, before knocking on the gates a few times.

“Hey brat! I already told you… Sasuke-kun?” the guard looked surprised, before quickly
unlocking the metal doorway. “What are you doing here?”

“I came for training.”

“It’s a little early, but I am sure my superiors won’t mind if I let you in.”

“I will need a sparring partner.” Sasuke said, before motioning at Naruto.

The man paused, eyeing the blond boy with disgust. “A-all right.”

Naruto looked confused, but followed Sasuke onto the playground. When they were alone, he
faced the blue-shirted boy. “You want to spar with me?”

“Hn.” He shrugged non-committedly, walking over to the throwing targets. Naruto was waiting for
more of an answer than that, but when it did not come, he started throwing kunai.

“Why did you get here so early?” Sasuke asked, his eyes observing Naruto’s level of skill.

Naruto seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, but then continued throwing without saying anything.
His accuracy was off a little more than the exams allowed. He needed the practice to get a passing
grade. And this was probably the only place where he was not immediately turned away.

It was sad and Sasuke really wanted to interfere. He could offer up the Uchiha training grounds. He
even had his own targets set up in his back yard. But offering them up directly would be taken as
an insult. It would be taken as a claim that Naruto needed the practice, while Sasuke did not.

There were very few ways that he would be able to approach right now without being dismissed.
But Sasuke was a ninja. And Naruto was not the first unwilling child he wanted to teach.

“Have you thought about what you want to do after graduating?”

“Become Hokage.” Naruto answered without delay. It surprised Sasuke a little how quickly he
answered, until he realized how often adults must ask such questions from him. Nobody
understood why the demon fox might want to become a protector of a village that it had tried to
destroy.

“That’d take years. What are your short-term objectives?”

Naruto missed his mark by a few feet. He wielded a new kunai, which he grasped tightly. “I will
graduate and become stronger. So strong that I can become Hokage and make everyone recognise
me.”

“How will you become stronger?”

“By working hard and never running away.” He threw his kunai and hit close to the bullseye,
making him smirk as he drew another.

“Do you know how The Fourth got stronger?”

Naruto huffed, expecting Sasuke’s question to be rhetorical. When he realized it was not, he
mumbled under his breath. “Determination?”

“That was part of it. How about his predecessors? Do you know how they got to be elected the
leaders of Konoha?”

“Are you trying to make me sound foolish because I do not know some lousy history?”

“No. I am trying to make you sound foolish because you think hard work is all it takes to become
the strongest ninja in the village.”

“Hey! Bastard!” Naruto clenched his fist.

“People think hard work will get them anywhere. If hard work was always rewarded, you’d be
chunin by now.”

Naruto’s fist unclenched. “Huh?”

“I am the best ninja in our year, but I am only the third most hardworking. First there’s you, who
sleeps in class because you spend your nights on the training grounds.”

“How do you…”

“Then there’s Sakura, who regularly skips out on meals because she refuses to reward herself with
a full dinner until she has memorized the material perfectly.”

“Sakura-chan is doing that? How do you know that?”

“I do not have to work as hard as you to be the best. I had very good teachers when I was younger.
My father gave lectures on the ninja code before tucking me in. When playing ninja, my mother
showed me when I was handling my kunai badly. They kept me from making the mistakes that
they had made.”

“Your family did all that?”

“Before… yeah, they used to. They left some scrolls that help me now, but I’m not even supposed
to read them without having earned my headband. Not that it has stopped me.”
Naruto tensed a little.

“The Fourth was an orphan like us. Just like you, the Yondaime worked as hard as he could to
prove that he was able to become Hokage. He was a genius. If he had been born outside of the
village without knowing any ninjutsu, he might have invented a clone technique, maybe even an
elemental technique. Instead those things were taught to him, and he discovered revolutionary ninja
techniques. It takes a lifetime of hard work to discover these things, but only a fraction of that for
them to be taught.”

Sasuke looked at the Hokage monument looming over the city. Children thought those faces were
carved into the stone as a reminder of the Hokage’s eternal protection. Ninja thought it was
reinforcement to strive to become stronger, to dream of having your own face up there. But those
faces contained a different message. Each Hokage relied on the strength of its predecessor. That is
why they were depicted all together. Each hokage gave their strength to the village and it made the
village grow, so that the latest Hokage contained a bit of all the ninja that came before him.

The faces next to each other in stone were a reminder all right. Fight one Hokage, and you fight all
of them.

“The Yondaime got stronger by learning from his teacher, the legendary Toad Sage. He developed
techniques after extensive tutoring from The Professor, the Sandaime. He became faster by reading
about the techniques of his elder, the Nidaime. He learned diplomacy from the records of the
Shodaime’s meetings. He worked hard all his life, but he never wasted his time trying to invent a
field of study when there was a manual available. He only trained alone when there was nobody
who knew better than him.”

Naruto stared at the ground. “Your point being?”

Sasuke hardly seemed to move. Yet suddenly there were six kunai imbedded in the bullseyes of the
three targets. “My point is that you should hold the tip of your weapons 10 degrees higher, and that
you need to release them a tenth of a second sooner so your thumb does not alter the trajectory.”
Sasuke held a kunai perfectly in his hand.

Naruto’s kunai changed position, and he released it a little earlier, causing it to land almost exactly
in the middle of the target. “So you’re saying I’ll be Hokage someday if only I beg for your
advice?”

Sasuke snorted. “No.”

The rage on Naruto’s face was making steam appear over his head. “Because I’m not good enough
to ever be Hokage?”

“Because I’m not nearly that important. I’m just close and offering help. If you don’t want it yet,
I’m sure you’ll learn along the way to ask it from someone else. Naruto, you’ll be Hokage
regardless of my help. All I can do is speed things along.”

Naruto gawked. His mouth was literally hanging open. “You really think…”

“For somebody as stubborn as you? Anything is possible. If I pushed you off a cliff tomorrow, I am
pretty confident you’d pull some miracle out of your ass even if you’d have to defy all logic to do
so. And if I asked how you did it, you’d just say that you were arguing with nature about how little
its laws made sense and you won the argument.”

Naruto was scrunching up the fabric of his pants.

“If you graduate, I think they will put us in the same team. In which case I want to start bragging
that I was the Hokage’s teammate as soon as possible.”

The blond genin was grinning from ear to ear. “I can do that.”

“Of course, that is only if you graduate. Which means training hard these next few weeks.”

Naruto scratched his head. “Huh?”

“With only a little time to go, we will really have to put our backs into it. Obviously it would be
better if we had more time, but –“

“Sasuke-kun… the examination is today.”

“Today…?”

“How do you not know that? Don’t tell me you are so confident that you completely tuned out all
the reviews and lectures these past few days, cause that totally did not work out for me the last two
times I did that.”

Sasuke nodded absent-mindedly. He had to fight a touch of panic as he reorganised his plans. He
would not have time to review his class notes. He would not have time to slowly get closer to the
other students, so that visiting them after graduation would make sense. It took a few minutes, but
he abandoned the plans that would not work anymore, and altered the others.

He looked at the skyline. “We have about an hour left to practice then. What are other things you
wanted to work on?”

Naruto looked at his backpack, which was filled with books he needed to study and then loudly and
adamantly decided he should practice throwing kunai more.

Sasuke gave him a few more minor pointers and corrected him when his form became sloppier
again. It would take a little while for Naruto to unlearn the really bad habits, but there were plenty
of small optimisations that he could master in just an hour.

After a few minutes, Sasuke started throwing at the target next to Naruto’s again. Naruto mostly
had it down and did not need his full attention. Besides, students would be coming soon and they
would ask questions if they saw Sasuke next to Naruto without an excuse. He kept his eyes
focussed on Naruto’s form while he threw, watching for any irregularities he should correct.

“So, what’s with the new equipment?” Naruto said. “You really need that many pouches?”

Sasuke gave a quick nod. “My main pouch will hold enough weapons, but you want to avoid single
points of failure. If my legs get pinned, I still want to be able to get to something sharp to defend
myself. It’s a good tactic.”

“It seems a little pointless to me. You’re going to practice drawing weapons from four places
instead of one?”

“Got to do something to make this challenging.” Sasuke smirked, going a little slower for Naruto’s
benefit as he grabbed a projectile from each pouch in turn and embedded them in the targets.

Naruto got silent again. He had to be pretty nervous for the exam to put up with an obnoxious
display like that without responding.
“Were you this anxious for your previous exams as well?”

“This time it’s different.” Naruto said.

“Because this time really counts.” Sasuke finished for him. “If you don’t make it, you’ll have to
wait another year.”

“Iruka-sensei kept telling me to study. I kept saying I was going to be fine. I was convinced I was
going to pass three months ago. But then I failed. And I failed six weeks ago as well.”

“You know they expected you to fail.”

“Everyone expects me to fail.”

“I meant, they expected everyone to fail. There is a reason they provide the bottom quarter of the
class with an early opportunity. Mock exams can be dismissed more easily by students, but failing
an actual chance to graduate has more effect. They make it extra hard to really scare you. Of the
exams you’ve gotten, this one will be the easiest.”

“And if I fail the easiest test?”

Sasuke shrugged. “You’ll be Hokage someday. The easiest way to do that is to become a genin
today. If not, well, for anyone else it would be impossible to become the Hokage without being a
ninja first. With you? Who knows… Surely failing a silly little exam won’t stand in the way of
achieving your goal?”

Naruto seemed to rest a little easier with that thought. “Believe it.”

Eventually there was a signal, and they both packed up their things to head for the classroom. He
saw familiar faces on the way there. Kiba looked much better with all his limbs still attached.
Shikamaru seemed healthier without spikes through his torso. Hinata looked like herself again,
with her eyes still in their sockets.

Then there was the final member of their genin team. He could smell her before he even saw her.

It was a perfume he had memorized by pressing an old pink dress against his face for months as he
cried his eyes out. A scent that had been etched into his mind by being present in all the important
fights of his live. It was a mix of flowers, easily dismissed as natural, but distinct enough that its
composition would only rarely be encountered in the wild.

Then he heard her mumbling. She was reciting facts in her head. She already knew the material,
but she needed to confirm it one more time. There were few people who believed in her, and it
caused her to question herself. The Sakura he knew would be able to lift the entire academy with
one finger, bring the entire village under genjutsu on a whim, and inspire so much fear and awe
that people walked around her in wide arcs.

He wondered if he should stay out of her way for now. But she looked at him and he did not
manage to avoid her gaze. They locked eyes, and he smiled. It made her blush, and they went into
class together. “Any last minute tips?”

She startled at that. “I’m sure nothing I can say will help the best student in class.” She said.

“Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Th-then… be sure to read the whole test carefully. The exams six years ago had a trick question in
it. They disciplined the creator of the test, but they still marked down all the students who had
gotten it wrong. It’s not impossible that it will happen again. Not with Mizuki-sensei writing the
tests. He seems to like that sort of thing.”

Some of the other girls tried to bother him, but he was in too good a mood to let them distract him.
He sat down in the classroom halfway between where Sakura and Naruto would sit.

Naruto passed by Sakura as he made his way to his seat. “Ne, Sakura-chan. Do you have any
advice for me too?”

“Try not to cry too much when you fail, Baka.”

He seemed happy enough that she had talked to him without hitting him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Sakura, he’s nervous about the test. Just help him out.”

“R-right.” She said, startled from the reprimand. She took a moment to think about it. “You tend to
get side-tracked when answering questions. So much so that you run out of room. Try writing your
answers on a different page first. Reread the question and then only copy the parts that have to do
with the question itself.”

“That’s really smart, Sakura.” Naruto beamed. “How do you even know about that?”

“Iruka-sensei complains about it enough. Honestly, don’t you ever listen to him?”

Naruto laughed it off and went to his seat in a very good mood. Sakura met Sasuke’s eyes and he
nodded approvingly. Across the room, Ino’s jaw dropped open. She then tried her best to give the
nearest student all kinds of tips to succeed. Sasuke ignored the attempts to get his attention.

There was some explanation about the day’s schedule, before Iruka handed out the test papers. He
saw that Sakura’s eyes were closed, and she was muttering something, still reviewing the material.
Naruto was fidgeting a little, but seemed rather resigned. When everything was ready, the test
began.

As Sasuke read over the questions, he started to frown. Sasuke had not expected to have trouble
with an academy test. He had aced it when he became genin, had taught dozens of academy
students, and had marked countless tests. But here he was, unable to answer what the 42nd ninja
rule was.

Naruto had tried to abolish all rules when he had become Hokage. Of course, nobody had let him
do it. But Naruto was stubborn enough to at least have them changed. So many rules had been
added over the year, he had said, that it was time for reorganization. Most important rules in front,
least important ones at the end.

It turned out that ‘important’ was subjective. Who knew? Naruto’s list was challenged monthly,
and had to be revised several times each year. The advisors all claimed that it was okay, because if
there was ever a time to change it, it was now while the lists were still new.

“The life of a ninja will be short if he cares about friends too much, but non-existent if he does not
care about them at all.”

“The universe works on unerring Math. People work on perceptions. Neither you nor your enemy
can break the laws of physics, but anyone can be fooled into thinking someone has.”

“Everything is potentially lethal. Everyone is potentially dead.”

 For a second he considered finding some way of figuring out the answers in a different way. He felt
his pride bubbling to the surface. He had failed as a ninja if he could not remember something as
simple as the ninja rules. Never mind that he learned them long before he had learned all the tricks
to improve his memory. Never mind that even now he would not use those tricks on something as
simple and juvenile as the ninja rules.

Then he took a deep breath. For the purposes of this day, pride was not a useful emotion for him.
He set the emotion aside until only the information was left. His pride would have to take a hit
today. That was acceptable.

Their teacher was not paying enough attention on them. It was easy to find a moment where he
could make the seals and activate the appropriate technique. It was something the Uchiha clan had
developed years ago for family members that had trouble activating the Sharingan and mimicked
the photographic memory the Sharingan imparted.

It only took a single glance around the room and he could look at his own test while analysing all
the answers he could see others had given. The image of the room stayed in his mind vividly. From
this angle, he had twelve tests he had seen. Staring at any of them for longer than a single moment
would be noticed. No matter how good the ninja, a glance was not supposed to be enough to cheat.
Sasuke was not like other ninja.

The image lasted only a few minutes, but that was enough. Soon, he had copied the answers he
could not answer from other students’ tests. Ninja had no need of pride. He did not come back in
time to be a prideful loser.

Chapter End Notes

Next week, chapter 2: Return statement.

 Return statement
Chapter Summary

Naruto becomes a genin and Sasuke finally gets to see how.

Chapter Notes

Wow, the reception so far has been amazing. Thank you so much for all your kind
words and for reading.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“You’re not helping.” Naruto said, pacing back and forth.

“All I’m saying, is that you need to decide how to go into this meeting.” Sakura said. She pointed
on the document, her fingernail banging loudly on the wood beneath. “None of your predecessors
went in without a plan.”

“My plan is to introduce myself and try not to make a fool of myself.”

“Good goal.” Sasuke said. “Bad plan.”

“I’ve never met a Daimyo before.” Naruto complained. “He’s going to take one look at me and
decide I’m not worth talking to. Can we still call off the meeting? I think we should call off the
meeting.”

“Take a deep breath.” Sasuke said. “We’ll be right beside you.”

“And we practiced this.” Sakura held his hands. “Only thing left to do is choose your bargaining
strategy. Are you going to show comradery with expected reciprocation like the Shodaime,
intellectual superiority like the Nidaime, grandfatherly energy like the Sandaime, manipulation
through seeming naïve like the Yondaime, or thinly-hidden threats of violence like the Godaime?”

“How am I supposed to do that!? I’m not nearly as good as any of them.”

“One of your specialities literally lets you turn into other people.”

Naruto stuck out his tongue at her. He turned to his other teammate for better advice. “What
would you do, Sasuke?”

“I would work out all the different ways I could kill them.”

“To… look more intimidating?”

Sasuke opened his mouth and then closed it again. He diverted his gaze as he answered. “Sure,
let’s go with that.”
“You don’t have the control on your killer intent to make that work.” Sakura said.

“Hey!” Naruto huffed. “I’ve been working on my killer intent recently.”

Sakura sighed. “Is that why I had a group of chunin show up for psychiatric counselling? Damn,
Naruto. They had literally wet themselves.”

“In my defence, it’s hard to control the effect once Kuruma starts helping. And when he sees
terrified humans, I can’t keep him from helping.”

“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t use it on diplomats.”

“Well, what then?!”

Sasuke shrugged. “I think you should just go in there and be yourself. I mean, if it worked on me,
the Daimyo doesn’t stand a chance.”

~*~

Naruto was sulking on the swing set. He was the only one on the playground without a Konoha
headband. He had managed a passing grade for the exam, like last time, and had aced the accuracy
tests. It was ironic that he failed on the inability to produce a clone.

Sakura was just a little bit away from him, beaming as she told her parents about the exam. Her
mother wore a formal dress. The older ninja was wearing one of the perfumes she had created
based on orange lilies. Sasuke’s father stood in more casual wear, smelling of a combination of all
the perfumes in their shop. They hugged her and told her they were proud of her, that they would
always love her. The lies left a bitter taste in Sasuke’s mouth.

Sasuke watched from a corner of the playground. He leaned against a cold wall. The others all
thought he had gone home already. Not a strange conclusion to reach. It is what he had done in the
original timeline, going straight home to put away his academy things and resume his training.
Back then training had been the only thing that did not make him feel miserable.

He had been completely unaware of what had happened to Naruto the night after graduation. All
his classmates had been. The official story had been that Naruto had assisted with something and
had gotten an honorary headband. Nobody had trouble believing it, because they all figured that
was the only way such a ‘deadbeat’ could become a genin.

He had been surprised when Naruto had later told them the story. The night of graduation was
when Naruto had learned he had a demon inside of him, the night when he mastered his most
important technique and the night that he made someone acknowledge him for the very first time.
It was at Iruka’s funeral that Naruto had told the story, with three bottles of sake in his belly. Even
then it was too painful for him to talk about the details.

Sasuke was curious about what had happened. His Naruto had tried telling him, so he was okay
with Sasuke knowing. Maybe that was a rationalisation. The problem was that Sasuke really could
not let Naruto put himself in danger without his protection. He had already changed the timeline
enough that there was no guarantee Naruto would be as safe as the last time.

So Sasuke lingered on the playground while slowly the other graduates left. At some point their
chunin instructor took Naruto aside. They headed for the top of the academy to talk. Sasuke wanted
to follow, but needed to make sure no ANBU would see it. They were out of range for him to
sense, but his clones had been tracking them. Sasuke popped one of them for an update. Their
attention was diverted, while his personal guards were far outside the walls waiting for him to
leave.

Knowing where all the eyes were focussed on, it was not difficult to let his chakra signature
disappear and then make his way to the Academy roof without being seen. He slipped under the
roof with a weak earth technique. He did not have to wait long before Naruto and Mizuki had their
conversation. He eavesdropped. And with every word, his desire to kill the man increased.

Mizuki waited until just the right moment to tell Naruto of the one chance he would have to still be
a genin. All Naruto would have to do was steal a single scroll from the Hokage tower. One that
only looked dangerous and forbidden. But if it came from an Academy teacher, of course it was
just a test and not treason. Naruto sounded hopeful, encouraged by their teacher’s charade.

The words themselves started to blur. Sasuke’s body was shaking with anger and every ounce of
his willpower had to go into not letting his eyes start a fire large enough to burn the whole city to
the ground.

Breathe in. Breathe out. The anger was not useful.

He was still shaking a little when Mizuki left. Of all the emotions to keep under control, Sasuke
always had the most trouble with anger.

It was dark before Naruto started moving over the roofs of the building towards the centre of
Konoha. Sasuke’s clones had informed him when all the ANBU had left. Even the ones that were
supposed to watch him. They must have assumed he had snuck off. Sasuke emerged from the roof
and followed Naruto from a small distance.

Naruto was sneaky, but there was much left for him to learn. If half the town was not out
celebrating their new batch of ninja, Naruto would have been spotted. It was still impressive to see.
This was how Naruto performed when he was in his element and desperate enough to fully apply
himself.

Sasuke followed Naruto to the Hokage tower and waited for him to come back out. The ANBU
patrols that should have been a problem were interrupted. It was more than just the village’s
distraction. Mizuki had prepared for tonight. He had done something with the ANBU’s shifts to
create openings. After a few minutes of searching between all the signals in the village, he could
sense the chunin. Mizuki was doing nothing overtly suspicious, but he was stalling the ANBU
whenever he encountered one.

It took longer than Sasuke would have liked before Naruto came back out again with the scroll
strapped to his back. Naruto was even more careful than before as he stayed out of sight and moved
quickly outside of the village. Sasuke followed him. Apparently Mizuki had not noticed Naruto’s
retreat. He was still creating diversions when Sasuke moved too far away to sense him.

Naruto opened the scroll and learned the kage bunshin. Time passed slowly as Sasuke looked for
any approaching chakra signatures. Naruto had created a working clone just a few minutes before
Iruka approached the boy. Naruto’s celebratory exclamation drew Iruka straight to him.

Naruto’s optimism looked heart-breaking. He was convinced he had just passed the test and was
going to be a genin. When Iruka realised what was going on, it was already too late. Mizuki had
arrived.

Give the scroll to me.

Everyone has kept it a secret from you.

Naruto, you are really the nine-tailed fox.

You are the one who killed Iruka’s parents.

Why do you think everybody hates you?

Why do you think everybody stays away?

Sasuke watched from the side-lines as the altercation progressed. He was clenching his fists so hard
his palms were bleeding. He wanted to help. He hated seeing Naruto in danger like this. Only the
absolute knowledge that the nine-tails would heal any stray wounds kept Sasuke from finishing the
fight for him. He saw the massive shuriken heading towards Naruto and held his breath, ready to
sunshin in its path… only to see it disappear into Iruka’s back. He instantly understood just how
much Naruto meant to the man.

If only I had been a better teacher for you.

Naruto ran away. Iruka and Mizuki followed. And then came The Speech.

Naruto and I are the same.

You hate the demon fox!

I do. I hate the fox.

Naruto was starting to cry.

But I do not hate the boy.

The boy is my student. Loving, kind, always tries his best.

He is not the demon. He is a citizen of Konoha. He is Naruto Uzumaki.

No wonder Naruto had never told the story. Sasuke’s sharingan eyes were activated and taking in
every detail, permanent photographic memory. He wanted to remember this scene for Naruto
exactly as it had happened. So that whomever he wanted to share it with, Sasuke could help relay
this night.

When Naruto kicked Mizuki’s ass, Sasuke smiled wide. If only his classmates could have seen this.
Nobody would ever underestimate Naruto again.

Sasuke fled away as soon as it was over. He had been ready to help if needed, but it had all worked
out fine without his assistance. He left a disguised clone behind to punish Mizuki for his actions.
Naruto and Iruka would leave him behind for the ANBU to find. Konoha would only torture him.
Sasuke wanted to do worse to him before he was jailed.

Slipping into Konoha was easy. Getting past the patrols looking for Naruto was only slightly
challenging. He got to his home without incident where a single pair of ANBU were waiting in the
ceiling. It was too late to reasonably run into Naruto today, as tempting as it was to take an evening
scroll and intercept him, but he would go look for the blond soon. He was running several
dialogues through his mind, when he heard knocking at the front door.

“Uchiha Sasuke, The Hokage demands your presence immediately!”

Sasuke opened the door. “What’s going on?”

“An important possession of Konoha was stolen tonight. The Hokage thinks you can assist in its
retrieval.”

“I figured as an Uchiha genin I would be valued as a ninja, but isn’t this pushing it a bit?”

The ANBU did not laugh. Sasuke closed the door behind him and followed the guard.

What had he missed? The guards patrolling the academy would have assumed he had left when
they could not sense him. The guards waiting for him would have assumed they had missed him.
They would first check the house where they would not find him. Then a search would start. He
should not have been a priority once the scroll was stolen and Naruto was the suspect.

He should not be under suspicion, yet he was. There was another unknown factor at play. It would
be impossible to guess, so he instead focussed on the upcoming encounter.

Obviously, he wanted the suspicions to be lifted. But this was also a meeting with the most
important man in Konoha. Possibly including other notable ninja, depending on who was in his
presence. He had a chance to put the Uchiha back on the map.

Just in case, he did prepare the particulars of one cover story. Which location he had gone to after a
nightmare had woken him up the night before. How cold it had been, which plants he had strolled
by, which thoughts had passed his mind. How he had practiced replacement techniques from the
Academy to his house that afternoon. His clones had enough information from the ANBU patrols
that he could create a theoretical lucky stroll that passed them all by.

He was just deciding on which smell he had picked to disguise his path as he went home, when
they reached the Sandaime’s office. The doors opened slowly. The Third was waiting behind his
desk. Beside him stood his advisors, and around the room were various ninja guards of high rank.
None of the major clans were present, though. Nobody who was in the same league as the village’s
leader or his advisors.

“Good evening, Sandaime-sama.” Sasuke said.

“Congratulation on passing the exam. I trust it was not too difficult.”

“Difficulty is relative. Since I was prepared, it did not pose a challenge.”

The Hokage nodded, and took a sip from his tea. “Very prepared it seems. Doesn’t four weapon
pouches seem like too much?”

“To me, it seems like just enough.” He touched each pouch in turn. “It reminds me who I’m
fighting for.” He touched the one on his left arms, the had once belonged to Itachi. It had a large
Uchiha symbol on the front, worn from age and neglect. It reminded him of the faded symbol
Madara wore on his armour. “It also reminds me whom I’m fighting.”

“Yes.” Another sip of tea. “I cannot say it was a wise choice to go through your parents’ rooms
without supervision. There is always the danger of hidden traps when dealing with a ninja’s
personal space and fighting equipment.”

“I believed myself to be capable enough.”

“Apparently.” The old man looked over some papers. He was stalling.

“I heard something got stolen from the tower?”

“Yes. Did you see anything? I don’t believe you were home tonight.”

“I wasn’t, no. But I didn’t see anything.”

“It can still help to know where not to look. Where were you tonight, Sasuke?”

“Does it matter?”

The Sandaime gave him a look.

“I did not feel like going home. I used a replacement technique to get out of the Academy after the
graduation ceremony was over. I didn’t want to deal with the other students. Then I just wandered
around. I did not pay much attention where I was going, but I know I was mostly in the east side of
town.”

One of the counsellors got impatient. “Did you see where Naruto went before you left?”

The Sandaime glared at her. “The real question is why you are lying to us. You left the walls of
Konoha after your graduation.”

The technically-genin weighed his options carefully. The Sandaime had spoken that line with
certainty. He also had a crystal ball that let him look at any person inside of Konoha. A crystal ball
that he had probably directed at Sasuke. Hiding one’s chakra as fully as Sasuke did shielded from
the ball, but it was not a technique commonly picked up by academy students. The Sandaime,
depending on when he first used the technique, would conclude that Sasuke was not in the village
since Mizuki’s conversation with Naruto where Sasuke has started shielding himself. From
Sarutobi’s perspective, Sasuke had disappeared and suddenly reappeared, the same night the scroll
was stolen. The strange thing was why the Sandaime had checked his location at all.

There were six guards in the room, the two advisors and then Sarutobi Hiruzen. He would need at
least four clones to fight the ninja, if it got to that. The guards were spread out and his Sharingan
worked on eyesight. Three clones were needed to capture the guards in illusions. The fourth clone
would take on the two advisors. The two ninja would not be strong, not at their age, but they would
be prepared to call for additional help.

That left the Sandaime for himself. The man was a specialist in big ninjutsu attacks, which he
would not be able to use inside this office. Taijutsu was his secondary specialty and he had dealt
with enough Uchiha in his life to be considered fairly adept resisting genjutsu. Sasuke’s best bet
was to use all the weapons he had with him and go all out. However, Sarutobi would be incredibly
tough and Sasuke did not know whether he could push his younger body enough to guarantee a
victory. Being surprised by the limitations of his own body in a fight against a man of Sarutobi’s
experience was risky.

There was a large window that would serve as an exit. Two guards blocked it. He had clones
outside this office, but it was impossible to communicate with them. If he had to escape, he would
have to create his own diversion, take out the guards quickly enough without the Sandaime and
advisors stalling him, and then make his way out of the village.

Not the best resolution, but Sasuke always felt better when he had alternative options to fall back
on. It grounded him to know there was a violent solution he could use if all non-violent solutions
went awry.

And once grounded, he could look on.

He looked at the counsellor to the Sandaime’s right. The woman had asked about Naruto, even
though she must have known about the lie as well. She did not think Sasuke was a suspect and it
had to be because she was convinced Naruto was. Sasuke had forgotten how opposed they were to
the nine-tails jinchuriki.

That had to be the missing piece to this puzzle.

They would have assumed Naruto was guilty. Sarutobi would have asked the ANBU for any
suspicious activity in the hope of finding alternative suspects, and they would have reported the
conversation with Sasuke. It would have prompted the Sandaime to check his location. The longer
Sasuke remained under suspicion, the longer Sarutobi could think Naruto might be innocent.

By trying to ensure the proper events transpired that night, Sasuke had changed them.

He made a showing of looking around and making himself seem intimidated by the ninja in the
room. “I did not think you would treat this so seriously. I did not really do anything wrong.”

The Sandaime’s teacup was replaced with a pipe. “Then what did you do?”

“He’ll get in trouble if I tell you…” Sasuke said.

“Who are you talking about?”

Sasuke looked exactly like a reluctant twelve-year-old. “I don’t want you to fail Naruto again.”

A confused expression crossed the old man’s face.

Sasuke slumped his shoulders, seemingly defeated. “I know about the extra examination. I
overheard Mizuki-sensei and wanted to help Naruto. But I swear he did not need anything. I did not
even have to distract the guards. He was able to do it all by himself.”

“Mizuki told him to steal the scroll?”

“Why else would he do it?”

The two advisors besides the hokage frowned. Sasuke started to remember now. They were the
kind of people to expect a nine-tailed beast attack every time Naruto got sent to detention.

“Where was he to take the scroll?” The Hokage signalled an ANBU and whispered into his ear
while waiting for the answer.

“Somewhere south-east of the village. I followed him to the gates and then hid in the trees for a
few hours.”

The ANBU left as soon as Sasuke mentioned the direction. They would probably find the genin
very soon. With only five guards remaining in the room, maybe he could incapacitate them with
three clones now instead of four. That would leave his original body with more chakra and better
chances against Sarutobi.

The Sandaime shook his head. “Surely the guards would have noticed you.”

“I didn’t want my presence to make Naruto’s success questionable. The Henge no jutsu is useful
for that.”

“But not enough to fool the guards. They can sense your chakra signal.”

“Of course they can. That’s why I changed it.” Sasuke said.
The people in the room seemed sceptical.

“It’s not a very hard shaping technique.” Sasuke noted, reaching within himself to manipulate his
chakra. Compared to hiding his chakra, this was child’s play. But its side-effects that it could
theoretically also confuse the Sandaime’s crystal ball. “And a little goes a long way.”

“Your teachers never mentioned you learning a technique like that.”

Sasuke shrugged. “Why would I have told them?”

“But why did you help Naruto at all?” The female advisor said.

Sasuke looked away. “I talked to him this morning. I offered to help him train. Told him I was
looking forward to being in a ninja team with him if he graduated.”

She grimaced. “Excuse me. Where did you hear you will be in the same team together?”

“It’s not like anybody told me. But nobody had to. It’s the most sensible choice. And since I would
have to make friends with him eventually, I wanted to get a head start.”

The Sandaime looked Sasuke in the eye, holding his gaze for a few seconds. Sasuke showed
youthful defiance by not budging, but diverted his gaze eventually because he would still have been
a little intimidated at that age.

The Third was still not speaking. He was using his authority. Sasuke had often done the same to
the ninja on his squad. People had a tendency to confess if you remained silent long enough. To
keep up appearances, Sasuke had two choices. Either he would have to confess about something
else, carefully making sure that it was the right level of incriminating, or he could go on the
offensive.

“So Mizuki-sensei is a traitor.” Sasuke said with some shock, as if he had just figured it out.

“Why do you say that?”

“It is obvious you did not order the theft from your earlier response. I just don’t know what good
the forbidden scroll would do him. Anything that forbidden must have layers upon layers of
security and fall-back measures.”

The Third coughed.

“It would be ludicrous to put any meaningful secrets in a single scroll and then call it forbidden.
Obviously, that was the protected encrypted file while the key has been separated in at least three
pieces and spread out in seemingly medium security areas. The history vault might be a good place,
somewhere between all the original mission reports. Those only get consulted if there’s been a
mistake in copying them.”

“Still, it would not be good for it to be known that an encrypted file of our secrets could have been
stolen. We do have a reputation to uphold.”

Sasuke could appreciate a good bluff when he saw one. The Third gave no inclination at all that
the forbidden scroll was filled to the brim with simply written instruction for A-rank jutsu that
should never leave the village. Sasuke ought to know exactly how destructive those jutsu could be.
He had mastered them all and had been forced to drastically modify half of them before they had
use in any battle where he did not want entire villages to be destroyed.
“Mizuki would need a way out of the country. Or some good hiding places. Good enough that no
ninja in Konoha would know about them. Or he would need to already have connections with an
outside faction. Possibly a party interested in forbidden jutsu. Orochimaru comes to mind.”

“The list of S-rank missing nin is also not taught at the academy. Another thing you learned in the
Uchiha archives?”

“Of course.” Sasuke looked incredulous. “Did you honestly think the Uchiha with all its
experienced ninja would not have left behind a Bingo book of missing nin?”

“Well, speaking of secrets, how did you know we had a team in mind with you and Naruto?”

“It’s basic statistics.” Sasuke said simply. He got confused stares in return. “There were nine ninja
of note in my class. Three teams. Taking into account family connections, there is a most probable
division.”

The male advisor was smiling. He was finding this amusing. “Anything more specific?”

There was a balance to strike between revealing too little and making it suspicious he had come to
the conclusion Naruto would be on his team, and revealing too much and making them suspicious
on other grounds. At least the decisions were already made and nothing he said would make them
change anything. “Shikamaru, Ino and Choji have access to family abilities that can easily bind
enemies in one fashion or another. That gives them three different ways to capture others. Most
enemies will not have a counter for all three methods. Hinata, Kiba and Shino are already trained in
tracking through sight, scent and touch respectively. Again, ninja will not easily be able to block all
three of their detection methods.”

“You are very well informed.”

“I see them daily. I might not socialise with my classmates, but it’d be impossible to spend so much
time with them without noticing these things.”

The Sandaime stared for a few seconds, on the verge of pressing Sasuke. The old ninja let it go
instead. “Continue.”

“The Uchiha are renowned to be capable fighters and I am no exception. I am the strongest
ninjutsu user of our class. During our education at the academy, Sakura was the only one with
better chakra control than me. She would be able to learn medical jutsu and genjutsu beyond any
level I would be able to achieve. Likewise, Naruto has greater chakra reserves than I do. He lacks
the control to utilise it in big ninjutsu techniques, but he would be able to engage in taijutsu longer
and more fiercely than I could. They are the two graduates who make most sense to team me up
with.”

“You have some interesting theories. But you are making a lot of assumptions. For instance, Choji
Akimichi, Hinata Hyuuga and Kiba Inuzuka got excellent combat grades and they have a fair share
of potential.”

“They are also exclusively specialised in close-range taijutsu and rely on a gimmick for their
effectiveness. No offence. Most ninja who can counter one of them, can counter all three. They
will not be learning traditional taijutsu forms. So when I made my probability assessments, I found
a combination with them among the less likely scenarios.”

“With 27 students, there are a lot of possibilities to consider.”

“There are seven clan heirs in this year’s class, four of which Noble clans. The Uchiha are a weak
clan right now, with only one member. It makes sense I would be put in a team with non-clan ninja.
I am the only one who is not in a position to complain about it.”

“We did not choose a weak team for you…”

“I did not say that my team was weak. I merely observed that one of the seven was not going to be
placed in a team with other clan heirs and that it would cost you the least to choose me.
Considering the Akimichi would revolt if you broke up the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, that leaves Hinata,
Shino and Kiba as the other team. The Hyuuga and Aburama are long allies and would be happy
with the combination. The Inuzuka are an old clan like those two. More impulsive, but there have
been many positive examples of such collaborations.”

“Is that all?”

“Well, I have to admit there was another reason.”

“Which was?”

“I think it probable I’ll end up with Naruto, but there might also be some optimism bias creeping
in. I don’t know. It’s embarrassing to say it out loud. Out of all my classmates, I just think Naruto
would be the best as a teammate for me.”

“And why’s that?”

“Naruto is sunshine personified. And I could use some more light in my life.”

The Sandaime nodded slowly. “This all does not explain why you wanted to break the rules to help
Naruto tonight.”

“I talked to him this morning, but I have been paying attention for a lot longer. He has potential,
more than any of us.”

“But not enough potential to pass an additional test?”

“His basic skills are lacking greatly right now. He needs somebody to give him a chance.”

“I have to admit Naruto’s currently… unvarnished.” The Sandaime said. “Though I cannot
comment on team allotment, I would like it if there was someone keeping an eye out for him. Are
you saying you could be that someone?”

“I would like that. I think Naruto and I could teach each other a lot. But I think more than a peer,
he needs a good rolemodel. A jonin instructor whom he can look up to.”

Sasuke did not quite believe that. Naruto needed people to believe in him, but Naruto hardly cared
how old those people were or what position they held. But adults really liked to believe they were
needed by children, ignoring evidence to the contrary. It was why as an adult he tended to take the
form of a child if he needed to infiltrate an enemy village.

The female advisor stepped forward. “Any ideas on who that may be? Who will be teaching the
teams you think will be formed?”

Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi. “The records at the Uchiha compound are too outdated when it comes to
jounin instructors. I do not know who are available.”

“That is easily fixed.” She got up and went to a bookcase in the corner. She looked pensively and
then found a particular sheet of paper. She turned it over to Sasuke. “I’m curious what your
thoughts are.”

It was an incomplete list of currently active jounin, though it seemed to be dated from a few
months earlier and was very limited about providing extra information. Good precaution. Not even
in a simple test did the female ninja give out information that could accidentally leak to enemies.

Sasuke weighed how much he knew about jounin written down with how much he ought to know.
“Hatake Kakashi… as in Sharingan Kakashi?” Sasuke asked.

“Yes, the copycat ninja.”

“So he is the only one in the village who is able to train me to use my eyes properly.”

The Hokage shook his head. “You think I will place him on your team just for a shared bloodline
limit?”

“He is the most skilled ninja on the list, specialized in ninjutsu, so it would make sense to place
him on one of the three strongest teams. Ino-Shika-cho contains a lot of ninjutsu use, but either
their secret techniques can be copied and the clans will have reason to keep Kakashi away, or the
techniques cannot be copied and Kakashi will be limited in his ability to guide them.”

“Indeed, the techniques cannot be copied by use of the sharingan.”

“I think the main problem for that team will be motivation. Shikamaru is the laziest person I have
ever met, and choji only cares about food. Ino seems marginally more motivated, but often gets
caught up in their antics. They require someone with a lot of discipline, which is most commonly
found in taijutsu specialists. Your son Asuma is a very prominent melee fighter and I hear he was
disciplined enough to become a member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.”

Sasuke frowned, pretending to be deep in thought. He had made countless genin teams himself, and
it was easy to find the reasoning when you already knew the answers and could work backwards.
“Hinata, Shino and Kiba each come from families who are well equipped to train them extensively
in practical techniques. They would benefit most from someone with a highly technical knowledge
base. In general, genjutsu masters have the best theoretical base. There is only one genjutsu
specialist on the list. Even though she just promoted to jounin, those three are also an easy-to-
handle group so you would have the freedom to choose an instructor with less experience. Kurenai
would fit.”

Sasuke put the paper down on the desk in front of him. “As a ninjutsu specialist, I would greatly
benefit from Kakashi’s training. Naruto is stubborn enough to become strong no matter what, but
Kakashi’s famous sense of teamwork will help him. He needs friends more than anything. Sakura
possesses the theoretical knowledge but has not found out how this will benefit her as a ninja. She
needs a teacher that is smart enough to help her with the transition from theory to practice. And
Kakashi is nothing if not infamous for using his intelligence for practical battle strategies.”

“You have given your classmates a great deal of thought, it appears.”

Sasuke shrugged. “Wouldn’t anyone?”

An ANBU appeared in the window. He walked over to the Sandaime and whispered into his ear.

“It seems Naruto is fine. I will have a talk with him as soon as he is back to the village. In the
meantime, I think it has gotten long past your bedtime. You should rest and enjoy the next few
days.”
“Thanks Ho…” Sasuke choked on the word. Just that afternoon he had said it plenty of times. But
saying it to someone like this was different. There was only one man that deserved to be addressed
with that title. He covered the hesitancy with a cough. “Thank you, Sandaime-sama.”

Sasuke stood to make his leave, but hesitated. There was one more thing he needed to address.

“Somebody was watching my house. That’s how you knew the moment I got home and dropped
the henge. But I did not see anyone. Are guards stationed at the Uchiha clan house more often?
That would not comply with the Konoha’s charter’s prohibition of unannounced surveillance of a
noble clan.”

“All recent graduates are checked up on routinely, but we do not make structural surveillance a
policy. Now please, I have a long night ahead of me. I will see you when you come collect your
first mission.”

The Third spoke with a kind of finality that was unusual for him.

Sasuke nodded and turned. He stepped out of the office and waited as the doors closed behind him.
He was about to leave when the doors opened again and the male advisor slipped through.
“Sasuke-kun, you did very well on your final exams.”

“Thank you, Homura-sama.”

“I will let you know, I was opposed to the ANBU guarding you as if you were a normal genin. As
you pointed out, an Uchiha ninja should be awarded certain privileges.” Homura handed Sasuke a
small scroll. “There is a meeting of the noble families next week. Hyuuga-san raised the possibility
of extending you with an invitation, which was drafted up formally today. I have to admit we
assumed you were not yet ready. You proved us wrong tonight with your deductions. I apologise
for thinking ill of such a prestigious member of the Uchiha family.”

Sasuke nodded. “Send Hyuuga-sama my gratitude.”

“I will. The logistics are all explained in the invitation. Now I must return to the Hokage.
Goodnight, Sasuke-kun.”

“Goodnight.”

Last time he had been this young, the invitation had been delivered on the night of the meeting
while Sasuke was out training. He came home, read it quickly, and then dismissed it. Homura had
chosen this time to deliver it in person, after the Hokage had treated Sasuke with suspicion. They
favoured Sasuke. Moreover, they knew Sasuke had talked to Naruto. They probably saw this
invitation as a way to keep them apart.

He had a week to prepare for it. For now though, there was something else troubling him. It was
something he would need to focus on as he headed home. In a blind spot between the tower’s
guards and his own, he created six clones to relieve the others. They dispersed quickly and left
Sasuke to go home alone.

He had made a mistake with the ANBU.

He was not supposed to make mistakes.

He took a few deep breaths. He needed to figure out how it had happened.

He had known his house was being watched. He had known this when he had followed Naruto out
 of town. He knew they would note his absence. But his mind had not registered their presence as a
real problem. When he thought about them now, they felt more like an annoyance than anything
serious. It felt like something he had to tolerate.

It was how he had felt about his surveillance for a very long time.

Being part of the leadership of a large village meant Sasuke’s safety was more important than
privacy ever could be. Sasuke had never been completely alone. Naruto had complained about the
ANBU presence often, but had learned to cope by pulling pranks on his guards, each more
elaborate than the last. Sasuke had merely devoted himself to insulting them in increasingly
complex ways using increasingly unbreakable code.

When he wanted to actually be alone, he would get rid of them. He was not an enemy and he was
allowed to have moments when nobody saw what he was doing. It was a bit of a game. If they
were offended that he was able to slip away from them, they had their own incompetence to thank
for that.

But it was different now. It was unsettling to become aware of how unsure he was of the allegiance
of the guards that watched him. He gladly gave up his privacy for added safety. He felt a good deal
more reluctant when the safety was not guaranteed.

The ANBU were not Sasuke’s friends. They were a problem that needed to be solved. He needed to
stop seeing them as guards altogether and start treating them as spies. Worse than spies. They were
the ones with back-up while Sasuke was by himself. He should be thinking of Konoha as an enemy
village that he was infiltrating. There were enemies all around him, but they would not let Sasuke
know he was being watched.

He got a ladder from his shed and placed it against the back of the house. He opened the entry to
the house’s hidden floor, two feet of space where ANBU would stay for longer periods of time. It
required a bit of seal unlocking, but his father had taught him the codes when he was a toddler. The
half dozen sentries had moved away when they had sensed Sasuke approaching. Luckily, talking to
them was not his intent.

He placed a few traps in the place between the boards. Nothing damaging, but things that made
sounds or would leave a visible impression. He was trying to come across as a paranoid kid, with
no bad intentions.

It would cause the ANBU only a little discomfort to get around the traps, but it would still slow
them down. Eventually one would slip up and make a sound. It was only natural when the
surveillance was this systematic. The more that happened, the more justified he would be to
increase the security. He would get them out completely eventually.

With his measures set up, he headed to his bedroom. A soft bed was a luxury he had not enjoyed in
ages. He had a pillow to lay under his head. And there were blankets with clean sheets and delicate
smells. He got the memories of his clones as they popped and were replaced. They had seen
nothing dangerous, other than what Sasuke had already seen happen to Naruto. Sakura had spent
the night celebrating with her family. Everyone was safe and his other preparations were
underway. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Chapter End Notes

Introduction is done! Mostly. Next week (October 14th): Spreading his Wings, where
we actually have interaction with Naruto and Sakura.
 Spreading his wings
Chapter Summary

Sasuke is returned to the past and the immediate problems are taken care of. Time to
take a moment to rest and take stock. And then accidentally do more than planned
anyway.

Chapter Notes

I enjoyed writing this story, but I REALLY enjoyed writing the chapter openings with
glimpses into the future that once was. And this is one of my favourites.

Oh, there's also a little worldbuilding in this chapter about the creation of ninjutsu and
the powerful entities behind the scenes. If this feels strange, then rest assured that they
won't be mentioned again for a while.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“There is no way you could have done that.” Naruto was gasping.

“Come on, it is not that hard to believe.” Sakura complained, while she ran diagnostic scans on
three patients at once. “You multitask all the time.”

“Yes. By becoming multiple people. The reason I can have this talk here with you instead of doing
my paperwork, leading the council meeting, encouraging academy students and training, is that I
am actually doing all those things at the same time. I do not, however, fire half my colleagues and
then run a hospital by myself for god knows how many days.”

“It’s only been three days.”

“Four.” Sasuke corrected. “I’ve been having daily meetings with the former hospital chief.”

Sakura had three pens writing on the patients’ charts, held by chakra strings. “Don’t get me
started on that incompetent excuse for a medic. I warned him twice about the structural problems
with procedures and he refused to act.”

Sasuke shook his head. “He’s trying to press criminal charges.”

“For what? Being held responsible for patient well care?”

“Yes.” Naruto said. “But mostly for you literally kicking him out of the hospital. It takes a special
kind of focus to use just enough force to eject him out of a window and make him land in a garbage
heap three blocks away.”

“Some things are worth going the extra mile for. Defenestration is one of them.” Sakura moved to
the next room while she talked without looking away from her duties, while Naruto and Sasuke
barely kept up with her. “It’s his own fault anyway. He said I would not be able to do a better job
than him and those other doctors. He dared me to try. Dared me!”

Naruto scratched his chin. “Which is how thirty-three doctors suddenly found themselves being
forcibly removed and getting detained at the Hokage tower…”

Sakura smiled at the fond memories. “You should have seen the look on their faces as I explained
that grossly incompetent care for military personal constitutes treason and is grounds to get the
ANBU involved. Though I don’t know why they’d complain that much. They were released after a
couple of hours.”

“The point is,” Naruto said, “you have utterly humiliated the village’s doctors. You have stepped
on their toes. They are demanding I forbid you from ever setting foot in the hospital again. I am
tempted to agree with them since you have not slept in four days and I know you’re only standing
now through the overuse of your chakra pills.”

Sakura sighed. “Okay, I might have overdone it a little bit. But what do you suggest? Going back
to the way it was and having an incompetent hospital treating our villagers?”

“Would you mind?”

Sakura glared at him.

“Then of course not.” Naruto said. “But I do want to appoint you as the hospital’s chief of
operations.”

“What?”

“Yes.” Sasuke said. “If you’re going to do this with or without Naruto’s permission, you might as
well get the authority to delegate and survive this leadership. So, as your first order of business,
I’d suggest hiring new doctors and making sure they are all properly instructed and trained so
they can meet the standards however high you want to set them.”

Naruto grinned. “I believe there’s a large group of unemployed men with experience in medicine at
the Hokage Tower. I will inform them they can send in their application together with anyone else
interested.”

~*~

Sasuke rose slowly. He was awake as soon as he opened his eyes, but scanning his surroundings
took time. His eyes went over his room and made sure nothing had been moved. Then he reached
out his chakra further, identifying each signature he found. Once he had removed the possibility of
enemies, he dressed himself and made his way to the kitchen. Though the rice and tomatoes he had
would make for a decent meal, he was eager to gather some more diverse ingredients to cook with.
He was expecting an orange ninja to come visit soon and there would be hell to pay if there was
nothing to feed him.

Naruto would be gone most of the day for questioning. He would try to catch him in the evening
on his way back home. He wanted to try looking for Sakura instead. But he needed to be careful
there. He needed to plan their encounter well. He needed the perfect approach if he did not want to
alienate her. He would figure something out while shopping. The market was just a few blocks
away.

Sasuke browsed the local wares. It surprised him that there were so many foreign fruits and
vegetables to choose from. During the war, the markets had a far less diverse selection. He was
eager to try some of the products he had been without for a long time. Just a little further into town,
there was fresh fish in all kinds of varieties.

He was just comparing the quality of various cuts of salmon when he heard it. It was Sakura’s
laugh.

How he had missed it. She was not often free enough to laugh. She cared too much about what
others thought of her and how she would be perceived. She was with her father, helping him with
carrying the groceries.

He could see her now. There was pride in her eyes, as she walked through the village for the first
time with a headband instead of a ribbon. This was her day of triumph. Graduating not only with
great scores, but as the best kunoichi of the year. It would be wrong to impede on it. It would only
be one more day before they had a valid excuse to spend time together. Sasuke could wait. He was
a patient man.

And yet he found himself standing next to Sakura before he had time to stop himself. Or rather,
before he had gathered enough mental strength to keep his muscles from moving automatically
towards her.

She was staring at him. “Sasuke-kun?”

The affection he felt for her was overpowering. It was taking him the greatest effort to not just to
swing his arms around her and hug her until the world ended. Instead he had to act normal. The
affection was not useful. With great effort, he sealed away as much of it as he could and he limited
his response to a non-committed grunt.

She practically swooned. And it was adorable. It was ironic how little Sasuke had appreciated her
charms when he was her age. He had gotten to know her so well, seeing her like this was like
watching baby pictures.

“You did well during the exams.” Sasuke said it as a statement, not a compliment.

“It was nothing…” her cheeks were getting redder, and she was dragging a foot across the ground,
her hands behind her back.

“There is something I believe you should be aware of though.” He said, quickly choosing the best
option he had so far among his plans. It would not be perfect, but it would do well enough. “I
recently heard that the jounin instructors like to give their own test after graduation and evaluate
students specifically on abilities learned beyond the curriculum of the Academy.”

She paled a little. As a civilian, her access to files was extremely limited. Very few techniques
were described on paper, and only a fraction of those were available to genin. Finding one within a
day would be tough, mastering it nearly impossible. Nevertheless, Sasuke could see her mind
already at work, cataloguing the techniques she could get her hands on, and which ones would be
easy to learn.

“I actually have a suggestion. I have a scroll that teaches a minor genjutsu. I could lend it to you.
I’ll bring it with me when we’ll gather with the other graduates at the Academy tomorrow.”

“That’d be great.” Sakura averted her eyes from Sasuke’s. “But I really don’t know whether I’d be
able to get it down that quickly.”

“It’s well within your capabilities and I’m sure your teammates will be able to help you. In fact,
I’ve heard rumours that we will end up on the same team together.”
“Really Sasuke-kun? That’d be great!”

“It would be. And then we can work on it together.”

“Our first ninja team…” Sakura had a dreamy stare. “Who do you think the third member will be?”

“Probably Naruto.”

She laughed. “Now that would be a joke.”

Sasuke shrugged. “No matter who they are, we will form a strong team together and become great
ninja.”

Sakura nodded, but still seemed worried as she said goodbye and re-joined her father.

By the time Sasuke had found everything he needed, it was late in the morning. He sensed that a lot
of ninja who had been guarding the Hokage tower had scattered through the village. Naruto would
be released earlier than expected then, and he moved to intercept him. Naruto was heading to his
home, as expected, and was completely distracted when Sasuke caught up with him.

The source of the distraction caught Sasuke off guard. He had forgotten about Konohamaru. This
was the day he became friends with Naruto. They looked up as Sasuke showed up in front of them.

“I believe congratulations are in order.” Sasuke said.

“Heh?” Naruto looked around in confusion, before realizing that Sasuke was referring to the thing
now replacing his signature goggles. “Isn’t it awesome? I got it cause I totally learned a new
technique in one night, and it’s much better than the normal bunshin technique!”

“Of course you did.” Sasuke smiled. It was just like Naruto to gloat like that, without any idea that
people might not take him seriously.

“He incapacitated Jii-san with it!” Konohamaru beamed.

“Ne ne, Konohamaru. That’s not the technique I am talking about.”

“You have a greater technique than the sexy no jutsu?” He gasped. “Why aren’t you teaching me
that one?!”

“Do not underestimate the might of the technique I personally created!” Naruto was getting into
one of his moods. “I put blood, sweat and tears into perfecting the technique that can penetrate all
conventional defences and bring even Hokage to their knees.”

Konohamaru was getting caught up in the energy. It was endearing to watch. Sasuke always felt
that Naruto had taught Konohamaru well. It was why the Sandaime’s grandson had made such a
good Hokage. Even if it had only been for a few hours.

“Would you like to show me this new technique?”

Naruto grinned, before his hands moved together and two solid clones appeared besides him, both
holding up a thumb. They quickly disappeared again and Naruto continued walking, with Sasuke
and the tiny Academy student following besides him. “It’s awesome, right?”

“Almost as awesome as the ability to shoot fire from your mouth.” Sasuke said with a smirk.
“Which places you as the second most impressive ninja of the year. And being second to an Uchiha
is an incredible achievement.”
Naruto glared at him, but responded with a twisted smile. “Don’t get too comfortable on that throne
of yours. It’ll hurt more when I kick you off it.”

“I expect nothing less from the future Hokage.”

Naruto laughed heartily. “That’s right, and don’t you forget it. I’m going to be the ruler of the
whole village, and everyone is going to finally recognize me as the awesome ninja I really am!”

Sasuke nodded, a huge smile on his face. God, how he had missed the banter. “Have you given any
thought to my offer from the other day?”

“What offer?” Naruto said with a confused look on his face.

“Training together. Even if you’ve gotten a lot better throwing kunai, I’m sure there are still some
things I can help you with.”

Naruto stopped walking. “Konohamaru, can you go on ahead for a bit? I’ll catch up in a second.”

“What’s up, boss?”

“Nothing. Just go on ahead, pipsqueak.”

The academy student nodded and moved ahead. Naruto leaned against the wall. “What are you
playing at, Sasuke? You approach me out of the blue, and you’re playing nice all of a sudden. Why
are you so bent on training together? Is this some prank you’re planning? Cause, news flash,
you’re not going to win in a pranking war. If you think I’ll hold back just cause you’re ‘the great
Uchiha-sama’, you’ve got another thing coming.” His fists were clenched.

Sasuke stood still for a few seconds. There were too many emotions going through his body. He
tackled them one by one and pushed them aside, until only the information remained. He was
disappointed Naruto was so sceptical. He was saddened about Naruto’s childhood that he would
respond so defensively when somebody reached out. He was angry at the villagers who had
ensured Naruto’s isolation and he was angry at Naruto for biting the hand Sasuke offered.

When he responded he made sure he was speaking slowly and deliberately. “My offer is a real one.
Now, I could point out that out of the two of us, you are in fact the only one known to play pranks,
but I doubt that will win me any points. I could point out that I genuinely think we will end up on a
team, but if you are being suspicious, that will hardly help. Your worry is that I’m too eager to get
you on a training ground, right? Then how about I show my sincerity with patience. We will get put
on teams tomorrow. If I don’t ask you until then, will you believe my offer to be authentic?”

“But… why?”

Sasuke looked him straight in the eyes. “We spent the last few years in a classroom with dozens of
people, yet we spent every day being alone. Sitting alone, studying alone, training alone. I am tired
of it. Every day I come home to a silent house with nobody to talk to, nobody to sit with, nobody to
eat with. I just…” Sasuke sighed. “I won’t bother you until after we’re placed on the same team.”

Sasuke’s hand was trembling. He always found it hardest to get rid of his anger.

Sasuke left after that. He knew arguing further with Naruto tended to fail. Once the genin had
decided on something, there was very little anyone could say to change his mind. Sasuke went
home, his teeth clenched the entire way. He threw the groceries in a fridge and waited for the
ANBU following him to give him an opening. He gathered his chakra, and performed a variation
on the replacement technique. He was outside, and in his place stood a shadow clone.
With his own signature suppressed, he dashed away. The ANBU had not noticed the exchange. It
was still dangerous, but he did not care. He wanted to break things. He needed to get away. It had
frustrated him far too much when he was faced with the Sandaime, a comparable friendly foe, with
no idea what his body could do.

He moved past the security faults in the Konoha walls, using raw unrestrained speed to move to a
clearing a few miles away. The farther he got from the village, the more chakra he pushed into his
speed. Running felt good, it felt familiar. He had needed this.

When he had reached his maximum speed, he took the time to enjoy himself. It felt great to let go.
After a few moments to clear his head, he got back on track. He measured out a distance and kept
track of time to calculate his speed. The result was worrying. He ran chakra through his system to
check his body’s condition. It seemed his muscles were not nearly as strong as they had been and
the techniques to boost his muscles with chakra were only working half as effectively. He would
not be able to rely on his body.

He arrived in a suitable spot. He flashed through the seals of a new creation. “Fire jutsu:
Armageddon.” The chakra moved through his system, but nothing happened.

Then his reputation was unreliable too.

He had spent decades building it up and none of it had gone back in time with him. As far as
ninjutsu was concerned, he was just a random genin. That would not do at all.

He took a few breaths to steady himself. Being stubborn would not work here. When presented
with an obstacle, one way to deal with it was to stand strong until your opponent broke or you did.
Alternatively, you could bend. Bending was considered a coward’s move. Like being the lowly
grass instead of the mighty tree.

His years as a ninja had taught him otherwise. When confronted with opposition, bending was the
perfect way to get in position for a counterattack.

He activated his sharingan. This was as much about appearances as anything else. And then he
emptied out the ink of his bracelet and used his chakra to shape it into a seal on the ground.

The world around him turned dark. All he could see were three dark figures that now sat across
from him. Sasuke hated these personifications of the universal working, even when Madara’s
corrupted silhouette was not yet among them. He hated how many times Sasuke had been forced to
talk to them, only to come to the fruitless conclusion that they would change nothing.

But back in his time he had been asking for something long after the decision had already been
made. It had taken years for Naruto to create a seal that allowed ninja to talk to these rulemakers
and that was years after they realised they needed to talk. This time they had made a decision just
seconds ago. And if they had not thought him worthy enough to create new ninjutsu, he would
simply have to appeal the decision.

Sasuke spoke with a straight back. “Of course you wish for me to prove myself. I have brought
back reputation from a future you know nothing about. You have not witnessed my deeds or
experienced my brilliance. I will earn back the heavy trust you had in me.

“For I was the Ninth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I had defeated Madara Uchiha,
who knows enough about the universe’s workings to manipulate it. I had trained under the copynin
and learned all the techniques that he himself had mastered. I had taken Orochimaru’s extensive
research to make my own.
“I cannot claim to know all techniques, but I can say with certainty that I know more than any ninja
who has ever lived. Though others have specialised in ninjutsu, I am the only one who has fully
mastered it. I have created more techniques than most ninja will learn in a lifetime. They are my
legacy and I am proud of each and every one.

“The very first I created and have used the most times was Orochi. A variation of the fire dragon
that is defensive as much as it is offensive. Every step of the chakra manipulation had to make
sense. I worked tirelessly on perfecting it.”

Sasuke pictured it with precision. There were only a few actions one could take with chakra, but
combining them could bring about any result. Creating a technique first meant working out exactly
how the chakra had to be instructed to achieve the desired result. Once that was done, it was
almost easy to figure out which seals it needed.

“It starts with the dragon hand sign, to concentrate the fire elemental jutsu in preparation of its
release. The ox gives it strength using a chakra loop. This is the normal pattern for the techniques
that require intense flames.”

Sasuke took his time to list them all. Every jutsu that used those two hand seals first and fitted the
pattern. Then every exception and also why those exceptions fitted inside the grander design. So it
went with all fourteen signs of his technique. There could be no doubt that he was an expert.

“Do you accept this technique?”

There was silence. The figures did not speak like any human would. They never did. But eventually
there was an answer, spit from the middle one’s mouth like tar. “Accepted.”

Then he went through the signs. He could do it in the blink of an eye, but today he went slow and
deliberate. He focussed on the chakra he moulded inside of him and exactly why it was doing what
it was doing. He kept the visualisation of the end result in his mind all the time as he followed the
instructions he had made. And then he released the dragon from his mouth. It circled around him,
exactly as it had done thousands of times.

Normally, good ninja invented one technique in their lifetimes. Great ninja could invent two or
three. They would study for months and create a jutsu. Then through repetition they would force
the universe to accept their claim on the combination of hand seals. The uglier their choice in
handseals, the longer it took.

The dragon kept Sasuke company, wrapping around his body and staring at the figures of darkness
ahead. The added light did nothing to illuminate them.

“This technique took me months to finish in my previous life. But in this timeline I have performed
it without practice. The future did not trust me yet, but the more I created the more I proved
myself. And proved myself, I did. My teacher was known as the Copynin, because he could copy
ninjutsu after seeing it only once. I was known as the Architect, because no battle would go by
where I did not add new ninjutsu to the beauty of your system.

“The Armageddon technique that I created since I arrived here follows every rule. Like the Orochi,
it has never been performed in this timeline. But I am the second generation Legendary Sannin. I
am the Ninth Hokage of the Village hidden in the Leaf. I am the greatest ninjutsu master who has
ever lived. When I create a new technique, it works.”

More silence. And then. “Accepted.”

The darkness fell away.

Once again he made the signs. He visualised the intended effects clearly. “Fire release:
Armageddon.”

Fire exploded around him and soldiers of flame took form in its wake. Each held a different
weapon and stood ready for Sasuke’s mental orders. They went from pure flame to solid at
Sasuke’s will. He had wanted soldiers he could use now that he was alone. And it would suffice.

His reputation was salvaged at least. Now for the other tests.

His eyes turned red again and he made three copies of himself appear around him. They had hardly
formed before they blasted fire at their creator. Sasuke would play along. “Orochi.” A dragon-like
shape of flames erupted from his mouth, surrounding him and consuming the fireballs within itself.

While his chakra coordinated the jutsu, his hands threw pebbles around him, charged with
electrical current. It was hardly effective when his clones moved their hands to their four weapon
pouches with the practiced ease of an expert to barrage the original with kunai and shuriken. Since
this was only training, Sasuke could not waste his equipment like that.

The clones had replaced themselves with logs to escape the fire, but were being slowed by stray
electrical hits. In the middle of his dodges, Sasuke landed on a tree. He grabbed a branch and
ripped it free, before he had to dodge an incoming attack and fall back to the ground. Small bursts
of chakra helped him adjust his course as he set sight of his three clones.

He did not need seals for what came next.

Fire ran over the branch and blackened it, and then another manipulation solidified it into
something resembling steel. An actual sword would have been better, but Sasuke was good enough
in earth chakra to form something adequately conductive out of even wood. Lightning moved over
its length and then shot out to the first clone, popping it from existence. Another arch formed only
a fraction of a second later and headed straight for the second clone. The third had already grabbed
a branch and had formed it into a reinforced lightning rod. It had been the only one to see Sasuke’s
technique.

He shot a bolt of lightning at it anyway as a distraction, before landing on the ground and dashing
to close the distance. It had just finished redirecting the electricity when Sasuke struck to keep the
clone on the defensive. Sasuke did not relent and put his full force behind each blow, coming at
different directions and with a static charge constantly applied to his fists. The clone had to not
only block, but also keep the elemental chakra from shocking it.

Sasuke pushed it to one of the largest fires forcing the clone to break off. “Sekijun no jutsu!” He
made the seals quickly and let the stalagmite technique Sasuke had been mentally preparing burst
from the ground and impale the clone. The spikes were a little blunt to his liking.

Sasuke panted loudly, taking in the destruction surrounding him in a nice circle. The fires had
incinerated most of the trees and very little remained of the grass and weeds that grew on the
ground. The redirected lighting had created a line of destruction that extended beyond the circle
which gave the clearing the shape of an Uchiha fan. Appropriate. He would make a small effort to
clean the worst of it up, but he was sure not many would see the resemblance. Like that
psychology test with inkblots that Sakura liked to use on him, Sasuke’s subconscious had a way of
seeing his family crest where others would see only randomness.

He exhaled a few more times before reaching out to the fire with his chakra and extinguishing it.
There were some smouldering remains he had to douse manually, but at least the fire would not be
spreading any further.

Gauging his reserves, he noticed they were about half depleted. That was unfortunate. Even taking
account of the seven clones he had walking around, his chakra reserves seemed to have shrunk by a
factor of sixty four.

Chakra was the combination of mental and physical energies and it appeared that his body’s
immaturity affected his reserves more extensively than he had thought. Physical exercise would
fractionally improve his capabilities, but nothing would work as well as increased age.

No, he would be spending his time much better by training his chakra paths. His control was fine
and his reserves were difficult to improve, but the pathways were not used to the amount of chakra
he wanted to send through them. The best he could do was chakra stretching exercises in a
meditative state.

It could be a lot worse. It was disappointing that he would not be able to simply use his future
power to instantly take out all of his worst enemies, but at least he had not lost any vital techniques.
His control was still there, which meant his most powerful technique would still work. The
technique that had destroyed the world was still in his capabilities.

A feral grin spread across his face. Just a few short years to get ready, to become as strong as he
had been, and then he would crush his enemy. He would utterly destroy every part of that man and
he would be looking right into Madara Uchiha’s eyes as he burned that motherfucker down
together with all the poison Madara wanted to leak into the world.

But he was not outside of the village to only assess his skills. With less chakra to work with, he
would just need to stick to taijutsu to work out his frustrations. After he had calmed down, he
would exhibit more of his custom techniques to the forces watching and solidify his reputation. He
made another five clones. “Wait three minutes before you go at me. Let us make this a little bit
more interesting.”

~*~

Sasuke did not know how he could have forgotten how awesome his village could be.

He was hunkering down fresh vegetables and fish, tasting actual flavours as he filled his stomach.
He had not eaten anything with taste for years. It turned out the apocalypse was hell on the salt
market. And even then, he had barely had the time to eat anything at all since he had taken on more
responsibility. His assistant’s insistency to force food bars down his throat had become the only
thing keeping him from malnutrition.

Now he had nothing but time. He had a whole evening with only one thing to do, an entire night to
sleep, a morning where he could eat a complicated breakfast before he’d be lounging around the
Academy for a few hours doing nothing. He had free time coming out of his ears. Maybe he should
take up a hobby. Gardening might be nice.

He couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea. The most dangerous ninja in the world, spending his time
pruning rose bushes. Maybe he could settle down next to Orochimaru who could keep bees, or the
Sandaime who could build model villages.

He could sense his first clone popping. It had taken half an hour of the clone’s time to create a
technique scroll that looked authentic. No patrols had stumbled across its hiding spot. His second
clone would be going over the scroll with a fresh pair of eyes and then sneak it into the house.
It would work well for Sakura. He had other scrolls lying around, but there was no sense in trying
to find the best of what he had available, when it was relatively simple to make one of his own.
And what he could make would be perfect. Sakura had developed it herself to better introduce her
students to the art of genjutsu. It was one of the few techniques of its kind that got better as the user
became more skilled. Most illusions either hit perfectly or missed completely, which was why they
were not taught until later in ninja careers when perfection could be attained.

He was just about to start his meditation when there was a knock on the door. “Hey! Sasuke-teme!
You home?”

On the other end of the front door was Naruto.

Sasuke blinked at him. “Good evening.”

“Does the offer still stand?”

Sasuke had not been expecting this. What a welcome surprise. “Of course. Come right in.”

“Shouldn’t we go to one of the training places?”

“I was just finishing eating my dinner. I’ll need to clean up.”

Naruto walked into the hall and took off his shoes, before moving into the living room. Sasuke
only had a few bites to go, before he deposited the dishes he had used in the sink. “Would you like
some?”

“Sure, I guess.”

Sasuke put some vegetables, a piece of fish and some rice on a plate and brought it to Naruto. He
had wanted to make a bento of the extra food, but he could do something else for lunch. Naruto
poked the food a bit with chopsticks before trying some. He smiled and took a few bites, though he
seemed to be eating with some hesitation.

Sasuke sighed. This Naruto had not learned to appreciate anything that was not served in a bowl
soaked with broth. “Eat as much or as little as you’d like. I know it’s not your favourite kind of
food, so I won’t mind.”

That made Naruto smile, as he took a few more bites of the fish and then set it aside. There would
still be plenty for a bento after all.

Sasuke finished cleaning up and then sat down in the living room himself, an empty scroll in front
of him. His heart was beating faster and he tried to calm himself. He noted the euphoria he felt
being in Naruto’s presence until only the information remained. Naruto did not need anything that
day but the most professional help. “What are the things you want to work on?”

Naruto perked up. “I want to learn awesome jutsu!”

Sasuke noted it on the scroll and waited for Naruto to continue. When he did not, he started writing
on his own accord. “Now that you can make solid clones, it will be very important that your
taijutsu is improved. Further increasing your accuracy with throwing kunai or other weapons will
be good use of your time, since you now have a nearly endless supply of ammunition. For the same
reason, it will also be good for you to learn to use a variety of ninja items like smoke bombs and
exploding tags. It will be good to practice coordination between clones and adjust your fighting
style to create openings for your clones. What taijutsu forms do you know at the moment?”
Naruto stayed silent for a little bit. “I didn’t pay much attention during the taijutsu lessons. The
teachers just made me act really slowly in ineffectual ways and nothing worked as well as simply
hitting people as hard and quickly as possible.”

“You have an affinity then for learning from practice. There is nothing wrong with that. We just
need to spar as we try the different forms. Increasing your control of the basic three will also help a
great deal.”

“Who cares about all that stuff? I want to learn an awesome jutsu first.”

“I’m afraid there’s nothing quite as impressive as your kage bunshin that is also as quick to learn.
But there’s something we can try.” Sasuke stood up and grabbed some paper from a nearby
bookcase. He handed a small sheet to Naruto. “Run your chakra through this.”

The sheet quickly split in two and Sasuke noted it on the scroll. “You have a wind affinity. There
are not many wind techniques that are available to me. It’s a shame you don’t have a fire affinity. I
could have taught you the fireball technique. I also do not have any scrolls on hand with a
technique that is easy to learn without first fully mastering the wind element. I will need to look for
one in the Uchiha archives.”

“Can’t I just try to learn the fireball jutsu anyway?”

“You could try, but it will take at least a month to learn a technique outside of your element and
you will not get any impressive results no matter how much you try.”

“Still sounds like it would be bad-ass to set our enemies.”

“The other disadvantage is that everyone would think you were just copying me.”

“Ewww. Aren’t there any simpler techniques?”

“Yes. Most were taught to you in the Academy. I am assuming you want something more. Sending
great storms of wind and destruction on your foes, for instance.”

“I could do that?” Naruto beamed.

“If you take the time to learn and put your stores of chakra behind it, you could call a tempest that
was violent enough to level a whole village.” His Naruto nearly had on multiple occasions.

“I want that!”

“I will try to find out what I can about those kind of techniques. Is it okay if we focus on your
shadow clones until I find something?”

“That would be… okay I guess.”

“Now, please tell me all you remember about what you saw on the scroll that you learned the
shadow clone from.”

“There were a bunch of words I didn’t understand. I paid most attention to the hand signs.
They’re…” Naruto stopped for a second, suddenly frowning. “Sasuke, did you call me over here to
learn the kage bunshin?”

“You hadn’t learned it yet when I first approached you, right? I don’t care about the signs anyway.
I’m only interested in the explanations surrounding the technique so that we can help you use it
better. Warnings, suggestions, strategies.”

“I really can’t remember…” Naruto was looking troubled again.

“So, you opened a scroll with forbidden techniques and thought it would be fun to teach yourself
one without knowing what it was or how dangerous it could possibly be?”

The genin grinned and nodded.

“Yeah now that I think about it that totally sounds like something you’d do.”

“Hey! You don’t have to sound so mean about it!”

Sasuke looked at the pouting boy in front of him and could melt. Naruto had no right to be so
adorable all the time. “No matter. Tell me, how much have you figured out about the particulars of
the technique by using it?”

“What do you mean? I make the clones and they kick ass. Not much more to figure out, I’d think.”

“Do you control the clones like puppets, or do they have minds of their own?”

“They do what I want them to.” He thought back to the fight. “I guess they are like a part of me?”

“Then let’s test that. Make a clone.”

Sasuke helped Naruto through the steps. One clone went to the other side of the room. The original
remained where he was. Sasuke stood between them, one hand to his chest and the other pressed
against his back. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Two,” Said the original, while the clone replied “Three.”

The two versions of Naruto looked at each other in confusion. “I can’t see through your eyes. I
don’t know what you’re thinking.”

“I know I am Naruto, and also that I’m just your clone. I don’t like thinking about this, boss. Can
we do something else?”

Sasuke put up a different number of fingers. “How many am I holding up in total?”

Naruto struggled. “I really don’t know. I don’t get it. I remember everything my clones did last
night.”

“I have a theory about that. Try dismissing the clone.”

The clone turned into smoke and a look of realization dawned on Naruto. “Eight fingers in total. I
get the memories once the clones are dismissed.”

“It does appear so. If that is the case, we should find out the range and scope of this ability.”

Naruto nodded. “What does that mean?”

“Make three clones. Send the first one to the South gate and have him dismiss himself in order to
check for range. The second clone will practice playing a simple game for a few hours while
keeping track of some simple statistics, in order to check for time limits of the memory transfer.
The third will join you in studying a textbook before I quiz you on some information to see if the
clone’s memories are just as strong as your own.”
Naruto scratched the back of his head. “You’ve lost me.”

Sasuke shrugged. “Make a clone, and we’ll go on from there.”

It took over two hours to guide Naruto through various experiments to establish things Sasuke
already knew. There were no real limits on this insanely powerful technique. For the duration of
the jutsu, there were effectively multiple Narutos. Once the technique cancelled, the original got all
of the clone’s memories, as if it had happened to the original. There were downsides to the
technique, but none that they would discover with these experiments. Naruto had too much chakra
for that.

Naruto had not thought to train with clones, because he had assumed he would need to divide his
attention between them. He was very happy to realise he could actually learn more quickly when
he created more copies of himself.

“We have about an hour left tonight and there are some things I want to try.” Sasuke said, before
placing all of the academy books he had brought on the ground of the training facility.

“You want me to train by studying?” Naruto said indignantly. “I already had to read two chapters
for that memory test of yours.”

“You barely scraped by with the exam, Naruto. You will need to catch up on the theory, which
unfortunately means a lot of reading. The training I have in mind for tonight will not benefit from
doing it in larger numbers, so I would suggest you set your clones on this task.”

“But it’s so boring…” he poked at the books with a finger.

Sasuke knew Naruto would not be able to learn like this. It had never been his style. But he needed
to make Naruto try this traditionally, so that it would be easier to convince him to use less
conventional methods. “Let me put a scenario to you. Imagine that we are on an infiltration mission
in the Land of Waves. It is paramount that you do not raise suspicion. All the villagers we come
across are wearing azure blue. What colour do you henge your clothes into?”

“That was on the test yesterday. Isn’t the answer just azure blue?”

Sasuke shook his head. “Blue clothes in this scenario has the potential to get your whole team
killed. The people in the Land of Waves only wear blue for the annual Pride festival, where that
colour is reserved for local transgender people. Since you are neither local nor able to pass as trans
yet, eyes will be upon you and they will quickly figure out you’re a ninja.” Sasuke flipped through
a few of the textbooks. “I know it’s not easy to memorise, but just try to keep in mind that as a ninja
such a slip up could be lethal. Just because your teammates will know all of this too, does not
meant they will always be able to communicate it to you.”

Naruto grumbled again, but made enough clones so that they each had a book to read.

“Two more and then follow me.”

Naruto nodded and the four of them went to the backyard to the throwing targets.

“I know you want to learn new things, but the Kage bunshin technique is the most powerful in your
arsenal and I think it would be best to spend some time mastering it. Stand on a line with your
clones.”

Naruto nodded, and soon there were three ninja looking at the Uchiha ready to throw. “I want the
middle Naruto to hit the middle target first, then the left Naruto to hit the left target, and then the
 right Naruto to hit the right target.”

The three orange-clad ninja looked at each other, and then one by one threw their Kunai. “Two
point three seconds between the first target being hit and the last one. Now left, right, middle.”

Naruto did it again. “One point nine seconds. Better. Now, dismiss your clones.”

Two puffs of smoke replaced the two clones of Naruto and he stared at Sasuke. “What’s this
supposed to teach me?”

“I’m getting to the point, I promise. Next, I want you to hit the middle first, then the right, then the
left. Think about how you’re going to do it, and then make your clones.”

Naruto waited a few seconds, and then two clones appeared, firing off their kunai almost as soon
as they had appeared.

Sasuke was smiling from ear to ear. This was going perfectly. “Point sixteen seconds. Do you
know why you were so much quicker this time?”

“Because I was prepared?”

Sasuke shook his head. “Because all your clones were prepared the same way you were. As soon as
they are formed, they start thinking just a little bit more differently than you are. The longer the
clones exist, the more they drift from your original thoughts and intentions.”

“So that means I need to make new clones frequently to keep that from happening?”

“Ideally, yes. Think ahead about how you want to attack the enemy, and make the clones after
you’ve made your plan. That way all your clones can act as one. The longer your clones remain
active, the more clearly you will have to communicate changes in your plans. Of course, that can
be an advantage too if you think about it. With any problem that requires creative thinking, you’ll
want your clones to be a lot more different than yourself.”

“Like what?”

“Like brainstorming pranks.”

Naruto got a goofy smile on his face. “I like that.”

“We will try a few more things like this, but first we will practice some strategies for coordinating
your strikes with your clones.”

Naruto nodded and eagerly got into a fighting position. “Finally something that I’ll actually enjoy
doing.”

Sasuke smirked. “We’ll see if you still feel the same after I’m done wiping the floor with you.”

Chapter End Notes

Next update Thursday on October 21st: The bell test.

Fun fact, there are only three chapters where Kakashi isn't mentioned at all, and this is
the first of them. Next chapter he'll join us as an actual character, so we'll start seeing
more of him.

Edit: Husband and I were talking about this chapter, and he reminded me to add the
inspiration to the mechanism for ninjutsu creations. Which is Pact from Wildbow: a
world of magic where you can do anything you want... as long as you're able to
convince the universe that you should be able to do it. The more power you have, the
more it would make sense for you to be able to cast certain spells or make the universe
work a certain way. The more spells and magic you can cast, the more power you will
have and the more power you can accumulate. And a large part of fighting enemies is
calling out their misdirections and laying bare how much they're pretending to know
what they're talking about.
So Ninjutsu creation works by finding a way to manipulate your chakra to achieve the
desired effect, tying that creation into specific hand seals and a jutsu name, and then
convincing the universe you're right. Usually this means that you'll have to practice it
for months on end. But if you keep being right, you'll build up a reputation and you'll
be able to get away with less practice. And Sasuke's reached the point where all his
work is perfect and he gets insulted if the universe needs anything more from him.
 The Bell Test
Chapter Summary

Team 7 meet Kakashi and (fail to) make a good impression.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“Do not insult them.” Naruto said.

“Do not belittle them.” Sakura said.

“In fact, maybe you should just talk to them as little as possible.”

Sasuke groaned. “How can they learn anything if I don’t talk to them?”

Naruto gestured excitedly. “They will learn patience. And they will interpret your silence in some
meaningful and scholarly way.”

“Aha.” Sasuke grinned. “Is that why your students think you’re so smart?”

Sakura chuckled. “How else would he manage it?”

“Sakura!” Naruto playfully pouted. He adjusted his jounin jacket as if to remind himself that it was
still there and at least Konoha’s institutions respected him. “But Sasuke, do be careful. You will be
their role model and if you are mean, it will scar them. Forever.”

Sakura scoffed. “You mean like Haruke-kun?”

“That was different. He really was a brat. I still maintain I was incredibly stoic and responsible in
holding back the way I did.”

“He ran home, bawling all the way.”

“You were not there. Trust me. I was holding back.”

Sasuke coughed. “You were giving me advice?”

“Yeah. There is one thing you must absolutely remember. The one rule you cannot break.” Naruto
stared at Sasuke intensely. “You MUST treat them to ramen after you have kicked their asses.”
Naruto grinned.

Sakura poked him. “Be serious for once. Sasuke, you need to make a good impression on them.
Show up on time, be presentable, and be confident. Tell them what you expect of them, what they
can expect of you, and what they should expect from each other. Do you have the exercises I gave
you ready?”

“Yeah. But I don’t know what good they’ll do. These essay questions are so simple that I’m
embarrassed assigning them.”
“It is not about difficulty. It is about making them accustomed to homework. You’re making them
hand the assignments in as soon as they’re done so they can get comfortable going to your home.”

“So they’ll more easily approach me if there’s anything else they need. Clever.”

“I’d thank you, but I stole the idea.” Sakura went to her backpack and grabbed a thick book. “This
taught me all I know about teaching. All other guides I tried were rubbish.”

Sasuke sighed. “Then why the hell did you withhold it for two whole weeks while I was struggling
to find anything useful?”

She grinned, slipping the book into his backpack. “Cause it’s so much fun seeing you squirm.”

~*~

Naruto was drowsily draped over his desk. Of course he had completely ignored Sasuke’s advice
and had spent the whole night practicing the taijutsu moves Sasuke had shown him. He was not the
only one sleeping though, since Shikamaru was actively napping in the back of the room as well.

Sasuke had seated himself next to Naruto and had signalled Sakura to come sit with him when she
came in the room. When Iruka called out the teams, Naruto stirred a little and paid attention, but
when Iruka said exactly what Sasuke had already told him, he drifted off again. Sakura wanted to
angrily wake him up, but Sasuke stopped her. Naruto would get cranky if they disturbed him
unnecessarily.

“Guess you were right about Naruto being the third member.” Sakura said. “What a bother. Is he
going to sleep though all of our instructions?”

“He didn’t get much sleep last night. He was so worried about making a good impression on his
new teammates that he worked himself to the bone. His heart’s in a good place, Sakura. Besides,
he’s not missing anything we can’t fill him in on later.”

Sakura nodded. “If you say so, Sasuke.”

Iruka seemed surprised at the ease with which Naruto and Sakura had accepted the team
composition that he had thought would be the most controversial. He was able to continue without
interruption and tell the whole class to wait for their jounin instructors.

Sasuke turned to Sakura when he was done. “How much do you know about genjutsu?”

“Not much, just what the academy taught us. It fools your senses and can be very dangerous if
you’re caught unaware. First step in dispelling it is realising that you’re being affected. Is this
some superior defence technique we have not been taught yet?”

“No, it’s genjutsu itself.”

“That can’t be. Even the minor Tomb of Nirvana jutsu is an advanced chuunin skill.”

“Meet a genjutsu skill that is even more minor. Traditional genjutsu consists out of three parts. Can
you tell me which ones?”

Sakura nodded with interest. “First, you must make a connection with someone’s brain. Then, you
must send chakra infused with an emotion. Finally, you supplement the emotion with specific
suggestions if you want to alter their reality in a specific way. There are endless ways to make the
connection, but most useful ones require high levels of chakra control. Years of training are needed
to make the effect subtle enough to keep the target from noticing their sudden change in emotions,
or strong enough that they don’t have a chance to counter.”

“Right, so minor genjutsu techniques simplify the process. A commonly used one makes somebody
fall asleep by sending drowsiness during a massage. The connection is easier because you’re
touching part of their body already and its effects diminish a target’s ability to think so there is less
chance the manipulation is discovered.”

“Except that it still leaves the hardest part of learning how to manipulate the brain with chakra.”

“And that’s why you should practice on other neurons first.” Sasuke unrolled the scroll and laid it
out for Sakura.

“A medical jutsu?”

“You send chakra to somebody’s skin with an infusion of numbing and their nervous system will
stop relaying information about pain.”

“That sounds useful for doctors. But how is this supposed to help me in battle?”

Sasuke moved over to her seat and bent over her shoulder to point out some text near the bottom of
the scroll, which somehow caused a nearby blonde girl to shriek in indignation. “It was originally
invented that way, but look over here. There is a suggestion to adapt it to battle applications. It will
just cause a distracting numbness at first, but with enough practice you’d be able to achieve full
paralysis.”

Sakura’s face was pink and she just nodded, as Sasuke went to sit back down. “I-I understand,
Sasuke-kun. I’ll work really hard on it.”

“I have no doubt you’ll have the basics down by tomorrow if you apply yourself.”

Sakura nodded, the biggest smile on her face he had ever seen. “I won’t let you down.”

Sasuke looked around the room, before sighing. “We don’t know how long we’ll have to wait, so I
suggest we find something to keep ourselves busy.” He pulled out a book with a pen in hand. There
was a very real chance at some point he would inadvertently reveal some bit of knowledge of other
countries, or, more likely, would get in a situation where it would help the team if he could easily
divulge the necessary information. If he had a reputation of reading wherever he went, that would
be a convenient excuse.

In this case, he was reading one of several fiction books he had found in his house that, from
skimming its content, seemed to contain information on surrounding foreign countries. He was
writing questions and remarks in the side lines as a case study for Naruto. The enthusiastic genin
was great at retaining information, but only if it was handed to him in fun ways. The direct
studying approach of the previous night had backfired spectacularly, as they had found his clones
either sleeping or playing games when they had checked up on them.

Naruto had just shrugged apologetically and said he could not blame them. The same thing tended
to happen when Iruka made him study. Hopefully the fiction would help, like it had helped Naruto
later in life. But if it did not, Sasuke had several contingency plans. If he had to, he would get half
the village involved in an elaborate, educational play. He had organised crazier things when Naruto
had to study to earn his Hokage hat.

Sakura was a bit uncomfortable at first as she read, especially since most other teams were busy
celebrating or otherwise engaging each other, but once she really started getting into it nothing in
the world could have distracted her anymore. Sasuke could feel her chakra flaring as she tested the
descriptions and tried out some of the basics with a kind of focus normally reserved for explosive
tag squads.

As time passed, more and more ninja left the classroom until only the three of them were left.
Sasuke was starting on a second book when finally a jounin with grey hair entered into the
classroom. “Sorry I’m late, but I got lost on the road of life.”

Sasuke knew Naruto would have responded to that if he had been awake, and Sakura would have
had a suppressed reaction if she had been paying attention to her surroundings in any shape or
form. It was up to Sasuke to respond.

“We completely understand.”

Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow. “You do?”

“Of course. As we are sure you will understand when we are late to team appointments for the
same reason.” Sasuke gave an insincere smile.

“My first impression of you… I don’t like you. Meet me at the roof in five minutes.” Kakashi said,
before disappearing with a puff of smoke.

Sasuke kicked Naruto under the table and put a hand on Sakura’s shoulder, startling them into
awareness. “It’s time to meet our teacher.”

~*~

Sasuke had been trying to put his finger on why he was bothered with Kakashi so much, but his
introduction really illustrated just what was wrong with the man. The man had debilitating issues,
no matter how good his skills were. As Sasuke had gotten older, he had learned how crippling it
could be to lose loved ones, how it could take away the very soul until all that remained was a
husk, going through the motions. But Sasuke had gone through the motions, no matter what. He
had never let his pain stand in the way of his duties.

Kakashi simply chose to remain distant as a teacher. He helped the team to get to know each other,
but would not actually get involved if he could help it. He kept them safe during missions and
begrudgingly taught them the most minor of skills. He had only shared the Chidori to Sasuke
because Sasuke’s life had been on the line and he had been a prick about it the whole time.

There was a reason that Sasuke had chosen Orochimaru instead of Kakashi. And even though
Sasuke would shoulder his share of the blame, Kakashi was not innocent. Kakashi supported the
team sometimes, especially when they were about to fail, but he never pushed them or actively
helped them come together.

It was okay this time around. Team 7 did not need Kakashi when it had Sasuke.

When Naruto and Sakura introduced themselves it was a lot like Sasuke remembered it, but he was
pleased Naruto didn’t look at him when talking about the things he hated. It was typical of Naruto
to feature ramen as one of his most important likes. Like his food taste was more important than his
loyalty and work ethic.

Sakura answered. Just like Naruto, at this age she hardly knew anything about herself. Sure, she
liked Sasuke, but in her career as a ninja she had learned her worth. She liked succeeding. She liked
helping others. She disliked having to depend on others. It was one of the reasons why she had
been drawn so much more to Sasuke than Naruto. Naruto, as broken as he was, always seemed fine.
Sasuke, however, had been a loner in the academy who had all but screamed for people to help
him.

And then three people stared at Sasuke, waiting for his own introduction.

“My name is Uchiha Sasuke, of the great Uchiha clan, wielders of the legendary Sharingan eyes. I
like it when things fall into order and I respect strength. I dislike laziness, and people who give up.
As to my dream, there is someone I want to kill.”

Naruto and Sakura tensed, but Kakashi just gave a knowing look. The man thought he knew
exactly who Sasuke was talking about.

“But I cannot do that by myself.” Sasuke looked at Naruto and then at Sakura. “Ninja work best in
teams and I want this one to be the best. Konoha has produced some great shinobi but none as great
as the sannin. A woman with a temper, but a chakra control so perfect that she could destroy the
Hokage monument with a single punch. A man that goofs off sometimes, but has his heart in the
right place and a power to back up his words.”

Kakashi was looking a little strangely as Sasuke’s implication became clear, but Sakura voiced the
thought fully. “You’re talking about Jiraiya-san and Tsunade. But then… you want to be like
Orochumaru?”

“An intelligent man with a skill in ninjutsu that would have achieved unheard of heights if he had
remained loyal to Konoha.”

Naruto looked confused as the tension in the air thickened.

Sasuke simply held up two fingers. “Naruto, Sakura and I will surpass the sannin. My dream is to
reach this goal within two years.”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that in disbelief, but once again Sakura actually voiced the thought.
“Sasuke-kun, you want us to become as strong as the legendary ninja in two years?”

“No, I want to be as strong as they are in two months, but I’m trying to be realistic.”

Naruto, bless him, was smiling now, holding up a thumb. “Sannin in two years, Hokage in four.
That sounds about right.”

Sakura swallowed, and tried to put on a confident face. “Become stronger than the best kunoichi
the village has ever produced in an impossible time limit. Sounds like a challenge fit for the top
graduate.”

Kakashi shook his head. “Lunatics, all three of you.” He leaned a little closer, smiling below that
mysterious mask of his. “But before you can even think about advancing as a ninja, there is one
more test to pass.”

Kakashi explained it to them. They had to show up to a training site the next day without eating
breakfast. He stayed vague and intentionally obtuse. And then left without a trace only moments
later.

“So, Naruto, are you still coming over for training this evening? Because it seems like our
afternoon has cleared up and we could get started early.”

“You’d better believe it! No way I’m going to slack off if you’re training.”
Sasuke turned to Sakura. “Would you like to join us? We should get used to training like a team
anyway.”

Sakura nodded eagerly, before a bit of hesitation settled in. “My parents would get worried…”

“Can you come if it’s for training?”

“I think so… but it might take some time to convince them. Maybe around five? But then it could
be easier to wait until after dinner.”

“I’ll cook.” Sasuke said. “That way we don’t have to lose any more time than necessary.”

The other two ninja nodded and then dispersed. Sasuke mentally made a list of ingredients he
would need to make something suitably spectacular for their first meal as a team.

~*~

It was late in the afternoon when Naruto and Sakura showed up at the Uchiha house. “Just sit down
in the living room. I’m almost done here.” Sasuke yelled out to them.

Naruto was twisting his thumbs a little while Sakura just stared nervously at her hands, sparing the
occasional glance around the room. “You’ve got a lovely home, Sasuke-kun.”

“Thanks Sakura-chan.” Sasuke said from the kitchen. He was putting together a marinade and
chopping vegetables and herbs for dinner. “I’ll be a little bit longer. Feel free to make yourself
comfortable. Naruto, I left a book for you on the table and there’s a scroll stand by the corner
Sakura, if you want a place to study the genjutsu technique.”

He heard two conformational sounds, though Naruto sounded less eager than Sakura.

“Naruto, I do remember last night and this isn’t just any regular academy textbook. If you don’t
read beyond the first two pages, I understand. But I would appreciate it for you to try.”

Naruto grumbled, but sat down near the table. It did not surprise Sasuke that Naruto had really
gotten into it fifteen minutes later when Sasuke checked on them. He was eagerly turning pages
and had even opened his academy book as a reference. It was a particularly suspenseful book and
the notes he had written in the margins were designed to trigger Naruto’s curiosity. The specific
dangers of Wind Country streets became a lot livelier when the dashing hero was trying to safely
chase the bandit overlord through them.

Sakura seemed to be reading the scroll for the third time. Her chakra was flaring more and more,
and she obviously seemed ready to move on to practice. He had prepared for that, placing a jar
next to her.

“I have a living subject here if you feel ready to try.” Sasuke said as he twisted the top off and
revealed the spider inside. Sakura did not flinch at all, simply grabbing the spider with one hand
and putting it in front of her while her chakra flared and worked its effects on it. Sasuke could feel
her genjutsu forming and could see where it broke apart.

“Try to keep your effect range small.” He reminded her. When she tried again, the spider tripped
over itself as the leg Sakura had touched stiffened for a fraction of a second. Sakura was panting
with a grin.

“I felt it take hold.” She said, surprise dripping through her inflection.
“That’s very good. Now that you’ve felt what it’s like, you should read the scroll’s description one
more time. You should be able to better understand the later parts now. Dinner should be ready by
the time you’re finished.”

“No way!” Naruto cried out with indignation. He was frantically switching between two books as
the horror on his face became worse and worse. “He’s doing it all wrong. He’s gonna get killed!”

Sasuke took a look at what passage Naruto had reached. The hero had spilled his tea right in front
of the daimyo. Which was a faux-pas, but excusable as an accident. Sasuke had made a note saying
it was a good thing the hero was not drinking coffee. Then the hero used his napkin to clean up the
spill. Sasuke had put a circle around the word napkin with three exclamation marks.

“Well, you should never dine in Wind Country without knowing the proper etiquette.”

Sasuke himself sat down on the floor, crossing his legs over each other and bringing his hands to
his knees. He closed his eyes and let himself relax. Sakura’s chakra exercises felt soothing and
nothing made him feel more at ease than Naruto’s shouting. He had missed this.

His mind easily slipped into meditation around so much comfort. He let the chakra run through his
system. Tomorrow they would have to fight a jounin together. Any training to increase their speed
or strength marginally would be wasted effort. Kakashi was too far out of their league for one day
to make up the difference. Sakura and Naruto both had a new technique that would surprise
Kakashi if they could use it intelligently. Sasuke was already a master of all his techniques. His
speed and strength would work against him though, if he wanted to keep any shred of secrecy.

He slowly increased the flow of chakra until he felt his limits approaching and then gently pushed a
little more, stretching the pathways carefully. It was already better than it had been a day ago. It
would be a slow process to get back to his adult body’s capacity of channelling chakra, but he
would get there with enough patience and hard work. However, that was not his main goal at the
moment. As he focussed on his pathways, he carefully shrunk them down and used a ring of chakra
to keep them locked that way.

Just to make sure the rings could withstand the stress he would be putting them through, he flared
his chakra a few times. As he had intended, the chakra flares stretched the pathways but also
strengthened the rings. They could be removed quickly if needed, but would not break
unintentionally. Once he had confirmed everything worked as it theoretically should, he applied
the limiters on as much of his chakra network as he could, starting with major hubs and continuing
from there.

After a few more minutes, Sasuke was interrupted from his work by two genin standing closely in
front of him. He finished securing the ring he had been working on and then opened his eyes.

Naruto and Sakura were staring.

“If you were that hungry, you could have just said so.”

“What were you doing Sasuke?” Naruto asked.

“Nothing major. A technique I performed a few days ago affected my chakra pathways negatively.
I’m trying to fix the problem.” Sasuke got up from his position and moved into the kitchen. His
timer would have gone off in less than a minute anyway.

Sakura and Naruto just stared at him. Sakura spoke up first. “Are you sure nothing else was
wrong?”
Sasuke felt bad about worrying them. He had been actively trying to keep a neutral resting face
since he had come back, but his natural frown must have slipped through during his meditation.
Naruto and Sakura were bringing back feelings of security and trust he had not felt in years. He felt
less guarded around them. He would have to pay more attention to push those feelings away.

“My chakra network is still a little sore.” When he looked at his teammates, they looked sceptical,
but they did not press the issue as they sat back down. The silence continued until Sasuke had
finished dinner and called out for them to sit down at the table.

The various pots and pans lined the table. He had made a curry with various side dishes that Sakura
was eyeing hungrily. Naruto looked at the table with hesitation though. Sasuke had anticipated that.

“Naruto, I could tell you that all the food on this table is healthy, nutritious and fresh, but I doubt
that would change your mind.” Sasuke brought Naruto’s dinner to the table and placed it in front of
the orange genin. “Placing it all in a bowl with some noodles seemed like less trouble.”

Naruto grinned widely, barely shouting out an ‘itadakimasu’ and digging in. Sasuke gave Sakura a
quick gesture to tell her she could try some too, encouraging her by filling up his own plate. Naruto
had just finished his bowl when Sasuke and Sakura were ready to start.

“I’m glad my cooking passes your standards. There are three more bowls prepared in the kitchen.”
Sasuke remarked, causing three Naruto clones to instantly dash off into the kitchen and gather the
bowls. As they returned with the bowls, the food Sakura had between her chopsticks dropped back
to the plate.

“Those are… solid clones?” She asked. She got up to poke one of them with her fingers, startling
back when they didn’t pass through them.

“Aren’t they awesome?” Naruto asked with a smirk, before smacking one of the clone’s hands who
was trying to sneak a bite.

“It was how Naruto got around the requirement to master the bunshin no jutsu. It’s the shadow
clone technique, an A-rank ninjutsu that takes advantage of Naruto’s large chakra reserve and turns
it into a strength he can easily utilize.”

“An A-rank jutsu? But you’re the worst student in class.”

Naruto huffed at that, but he did not have much of a response. “The teachers just couldn’t
appreciate my awesomeness.”

Sakura rolled her eyes and started eating a little, then a little more, then looking with disbelief in
Sasuke’s direction.

Cooking really was not something Sasuke had been interested in. Naruto was fine eating nothing
but cup noodles. Sasuke was content with rice and tomatoes. It was why they had both decided that
it was only fair Sakura would take care of all the cooking in the team and they would compensate
by doing other chores. She was the smartest one, after all, and would find it easiest to learn. Two
chakra-infused punches and a week-long headache later had made Sasuke a sympathiser to
Sakura’s point of view that all three of them should rotate all responsibilities.

Until later in their lives, when there really were tasks around the house that were so complicated
that Naruto and Sakura were much better suited for them than Sasuke. Cooking had been simple
and routine. Sasuke gladly picked up those duties to free up time for his teammates.

And, well, it was impossible to bear the financial consequences of cooking for team 7 without
learning to cook a decent ramen dish to supplement normal meals.

“Naruto’s not as bad as he seems, you know.” Sasuke remarked. “His taijutsu is a bit clumsy, but
he is more tenacious than anyone I know. The academy matches are always decided rather quickly.
In a contest of endurance, I’m pretty sure Naruto would give most chunin a run for their money. If
he had been put against me in the Academy in a drawn-out taijutsu round, he would have won by a
landslide. Naruto is a one-man army. He tried to make a maximum number of clones yesterday, but
we ran out of time before he ran out of chakra. He has unlimited manpower for tasks and unlimited
projectiles for long range fights.”

Sakura stared at Naruto in disbelief, who was blushing uncomfortably.

It made Sasuke laugh. “You will see in the next few weeks. Just try to keep an open mind. Naruto
will become essential in our team dynamic.”

They both looked strangely at him for that.

Sasuke sighed. He was not used to having to explain himself so often to his teammates. “Sakura,
why will I be a good ninja?”

Sakura looked around evasively for a few seconds, trying to gather her thoughts. “E-everything,
Sasuke-kun. You were the smartest ninja in our class, the strongest, and the only one to master an
elemental affinity before graduation. You are dedicated to your training and there is nobody cooler
than you.” She was blushing near the end.

“I am not the smartest, actually. It’s just easy to seem smart when you hardly ever talk.” He
glanced at Naruto. “Just as you can seem rather stupid if you say everything that pops into your
head. Having said that, Naruto has outsmarted ANBU for years when they chased him after his
pranks. Intelligence comes in many shapes and Naruto excels in tasks that require creative
thinking. I already said he would beat me in an extended fight. And that was before he became the
only academy student to master an A-rank technique before graduation, which boosted his strength
significantly.”

Sakura was about to object, when Sasuke interrupted her.

“What about you Sakura?”

She looked a bit confused. “I’m the best kunoichi… I had top scores in all the theoretical tests.”

“Yes, but an enemy is hardly going to give you a written test to fill out.”

“I mastered all the taijutsu kata quickly.”

“And yet in the spars you lost to most of the other students.”

It was Naruto who snarled angrily at that. “What’s your point, Sasuke-teme?”

“I’m getting there, I promise. You see, there is a general misconception that scoring high on the
Academy test means you will be a good ninja. But the Academy tests are indirectly linked to
anybody’s skill for being a ninja. The only thing they directly test is a student’s skill at Academy
tests.”

Sakura looked away. “You’re saying that high tests scores do not make me a good ninja.”

“I’m saying that the Academy valued a very specific subset of skills. But the rest of the world does
not follow the same rules the Academy used. Direct conflict is not always the best course of action.
You don’t need to be able to beat the enemy up in a taijutsu match if you can defeat them before
they get close. You do not need to defeat them at all if you can reason with them. High test scores
will not automatically make you a good ninja. Just like strength and determination do not mean
anything on their own.”

“Then what else do you think is needed?”

“None of us become ninja as individuals. We become ninja together. Instead of asking how strong
we are individually, we should instead wonder what we bring to the table for our team.”

“I bring good test scores?” Sakura grimaced. That still did not sound right.

“You bring a fundamental theoretical framework for a large variety of subjects, which is essential
to complete missions accurately and effectively. You bring intelligence and strategy to battles we
can prepare ahead of time. However, there is more you can do than just recite facts and theory.
With great chakra control, you bring a lot of potential to the table as well.”

“My control’s not that good.”

Naruto nearly choked on his ramen when he let out a laugh. “You pick up all the techniques faster
than anyone else in class!”

“I practiced a lot.” Sakura said. “My mom wouldn’t let me practice with weapons. All I could do at
home was study and work on my control. There’s so much you can do with chakra and I’ve barely
scratched the surface.”

Sasuke nodded. “But you’re in the best place to learn them. Genjutsu, medical techniques, chakra
strings, to name just a few. Dabble in all of them, and you will bring unrivalled utility to this team
and ways to ambush enemies from a distance. Now that you are a genin, there are countless
subjects for you to specialize in.”

Sasuke turned to Naruto. “I already mentioned Naruto’s current value, but let’s talk about his
potential. He has an advanced learning rate thanks to his clones. Even if he does not like learning
the way you do, he will pick up taijutsu at startling rates among other practical skills.”

“The clones help him learn?”

Naruto grinned wide. “Sasuke keeps calling them overpowered. There’s a whole bunch I can do
with them.”

“That just leaves me.” Sasuke continued. “I am ahead in my training in all areas, which means I can
guide both of you to catch up much more quickly than you otherwise would. I will unlock my
sharingan eventually, and it will allow me to collect ninjutsu the first time I see them and master
them in a very short time.”

Realization dawned on Sakura’s face. “Taijutsu for Naruto, genjutsu for me, ninjutsu for you.”

“I wasn’t kidding when I said I believed in our team. Our skills perfectly complement each other to
form a combat team. Ninjutsu for range, taijutsu when they get close, or genjutsu to avoid a battle
altogether. Not to mention the other skills to easily branch out further than that.”

Sakura was staring, her face a little pale as the impossible became the ludicrously implausible.
“You were actually serious. You want us to surpass the sannin in two years?”
Sasuke smiled as Naruto gave an enthusiastic shout. “Believe it!”

~*~

Four copies of Naruto were in the corner, a big sheet put up against the wall where one of them was
drawing and three of them were calling out guesses. Sasuke had suggested he should stick to some
simple coordination techniques for now, starting with communication exercises. The other sixty-
eight clones were in other rooms and outside, so they would not interfere with each other’s
progress.

Sasuke’s arm was on the table, a circle drawn on his wrist. Sakura had just finished her genjutsu
and Sasuke was poking at the area with a needle. “Numb, numb, numb, pain, numb, pain.” He
methodologically explored where the genjutsu had effect and where it had not. “Do you get where
it went wrong?”

Sakura nodded. “It was a circle in my mind, but I see I will have to compensate for distortions from
your chakra points. Let me try again.”

Sasuke nodded, before letting a burst of chakra in his arm quickly dispel the effect. A few minutes
later he could feel a patch of his skin on his arm getting numb again. He had to suppress the grin as
he moved the needle to confirm what his chakra system had already determined. Sakura learned at
an amazing pace.

“A perfect circle.”

Sakura simply smiled, but he could practically see her inner mind celebrating. She had picked it up
incredibly quickly. There was no other genin who could have done it like that. It was genjutsu, and
she had picked it up like adding a single bunshin to the clone technique. “I guess it was not that
difficult, Sasuke-kun.”

Sasuke huffed, but simply stood up and moved over to the Naruto copies. “If you’re ready for the
next phase, we should all move over to the training area.”

“But Sasuke,” Sakura said, a little distressed, “You said we should conserve our strength.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t have anything major planned. How would the three of you feel about a little
game?”

~*~

The ground tasted awful, Sasuke complained to himself, as he got up for the third time.

Sakura was coughing besides him. “That turn was unexpected.”

“I did signal it.” Sasuke replied. “I tugged on your hand like we agreed.”

“I hardly felt that!”

Naruto was sticking out his tongue at them from thirty feet in front of them, on the other side of the
finish line. “And the thee-legged race champion is Naruto Uzumaki! Take that, teme!”

Sasuke undid the rope around their ankle and stretched his leg a little. “Naruto, you are working
much better with your clone than I had thought. It’s impressive. Next step, make two more clones
and stick them on us. We’ll see if you can learn to work together with us as well as you have been
with your clones.”
Naruto made Sakura and Sasuke crash twice as often as they had been, but they found a rhythm
near the end. They untied the rope keeping their ankles together, and then sat down on a small
patch of grass.

“There are a lot more exercises to get comfortable as a team that we should do if we had the time.”
Sasuke said, brushing a bit of earth from his shirt. “Unfortunately, we are being tested tomorrow
and we have reached the point of diminishing return. Training our specialty techniques would be
more productive.”

“That means I have to work more on the genjutsu.” Sakura concluded.

Naruto sighed. “And I should make more clones for silly coordination games.”

“Actually, Naruto, I thought your coordination had already improved remarkedly. I was going to
suggest some taijutsu lessons.”

Naruto grinned enthusiastically. Sasuke set it all up. Two clones went with Sakura to serve as
training dummies for her. A dozen clones stood around in a large circle, ready to watch as Sasuke
and Naruto faced each other and told not to interfere.

“You should get comfortable using clones in your fighting style. Because you can always count on
a second fighter backing you up, you can focus on creating openings. But you must also exploit
those openings. Attack me anyway you like for the next thirty seconds.”

Naruto nodded and then charged directly at Sasuke, fist drawn back. Sasuke dodged by stepping to
the side. Naruto made two clones and flanked Sasuke. The two clones used a variation of the
simple kick, while the original tried a second punch. Sasuke grabbed the original Naruto’s fist and
redirected it into one of the clones, before grabbing the other clone’s foot to disrupt the kick and
give the opportunity to easily dodge to the side.

“You telegraph your attacks before you commit to them.”

Naruto kept trying to hit and Sasuke addressed the crowd as he dodged them.

“See the muscles retract around the shoulder before the punches? See how the weight is shifted
before a kick?”

“I don’t shift my weight.”

Sasuke waited for another kick and then moved in to softly but quickly push Naruto off-balance.

Naruto let out a grunt of frustration. “Are you just going to be humiliating me?”

“Dismiss the clones.” Sasuke said.

Naruto’s mind needed some time to process all the information, but the lesson was a lot clearer
when viewed from so many different angles.

“We’ll work on one thing at a time, starting with masking your next move. Put the clones back up
so they can watch the demonstration. As soon as you get a handle of it, we’ll do another short
spar.”

“I like the fighting a lot more than I like the lesson.” Naruto grumbled.

“Pay attention and you might even win from me before the evening’s over.”
That sure lit a fire under Naruto’s ass.

~*~

Sakura stared with concentration at Naruto’s hand clutched between hers.

Naruto’s face was flushed. “Sakura-chan, why do you need to touch me again?”

“I told you, genjutsu requires three elements to make a connection. I need to shape my chakra so it
can grab control, I need to deliver that chakra to someone to make a circuit, and then I need to
manipulate using my control. I don’t have any way to deliver my chakra through the air, so we
have to touch.”

Naruto nodded, though it was not quite clear he understood. With his discomfort, He could only
stay silent for a few seconds. “I’m not feeling anything yet. Are you sure it’s working?”

“There is some kind of resistance.” She said. Naruto was not very competent in stopping genjutsu,
but Naruto’s natural defences were not turned off like Sasuke’s had been. Sakura had to learn to
apply the technique while constantly compensating for the interference Naruto’s chakra caused. “I
think I found it.”

“Hey, it is feeling numb now. Good job Sakura-chan.”

Sakura could feel the waves of blue chakra coursing through Naruto’s hand. To apply the
technique, she had to learn to move her chakra to dodge the waves of energy. But now that she had
the control, those waves offered no resistance. It was like an anchor had dropped in sea. Right now
she was covering part of the nerves. And it felt so ugly and incomplete. Perhaps if she shifted her
chakra just a little…

Naruto’s hand fell limply. His eyes became wide. “What happened to my hand?” Sakura let the
technique go and the clone instantly flexed and sighed in relief. “I thought that genjutsu was only
about taking away the feeling?”

“It was an accident.” Sakura stared at her hands, determination filling her soul. “Give me your hand
so I can try doing it again.”

~*~

Variation was key in keeping Naruto and Sakura concentrated and learning at an optimal pace. So
Sasuke moved the three of them onto building a small structure out of sticks together, and then
playing charades. He thought they would have stopped by now and they had done everything
Sasuke had deemed essential. But if they were not calling a halt to the evening, he would drag it
out as long as he could. He had over a dozen team building exercises he made his genin teams go
through and the more they could do, the better prepared they would be the next day.

“We have a little over half an hour left. I suggest we try one more thing.” Sasuke said, before
taking his mother’s bracelet from his wrist. “Naruto, please hold this and make a clone.”

Naruto complied and held the bracelet, before a duplicate sprang into existence next to him. “What
now?”

“Henge into somebody that looks a bit different, preferably a bit taller.”

Naruto thought for just a second, before replacing his form with Iruka, a foxy grin on his face.
“If we had more time, I would suggest a more combative scenario, but right now we just need to
learn to function together. The three of us will work together to get the breacelet from… Iruka-
sensei… in order to complete this training. Since the trinket is a replica, it will disappear if we hold
it too firmly, or if we attack the clone too harshly.”

Sakura got into position. “You’re talking about a retrieval mission. We need to hold back lest we
damage our objective.”

Sasuke nodded. “Naruto clone, you will need to keep it from us. Use the fact that we can’t hurt you
to your advantage. Use any force you deem necessary to force us on the defensive. Also, use the
most important thing we are going to give you.”

Iruka-sensei’s face scrunched a bit at that. “What?”

Sasuke held up his hand, his fingers spread out evenly. “A five second head start.”

~*~

The clone was fast and the original Naruto would never catch up to him without help. Sasuke
signalled his teammates and they started to spread out. Naruto had the easiest task and only needed
to chase the clone. Sasuke remained on his left and looked for any exploit to quickly gain ground.
Sakura was on Naruto's other side.

Sasuke was faster than they were. Insanely faster if he could go to his actual limits, but even the
young Sasuke he was pretending to be had a lot more speed than they did. Once they had the basics
down, he started dashing to appear in front of the clone, who would have to quickly change
directions. He used the fact that the clone's back was often turned to him to use hand signals to
indicate the clone's likely route, or to inform the others about Sasuke's own movements. Naruto
and Sakura had some issues with following the directions but were soon making it their own until
the three of them had surrounded the clown and were in a position to strike.

Sasuke moved first, sending a kick under the clone's feet at a slower pace than he would have
liked. Naruto pounced on the clone, but it had drawn a kunai, making Naruto dodge before he got
close enough. Sakura was throwing some shuriken, ripping at the clone's clothes but not even
nicking the skin. The pouch containing the trinket was ripped open though.

Sasuke grabbed the clone’s ankle and pulled it down, but the kunai it was still holding required
him to be careful. The clone grabbed another kunai with his free hand and used it to keep Naruto at
bay as well, spinning rapidly to keep Naruto and Sasuke from getting too close.

When Sakura made a move to shorten the distance, Sasuke signalled Naruto and drew a kunai to
block the clone's assault. Naruto caught on and while the two of them each kept an arm busy,
Sakura slipped closer and reached for the pouch, trying to retrieve the token from inside.

The clone suddenly twisted his body, guarding his prize with his body. Sasuke and Naruto were
forced to back off, less their weapons would pop the kage bunshin.

Sakura wasn't ready to give up though and reached out with her chakra to numb the clone's ankle.
The clone saw her eyes closing in concentration though and changed his footing so that it would
not trip him up. That was the opening Naruto needed as he once again pounced the clone and
brought it to the ground, the impact thrusting both kunai out of his hands.

Sakura took the bracelet quickly and held it up triumphantly.

“Nice one!” Naruto shouted.

Sasuke looked at them proudly. They would make a good showing. Sasuke's internal clock noted
the time. "That will be all for today. There was not much we could do while conserving our
energy, but we made some real progress today."

They said their goodbyes and went their ways. Next day, they had a jounin to crush.

~*~

Kakashi was waiting for them when they arrived. Hidden, of course, even napping if Sasuke was
interpreting the signature correctly. He was in a relaxed state, as if meditating, or daydreaming of a
whole other world of fantasies...

Ah. He was reading that book of his. The pervert.

It was ironic that Sasuke had thought of reading as his cover, as well as a good training method for
his teammates. He only now realized how it would look when all four of them had their noses in
books. Everyone would think Kakashi had rubbed off on them. They would not take the time to see
what books the kids were reading. They would just assume it was something similar to Ichi Ichi
Paradise.

Naruto was actually reading about a ninja administrator who was secretly an undercover agent for
another village. The book was a bit of a propaganda piece, arguing for Konaha's greatness in subtle
and obvious ways, but it also contained great examples of counter-intelligence strategies.

Sakura was devouring a chakra control handbook for advanced readers. She had noticed it on
Sasuke's bookshelves and he had offered it to her. It was one of several books he had put on display
thinking they might catch her eye. This book was highly theoretical, but he knew Sakura loved that
kind of stuff. As an adult, that kind of curiosity would give her an unrivalled understanding of the
chakra system.

Sasuke was reading through the past decisions of the Konoha counsel. There were quite a lot to go
through, but it helped that he had already read most of them in a previous life. This was mostly
about appearances. He left the brunt of the work to clones. One was at his home making
suggestions for Naruto’s training. Another was doing the same for Sakura. They would be making
good schedules, over and over again, so that the final product would be the absolute best he could
do.

Kakashi showed up when he was finished making them wait. He was smirking under his mask,
making some kind of excuse. Naruto responded in anger, with Sakura backing him up. Sasuke
managed to calm them down, but part of his success could be attributed to the note he slipped
Naruto with various revenge prank suggestions.

Kakashi explained the bell test. They had until an alarm went off at noon to grab one of two bells.
Fail to get a bell and be sent back to the Academy.

The older ninja was exaggerating. He had to make them think the stakes were that high. Even if
Kakashi did not accept them as his students, they could still be ninja. Administrators with no leave
to go on missions, but ninja all the same. There were too many jobs that required ninja and not
enough students graduating. Those who were unfit to train for battle, could still be trained to handle
a pen.

His teammates would realise that if they were not panicking. They would realise that they had been
in the senior class of the Academy. If genin who failed the jounin test were sent back to the
Academy, Naruto and Sakura would have been in a classroom with them. That they both accepted
this without thinking it through showed just how nervous they were.

Kakashi gave the signal to begin.

Naruto charged at Kakashi, while Sakura and Sasuke retreated to the bushes. That had happened
last time as well. It was hard to plan with them like this. He would have to wait until Naruto gave
him an opening to approach. Or at least stopped behaving like an idiot. Naruto made several shots
at Kakashi, who easily blocked each one.

“Make a clone, you bastard.” Sasuke whispered, but Naruto stubbornly refused to develop super
hearing.

The encounter ended with Kakashi’s fingers causing Naruto ‘a thousand years of pain’. Kakashi
had such a flare for the dramatic. Sakura shrieked at the battle’s climax and that was enough to
give away her position. Kakashi would normally not move on them unless they made an attack
first. But making a mistake and blowing her own cover was not something he could just let go
either. As predicted, the jounin moved on to Sakura next. She would survive the genjutsu
technique, Sasuke was sure. He needed to speak with Naruto. He moved silently and quickly to
where the blond had fallen in the water.

“Naruto, are you feeling alright?”

“That bastard put his fingers up my ass! How do you think I feel?”

“… aroused?”

“Teme!” Naruto yelled with a blush.

Sasuke merely smiled. “Then I’m going for my second guess. Vengeful.”

~*~

It was all wrong.

Sakura wanted to sink into the earth and vanish. This could not be real. Sasuke was bleeding to
death. She could smell the blood. It made her want to puke. And there was nothing she could do.
He was trying to speak, and all that came out were bubbles of air through a throat filled with liquid.

She fell on her knees beside him. It was taking everything in her power to not simply break down
into sobs. Their teacher had done this. It could not have been intentional. She had seen him kick
Naruto’s butt as if the orange genin did not even exist. If the jounin became hostile, they would not
stand a chance. It was easier to believe that Kakashi had done this on accident.

Sasuke sputtered again and Sakura automatically placed her hands on his body. He was in pain.
She knew how to make him be in less pain. Her chakra was reaching out before she had given it
any conscious thought and then the whole world shattered.

It was all wrong.

Her eyes were telling her Sasuke was dying. Her ears heard the sobs. Her nose could smell the
blood. Her tongue even tasted the iron in the air. Moving her hands she felt his body wet with
blood and getting colder by the second. But her chakra did not feel Sasuke underneath her. What
she did feel was muffled and imperfect. The world felt broken, like it wasn't even real. After that
thought, it only took her a few seconds to connect the final dots.
"Kai."

Sasuke vanished and there was no trace of trampled grass or spilled blood on the ground. Her
hands were clean. Only her emotional reaction had been real. She wiped away the tears from her
face and let out a sigh of relief, though she was still shivering and still on the verge of being sick.
That bastard was going to pay.

She heard someone approach and composed herself just in time. Naruto and Sasuke stood before
her.

"Are you alright?"

Sakura nodded, standing herself upright. She had enough experience hiding her emotions away.

"If we work together, we should be able to get our hands on that damn bell." Naruto said, staring
off towards the clearing where Kakashi should be.

"But," Sakura hesitated, then continued anyway, "there are only two bells. Even if we work
together, we'll all be trying to get the bells as our first priority."

"There is a way around that." Sasuke said, before he pointed at Naruto and signalled him to speak.

"I want to get back at that bastard of a teacher. If the two of you will help me, I'll give up my claim
to the bell."

That sounded... very Naruto. "You'll be an academy student for another year."

"I'll just have to be the first academy student ever to become Hokage. How hard can that be?"

Sakura wanted to smile, but something inside of her would not let her. Even though this was perfect
solution to the problem. Even though she had hoped for a long time to be on a team with Sasuke
and to be on any team but Naruto’s. Even though Naruto was fully volunteering. Even though if
there was ever a time to be selfish, it was when her entire future depended on it.

The night before, against all odds, she had fun with Naruto. They had made plans for their future as
a team. Naruto and Sasuke had talked bigger than big and she had found herself going along with
their fantasies of grandeur. It had felt good to be a future sannin for a night.

"You shouldn’t give up like that, Naruto." she said.

They eyed her weirdly. "Then who do you think should go back to the academy?" Sasuke asked.

She thought back of the day before. It had all come from them. Sasuke had the skills, she knew,
and had shown the strategic sense of planning. Naruto had turned out to be unbelievably strong
with those unlimited number of clones. The more she thought of it, the more she felt like she had
just been along for the ride. She did not have the boys’ strength. She would only be standing in
their way. She wanted to be on a team with Sasuke so bad, but she also did not want to get in the
way of the very real chance Naruto and Sasuke had.

"After last night we really shouldn't even have to ask who the odd one out is. It’s me. I’ll help you
get the bells anyway I can and then I’ll…" She wanted to get it out as quickly as possible. It was
hard to admit that if any of them had to go, it would have to be her. But it was impossible to finish
now that a sobbing genin was tightly hugging her.

"Sasuke-teme said you'd say that and I didn't believe him. He said you wouldn't let me, but I never
really thought..."

She tensed a little. "You were testing me."

"More like, testing out a theory." Sasuke amended.

"Sasuke asked me to team up and I wondered about the bells too. Sasuke said there was an obvious
sacrifice to make for the good of the team. He asked me if I knew what the obvious answer was. I
guessed me, because the two of you are the smart ones. Yesterday you understood everything
Sasuke was saying when he had to repeat it multiple times for me. I’d only get in the way of the
team. Told him he did not need to play games with me and that I would be willing to do it."

"And I told him he hadn't been paying attention if he still had not figured out I believed in him."

"So then, a little angry, I demanded to know why he would leave you behind."

"And I told him he really hadn't been paying attention."

Realization dawned on Sakura. "All three of us want to sacrifice ourselves if we get the two bells."

“I am strong now, but my potential is limited. I have some skills, but Naruto will outlearn me with
his clones. I know some techniques, but your chakra control will have you outpacing me in the end.
If somebody did need to leave the team, it should be me. It makes most sense in the long run.”

Naruto shook his head. “You’re the one who brought us together. And when the two of you talk, I
only catch like half of it. On a good day.”

“I don’t stand a chance winning in a fight against either of you.” Sakura added.

Sasuke smiled at them. “We need no more proof that we work well as a team. All three of us would
put the team first, above ourselves."

"So what do we do now?” Sakura asked. “We can't all pass. And we can’t all sacrifice ourselves."

"Which only leaves us with one option." Sasuke remarked. "But before we even get to worry about
any of this, we need a plan to get some bells."

~*~

Kakashi had crushed Naruto. He had not meant to, but the genin had fired him up. There was
something in his energy that reminded him of Kushina. It looked so weird to see all that fury and
excitement inside a miniature Minato. Of course, neither Minato nor Kushina were there to see how
amazingly their son had turned out. Not after Kakashi had failed to protect them.

Sakura had cried for Sasuke when Kakashi had hit her with a genjutsu powered by grief and broken
love. It was supposed to feel bad to do it to a girl so young. But all he could see when he looked at
her was Rin. His teammate who should not have become a ninja. He should have made her stop
long before she had died. Before she had made Kakashi kill her.

The genjutsu had taken and Kakashi had left the girl alone after that. She supposedly had enough
chakra control to one day become a genjutsu specialist. But if she had not broken through the
genjutsu in the first few seconds, she was hardly going to do it any later than that. He did not force
the image of a crying girl on himself if he did not have to.

It had been silent since then. Sasuke was exceptionally good at hiding. The boy had learned to
suppress his chakra somewhat, it seemed. But even if he could fool the chakra sense, he was a few
years too young to hide completely. Kakashi could hear him breathing when Sasuke was close.
Kakashi could smell him within a hundred feet. Since Kakashi could do neither now, Sasuke
actually had gotten out of range. The Uchiha had abandoned his teammates.

He had hoped this team would be different, but if they could not pull together he had no choice but
to fail them. The Hokage would not be pleased, but it was his decision in the end.

He was reading Icha Icha Paradise again. Might as well get something useful out of the morning.
Naruto had been thrown into the distance to lick his wounds. Sakura had been incapacitated in the
woods. Sasuke had abandoned both his teammates.

Close to an hour passed without incident, before Sasuke moved into his range again. If it had taken
him that long to think of a plan, this had better be good. Instead, Sasuke was just watching him.
Really, after that long a wait? Kakashi turned the page and pretended to lower his guard. That’s
when the shuriken came towards him.

He did not bother dodging. A substitution technique worked just as well. The weapons hit only
wood, while he snuck up behind Sasuke. He was perfectly balanced on a branch. Sasuke was ten
feet in front of him. Kakashi was just about to speak, when Sasuke turned himself around.

“Figured it was just a trap.” Sasuke said, kunai grasped in his hand. “But I had to attack out of
principle.”

“You gave yourself away.”

“No, you already knew I was here. Is it time for my lesson, then?”

“Wouldn’t be fair to the others if I excluded you.”

“I’m different than they are.”

“Why don’t you say that after you get a bell?”

Sasuke made the seals quickly. It was supposed to be impossible as just a genin. But nonetheless,
fire came out of his mouth, ready to consume the jounin. Crazy Uchiha.

Kakashi jumped back and prepared a counter, but had to move to the side to avoid the kunai that
had been sent right through the flames. Incredible aim and good at predicting his enemy. It would
have taken the bells if he had not dodged. He had figured out Kakashi’s way of moving from
observing a single short battle with a genin.

Sasuke had already fled from the trees and made it into the clearing.

Even better. Kakashi slipped into the earth and moved towards the young ninja. The disturbances
told him that Sasuke was frantically looking around. Apparently the genin had thought the lack of
cover also meant he could see all the directions Kakashi could have approached from. Rookie
mistake. Kakashi grabbed Sasuke’s ankle and yanked him into the earth.

“Lesson three is ninjutsu.” He said smugly to Sasuke’s head. The boy looked so incredibly
frustrated. It was fun to torment someone who acted this serious. This must be how Obito had felt
whenever he pulled a prank on Kakashi. Until Kakashi had failed to save Obito’s life in a cave.

But then Sasuke’s face was replaced with a wooden log. When had he done the substitution?
Kakashi really was impressed now. Not just advanced ninjutsu, but also enough mastery of one of
the Academy techniques that he could pull it off without alerting a jounin paying close attention. If
only the boy could learn to work together with his teammates.

He looked around himself to see where Sasuke’s next attack would be coming from. He started to
get disappointed. The boy had actually surprised him and then had not taken advantage of it? That
was a real shame.

Finally he sensed a presence coming, but it was not Sasuke.

Sakura looked hurt beyond anything imaginable. Her eyes were red from crying and the rest of her
face was pale. She was shaking as if her worst nightmares had come alive to haunt her. Even her
chakra felt off.

“Sensei…” Sakura said. “Sasuke-kun was hurt. He was dying. Y-you must have hit him without
seeing it.”

“It was not real, Sakura.” He said. He was not paid enough to be a grief counsellor. “It was
genjutsu.”

“Genjutsu does not feel so real.” She said, stumbling towards him. “Sasuke-kun was dying and
then he was gone. Did you even take him to a hospital? Did you even bother trying to save him at
all? Did you even care when he died and it was all your fault!?”

“He was not hurt!”

“YOU’RE LYING!” Sakura said, stepping a bit faster towards Kakashi.

He reached for his bells by instinct.

Horror struck across her face. The kind that could not be faked. “He died! And you think I’m still
just trying to get a bell? What kind of a monster are you?” She pulled back her fist and charged.

“It was just genjutsu, Sakura. Truly.” The man said. He took the hit to his chest as it came. It
hardly hurt him. It was just an angry genin. Gai’s friendly pats hurt more. Sakura hit his chest
again and again, her protests turning into sobs. She was clinging to his vest now.

“Then where is he?”

Kakashi glanced around again. He really had no idea. When he looked back at Sakura, her attention
was fully on the bells. She grasped for them and Kakashi had to twist out of the way. But then she
moved quicker than he thought possible to follow his twist.

Kakashi grabbed her arm. She pulled back and delivered a kick. When he grabbed her foot out of
the air, she spun around to kick with her free foot. He had to let go of her arm to block the kick,
leaving her upside down and with her hands about to brush the bells.

Kakashi let her go and jumped back. When the girl landed painfully, there was a puff of smoke and
Sasuke’s real body was revealed again. The boy hadmanaged a perfect Henge and possessed the
acting to match. And that taijutsu was out of this world for a genin. The kid really needed to be
crushed soon and be shown his place.

For a moment he dared to imagine himself as the boy’s sensei. But that was unproductive. And not
just because the thought of becoming a sensei made every one of his braincells panic
simultaneously. He had come close many times before and the potential teams had disappointed
him every single time. It did not matter how Sasuke performed on his own, only how they
functioned as a team.

“You bastard!” Naruto yelled out from the trees, jumping down to attack not Kakashi but Sasuke.
“How dare you use Sakura’s face like that?!”

“It almost worked, dobe! More than can be said for anything you pulled.”

“I’ll gut you in the name of Sakura’s honour!” Naruto yelled. He pulled a kunai from his pouch
and started throwing. Sasuke did the same.

“Maybe if you could actually aim, I’d be scared of you.”

It was chilling to watch. Sasuke had a very delicate form where he retrieved weapons from four
different weapons pouches and threw them easily. There were no wasted movements as he kept
Naruto at bay.

But Naruto was undaunted. He dodged and then lunged after Sasuke. They fought with no regard
for Kakashi at all. They moved the fight all around Kakashi. He would be suspicious, were it not
for the fact that they were not doing anything productive. They were just throwing weapons at each
other and wasting good metal.

And then he noticed. The smallest glimmer in the air. Not just weapons Sasuke was throwing, but
weapons with ninja wire. The kunai had imbedded in the trees. Naruto might have been acting out
of anger, but Sasuke was able to take advantage of it to create a huge net around the clearing to
block Kakashi’s substitution technique.

He did not know what had given his surprise away, but something had drawn Naruto’s attention on
him instead of Sasuke. “Kage bunshin no jutsu!”

Half a dozen clones concentrated on keeping Sasuke away, while three dozen charged at Kakashi.
Solid clones as a genin? And this many without drawing on the Kyuubi’s chakra? Not just Sasuke
who was impossibly impressive then.

Even without the ability to substitute away, the students were no match to a jounin. Maybe if
Naruto had gotten Sasuke to help. But not like this.

The clones seemed incredibly focused. The first came at him with a high kick. The clone tumbled
quickly and popped itself without even hitting Kakashi.

That was disappointing. "There’s desperate… and then there’s this, I suppose."

The second clone charged angrily and actually made Kakashi dodge, though it still fell on its ass
after. This is what Naruto had been doing in the past hour apparently; looking up an advanced
taijutsu move that he would be able to use against Kakashi. As plans went, it was unforgivably
terrible. The boy was pulling at straws.

But Sasuke was swarmed by the Naruto clones and as long as Kakashi did not completely
overwhelm him, Naruto would keep his attention divided.

Ten more Naruto clones tried the kick and Kakashi started using one of the standard 23 counters.
He liked one in particular, a subtle nudge to push the clones off-balance and turn their strength on
themselves, and using it ten times in succession made the clones disappear. Naruto was undeterred
and sent another batch.

Then it happened. One of Naruto's clone came at him with the exact same kick, but a lot faster than
it had been. Kakashi actually had to put effort in dodging, which was quite a plus for the orange
brat. He would be worried, but Naruto had put too much force in it, so that Kakashi’s dodge made
Naruto spin around and leave his entire back exposed.

Except, Naruto could not have increased his speed like that this quickly. The one that had attacked
him, was not Naruto, he realised just before the clone twisted in an unnatural way. One of not-
Naruto’s hands was on the bells while the genin spat a ball of fire at him.

Kakashi should have been able to sense the boy making hand seals yet he was taken by surprise.

He had to put actual effort to dodge the attack from not-a-clone-but-Sasuke. He moved into the
grip on the bells and slid under the ball of fire. He used both his hands to pry Sasuke’s off and then
kicked Sasuke away.

It seemed the two boys had banded together to get the two bells. Better than nothing, Kakashi
supposed, but leaving behind their third teammate was not behaviour that Kakashi could condone.

There was no rest as a small group of Naruto’s clones formed around him. They all had their firsts
balled and were charging.

Sasuke came at him from the other side and they started attacking together. They were all focussed
on keeping Kakashi’s hands busy while making attempts to grab the bells. One of the clones
jumped Kakashi’s back and grabbed his upper arms. Sasuke reached for the bells while the original
Naruto pushed a kunai to Kakashi’s throat.

His arms felt heavy as he swooped the blade away and blocked Sasuke’s attack. When he checked
why, he could feel the chakra surging through the nerves and numbing his muscles. He knew the
trick by now. Sasuke was not the only one good at a Henge. He removed Sakura from his back and
threw her across the clearing.

But genjutsu at her level? That was supposed to be impossible. Especially genjutsu good enough to
have gotten past Kakashi’s resistance. It had to be a different trick.

“Kai!” He flooded his pathways with chakra and the numbness was gone. These fucking kids kept
showing off impossible skills.

Kakashi panted from the sudden exertion. Across from him were his three potential students,
standing side by side. It was not a perfect collaboration, still rough around the edges, but much
more than he had been expecting. They were all breathing hard and taking a moment to collect
themselves. Sasuke and Sakura slipped into a henge again, while Naruto made more clones. In the
confusion he would soon lose which were clone and which were henge. He would have to treat
every clone both as a potential fire hazard and a potential paralyser. He would actually have to
fight defensively against a team that worked so well together.

He was going to pass them, he realised slowly. This was everything he had ever wanted. This is
what he had always wanted his team 7 to be. There were no more excuses.

There was that panic rising again.

The three of them had taken the hour to come to some sort of agreement. They had overcome the
limitations and had decided to work together. They had done all that in just an hour, under the
antagonising pressures of his challenge. That was unbelievable.

All the Naruto clones around Kakashi charged.

Their battle moved along the clearing. The clones set up traps where they knew the battle was
going. Kakashi could see those traps and could avoid them. Until they got to the other half of the
clearing. Kakashi had seen no clone near that part of the field. He had assumed it was safe. But
those little devils had trapped it before the battle somehow. Maybe in the confusion when he had
been pretending to keep Sasuke at bay. One of the genin threw a kunai at a rope in the forest,
releasing a barrage of kunai and shuriken right at his back.

He had to spend effort to dodge and that was when Naruto coughed. It was a signal. Every single
clone dropped a smoke bomb onto the ground.

Kakashi could not see, but neither could they. There was only one safe escape. He went into the
earth. He waited for the smoke to dissipate and then he rose up outside of the little arena they had
set up.

He sighed when he reached for his belt and the bells were missing. Inside the clearing were three
genin with stupid smirks on their faces.

Naruto held up the bells in his hand. “Mission success!”

~*~

The plans had been relatively simple. Repeatedly try to get the bells. The biggest obstacle was the
substitution technique. After they had neutralised it, it was only a matter of time. Every time they
made an opportunity, Sasuke would try to get the bells. He had not explained how he knew his
taijutsu was good enough, but he had assured them it would be. Naruto would hold up fake bells,
while Sasuke made sure Sakura got the real ones.

"You took the bells." Kakashi said, looking at Sasuke. “Even if Sakura’s holding them.”

Naruto huffed as he let the fake bells disappear in smoke.

"We worked as a team.” Sasuke insisted. “I didn't do anything by myself."

Kakashi waved him off. "You were the one who got your hands on them, therefore one bell
automatically belongs to you. Who do you want to give the other to?"

"I think you've misunderstand something, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said, a sweet smile on her face.
"We tried to decide before we started working together who should be left behind."

"We couldn't reach a decision, because we all wanted to sacrifice ourselves." Naruto added.

"We thought about drawing lots, or maybe fighting it out, but Sasuke pointed out something
better."

Sasuke looked Kakashi straight in the eyes as he spoke, a little venom behind his words. "If it's a
choice between the academy or abandoning one of my friends, I choose the option that allows me
to live with myself."

"And that counts for all three of us."

"So," Sasuke said, motioning Sakura to throw the bells back at Kakashi, "Thanks for the offer, but
we are a package deal. We’ll keep grabbing those bells from you as long as it takes. You either
give us a test that allows all three of us to pass, or we’ll decline altogether and wait for a teacher
that does let us graduate together."
 Kakashi picked up the bells and studied them for a second, verifying their authenticity. He was
silent while he worked. And then he looked up, ready to give his verdict.

"In that case, the three of you...

...fail."

Chapter End Notes

Next update on October 28th: Being a ninja.

Sorry about the cliffhanger. Bonus points to anyone who figures out why Kakashi
failed the team. Because Sasuke is sure going to be surprised about it.

I like making Sakura more powerful, but I also wanted to stick close to canon in this
story. And whoo boy, does Sakura start with low-skills in canon. Naruto has his clones
to beef him up so that two days of taijutsu practice could make a difference. I powered
her up enough in genjutsu style so that she could contribute meaningfully in the bell
test, while still hopefully keepping it believable that she got to that level with a single
day of practice. She's on her way to BAMF status, one step at a time.
 Being a ninja
Chapter Summary

After all of Sasuke's talk of surpassing the sannin in two years, and his confidence that
he'd graduate, Kakashi has failed Team 7.

Sasuke is not happy.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Sasuke was not expecting to see Naruto and Sakura that evening. He was definitely not expecting to
see Naruto and Sakura, the most supportive ninja in Konoha, with gleeful expressions and a bowl
of snacks in front of them. It was his own fault for having the naive belief that his friends were
decent people.

“We want to know how it went. We want to know everything.” Naruto stuffed his mouth with
popcorn.

“I think it went well.” Sasuke said. “The older girl is this incredible taijutsu monster, while the
younger girl can already control two elements and uses them to strengthen her bow attacks. The
boy has an eidetic memory and he actually managed a decent illusion when prompted. We left on
good standing and I’m sure next week we’ll all do better.”

Sakura smirked. “You aren’t seeing them tomorrow?”

“We won’t get a new training location assigned until next week.”

“What are you talking about? What’s wrong with training ground 7?”

“Well, it did not completely survive the training. There might have been a stray fire…”

“Oh my god,” Naruto said, a look of realisation on his face. “Lesson 3 is ninjutsu. Tell me you
didn’t show off with that experimental fire dragon technique you’ve been working on and torched
an entire training ground.”

“Only half of the location. The medical ninja present knew plenty of water jutsu to quench the
flames before the fire got completely out of hand.”

Sakura let out a laugh. “Medical ninja… because lesson 1 is taijutsu?”

“Now, I can totally defend that one. Ino even said that a small injury in the beginning of a ninja’s
career has been shown to correlate with more careful behaviour.”

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other. Naruto shook his head. “And Ino, the village’s top
psychiatrist, was there because the second lesson is genjutsu?”

“Damn Sasuke. How the hell did you salvage that enough that they want to stay on the same team
with you?”
“Don’t give me that. It could have gone way worse.”

“How? How could it have gone worse?”

Sasuke shrugged. “At least I did better than Kakashi.”

~*~

“The three of you fail.”

Sasuke felt like he was falling backwards. What the hell was that dick saying? “We fail?”

“Yes. You decline to be trained by me, and I will not drag you kicking and screaming under my
care.” Kakashi brushed off some dirt.

“We declined to be separated. Tell us then, which two of us would you have liked?”

“It doesn’t matter. I already told you what I needed you to do. You disobeyed and broke the rules.
You are not ready to be ninja.”

“If this is your idea of being a ninja, I want no part of it.”

“Then count yourself lucky.” And then he was gone.

Naruto and Sakura looked devastated, but resigned. They had been prepared for this answer, yet it
disappointed them all the same. “Screw that scarecrow.” Naruto started collecting thrown kunai
from the ground. “He wouldn’t know a good team of ninja if they banded up and stole his bells
together. Though I really hoped we could avoid going back to the academy…”

“That won’t happen in any case.” Sasuke said. “We’re genin no matter what.”

Sakura grimaced. “I looked up the rules yesterday. The Jounin instructor gets to decide what
happens to Academy graduates.”

“He just gets to decide whether or not to become our teacher. If he does not accept, we’re genin
without a team. We cannot go on missions, but there will be plenty of work for us to do until they
find another Jounin who wants to test us.”

“Well, he was extremely eccentric.” Sakura said. “The time on desk duty might be worth it if we
get someone who fits our team better. Right, Sasuke?”

“I’m not giving up yet.”

“I don’t think there’s anything we can do.”

Naruto stuck the kunai in his pocket. “We could try pestering him until he gives in. You’d be
amazed how much you can push people into better behaviour if you annoy them enough with
pranks.”

Sasuke smiled. “That would certainly make me feel better, but I don’t think he’s one to give into
pressure like that. Let’s split up to brainstorm this. If any of us has a really good idea, they can try
it immediately. Otherwise, we’ll meet here at sunset and work something out?”

The two agreed and went off in their own ways. Sasuke needed to put his mind at work. The
realisation had slowly been creeping up on him. If Sasuke did not fix this, they would be genin
without a jounin instructor. They would be trained for a year in some job where their talents would
be wasted. Then next year they could try again with a different teacher. But so many of his plans
depended on being a combat ninja right away. Everything would be set back significantly if they
went a different path.

Still, he would take the gamble any day. Though the words had been chosen to appeal to Kakashi
specifically, the sentiment had been sincere. No matter what it meant for the future, he would
rather spend his time with Naruto and Sakura than leave either of them behind. He could still train
them even if they could not go on missions.

In a way, such a big departure from the original timeline would be great. He would have no more
reason to keep the truth away from his teammates. They would not like to hear what was coming
for them in the future, but he would owe them the truth of what they were to face. Owe them the
truth about what Sasuke had done to go back in time.

He shook his head. It was no use to think like that. There was a reason he was keeping the timeline
like this. Change too much and none of them stood a chance. As long as he stayed subtle and only
made small changes, he could use his knowledge of the future to his advantage.

This was not over, not by a long shot. He still had avenues to pursue. The simplest option would be
to plead with Kakashi, try to persuade him to become their instructor anyway. But he had already
shown him everything that he thought he needed to be shown. What words could Sasuke use to
prove their teamwork when actions had failed?

Other avenues than Kakashi had to be considered. Sasuke was a clan heir, technically even a clan
leader. Kakashi would face backlash from the council for failing him. Many important people
wanted Sasuke to be a ninja. Though the Copynin cared little about politics, even he could be
forced into some actions. It would be even easier to discredit Kakashi, get him fired and then push
for a different teacher for Team 7. Kakashi had a history of harshly failing teams, after all. The
council would rather believe Kakashi was unsalvageable as a teacher, rather than Sasuke was
unsalvageable as a student. The man had not built himself a good reputation and it would be a
simple matter of sullying it further.

Not to mention Naruto’s connections. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the leader of the entire ninja village and
the strongest shinobi in the whole of Konoha, was fond of him. Naruto could be coached to appeal
to those sensibilities. Iruka would be horrified to learn Naruto had been done such an injustice. He
would be eager to help however he could. He was the primary educator and his opinion of students
carried weight. He had selected Sasuke and Sakura as his top students and Naruto as his favourite.
Failing all three was a slight to his honour as much as to theirs.

Sakura’s mother was an influential ninja in her own right. Though Sasuke would hate to rely on
that woman for anything, it was the least she could do for them. She owed it to Sakura for all she
had put her daughter through. Everything she was still putting her daughter through. Sakura’s
father had good standing as a merchant. He had connections and he too had influence in Konoha.
Though the village was run by ninja, it was reliant on trade and civilians for many things. Mass
protests would cripple the village and force the Third’s hand. Of course, Sakura’s father alone
would not be enough to incite mass protests and a revolution was a less subtle solution to this
problem than he would like.

Then there was the violent option. He could overtake Kakashi and assassinate him before his
decision could be properly communicated. Sasuke might not be at full strength, but he could easily
handle a jounin if he put a little bit of effort into it. With how little Kakashi was expecting from
Sasuke and how much that gave him the element of surprise, Sasuke would be disappointed if the
jounin managed to land a single blow.
Slightly less irreparable was to force him into submission. Sasuke’s sharingan was more powerful
that Kakashi’s and could put the jounin under his control. He knew seals that would bind the ninja
even further so that there would be no chance of escape. Any sign of struggle could be met with
Tsukuyomi. Kakashi would not fight back after spending several days watching his teammates die
over and over again.

Okay, maybe Sasuke was feeling a little resentful and that was clouding his thinking. He took the
time to isolate those feelings. Anger was useful to him as motivation, but silent resentment was not.
He pushed it away until only the information remained and then he continued.

Before he could decide on a course of action, he needed to think about what had gone wrong.
Something in his mental model of the world was incorrect and he could not make reliable plans
without correcting that error.

He just did not understand what had happened. They had worked together, had placed their
friendship over being ninja. They had shown skill and potential. In fact, with Naruto showing off
his vast chakra reserves and shadow clones, with Sakura showing of her versatility and genjutsu,
and Sasuke showing off his taijutsu and ninjutsu, Kakashi should have been overflowing with
excitement.

Could it have been a problem that they had shown such willingness to sacrifice themselves? Sasuke
knew about the jounin’s past. Kakashi had some trauma with people who had sacrificed themselves
for him. Kakashi had also shown himself ready to put his life on the line when it was needed,
which implied he was not opposed to sacrifice in principle. Besides, Sasuke’s willingness to go
back to the Academy was nothing compared to the level of life-threatening sacrificial tendencies
that Kakashi could get triggered by. The three of them had given no indication that they would be
as cavalier about sacrificing their lives as they would be sacrificing their career.

What was Kakashi’s mindset here? Sasuke knew that the jounin was being pressured every year to
accept a new team. Sasuke had never been able to definitively figure out why Kakashi had
accepted team 7 after rejecting so many teams before. Sasuke had reasoned it was their teamwork
that had convinced the jounin, which is why he had emphasised it so much.

There were weaknesses remaining, of course. Naruto was still undisciplined and Sakura too
hesitant. Sasuke had exaggerated his pride, only bringing in Sakura and Naruto when he had
‘failed’ to get the bells in the first few attempts. Part of being a good team was showing
weaknesses that others could cover.

Had they been too dependent on each other? Sasuke could not see how. Their fundamentals were
strong and they had shown individual strength that went above and beyond requirements. They had
been thoroughly dependent on each other to best a jounin, which was more than strong enough to
become genin.

If anything, their performance had been too good. If any potential team had gotten those kind of
results when fighting Sasuke, he would have happily become their instructor. That was how it had
always been for him. His tests for genin teams were less focussed on finding people who would
make it as ninja, and more on finding out what kind of training would benefit them best. He spent
the weeks after the test drawing up extensive training regiments and…

Could Kakashi really be that huge an asshole? There was only one significant difference between
the first time Sasuke had participated in the bell test with Naruto and Sakura and this time. All three
of them were more capable and had shown significantly more potential. Their rejection started to
make sense if Sasuke started thinking less of Kakashi.
This team was more trouble than it was worth for Kakashi. Kakashi had never intended to find
competent ninja who worked well together. He wanted incompetent ninja who worked well
together. Maybe his depression made him feel like it would be too much work, maybe his carefree
attitude was less of an act than he made it out to be.

Sasuke had seriously overestimated the grey-haired jounin if this were true. Then again, Sasuke
had formed most of his opinion of the man after Kakashi had been their instructor for a while. It
was highly possible that Team 7 had been a positive influence on him.

And Sasuke could be a little more charitable. Maybe Kakashi had seen too much Obito in Sasuke.
Too much of Kushina and Minato in Naruto. Too much of Rin in Sakura. Maybe there was an
emotional trigger that they had activated by accident and Kakashi realised he would not be able to
handle being around Team 7 for longer periods of time.

It was an explanation that made a lot of sense. The best way to make sure would be to talk to the
man. If it was really laziness or emotional damage, Sasuke could even persuade him.

~*~

Kakashi was lying on a branch, reading his book. Without looking up he spoke. "Here to show me
how fine you are with going back to the academy?"

The dick was mocking him. He was probably hoping Sasuke would get frustrated enough to leave
without discussion. Like that was going to happen. He was not Naruto.

"I wanted to say that I got lucky. The smoke was our final resort to grab the bells. It was the riskiest
plan and there was a reason we did it last. When I reached for them, it was literally a shot in the
dark."

Kakashi did not respond at first, just looking at his book. After nearly half a minute he appeared to
have made a decision. "Go on."

As Sasuke had thought. "If this is about Naruto or Sakura, I can train them. I'll spend every day
doing nothing but get on their case to become stronger."

It would be an out for their teacher. He would be able to get away with not training Sasuke, and
could blame it on the concession he made now. And if he felt emotional from watching them,
Sasuke had given him a way to be a jounin instructor without having to see any of them.

It should work and Sasuke would lose nothing of substance in return. Sasuke had already assumed
he would be the primary teacher of the team anyway.

"You think I failed you because it would be too much trouble to train you."

“I understand it must be a big undertaking and that the Sandaime pressured you…

“Let me stop you there. The Hokage did pressure me, but I could have gotten out of it if I really
wanted. I am a professional and I do not rebel against my orders like an unruly child. I came to that
training ground perfectly prepared to take on the responsibilities and work of a jounin instructor for
anyone who passed the test sufficiently, cohesively and legitimately.”

Sasuke had not been expecting that answer. It was not an answer Kakashi would logically give if he
cared about the work it would cost them. The statement was too direct and too dismissive of
Sasuke’s offer. Kakashi could have pretended there were other concerns. He could have played the
game to get more out of Sasuke.
There had to be another reason that was motivating the Jounin and that Sasuke had not thought of
yet. But then what could it be? They had sufficiently completed the test by grabbing bells from a
jounin who was supposedly far above their skill level, showing strength and intelligence. They had
done it as a cohesive unit, showing teamwork and the will of fire.

They had been successful on all the relevant factors a jounin instructor could test them on. Sasuke
should know. He had made them the perfect team.

“Oh.” Sasuke groaned. How could he have been so blind? Kakashi had explicitly told him. He
needed a team to legitimately pass his test. "How did you figure it out?"

"I had been expecting some kind of cheating with how smoothly you were passing every criteria I
could think of. It was a nice speech at the end there, but it loses its power if you suspect it's
rehearsed.”

“What finally gave it away?”

“You told me. Not directly, but I saw it the moment I failed the three of you. All three of you were
surprised, but I saw that you were confused more than anything. It’s easy to spot a cheater when
you pretend their answers are not correct.”

“And if I had reacted differently, you would have still passed us.”

“That would have depended on the reaction. I needed you to prove to me that you could work as a
team when nobody tells you that you are supposed to. You did not manage that. Where did you
learn of the bell test, anyway?"

“Your reputation to fail your teams precedes you. Obviously I did a fair share of research before
today.”

Kakashi nodded.

“I didn’t tell Sakura and Naruto though. Their feelings were stimulated, but not inaccurate.”

“I could tell. If you are asking me to pass them despite your transgression… I have to admit I am
tempted. Naruto was a lot stronger and smarter than his report indicated. He could be placed with
Asuma to further train his taijutsu. Sakura would fit well in team 8 with Kurenai who could help
her develop her impressive genjutsu talents.”

Sasuke laughed a little. “Oh no, not going to happen. I know you are not allowed to accept only
two of us, especially if you then transfer them to other instructors. Even if you were, I wouldn’t
dare because Naruto and Sakura would never forgive me.”

Kakashi looked up from his book for the first time in the conversation, his head facing Sasuke. “At
least you learn quickly. I do not like it when people try to trick me.”

“Nothing I can say or do right now will be able to convince you. But this is still doable. You want
to be our instructor and we want to be your students. The only thing stopping you is uncertainty
about our teamwork. Even better, it’s just uncertainty about my teamwork. So all I have to do, is
convince you.”

“Except, it cannot be done.”

“I think it can be. I suggest a test that will make it impossible for me to cheat or pretend. Or at least
make it so unlikely that there will be no other complaints.”
“I cannot think of any such test.”

“But I can.”

Kakashi sighed. “Now that you know what qualities I look for in a team, there is no way to tell
whether you actually possess those qualities or whether you are pretending to possess those
qualities so that I will pass you. There is no way for me to differentiate the two possibilities.”

“I understand how you’ve come to that conclusion. And I still know of a perfect test.”

“Now that would be interesting. I do not regularly get outsmarted by Academy students. I would
say it’s impossible, but after your showing today I’ve had to readjust my definition of the word.”

Sasuke explained and Kakashi was interested. The whole thing took two hours, but at the end both
of them were satisfied with the results. If Sasuke had known it would be this simple, he would not
have worried so much. This was just politics and comparatively easy compared to his plans later in
the week.

It was embarrassing for him, but that would just serve as a proper reminder not to think too lightly
of Kakashi.

“Okay, I will pass the team.” Kakashi said.

“So can I consider you outsmarted?”

“You’re certainly creative, I’ll give you that.” He sighed. “The Third is going to give me such a
hard time over this. I already sent a message that I had failed you. He will have a lecture ready,
which I could have dealt with. But now he will think I was joking when I sent the message. And
the lecture will be worse.”

“I’m just glad we worked this out.”

“Do not think it is over until you give me what you promised.”

“Of course.”

Kakashi was staring, not moving quite yet. “Get it ready before tonight. Remember that you have
not officially passed until I pass on the decision to the Hokage.”

“I will get everything you asked for ready as soon as possible.”

“One more thing, Sasuke. When you transformed into Sakura and came at me, I could not tell you
apart from your teammate. Every visual detail was perfect. You thought ahead enough to cloak
yourself in her scent as well. And even your chakra felt like hers. There was not a single
mannerism out of place until you decided to break character. It was the same when you pretended
to be Naruto.”

“I take my specialisation in ninjutsu seriously.”

“Before, you made it sound like you were able to take the bell by accident. I find that hard to
believe. You are clearly more skilled, both in ninjutsu and taijutsu, than you are letting on. Is there
anything else you are keeping from me?”

“Definitely.” Sasuke nodded simply. There would be no use denying it.

“Are you going to tell me?”

“No.” he made eye contact with Kakashi. “I am fully invested in this team and my goals, but I do
have some issues trusting people. I expect you are well aware of the incident that took place four
years ago and that I will not have to repeat it to you. Rest assured that I guarantee it will not affect
my teamwork.”

Kakashi shook his head. But there was little he could do against the person-I-trusted-most-in-the-
world-murdered-my-entire-family card. “When will you be ready?”

“Meet us on the training site at sunset.”

~*~

Sakura was holding books about the Konoha administration, preparing for their future assignment.
Naruto was yawning. He had taken off his forehead protector and had spread it out on his lap to
stare at it. He was absent-mindedly drawing with his finger on the ground. If they really had to go
into administration, it would hit Naruto the hardest. D-ranks were bad, but at least they were still
missions. That was completely different from being confined to a desk for paperwork.

When Sasuke walked over to them, it took them a few seconds to take in the sight. Sasuke was
carrying a large scroll with him, easily as big as he was. “From the looks on your faces, it looks
like you guys didn’t think of any plans.”

“What’s that, Sasuke-kun?” Sakura eyed the scroll curiously.

“Do you know what the purpose was of the bell test?” Sasuke asked.

“Wasn’t it just to get the bells?” Naruto said.

“It was to see if we could be divided. Teams should work together and the mission should come
before the sake of the individual. Getting the bells by working together should be enough to pass
the test.”

“But we did just that and failed.” Sakura noted.

“Normally teams don’t get as far as we do. You’re not expected to beat a jounin mere days after
graduation. Kakashi would have broken up the session for lunch and he would have tied one of us
to a post with some excuse about punishing them. He would instruct us not to share our lunch with
that person as part of their punishment. We would be told that we had failed because we could not
act as a team. He would say that after lunch there was one more chance to get the bells as a team,
but he would be lying. The only way to pass the test at that point is by disobeying our teacher and
sharing our lunch.”

Naruto was looking a bit confused, but Sakura was staring at him with the kind of clarity of a child
who just realized their parents had abandoned them. “You knew all this during the test as well. He
failed us, because you knew all of it already.”

Sasuke nodded. “Kakashi figured me out.”

“So what’s the scroll?”

“My penance.” Sasuke walked forward and placed the scroll in the middle of the clearing, before
sitting down in front of it. “It’s for Kakashi.”

“What does it contain?”

Sasuke sighed. “I would rather not say.”

“Why not?”

Sasuke stared into the distance. “There are some things that you can’t know without feeling bad
about them. In these cases, ignorance is bliss.”

Part of that was true. He had put in enough thought about telling them to realise they would be
happier not knowing. But also explaining it to them meant putting this embarrassment into words.
Sasuke should have schooled his expression better. He should not have been fooled by Kakashi’s
proclamation that they had failed. This was Sasuke’s fault and Sasuke did not like to dwell on this
particular mistake now that it was fixed. He swallowed the embarrassment until only the
information remained. And then tucked the information away in the back of his mind where it
would not bother him.

“That’s nonsense.” Sakura said. “Ignorance is bliss? What kind of idiot came up with that idea?”

“Yeah, Sasuke.” Naruto pouted. “Tell us.”

“No.” Sasuke said. “Not unless it becomes necessary.”

They were not having it, but just then Kakashi arrived and headed straight for the scroll. He opened
it and unrolled it at a surreal speed, his eye moving quickly over the text within. Within half a
dozen seconds, he had read it all and rolled it up again. He seemed pleased.

“This is sufficient.” Kakashi said, lifting the scroll up. He gave that weird mouthless smile that he
had become so famous for. “You all pass.”

Naruto and Sakura were gaping. “Just like that?”

“Meet me at the Hokage tower tomorrow morning and we will start our first mission.”

Kakashi disappeared and Sakura and Naruto were staring at Sasuke. “What the hell was in that
scroll?”

Sasuke started walking away. “Do you two want to join me for training again this evening? We
have a lot to prepare for.”

“You freaking blackmailed him!” Naruto said, a huge grin appearing on his face. “What kind of
dirt did you find on him?”

“You blackmailed our teacher!?” Sakura turned a little paler.

“Guys, I really do not want to talk about that scroll and we seriously have a lot to do. Can you drop
it?”

“No way!” Naruto said.

“It’s personal.”

“Sasuke, you can’t just say it’s personal and expect us not to get more curious.”

“I am fine with curiosity.”

From their expressions, it was clear that they were not.

“I’m asking you as a favour, as your new teammate, to please let this go.”

Sakura sighed. “You would owe us big time.”

“Ooh, can you use the blackmail to get Kakashi to show his face?” Naruto asked.

“I do not have blackmail on him.”

Sakura lit up. “I was looking into Kakashi and nobody knows what he looks like under that mask.
We’d be the only ones.”

“Then it’s a deal.” Naruto said. “Sasuke shows us Kakashi’s face and we drop this.”

“I can work with that.” Sasuke said, because he was mostly sure they were not serious. “I should be
making it up with you soon enough. But for now, we should celebrate making it as a team.”

“What did you have in mind?”

If Kakashi would not treat them to ramen, Sasuke was happy to pick up the slack.

~*~

The Uchiha training grounds were hard to navigate at night. Sasuke, holding a lantern, had found a
proper place where three trees stood close to each other.

“It’s a bit late today, so I would like to save the discussion on the direction of our training for
tomorrow. Tonight, I would like to try something that should benefit all three of us.”

Sasuke grasped a kunai and ran up the tree. A good twenty feet off the ground he reached the end
of his momentum. He marked the tree and let himself fall down gracefully. “I have been working
on this for two weeks now whenever I have had the time. Push your chakra out of your feet and use
it to stick to the tree. Apparently, adult ninja can walk on any surface as easily as they do on the
ground.”

Naruto ran up to his tree and didn’t make more than two steps before crashing down.

“Don’t worry if it takes a few days before you make it to the first branch.”

Sakura was concentrating. Sasuke could see it and he could sense it. Naruto had tried two more
times before Sakura ran up and reached the first branch in one go. She was panting, but had a huge
grin on her face. “A few days, you said?”

Naruto huffed a little at her, but Sasuke was just smirking. “Good job. At this rate, you’ll have
perfected tree walking before the evening is over.”

“But she already reached the top.” Naruto said.

“Reaching the top is just the first step. Next is walking there instead of running. Then standing still
on the side of the tree. When you can do that, gravity loses its meaning.”

Naruto grinned at that prospect, before trying to climb the tree again. Sasuke had his hand on the
genin’s shoulder before Naruto could reach it. “You won’t learn much if you just keep trying this
by yourself.”

Naruto looked a bit confused, especially when Sasuke did not make a move to help. He was about
to ask Sakura for help, when Sasuke stopped him from that too. He got it just a few seconds later.
“Kage Bunshin no jutsu!”

Fifteen Naruto clones were climbing trees surrounding them. None of them were making much
progress on their own, but when they dispelled and got replaced, they got up twice as high as
before. Sasuke was making his own progress, pretending to slowly increase in his skill. With
Sakura pushing herself to walk instead of run, Sasuke spacing out his improvement, and Naruto
using a few dozen clones, they were all walking the lengths of trees just a few hours later.

Sakura was the first to run out of chakra. She looked at her teammates training for a while, until her
eyes drifted up to the sky. She settled down on the ground.

Sasuke pretended to run out of steam a little later and went over to her.

“I haven’t taken the time to star gaze in ages.” Sakura said. “It’s nice.”

The stars were visible from there. It was one of the advantages of living in a paranoid ninja village,
where keeping bright lights on at night constituted a small degree of treason. It was supposed to be
a hidden village after all. “The Uchiha compound is one of the darkest parts of the village at night.
It’s a good spot. Naruto, join us. You’ve tried hard enough for the night. Rest is an important part
of learning too.” Sasuke lay down besides Sakura, making her face flush slightly.

Naruto was torn, but compromised soon enough. He left his clones to keep trying while he got on
the ground on Sakura’s other side. “Yeah, I suppose that’s true. You can see them better here than
from my apartment or the training grounds.”

“You come to training grounds a lot at night?” Sakura asked.

“Gotta get better somehow, don’t I?”

“But why at night?”

Naruto shrugged. “I have trouble sitting still. I get restless cooped up in my apartment.”

Sakura’s expression changed as she made a realisation. Here she was thinking that Naruto only fell
asleep in classes because he was bored. It was a big part of the reason, but just not the whole story.
“My parents made me study every evening since I was little.” She said. “I have been reading since
I was able, and before that my parents read to me. I love them, but when I am not helping them
around the house, they expect me to read. For the academy, or for fun. But not my aunt. She took
me star gazing. She told me about all the constellations.”

She pointed up. “Those stars there that are shaped like a necklace, they were my aunt’s favourite.
Seven sisters that were sent to be wed to seven kings. But the kings fought on the right who would
be allowed to marry the eldest, whose beauty outshined those of her sisters. So the kings wrapped a
necklace around a bull’s neck and whoever could retrieve it would win the eldest’s hand. The elder
sister did not like being bartered over, so she stole the bull and rode it into the sky with her sisters
where we can see her every night.”

“I don’t get why she wanted to run away.” Naruto said.

“She wanted to be free.” Sakura said. “I don’t remember the name of the constellation though. It’s
been too long ago.”

“Subaru.” Sasuke said. Sakura told more stories and Sasuke helped her with the names. They had
all needed to learn them for a naval mission to the Land of Islands. It had been a simple A-rank for
the team, until it had turned out several missing nin had joined the enemy. That mission had been
where they had earned their jounin rank in the field, and had officially became known as their
generation’s sannin.

Naruto’s clones lasted for a few more minutes, before popping off. Naruto hardly seemed to notice.
Half an hour later, Sakura jumped up with a fright. “My parents were expecting me home already.”

Sasuke nodded, and looked around to make sure she had not left anything behind. “You’d better go
then. We’ll walk you home and apologise.”

Naruto snored a little, and turned around. “Five more minutes.” He grumbled.

Sasuke sighed a little. “Guess not. Sakura, we’ll see you tomorrow. Good luck with your parents.”
He reached down and placed two arms under Naruto, before lifting him up. He continued in a
whisper. “Naruto will be crashing on my couch, apparently.”

“Why don’t you just wake him up?”

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. “We are talking about Naruto here. Do you want to be subjected to the
prank he’ll enact on us for daring to interrupt his sleep?”

Sakura shook her head, giggling softly, before she waved and quickly left for home. Sasuke carried
Naruto to his house. He stopped halfway there. Most of the ANBU guards would have gone ahead
to the house, while the rest was at least far enough that his chakra could not sense them. He looked
around carefully to make sure there were no eyes trained on him, waiting a few more steps to be
sure the conditions were perfect. He formed a one-handed seal and made six new shadow clones.
They all hid their chakra signatures well as they dispersed and went to relieve the previous copies.
Though he doubted Sakura would get in any serious trouble, he did need to know about the
conversation for his own peace of mind.

Sasuke continued to the house and gently dropped Naruto on the couch. Naruto stirred a little, but
settled in quickly. Sasuke reached for Naruto’s boots, before he realized exactly what he was doing
and how pissed off Naruto would be if he found out Sasuke had undressed him.

He sighed. It was so unnecessarily complicated like this. He had lost count of the amount of times
adult Naruto had trained till exhaustion and had to be carried to his bed. But now, Sakura
questioned him about it and Naruto would probably do it too the next morning. There was a simple
reason for that. Sasuke was pushing their team’s familiarity at an unnatural pace. Which was
exactly what he had told himself he should not do.

Sasuke was less in control of his actions than he would have liked. And he could either berate
himself for it, or accept it and find a way to deal. If he was going to be unable to refrain himself
from doing these kind of actions, he needed to prepare an excuse for why he was acting the way he
was.

He frowned as he headed upstairs and grabbed some cushions and a blanket. He gently put the
pillow under Naruto’s head and then draped the blanket over him. They would get a little dirty
from Naruto’s shoes, but nothing a wash would not fix.

He then headed to his own bedroom. He would go to bed shortly, but first there was work to be
done. His clones had been thinking about training schedules all day. Sasuke dismissed those
specific clones and everything they had worked out came to him. It was time to put it to paper. The
guards were watching him still and they would find it peculiar when Sasuke had a completely
ready training schedule somewhere in his bookcase. It was already suspicious enough that he had
ancient scrolls of jutsu in there, which just happened to have a perfect fit for Naruto and Sakura’s
skillset.

He woke up early the next morning and drew a bath. After cleaning himself up and dressing, he
moved into the living room.

“Naruto, time to wake up.” He said, though Naruto just turned around again.

“Five more minutes.”

“You said that over eight hours ago.” Sasuke shook his head, then pulled out his secret weapon.
With his very best Iruka impression, he turned to Naruto and raised his voice. “Why are you
sleeping during class?!”

“Sensei!” He shook awake, completely disoriented.

Sasuke smirked, then patted his shoulder. “You should get ready. We are expected in only an hour.
There is a bath already drawn and breakfast will be ready by the time you’ve finished.”

Naruto looked around confused, but headed into the direction Sasuke had indicated. Sasuke went
into the kitchen and turned on the rice cooker. A little over fifteen minutes later, Naruto walked
into the kitchen with damp hair, sitting down at the table.

“I can’t remember how we ended last night. Did I ask to stay here, Sasuke?” Naruto asked.

“You were sleeping after training and I did not want to wake you up.”

“Why didn’t you just let me sleep outside then?”

“What, my couch was so bad that you would’ve preferred dirt?”

Naruto’s head turned red. “I didn’t mean that.”

“Let’s just have breakfast and then I’ll…”

“Stop!” Naruto slammed his fist onto the table. “What are you expecting in return for this, teme?
You think I’m gonna grovel at your feet cause you’re nice to me?”

“Have I done something to upset you?” Sasuke asked.

“Just forget it.” Naruto breathed heavily. He moved to storm off, but Sasuke was standing next to
him, a hand on his shoulder.

“Naruto?”

Naruto shook his head from side to side. “It’s stupid. You’re stupid. Let me go.”

Sasuke lifted his hand off Naruto’s shoulder. The orange genin lept at the chance to walk away.

This Naruto was still a child. Sasuke as a teenager would think Naruto was mad at him, but Naruto
was not the sort to get mad at his friends without being able to explain himself. Naruto was an
emotionally stunted young boy who tended to lash out whenever he felt something too heavily
without understanding why. “Please don’t run off.” Sasuke said. “I get that you are uncomfortable.
But can we talk about it, please?”

Naruto halted in the doorway.

“Tell me, is this the first time you slept over at a friend’s house?”

Naruto hesitated at first, but then he nodded.

“You said you would have preferred it if I had left you outside. It is a lot more dangerous out there
than in here. Do you think I would have slept soundly if you might be getting hypothermia or were
attacked by wild animals?”

“But if you had just woken me up, I could have saved you all the trouble. I could have just slept at
my place.”

“It wasn’t any problem. Naruto, if I had woken you up yesterday, I would still have insisted you
came with me instead of heading home. It was late and I truthfully don’t mind you crashing on my
couch. If you think you are a bother, stop right there. I like having you around." Sasuke walked
towards him and pressed two fingers against Naruto's forehead. “Get that through that thick skull of
yours.”

Naruto huffed. “Who in their right mind would consider the next Hokage a bother?” He forced
himself to smile and sat back down.

“Maybe I should have woken you up yesterday. Sakura said I should have. I spent quite some time
thinking since then why I did not. It’s just – and I know this will sound weird – I want us to be the
kind of team where we can sleep over at each other’s homes. I want Sakura and you to be able to
train here without having to worry about getting back home in time.”

“It’s okay Sasuke. I’m just not used to this.”

"Let’s have some of the miso soup before it gets cold." Sasuke placed the bowl in front of Naruto
and they proceeded to serve and eat breakfast in silence. When they were done, Naruto looked
around uncomfortably.

“Can you help me bring the dishes to the kitchen?”

Naruto nodded and gathered them up. He seemed surprised when Sasuke started to wash them. It
was not something Naruto was used to in his normal routine. He seemed completely out of his
element as he took a drying cloth in hand and stood next to Sasuke. "I'm not sorry for yelling."
Naruto said. "Just so you know that."

"Whatever." Sasuke said, even while guiding the genin through a process that was wildly
unfamiliar to him. He mentally translated it to what Naruto actually meant, anyway. “It’s not like
yelling is going to scare me off.” Sasuke handed him another bowl. “Just so you know that.”

After the dishes were done, Naruto had cheered up a lot. They grabbed their gear and headed out
the door.

Sakura was already at the tower, one foot hesitantly placed on a wall. Sasuke could feel her chakra
reaching out to it. She was not trying to make it stick, instead just pushing chakra in seemingly
random patterns. Her face was scrunched up in deep concentration. She radiated curiosity.

She barely noticed when Naruto and Sasuke showed up. “Morning.” She said absent-mindedly.
Naruto could not get much use out of that kind of mental practice, so he settled on continuing one
of the books Sasuke had given him. Sasuke joined him with a book of his own on Uchiha’s clan
laws. Many students and teachers passed them, though most were too preoccupied to comment.

Kakashi met them only two hours later, saying nothing as he passed them by with his nose in his
erotic literature and the smallest indication that they were to follow. They went inside for their first
mission. "Today you will be getting your first D-rank mission. You will need to pick up a lost item
in the river."

Nearly all faces turned to Naruto and the lack of complaining was ear-deafening. "Naruto-kun,"
Iruka said gently, "Are you fine with this?"

"Of course. Genin teams are not allowed to participate in cooler missions until they meet the
former requirements."

"Formal requirements." Sasuke corrected, but he doubted anyone but Naruto was really hearing it.

"Right, formal requirements. Don't get me wrong. I'll be pissed as hell if you think we're only
suited for lower level D-ranks after we’ve proven our worth, but I get that the mission coordinator
needs the time to verify competence."

The expression on the Sandaime’s face was priceless. They handed the mission scroll to Kakashi
and headed outside to their destination. Sakura just had to ask. "How did you know all that,
Naruto?"

"Daro-san has to put up with complaining ninja all the time. He hardly gets any work done trying to
explain to all kinds of ninja the rules that are already taught at the academy."

"Who’s Daro-san?"

"The most awesome ninja ever! Well, after me and the Fourth Hokage, of course."

After that rather helpful answer, Sasuke offered that it was the protagonist of the book he had given
Naruto to read. Kakashi gave him a strange look at that but said nothing of it. They handed them
some other standard documents and they set off.

The river was filled to the brim with garbage, it seemed. It was a miracle any water was still
flowing at all. Kakashi gave them a grin before telling them to get to it and that he had important
jounin matters to get to. He seemed to disappear, but Sasuke could sense him staying nearby. He
was in one of the trees, no doubt reading his book while keeping an on them. He had never been
able to figure out how their sensei could multitask like that while half-blind.

"I don't suppose either of you know a water jutsu?" Sasuke said, kneeling down to get a better view
of the river itself.

Naruto and Sakura shook their head, both looking hesitant. The previous time he had been this
young and on a similar mission, Sasuke had jumped in and had given them a hostile look that
forced them to join him in the search if they did not want to be considered more worthless than
Sasuke already considered them to be. This Sasuke planned to do it a little differently. He would
take the role that Kakashi was not filling.

"Sakura, can you tell me what we need to do today?”

“The mission objective is to find a particular item in this river. A girl was planning to propose to
her girlfriend, but she accidentally dropped the box with the engagement ring into the river. We
were given a brochure too. It’s handed out to everyone who has a mission near the river. It informs
us what kind of material we could recycle and how much we could get paid for it. It’s part of a
long-term campaign.”

“What are the steps to doing that? Can you break it down for me?"
Sakura hesitated, but then went to look at the river like Sasuke had. "The river is shallow. We can
walk into it and starts searching through everything. We’d have to start at one end and
methodically go through it all. If we want to earn some extra money, we could keep a look out for
anything we could easily bring to the recycling plants.”

"Naruto, how long would it take to do this if all three of us worked together, step by step?"

"I don't know, a couple of hours?"

"That's a decent estimate. I think it will take about five and a half hours, considering the ground we
have to cover, give or take about an hour depending on what we find.” A huge grin appeared on
his face. “So, knowing all this, how would you like to get it all done in forty minutes?"

“That sounds insane.” Naruto said. “I love it.”

“Do you have some secret way to cheat out of this?” Sakura asked. “Maybe more blackmail to get
another jounin to do your bidding? Or some jutsu from the secret Uchiha archives that allows you
to find rings?”

“I don’t a jutsu like that exists.” Sasuke said, though it did not seem impossible to create. An
algorithm to check different items within a certain radius to see if it complied with certain criteria.
With a little tweaking, it could even have variable conditions so it could be used for different
things. Sasuke set part of his mind to creating it, before getting back to the task at hand. “No, I am
planning to cheat with a large amount of manpower, an encyclopaedic knowledge of recycling
rules, and a bit of creativity.”

“So, you want to use my clones.” Naruto said. “You do recall that I remember everything they do?
With twenty clones doing menial tasks, this mission will be twenty times as boring for me.”

“Yes.” Sasuke said. “And I’m sorry for that. But anything we ask you to do, Sakura and I will do at
least once too.”

“Won’t the clones just get in the way of each other? It’s really easy to miss a single ring with all
this trash.”

“Indeed. Which is why we’re stepping up our game.

“Of course we are.” Sakura said. “Just wanting to do our first mission in a tenth of the time isn’t
impossible enough yet.”

“We want the administration to notice us. We want them to be impressed. This might not seem like
a very glorious job, but we are ninja now. Taking this seriously will signal that we take being a
ninja seriously. So when we are given a mission with a little note that says it will pay extra if we
manage to clean some of the river…”

Realisation dawned on Sakura. She looked over all the trash and tried to imagine how nice this
place could look. It was really hard. “You want us to clean the entire river.” Sakura said. “In forty
minutes?”

“We can do it. With this amount of manpower it’s actually more efficient to clean the whole river,
rather than look through it and leave it untouched.” Sasuke said. “Naruto, you’re in charge of
making clones and getting everything out of the water. Since that’s the worst part, we go in
together for the first time. Bring it all to a central point. Sakura, you need to evaluate everything
brought there. Then I’ll be over there, creating a bonfire.”
~*~

Sakura had to say the same thing fifty times, but at least she could stand still while doing it. Her
legs were still dripping wet from the first trip, but it beat Naruto’s task of having to constantly go
back into the water. She had dozens of Naruto coming over to her, asking her for a number. "13, S,
5, 7, S, 9." the clones moved to the locations and gathered the trash there. At one point they had
found some old sheets and they had started using them as designated areas. It would make it easier
to transport it later. Anything that could not be recycled, they brought back to Sasuke.

Setting up had been most work, rocks in a full circle large enough to contain all the trash that
would normally have been brought to a specialised factory. With a few extra precautions, they
complied with all the Konoha regulations to serve as an impromptu incineration facility. Sasuke
stood next to it and breathed fire on it every minute, taking the rest of the time to gather his chakra
and pretend the minor jutsu was exhausting him.

Sakura kept answering questions for Naruto. A plastic bottle was sent to the plastic refinery,
number 3 in their system, but this one had contained milk and the milk farmers used a chemical in
the plastic to make their product look whiter through the material. It needed to be filtered out first,
which meant the chemical lab, number 7 in their system. It was child's play for anyone who knew
the ninja recycling guidelines as well as she did.

After only thirty minutes, they were all done. Nearly a third of the garbage had been incinerated.
The rest was being carried away by hundreds of clones, leaving for their destinations in small
teams. All that remained at the site were three genin, one small pile of clothing and a little box with
a ring in it.

"Kakashi!" Sasuke called out. There was silence, but he stayed certain despite the two weird looks
he was getting. "Unless you like explaining why your team went off to roam around town causing
trouble, I suggest you come back to turn in the mission with us."

An annoyed Kakashi appeared in front of them, pouting. "I think I should have stuck to my first
impression of you three."

~*~

All four of them were carrying a small bag of soggy clothes, which they needed to bring to the
tailor near the Hokage's tower. Every few minutes Naruto reported the success of another group of
clones and tales of their trip to the various garbage collection facilities.

"Was there something wrong with the assignment, Kakashi-san?" Iruka asked once they were
okayed to see him.

"Just that it was too easy. We finished a few minutes ago." Sasuke said, placing the engagement
ring on the table.

Iruka was squinting his eyes a bit at the jounin, almost missing Naruto's gleeful expression trying
to draw his attention. He responded in a carefully soft tone, as if there was an angry tiger under his
desk that he would set off if he did not control himsel. "It is really great that you finished so
quickly. We have a bit of a back log, so I'm sure you would not mind taking on another
assignment."

They were sent into the basement of the Hokage tower to sort through paperwork. Not surprising
considering how much of it existed in Konoha. When a ninja finished a public mission, a report
was made by that ninja of the events that had transpired. The original was stored with the mission
desk, while backups were kept in a separate location. And then there were the copies. One copy
was sent to the ninja registry, where they were sorted based on the ninja who completed the
mission. One copy was sent to the client archive, where mission reports were sorted based on the
client. A copy was sent to the information department, who made further copies if they thought
any other department should be informed about events that had transpired.

A copy was also sent to the statistics department for analysis. Which was Team 7’s assignment for
the day. The statistics department made lists of every jutsu used during missions, skills that were
useful, items that were used. They were the ones to let the Sandaime know if other villages were
getting more ninja that used wind techniques, so that Konoha could encourage extra focus on fire
specialisation.

The department had also been forced to prioritise which cases they could analyse. Most missions
were standard fare and involved little politics. Without any direct utility, they had stuffed those
reports into boxes and shoved them into the basement. Now a question had come up about crime
rates in an area of town and the department had been asked to provide information about the
detachment of ninja around Konoha.

Someone from the department took five minutes to explain to Team 7 the way their reports were
supposed to be filled in on a summary document and left them an example. He stressed that they
were only required to partially fill the summaries, and only from those files pertaining to that
particular part of town, since they wanted the job to be finished within two weeks. He had shown
them to the basement before going back to his own work.

Naruto’s eyes went wide. Not only was the entire basement filled with bookcase after bookcase of
missions, but an entire wall was lined with boxes. Sakura looked a bit more calculating, while
Sasuke took a first box and opened it up.

“There are 71 boxes here.” Sakura said.

“This box contains two stacks, each stack a couple dozen files. As a rough estimate, there are about
a hundred mission reports in each box.”

“There are seven Konoha districts so assuming it’s equally divided that still leaves us with over a
thousand mission reports to go through.” Sakura frowned. “To get this done in two weeks, we
should get started as soon as possible.”

“Yes, you should.” Kakashi agreed. “Try not to burn anything down. I’m going to take a nap now.”

The jounin was gone in the blink of an eye, slotting into the hidden compartments of the ceiling
where he could observe without having to do any work.

Sakura let out a sigh. “With just three of us, we may need to work overtime. I know it’s not
normally allowed to spend more than eight hours a day working on a mission, but we may be able
to get permission. Unless the clones work for this as well?” She looked hopefully at Naruto.

“I can try, Sakura-chan…” Naruto looked uncertain.

“Wait.” Sasuke said. He grabbed the top file and sat down in an empty corner of the room,
motioning for the other two to join him. “We do the first one together again. Let’s save the
discussion about planning until we know what kind of work it actually is. Naruto, can you write it
down for us?”

Sasuke gave Naruto a pen and an empty data form.

“First the case number.”

Sakura read it aloud from the first page of the report, and Sasuke reminded Naruto where to fill it
in. Sasuke read an area code next, and then read the rest of the case aloud. He prompted Naruto to
try to extract the necessary information and assisted where needed. Information like the amount of
time it took to complete the mission. Whether specific jutsu were used. Whether specific
provisions of the ninja rules were applicable. Whenever Naruto had a question about the rules,
Sakura answered before Sasuke even had a chance to.

“I think this is going further than they instructed us.” Sakura said.

“It’s good to get an understanding of the department, I think. These reports contain valuable
information and when we become stronger ninja, we will be expected to read and understand them.
Let’s see how far we get with it.”

Thirty minutes later, they had a complete data sheet on the mission ready. The particulars of the
case were summarised on a single sheet of paper, divided into several blocks per category. Now
that they knew how it worked, filling these in completely would take about twenty minutes, or
only five minutes if they stuck to the specifically requested information.

“That took about as long as I thought it would. I would like us to do all of the reports as fully as this
one. We should be able to manage it.”

Sakura raised her eyebrow. “Do you think we can do that and still finish in time?”

“It depends. Naruto, do you think you can concentrate well enough to do 24 of these by yourself?”

Naruto swallowed. “Can I just say that this is no fun? We spent all morning picking up garbage. I
know the two of you worked the whole time too, but I did most of the dirty work. It worked out
okay in the end and I was glad to get finished so quickly, but you want me to do this every time?
And now it’s reading?! That’s worse than garbage!”

“Yes, I want you to use clones for all the missions.” Sasuke said. “If you do not want to do it,
Sakura and I would never force you. But this is the fastest way for us to finish these missions,
which has several advantages.”

Naruto grunted. “This is a whole lot of paperwork, Sasuke. What could possibly be worth it?”

“The money for one. This mission is worth a half month’s wage. Finishing more missions than we
need, makes sure we get paid more and can buy the quality gear we need to equip ourselves for
higher ranked missions. There’s also the fact that some ninja privileges don’t get granted until
ninja have been on a number of missions. There are some resources we need that just can’t be
accessed yet. Most importantly though, there’s a certain reputation that comes with doing
impossible things. If we want the people in charge to take notice of us, we need to constantly do
better than our peers and step up our game whenever we can.”

Sakura shook her head. “You are asking Naruto to do a lot more work, while all the benefits are for
the entire team. It’s not fair. At least not like this.”

Naruto looked at her. “Sakura-chan?”

“If we’re really going to be earning more all thanks to Naruto, then he should be getting a bigger
portion. If there are privileges granted to our team, Naruto should get first use of them. And when
people take notice, they should know Naruto is the main reason we are able to do all this. Is that
okay, Naruto?”
He waved it away. “That’s not needed Sakura-chan…”

“Yes, it is.” Sasuke said. “Sakura’s right. We’re asking you to do more work, so you get more of
the rewards.”

Naruto nodded with a big smile on his face. “Okay then. Thanks, you guys.” He glanced the
paperwork again. He seemed hesitant.

“Nobody really talks about it, but as Hokage you have to do a lot of paperwork. It’s not as
glamorous as taijutsu practice, but look at this as Hokage training.”

“Okay.” Naruto looked determined as he made his sign and a dozen clones spread out the boxes to
open them.

“Naruto, at the moment it’s just about preparing everything. Making stacks for your clones to work
through, spread out with enough empty space that they can easily make their way to us if they
encounter a case they can’t figure out without help. First, you’ll have to send a clone to the market
to buy at least two hundred pens.”

Naruto and his clones blinked a few times and stared at the pen they were all holding. It had
duplicated together with the rest of Naruto. “Because the ink is duplicated. If we dispel, the ink
disappears with us?”

Sasuke nodded. He handed one clone his wallet. “It’s the same reason why you shouldn't just ask
your clones to buy things with duplicated money. At least, not while we’re in Konoha.” He
smirked. “At least, not with Konoha merchants who treat you fairly.”

The other clones worked to get everything set up. Once the pens came in, Naruto made more
clones and started to work. A few minutes later one clone had found the first troubling case, which
the original trio spent a lot of time discussing. A ninja had thrown a kunai from one district, hitting
his airborne victim in a second district, whose corpse fell down into a third district. The ninja had
then dragged the corpse to a fourth district to hide it.

The bureaucratic version of the ninja rules left little room for nuance, but got harder to understand
when the problems became greyer. They had to read the relevant rule three times, and dive into the
official rulings on the supplements, before arriving at the final classification.

“The ‘location’ of an incident is the district where the crime takes place.” Sakura read. “When an
incident has taken place in multiple districts, the district which is most related to the victim will
take precedent, where relatedness is defined by the average amount of time spent by the victim in
those districts per week. If this cannot be determined, the living quarters shall be taken into
account. If the victim lived outside Konoha, or in none of the districts where the crime took place,
then the district where he worked can be considered. If the victim neither lived nor worked in
Konoha, or the incident took place neither in the district he worked, nor where he lived, then the
district will be chosen based on the district order from the Konoha founding Charter, article 16. For
procedures to determine where the victim spent most of his time, see supplement 22B.”

Naruto blinked a few times. “I still don’t get it.”

“Look at this.” Sasuke tapped the piece of paper he had been writing a flow chart on. “Take it one
line at a time and then try to follow these rules.”

Naruto looked at the case again. “The victim had only been in Konoha for two days, but he resided
in district 2. Guess we should put that down then.”
Sasuke rubbed his neck as they completed the report’s location and set the data sheet down. There
were two more clones standing in line for help. It went on like that for at least half an hour. Naruto
refreshed his clones then, and they became a lot more capable in solving their own issues. Half an
hour after that, with three more troubling cases behind their belts, a refresh of the clones kept
almost all of them at bay.

Naruto used their free time to tell the others about some of the more unusual cases his clones had
encountered. After four hours in total, they were done. They cleaned up after themselves, before
heading back up to the statistics department.

“I was afraid this would happen. I could not spare the time before to explain thoroughly and rushed
you into the job. Give me a minute and I’ll see if someone can spend a few minutes helping you.”

“That will not be needed.” Sasuke said. He handed the man a single box of papers. “We’re done.”

“No, that’s not possible. You must have missed…” the man’s eyes become wide. He rummaged
through the stack quickly for some specific cases to check in more detail. It had to be ones he was
familiar with. “These are completely filled out. How did you know how to do this?”

“We read a lot.” Sasuke said.

“And the stack is so large that you must have gone through every single file in the backlog, not just
for the district we needed. You must be joking.”

“We are Konoha’s Team 7. We do not joke about our missions.”

“But how? We will need to take some random samples and check the work.”

“As is standard procedure. We understand. The cases have been sorted to make that job easier and
placed back where we found them. Do let us know if we can do anything else for you.”

Kakashi had not strayed far and collected them, saying nothing of their unusual speed. The mission
desk had closed though and Kakashi sent them home. Sasuke offered to train together again, and
they were at his house a little while later.

"I wanted to show the two of you what I have been working on." Sasuke unrolled the scrolls for the
team's training schedules and started pointing out different areas.

"The first subject we can train in is combat. We will need to focus on close range combat, long
range combat, and mental combat. For close range we can work on taijutsu, defensive ninjutsu,
minor genjutsu, weapon fighting. For long range we can work on gap-closing taijutsu, offensive
ninjutsu, heavy genjutsu, and weapon throwing. Mental combat is easiest with genjutsu, but serious
results can also be achieved with strategic planning or tactical considerations."

Sakura and Naruto looked like they were trying to follow, but were constantly a few words behind.
He tried to slow down. "There are also non-combat subjects where we will need practice and
training. Survival skills such as making fires, setting up camp, cooking wildlife. Tracking,
including finding ninja by scent, sound, vision, chakra. Communications, such as hand signs and
our own secret code. Information gathering, such as eavesdropping, lockpicking and lip reading.
Movement, such as the tree-walking we have already learned, and using chakra to jump or to move
silently.

"Preferably, we should have several options in each category. We will need to keep in mind the
chakra cost, the element, the area that is affected with each technique, monetary costs of the
techniques, time to execute, and strength of attack."
"This seems like too much to keep track of." Naruto said. Next to him Sakura was struggling to
place the information she had just heard in the context of the schedules that had been drawn up.

"You want us to specialise in a way that lets us work together most effectively, while all
individually able to do anything we might be asked to do as ninja. Mostly learning different things
to get the same results, even if there is expensive equipment required, except for some areas where
we are supposed to have the exact same skills and knowledge."

Naruto scratched his head. It was not getting much clearer for him. Sasuke quickly wrote the
essence above the schedule to remind all of them what they were trying to accomplish. "The
important thing is to all become better ninja, on our own and as a team, without becoming copies of
each other."

Naruto agreed with that and sat down, ignoring the rest of the schedule in front of him for now.
Sakura followed him a little later.

"For the moment, there is a lot left to learn together and to catch up on. Naruto, I have found nine
more books you might enjoy and prepared two of them for you to read. I suggest having one clone
read during the training sessions, or saving the books for the two hour long Kakashi-waiting each
morning. If you have a preference which books should be prepared next, just let me know. The
training itself should focus on taijutsu for now, including some throwing techniques. Sakura, you
should try to build up chakra reserves and muscle first. You have the skills already."

Sakura tensed a little. "I'm not sure that would be a good thing to start with. I am very good with
chakra control. Can't I just work more on that?"

Sasuke looked at her for a few seconds. He had been afraid of that. Future Sakura had told him
once about her youth and what she did then to appeal to Sasuke. Well, no easy way to broach that
subject. "Sakura, are you worried that I will not think you're attractive if you build more muscle?"

The water that Naruto had been drinking spilled all over the table. He was coughing hard as Sakura
answered.

“That would be ridiculous.” Sakura said, her face turning pink. Of course it was when Sasuke put it
out in the open like that.

“I know some of the rumours that go around the Academy. I once said hello to a girl with long hair,
and from there came a sudden Official Uchiha Fanclub ‘Fact’ that girls with short hair would never
stand a chance with me.”

“What, really?” Naruto asked. He had not been as involved with the rumour mill as the other
students.

Sakura nodded. “Y-yeah. There was a rulebook and everything.” She ran her fingers through her
long pink hair. She had grown it out because of that rumour. “Not like those girls were sure of
anything, but there was no harm in trying. Was everything they thought they knew about you
wrong?”

“Most of it for sure. I have no preferences and I have not been looking. My mind is completely
focussed on achieving the goal that I told you about when we introduced ourselves to Kakashi."

Sakura looked crushed, but like she was trying to keep up appearances. "The man you want to
kill?"

"Yes. The world will be a better place without him in it and I do not think anyone in Konoha is safe
until he is gone.”

“I see…” Sakura looked away sadly. “So there’s nobody you like that way.”

“Not in that way. But I do like the two of you. I like spending time with you. You are my friends.”

Sakura sighed, but then she nodded. “I like spending time with you too. With both of you. It’s been
a long time since I’ve had so much fun.”

“Of course, once I have my revenge and I can start thinking about the future, I think I would want
to expand a friendship into a relationship instead of starting anything from scratch.”

“You don’t have to take pity on me, you know.” Sakura said.

“It’s not pity. It’s really not.”

“How do you know you won’t like me now if you won’t even give me a chance?” She said. She
had been working hard to catch Sasuke’s attention. All the girls in the Academy had treated it like a
game that the one with the most points would be able to win. It had to be a little devastating to hear
that nothing she could have possibly done could have worked.

“It’s not one of my priorities. But I can suggest a compromise, because I do understand that I’m
asking the two of you to shift your own priorities around for me.” Sasuke motioned for the Uchiha
training fields. "On my best days, I take two minutes to circle around the complete training
grounds. I suggest the three of us start each training session with a run. If you can beat my record, I
will go out on a date with you so that we can try it out. Is that acceptable?"

Sakura smiled briefly, but then shook her head. “Sasuke,” she hesitated, uncertain how to phrase
her objection.

Sasuke finished for her. “You don’t want to force a date on me?”

She nodded. “It would not be the same.”

“I know I’m asking you to try something new by taking the physical training more seriously. It’s
only fair that I’d be willing to try something new as well. It won’t be forced. You’re my friend and
I will enjoy spending an evening out with you. Would that work for you?”

“I think I’d be okay with that.” She smiled.

“I’m just grateful we can train like this together and become stronger as a team.”

“I’m happy too, Sasuke. I get to be your friend and that counts for a lot.”

Sakura stood up and made her way to the training grounds.

Naruto stayed behind, unsure what to think of it. He liked Sakura as much as she liked Sasuke. It
had to feel weird when Sasuke discussed the topic so openly when Naruto had so much trouble
discussing his own feelings towards her.

“You coming, Naruto?” Sasuke said. “I’m curious to see how fast you can make it too.”

The race was over quickly. Naruto needed four minutes, and Sakura needed six. They spent the rest
of the day training as planned. Sasuke gave some instructions for Naruto’s clones to practice and
then did exercises with the original Naruto and Sakura. They stopped earlier than the day before
and went their own ways.
 Sakura had relented on strength training, though she was a little worried what her mother would
think. The diet Sakura was on had largely been shaped by her mother, after all. But she did want to
become stronger and she had to admit her nutrition did not currently help her with that. She needed
more calories and she needed more protein to grow stronger muscles.

Because a stronger Sakura meant a Sakura that would be more likely to survive. They would not be
stuck on D-rank missions forever. A C-rank mission to the Land of Waves would come and they
needed to be ready.

Chapter End Notes

Next update ‘Misunderstandings’ in two weeks: evening of November 11th (CET).

Need a bit more breathing room because I'll be working on my Naruto rewrite for
Nanowrimo. If you're interested, I just posted the first chapter of 'Sundial in the Shade'
where mostly the same things happen as in canon, but Naruto is smarter and works
harder for what he has to achieve.

Weekly updates for The Uchiha Platoon should resume in December.

I've replaced one mystery (Kakashi failing Team 7) with another (how did Sasuke
convince Kakashi?). I know it's bad practice to hide information from the reader when
Sasuke is basically the POV character, but there's a reason I have the unreliable
narrator tag. Sasuke refused to think in detail about things that he is ashamed of. And
also I’m curious who can figure out Sasuke’s solution. Because there is an actual
solution and it’ll be talked about eventually.

Fun fact, this chapter used to be twice as long. Or rather, it used to cover twice as
much ground, before I expanded in details and a 48-page chapter had to be cut in two.
Next chapter we’ll get to see why Iruka was acting off and how Team 7 functions
without Kakashi. Which is pretty much identical to how they function with Kakashi
supervising them and doing nothing.
 Misunderstandings
Chapter Summary

Time for more D-ranks.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“That’s clever.” Naruto noted.

Sasuke scribbled it down for their notes. “It’s chuunin-level thinking.”

“Told you they were ready.” Sakura grinned.

Sasuke glared more at her. She was once again ignoring their stipulation that she be quiet during
the evaluation.

Sakura was completely unbothered. “And did you see that chakra control during the Kawarimi?
No wasted energy at all.”

“How many can she do?” Naruto asked.

“Don’t answer that.” Sasuke groaned. “We can only use the information we observe personally.”

“I’ll be quiet.” Sakura mimed zipping up her lips, while obviously flashing three fingers to Naruto.

Naruto whistled. “Impressive.”

“Still think I was too biased to ask for an evaluation?”

“Yes.” Sasuke said. “It’s only been three weeks since they graduated. No team’s ever improved
fast enough that it merits an evaluation within a month.”

“Nobody’s ever had me as a teacher before.” Sakura said. “Just keep looking.”

The three of them zeroed in on the cat. One of them got their hand on the creature and it suddenly
froze with its mouth wide open. The second pushed in a pill and the third used a small water
technique to summon enough water to make the cat swallow.

“Made that pill himself, just to add.” Sakura said proudly.

“Genjutsu, ninjutsu and medical jutsu.” Sasuke sighed. “Okay, you win. How did you manage all
this?”

Sakura chuckled. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

~*~

The next morning, they met at the Hokage tower. “Is there a problem with the mission?”
“The same as last time.”

Iruka looked at the team. “You are not supposed to spend more than eight hours on missions each
day.”

“We know, sensei.” Naruto said. “We finished the assignment in six hours yesterday.”

Iruka sighed but went through the scrolls all the same. He took his time, seeming to look for a
specific mission. “Today we have a mission helping a few citizens with their groceries.”

Kakashi tensed, but remained silent, while Sasuke realized what had been the weird vibe he had
gotten when they had received their mission the previous day. This could end up being annoying,
but it would all be fixed as soon as Kakashi confronted Iruka. Which should happen any second
now.

Why was Kakashi just standing still as if he lacked basic social skills?

Oh.

Well, Sasuke would just have to do it for him then. “You think Kakashi is doing the missions for
us.”

“I know he is.” Iruka said. “You don’t have to pretend, Sasuke-kun.”

“Wait, how the hell did you reach that conclusion?” Naruto looked bewildered at Iruka, and then at
Sasuke.

“The grocery missions that Iruka is trying to give us, is in essence a village charity. Citizens have
to pay a little extra for the groceries and the ninja can keep the money. In order to keep
administrative burdens low, the mission does not get recorded beyond the very basics. It will not be
registered as an actual mission so it becomes harder for the jounin instructor to meet required
quotas. It’s a huge hassle, which is why these missions are usually given to jounin who are
misbehaving. In this case, presumably for doing all the work for us.”

“Hey!” Naruto complained. “That lazy ass just read his books all day while we did everything!”

Iruka raised an eyebrow. “Naruto, you won’t be judged as a bad ninja if Kakashi is handling the
missions, it’s just…”

“It’s just that we’ll be judged incorrectly.” Sasuke said simply.

“It’s just that we do need things to stay fair.”

“May I make a suggestion? What if Kakashi stays here today and the three of us do our missions
by ourselves?”

“This is only the second day as ninja, Sasuke-kun. I really don’t think…”

“I support the idea.” Kakashi said, already settling down in a corner and taking out his book.

“I haven’t approved it yet. And even if I did, why do you assume you can just stay in here all day?
There are much better waiting areas.”

Kakashi shrugged, eyes fixated on his book. “That would involve moving.”

“I’m not paid enough for this.” Iruka shook his head. “At least with your successful missions,
there’s budget in your compensation to pay for a test to prove your autonomy.”

“No.” Kakashi said, not even looking up. “Since it’s your suspicion that makes this test necessary,
it is only fair that when my team’s competence gets verified, the costs fall on the administration
instead of the team.”

“That seems a little excessive…”

Kakashi smirked. “You’re the ones who raised the issue.”

“It’s just that we do need things to stay fair.” Sasuke noted.

Iruka brought his hands to his face. “Fine. Administration will take on the costs, but only if you
succeed. And do you know what happens if you fail?”

“It’s ground for you to suspend Kakashi.” Sasuke said.

“That’s correct. How do you know about that?”

Sasuke shrugged, before pulling out a book on ninja procedures. “I’ve been doing some light
reading.”

Iruka looked at Kakashi for any reaction, but he only got a small shrug. Iruka shook his head and
then grabbed a D-rank mission from the stack. “You will have eight hours to complete this
mission.”

Sasuke accepted the scroll and unrolled it to check for the specifics. “This is a fixed time mission.”

“Yes, but it is the only one of today’s missions suitable for testing as determined by Konoha
protocols. I cannot prioritise another mission without extenuating circumstances.”

Sasuke frowned. “This will not show our ability to complete the missions with the speed we have
been. It is useless for proving Kakashi’s claim that he did not assist yesterday.”

“I might be able to justify giving you a mission that has been on the backlog for a while. There are
so many of those that …”

“Give us five.” Sasuke said. “In addition to this one.”

An awkward chuckle was the only thing to penetrate the silence. Iruka took his time to respond
slowly and carefully. “The guarding mission takes eight hours. You can’t take more than that at
the same time.”

“Why, you think we can’t be in multiple places at the same time?” Sasuke grinned at Naruto. “I
think we will manage just fine.”

“But Sasuke-kun, if we can’t finish, there’ll be dire consequences.” Sakura said.

“Yes, I am aware of the additional penalties. I am confident in our abilities, however. Are you two
with me?”

“Of course.” They both said.

“Kakashi, do we have your permission?”

“You realise what I will do if you fail?”

Sasuke nodded.

“Then I support it. Iruka, give him whatever missions you have lying around. And feel free to
make it difficult for them.”

Iruka browsed through the missions and then picked out five scrolls that were handed to Sasuke.
“Good luck. I can see your confidence, and I feel really bad about this. I think Kakashi has been
tricking you somehow. Just try not to be too disappointed if you cannot make it.”

“I’m sure we’ll manage.” Sasuke said. “We’ll need a mission clock.”

“Of course.” Iruka went through some drawers and retrieved two small devices. He pressed the
button on top of both of them. “One is ours and will remain here. The other goes with you.”

Sasuke accepted it and then handed it to Naruto. All of his clones would need to stop the moment it
went off, no matter how spread out the team was at the moment.

“That clock is your limit today, understood? We will expect you to drop all work as soon as your
time is up. No matter what.”

“That sounds dangerous.” Naruto remarked.

Iruka sighed. “You can safely stop whatever you’re doing. We’re not unreasonable, Naruto-kun.
Just like there are exceptions for crazy scenarios like foreign ninja invading the village or a D-rank
mission leading to a medical emergency or other extenuating circumstances.”

“Does extreme hunger for ramen count as one of those special circumstance?”

A vein was pulsing on the side of his head. “What do you think?!”

Naruto grinned. “From your passion, I’m thinking yes.”

“Get out!”

~*~

“Are you sure about this Sasuke?” Naruto asked. He was fidgeting a little as they walked with all
eyes on them. Ninja were usually good at keeping secrets, but they were also information gathering
experts. When a fresh genin team took six missions at the same time, the latter won out over the
former. “How are we going to manage all this?”

Sakura was walking while she was reading. “This is pretty strict. They need three people assisting
and the requirements are extraordinary. I’ve only familiarised myself with half of these rules and
regulations.”

“Try to stay calm. We will just take this problem on one step at a time. Talk us through the
mission, Sakura.”

“We have to go to the southern gate. Due to a flu outbreak, they are short on personnel and require
emergency assistance. They need three ninja to be trained in three different tasks. One will be
trained to inspect people coming into the city. Another will be trained in assigning proper passes
for citizens trying to leave the city for a temporary time frame. The last will be trained in the
proper protocol involving incoming messages.”

“Those sound like complicated tasks, which might take all day to learn. They will have another
ninja present who will be primarily responsible while we serve as back up.”

“They still require a lot out of us. We’ll be lucky to get a fifteen-minute lunch break.”

Naruto sighed. “You want to use my clones again, don’t you?”

“Of course.” Sasuke smiled. “Incoming messages will have a huge backlog and limited priority.
Naruto, you should go there. Your clones will be most useful there and you should have enough
privacy to make additional clones.”

“I will take the job inspecting people.” Sakura said. “I’m most familiar with protocol.”

“Then that leaves me making passes. I know enough about the process already.” Sasuke wrote it
down on the mission scroll, ignoring Sakura’s protests about him using an official document as a
note. “Now, to create opportunities to leave today, Naruto will need to supply Sakura and me with
a clone to be taught together with us. It will be hectic there, so we can have the clones replace us
with a henge when we need to.”

“What if they do notice? Is that a bad thing?”

“Possibly. It’s hard to tell what they will think of having shadow clones helping them instead of
real ninja. It’s best not to tell them.”

Naruto frowned. “But then how will we explain there are another two of me?”

“I’m open to suggestions.”

The both of them gave it some thought, until Sakura offered a possible solution. “If Naruto makes
three clones and uses henge, we can say there’s a second team to help us.”

“What about the mission scroll?” Naruto asked. “Won’t it be a problem that it says only team 7 has
been assigned?”

“Not necessarily.” Sasuke said. “They’re overworked and tired. They’ll be eager to accept the
higher ups would be willing to set aside normal procedure and send additional help.”

“You really think that will work?” Sakura asked.

Sasuke smiled. Naruto had never been worked to the bone like that, but he could easily imagine
accepting help without asking questions. Sakura found it more difficult to believe they would
overlook protocol. “If it does not, only the clones get sent away and we can think of another plan.”

Sakura nodded and opened the next scroll. “The cat of a noble woman has been missing for a few
days. It needs to be tracked down, captured without getting hurt, and brought back to her. The cat is
jumpy and experience has shown it requires three genin to capture it. Her influence has made this a
priority mission on the backlog, though it has only been filed recently.”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “Searching for that cat could take most of the day by itself.”

“We do not have a lot of skills dedicated to tracking. But I happen to know this cat runs away
regularly. It is known to favour a forest where it can sunbathe and that has an abundance of mice
running around. With enough clones, finding it should not be hard. Capturing is a little harder, but
that just needs us working together. Naruto, can you send some clones to scout ahead?”

Naruto nodded, a small group heading off towards the forest they had mentioned.
“Then the third mission. The academy walls have been defaced with graffiti. It needs to be cleaned.
Application filed six months ago. Cleaning has become too expensive. Instead buckets of white
paint have been bought to repaint. But they have only three paint brushes. If only three people work
on it, it would take most of the day to finish.”

“Then we should get started right away. Naruto, do you mind sending four clones?”

“I thought there were only three brushes?”

“So one of them can do oversight and dispel itself in case they need anything from the original
Naruto.”

Naruto nodded. The clones popped into existence. They took the scroll and went on their way to
the Academy.

“The next is a gardening mission. Several houses need their weeds pulled and Konoha has
combined them into a single mission. The earliest application was filed a year ago, the most recent
a few weeks previous. How can somebody live in a house a whole year with weeds overgrowing
their garden?”

“If there is nobody around to help, you learn to live with it. Or they do some maintenance, but
cannot keep up. But you make a good point. If their garden is overgrown, there might be very little
left after the weeds are gone. We should bring some fresh greens along and do a little landscaping.
Just enough that they still have a garden after we are done.”

“I did not realise landscaping was one of your skills.”

“I do own my own house, you know? It has a garden and everything. But yes, I was mostly
thinking about getting some extra grass seeds. If we can talk to a flower shop, the salesperson can
hopefully give us some additional tips. Perhaps something that will prevent too many unwanted
growths in the future.”

“Second to last is a request to do laundry at a woman’s house. Due to a back injury, she is unable to
do hard labour around the house. Her neighbours are helping where they can, but she requires
shinobi assistance. She put in the request… that can’t be right. Two months ago?”

“There is a mission backlog. This is what that means. People who need help have to wait much
longer than is reasonable or fair.”

“But this poor woman.” Sakura shook her head. “According to Konoha social security laws, you
are entitled to government assistance at least once a week, but no less than once every two weeks.”

“And those same laws contain a best effort clause. As long as the village is in wartime, no
individual department can be blamed for failing official deadlines.”

“Wait, what war?” Naruto looked around him. “Aren’t we at peace?”

“In practice, but not officially. Ever since the start of Third Shinobi World War, the village has
been under military rule. This is normal for a period of time after a war. You cannot be sure the
enemy will obey a peace treaty.”

“Yeah, but it’s been over ten years. How long is this supposed to last?”

Sakura sighed. “It keeps getting extended. While there is still danger, Konoha needs to keep
comprehensive intelligence on the other villages. We were taught this in the academy, but I had no
idea it trickled down into things like this.”

“We got the mission today so her wait is over. But she could be difficult to deal with. Naruto, how
much experience do you have doing laundry?”

“I do my own, but it’s not my favourite thing to do.”

“Do you separate the colours from the whites?”

“I don’t own anything that’s white.”

“Okay, no offence, but I’d feel better if Sakura or I joined in. We’ll wait until we can get away
from the gate. What’s the last mission?”

“Konoha hospital needs ninja to do a supply run. They need a collection of herbs. They have a
specific list and are happy with anything that can be gathered. Apparently, they can create
medicine from them with a long shelf life and they are running low. They’ve noted how much they
need, considering projected illnesses and how long the medicine can last. Request filed… three
months ago.”

“Some of it must have run out by now.” Sasuke said.

“Yeah, there are additional updates. The quantity they can safely receive keeps increasing,
presumably as their stock is further decreasing. They are buying the plants they need at the market
when they can find them and collecting them in the woods themselves when they are desperate.
Most of the specialised medicine has been depleted. The delays in treatment are a serious risk and
two people have died already.”

Naruto gasped. “Really?”

“Well, the mission clerk noted that no definitive link could be proven. But even if that’s true,
people are bound to get hurt like this. Technically we’ll succeed in the mission if we can bring
back any one of the plants on this list.”

“Why isn’t anyone helping them?”

“It’s not that easy.” Sasuke said. “There is no person solely responsible for keeping the hospital
well supplied. The leader of the hospital has to deal with his personnel, managing the building,
curing patients. This is but one problem among many for him. This is but one mission among
many at the Hokage’s office, where they have many interests to consider.”

“But people are getting hurt. We got told to bring back a cat, before we got told to help the
hospital.”

“The woman who owns that cat donates generously to Konoha for these privileges. If she did not
get the help she requested, it would mean less money going to the hospital, less doctors working
there and even more people dying. One of the things we need to learn as ninja is that we save more
people looking at the bigger picture than by getting boggled down by the problems of individuals.”

“I can’t accept that.” Naruto had a look of determination on his face. “These people need us. We
can’t just shrug and walk away because there are too many problems.”

“I think we have found another reason then to do as many D-rank missions as we can. Save one
person at a time and eventually everyone will be better off.”
Sakura looked over all the missions again. “Do you really think we can do it all?”

“It will be a tight fit, but we’ll manage.”

“And otherwise Kakashi gets suspended. It’s a good thing you’re blackmailing him or none of this
would be possible.”

“I’m not blackmailing him.” Sasuke said.

It did not seem to convince his teammates.

“Back to the matter at hand. Guard duty, catching a cat, painting a wall, fixing a garden, doing
laundry and gathering medicinal herbs.” They would have to stay in one location all day, while
doing jobs in five different locations as well. With Naruto on their team, that was not that difficult.
“We will need some supplies. Naruto, I need one of your clones to go to the library and borrow a
book that describes medicinal plants. We will also need a general text on gardening.”

“No problem.” Naruto’s copy went off to the library. He made another three with disguises to
follow behind the main team.

“Good try, nice variation in hair colours. But try to get a few more differences in facial features.
Give the one of the left Kiba’s nose and the one on the right Ino’s chin. Yeah, that’s better.”
Naruto might not be the best at theory, but he had a flawless memory when it came to people.

The chunin who greeted them at the gate seemed incredibly relieved to see them. They were not
kidding. He had been handling all three responsibilities by himself. There was a decent line waiting
in both directions. At the loud complaints of the civilians, he told them all to wait.

“I was expecting three of you. Who are the others?”

“They sent additional help. We…”

“Great! My name is Iwashi Tatami and I will be needing two of you to go with me. Quickly now.”

Naruto had been rehearsing the excuse for quite a while now. But none of it was needed. “We were
assigned specific jobs. Which do you need help with first?”

“Issuing passes. The others need to get in position.” Tatami got into the booth, expertly getting a
pass ready. “Identification please.” It took him just one glance and he started writing. “Purpose of
your leave?”

“Going to fish at fire lake with some buddies of mine.”

“Going to sell anything you catch?”

“Nope. Anything we won’t eat there, we’ll throw back into the water.”

“Very good. Password will be Pisces89. Enjoy your trip. Next.”

Sasuke whispered in Naruto’s ear along with each step. “We need to check the identification for
validity. There are four things we need to look out for. On the pass we need to note why they are
leaving and whether it’s commercial or leisure. You write on carbonic paper so there is a copy.
You make up a password and write it, with encryption, on the Konoha copy.”

The chunin had been listening. “Which encryption do you use?”

Sasuke glanced at what had been written down before. It translated to ‘Pisces89’ in only one
standard script. “Konoha special encryption number 6.”

“Take the next one.”

Sasuke nodded. There was a man with a backpack. He had his identification out already. “Naruto,
to confirm identity, we have to make sure to check the shape. There is supposed to be a curve on
all four sides and the curve is supposed to be identical.”

“But this one is different on the left bottom corner.”

“Exactly, this man is using a fake id. Show us the real one.”

He grumbled, but took a new pass from the back of his pants. “I’m trying to surprise my daughter
with some fruits that grow around the Black River. If she finds out I went out of town, she’ll know
I got her some.”

“Does she work for the registry?”

“As a secretary. A lot of the reports pass her hands.”

“We still need to register your name, but I can make the handwriting a little harder to read. She
won’t recognise your name at a glance. You are only leaving to collect the produce for personal
use?”

“Yeah. Well, no. If I get there early, I might collect some extra for the market. No use wasting a
full trip.”

“That’s fine. Your password is Ambriosia67%. Have a nice trip.”

The chunin nodded approvingly. “What are the other two signs for checking ID?”

“Watermark in top left corner and spelling errors.” Sasuke said. With his hands he signalled the
fourth: a correct check digit in the ID number. It was dangerous to talk about all of your security
measures in the open, after all.

“How the hell do you know all this?”

Sasuke shrugged. “I read.”

“Well, you seem more competent than the regular bunch I am sent. Keep extensive records for me
to check your paperwork and I will keep an eye on you. I’ll show the others what to do.”

“Yes sir.”

The next hour was spent getting rid of the line. It took Naruto a few tries, but he became proficient
soon enough in checking the IDs. It took him a minute or so to confirm the ID numbers, but he got
better at it over time. Sasuke made the passes at first, but was soon teaching Naruto to do that as
well. The cryptography was relatively simple, since so many people needed to be able to decipher
it. It helped that Naruto had a manual nearby to help him encrypt.

Sakura was helping people into the village with a different Naruto clone in a booth across from
them. They could see each other and it appeared the chunin was similarly impressed with her
assistance. She knew a lot already and quickly caught on to the rest of the rules. She knew exactly
when to search the visitor’s bags or when to confiscate their weapons. Naruto took a bit longer to
learn, but caught on none the less.

After the third hour had passed, Sasuke could see it was time to move on. “Naruto clone, dispel and
let the original you know that we are moving out. Make clones to replace us and let’s slip away.”

It took only a few seconds and then they were away from the gate. The only problem was the
chunin standing in front of them. “A bit irresponsible to skip out of a mission, isn’t it?”

Naruto and Sakura looked guilty, but Sasuke had been expecting this. “On the contrary. You were
assigned three ninja today and you’ve had the assistance of six. Have we been unsatisfactory?”

“You have been a great help. But it is too early to leave Naruto, no matter how many of them there
are, by himself.”

“How did you figure it out?”

“I’m a chuunin, Sasuke-kun, who spends most days at a gatehouse looking through shapeshifting
and clone techniques. Give me some credit.”

Naruto pouted. “I tried so hard though! Why didn’t you say something from the start if you’re so
clever?”

“I didn’t mind you playing games if it helped me.” Iwashi shrugged simply.

Sasuke highly doubted that. He had checked Naruto’s Henge at the start and it was more than
adequate. Naruto had slipped up in a different way most probably and Tatami was too proud to
explain it. Sasuke would get the story from his own clones later, who would have seen Naruto’s
behaviour. “It’s calm now, isn’t it? The lines are a lot shorter.”

“It’s also close to the lunch rush. What are you in such a hurry for anyway that you’re slacking off
on the clock?”

Sasuke took out the extra mission scrolls. “I don’t think it’s called slacking off when we want to
leave for a different mission. We are being tested on our competence.”

He looked through them one by one with increasing incredulousness. He whistled. “Whoever
designed this test must really hate you. It’s impossible to finish in such a short time.”

“We designed it ourselves, in a way. Let’s cut to the chase. How many clones would you need with
you to let us leave?”

“It’s not a matter of quantity. Though he is improving by leaps and bounds, Naruto is not the same
help Sakura and you are. I need the two of you here.”

“And we need to finish all six missions, Iwashi-san. I promise you that we will handle this well.
You will not notice there are clones at all. And either Sakura or I will stay here until Naruto can
handle the position by himself.”

“I’ve been training both of you for different positions. I need both of you.”

“Sakura, what are the last three passwords I gave out?”

“Ficus43, Rose79, Heroically202.”

“Last date the ID-system was changed?”

“Two years, three weeks and four days ago.”

Sasuke turned to the chuunin. “Not only has Sakura been paying attention to how I’ve been
working, she has more knowledge about the system than I have. And I’ve been watching her too. I
guarantee you that you only need one of us.”

Iwashi sighed. “Fine. But this mission still takes priority. If you do not deliver on your promise, I
will recall both of you and file a direct complaint with the Hokage.”

“I would expect nothing less.” Sasuke said. “Okay, Sakura and I should take turns doing the other
missions with Naruto. We have five missions to go in as many hours.”

Naruto grinned wide. “Actually, four. The Academy walls are painted.”

“I thought that was supposed to take all day.”

“Yeah, but the awesomeness of Team 7 is rubbing off on me. Also, I have the books you requested.
I would have gotten the cat too, but that bastard’s incredibly slippery. My clones are keeping an
eye on it, but I’ll need help capturing it.”

“Okay, that’s good. Four missions left then. I’ll go first.”

Sasuke and Naruto left a small army of clones for Sakura before making their way to the poor
lady’s house. It was a decent house with a nice garden. When they knocked, it took her a few
minutes to let them in. She had long black hair and used a walking stick to get around.

“So those braggarts finally sent someone to help me.” She said. “And it’s a bunch of kids. Where’s
your teacher?”

“Kakashi-sensei is otherwise imposed.”

She rolled her eyes. “Did he even bother to show up this morning? Can’t believe that lethargic
simpleton got a team of genin. I almost feel sorry for you.” She pointed to a back room. “I’m Iway
Jun. Laundry baskets are over there.”

Naruto seemed a little taken back by her demeanour, but followed her directions anyway. Sasuke
coordinated the effort to get all the clothes in washing tubs and have Naruto’s clones get to work.
He had to work hard to show him in the beginning, but Naruto quickly picked it up. Within a few
minutes, Naruto’s clones had started the job in earnest while the original and Sasuke had gone back
inside to check on the woman.

Jun was sitting at a table, staring outside a window. “Fancy ninja techniques. The Shadow Clone,
isn’t it? Quite impressive to have out so many at your age.”

“Were you a ninja, Iwai-san?”

“Just a genin. I was never good enough at controlling my own chakra, no matter how much I read
up on everything. I left when I realised I had been wasting my time. But it’s where I met my
husband. He never gave up. I couldn’t get to chunin, but he made it to jounin in just a few years.”

Naruto smiled. “He sounds like a very awesome man.”

“When did he pass away?”

Naruto seemed surprised, but it was only natural the way she spoke about him. And luckily Naruto
was smart enough not to voice his questions out loud.

“Two years ago, on a mission outside the village. The house just isn’t the same since.”

Sasuke nodded. “It is always a great tragedy when the people we love are taken from us.”

“I tried to be strong for him. I started working as an administrator again. But then I hurt my ankle
making a misstep on some damn stairs. The doctors say I won’t ever be able to put weight on it
without significant amounts of pain.”

“That must make it very difficult to do day-to-day tasks.”

“It does. I used to pride myself on my busy schedule. These days I spend the afternoon recovering
if I go grocery shopping in the morning. Even having guests takes a lot out of me.”

“If we’re bothering you in any way, please let us know.”

“Not at all.” Jun sighed. “My husband’s teammates try to come around sometimes. It’s hard to talk
to the snollygosters when I know they’re only coming to asway their guilt. But this is nice. Do
excuse my manners. Normally I’d offer you some tea.”

“Would you like me to make some?”

“I couldn’t ask that of you.”

“It’s no trouble.” Sasuke smiled. It took only a few minutes to prepare the warm drinks for them.
Naruto continued talking to the woman, asking her about her work and growing up as a ninja. Then
when she did not object, also about her husband and how many strong ninja the two of them had
met.

After Sasuke joined them again, he mostly let the two of them talk. Armed with a comfortable
beverage, the woman really opened up to them. Sasuke had started talking to make her feel better
about the delay, but Naruto took to her quickly.

“My clones are almost ready.” Naruto said. “I think we should get ready to finish up.”

“I’ll be most interested in hearing what further adventures you get up to. And I wish you the best of
luck with your missions today.”

“We’re not ready here yet, ma’am.” Sasuke smiled. “Though we are going to need your help in a
few minutes.”

The washed clothes and linen were all hung up to dry in the garden. It would take several hours to
dry in the sun. Most teams would let the woman take it all down herself in the evening, possibly
with help from neighbours. But team 7 was not like other teams.

Sasuke inhaled deeply a few times, to get the proper mixture of chakra ready, before exhaling a
botched version of his fireball technique. Hot, dry air blew over the clothes, greatly reducing the
time the clothes needed. It was not immediate, but it was quick nonetheless.

“Start taking everything inside. I’ll show you how to fold it up.” Sasuke directed several clones.
The folded clothes were presented to the woman, so she could tell them where to stow everything.
Sasuke intended to leave her with full closets and as much energy as possible to do other things
with her day.
When everything was done, Jun had tears in her eyes from gratitude. “You have no idea how much
today has helped me. And I’m not just talking about the clothes.”

“It was our pleasure.” Sasuke said.

Naruto repeated the sentiment, though he probably believed in the words a lot more. “We’re going
to be busy training, but let us know if there’s anything you need more help with.”

“I think I’ll manage for a while now. Still, I’d be happy to share more stories with you any time
you’re interested. Especially if you make the tea again.”

They made their way back to the gate. Their first mission had taken a little under an hour. Sakura
was pleased to see them and even more pleased when Naruto reported their success. Sasuke quickly
switched places with Sakura, letting her go with Naruto to catch the noble woman’s cat.

“I’ll see you guys in an hour. Don’t be long, now.”

Sasuke was left helping six fresh clones do their duties. They had already picked up most of the
necessary skills and information, but Sasuke was still needed to fill in the gaps. He made sure to
show him how to solve the problems, instead of just giving the answers. He needed to become
obsolete, after all.

He had to admit he was a little nervous sending out Sakura and Naruto by themselves. He trusted
them, but in the end they were still just genin. There was a reason everyone was so amazed at the
work they were doing. Normally genin were not equipped to handle all this. But Sasuke had clones
of his own, always hidden out of sight and always following his teammates. Actually helping them
would be the problem.

They had a jounin tail ever since they had left the Hokage tower. It was highly probable that their
performance was being tested throughout the day rather than just by the end result. They seemed to
be following Naruto and Sakura at the moment. Anything Sasuke’s clones would want to do would
have to be subtle enough to get past a jounin ninja. Not an easy feat. Sasuke was too far away and
knew too little of the specifics to be able to plan anything out.

“You seem to know your way around the Ninja rules.” Iwashi said. They were helping Naruto
clones with the messages now that both incoming and outgoing visitors were getting properly
helped. Naruto only needed their help one out of every five times. Their position above the gate
also gave them a good view on Naruto’s work and let them easily step in if they spotted an error. “I
doubt you got all that from the Academy.”

“Some. I learned most of it by myself. I am an Uchiha, after all, and I will need to become a
member of the Konoha Council someday.”

Tatami sighed. “Try not to forget the little people when you get there. I can’t believe how often the
council complains about us.”

“Is it that bad?”

“It’s insane. In the name of safety, they add more and more complex rules and guidelines to our
workload. We’ve hardly had a chance to test out how well the new proposals work when they are
already thinking up even more ludicrous additions.”

“That sounds hard to keep track of.”

“Tell me about it. It’s been relatively easy with the three of you, because I’m building from the
ground up. But any ninja who’s gone more than a few weeks without a guard duty is highly likely
to be working with outdated information. It’s exceedingly difficult to determine what they’re
lacking in, so we have to monitor everything they do for a few days.”

“With the amount of rotations in the village duty rosters, there’d never be a stable workforce.”

“And then they have the audacity to complain that we take too long processing our paperwork.”

“Sometimes a mind is split into contrasting desires. They want security, but also a prosperous
economy. They want to facilitate trade with other villages, but they also want to keep a very tight
leash on who can enter Konoha. Especially in politics, it is hard to object to ideas that sound good,
even if they become impossible in practice.”

“It sounds stupid.” Naruto supplied.

“It usually is.” Sasuke said. They were working through the messages quickly, with two clones
assisting Sasuke and Iwashi. There was a backlog of at least a week, which they had made a
serious dent in. At this rate, it would be completely gone by the end of the day.

“I have to say, this is not how I thought today would turn out.” Iwashi smiled. “I would have been
an incredibly happy man if we had limited the amount of complaints to under a dozen and had
passed along the most urgent messages coming in today while leaving the rest for the backlog. I
was not expecting everything to work better than with my usual partner.”

“It’s all Naruto’s doing.” Sasuke said. “He gets a real kick out of helping people.”

“Is that why you’re taking on so many D-ranks?”

Naruto’s clone smiled. “It’s one of the reasons. I’m going to be the next Hokage. The sooner I start
helping people, the sooner they’ll give me the hat.”

The chuunin rolled his eyes.

Sasuke would have none of that. “It is one of the main reasons we are taking it all so seriously. We
need to complete missions for money. We need the money for supplies. We need the supplies to
train more efficiently. And we need to train efficiently so that Naruto can become Hokage as
quickly as possible.”

“You actually believe he can become the strongest ninja in the village?”

“God no.” Sasuke smiled. “Neither of us would settle with that. Becoming the strongest ninja team
in Konoha is only the first step. Next is becoming the strongest ninja team in the world.”

The chuunin chuckled. “Everyone dreams they can be the strongest.”

“And one of us gets to achieve our dreams.”

“What about you though? What will you do when Naruto becomes Hokage?”

“I’d be content as his advisor. Once we have the power, we can start bringing change. Peace,
happiness and fulfilment. There will always be fighting, but we can get to the point that no more
lives are lost in war, I think. That the fights end with people understanding each other better,
instead of only building the resentment.”

“It must be nice being young.” Iwashi smiled. “We’ll talk again in a decade, when the endless
shifts of bureaucratic life have jaded you more.”

“That would take too long.” Naruto said. “Four years. I’ll be Hokage in four years.”

“If not sooner.” Sasuke smiled. “I’ve been meaning to discuss it, but I think four years is a little on
the pessimistic side.”

“The two of you are mad, absolutely mad.” The chuunin laughed out loud. “But I think I can see it
somehow. A vision of the future where you really manage to do as you’re saying. Wouldn’t that be
interesting? I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

They worked hard, making sure everything was working properly. The messages were getting sent
through, probably to the annoyance of all the other agencies that were getting an unusual amount of
work sent to them. The flu season must have affected them as well. No matter though. If they
asked for help too, team 7 would be available the next day. It would be good for Naruto to see
more of Konoha’s ninja government in action.

Soon an hour had passed, but Naruto and Sakura had not returned yet. There were only two hours
remaining in the day. It was making Sasuke anxious, though his clones would surely have notified
him if something serious had happened. His whole body felt itchy, urging him to go check up on
them. Help them where needed.

“You can go help them, if you want.” Iwashi said. He had clearly noticed Sasuke’s body language.

“I’m tempted.” Sasuke admitted. “But we promised you Sakura or I would stay here.”

“I can handle it by myself for a while, especially with Naruto helping so much.”

“It’s not only that. I appreciate the gesture, but I asked Naruto and Sakura to complete the mission I
entrusted to them.”

“You would be disappointed in them if they failed.”

“No, I would be disappointed in myself not to have given them more time to succeed. I know they
can do it.”

“But your missions…”

“We’ll manage somehow.” Sasuke said. “I’m going to drill the Naruto clones on the facts needed
for the next mission. I want to get as much theory in them in possible.”

Sasuke did not let up on the clones. Every second of rest they would have had was spent being
stuffed with information and being quizzed by Sasuke. Every wrong answer earned them a
disappointed glare, while correct answers earned them a more difficult question. Each clone was
insanely grateful when someone came along and they were forced back into the work at the
gatehouse for a few minutes. They preferred it to Sasuke’s scrutiny.

Another hour passed, each minute more agonising than the one that came before. Each minute
reminding Sasuke that there was more on the line than Naruto and Sakura were aware of. What
Kakashi would do if they failed this test. Then finally he heard the two ninja’s voices in the
distance. He dropped everything he was doing to run to them.

They had scratches on their faces and were staring daggers at each other as they jogged back.
Sasuke was about to run towards them, when his mind faltered. The scratches were bleeding and
suddenly he was not standing outside a gatehouse waiting for his teammates. He was cradling
Naruto’s bloody and desecrated head, crying his eyes out while his subordinates told him to move.
He was in his nightmares where he had imagined the minutes before Sakura’s death, before
nothing was left of her but ashes.

Their voices grounded him and brought him back.

"If you had just moved a little quicker like I told you to, it would not have slipped away that first
time."

"Well if you would not have made so much freaking noise, it would not have noticed me before I
got to it."

They were interrupted by an Uchiha crashing into them in a forced hug. “Where the hell have you
two been? I was worried sick.”

“We’re so sorry Sasuke.” Sakura said. “The cat kept slipping away.”

“You should have told me what your progress was.” Sasuke said. His clothes were getting dirty and
both teammates were trying to pull away, but he refused to let go just yet.

“I can’t communicate to my clones.” Naruto said.

“You should have made a new clone and sent it to me. The information would have been outdated
by however long the journey took, but I would not have been left wondering.”

“It was just a cat, Sasuke. We weren’t in any danger.”

Sasuke finally let go. “You were out of contact, which left me to my imagination as to what had
happened. I have a highly active imagination.”

Sakura had a guilty face on but Naruto just rolled his eyes.

They made their way back to the gate where Naruto’s clones could finally pop. The original
Naruto felt unsteady on his feet, having to grab Sasuke’s arm to keep himself upright.

“Why the hell did you fill them up with this much information?” He said, still dizzy.

“I should probably have warned you to pop them one at a time. Consider it payback for making me
worried.”

Naruto shook his head, before replacing them. He would have gotten the clones’ memories of
Sasuke fretting as well. Not to mention the other conversations, including the clones’ excitement of
finishing these missions as a first step to becoming Hokage. “We have an hour left today and two
missions to go. How are we going to manage that?”

“I’ll stay behind.” Sakura said. “The two of you can finish the missions more quickly than I would
be able to.”

“We’ll both go. Naruto knows enough by now to get by. And Iwashi-san already told me he won’t
mind anymore.”

“Then who does what?”

“Sakura, take Naruto and start weeding the gardens. Don’t replace any of it yet. I am going to need
two hundred clones or so to accompany me outside of the village.”
She nodded and soon they parted ways. Sasuke started moving quickly. The plants they needed
grew in a specific area of the forest. The most difficult part was finding the correct plants within
that area, which would be relatively easy with the amount of manpower he was bringing.

And of course, the passes to exit the village had already been prepared by that day’s team assigned
to the guard house.

It took nearly twenty minutes to get to the correct spot. “Okay, all of you gather around in a circle
around me. Not so close, at least a hundred feet away.”

It took the Naruto clones a minute or so to manage it, but they were finally standing side by side.
Sasuke had to shout to make himself heard.

“Look away from me, and then start moving in that direction. This is the Burst formation. You all
know the plants we have to gather. We practiced it enough. If you find any plant that matches the
description, gently remove it from the earth, leaving the roots intact. Find two plants and then
return here. Take at most ten minutes. Go!”

The clones moved quickly and methodically. They felt the time restraint just as badly as Sasuke
could. When the first clone returned, Sasuke started explaining the plan to him in full.

“Naruto and Sakura are clearing gardens from weeds. They are probably overgrown and there will
be little left after we are done. The original Naruto needs to talk to the owners and ask them
permission to plant medical plants in the gardens.”

“What will that do?”

“We are going to be gathering up too much today. More than the hospital can handle. The
medicine has a shelf life, but these plants will live and multiply indefinitely. It’s better for the
hospital if these plants can be grown inside of Konoha.”

“That sounds nice, but why would the owners agree to that? Whether it’s a weed they don’t want or
medicine they don’t want, doesn’t sound that different to me.”

“If they mention the medicinal plants when they request weed removal, the mission will get more
priority. It means it will be less likely they will have to wait as long as last time.”

“What do you need the boss to do?”

“Start asking permission. Start preparing the gardens that allow it so that the plants can be safely
transferred into the ground. Now, hand me the plants you’re holding and then pop.”

The clone nodded. Soon the ten minutes were up and Sasuke was surrounded by clones holding
plants. He scanned them all, making a mental count. They had enough of everything. “Everyone
with me!”

The journey was long, especially because Sasuke kept shouting back orders, ordering the clones
into several groups. They returned to Konoha twenty minutes later. The clones in one group went
to work immediately, bringing the plants to the gardens. The rest made their way to Naruto and
Sakura, who had already prepared a table.

They had seven minutes left. The jounin was nearby and had the same time count in their head.
They would know if Team 7 did not make it.

“Quick, start preparing the plants.” Sasuke said. Naruto cloned the table and had his clones sort the
plants. It was time for cleaning and processing.

The hospital would be grateful for the plants, but they could not easily turn it into medicine while
it was still in its raw form. There was a risk they would make the genin prepare the medicinal parts
before accepting the plants. They had time to do it now, but they would not have that time if they
went to the hospital first.

The clones managed the sorting and figured out what extra plants they had. They dispersed under
guidance from new clones to the various gardens that had given permission. There were no
questions on that front, so Sasuke could safely ignore them.

All three of them worked their asses off. The book had been pretty clear on the instruction and
Sasuke had drilled everything into Naruto. Naruto had shared the steps with Sakura while the
clones had been weeding. Some plants needed their roots chopped off, some needed their leaves
plucked off, some just needed to be cleaned. With all the clones joining in, they had everything
done within six minutes.

“Everything into our backpacks!” Sasuke shouted. All around him clones were gathering up the
ingredients into bundles, which went into Sasuke’s bag. It was all taking too long.

“We won’t have time to bring it to the Hospital.” Sakura said, even while she was working her
muscles to their limit, trying to get it all fitted in.

Naruto got more nervous with every passing second. They had to move at their maximum speed to
get there in time. Then 110% of their max speed. Then 120% of their max speed. The longer it was
all taking, the more impossible the task became.

Naruto and Sakura seemed ready to give up. There was too much to do and no way to finish in
time.

“I have a plan!” Sasuke said. “Just keep packing!”

That got them to listen. They were good teammates like that. As the minutes ticked away, they
kept working as hard as they could.

Three.

The last bag was finally in his backpack.

Two.

He took a kunai from his pouch. It was sharp and perfectly maintained. He had known from the
start it would require something like this. They were ninja. Cheating to win was in their blood.

One.

He slashed it across his hand. Blood splattered all over the work bench they had been working at.
And then the alarm in Naruto’s possession started beeping.

Naruto and Sakura looked shocked. “What the hell did you just do?!”

“It seems I accidentally injured myself. We will need to make a trip to the Konoha hospital.”

They were perfectly silent, even as they started to understand what Sasuke had just done. They
started to walk towards the hospital, Sasuke’s blood dripping to the ground every few steps.
“We made it.” Sasuke said. “That’s what counts.”

“It’s a technicality.” Sakura said. “What if your hand gets infected? The blood loss alone is going
to make you feel weak for days.”

“I don’t like you bleeding for us, Sasuke.” Naruto said.

Sakura nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

“You know I would have cut myself if you asked, right?”

Sakura groaned out loud. “I have the worst teammates.”

“We love you too.” Sasuke said. “Cheer up a little. We did the impossible today. That deserves
some festivities, right?”

“Nope. You’re getting bed rest.” Sakura said.

They made it to the hospital without any troubles. One of the nurses cleaned up the wound and
bandaged it.

“Here’s the paperwork to fill out. Can you manage it?” She said.

“Yeah, I’m right-handed. But could I ask for another favour? We were on a mission when I hurt
myself. Everything we needed to deliver is in our backpacks and we’d be grateful if you could
bring it to the first-floor processing desk.”

She seemed a bit confused. “Can’t you carry it yourself?”

“That would count as continuing our mission. My teammates accompanied me to the hospital and
carrying the supplies along isn’t against the rules. But if they leave me alone, it will be. If you
don’t take them now, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to deliver them. Please? I believe the
hospital has been waiting a long time for these medical plants.”

“Someone finally gave out the mission?” She said, browsing through the bags. She gasped. “This
is everything. There are several patients waiting on these medicines right this moment. I’ll get this
to processing right away.”

She hurried out of the room while Sasuke finished the paperwork. He handed it in at a desk,
specifically asking for a note that proved the injury. And then they were free to head back to the
Hokage tower.

They took six finished mission scrolls to the tower.

~*~

Iruka tried to focus on tomorrow’s mission roster. He had a tiny list of genin teams that were
available and far too many missions to give out. He had studied all fifty-six priority missions and
all 249 important missions. He could recite them in his sleep. The list of missions deemed
irrelevant was even larger and Iruka refused to subject himself to the depression it would cause him
to know the details of those as well.

There used to be a time where he could count on some chuunin to round out the ranks. But over the
past years there had been an increased focus on productivity numbers and efficiency. Every
chuunin that was lent to Iruka, meant that the chuunin mission coordinator would be able to
accomplish less and would have his pay cut for underperformance. It was not like Iruka resorted to
chuunin for every little thing. Only the high priority missions that needed to be taken care of. The
pompous ass cared more for his salary than the good of the village.

The simple truth was that Konoha did not have enough competent ninja. It was one of the reasons
Iruka refused to give up his duties at the Academy. Bless his fellow teachers for managing to
shepherd unruly children through weapon training without incidents, but most of these teachers had
chosen to work in the Academy because ninja work had been too hard on them. Iruka was the only
one emphasising penmanship and ninja procedures. He had enough trouble cleaning up
administration errors already, let alone if the Academy students only got taught by teachers that
were unaware of what an infinitive was, let alone knew not to split them.

This time of year was always the hardest on him. He had put so much effort into getting his classes
to graduate. It was challenging when he was presented with his own failure. This was the first time
in years that a whole class had been promoted to genin. He had been hoping for more than three
new genin teams to pass their jounin test, but still the jounin had set their impossible standards and
still the Sandaime let them get away with it.

Kakashi distracted Iruka by turning a page and Iruka was tempted to strangle him.

Oh, he had heard all about Kakashi’s little stunt. The jounin had tried to fail Team 7, before
someone had talked some sense into him. Iruka was not sure how the Hokage had gotten to
Kakashi, just that the decision had been overturned within hours. Kakashi should count himself
lucky. When Iruka had heard Kakashi had failed Naruto, Iruka had started sharpening his kunai.

Iruka could deal with the porn. It was not his thing, but among all the jounin it was a relatively
innocent vice. It was better than Asuma’s smoking. At least if genin started emulating Kakashi,
they would not end up with lung cancer. A sore wrist, at the most.

Iruka could deal with Kakashi’s tardiness. It was annoying, but Kakashi did show up eventually. If
he had a mission to hand out, he could just mark it as Kakashi’s and leave it on his desk. At some
point Kakashi would show up and do as he was told. And missions that required a quick response
would just go to other jounin. That was fine.

Because Kakashi was good at what he did. When he went on a mission, it was like a switch was
flipped in the lunatic’s head. He would either come back to Konoha with a successful mission
result, or with so much guilt about failing that he was on time for weeks. Allegedly. Iruka had only
heard rumours of Kakashi ever failing a mission.

None of that was in the forefront of Iruka’s mind. What was on his mind was how Kakashi had
toyed with the emotions of his genin team. How Kakashi, notorious stickler to rules when they
mattered, had found some way to get around doing D-rank missions. Of course they were boring.
Of course they were below his pay-grade. But Kakashi needed to give Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke a
chance to grow. If the genin were not given a chance to work on their own accord, they would
never stand on their own as ninja.

Iruka assumed it was Kakashi’s pride. The jounin would take one look at a couple of genin
attempting to work on their own and immediately want to step in when they made an error. Or not
even an error. Just something that was done differently than Kakashi would have wanted it done.

Iruka could just imagine the river mission ending in squabbling between Sasuke and Naruto. Wait,
there was garbage involved. Sakura would have been complaining too. Kakashi would have tried to
‘teach them a lesson’ for staying out of the water and would have used some water jutsu to douse
them in water and garbage. The genin would not have noticed how much easier it was to search
through the rubbish like that. He had probably found the ring already and made sure it
‘accidentally’ showed up where one of the children were working. That was Iruka’s best bet.

Sure, they claimed that all the garbage had been sorted but there would have been no time for that.
Their suggestion that Naruto had used his clones had been cute, but Iruka’s favourite student was
not studious enough to memorise recycling rules. Either they had been lying and Iruka would get a
report of illegal dumping within the next few days, or they had put in their best effort and Iruka
would get reports of wrongful recycling drop-offs within the next few days.

The statistics department was still a bit of a mystery and Iruka did not have the time to think about
it too much while he was still on the clock. His best guess was that Kakashi had somehow
decreased the amount of files Team 7 had to go through, fooling the children into thinking the
roughly seventy files they would have been able to finish in six hours was considered two weeks’
work normally. That sounded ludicrous.

But Kakashi was smarter than Iruka was. Just because Iruka could not figure out in a few minutes
of stray thought how the jounin had cheated, did not mean the impossible had been achieved. It
was not important anyway. Team 7 would fail today’s assignment and then Iruka would force
Kakashi to confess.

Kakashi was once more a shining example how competent ninja did not automatically become
competent teachers. Iruka’s efforts were soundly rejected to have even the most basic pedagogy
principles taught to jounin instructors before they were allowed to take on a team. And the result
was this burning trash heap of a person playing off his regular ninja skills as a teacher.

Kakashi turned another page.

Iruka wanted to gut him for the gall of assuming he would be allowed to stay in the mission desk
for a whole day. First Kakashi tricked his genin team, then he messed up today’s assignment
schedule, and then he decided to stick around reading porn while Iruka tried to fix the mess the
jounin was responsible for.

The gate guarding mission was supposed to go to team Gai. They had to be given a mission from
the backlog instead, which preferably would have been the Noble woman’s. Except in his haste
and confusion Iruka had given that mission to Team 7, realising too late he could have given it to
Gai. Now Iruka had to draft a formal apology for sending an inexperienced team on the mission
which was even worse than just delaying the completion with another day.

“There’s another request.” A messenger said, dropping a scroll at Iruka’s desk.

Iruka wasted no time opening the scroll. Someone had pulled in a favour with the Aburame and
they were using their Noble Clan privileges to demand a mission was completed tomorrow.

Iruka grit his teeth as he pushed a mission from the roster that would have fixed the hole in the
Southern wall, in order to replace it with a mission to help harvest vegetables from some
merchant’s gardens.

“Sorry.” The messenger said, dropping a cup of coffee off as an apology.

“You’re not the one I’m angry at.” Iruka said. “But thank you anyway.”

He would need the caffeine to pull himself through the night. There was so much paperwork
involved with genin failing their mission and Team 7 would be failing either five or six today.
Iruka just hoped they got through gate duty okay. That was the most important one anyway and if
they did not blow anything up, Iruka would count that as a win. But without Kakashi’s help, there
was no telling what would happen. He knew those children. Naruto would think he knew better
than everyone and make a mess of things. Sakura would be so crippled trying to be perfect, that she
would rather let Sasuke do the work. And Sasuke would do whatever he was told adequately, but
fail to help Sakura and Naruto. And then he would start arguing with his teammates when he got
blamed for their failings.

Bless their little hearts, but they needed guidance before they could grow. Iruka had done his best
for them. He had assigned group assignments with Sasuke so the boy could start socialising again.
He had lectured about Tsunade in the hopes that she could be a good role model for the kunoichi
and get them to assert themselves more. Naruto just needed someone to believe in him. The boy
was stubborn as all hell and would not accept any help if it came with disdain. But if he was
encouraged, there was no end to Naruto’s potential.

A clock went off and Iruka sighed. That was it then. At least he would soon get this over with. He
did not like disappointing Naruto and Iruka only hoped the ramen he was planning on treating him
to afterwards would cheer him up. Just the thought of Naruto’s sad face was enough to make Iruka
want to carry out his threat of suspending Kakashi. It would get Iruka chewed out by the Hokage
and Iruka would be forced to turn it into a reprimend instead, but oh how he would enjoy those
precious moments of revenge before it was overturned.

Time was done and Team 7 failed to show up. Even after Iruka took into account how long it
would take to travel back to the tower.

“They’re late.” Iruka noted.

“Hm.” Kakashi nodded. “I was afraid that would happen.”

“If they go into overtime…”

“I highly doubt that. Not with the kind of questions they were asking.”

“I don’t understand.” Iruka said.

“Give it time.”

Iruka frowned, before going back to the letters he had been drafting. He had left open spaces for
the particular ways in which Team 7 had failed, though he suspected most of them could be
summarised as a failure to show up at all.

Kurenai knocked and entered the room.

“So how bad was the damage?” Iruka asked.

Kurenai’s face twisted, like she was trying to figure out how to answer that question.

“That bad, huh?”

The door burst open with the kind of energy only Naruto could manage. "We finished the missions
Iruka-sensei! Told ya we could do it.”

Iruka could not believe Kakashi had been able to fool them even while he had been locked in the
same room as them. Oh. Of course. Naruto was not the only one who could use shadow clones. But
there was an easy way to burst that bubble. He looked in Kurenai’s direction.
The young jounin nodded. “They put on an exemplary performance. And yes, all within the time
limit.”

That sounded impossible. “But they’ve been gone for close to nine hours.”

Kurenai shook her head. “There was a medical emergency near the end.”

Sasuke held up his hand. “Had to get it taken care of. But we did not work a single moment over
the eight-hour limit.

Naruto looked up at Kurenai with beaming eyes. “You saw us being awesome?”

“She assessed us.” Sasuke noted. He looked at Kakashi. “More than just a test of autonomy then?”

“It was.” Kakashi said. “Kurenai, would you like to share the preliminary findings?”

“I’ll go more in-depth with my report, but I can give you the run-down." Kurenai took out a small
notebook. “As a team, they coordinated adequately. Sasuke often takes the leadership position. He
makes decisions quickly and efficiently. He is also able to communicate them effectively. I might
add that this contradicts the academy’s predictions.

"Those predictions also fail for the other two members of the team. While Sakura was predicted to
stay on a very theoretical side, today she displayed the willingness to get her hands dirty. Naruto
displayed tactical awareness in his mastery of the shadow clone technique. For instance, he realised
he could copy his brushes, but not the paint."

"It is my conclusion team 7 can be approved for D-rank missions without jounin supervision and
that they should advance to a C rank mission as soon as they are eligible."

As much as Naruto was beaming, it seemed that Kakashi was the one who was most pleased with
this result. “I think two days is a record, is it not?”

“Yeah, it is.” Iruka admitted. He looked at the scrolls in front of him. Six missions, all completed
and gone from his backlog. “And they’re all done to satisfaction?”

“Yes.” Kurenai said. “Team 7 went above and beyond the mission requirements. I would be
surprised if formal complements were not filed for at least two of these missions.”

“I just can’t believe it.” Iruka admitted. He took another look at the three children in front of him.
Just a few days since graduation had made a world of difference. If Iruka looked carefully, he
could even see how they carried themselves differently. They looked more professional than some
chuunin. “This is amazing. Naruto, how did the three of you manage it?”

“Sasuke has been helping us out. Like, a lot. He’s actually a pretty decent friend once he got rid of
that stick up his ass.”

“I’m really proud of you.” Iruka beamed. He had been dreading this moment all day, but found
himself feeling happier than he had in weeks. Though… one part of his evening did not need to
change. “Can I take you out for ramen to celebrate?”

“It’s a team victory though.” Sasuke said. “The three of us should celebrate together.”

Iruka somehow felt he had stepped on Sasuke’s toes. But before he could retract the invitation,
Naruto just got more excited.
 “I agree! All four of us can go out together!” Naruto was radiating joy all around them and even
though it was clear from Sasuke’s expression that this had not been the intended outcome, there
was something soft in there as well. Like Sasuke had as much trouble saying no to Naruto as Iruka
did.

Kakashi had one more issue to raise, however. “Can you confirm that Team 7 are authorised to
move to the next phase?”

Iruka nodded.

“Then Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, I will see you tomorrow at the training grounds at twelve.
Spend the morning doing D-ranks if you like, but conserve some energy. You are going to need it.”

There was no ground to object. Team 7 had clearly shown they were ready to move beyond the
initial team building and move into building their ninja skills. They were the first of this year’s
teams to get to that point, though no doubt Asuma and Kurenai would push their teams to try to
keep up.

Naruto was one lucky kid. Iruka would have to go all out tonight. Give the boy some extra energy.
Heaven knows Naruto was going to need it for his lessons in tree walking.

Chapter End Notes

Next update evening of November 25th, CET. Which will be the chapter where Sasuke
does politics, and Team 7 does D&D.

Nanowrimo's being a stuggle, but I'm still on track. Having a rough few days at the
moment, which makes me try to make myself feel better by staying up late doing fun
things. But then I don't sleep enough and strangely I feel worse. Funny how that
works. Check out 'Sundial in the Shade' if you're curious what kind of story I'm
working on.
 Hit the ground running
Chapter Summary

Naruto and Sakura train, Sasuke attends a Council meeting, and a tabletop roleplaying
game is played. Such fun =D

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“You did not just train a master genjutsu specialist in six months.” Sasuke said. “The boy knew
nothing more complicated than a Bunshin no jutsu when he left the Academy.”

“Are you calling me a liar, Sasuke-kun?” Sakura smiled sweetly. “Because this should be the point
where you grovel at my feet and admit defeat.”

“There’s still time. If Kyoko learns to use a third element this week, I still hold the record.”

“I wish you luck. Your last student needed five months to learn the third element, right? Kyoko-
chan learned the second element just last month.”

“She’s showing great promise though.”

“Nobody shows that much promise. Face it. You’re going to have to share with Naruto and me all
of those little ninjutsu training tricks you’ve developed.”

Sakura was too busy laughing maniacally to notice Naruto walking in.

“Hey guys. Just wanted to let you know I won the bet.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“I’ve refined my techniques.” He said, rolling out a giant scroll while munching on a sandwich. It
was an amazing piece of work. Not as impressive as most of Naruto’s work, but clearly the work of
a master. “Ren-kun made this.”

“You mean Hyuuga Ren? Didn’t he just graduate? How long have you been training him?”

Naruto grinned. “Eight weeks.”

~*~

Team 7, minus genin leader and plus Academy teacher, celebrated their successful evaluation at
Ichiraku. Naruto told a curious Iruka about the missions they had done so far. Iruka was sceptical
the three of them could get along well enough to accomplish the things they said they had, but the
proof was right in front of him. In the way that Naruto easily asked Sasuke and Sakura with help in
explaining without becoming embarrassed, how Sakura provided that help without insulting
Naruto and Sasuke encouraged Naruto without taking away the spotlight.

“So you’re brute forcing your way through missions with clones?” Iruka asked.
“It’s so versatile!” Naruto beamed.

“But isn’t it unfair that Naruto’s doing all the work?”

“It’s always a team effort.” Sasuke said. “We wouldn’t be able to do this without Naruto’s clones,
but we wouldn’t have completed these tasks in the same speed without Sakura’s theoretical
knowledge.”

“Nor Sasuke’s leadership.” Sakura added. “But we do acknowledge Naruto’s putting in more work
and we’re letting that reflect in the way mission pay is split.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have expected you to have sorted everything out by yourselves already.”

“It’s the least we could do.” Sasuke said. “Besides, out of the three of us Naruto’s probably the
most responsible with money.”

Sakura chuckled, until she realised Sasuke was not kidding.

“Don’t you manage the Uchiha finances, Sasuke?” Iruka asked.

“That implies there’s anything to be done with it. The Hokage’s office has already taken an
advance on all property taxes I should pay for the next six years and has tied the rest up in
investments on my behalf through an independent financial institution. I receive a generous weekly
allowance from them over the profits that lets me get any food I like and still have left over for
luxuries. That’s nothing compared to Naruto, who has needed to survive on the orphan stipend for
the last few years.”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “It’s nothing, really.”

“Let’s just say that I think our mission pay is going into the best hands.”

Iruka was still baffled at the end of the night, but he did apologise for doubting them and told them
how genuinely proud he was. Sakura and Naruto seemed to value the man’s opinion, and Sasuke
was happy for them.

They trained afterwards at Sasuke’s house. The next morning they got their first two D-rank
missions without Kakashi accompanying them. It meant they could go in on time and get some of
the more pleasant ones. Iruka still had difficulty adjusting to the change and giving them something
too crucial. He compromised by giving them one important mission and one that could safely fail.
The hospital had created a large amount of medicine from the plants they had gathered and some of
it needed to be delivered to patients that were recovering in their own homes. A seal maker had
been ordered to create a huge amount of explosive tags and needed help to keep his store open
while he worked.

Team 7 finished both perfectly and early, letting them arrive at the training grounds around eleven.

Kakashi was supposed to show up at twelve, so they had a good two to four hours to keep
themselves busy. Naruto had clones reading books and working on taijutsu, while Sakura was
working on her speed and strength. When she got tired, she worked on her chakra manipulation for
her genjutsu. Sasuke read as well, while occasionally giving his teammates pointers.

When Kakashi finally showed up, he announced their special training would mostly consist of
learning an advanced level of chakra control. He wanted to start them on reviewing the Academy
leaf floating to make sure they had gotten the hang of it in preparation of the next exercise, only to
be surprised when the team revealed they had already mastered tree walking.
“Where did you learn that technique?”

Sasuke shrugged. “We saw other ninja doing it, found some books on it and then figured it out
from there.”

“Show me.”

The three ran up the nearest tree, reaching the top a few seconds later. Sakura made sure to show
off her mastery, moving up at a much slower pace.

“You seem to have that figured out pretty well. How long have you been able to do this?”

“We learned two days ago.”

“And when did you start training?”

“Two days ago.”

Kakashi started to protest, but took a deep breath instead. It looked like it was all he could do from
keeping his brain from boiling over. It was his own fault. He needed to stop being surprised when
the three genin defied logic. “There is not much more I’m allowed to teach you until you’ve fully
mastered this technique. Go practice the tree walking. I’ll be reading.”

Kakashi took out his little book and settled comfortably within the branches on the other side of the
training ground. Just close enough that he was still technically supervising.

Sasuke shook his head, before grabbing three bottles out of his backpack. He had been hoping for
more, but he had prepared for this. “I got some oil to run down the side of the trees from one of the
merchants selling ninja gear. He specifically said it made it more difficult for chakra to take a hold
of surfaces, so it will make the training more challenging.”

Sasuke applied it to the bark of three of the trees. It frustrated Sakura and Naruto to no end, but
Sakura got the hang of it in a few hours. When they tried going up different trees that were free
from oil at the end of the day, both had improved their control considerably.

After another dinner at Sasuke’s house, they could finally train something else than tree walking in
the evening. They started with a run around the training grounds, but then went onto more
theoretical exercises. Naruto wanted to learn a flashy technique, but Sasuke said he was still
preparing for that. Instead, Sasuke started them on the basics of coded language and on survival
skills in wilderness situations. They would set up a tent, or crack a decryption code, or pickpocket
each other’s possessions. Naruto and Sakura were not becoming experts, but they were learning the
basics.

The next day was more of the same. They accepted three more D-rank missions, exploring more of
the village’s problems and bureaucracy. The diplomacy department needed help processing the
huge influx of letters from the gate and it was clear they were as understaffed and overburdened as
the other departments they had already visited. From the backlog they helped a ninja with two
broken arms cook enough food to last until he had recovered and they helped a merchant whose
warehouses had been infested with rats.

They then trained by themselves until Kakashi showed up. Kakashi pointed out a small flaw on
their form to prove they had not mastered the exercise yet, before telling them to continue with the
tree climbing for the rest of the afternoon. No matter how much they objected. Kakashi was their
jounin instructor and even when he disappeared, they were still supposed to listen to him.
Sasuke was not used to being this thorough with chakra control lessons. He had taught his students
just enough of each skill so that they could proceed to the next one. It was only natural when you
needed ninja ready for combat as soon as possible. He could see the effects on his teammates, but it
was slow and fragmented. He needed to constantly restrain himself from teaching more advanced
control techniques like water walking to his team mates to get the ball rolling. Maybe this was a
more comfortable way to learn it all, but it was hardly efficient. At least Sasuke made sure to
introduce something new to keep the training varied. Besides the chakra oil, he had gotten them
shoes with thicker soles to increase the distance between their feet and the tree. He asked them to
maintain a transformation technique while walking. He got water balloons to incentivise quick
dodging skills while on the side of the tree.

Friday evening, they finished their last session of the week with Kakashi and went to Sasuke’s
place for dinner. “What are your plans for the weekend?”

“My mom is throwing a big dinner for the family friends to celebrate my graduation tomorrow. I
promised her I would help with all the preparations.”

“Sounds like you’ll be busy. How about you, Naruto?”

“Are you kidding? I have been waking up since the crack of dawn all week. I can’t wait to finally
sleep in again and do absolutely nothing for a while. Though I am meeting Konohamaru in the
afternoon.”

“I got invited to an event tomorrow. It’s going to take up most of the day. Would you guys be
interested in coming over Sunday evening for an extra training session?”

He was met with loud groans from the two of them. Naruto was most annoyed. “Even I know
you’re supposed to relax on the weekends.”

Sakura looked annoyed at the way Naruto had voiced the objection, though she seemed to agree to
its spirit. “Are you sure this much training is needed, Sasuke-kun? We’ve spent every evening
together; do we need to work in the weekends as well?”

“It is completely up to you, of course.” Sasuke said calmly. There was no use in trying to force it.
“I get restless when I’m not training, so I spend a lot of my free time refining my skills and doing
research. I realise that’s not the case for everyone.”

“It’s just getting a bit too much, you know?”

Sasuke looked at his teammates, both pleading for a break. “I do have another idea, though I’m not
sure what you guys will think of it.”

“What is it, Sasuke?”

“There is a game some of the Uchiha used to play sometimes. It’s supposed to be great fun, but…”

Naruto sighed. “It’s some kind of training, isn’t it?”

“Technically, yes. Some of the jounin had created it for training tactical awareness, but it was
picked up by some Tokubetsu jounin and chuunin who added some more flair. Basically, it’s a
way to roleplay through high-ranked missions without any of the danger. Would you like to try it?”

“I guess it can’t hurt to try.” Naruto said. “But I’m skipping a few days of training if it ends up
being boring.”
“Just this week though.” Sakura pulled out a day planner and made a note of it. “I usually help my
parents with their paperwork on Sunday.”

“No obligations.” Sasuke smiled politely and cleared away the dishes.

Soon they were on the training grounds for their last practice of the week. Naruto looked anxious,
vibrating with energy. He was clearly looking forward to the night’s session.

Sasuke could not help himself. “Let’s continue with the best way to secure a tent.”

“Are you kidding?!” Naruto had had enough. “Not again! You said you would teach us awesome
jutsu, but we have been doing nothing but the same kind of things we have been doing at the
academy.”

“You’ve been patient so far.” Sasuke looked Naruto over. “I don’t suppose this has anything to do
with the fact that we are eligible for a C rank this Monday?”

Naruto huffed. “It hadn’t even crossed my mind.”

“Sure.” Sasuke smirked, then motioned Sakura and Naruto to sit down by the clearing. “We’ll
leave theoretical exercises for later then. Now, Kakashi might not see a reason to go beyond basic
chakra control, but I’d like to take advantage of the results we’ve been getting and explore our
elemental affinities.”

“You mean like you use your fire?” Sakura asked.

Sasuke nodded. “We already tested with the paper and found you have a primary affinity to water
and Naruto has one for wind. There are some primers you should be aware of before we get to
work on it. Sakura, do you know the specifics of water techniques?”

“Versatility, lower chakra costs, chakra extension.” She recited. The basics were there, they would
just need to discuss specifics later.

Naruto cut in as soon as Sakura was finished. “Weapon improvement, long range jutsu, sped up
chakra.”

“Impressive.” Sasuke noted. “Somebody has been reading ahead.”

Naruto grinned from ear to ear. “The Yondaime was one of the few wind users in Konoha. I
wanted to know all about it.”

“The first steps are rather simple, but crucial to get your body used to the elemental chakra.”
Sasuke placed a bowl of water in front of Sakura. “I’ll explain for Sakura, but the concept is largely
the same for you, Naruto. Run your chakra through the water from one hand into the other. Pay
very close attention to how the water makes the chakra feel. Once you get a feeling of that, try to
move the water.”

Sakura had made some impressive discoveries about elemental chakra manipulation in her years as
a medical ninja. Once she started working together with Sasuke’s instinctual understanding of
ninjutsu, they had become miracle workers in teaching others.

“Naruto, you need to go up the trees and let your chakra bleed into the air around you. Feel the
wind move it and try to manipulate its movements.”

Naruto walked right up the tree, together with fifty of his clones, and started his practice.
Sakura tried her best, but the water refused to move with only her chakra. “Try this.” Sasuke said,
adding a bit of blue dye to the water. “It’s chakra-sensitive and will help you get the hang of it.”

Sasuke guided Sakura as she made the water swirl slightly in the bowl. “Like this, Sasuke?”

“Very good. Next, make two bunshin while holding the water.”

“What will that do? Unlike Naruto’s clones, they’re just illusions.”

“It’s best to experience it. Can you try it?”

Sakura nodded and made her clones, though she got a weird look as they formed. She dispelled and
did it again. Then made a henge and replaced herself and the bowl of water with a log. Sasuke
could feel her reach out her chakra like a genjutsu to reach into the bowl, seeming to make a few
quick realisations. “The water responds to me.”

Sasuke grinned. “Close. You respond to the water. Here, take this leaf.” Sasuke handed it to her,
holding one in his hand as well. “Try to form your chakra into a water type and then run it through
the leaf.” He demonstrated with his fire chakra and his leaf burned up to a crisp.

Sakura concentrated heavily. After a few seconds, there was a small drop of dew on her leaf. “It is
difficult. It makes so much sense while I’m feeling the water, but I can’t replicate that feeling.”

“Yeah, it will be like that for a little while. Once you get the hang of it, the extra liquid in the leaf
will make it burst. Keep practicing that for a little while, but be sure to run your chakra through the
water again every few tries.” Sasuke looked up, where most Naruto clones were concentrating.
“Naruto, get your original body down here.”

Naruto jumped down.

“How are you doing?”

“It’s weird. I can make the wind move sometimes, but not in any way that I can predict. It doesn’t
feel like I can control it.”

“Wind chakra does not like being controlled. But it can still be guided. Keep at least a dozen
clones in the trees doing the first exercise and it’ll get better with time. Try to activate other ninja
techniques while you’re manipulating the air.” He held up a leaf for Naruto. “Another few dozen
clones should be trying to run wind chakra through this and make it cut in two.”

Just an hour later Naruto started throwing kunai at trees under Sasuke’s tutelage. A green glow
accompanied all of them, though they were hardly having any effect yet. Sakura was progressing
quickly and her leaf turned almost completely into water when she ran chakra through it. The more
she did it, the faster it went.

“Sakura, your next step will be to turn the water into mist and leave small traces of chakra in it. Try
a small ball for now. It will scale up easily once you get the basics down.”

Sakura had herself surrounded in a feet of mist an hour later, while Naruto’s kunai were piercing
through the trees like they were not even there. Sasuke would ‘learn’ lightning chakra soon and
help Sakura learn earth chakra a few months later. Then their team would have all the elements
covered. Well, except nature chakra, but they would have time to figure that one out much later.

This was a nice first step.

At the end of the evening, he wished them both well. “Meet back here Sunday after lunch.”

For now, he had other things that needed his attention.

Sasuke’s Saturday morning was spent with his father’s best robes and a sewing machine. When he
was confident it fit him well enough that he could move around, but that it was still a little too large
so that it would emphasise his youth and let him be underestimated, he gathered the information
that had been prepared for him and started to go over it all one more time.

Today’s meeting was rather typical of its kind. Every week the leaders of the noble clans tried to
come together. Officially the Hokage was supposed to come as well, but he sent his advisors in his
stead. Together they were the Konoha Council, a government body that created laws, ruled over
disputes and could in theory balance the powers of the Hokage.

The meeting was being held at the Nara compound, because it was neutral ground. Officially.
Unofficially, this was the same compound that the Akimichi clan held a weekly gathering on
Friday evenings to informally discuss political affairs. But it was not like there was an alternative.
The Council thought themselves too important to have their meeting in anything but a clan ground.
And in Konoha, you were either a member of one of the noble clans, or you were allied to one of
them. Most probably the Akimichi. The Aburame and Hyuuga were large enough that they
preferred to stick to their own families, while the Akimichi had found strength through its alliances
with smaller clans. The Uchiha had been the largest of all four once upon a time. But they had been
irrelevant in Konoha’s politics for the past four years.

When Sasuke arrived at the Nara compound, he was immediately greeted by a bodyguard. “They
have been expecting you, Uchiha-san. Please follow me.” Sasuke was led to a small waiting area
outside the house. There were more people there, most of whom Sasuke did not recognise.
Civilians and minor clan members who would be in the audience. Surprisingly, Shikamaru was
among them. “Everything’s still being set up. Someone will come collect you in about thirty
minutes.”

Sasuke thanked the man and then took his time going through the crowd. He introduced himself
and took in names and details. Most of these people wanted something from him, which was useful
for when he would need them in the future. For the most part the guests were disinterested in a
twelve-year-old boy who had been invited on a formality. Their interest would come later.

When no one else stepped up to introduce themselves, Sasuke approached Shikamaru. He might as
well, if he was building bridges for the future anyway. “You didn't seem the type to go to these
kinds of meetings.”

Shikamaru sighed. “My dad is making me. Because of you, actually. He says I can’t fall behind.
Troublesome. At least if Ino and Chouji were here I’d have someone to talk to. But their parents
listened when they said no.”

That was surprising. Then again, Sasuke was planning on making enough trouble today that
Shikamaru might end up enjoying it. “I bear no responsibility for your father’s actions. If he’s
making you attend now, he was probably planning on doing it soon anyway. He was just waiting
for an excuse.”

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and went back to lying on the ground doing nothing.

“You may be content wasting your time, but I’d prefer to keep my mind busy. Do you have a Shogi
board?”
Shikamaru perked up. “I didn't know you played.”

“I know the rules.” Sasuke shrugged. “How hard can it be?”

“I’ll get the board then.”

Shikamaru got up and set up the game. The first few moves went quickly, but the turns soon
started lasting longer.

“How is your jounin instructor working out?” Sasuke asked.

“He’s fine. He isn’t trying to make us do much work yet, so that’s good.”

“Lazy as always. Asuma’s probably spending most of his time making sure Ino doesn’t kill you.”

“That woman will be the end of me. Ever since we were little, she’s been obsessed with telling me
how to behave. At least Chouji’s cool.”

“I still think you’re in luck. You knew your teammates before being genin. Naruto, Sakura and I
had to get to know each other quickly. But we're enjoying ourselves. Are you enjoying your time as
a ninja, Shikamaru?”

“It’s a pain in the ass, but it’s nothing new. We needed to get up early to go to the Academy and we
need to get up early as genin. We needed to pay attention and study as students and we need to pay
attention and work as genin. It doesn’t seem any different to me.”

“You half-assed it as a student and you’re half-assing it as a ninja.”

Shikamaru gave him a look, before turning away from the board. “And just as I was thinking
graduation had improved your social skills you say something like that. I’ve lost my interest in
playing.”

“No, you have not.” Sasuke made his move and he could see Shikamaru startle. The boy’s eyes
widened and he started studying the board with renewed interest.

“How did you do that?”

“Calculated mistakes to get in this position and let you take your guard down. You thought I’d
make this easy?”

Shikamaru took a deep breath, before pushing his fingers together in his thinking pose.

Time for a bit more distraction. “You’re a good instinctual player, but no match against somebody
who mercilessly trains.”

“Yeah right.” Shikamaru grumbled. “It’s precisely because you mercilessly train your body that I
wasn’t expecting any Shogi skills.”

“I train to be a good ninja. That means more than being able to fight. One of the disguises I'm
working on is a professional Shogi player.”

“You do not need to be this good to fool someone into thinking you’re a pro.”

“Are you still hung up on the Academy standards? Real ninja can’t rely on superficial tricks.”

“And I suppose you’re using something more sophisticated?”

“I wouldn’t call it sophisticated.” Sasuke said. “I learned the rules so that I can actually play the
game. I read the game records of skilled players and played enough games to handle myself. And
then, I found a way to appear more skilled than I actually was. But for an effective way to inflate
your skills, it helps if you actually have any.”

Shikamaru finally made his move. It was a good response and it would take Sasuke effort to win
this game. He only had a few dozen more kage bunshin left discussing possible game directions
and as engaging as this distraction was, he did need to keep enough of them around for the actual
meeting.

Sasuke stalled more while his clones figured out the next move. “So have you done anything
productive since graduation?”

“There’s nothing productive about being a genin. It’s just doing chores to earn more lessons. I’ve
done four D-rank missions this week and I want to pull my hair out.”

“D-rank missions are our opportunity to help others and learn about the village. Much like this
meeting today.”

“It’s just boring men talking about boring things.”

“Boring? We live in a large village with many complicated laws. What is agreed upon in those
walls affect actual people. Sometimes in very drastic ways.”

“It’s arguing about details instead of actually getting something done. Three families agreeing
about the direction and arguing about the way to get there. Everyone wants what’s best for the
village.”

Sasuke had to take a breath to steady himself. The boy in front of him was far too young and naïve.
“You don’t understand politics at all, do you?”

“Better than you. My dad used to drag me to these meetings all the time.”

“The way you’re talking, I don’t think you learned much. Do you even understand why there’s so
much arguments about something like the Cherry Flower Festival?”

Shikamaru looked insulted. “My working theory has been their pride. I can’t see any reason why
the families would be fighting about it otherwise. We all love the festival.”

“That’s because you’re only listening to the words. The Akimichi are currently pushing to make
the festival more accessible to all of Konoha’s citizens and they say they want to share the joy with
more people than ever. What they actually mean is that the merchants they support could make
more profit if there are more customers.”

“That doesn’t sound right.”

“Which is why they dress it up. The Hyuuga are fully aware of this when they talk about
increasing the sales tax as a way of maintaining the integrity of the cultural experience the festival
has become by keeping it exclusive. What they actually mean is that the noblemen they invite to
increase their reputation won’t come if they have to mingle with commoners. The sales tax would
impact Akimichi businesses while most of the proceeds would be turned to the Hyuuga for
providing the entertainment at the festival. If the Akimichi want to make more money at the
expense of the Hyuuga, the Hyuuga will retaliate in kind.”

Shikamaru sighed. “That’s what this fighting has all been about?”
“Yes. The Aburame act like they’re mediators and can see both sides of the argument. They keep
emphasising a balanced position where they’re not opposed to expanding the festival if it can be
done in measured ways. In actuality, they are negotiating with the other families and waiting for a
good enough offer. In particular, they are upset that the Akimichi have a monopoly on the food
stalls and that the Aburame can only sell their own food in restaurants surrounding the festival
grounds. The Akimichi might be tempted to give up that monopoly, or they could be forced by the
Hyuuga. But the Akimichi would prefer to keep that monopoly to maximise their profits, and the
Hyuuga are hesitant to force the Akimichi when they are critical suppliers of the Hyuuga’s
kitchens.”

“That sounds so convoluted.”

“The reason the council’s discussions don't seem interesting to you is because you are missing the
hidden layers behind the words. And because you are missing all the deals brokered behind closed
doors.”

“So you’re saying if I just pay close enough attention, these meetings will magically turn
interesting?”

“Yes. Though, if everything goes according to plan, I’ll make today interesting for you whether
you pay close attention or not.”

A popping clone sent him a good few minutes of tactical discussions. His clones had played dozens
of variations from this board position and had decided on his next move. He could not hide the
smirk as he made it, completely robbing Shikamaru of his easiest paths to taking back the game.

Shikamaru pushed his fingertops together again, but an attendant approached them. “The meeting
is starting, Uchiha-san.”

“I guess we will have to finish this another time then. Thank you for the game. It has been
entertaining.” Sasuke stood up from the board and went inside the residence.

Sasuke did not know if he was going to have use of Shikamaru, but the way to the heart’s boy was
easy enough and it did no harm to lay in the groundwork for claiming him as a resource.

Shikamaru had trouble taking his eyes off the board. Sasuke could hear the attendant urging him
inside and Shikamaru’s protests. Shikamaru agreed as long as they did not touch the board,
lingering longer to make a back-up on some stray paper just in case they disobeyed.

A large room had been prepared for the meeting with a U-shaped table. On one side were the clan
heads. Hyuuga Hiashi sat in the middle, wearing a very formal robe. His white eyes looked over
the room, long black hair perfectly groomed behind him. On his right sat the large Akimichi Choza
in his battle armour: a black body suit with a green plate on his torso. His facial markings made
him look serious. On the Hyuuga’s left was Aburama Shibi, the lower part of his face obstructed
by his coat. Sunglasses covered his eyes and wild hair adorned his head. Bugs would be crawling
within his body.

The two advisors were sitting on the head of the table, two empty chairs between them. Originally
the Hokage would sit between them, but he had not done so in an exceedingly long time. The last
seat was irrelevant.

Across the clan leaders, on the opposite table, were various people to support the meeting. One had
a large scroll in front of him and ink to take notes. One had several books and reports in front of
him, to look up any information as the meeting would require. There was a merchant sitting
uncomfortably and a woman who was fidgeting in her seat. Civilians unused to the setting. Both
would have been called there for testimony.

Sasuke was not sitting at the table. He was on the collection of chairs set up in rows facing the
important meeting, together with a few dozen citizens. Some of them were members of the noble
families, to back up their clan leaders. Some were important figure heads. They were all speaking
amongst themselves, making for a noisy room.

The advisors of the Hokage called for silence. “We would like to open the 1352nd meeting of the
Konoha Council.” Utatana said.

“Will Danzo not be attending?” The Hyuuga clan leader asked.

“He sends his apologies but a special project has caught his attention. He will not be attending any
meetings until its completion.”

“We look forward to his return.”

Sasuke noted the reactions and was happy to see nobody was questioning the excuse.

Utatane continued. “We thank the Nara for once more graciously supplying a neutral ground to
hold this meeting. We have received several items for the agenda. By formality they will now be
introduced.” She then indicated the clan heads to continue.

Shikamaru finally entered, silently taking a seat in the back. The two of them really were the only
clan heirs present. Sasuke could understand why Hinata was not invited. Her father still considered
her weak and would consider it a liability to invite her. Chouji’s dad was a big enough sap that he
would not force his kid to come. Shino’s father would have concluded it was better for Shino to
focus on his genin studies before getting involved politically.

The Akimichi spoke. “Despite repeated attempts to reach a consensus and offering generous
concessions, we have still not settled on the issue of taxation during the festival.”

“We can settle on taxation,” the Hyuuga said, “once you drop this ridiculous notion to allow
regular villagers and outside visitors to attend a festival that was created for Konoha ninja.”

Utatane raised her hand to silence them. “We will discuss this matter in due time as recorded on the
agenda. What else?”

“Another expanse of land is needed.” The Aburame said. “After the latest restrictions, our
production has dropped considerably.”

“Acknowledged. What else?”

“The Hyuuga clan request an increase in security in our district on account of increasing
occurrences of theft.”

“That request was postponed until next month because of insufficient data. It’s not on the agenda.”

“The Konoha information department has been able to provide a full analysis of the ninja mission
data in an unexpectedly expedient fashion. I requested this morning to overturn the delay and to
make the addition to the agenda.”

Utatane called a servant and sorted it out. There seemed to have been some problem getting the
updated schedule to everyone. “Very well. Please continue.”
“The Akimichi clan would like to address the limited access to the South Gate on several occasions
this previous month.”

“Following recent census data, the Aburame clan wish a vote on the proposed amendment of The
Emergency Ninja Assistance Act.”

“The Akimichi clan would like a vote on the proposed law amendment expanding the purview of
the Environmental Protection Act after the massive success of the Clean Our Rivers Initiative.”

“All noted. There are several specialists called today to speak on these subjects. Now before we
begin, does anyone else have any matters to bring to our attention?”

“Yes.” Sasuke said calmly with a raised hand. When given permission by the board, he stood.
“Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude for tonight’s invitation. This council does good work
in honour of the long-standing traditions that have made Konoha strong and I am honoured to
witness its good work. Not to take these invitations lightly, I have made myself acquainted with the
notes of the previous meetings and I would like to request item G5C to be reopened.”

Next to the advisors, a clerk went to work finding the item in her copy of the past notes. She had to
go back quite a while to find it. “Item G5C was indefinitely postponed four years ago. It was in
reference to the fourth seat of the counsel.”

“Yes.” Sasuke said. “Postponed because of the unfortunate circumstance that at the time there was
no Uchiha ninja of age to take up the seat. Circumstances have changed.”

Even the most experienced ninja would betray some of his emotion with their body language when
surprised. The Hyuuga had a look of disgust, of insult. The Akimichi a look of pity, like a father
whose son was misbehaving. The Aburame were stoic but curious. In the corner of his eye, Sasuke
could see Shikamaru sit a little straighter out of interest.

The advisors shook their heads, exasperated. “Sasuke, you are merely a genin. You cannot sit on
the council.”

“There is no rule against it. All I am asking is for the matter to be discussed.”

“To discuss it, is to take it seriously.”

“Shouldn’t a request be taken seriously when it comes from a Noble Clan’s heir, technically a
Noble Clan’s leader?”

Phrased like that, there was nothing left to do. “Fine, we shall place it on the agenda, to be
discussed after the other items.”

The Hyuuga raised his hand. “I would ask the chairwoman to remind the audience they are not
authorised to introduce new subjects to this meeting. Remarks must be limited to the subjects
already agreed upon.”

“That is a good point.”

“Actually,” Sasuke said, getting enmity from most ninja in front him, “the Konoha Foundation
Document, article 256, subsection h, equates previously postponed items with scheduled points on
the agenda. In essence, the Uchiha seat has been on every single agenda for the last four years.
Reminding the council of its existence is merely for clarity.”

One of the clerics looked it up and had to concede the point.

“It will be discussed at the end of the meeting then. Now I believe there has been enough
interruption. Let us begin in earnest.”

Sasuke could raise another objection. This item should technically be discussed first. But that
would serve no goal. He needed to challenge the Hyuuga clan leader, because Hisashi’s objections
would have delayed the discussion indefinitely with excuse after excuse. Right now he had caught
them unaware and that was an advantage for him. He had been able to read up on the exact laws.
They had not.

Though no doubt their aides were getting a report ready for them as soon as possible. As much as a
nuisance Sasuke was for them, it was a minor problem compared to their other concerns. They had
been discussing the Festival of the Cherry Blossom for weeks now and had prepared their
arguments extensively.

The advisors to the Sandaime led the discussion and intervened where necessary. They spoke
informally on behalf of the Sandaime and would only take direct action if a dispute threatened to
harm the Sandaime. And that did not happen. Nothing really happened.

Sasuke had read the minutes of the previous meetings and was not surprised that there was no
progress. The clan heads repeated the same arguments, used the same rhetoric, brought in
conflicting experts and finally found an objection to derail the discussion. When facts failed them,
the debate got heated and had to be rescheduled for the next meeting after additional research
could be done.

Sasuke sat patiently through the families discussing the Aburame’s land expansion, the Hyuuga’s
additional security and the Akimichi’s complaints on the South Gate. More people were called as
expert witnesses to collaborate their political positions. It was all trivially simple compared to the
decisions he usually faced helping Naruto with his Hokage duties. Sasuke had to hold himself back
from stepping in with solutions and moving everything along.

One of his clones popped to tell him about their findings so far. All three families had been
researching inheritance laws and would be presenting their findings to their leaders soon. Each of
the three clan heads were handed a scroll by their aids at different times. It happened often enough
that an essay on Konoha law could easily be slipped between the other scrolls.

“Finally, we get to the matter of the fourth seat on the Konoha Council. Clerk, can you read back
the conclusion of the council of the last discussion?”

“Certainly.” He looked up the relevant passage. “After this tragedy there are no ninja of legal age
eligible to take on the Uchiha’s place on the counsel. Only three ninja remain with a Sharingan.
Hatake Kakashi does not hold the Uchiha name. Uchiha Itachi is no longer a ninja allied to the
Village Hidden in the Leaf. Uchiha Sasuke may develop the Sharingan in the future, but he is not
of legal age. The matter will be postponed.”

The Hyuuga leader spoke calmly. “This situation has not changed. Sasuke still has not reached the
legal age of eighteen. No ninja has sat on this council younger than thirty years old. A child, no
matter how mature or immature he may be, is ill equipped to handle the difficult decisions this
council deals with on a weekly basis.”

Sasuke kept his face stoic. Let them say their piece for now.

“I would like to add to this.” The Akimichi leader said. “Sasuke has had a traumatic childhood. He
has been a ninja for a little under a week and has led a sequestered life for the last four years. He
lacks skills and experience, though we appreciate the interest.”
“This assessment cannot be new to you.” The Aburama leader said. “Sasuke, how do you respond
to these objections?”

Sasuke stood to respond. “I hear a contradiction in your arguments. You say I am but a child, but
also that I have witnessed many terrible things that have forced me to grow up quickly.”

“The two are not mutually exclusive.” The Aburama noted.

“But they are. I realise that I am young and that there is no precedent for this. But my situation is
unique. I am both capable and mature beyond my years and my unorthodox childhood is a large
part of it. You say that it has damaged me, but I think it has made me stronger. My isolation has not
crippled me, but has allowed me to fully appreciate the comforts that community can bring.”

The counsellors to the Hokage shook their heads. “You are not ready yet, Sasuke. You are just too
young.”

“Not according to the law. The legal age would be eighteen, but we are still at war, are we not?”

The clan heads looked at each other and the Hokage’s advisors with displeasure. They could not
dispute it, nor would they voluntarily confirm it.

Sasuke stood tall. “I became an adult the moment I put on my headband.”

“Not in the eye of the Uchiha.” The leader of the Hyuuga said. “They considered a ninja adult
when he manifests the Sharingan, and not a day earlier.”

“While internal Uchiha laws can dictate who will become the clan leader, those rules do not apply
to this chamber.”

“Do you disrespect our traditions, boy?”

“I would not dare. I am merely stating fact. Cleric, please read line 789 of the transcript of meeting
998.”

The cleric needed to look up the relevant file and count it out. “The Konoha Council agrees that
families can create laws for themselves, but that these laws shall not be used against them by any
member of the Konoha Council, so that clan law is delimited within a clan’s own walls.”

Hiashi was not amused. He was clearly tempted to make a rash decision to challenge the record,
until he thought better of himself. “What matter was this regarding?”

“The Uchiha clan leader disputed the position of Hyuuga Hiashi on the Hokage Council because of
a contradiction with descendants laws in the Hyuuga Manifest.”

It was the leader of the Hyuuga himself. Sasuke had been lucky to find a record like that. The
council members would often attack each other on little things, almost like it was their hobby to
torment the others. The council had upheld Clan independence after an attack on the Aburame, in
meeting 769. He would have used that reference if the Aburame had raised the challenge. For the
Akimichi he had only found a slightly weaker argument. They had never been attacked on
disregarding their clan’s rules, because there were no official rules in the clan that functioned as a
happy family. Luckily, they were also not the kind of people who would press Sasuke on Uchiha
law.

Now the Hyuuga seemed deep in thought. Anything he would say would open up avenues for the
other council members to delegitimise him.
Sasuke continued. “Of course I do respect the Uchiha traditions, but they could never have
predicted a situation such as this where no Uchiha with a sharingan was able to claim the seat.
Speaking of intent, there is every indication that the Uchiha founders would want me to take a seat
on the Konoha Council now. In our long history as a clan, many young Uchiha heirs would be put
in charge to lead the clan in emergency situations, such as the war we currently find ourselves in.”

The Akimichi leader shook his head. “There is no pressing need for you to join this council at such
a young age, with all the responsibilities that would entail.”

“Of course, Akimichi-sama. I would never disrespect the work you have done for the village. In
preparation of today I have read up on many years of meetings and I am sincerely impressed. I
wish to join this council so that I may learn from your experience.”

“You came here to claim your seat, but you admit you would be a burden to us as a student.” The
Aburame said.

“The word ‘burden’ implies that I would be unable to contribute anything. I admit I have much to
learn, but I am also a different perspective.”

The Hyuuga glared. “Now you say there is something limited to our perspective?”

“I am merely saying that a genin has a different way to look at the world than seasoned jounin.”

“What about your missions?” The Akimichi asked. “As an active ninja you will not be able to
attend every meeting.”

“That has not stopped other clan leaders from having a seat on the council. In theory it is a
weakness to be absent, but in practice any meeting I can attend as a council member is better for
me than not being able to attend any at all. And there are advantages to completing missions as a
council member where I can be visible to a large number of Konoha’s citizens and promote the fine
work this council does.”

The members of the council contemplated the situation. The Akimichi was the first to speak up. “I
find myself intrigued. I am not opposed to the motion.”

“Being a member of the council would benefit Sasuke in some ways, but harm him in others.” The
Aburame said.

“We cannot have a genin as part of this council.” The Hyuuga said. “However, I could consider his
inclusion if we made him a member in disciplina.”

The Aburame nodded. “That would be acceptable to me.”

“Do you know what that means, Sasuke?” The Akimichi asked.

“It is a theoretical construct that has, as far as I am aware, not been used in practice before. I would
be allowed to sit in at council meetings and join in with discussions. Though I would be allowed to
offer items for the agenda and introduce laws and amendments, I would not be allowed a vote.”

“How would you feel about that decision?”

“It is technically a dangerous precedent to set. This is less than what I am entitled to. But I was
questioned on my maturity before and this is a good opportunity to show my ability to compromise.
I also see the merit in a position of limited responsibility while missions can pull me away from the
village and I have no replacement to take my place in meetings. I may promise you stability, but I
am a new actor and I understand why you require the guarantee. I can only hope I will be able to
prove myself in the next years and become a member in actualia.”

“Then it is settled. The Konoha Council decides…”

A door slid open. The council members looked at the intrusion with annoyance, until they saw who
it was. The Sandaime did not look amused. He took a seat between his advisors. “I apologise for
being late.”

“Of course, Hokage-sama, we are very pleased you were able to attend at all.” The Hyuuga leader
said.

Someone must have sent word to him. The council members would have no reason to, but the
advisors would. They would want the Sandaime to know about this. They had probably not
predicted the leader of the village would actually show up. If Danzo had been there, Sarutobi
probably would not have risked it. Officially, the Sandaime was invited to every single meeting.
He had the fifth vote, after all, the tie-breaker. But his presence complicated the fiction that
Konoha was still at war and it was a confrontational reminder that the Sandaime had absolute
authority.

“I heard the discussions of the festival have been tabled once more.” The Sandaime said. “It is a
shame there has still been no progress on a compromise.”

“We grow ever closer to a solution.” The Aburame said. “We were just discussing another item on
the agenda. Sasuke has made a surprisingly good argument why he should become a provisional
member of the council.”

“What a shame that I have missed it. You were considering it despite his young age?”

“A non-voting position, yes. Do you have any objections?”

“I think the focus should be on his new job as a ninja for now. Sasuke should not be taking up too
much at once.”

“That does sound reasonable.” The Aburame said.

Sasuke raised his hand. He had to stop this before the Sandaime gained too much traction. And the
easiest way to do that was with a political explosion. “With all due respect, under martial law all
considerations regarding training are made by a team’s jounin instructor.”

Some of the family members in the audience gasped at that. It was one thing to discuss the fiction
of war within the council. But with the Sandaime there, it was an attack to his authority. Either he
was forced to argue that there was a legitimate reason for martial law to still be in effect, insulting
the council, or he had to downplay the gravity and risk leaving an opening for the council members
to take power away from him. He chose instead to pivot. “It was merely a suggestion, Sasuke-kun.”

“And I thank you for your consideration. However, I am confident I can handle the workload and
that the time I will be able to spend in this council will be beneficial for everyone. Not to mention
the possibilities of regular evaluations on my position to adjust the particularities where needed.
There is no reason not to try it.”

The Hokage shook his head. “Council members, as always I leave you free to make your own
decisions and to defy my advice if you so choose.”

The Hyuuga coughed. “May I make a suggestion? How would the Hokage feel about a test of
Sasuke’s political abilities? I would be happy to offer him tutelage until such a time that he has
been able to solve a dilemma within the Council.”

“An excellent idea. Under the tutelage of you and the other clan leaders, he would surely prosper
and join as a council member in disciplina in no time. The other clan leaders agree?”

“Of course, Hokage-sama.”

“Then I concur completely. Was there a particular problem you had in mind?”

“Nothing too complicated. Maybe…”

“The Cherry Flower Festival.” Sasuke said.

“Excuse me?” The Hokage smirked. “That particular debate has been going on for decades,
Sasuke.”

“I had some ideas. Now, I know that the matter has already been closed for the day, but might I
have a few minutes of the Council’s time?”

The clerk waited for any objections and then signalled Sasuke to continue.

“I noticed that it has not been fully considered to hold the festival in two separate locations.”

The Hyuuga shook his head. “It is held every year by the Cherry blossom fields. It is integral to
the celebration.”

“Yes, which must also be why past discussions for dividing the festival in two have failed.”

“The biggest tree in the centre of the field is the centre point of the celebration. It is where
Hashirama and Madara signed their peace treaty and birthed Konoha. We cannot have a festival
without it.” The Akimichi said.

“Have you considered the nearby police station? It has a flat roof with a perfect view over the tree
fields.”

Quiet came over the room. The Uchiha had always been very protective of their properties and the
people. They would never have considered shutting down a whole law enforcement team just for a
festival. But now that the Uchiha were gone, the police station was empty.

“Obviously there would be no room for the food stands, so we would have to ask the Aburame to
cater the event at the police station.”

Only ninja would be able to access the roof directly, by climbing the walls or jumping over.
Civilians would have to come through the building itself, which had a plethora of security features.
The council could make the civilian invitations as exclusive as they wanted. Not to mention the
symbolic effect of ninja and noblemen rising above the civilians with an even better view than in
the fields themselves. That alone would be enough to give up the ground around the trees.

“The station has not been maintained though.” The Hyuuga said.

“It would require work to get it in a presentable state. Unfortunately, I do not currently have the
resources to organise such work. I would give my full permission to the members of the council to
make it happen.”

“The Hyuuga would be willing to provide this favour.”

Before the council members could object, Sasuke responded. “I would be honoured to leave such a
task in the Hyuuga’s capable hands. I do however have one concern. The increased sales tax that
the Hyuuga have proposed would be a barrier for some civilians to join the festival. I worry that
they might wish to retaliate in protest which could result in damages to the Uchiha estate.”

“That sounds like a terribly unnecessary risk and we will not put all this effort into restoring a
building just to have it damaged. The Hyuuga withdraw their proposal.”

“Then the Festival can go on as planned. With the chosen dilemma solved, I would like to thank
my new colleagues on the council for their hospitality and the Sandaime for his approval. I look
forward to serving the village as a member in disciplina of the Council starting today now that this
dilemma has been solved and the political test has concluded successfully.” Sasuke grinned.
“Unless anyone feels there is a more difficult dilemma that needs resolving first?”

There was weak applause from the civilians who had been fully expecting this matter to drag on for
several more years. Shikamaru looked completely shocked at the outcome.

“Welcome to the council.” The Akimichi said, incredulous yet joyful.

The Sandaime, however, did not join in with the room’s general mood. “Sasuke, I would like a
word. Shikaku, is there a private room we could use?”

The man nodded and had his servants prepare. Once Sasuke was alone with the Sandaime in a side
room with privacy seals, Sasuke could see the old man’s displeasure.

“What were you thinking?”

“That I should claim my birth right.”

“You stupid little boy. I have been able to keep them at bay for years, managing the Uchiha affairs
to the best of my ability. Do you not see that I was protecting you from a world that is dangerous
and hungry for your heritage? You do not know what is waiting for you. Do you even know what
you agreed to out there?”

“I hired out an Uchiha property.”

“No, you have given the station away to the Hyuuga. They have a claim on it now.”

Sasuke pretended to be confused. “But I just… oh. From the Konoha Building Codes?”

“Yes, the thirteenth amendment. It has not been easy to keep the Uchiha estates in your name.
Space in the village is limited and the clans are always looking to expand. When the Hyuuga have
finished repairing the building, they will have a legal claim.”

“Since they had to step in to do the maintenance and can make a claim of my incompetence. But
I’m the one who’s hiring them. Wouldn’t it still be me who’s arranging it?”

“The laws provide protections when an owner hires paid labour, but the Hyuuga do this as a
favour. They may not strike immediately, but I know the Hyuuga. That property, part of the
Uchiha legacy, is lost to you now.”

The man looked tired. Sarutobi was not a ninja particularly suited to politics. He had fought
Konoha’s enemies bravely and effectively in the wars and had seemed strong on the battlefield. But
when his peers became his enemies, he had needed to become infallible. The smallest sign of
weakness would be seized upon and used to destroy him. He fought with words now and he had
years of experience in this field he had no innate talent for. Every defeat weighed him down.

“And the way you spoke, bringing up the war like that… If I didn’t know any better I would have
thought you had done it on purpose. You must never talk like that again. The peace of the village
depends on it.”

His disdain for politics was his greatest weakness. His second greatest was his sentimentality.

Sasuke shuffled in place, pretending to be sorry. “Did you know that my dad took me to the festival
when I was young?”

“You must have been just a toddler.” Sarutobi said. He was already letting a small smile form
through his frustration. It was already working.

“I remember only a little of it. My dad introduced me to a lot of ninja and I was so scared that I hid
behind his legs. I remember people laughing and children playing. I know that the council has
managed to work out a solution every year so far, but they have been pushing it closer and closer to
the deadline. It might not have been this year that political pressures would have prevented it, but it
would have been soon. Above all else, I just want the festival to continue. If that has cost me one of
the Uchiha police stations… maybe that was worth it?”

The Sandaime sighed. “You’re a good boy, Sasuke. I wish you could have stayed a child longer.
Adults have a way of corrupting themselves.”

“I doubt that will be a problem. I am in a team with Naruto, after all.”

“Yes, I heard that your prediction had come true.” Sarutobi’s eyes shone with mirth. “Do you like
spending time with Sakura and him?”

“I feel like we are doing good things. We’re helping people. That feels good.”

“I also heard that you were making some sort of commotion though I’ve yet to learn the details.
You’re not getting into too much trouble, are you?”

“Nothing the administration can’t handle.”

The Sandaime sighed again. “Why did you have to rush into this? Why did you make such a rash
move?”

“I wasn’t planning on it originally. But then we were doing D-rank missions and it became clear
how many people need our help. I know the council members talk regularly with active ninja, but
they do not take missions anymore, let alone D-rank missions. They don’t see everything I’m
seeing. And these people can’t afford to wait until I’m old enough to speak up.”

“I still think you got into this position with the council too quickly, but I guess there is nothing that
can be done about it now. Just promise me you’ll come to me or my advisors next time before you
make another mistake?”

“Of course.” Sasuke lied. “I just want to make the village proud.”

“Well, in that you are succeeding. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” The Saindaime left the room and
went his way.

Sasuke wanted to follow his lead and slip out, but people would want to speak with the newest
member of the council. He might not have the right to vote yet, but that was never the most
important objective. He needed the prestige of the seat so that the other clan heads would listen to
him. He needed to be able to officially overturn the silly notion that only a ninja with a Sharingan
could become the leader of the Uchiha. He needed a seat at the table that decided who the next
Hokage would be.

When he returned to the room, his prediction had been correct. Many of the guests offered him a
private meeting to get to know Sasuke better. Sasuke thanked them and assured them he would get
in touch the following weeks to make arrangements. Once he had spoken to the clan leaders and
the Sandaime’s advisors, he took his leave. Shikamaru tried to get his attention, but Sasuke was
done with the boy for today. Not to mention, he had used up his clones during the meeting itself
and would have no chance on the Shogi board if Shikamaru demanded a rematch.

The rest of the day was spent making preparations. He crafted several letters, one each for the Clan
leaders and several more for other influential ninja and civilians. To those who did not know, he
introduced himself as a new council member and requested a meeting at their earliest convenience.

He also had plenty of scrolls to make for Naruto and Sakura. Their training was going very well
and he would need some time to make their schedules efficient enough to keep them developing at
their current fast pace. The ANBU guards constantly watching him were a nuisance, but their
spying was mostly blocked by strategically moving his body between them and whatever he was
working on. His Saturday flew by.

~*~

On Sunday morning, Sasuke greeted his teammates with tea and small snacks at the dinner table.
Sasuke on one side and Sakura and Naruto on the other. There were three sheets of paper in front of
them.

Sakura seemed to make sense of it first. “This is an analysis of our capabilities. For all three of us.”

“It’s simplified in some parts, but yes. It is a big part of this game of Danger and Deceit.”

“How does it work?”

“The two of you play yourselves. I will present a mission for you and you try to work your way
through it using the skills you have described in front of you.”

“That sounds simple enough.” Sakura said. “How will we know what to do?”

“It’s all up to you. Of course, not everything you attempt to do will be successful. There are a lot of
rules that play in the background. The two of you do not have to worry about them. Just try to
imagine what you would realistically want to do in a situation like that and I will take care of the
rest.”

Naruto looked over his sheet. “Why does it say I have an accuracy rate of eighty-one percent? That
cannot be right.”

“The stats are based on your current skills. I have been observing you all week, Naruto, and four in
five is the correct rate. Note that only the accuracy for a particular range is indicated. If a target is
closer or further away, the accuracy is different.”

Sakura took a good look at her sheet as well. “Some of these stats are empty.”

“I could estimate some things, but not everything. If it comes up, we will have to either halt the
game to measure your skill or make a lower-bound estimate together. It’s the same if you wish to
contest any number on here.”

“Fine, then let’s begin.”

“This particular adventure starts when the three of us are in a small village outside of Konoha. We
have spent our morning completing D-rank missions for the locals to make repairs after bandit
raids. We have just had lunch together at a small restaurant. Kakashi is supposed to meet us at a
nearby training ground. We are about to head onto the main street, when we hear someone
screaming from some distance away.”

“Do we know who it is?” Sakura asked.

“Forget that.” Naruto said. “We should go see if they are all right. Doesn’t matter who it is.”

“I’m just asking if I recognise the voice. That could be important.”

Sasuke shook his head. “You do not recognise it. However, you have only met a small handful of
people in the town.”

“Maybe we can ask around first?” Sakura tried.

“And waste time?” Naruto noted.

“The two of you want to do different things. Now, normally we would appoint one of the players at
the beginning of the game to lead the team. They would lead discussion and have the final say in
what the team should do. But it’s like an order during a real mission. You can always choose to
ignore it and risk insubordination charges. Since it’s your first time playing, I’ll take that role.” He
turned his own sheet around for them to see.

“Wait, this can’t be right.” Naruto looked it over. “You’re better at every single category than
Sakura and me, except for my stamina and Sakura’s genjutsu.”

“I had a head start, as we’ve talked about before. The longer we train together, the more we’ll start
specialising and the more varied these statistics will become.” Sasuke pulled out a blank sheet of
parchment and spread it on the table. With ink he sketched the alley and marked down both the
training ground and the place where they had eaten. “Back to the game, I would definitely want to
know why someone was screaming as quickly as possible.”

“Fine then.” Sakura said. “Do we know where it came from?”

Sasuke rolled some dice behind a screen. “From the Northwest, a few hundred feet away. The
three of us move into that direction. Along the way we see startled citizens. They look unsure what
to do.”

“Why aren’t they moving to help?” Sakura asked.

“Do you want to stop to ask them?”

“What, no!” Naruto shook his head. “That would take too long.”

“Fine then. You head straight for the commotion. You reach a part of town you have not visited
before. The houses are larger and they look more expensive. You quickly see a woman sobbing in
front of her house.” Sasuke made the hand seal and used the Henge no Jutsu to transform himself.

Suddenly he was the image of a noble woman in an expensive kimono. She was crying into her
sleeve.

“What’s this, Sasuke?” Naruto looked extremely uncomfortable at the sight.

The woman just looked up. The make-up around her eyes had smudged and she looked absolutely
devastated. “Y-you are the ninja from Konoha, aren’t you?”

Naruto turned to Sakura. “What should we say?”

“We can hardly deny it.” She said. “We have our forehead protectors on and everything. Yes…
‘madam’, we are ninja from Konoha.”

“Thank goodness. My name is Fumika Hayashi and I desperately need your help.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s the bandits. They have taken my son. They left this note.” Hayashi pulled a piece of paper
from under the table and handed it to Sakura.

“You have refused us for the last time. This is your final chance. Bring us the money, or we will
bring you Seiji’s corpse.” Sakura put down the note. “Who’s Seiji?”

“He’s my sweet boy. I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to him.”

“Have they tried anything like this before?”

Hayashi hesitated for a second. “They have been blackmailing me for years. They offered to
destroy a rival family’s load of cargo at a small price. I was young and naïve, and far too greedy.
Then they threatened to tell everyone unless I stole a little from the town’s treasury. It was only a
little, nothing that would be missed. But they kept asking for more. I was discovered by the
treasurer this year and he told everyone. I don’t have access to the money anymore, I only have
debts in my name, but the bandits don’t care. They attacked the village and now they have taken
my only child. Please, you must help me!”

Naruto did not hesitate for a second. “Of course we will.”

“Thank you so much!” The woman beamed. She reached out to touch Naruto’s hands in gratitude.
Her fingernails were painted black with an intricate flower pattern of pink and yellow flowers.
“This means so much to me.”

“Do you know where they are?” Sakura asked

“They are a few miles outside of town. Their base is too large to miss and they have to move it
regularly to avoid attention. Usually they greet anyone who comes near them with sharp steel. I
have a map of the area that you are welcome to have.” She placed a piece of parchment on the
table for Naruto and Sakura to see. It was hand drawn, but easy enough to understand.

“Okay then, let’s go.”

“Wait, Naruto.” Sakura said. “We can’t just rush there. We know who took the boy. We should
wait for Kakashi to join us. Or we could go to the town’s law enforcement.”

“Please, no!” The woman gasped. “The bandits are led by a defected ninja from Konoha. He was a
chunin before he left. No one in town dares touch him. But, you know the legendary jounin
Sharingan no Kakashi? I’m sure he could beat the bandits in a second. Time is of the essence
though. I do not know how long my precious Seiji will be safe with them. I’m so scared for him.
When are you expecting your jounin?”

Sakura hesitated. She sighed before responding. “We can never tell with him. Fine, we’ll go after
them now. Can you wait at the training ground for Kakashi and tell him where we went?”

“Certainly. It is the very least I can do.”

“Then we should move out. If we’re serious about helping the boy, we can’t waste any time.”

Sasuke dispelled his illusion and was suddenly his normal self again. “You continue down…”

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?” Naruto jumped up.

“It’s called immersion.” Sasuke said. “It helps you get a better sense of the characters if you can
actually see them and talk to them.”

“Yeah, I got that. But you were crying and everything. It was almost like it was real.”

“That’s kind of the point.”

“And you’re going to do this every time?”

“With anyone you want an extended conversation with, yes. It helps you build skills with dealing
with clients, while it allows me to train my disguises.”

Naruto smirked. “Are all your disguises attractive women?”

“Naruto!” Sakura looked mortified.

“There’s only one way to find out. As I was saying, you continue down the path out of town. When
you get there, do you want to barge in or try to sneak your way to their hideout?”

“We want to find the boy.” Naruto said.

“Did we come across any signs of the ninja that took her?” Sakura asked.

“How were you looking?”

“Keeping a look-out for anything out of the ordinary.”

Sasuke threw some dice. “Naruto, you noticed one piece of a child’s ripped clothing on the way to
the camp to suggest you were going the correct way, but nothing else.” Sasuke took out a new
piece of paper and started sketching the hide-out. “Sakura, you can tell that the base is made from
abandoned Maru camps.”

Sakura studied the map. And then she pointed to a building to the side. “This would be where there
would be detainment cells. We can even get there easily from the side.”

“But the bandits are bad guys.” Naruto said. “Shouldn’t we, you know, beat them up?”

“There’s just three of us and who knows how many of them. Including at least one chuunin.”
Sakura said.

“But if we don’t help, they’ll just kidnap Seiji again after we rescue him.”
“We can’t rescue him at all if we lose by picking a fight that we can’t manage.”

“Right.” Sasuke said. “I’d like to point out that our priority is recuing the boy. We can send
Kakashi in afterwards to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“But we’re right here.”

“Can you suggest doing something to hurt them without starting a fight we can’t win?”

Naruto shrugged, sinking down in his seat defeated. He still was not used to people asking him
questions and expecting him capable of finding an answer.

“You’re a prankster, Naruto.” Sasuke reminded him. “You’re allowed to be creative in your
solution.”

Naruto stared at the map. He slowly seemed to find his courage as he gave it serious thought.
“Most of the camp is stone, but the surrounding wall is all wood. If we could start a fire there, they
would be completely exposed. They would have to spend all their effort rebuilding instead of
chasing us.”

“That’s pretty smart.” Sakura admitted. “But wood like that will not catch fire easily. We’ll need
something flammable.”

“We can just use explosive seals.”

“Do you have any?” Sasuke asked. “They’re expensive and not part of the standard supplies.”

“No. I’m saving up for them though.” Naruto slumped.

“We don’t need an explosion, just something that burns.” Sakura said “There are chemicals that
could work. Not that I’ve brought anything with me.” Sakura sighed. “Might not be doable after
all.”

“Check your inventory.” Sasuke said.

Sakura looked down her character sheet. “There’s nothing… oh. Is this a standard Konoha med
kit?”

Sasuke nodded. “When we’re going out of the village, we’ll each need to bring one.”

“We can use the concentrated alcohol from it as combustion. We have three bottles. We could
empty them on the side of the wall as we sneak in here.” She pointed. “Then on the way out
Sasuke can set them on fire.”

“Oy.” Naruto protested. “I can work flint perfectly well, you know.”

“Yeah, but he has a fire breath technique.”

“Oh yeah.” Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “I guess that would be faster.”

With a few more dice rolls, they infiltrated the base and snuck into the barracks.

“There’s a guard in front of the cell.”

“Just one? That’s easy. I dive out and punch him.”

“Naruto, no.” Sakura sighed. “He could yell out for help.”

“It’s too late to back out now.” Sasuke said. “But yes, Naruto, it is a risky impulse.” He rolled some
dice. “You get really close, but he manages to step out of the way just in time to avoid a knock-out
hit on his head.”

“I try again.” Naruto said.

“It’s Sakura’s turn first. What do you do?”

“Well, if Naruto’s already rushed in, there’s nothing to be done about it. There’s a risk the guy will
scream out and others will come. I’ll make a mist in the entrance, so that they won’t be able to see
us.”

“You have water on you from your flask and that should be enough to cover the area.” Sasuke
rolled some dice. “The mist is quickly forming. As my character’s action, I will throw a kunai at
the enemy.”

“While I’m fighting him?” Naruto asked. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

Sasuke smirked while he rolled his dice. “It seems you’ll live another day, Dobe. With my perfect
aim I have pinned the guard’s leg trouser to the floor. His movement is limited which will make it
easier to do what you were doing.”

“Great. I punch him.”

“You knock him out this time, but he goes down with a scream. There is commotion outside and it
does not seem like we’ll have much time.”

“I grab Seiji and run.” Naruto said.

“He’s in a cell. And as you try to open the door, it appears to be locked.” Sasuke rolled some more
dice. “The metal frame is sturdy as you try to force it open.”

“We’ll need the key. I search the guard.”

“You find nothing on him, aside from some money.”

“Okay, score. But where’s the key?”

“If it’s not here, it must be with the leader.” Sakura said. “We’ll have to find another solution.”

“Can any of us pick a lock?” Naruto asked.

“I’ve read about it.” Sakura said. “But I’ve never done it.”

“I can do it.” Sasuke said. “But we also need someone to cover the door.”

“We’ll cover for you.” Sakura said.

“Right.” Naruto said. “So I’ll join Sakura in her mist.”

“And just in time too. The door flings open and two bandits walk in.” Sasuke said, using the Henge
to age thirty years, gain sixty pounds of muscle mass, and add six different scars to his face. “What
the hell is going on in here!?”
Naruto cracked a nervous smile. “Okay, this is slightly terrifying. But if he can’t see me, I’ll try to
tackle him to the ground.”

Sasuke dropped the henge as he rolled his dice. “You catch him off-balance and he falls right onto
his back. Sakura?”

“I’ll throw a kunai at the other.”

“What are you aiming for?”

“We can’t have them calling even more attention to us. So… the neck.”

“Sakura-chan!” Naruto looked scandalous. “You’re going to try to kill him?!”

“You’re the one who wanted to set fire to their base.”

“Yeah, so we can teach them a lesson. Sasuke said we were going to have to wait for Kakashi to
arrest them all, but we can’t just use lethal force.”

“It’s us or them, Naruto. And they kidnapped someone.”

“Sasuke, tell her this is not normal.”

“Going for lethal force is the smarter choice here, Naruto.” Sasuke said. “If we called in Kakashi,
he would be more inclined to kill all the bandits than arrest them. More importantly, just like
Sakura could not stop you from charging the guard once you’d made the decision, you can’t stop
her from literally going for the jugular. However, Sakura, you have not actually killed someone
before. I’ll have to take that into account.”

“I can’t believe you two.” Naruto said.

“Did you think we could be ninja without ever getting our hands dirty?” Sakura asked. “I’ve been
training, but I’m not as strong as you. We’re just genin. These are people who can easily pull out a
weapon and kill us.”

“So you’ll become a murderer just like that?”

“It’s just a game.”

“But we’re playing pretend as ourselves. It’s what you’d do in that situation, though, isn’t it?”

Sakura bit her lip.

“Naruto, I think you’re underestimating how much danger we are in, surrounded by all these
people who are used to killing without hesitation. Sakura’s making this decision to protect not only
herself, but the entire team and a little boy in need of help. You could have assassinated the first
guard and we would not be in this mess at all.”

Naruto grit his teeth. “Fine.”

“Sakura, your reasoning is sound, but you are still only twelve years old. Reality is more difficult
than theory and your strong aim is affected by it. Instead of his neck, you penetrate his shoulder
with your kunai. He draws a weapon and lunges for you. Do you try to draw a new kunai to
deflect, or do you dodge?”

“Deflect.”
He rolled his dice. “You keep the weapon away. Naruto, it is your turn. Do you try to knock the
prone man in front of you unconscious, or do you use your kunai?”

Naruto stared at his sheet. Without any training in anatomy, the chance of successfully subduing
the man in one turn was limited. He sighed. “I use the kunai.” Naruto said. “The neck.”

Sasuke rolled. “The man is defeated. Sakura?”

“I’ll try to slash at his neck.”

“That’s impossible.” Sasuke shook his head. “The man is too tall for you to reach.”

“Then I slash at the arm holding the weapon.”

“You succeed. The man cries out in pain and drops the blade, but it also nicks your side on the
way down. It’s a shallow cut, but it’ll limit your mobility. Naruto?”

“The guy can’t use his arms and he’s focussed on Sakura. I’ll jump on his back and attack from
behind.”

Sasuke rolled. “You get on, but he’s thrashing so much that you lose your kunai.”

“I’ll cut his ankles.” Sakura said.

“He’s distracted and cannot get out of the way fast enough. He drops to his knees. Naruto, you
don’t have a knife and drawing one will be difficult. What do you do?”

“I’ll pull his head back by his hair so Sakura can finish him.”

Sakura nodded. “I should be able to reach if he’s on his knees.”

Sasuke rolled the dice. “He’s done. You look back to the cell to see I have finished unlocking it.
The cell is now open.”

“I pick up Seiji.” Naruto said. “And then we’re running away as fast as we can.”

“Is the way clear?” Sakura asked.

“There are definitely more people coming, but they were waiting to see what the first two would
find. The mist kept them in the dark long enough that they were surprised to see us coming out.
We’re halfway to the wall before they start chasing us. Sakura, you are slower with your wound
and they will catch up with you if nothing else is done.”

“I don’t have time to treat the wound while we’re escaping. I could do a Kawarimi?”

“Do you think you could pull it off in such a situation?”

She gave it a few moments of careful consideration. “Yeah. I’ve practiced it enough that neither
the adrenaline nor the cut should distract me.”

Sasuke rolled his dice and smiled. “It works. Your after-image pretends to stumble, confusing the
bandits when their swords hit wood instead of flesh. The extra time allows me to set off the
incendiaries we’ve planted near the wall as Naruto and I retreat. They are forced to deal with the
fire instead of chasing us. You’re in the trees and hidden for now.”

“I’ll stitch the wound while I’m out of sight.” Sakura said. “And I’ll apply bandages. Then I’ll join
the two of you.”

“We have a clearing where we discussed the plans.” Sasuke said, indicating a location on the map.
“We meet back there and explain to Seiji that his mom sent us to get him. We are about to head out
when Kakashi finds us.” Another henge and Kakashi was at the table. But gone was the carefree
pervert they had gotten to know, replaced with the intense Kakashi of their bell test, dialled up to
eleven. Naruto and Sakura both looked taken aback at the jounin-level confidence out for blood,
small traces of killing intent leaking into the air. “Sakura, who did that to you?”

“There were these bandits.” Sakura said. “Their camp is over there and…”

The henge dropped in a puff of smoke. “Kakashi disappears. You hear the sound of a high-level
lightning jutsu in the distance.”

Naruto looked to Sakura. “The impression was spot-on, but he wouldn’t really go that ballistic if
either of us got hurt, would he?”

“I don’t see him doing that, no.” Sakura said.

“Well, with a little bit of luck we won’t find out anytime soon.” Sasuke said. “Anyway, that’s the
scenario. You bring Seiji back to his mother and she confesses everything to the town. Kakashi
retrieves the bandit’s loot and returns most of it to the village, minus Konoha’s fees for clearing
them out.”

“I hate to admit it, but that was pretty fun.” Naruto said. “Are all these sessions like this?”

“This was admittedly a simple one.” Sasuke said. “I kept it short in case you wouldn’t like the
game. More complicated scenarios can have ethical conundrums in them like a trolley problem, or
require far more planning and observation like an infiltration mission where you’re messing with
local power structures to get a more Konoha-friendly person elected.”

“I think it’s interesting.” Sakura said. “Even if a bit confrontational. Our first simulated mission
and I’m the only one who ended up wounded.”

“It was just bad luck, Sakura.” Naruto said.

“It’s more than that.” Sakura said. “But I’m working on it. Next game we play, it’ll be better.”

“So there’s going to be a next time?” Sasuke asked.

“How else are we going to see more of your impressions?” Sakura teased. “It looks like you
worked hard on making them believable.”

“It’s all part of infiltration techniques. Are the two of you interested in hearing my thoughts on your
choices in the game?”

“Can’t hurt.” Naruto said. “Though why do I feel like you’re just going to tell me to be less
impulsive?”

“You’re aware of your own weakness and that’s good.” Sasuke said. “The important moment was
with the first guard. Do you know what would have been a better course of action?”

“Well, I know now that I should have been more lethal.”

“More importantly, you should have waited for us.” Sasuke said. “If all three of us had snuck up on
 him at the same time, then even if you had missed Sakura or I could have downed him.”

“I didn’t know I was going to miss.”

“When you did, the commotion cost us time. Time we could have used to pick the lock in safety.”

“Well, I didn’t know we would have trouble with that either.”

“That’s where the impulsiveness comes in. You saw a guard and wanted to fix that problem. But
you didn’t think ahead about other problems that could come up and that would need fixing later.
So next time, take a few seconds to think and imagine the worst-case scenario. If your plan can
still succeed with half of it going wrong, it’s a better plan.”

“I’ll try.”

“And Sakura, before the guards came in, you created a mist. That locked us into combat with the
other bandits. You could have chosen, alternatively, to use a Henge to look like the bandit Naruto
had knocked out and try to tell them nothing was wrong.”

“The moment they would have seen through my disguise, they would have attacked me.”

“Perhaps. But after choosing to create the mist, Naruto was the one who more effectively took
advantage of it. Throwing a weapon accurately became more difficult with limited visibility.”

“You’re saying it would have been more effective to get close.”

“You tried to keep yourself at a distance to stay safer, but still ended up getting hurt. The other
thing is that you could have tried picking the lock.”

“But you’re the only one with experience.”

“You knew how to do it, just had not practiced it. It might have taken longer, but if you were not
comfortable fighting in the mist, Naruto and I would have been better suited for keeping the
bandits at bay. There is an element of chance and it’s not sure which choice was better. But it’s
important to realise that it had been an option.”

“I understand.”

“The two of you had planned your escape well, but still kicked in the door when it came time for it.
And then we handled the surprises that came our way. The mission was a success, which would
not have been the case for just any genin team. Congratulations.”

Sakura smiled. “I know I said no training today, but do you happen to have any locks I could
practice on?”

“Yeah, that would have been useful.” Naruto said. “Can you teach me?”

“Just for a little bit.” Sasuke said, going to a closet and retrieving a box of practice locks. They had
been scheduled for later, but if they were enthusiastic he was not going to stop them. “I don’t want
you feeling like you’ll have to practice a skill after every game we play together.”

“Yeah right.” Naruto laughed. “Hell would have to freeze over before I take up studying in the
weekends.”

Chapter End Notes

Chapter End Notes

Next chapter, 'Building bridges', will be posted evening of December 2nd, CET. Three
guesses which arc gets started there. Well, I say arc, but it's only 2 chapters.

For those interested, Nanowrimo is still on track, but I'm exhausted. Working in the
administration department of a hospital while C-word cases are rising is not helping.
Even though I'm having trouble responding to all the reviews, know that I read all of
them and appreciate them immensely <3 I can't talk much about how they're helping,
but they still are. Last chapter got an Iruka POV because of the reviews, and the start
of this chapter was rewritten to feature more Iruka because of a review wondering how
the rest of the Ramen-outing went and me realising I had like 2 lines written about the
conclusion of it. You, dear readers, deserve more.

Both plotlines of the politics and D&D were added in later, while my first draft had
almost none of this chapter. But whoo boy, I read the Wizengemot scene in Harry
Potter Methods of Rationality and got obsessed with the treatment of politics in Song
of Ice and Fire and suddenly felt like I should go more in depth into my treatment of
politics. The politics here are set up to introduce the rules and the make-up of the
landscape. Sasuke being completely overpowered in Council meetings (much like he
is on the battlefield) is also a trend that will continue.
The D&D scene was just for fun. It's indulgent to include a D&D scene just because I
like D&D, but I do like how it both shows a way for Sasuke to make training fun and
gives the room for character development. To be completely honest, 'include
references to them playing D&D' is on my to-do list for the edit and feel free to kick
me in the comments if the references become out of place or too infrequent.
Also someone asked if Kakashi was going to join them in the D&D session. And the
answer was sadly no. Kakashi's still being hands-off... which will come to a head in
the next two chapters where Kakashi needs to step in as mission leader and suddenly
finds himself having competition. Super strange. Wonder how that happened. Sounds
like fake news. Anyway, D&D is very much going to be a Team 7 thing. And if
Kakashi gets close enough to Sasuke/Sakura/Naruto that they consider him Team 7,
he'll get included.

Let's see. Anything else? I don't know how politics really work in canon. I'm not sure
we get enough information about it, but if we do, I didn't retain the information. But
the wiki says Konoha only has four noble clans so I went with that and tried to figure
out a way that would make sense. Head canon which doesn't fit into the story: the
Senju got his powers as Hokage and the Uchiha got the Council as balance. The
Hyuuga were strong spies and scouts and had to be given a concession (seat on
council) in order to join Konoha. The Aburame wanted to remain neutral and were
strong enough to claim that position, but the Uchiha eventually threatened to burn
down their forests if they did not join Konoha. The Aburame were prideful and would
go down fighting. But they could also negotiate a compromise and joined Konoha
with a seat at the council. That left many small clans in the Land of Fire, none of
which had the power to oppose Konoha. Konoha was strong-arming them one by one
and forcing them to join Konoha or die. They wanted no competition. Enter the
Akimichi, with their strong ties with the Nara and Yamanaka. They started gathering
up as many small clans as they could and eventually became a force great enough that
Konoha had to negotiate with them. Though they saw themselves as equals, Konoha
would only allow one clan to join the council. And so they appointed the Akimichi,
the most diplomatic and de facto leaders of the many clans. To this day, they represent
all the other clans in Konoha on the council and are most likely to speak out against
ingrained traditions.

This entire background, complete with political classifications as libertarian, was

originally part of the dialogue with Shikamaru but it felt far too much out of place and
it ended up on the cutting floor. It’s just ;_; a political compass has four quadrants and
there are four Noble Clans. It fits so perfectly. And I just can’t help myself when there
are connections to be drawn.

So yes. Naruto and Sakura have some elemental chakra training, Sasuke forced people
to listen to him, Danzo is MIA, Shikamaru has been motivated to train harder than he
ever has in his entire life (to master Shogi), Naruto and Sakura learned how to fill out a
character sheet, and next week it’s time for a small excursion.
 Building bridges
Chapter Summary

It is time for the mission to Wave.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“Get closer to me, bastard.” Naruto said, his teeth clattering.

“He’s fine where he is, you selfish ass.” Sakura tightened her hold on Sasuke.

“Both of you should have packed warmer clothes.” Sasuke sighed, before forming more fire chakra
in his body. It itched to let it spread without expelling it in a fire technique, but the itch and a little
cold was much better than no itch and freezing to death.

“The mission was supposed to last two days. Not two weeks.” Naruto complained.

“You’re supposed to be mastering seals. Use storage scrolls to plan for contingencies.” Sasuke
hissed at him. Though they were only illuminated with moonlight, he could still clearly see a cloud
of fog every time he breathed out.

“I don’t exactly have a teacher, you know. I’m doing the best I can.”

Sasuke really wished he could make a fire here. But there were too many risks of being seen. The
fire chakra helped, but he could feel the cold seeping into his bones. And he hated all the ice
surrounding them. It reminded him too much of their mission in the Land of Waves.

Trying to distract himself, he tried to imagine what a jutsu would be like that could properly warm
him up. He knew of nothing like it, but he had already created four ninjutsu by himself. He was
even starting to get the hang of it.

It took him hours to do the calculations in his head. But then the invisible body warming jutsu
worked on his very first try.

Sakura gawked at him. “That’s not supposed to be possible. No matter how good you are. It’s
supposed to take years to create something new. Your last technique that you made in just a week
was supposed to be a fluke.”

Naruto was just delighted, snuggling up to Sasuke’s warming body with a sigh of contentment. “I
will be bragging to everyone about my impossible teammate.”

~*~

The next morning they met Kakashi at the Hokage tower. “We have finished tons of missions and
we have been in service for at least a week now, Iruka-sensei.” Naruto said as he burst into the
mission chamber. “Time to give us a C-rank already.”

“Naruto, it’s not customary for teams to be given C-ranks one week after graduation.” Iruka rubbed
his forehead. He was behind a desk with the Hokage and other mission coordinators next to him,
still negotiating about the day’s mission allotments.

“But it’s allowed! And we even got recommended for one!” Naruto complained.

The Sandaime chuckled. “We do have one that we’ve been having trouble assigning.” He handed a
scroll to Kakashi. “A bridge builder that needs to be escorted to the Land of Waves.”

Kakashi looked it over quickly. “This’ll keep us out of town for nearly a week.”

“Correct. It’s a routine mission in all other regards.”

Kakashi remained silent, though Sasuke could see him thinking. He would be making a mental list
of his supplies, the team’s resources and other stops they had to make. They were well stocked on
standard weapons, but did not have any rations for travel. They would need to go past the markets,
which would delay them fifteen minutes. Then Kakashi would be checking his other duties to
make sure there was nothing important planned the next few days, and figuring out how long it
would take to cancel the unimportant plans. Any Jounin worth his salt would be able to set off
within the hour. “Acceptable. We will leave in three hours.”

They went by the finance department next. “We are here to pick up our pay from the last week of
missions." Kakashi said, handing over a filled-out form.

The clerk looked up the different missions and started running up the total. “You have been busy,
Kakashi-san.”

“I have quite eager students, it appears. They might not have an account set up yet.”

The clerk checked quickly. “Yes. Sasuke has a family account that was activated automatically
when he became a genin. But I have no open requests on file for the other two.”

Sasuke turned to his teammates. “Naruto, Sakura, would you like to have a ninja bank account set
up?”

“Yes please.” Sakura nodded. “I’ve been meaning to get to it, but I have not had a chance yet to fill
out the application.”

Naruto shuffled uncomfortably. “I am not sure…”

“I don’t have all day.” The clerk snapped.

Sasuke remembered his Naruto telling him once how the banks would treat the village demon-
child. As an academy student, Naruto would sometimes find his money disappearing or he would
be denied service when he needed to withdraw money for groceries of supplies. “It’s okay to ask to
be paid in cash, Naruto.”

Naruto nodded with relief. “My payments in cash, please.”

“That is such a hassle, but fine. I will make a note on your file for future reference. I assume the
rest of you will take the standard ten percent cash withdrawal?”

“Yes.” Sasuke said. “We’d also like to change how the reward gets divided. After taking out
Kakashi’s share, half of the remainder will go to Uzumaki Naruto, and a quarter each to Haruno
Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke.”
They nodded and the clerk looked at them sceptically. “The lion share is going to… him?”

A few other ninja that were going about their business stopped in their tracks and looked at the
scene as it unfolded. Naruto seemed mortified and ready to make any concession that was needed
in order not to have all these eyes trained on him.

“Yes, him. We’re just annoyed he won’t let us give him more since he is definitely doing more
than half the work.” Sasuke said. “Any more questions?”

The clerk proceeded counting out the money. In Sasuke’s experience, the administration had to
deal with a lot of individual agreements in teams when it came to splitting up their payments. The
reaction was unfair, disproportionate, and troubling. Any other ninja team and they would have
been fine with it.

Naruto’s request to be paid in cash was more uncommon. The clerk had to send several people in
the back to get additional funds. Naruto was gaping when they handed him his share. It was his
first salary as a ninja, and Team 7 had been taking on a multiple of the standard workload.

Kakashi sent them out to replenish their supplies, like genin would just know how to do that, and
Sasuke suggested they should go together. While they walked, Naruto and Sakura listed off the
weapons they had on them and the ones they had at their homes. Sasuke coordinated their
inventory and suggested what they should pick up. Naruto lacked basic camping equipment, so
they fixed that first. Sakura had all the essentials but lacked any backups. They made sure to build
in some redundancies in her supplies. And as promised, Sasuke insisted they all had a basic
Konoha medical kit.

Sasuke had everything he needed, but not everything he wanted. He was hoping a trip to the
weapons shop would fix that problem.

The shop keeper tensed as Naruto entered. Sasuke could see him hesitate before greeting them. He
got points for trying, at least.

There were many different weapons on display. One sword caught his eye immediately. It was
made with chakra conducting steel and crafted with such care that it must have been a special
project for the shop’s owner. “How much for this one?”

“You know your swords. Are you interested?” The man said.

“It will do for now. I would prefer one custom made. Same material.” Sasuke said. He took the
sword and his bag of money to the counter. Knowing as much about swords as he did, it took only
a few minutes to commission a weapon that would work to his specifications. He used his
paycheck to buy the sword already available and a few hundred kunai and shuriken. A few
thousand feet of ninja wire. A ninja scroll to store what he could not keep in his pouches.

Naruto snickered as Sasuke’s pile of supplies grew and grew. “I wasn’t aware you were planning
an invasion.”

“Please.” Sasuke shook his head. “This is only about six percent of the supplies I’d need to invade
another country.”

Sakura sighed. “Why do I feel like you’ve actually run the numbers?”

“We all have our hobbies.” Sasuke counted out the money. Finally, he gave the man a sizable
down payment for the commission.
“Are you trying to clear me out? This is the best business I’ve had in months.”

Sasuke frowned. “That’s a sad tale to hear from the only specialised swordsmith in town. Don’t
you have a monopoly?”

“I am the only smith who can make swords of this quality. I learned the trade from my father, who
learned it from his father. But I’m not the only one selling. Other shops are getting their supply
from out of town. Mass produced by amateurs with no pride in their work. I also haven’t found an
apprentice yet, who would usually help me with quantity and let me lower my prices. Even if I
wanted to keep up with the competition, I would not be able to.”

“That sounds frustrating. Have you talked to anyone about these concerns?”

“The Hokage won’t accept complaints like these.”

“The Konoha Council would. I should know. I’m a member.”

Sakura gave Sasuke a look. He gave her a signal that he would explain later. Naruto took it all in
stride, probably believing it was just another fancy title the Uchiha heir held. Which, fair.

The man did a double take. “You’re Uchiha Sasuke, aren’t you?”

“I am. You should know I’m always willing to listen to your complaints, even if my duties as a
ninja will sometimes keep me from doing so in person.”

The man nodded. “I’ll see if I can find the names of the shops getting their supplies from out of
town. Though I’m not sure what you could do about it.”

“The least we can do is check whether those businesses are paying all their tariffs and import taxes.
We need quality weapons to do our jobs and that means supporting the people who arm us. Not the
merchants who will stop making the journey the moment any risk is involved.”

Sasuke exited the shop carrying a sword on his back and finally having some of his arsenal back.
He had not realised how naked he had felt before.

“So, the Konoha Council?” Sakura asked.

“It’s not an interesting story. I’ll tell you on the way to Wave if you’d like.”

“I suppose. I should tell my parents I’m leaving and get the final supplies from my bedroom.”

“And I’m going to see how much money fits in my piggy bank.” Naruto smiled wide. “It wasn’t
built for these volumes.”

Sasuke had his own business to attend to, letting the council know he would be missing at least one
meeting and cancelling the appointments he had made for the upcoming week. He was lucky he
had the privacy to have some clones take care of the busy work, but he was going to need some
administrative workers soon. Even if just on retainer.

When everything was in order, they all headed to the village gate where they waited for Kakashi
and their client with their usual time-passing hobby.

Their journey started without much incident. The bridge builder seemed sceptical when he looked
at the team.

“I was told I might have to wait weeks, if not months, before my mission would be handled. As
glad as I am to be getting on my way, I would be willing to wait for a group that’s more…
experienced. And can look at what’s happening around them instead of burying their noses in
books.”

“Oy!” Naruto grumbled, putting the annotated fiction away. “We can more than handle whatever
comes our way, old man.”

The mood was soured but did not escalate beyond dirty stares. The road was well maintained for as
long as they were in the area around Konoha. And even beyond Konoha’s protected regions, it still
was luxury compared to the roads as they had been after the wars. It had gotten so bad in Sasuke’s
time that, in the places where there were still optimists, they found it easier to build new roads than
to dismantle the traps and clean up the viscera on the old ones.

“How much longer do we have to walk?” Naruto asked.

Kakashi sighed, not breaking his stride to answer. “Still a little while.”

“At this rate, two hours and twenty-four minutes.” Sasuke said. “But there is at least one body of
water we need to cross by boat.”

Naruto let out a grunt of frustration. The last week had kept him busy and a simple walk was a step
down from all the excitement they had gotten used to. Sasuke had toyed with giving him some
training to do during the trip with clones or inspire Naruto to think of some ways himself that his
clones could help him stay entertained. But there were challenges coming today that would be
better faced without giving away Naruto’s main strength to anyone watching them.

When they approached a small puddle of water on the road, Sasuke knew it was time. “Sakura, did
you remember to pack all your camping gear?”

Naruto and Sakura tensed. They each reached for their weapon pouches with one hand. “I am not
so clumsy that you have to keep asking, Sasuke-teme.” Sakura responded.

“Don’t talk to Sasuke like that, Sakura-dobe.” Naruto said. He took a kunai out and wielded it
threateningly.

“You want me to shut up? Make me.” She met the challenge by pulling a weapon from her pouch
as well.

Sasuke moved between them. He held out his hands to stop them, a kunai in both. “That’s enough.”

They stood still for a few seconds. Kakashi looked at the spectacle with exasperation. Sakura made
a final feint, then laughed it off when Naruto did nothing. “Sissy.”

They kept walking forward, weapons ready. The bridgebuilder looked like he was about to
complain about their behaviour when two ninja came out of nowhere and shredded Kakashi with a
hazardous length of chain they wielded between them. Sakura froze up, but only after she had
instinctively positioned herself in front of the bridge builder and pressed her body against his.

Naruto was shaking so much he almost dropped his weapon.

These were Gozu and Meizu, chuunin from the Hidden Mist village, and their first hostile
challenge as a team. Sasuke had prepared Naruto and Sakura for this. They could do it.

“Spoiled ramen!” Sasuke yelled out before engaging Gozu. He closed the distance and swiped both
kunai outward, one aiming for the chuunin’s heart and the other for his neck. The chuunin could
not afford to be hit by either. He had to release the chain to dodge backwards fast enough.

Naruto was still sluggish, but his body responded to Sasuke’s shout by making clones without even
thinking about it. They were all trembling, but more focused in their number. They threw their
kunai at the same time, small green glowing projectiles hurling at Meizu, the ninja Sasuke had left
alone. Meizu deflected the projectiles and jumped over the clones, heading in Sakura’s direction.
The original Naruto jumped up to intercept but was too late.

Sasuke was unrelenting. He swung at Gozu with a kunai in one hand, only to drop it as soon as it
was blocked and grab a new weapon while he attacked with the kunai in his other hand. He
stepped into the ninja’s personal space with each move and forced him back from the rest of Team
7.

The two chuunin brothers worked best together. Separated, they were far less formidable. Naruto
and Sakura were capable of dealing with the other one on their own. Sasuke could trust them not to
get hurt, especially with Kakashi’s real body stalking around and waiting to intervene. Especially
with his own clones stalking around with a slightly larger radius and ready to do the same.

Sakura shrieked and threw her kunai. Meizu chuckled as he knocked it aside and brought his
weapon forward to penetrate Sakura’s torso. His poisoned knife disappeared into Sakura’s chest
and she cried out in pain.

For a moment, her body was obscured with smoke and then it was replaced with a log. The real
Sakura tried to attack from the chuunin’s blind side before he could press the attack to the
bridgebuilder. Meizu dodged the attack and tried to kick Sakura out of the way. That could hurt
her. Sasuke swiped at Gozu in a sweeping forward motion, buying him a few seconds to breath and
release half a dozen shuriken towards Meizu. Meizu was caught hallway in his manouvre and
staggered from the distraction.

Naruto tackled Meizu to the ground in his moment of instability, away from both Sakura and the
bridge builder. Meizu struggled and got a good handle on his weapon. He was about to attack
Naruto when Kakashi suddenly appeared beside him. A fist against the chuunin’s head swiftly
delivered unconsciousness.

Sasuke saw that as the sign to stop his own fight. He feinted left and then moved to the right,
slipping behind Gozu’s back, grabbing his hair to pull up his face and then swipe a kunai across
his throat. Blood sprayed the ground in front of him as the man struggled with his final halted
breaths. A few seconds later, Gozu slumped in his hold. Sasuke dropped the man to the ground as
soon as the chakra fully disappeared.

Both ninja had been subdued, but the tension remained. It took a few breaths for things to settle
back to normal.

Naruto’s clones popped and Sakura fell to her knees. She was trembling from the adrenaline still
running through her body. Naruto was starting to think clearly again. They both seemed to feel bad
about how they had done.

“I take it the little show was to warn Naruto and Sakura?” Kakashi asked.

Sasuke nodded. “And you used the replacement technique so you would be able to sneak up on
them.”

“And confirm who their target was. First chance they got, they went for Tazuna.”
Naruto let out a large breath, like he was not fully aware he had been keeping it in. There was a cut
by his shoulder, where one of the deflected kunai had glanced him. “This does not feel like a C-
rank.”

Sakura nodded. “The presence of ninja automatically increases the rank of a mission to B.”

Sasuke stared at Naruto’s wound, feeling his eyesight narrowing. He tried to breathe through the
surge of memories that were fighting to rise to the surface, grateful that Kakashi had other
priorities and was giving Sasuke the time needed to collect himself.

“Correct.” Kakashi glared at the bridge builder. “I think we need to have a talk, Tazuna-san.”
Kakashi’s eye moved to Sasuke. “And then I want to know why my team has a secret code I don’t
know anything about.”

The bridge builder explained how he had lied because he did not have enough money for a higher
ranked mission. That he really needed to get to the Land of Waves. Kakashi seemed inclined to
sympathize. “One of the chuunin survived. Let’s tie him up.”

Kakashi grabbed a length of rope and tied the unconscious man to a nearby tree. The moment that
was done, he turned to his students. “How much have you been training and what have you been
teaching yourselves?”

“A variety of skills.” Sasuke said. “Mostly chakra-inexpensive things, considering the training we
do during the day. You wanted to know about the code?”

“Why did you think it necessary to agree on a code for danger that was more complicated than
‘there is danger nearby’?”

“There are situations where a ninja does not wish to signal their knowledge of the danger to outside
parties listening in. This was one of them.”

“Of course there are. That does not answer my question. Why, as genin, did you think it was
necessary to prepare a chuunin-level preparation code for specific circumstances? Do you have
other such codes?”

“Many of them.”

“What’s the big deal, Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto complained. One of his clones was bandaging his
arm with the supplies of their first-aid kit. They had covered basic aid last Thursday.

“The big deal is that I have no idea about any of these codes. How does it help the three of you to
be more prepared than I am?”

“You had ample opportunity to teach us your own codes this past week. You had ample
opportunity to agree on a set of codes this morning before the mission.”

“That I did not should have tipped you off that I, as the leader of this mission, thought it was
unnecessary.”

“That we agreed on one anyway should have tipped you off that the most vulnerable members of
this mission disagreed.”

Sakura gasped. “Sasuke…”

Sasuke did not back down. “This was standard practice fifteen years ago.”
“Life is not as dangerous as it was then, Sasuke. We don’t need our genin preparing for disaster
every time they leave the village. It’s paranoia. It’s not good for you.”

Sasuke understood what the man really meant. That it had screwed Kakashi up and that he and the
rest of Konoha wanted to raise a generation with better mental health. Like that naïve way of
thinking would keep Naruto and Sakura safe. “We can handle it.”

Kakashi had to take a few deep breaths. “When I agreed to take you on as a team, this is not what I
had in mind. Next time you sense danger you’ll tell me plainly.”

“No.”

“Excuse me? Are you disobeying a direct order?”

“You are angry and you are not thinking straight. We have already learned this code and the bigger
waste would be forgetting it. You have a better ability to spot danger than we do. There is nothing
lost if we inform each other and get ready for a dangerous situation that might cost us our lives.
You can take care of yourself, as you have so often proven in the last week.”

Kakashi blanched. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The three of us are taking Team 7 seriously. We are putting in the time, energy and discipline to
achieve our goals. You’re the only one not pulling his weight.”

Kakashi groaned. “You are such a pain in the ass.”

“I never promised to be nice about putting the team first.”

Kakashi shook his head. “The code, was it the verb or the noun?”

“The noun. When used as a verb, it is a warning that a situation could become dangerous if not
handled carefully.”

“Anything else I should know for the safety of this trip?”

“We have a code word for Naruto to create clones. A codeword to run in all directions and one for
a coordinated retreat. We discussed some strategies, most involving Naruto flooding the field with
clones as a distraction to cover our withdrawal. One more codeword for pretending to retreat and
then launching a counterattack.”

“There are eight codewords in total.” Sakura said, before listing each of them.

Kakashi did not need to hear them twice. The rudimentary signals were simple enough for someone
as experienced as he was. “Clean yourselves up. We’re moving in a few minutes.”

~*~

They crossed the water largely in silence. When they reached the other side, Naruto threw a kunai
through the bushes. “I heard something.”

They found a white rabbit there, killed by Naruto. Sakura complained about Naruto’s recklessness,
but Kakashi looked around cautiously.

Sasuke stepped between them. “Now, Sakura, nothing’s lost. We can roast it on the campfire
tonight.”
Both Naruto and Sakura straightened quickly. They were about to respond when Kakashi yelled at
them to duck. A giant sword spin over their heads and only stopped when it got stuck in a tree. A
foreign jounin stood on top of it and introduced himself.

Zabuza. Demon of the Hidden Mist.

Then he disappeared into the mist the ninja of his village were known for creating. They heard a
deep voice through the trees, taunting them, talking about the eight ways to kill a human body.
Killing intent dripped through those words. Sasuke was a little embarrassed it had affected him as
much as it had when he was younger. He had remembered it on the level of Orochumaru and
Madara. Instead, it was on the level of Naruto pouting when Kuruma refused to help him.

“Don’t worry.” Kakashi tried to reassure them. “I don’t let my comrades die.”

Sasuke found it hard to focus completely on the fight in front of him. He already knew the outcome
and there was something more interesting he noticed. Sakura was slowly spreading chakra through
the jounin’s mist. Her eyes grew wide a fraction of a second before Sasuke and Kakashi caught the
movement. Zabuza appeared between them and Kakashi tackled him while the three genin and
their client ducked to the ground. Kakashi managed to land a good hit.

Zabuza died and dissolved into water. Zabuza’s replacement surprised Kakashi with fatal
consequences. Kakashi’s corpse dissolved into water. Zabuza got stabbed and turned out to also be
a water clone. Kakashi was out of replacements. It was his real body now that had a kunai against
his throat, threatening to kill him. Not that he stayed in that position long.

Kakashi twisted around and Zabuza was forced to kick Kakashi off to create distance between
them. Kakashi landed on top of the body of water, where he started gathering water chakra for a
finishing move. Zabuza got to him before Kakashi could even get the hand signs started. He
encased Kakashi in a sphere of water, the constant stream of chakra from his hand onto the water
keeping the prison too secure to break out of.

Neither could harm the other. But Kakashi’s advantage was that he was not alone. He had three
genin outside of the prison that could help him. Zabuza realised it too, which was why he created
another water clone and told it to go after the client.

Naruto charged the clone and got kicked back for his efforts. He landed badly, hurting his
shoulder. The wound from before was starting to bleed through the bandages and Sasuke had to
blink away the sense of panic that was threatening to overcome him. Discovering Naruto slightly
hurt after a battle had been triggering for him, but having him bleed when they still had a jounin to
defeat hit him differently.

Sasuke clutched his kunai tightly. He would have to hold back if he did not want to unleash the full
force of his anger at the shark-faced bastard. Naruto got kicked back again and Kakashi told them
to run, without using any of their code words. Naruto seemed to listen at first, but stopped in his
tracks just a few moments later. Sasuke could see Naruto’s resolve building and his mind turning.
His first battle plan was being formed.

Naruto made his clones and charged. He got pushed back and withdrew a large shuriken that he
threw to Sasuke. Sasuke accepted it, using a sleight of hand to exchange it with the one held by his
father’s weapon pouch. He threw his father’s giant shuriken with Naruto’s in the shadow. Without
pausing, he took a hold of six more kunai and threw them towards Zabuza’s clone, making sure if
he dodged them, they would hit the real version. The clone was blocking most of the kunai
following the shuriken’s attack, but it had missed one inexplicably. It took Sasuke a few seconds to
find out why.
The mist was still there, and it had been created with chakra. Sakura had manipulated it and found
how easy it was to extend the range of her technique. From all across the clearing she had numbed
the ninja’s hand with genjutsu and it had slowed him enough to let the kunai through.

Zabuza caught the first shuriken and jumped to avoid the second one. He brought the shuriken to
his front to deflect the kunai, not noticing until it was too late that Naruto had popped into existence
behind him and had thrown one more kunai that was aimed at the arm holding Kakashi in place.
Naruto’s henge into a shuriken had been so unexpected that the jounin had not anticipated it.
Zabuza withdrew his arm from the prison, but the kunai’s green glow brushed his arm. Naruto had
made him bleed.

Zabuza’s eyes were drenched with anger, but Kakashi stood between him and his revenge. “I will
not fall for the same technique twice. And I do not like my genin getting hurt.” He lifted his
headband enough to reveal his red eye, the Sharingan that had been gifted to him by his childhood
friend. He spared a glance for Sasuke. “Time for me to start pulling my weight, huh?”

The two jounin used water techniques against each other and Kakashi used his sharingan to cast a
minor genjutsu. Sasuke could feel the chakra leaking through the water and connecting with
Zabuza. Kakashi’s eyes formed the technique, but the chakra he used was passed through the
water. Splitting up the genjutsu into two routes made it four times more difficult to detect. It was
an impressive use of his skills, which only Sasuke could appreciate at the moment.

Kakashi’s massive water dragon crashed into Zabuza, knocking him unconscious. Before Kakashi
could deliver the finishing blow, a newcomer stole Kakashi’s thunder. Two long and thick needles
went right through Zabuza’s neck and the jounin’s eyes stared out lifelessly.

“Thank you for the opportunity.” Haku said. He stood firmly in his ANBU disguise, looking the
part of a Kirigakure hunter-nin. “I have been stalking my target for weeks and this is the first time
he has been forced to drop his guard.”

There was a convincing level of hostility radiating off him. It was amazing how such a kind-
natured boy could be convinced to portray such a cold-blooded assassin. Sasuke glanced at Naruto
and Sakura, before staring at the intruder.

“So you just camped out in the trees while we did all the dirty work?”

Kakashi gave Sasuke a look. The jounin was completely out of chakra and using the very last bits
of his energy to keep standing. He was trying to keep up the front of strong Konoha ninja in front
of this enemy presence and he did not appreciate Sasuke drawing out the encounter.

Haku responded. “Your help is much appreciated, but the bingo book clearly states the finishing
blow is the only one that counts. Unless you want to escalate this issue and risk repercussions by
the Village Hidden in the Mist, I suggest you back off now and let me take this body away to be
disposed of.”

Haku readied his weapons like a hunter-nin with years of experience bending the rules. Kakashi
was trying his best to look unfazed. Sasuke could tell he wanted to step in. But it was nearly
impossible to think rationally with so little chakra in his system. It was why the ninja’s strange
behaviour was not being noticed and it was why Kakashi let Sasuke take the lead.

“We’ll back off.” Sasuke said. “But in exchange we expect you to warn us if you know of any
other missing ninja in the area.”

“That is acceptable. I will keep a look out, for the limited time I am still here.” Haku said, before
disappearing with the ninja.

Kakashi took a few steps towards Sasuke. “What was that about?”

“A hunting ninja using senbon and wanting privacy to dispose of the body.”

Naruto and Sakura were still battle ready. They had caught the code word in Sasuke’s
conversation. They had no idea why they needed to be ready for combat, but they were still weary.
Bless them. Kakashi connected the dots a few seconds later.

“Keep your guards up and try not to be slowed down just because your sensei overused his
sharingan.”

Naruto looked at Kakashi in confusion. “What do you mean with…”

Kakashi crashed to the ground, his eyes completely closed. Sasuke went over to him and checked
his pulse. “Exhaustion. Naruto, can you make clones? There may still be trouble.”

Kakashi was lifted up and they moved to Tazuna’s house. It was difficult to move efficiently like
that, but they kept watch for any signs of trouble around them. When they got to the house, they
placed Kakashi into a bed and stored their weapons.

The bridge builder was glad to be home with his daughter and grandson. The grandson was less
thrilled. Inari was hostile and ill-mannered, insulting both his grandfather and Team 7. Sasuke
wanted to put the boy in his place, but Naruto responded with kindness and understanding before
Sasuke had a chance to. Naruto had always been better at dealing with children than Sasuke had.

They were in a private room besides Kakashi, trying to get a hold of the situation.

“Sakura, you had the highest marks on the medical couses. How long is Zabuza likely to be
down?”

Sakura closed her eyes for a few seconds. “There was a neck injury convincing enough to fool
Kakashi at first glance, involving actual paralysis and dropping the heart rate down enough that it
became nearly undetectable. The academy texts had examples of those three conditions separately
and they had a recovery time of at least five days, so closer to a week for all three combined.
Maybe six if his wounds were shallow enough?”

Sasuke nodded. “Judging by the amount of time the sharingan was activated and the techniques
Kakashi used, an average jounin of his age would be incapacitated for well over a week.”

Naruto gaped. “Just from using a little chakra?”

“More than a little.” Sakura huffed. “Did you see that giant water dragon? All those
replacements?”

Sasuke nodded. “And all with a transplanted sharingan, which he can’t turn off. He probably has to
keep it covered to keep the chakra drain in check.”

“But still.” Naruto said. “More than a week passed out?”

“It’s just like getting exhausted after running for a long time and needing a few days to recover.”
Sakura said.

Naruto still looked confused.

“You know how you feel unable to concentrate after reading a lot of books?” Sasuke asked. “Think
of it like that but for your body instead.”

“Oh.” Naruto looked to Kakashi’s prone form. “A week of jelly-brain for the body. Poor sensei.”

“Kakashi is currently using a relaxation technique to recover from the worst of the damage.”
Sasuke said. “I recognise it from the Uchiha archives. He should be conscious again later tonight
and then he can give us a more accurate estimate. We shouldnt worry until then.”

Especially since Sasuke was planning on waking him sooner.

Kakashi at this level would need seven days, because his practice with the sharingan had increased
his reserves above average. There was no way that little genin Sasuke would know about that
though. It was better that his teammates would worry for a few more minutes than his secrets being
found out on a small slip up like that.

“Naruto, that was some good thinking on your feet.” Sasuke said.

Sakura tilted her head. “I’m still not sure what happened. I was too busy keeping track of Zabuza’s
clone. What happened?”

Naruto got a huge grin on his face. “After Zabuza kicked me away, I used the henge to turn into a
giant shuriken and had one of my clones throw myself to Sasuke. I figured Zabuza would be able to
dodge, but he wouldn’t see a sneak attack coming.”

“That was nicely done, Naruto.”

Naruto beamed from the compliment. “I can’t believe it worked. But Sakura, how could you tell
where he was?”

“I’d like to know that myself, Sakura.” Sasuke smiled.

“It was not that difficult, Sasuke-kun.” Her cheeks were turning pink. “I was reading up on water
techniques over the weekend. The mist felt just like the one I made and it was stuffed with chakra
already, so I only had to slip a little of my own in there to use it.”

That was what he loved about Sakura. She had an expertise with chakra beyond believability. After
all her practice, she had acquired an intrinsic understanding of the way it worked that allowed her
to figure things out that Sasuke had to spend weeks learning by trial and error. It was pure idiocy
that nobody bothered teaching her these things in Sasuke’s own timeline until she was a lot older.

“The genjutsu you placed on Zabuzu’s clone made all the difference. The kunai that it let through
was enough of a distraction that Naruto was able to hit the missing nin instead of just forcing him
to dodge.” They nodded enthusiastically. “Now, before anything else, there is one very important
thing that we must do.”

Their ears perked up and as Sasuke pointed to Kakashi, their eyes followed Sasuke’s finger to
where he was directing their attention. “I think that it is time,” he said, “That we find out what our
sensei looks like without his mask.”

They were about to approach Kakashi, when the jounin’s eye shot open. “I am not so incapacitated
that I can’t handle a trio of genin.”

Just like Sasuke had suspected to happen. “I bet. You’ve made it more than clear how much you
outclass us.”
“Was it the first time you had seen a jounin fight, Sasuke-kun?”

“No, but it was the first time I saw one vow to never let his team get hurt. Which was appreciated.”

Kakashi smiled and relaxed in the bed that had been prepared for him. “I heard you talking about
the battle. I had a good look of Zabuza’s injuries and he will be incapacitated more likely than not
for the full seven days. As to my own exhaustion, I will be able to move again tomorrow and will
only need a week to be good as new. There is no risk Zabuza will be able to come for us while I’m
still recovering.”

Sasuke nodded. “That is that then. We would not have been able to get back-up anyway.”

“Because,” Naruto started, hesitating for a second before trying to finish, “they would see a request
for help as a reason to pull our team from the mission altogether?”

Sakura nodded. “Is that really such a bad thing though? We all saw what Zabuza could do. We’re
out of our league.”

“That is what I thought too, when I jumped Zabuza.” Naruto said. He was clutching the fabric of
his pants within his fists. “When Kakashi-sensei told us to run, all I could think about was that it
would keep us from dying. But then I remembered.” He pointed at his forehead protector. “I
wanted to wear this thing because I wanted to become a ninja. Something unexpected crossed our
path, but as ninja the unexpected is our business. I just could not help but think of how I promised
the Hokage and Iruka-sensei how I would do this mission. I keep saying these things. How I will
be Hokage, how I want to protect the village. How I would give my life to keep everyone safe.”

“You say it because you mean it.” Sasuke said.

Naruto smiled, tears in the corner of his eyes. “During the battle, I asked myself who I wanted to
be. Do I want to be the kind of person who breaks his promises when it gets convenient, or do I
want to be the kind of person who sees things through even when it’s hard? But that actually
makes it easier. All I must do to become the man I want to be, is do the kind of things that person
would do. I do not have to convince the villagers with words that I am worth paying attention to. I
do not have to address them with some honorific system that takes days to memorise. All I have to
do is act like a Hokage and I’ll eventually become one. And a Hokage would have stood up and
fought for the sake of the mission, no matter what.”

Sasuke smiled and poked at his shoulder. “That’s a lot to realise in a few moments.”

Naruto blushed up a little and threw a playful punch at Sasuke. “So maybe I workshopped how to
describe the realisation on the way here. Had to do something while carrying sensei around.”

Sakura sighed softly, but looked at the two boys fondly. “I like it. Just choose who you want to be
and act like you’re already that person. That sounds a lot simpler than it really is.”

“Why can’t it be that simple?” Naruto asked. “What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

“For one thing, if we’re picking fights left and right, there’s no guarantee we’ll keep winning. We
could lose. And you both know what that would mean.” Sakura said.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at her silently.

Sakura smiled. “You must be rubbing off on me. Because the more I think about it, the more I
think I’d rather lose with the two of you than win alone.”
~*~

“You have been picking up the tree walking so well, that I thought I would show you the next
step.” Kakashi said, before walking onto the lake’s surface like it was just as solid as the ground.

“Wow.” Naruto’s face lit up. “How do we learn how to do that too?”

“Loads of practice.” Kakashi smiled, before disappearing to return to his favourite pastime. At least
this time he stayed close enough to keep an eye on them.

Sakura took a careful step onto the water. Her foot kept alternating between under the water and
over it, as she tried to figure out how much chakra to use. Naruto had no luck at all with it and just
stepped right into the water no matter how hard he tried. Sasuke emulated a boy with Naruto’s
trouble, but more discipline.

He stepped through the water’s surface the first time but pretended to quickly progress. He was
holding his feet on the water’s surface for less than a second at a time before falling through. He
continued in silence, keeping his simulated process as limited as possible. Sakura passed by him, a
bit shaky as she slowly walked over the water. Kakashi seemed momentarily impressed but focused
more on Sasuke and Naruto. That had always been his problem. He dismissed her because of her
limited chakra, or because she sometimes focused more on boys than on ninja skills. It would be
funny how easily those minor flaws would have been ignored if Sakura had been a boy. Funny, if it
would not be so tragic.

Naruto still was not managing a lot. So he made three dozen clones and tried again. Kakashi
coughed to get the boy’s attention. “I am not sure it is such a good idea to train like that, Naruto.”

“But I have been doing this ever since I graduated. I’m finally learning as quickly as Sasuke!”

“Well, the same reason you have so much chakra to spare on the clones is why it is dangerous to
keep making them while you’re training.” He paused to let the conclusion dawn on Naruto.
“Splitting your chakra so much and then putting a great strain on your pathways may damage the
reservoirs keeping your chakra contained. We wouldn’t want any tears forming and chakra to leak
out.”

The story made enough sense for Sakura to buy it, but it was clear enough what Kakashi meant if
you knew what was inside Naruto’s stomach. Naruto nodded and was about to pop the clones.

“Wait.” Sasuke said. He did not like Naruto’s progress being halted at all. He would have to figure
something out. “I’ve never heard of chakra reserves being damaged by being split often. Also,
Naruto has been doing it all week. Shouldn’t problems have popped up already if it affected him
that much?”

“Decreasing your reserves is a risk no ninja should take, Sasuke-kun.”

“Except Naruto seems to have nearly infinite amounts. The small decrease could be worth the risk,
seeing how much he has been improving.”

“Sasuke,” Naruto said, shuffling a little with his foot, “It’s fine. Sensei says it’s better.”

There was no helping it. He would have to force their hands. He remained silent for a few seconds,
looking sceptical at them both. He was about to open his mouth when he remembered what had
happened last time he had tried to manipulate Kakashi. He could outthink the jounin, sure, but not
with spontaneous plans that would fail if he had overlooked even the slightest detail.
It was not like he could tell the actual truth here. Sasuke had no worry at all that the kyuubi’s
chakra would leak out. He might not be able to do any wood jutsu, but worst-case scenario, when
Naruto was consumed with chakra and started destroying everything, Sasuke could dominate the
demon easily with his eyes.

Sasuke would have to convincingly spin a story how he deduced that Naruto had the Nine-Tails
inside of him. Then he would have to fabricate some story about how he had acquired a sharingan.
Then he would have to give a warped telling of the Uchiha writings to excuse the knowledge that
the sharingan could control the kyuubi. Kakashi was afraid the demon would come out and only a
demonstration would help. Sakura’s presence made that rather hard as well.

Sasuke settled on a compromise. “You cannot seriously tell me the risks are that high. Naruto
seems to want to listen, but there must be a small number of clones he can use safely. Seven? Five?
Three of them? Surely that would be all right.”

Kakashi sighed. “He can have two clones active during training. Any more at any time he is on a
training ground, and I will revoke that privilege.”

Sasuke nodded. He could work with that. “Naruto, that fine with you?”

He looked at Kakashi. “It won’t give me problems with what is containing my chakra?”

“There’s always a risk. It is up to you whether you can live with that risk.”

Naruto seemed to hesitate, but then he popped all but two clones and the three of them started the
water walking. Sasuke kept his progress as before and as expected, Naruto was catching up
quickly. Sasuke had to speed it all up to stay ahead. Around lunch, Sakura was running over the
water while the other two were just barely able to stand still, but she was so exhausted that she was
about to drop. She was catching her breath by the side of the river while Naruto and Sasuke
continued.

Naruto kept looking at him and trying harder and harder. Sasuke adjusted his own improvement
accordingly. By the time it was time for dinner, Naruto had come far and had been able to walk
steadily from one side of the river to the other. They all ate their fill and when it was time for bed,
none of them had any trouble falling asleep.

Not that Sasuke had any trouble waking up either, when Kakashi entered the Uchiha’s bedroom.
“You are holding back on us.”

Kakashi said it as a statement. There was no point denying it then. “I learned how to walk on water
some time ago, yes.”

“Why the deception?”

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. “I thought we already discussed my trust issues.”

“Sasuke,” Kakashi frowned, slumping against the doorframe. “You are holding yourself back. If
you had shown me you had already mastered water walking, I would have taught you something
else.”

“You should know by now why I did not do that.” Sasuke said.

Kakashi looked away, imagining how the day would have gone. 3“Naruto could survive you
knowing one more skill than him.”
“Maybe, but he would not have pushed himself as hard as he would have today. He can accomplish
more with the right motivational tools helping him along. He hates it when I am learning
something more quickly than he is, but he also loses sight on how to improve himself steadily
when his rival is too far ahead.”

“You do realise it’s my job to teach you three?”

Sasuke had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. I had not noticed. “I’m further ahead than the
others. It makes sense that I want to help them where I can.”

“Sasuke, you said I wasn’t pulling my weight, but I’m doing nothing different from most jounin
sensei. I don’t know where you got the impression that you have to sacrifice every free moment for
this team, but there is such a thing as balance. You do not need to hold back just for their benefit.
You do not need to sacrifice your evenings to train them. And you should not train them in areas
that are above your level. Like those codewords you invented. They are not necessary for genin.”

“I think it’s good to start proper habits early in our careers. That goes for the codes and for the
work ethic.”

“You’re still children. You should have some time before you lose your lives to the job.”

“If this mission has shown anything, it is that there is never enough time. We have only been ninja
for a week and we had to face a jounin today. I want to be well-equipped to deal with the
dangerous world around us. I want Naruto and Sakura to survive their genin days.”

Kakashi shook his head. “You could have come to me. If you wanted the extra training, if you
wanted the code words. I have been a jounin for over half my life. Don’t you think I could have
helped set up a system for you?”

“Are you saying there are any flaws in my system?”

“That is not the point.”

So no.

“Sasuke, I am the teacher of this team. I am chiefly responsible for making the three of you
stronger. I appreciate an autodidact, but you are depriving yourself of a resource if you cut me
out.”

Sasuke sat up straighter. The nerve of him. “Do you blame me? When you are late to every
training meeting? When your only contribution is to tell us we’re not ready yet for more lessons?
When you act like you don’t care, are you surprised to be treated like it?”

“I am, when you seem completely unfazed by it. You accepted every day of my training and then
went behind my back.”

“I accepted it exactly because I knew we could train on the side. I have made no secret of the
training. And you know that I take everything seriously. How do you think I would feel about a
sensei who is putting in the minimal amount of effort?”

Kakashi rubbed at his brow. “It’s been seven days. What do you honestly expect from me? To be
best friends?”

“The rest of us managed it.” Sasuke said. “In the academy Naruto liked Sakura, but only the idea of
her. Sakura liked the idea of me. I didn’t care about either of them. Yes, it’s only been seven days,
but we have actively worked to form bonds and become friends. Why don’t you join us?”

This was where Kakashi would leave. This was where it would become too real for him and where
he would be scared off. This would be where Kakashi made the definitive choice not to be a part of
Team 7.

“You know, I talked to the Hokage.” Kakashi said. “He mentioned your accurate predictions of the
team formations. You knew about me already. You knew I had the sharingan. Do you know how I
got it? Do you know what happened to my first team?”

“Yes.” Sasuke said, because there was no sense in denying it. He knew the story from the future
how disasters had followed Kakashi. He had lost his eye rescuing one teammate, only to lose
another teammate in the attempt. Obito had been crushed by a boulder and Rin had transplanted the
eye into Kakashi. A short while later, Kakashi had been forced to kill Rin to save Konoha. He had
lost his sensei when Akatsuki made the Kyuubi attack Konoha. “I don’t want to be blunt, but I
have heard you never truly bonded with them until they were already gone.”

“I was alone before I met them.” Kakashi said. “It’s not true I waited too long to bond with them.
It’s just, I didn’t realise their friendship had snuck up on me until they were gone. It broke me,
Sasuke. It hurt me in a way that you cannot understand. A way I hope you will never understand.
And now you want me to put my all in Team 7 when I’m still getting used to the idea of being on a
new team at all. It’s not fair of you to expect me to replace them.”

“Never replace.” Sasuke said, suddenly realising he had a lot more in common with Kakashi than
he thought. “You can never replace the precious people you have lost.”

“Then what?”

“You remember them. They are what made you the person you are today. You honour them by
being the best version of yourself. You make new friendships so that you can shape the life of
others. You insert yourself into their lives. And because you were shaped by your precious people,
you intrinsically share your precious people to everyone you bond with. You don’t replace your old
team. You guarantee they live on in the shadow of the living.”

Kakashi silently stared at a wall for a very long time. Surprisingly, the jounin seemed to be
listening. “You really do take everything seriously.”

“You should know that by now.”

“Is that why you held back in an actual fight?”

Sasuke could not help but laugh at that one. “Are you attempting to claim you did not hold back
against those chuunin mercenaries as well? You could have easily dodged their first blow and
killed them before they had any chance of hurting us. You wanted to give the three of us
experience in combat. To give us the chance to show you how we can handle ourselves in those
kinds of situations. Naruto and Sakura would have learned nothing if I had taken out both ninja
myself. Nor would you have been able to observe them.”

“And with Zabuza?”

“I used as much strength as I needed to accomplish what needed to be done. If Naruto had been in
any real danger, I would have unleashed everything I had against the water clone. If the client was
even in the slightest risk of getting in danger, I would have stepped in with my full strength. Unless
you think I could have taken on the jounin myself, I am sure you agree all that was needed was
enough force and tactics for him to release you.”

Kakashi closed his eye and let himself fall against the doorframe, until he was sitting on the floor.
“How much are you holding back?”

“I’d rather not say.” Sasuke stared at his teacher.

“You know I could force you to tell me. In fact, honesty was one of the stipulations for becoming
your teacher.” Kakashi let the treat hang.

Sasuke sighed. “I’m being very honest about the existence of secrets.” He was really hoping he did
not have to keep manipulating Kakashi. This, however, was something he had thoroughly prepared
for. “It is common knowledge what happened to me when I was eight years old. People say that I
did not display much emotion in the Academy and thought it was because I hid myself. The truth is
that I displayed every single emotion I felt. I did not feel anything.”

“You seem to be much more cheerful around Sakura and Naruto.”

“My brother…” Sasuke hesitated for a few seconds, since that is how long he would be expected to
hesitate if he was telling the truth with the appropriate emotions, “when he did what he did, he told
me to get filled up with hate. To use that hate to come after him. For many years I listened to him.
But then everything changed. Have you ever felt something click and it suddenly made you feel
like a completely different person?”

“I’ve experienced it only a handful of times. Never in a positive way.”

“Well, for me it was very inspiring. I ran into Naruto and realized just how much we had in
common. I had suspected he would be on my team for a few weeks previous to that, but it was that
moment that it really connected for me. He would become my teammate and we would be ninja
together with Sakura. The three of us always together. Risking our lives together, working together,
and possibly dying together.”

Sasuke settled into his bed, looking up at the ceiling. “What I mean to say, is that I do not have
many secrets. I do not have much privacy because everyone knows my story and ANBU are with
me most of the time as well. They protect me, but they also tell on me. Don’t try to deny it.
They’re not as stealthy as they think they are. Training was one place where they kept their
distance. I could work alone and that felt great. There will be a time, when I will feel comfortable
letting the three of you know that side of me. Where I will trust Naruto to not be intimidated by my
strength, Sakura not feed her fantasy image of me, and you not to tell your superiors about the one
secret I have left. Right now I’m enjoying the trust we have between each other. You can
understand it’s not something I am eager to test yet.”

Kakashi touched his mask with his hand. He understood wanting to keep some things completely
to yourself.

“I wanted to apologise for earlier.” Sasuke said, motioning the mask. “I teased about pulling it off,
but I didn’t mean for you to break your meditation just to keep us from seeing your face. You want
your privacy; you can have it. Sakura has some bad relationship with her parents, I could tell. She
will tell us when she is ready to share. Until then, I am not entitled to pry. There is also something
going on between Naruto and you. I can only guess what it is, but I picked up on the fact that it was
important and something Naruto did not want to share. He seemed more worried than you. It’s his
secret then?”

Kakashi remained silent, which was answer enough.

Sasuke shrugged. “It’s a common misconception that relationships need honesty to function well.
Secrets can be just as useful. Sharing secrets and showing each other that you can keep them. But
also respecting the existence of each other’s secrets without prying can build a great deal of trust.”

“I can live with that for now. But you will not put this team in danger by holding back at the wrong
time. I will expect to see you at your full potential soon.” Kakashi stood back up. “If that means I
have to take the team more seriously, spend more time with you, then that’s hardly a big price to
pay.”

“We would like that, sensei.” Sasuke said. He would have to see it to believe it, but Sasuke found
himself looking at the jounin with more hope than before. If Kakashi was willing to take these
steps to become a part of Team 7, maybe Sasuke should let him.

“I will note that you cannot mention Naruto having a secret to anyone. He has enough trouble as it
is. If you do, your life as a ninja is over. It would be a shame if I were ordered to kill you now that
we’re finally getting along better.”

Sasuke nodded.

Alone in the room again, he tried to fall asleep. His heart was beating faster. He hated to admit it,
but Kakashi was not a trivial opponent to deal with. Dealing with him every day was going to be
tough if Kakashi insisted of growing closer, without showing them his loyalty. It was good he only
had to deal with Kakashi for a few more months in the worst-case scenario. After the chuunin
exams, Team 7 would function without a jounin supervisor.

They finished their water walking training the next day and Kakashi was scratching the back of his
head as he tried to think of something else for them to do. Sasuke would have given his team at
least a week to learn a new chakra control technique like water walking and it was pretty much
unheard of for a team to learn it all in two days. Not that it would be that strange a result when a
team consisted of a genius in chakra control, a hardworking enthusiast who could learn three times
quicker than normal, and a cheating forty-year-old time-traveller.

While Kakashi was thinking, Sasuke gave a deliberate cough. “Excuse me, sensei. I was showing
Naruto and Sakura elemental manipulation last week. We could work on that.”

Kakashi shook his head. “That kind of training takes weeks before any results are shown, months
before it can be mastered for combat.”

The three genin chuckled. Sasuke shook his head. “I thought you said you were awake while we
were discussing the fight with Zabuza? Sakura successfully manipulated water chakra to land a
genjutsu through the mist, and Naruto’s wind chakra increased the effective edge of his kunai so
that he hit the jounin instead of just missing him.”

“How did you…” Kakashi looked astonished.

“You have known me for over a week now. How do you think we managed it?”

Kakashi rubbed at his eyes in frustration. “How do you cheat at element manipulation training?”

“By knowing methods nobody else knows. It is quite handy to have a whole library of Uchiha
secrets at your disposal.”

“Sasuke-kun,” Sakura said, “You mean what we were doing is not how people normally train
elements?”
“Not exactly. Would you like to demonstrate to Kakashi what the two of you have learned so far?”

They nodded. Sakura went to the water they had been walking on and closed her eyes. The water
around her feet slowly started rising as a mist around of her. Naruto took a kunai and threw it into a
tree. It went a few inches into the wood, much further than the force alone should have allowed.

“This is after two days of training?” Kakashi asked. “Show me.”

Naruto opened his mouth, but Sasuke sternly raised a finger. “These are secrets of the Uchiha
though. You must first promise not to share them.”

Kakashi looked at the three genin for a few seconds. “I did not think of you as someone who
cherished the family secrets that much.”

“I vowed they would never leave my family.”

Naruto looked confused. “Then why did you teach Sakura and me?”

Sasuke simply smiled, saying nothing, letting the implications work themselves out.

Sakura’s eyes became wider. “Like brother and sister?”

“No.” Sasuke said. “I’m sorry, but I have some bad experiences with brothers. I am talking about
family by oath. Choosing the people who become your family, which makes the connection all the
more meaningful.”

Sakura shuffled uncomfortably. “But… family?”

“I’m not trying to compete.” Sasuke said quickly. “But Naruto and I don’t have much family left.”

Naruto nodded slowly. “I don’t have much experience with it, but we’ve known each other for a
week and we’re pretty much what I expected a family to be like.”

Sasuke smiled. He did not know he had already had such an impact on Naruto. “That’s exactly
what I’m talking about. Doing what we’ve already been doing. Training together and working
together, sharing meals together. There are ways to be family without being related by blood. It
may not feel like it yet, but the three of us are a team and that will create bonds more powerful than
any we have known before. That includes a measure of trust normally reserved for family. I know
we don’t have it yet completely between all of us, but I for one cannot wait.”

Kakashi coughed. “And you’re not including me in this?”

“No.” Sasuke said. “That is to say, not yet. But I appreciate that you’re trying. And if you choose to
become part of this family, we are more than willing to give you a chance.”

“Right.” Sakura said, smiling.

This is where Kakashi would peel away from the team, Sasuke suspected. After all the big words
the day before, he would not follow through. Kakashi would let them train on their own again and
Sasuke could put some more speed in their development.

Kakashi seemed uncomfortable, just as predicted. “Y-yeah. I’m in.”

Sasuke had to blink. That was not how he had thought Kakashi would act. Interesting.

Naruto was chuckling. “Family, huh? That explains why I’ve been enjoying myself so much.”
Kakashi motioned for them to demonstrate. Sakura sat by the water and ran her chakra through the
water. She showed him how she used other techniques while transforming the water. Naruto
displayed the wind manipulation he had been practicing. And then Sasuke showed Kakashi a small
metal device from his backpack that Naruto and Sakura had not seen before.

Sasuke opened it up and showed a collection of wires and lights. He pressed a switch and three of
the lights turned on. Sasuke placed a finger on either side of the machine and concentrated. His
chakra went through the wire and he manipulated the lights so that one shone more brightly than
the others. "This is what I have been working on. A lot of Uchiha have lightning as a secondary
affinity.”

Kakashi looked impressed. “This should not be possible.”

“Once you get a feeling for the element, it is not that difficult to start manipulating it. And once
you can manipulate it, making your own chakra take elemental form is easier.”

Sasuke held a kunai that crackled with an inconsistent display of electricity. “I cannot apply a
constant current yet, but I am getting there.”

Kakashi shook his head, sighed and then looked up at the three of them. “Are you hell-bent on
breaking all of the records, or will you settle with only the impossible ones?”

Naruto jumped up at that. “As the soon-to-be youngest Hokage, I would say that records are meant
to be broken!”

Sasuke grinned. “As the soon-to-be youngest ninja to master five elements, I heartily concur.”

Sakura put her fist up. “And as the soon-to-be youngest master of all chakra manipulation, I will
not fall behind.”

Kakashi looked them over with some deliberation. “You have been making impossible promises
since day one. I must admit I dismissed them. And I must admit I am surprised. So, Sasuke, say
that I am starting to believe you are not just posturing when you claim it as your goal to surpass the
sannin in two years. If you are as serious about that as you are in all other things, you must have a
plan. What is it?”

“It starts with D-rank missions. As many as we can complete.” Sasuke said. “Naruto and Sakura
already know why.”

Sakura nodded. “It’s about making an impact and building reputation. The money we earn and can
turn into resources doesn’t hurt.”

“What next?” Kakashi asked.

Naruto grinned. "We all become better ninja, on our own and as a team."

“We specialise and learn to excel through teamwork. First, we pass the chuunin exams with flying
colours.” Sasuke said. “We do so well that we leave an impression on masters of our
specialisations. If we don’t get the required three recommendations per person right away, we
work hard to get them as soon as possible.”

Kakashi looked confused. “You want… to go from genin straight to Tokubetsu Jounin?”

“It’s possible, even if it’s a lot of work.” Sasuke said. “We will then convince the Hokage to let the
three of us become a strike force. We will engage with missing nin and work our way up through
the Bingo book while training to become more well-rounded. I want to have collected the bounties
of most missing ninja up to rank B, maybe rank A. We should be able to push enough training in
between hunting missions to become jounin within the first year.”

“Ignoring the sheer impossibility of getting that many missing ninja hunted down in that short a
timeframe, there are very few people who have managed to become jounin after just one year of
Tokubetsu.”

“We can do it.” Sasuke said. “And we’ll take on our genin teams in time of next year’s Academy
graduates. Naruto gets to teach Konohamaru, if he wants.”

“Whoo!”

“I don’t know how hard we can push our new genin and how well they will take to getting taught.
After us training them for a year, I’m hoping they will be jounin, I’d settle for Tokubetsu jounin,
but I will be disappointed in us as teachers if they’re not at least chuunin. That means we will have
the three of us and nine skilled ninja as our back-up. We would be ready to finish what we begun.
We take on one of the worst S-rank missing ninja in the bingo book and earn our name as Sannin.”

Kakashi still looked sceptical, but even he had to admit it was the most realistic opportunity they
had to get close to the Sannin’s reputation. “That is an absolutely insane timeline.”

“I prefer ‘ambitious’.”

“You realise I can’t help you with this. I can’t give you what you want.”

“Because of the restrictions. I know.”

Naruto looked confused. “What restrictions?”

“As a Konoha sensei, I’m under strict guidelines.” Kakashi said. “The Hokage won’t allow me to
train you beyond a certain level until you’ve been a genin for long enough. I’m barely able to get
you to the level of chuunin before the exams next year, let alone this year.”

“That sucks!” Naruto said. “Why did Jiji do that?”

“Ninja were promoted prematurely in the war and paid with their lives for it.” Kakashi said. “Even
afterwards, there were jounin instructors who would train their teams specifically to be able to pass
the Chuunin test. Konoha would end up with chuunin who had no practical skills and no way to
survive the dangers of the missions given to them. The Sandaime’s solution was to put a tight rein
on all training.”

“Sounds excessive.” Sakura said.

“You’re not the only one who thinks so. Jounin try to get around the restrictions when they can.
Which also means the Hokage is often checking up on genin teams and checking the jounin’s
teaching methods. I can help with some things, but I can’t get you to the level of Tokubetso jounin
before the chuunin exams.”

“I have the Uchiha library.” Sasuke said. “We don’t need training in the conventional sense. Just
pointers and your support.

Kakashi rolled his eye. “Fine, then as practice of what is to come, you’re on your own today.” He
was about to disappear like he always did, but then visibly hesitated. He walked to a nearby tree
instead and sat down where they could all see him. “I’ll be here if you need anything, trying to
think of anything that might help without upsetting the Hokage.”

Sasuke nodded. He turned to his teammates. “You have the basics down. Now, it is just a matter of
grinding. With a little help of course.” He tossed them a pill each. “This boosts your ability to
sense chakra. It’s especially useful for getting feedback on your own attempts at elemental jutsu."

“What’s in that?” Kakashi asked from across the field.

“Secret Uchiha recipe.” Sasuke said. His Sakura had created them.

The rest of the afternoon was brutal. Sasuke made the two of them switch between elemental
manipulation and normal jutsu. Use a henge, manipulate a leaf with elemental chakra as quickly as
possible, then replace yourself with a log, throw a weapon with elemental reinforcement, then do a
bunshin technique.

The practice would help Naruto and Sakura, cementing in their minds the difference between
chakra with and without elemental manipulation. They went to bed sore that evening but satisfied.
They had no trouble switching between the different kinds of chakra anymore, which would
guarantee their normal techniques did not suffer from the training in elemental chakra.

Sasuke did his best to pretend he was as sore as his teammates, though he had only done half the
work. The next morning, they gathered for training again. Kakashi was about to sit down to
continue with his book when Sasuke asked his help. The man did ask to be included, after all.

“Sensei, do you think Sakura could benefit from using chakra strings?”

“If she can master them.” He said.

Sakura listened with interest. “I know the ninja from Suna are most famous for using them to
manipulate puppets. It takes a great measure of control to learn to make a string and daily practice
to make it effective in combat.”

Kakashi nodded. “It is incredibly difficult to use normal chakra to make strings, but water chakra
strengthens the string at the cost of duration. It is still difficult to master, but it will give you
something like this.”

He concentrated for a minute, and Sasuke could feel the string of water chakra forming. It was
clear Kakashi knew the principle but had not become an expert in its use. He threw a kunai at a tree
and twisted his finger when the projectile was halfway to its destination. It skewed in the air and hit
a tree a few feet off to the side of the original target. By Kakashi’s facial expression, the hit was
more accident than intention. “Try it.”

Sakura took a kunai and concentrated on the handle. Her chakra formed a small string between her
and the kunai. She tried letting it hang from her hand like that, but the string instantly broke.
Sasuke shook his head. “You had some normal chakra in there. The mist can still form like that,
but these strings need to be untainted.”

Sakura nodded and tried again. This time the kunai held on for a fraction of a second before
dropping again. Frustrated but determined, she kept at it. After getting another sensing pill, it went
a lot better.

Kakashi had already settled next to a tree to continue his little orange book.

The rest of the week passed like that. Naruto was slicing through trees like they were not even
there by the end of it, and Sakura was able to flick her kunai after they had been thrown with
 relative ease. Sasuke had simulated progress to the point that he was able to run electricity through
his kunai as long as he kept holding it. Keeping it going after losing contact was an advanced
technique that he would pretend to pick up somewhere in the next few weeks.

What would not wait, however, was using his sword. He made a showing of practicing some
stances with it and running his lightning down the length. He made himself seem like a natural as
he quickly progressed in skill. It was hardly perfect – he could wait for the commissioned sword
for that – but it was definitely his preferred method of fighting. Naruto used to tease him that he
was overcompensating, but never seemed to complain when they faced another sword user and
Sasuke’s blade kept the enemy from getting the upper hand.

They tried to keep to their schedule. Naruto and Sakura even worked through the Saturday, while
Sasuke wondered what he was missing in Konoha’s Council meeting. He really should get an
administrative aid who would send him the notes of meetings he missed even if he was in another
country at the time.

Naruto and Sakura had been less eager to sacrifice their Sunday rest. Kakashi had quickly agreed
that they could use the time off, before disappearing and mumbling under his breath that he was
finally going to be free of the ‘little minions’ for a day. That was fine. It left the three of them
alone to play D&D in a room at Tazuna’s place. Naruto had invited Inari to join in and Sasuke had
been unable to find a compelling reason to exclude him. Which Sasuke regretted as he handed over
his own character sheet to the little boy that continued to make a mess of things.

At least Naruto and Sakura were able to compensate. Sasuke had included several challenges that
could be solved with their new skills and their creativity was remarkable. And he even let Naruto
change parts of the stories to replace the group of Suna counterfitters with Wave merchants and to
include for the mission’s client a revenge motivation for a murdered father. Naruto seemed intent
to use the D&D session as therapy for the little boy, which seemed like a waste of time to Sasuke.
But Naruto wanted it, so during their lunch break Sasuke rewrote the rest of the story to serve that
end as effectively as possible.

That night at dinner was the first time that week that Inari smiled in their company.

After that Sunday, they started doing their training near the bridge, keeping Tazuna company. Just
to be sure of his safety of course. It was ominous though, seeing the bridge builder work so close to
them, knowing the slightest sound could be a jounin sneaking up on them. Or so Sasuke imagined
Naruto and Sakura felt. His chakra sense was good enough to pick up Haku easily, and Zabuza if
he put the slightest effort in it.

But he still trained with all four weapon pouches strapped on his arms and legs.

Away from the bridge, his clones were getting things ready. Besides winning the confrontation, he
had other goals after all. Much more than Sasuke could handle alone. He was away from the
village and away from prying ANBU eyes. It was the perfect time to do some recruiting.

Chapter End Notes

Next update Thursday evening December 9th (CET): Ice cold. THings to look forward
to: the fight with Haku and Zabuza, the aftermath, the return to Konoha, and a (really)
short Kuruma POV. Sasuke is planning some things and this might be a good time to
remind readers that he's not a morally perfect character. Which is why the next intro
with Future Sasuke features a lot of Naruto and Sakura swearing at him.

It's such a tightrope act to balance between repeating canon for the people who've
forgotten or haven't seen a lot of Naruto, or just referencing certain events and leaving
it at that. The fight with Zabuza used to be like three lines long. Anyway, if you
thought it was too long, I'm sure you skimmed it anyway :) which is a perfectly valid
way of enjoying yourself.

Thanks for reading! =D

Also:
Sasuke: You’ve made it more than clear how much you outclass us.
Sasuke, internally: Which is, not at all. The water dragon was sloppy, you wasted too
much chakra at the beginning of the battle and then you were left defenceless at the
end. B minus. See me after class.

Sasuke: Unless you think I could have taken on the jounin myself…
Sasuke, internally: Which I could have, quite easily. And better than you, amateur
scarecrow.
 Ice Cold
Chapter Summary

Haku and Zabuza come to fight again.

Chapter Notes

Boy this was a tough one. It's good I have deadlines or I would have put off finishing
this chapter for another week. Or two or three. It needed some serious work. Anyway,
enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“What the actual fuck?”

Sasuke glared at him. “If you’re going to be like that, there’s no sense in discussing it. Sakura, talk
some sense into him.”

“Naruto, swearing is only used in extreme circumstances. Like this one. Sasuke, what the actual
fuck?”

Sasuke groaned. “We need bodies. This seemed like the best option.”

“Ah, so out of all the possible illegal and unethical ways to procure sacrifices for your
experiments, this was the best. I am so relieved right now that you thought this through.”

“The best and most efficient. I’m just keeping the village safe.” Sasuke said. “One of us needs to
do it.”

“Not like this.” Sakura said. “Why didn’t you mention this to us before?”

“When would I have been able to discuss it? I haven’t seen either of you in weeks.”

“You said you’d be fine. That you could handle the village on your own for a while.” Naruto said.
“Silly of us to trust you.”

“You know how I get when you’re not around.”

“We know you get a little grumpy. There’s a difference between a bad mood and breaking
international peace treaties by buying human slaves.”

“Enemy criminals that would have been executed. It seemed an awful waste.”

“Is that how you’re justifying yourself?”

“Someone of us needs to do what needs to be done. To keep the village safe not just for us now, but
for the next generation too. And this experimentation has allowed me to make so many discoveries
about the technique. Did you know a perfect disguise can be added with just a few modifications?”

“So you’re saying you want to step into Orochumaru’s footsteps? Or Danzo’s?”

Sasuke flinched.

“Didn’t think so. Sasuke, you need to stop this way of thinking. You’re not setting a good example
and you’re perpetuating a cycle of violence that we agreed we would try to break.”

“If I work in the shadows, nobody would know.”

“We would know. And we would stop you. And we don’t want to waste our time arguing with you
and setting punishments, only to uncover another one of your secret underground torture rooms a
few weeks later.”

“I prefer ‘laboratories’.”

“I’m sure you do.” Naruto rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to waste my time. Especially not with the
extra responsibilities we’ll be taking on. It took a while, but Sakura and I finished our preliminary
arrangements.”

“You mean…”

“Yeah.” Sakura smiled. “Maybe being responsible for some kids will finally get you to
empathise.”

~*~

They left the building site with trepidation on the seventh day. It was the mist. It seemed thicker
and filled with energy that could either be chakra or just nature playing tricks on them. Kakashi
was worried about another attack. Sasuke had slightly different concerns. Everything needed to
happen a certain way and Kakashi needed to not be aware of Sasuke manipulating all of them.
Sasuke needed to use Haku as an excuse to develop his eyes and Sasuke needed to provoke Naruto
into showing off the Kyuubi chakra.

Minor things had already deviated from Sasuke’s plan and it had left an unsettling feeling in the pit
of his stomach. After their D&D session, Naruto had gone with Inari to visit the graveyard.
Sasuke’s clones had given him room and had noticed too late when Haku creeped up towards
Naruto and had started talking. Sasuke had not taken that interaction into account for his plans and
Sasuke did not like to have unforeseen elements in play.

At least Kakashi and his teammates had ‘caught’ him writing letters in secret. For all their talk of
wanting to know Sasuke’s secrets, they still respected Sasuke’s privacy too much. It had taken
days of sneaking off and writing loudly in a side-room before Naruto had given in and
‘accidentally’ walked into the room. Sasuke had gone through a theatrical amount of effort to hide
the letters and push them away before Naruto could see more than a glimpse. It was all about
planting these seeds.

Sasuke had advised Naruto to leave a clone behind at the house, saying it was smart to leave some
protection. The house would be attacked by Gato’s goons and Naruto would be upset if anything
happened to Inari. Not to mention the inconvenience of having to search for another place to stay
that evening.

When they got to the bridge, the workers had been attacked. There were a dozen water clones of
Zabuza that came out of nowhere and Sasuke dispatched them easily.
The real Zabuza approached carefully, Haku beside him in his hunter ninja disguise. They started
talking and delaying. Kakashi mentioned how unsurprised they were to see Haku there, letting their
enemies know that they had seen through the earlier show. Sasuke waited for an opportunity and
then charged for Haku.

Naruto and Sakura stood in front of Tazuna, keeping him safe. It was the safest place for them to
be, though Sasuke doubted Naruto would be able to stand staying out of the action for long.

Kakashi engaged Zabuza and soon the mist started rising even thicker. That was the sign to
escalate. Sasuke charged Haku with his sword drawn.

Haku blocked with a senbon, his hand steady and strong like he was long since used blocking
much heavier swords with his needles. They exchanged a few blows in exploration of their skills.
When their weapons were crossed, Haku tried to use his free hand to make one-handed signs.
Sasuke ran a quick course of thunder through his sword to stop him.

Haku was forced to fall back and create room between them with a barrage of senbon before he
could start his ice prison technique. Sasuke let himself be caught in it. It was part of his plan, but
also there was something beautiful about the ice chakra that Sasuke could not resist admire from
this close. The way Haku could manipulate wind and water to form ice was unique and Sasuke had
never been able to find another person with the same bloodline limit in his lifetime.

As Haku flew by from mirror to mirror, he threw his needles at Sasuke. Sasuke let them brush by
and cut him, without piercing his body. He was still supposed to be too slow to dodge. He winced
in pain as his skin was painted more and more red, acting the part of a boy who had never before
been hurt like that in battle.

Haku tried throwing needles outside the prison as well. Sasuke could not stop them without going
faster than he was supposed to be able to go, but Sakura sensed the needles well before they got to
her. She had grasped Tazuna and had made two bunshin images, moving around enough that Haku
could not tell between jumps which ones had been hit. The needles that had the right target were
easily blocked by Sakura from that distance.

Naruto followed Sakura for a few jumps, but one more cry from Sasuke lured him into the prison.
Naruto stood next to Sasuke and did his best to help. But while Sasuke was pretending to be too
slow to dodge, Naruto lacked the speed altogether. He was not able to dodge quickly enough and
needles started to accumulate across his body. He was the obvious target for Haku to continue his
assault.

Haku created an opportunity for himself. He drew Sasuke away and then made a pass over Naruto,
letting out volleys of senbon all at the same time. It would be enough to incapacitate Naruto and
Sasuke supposed to be too slow to do anything but jump in the way. Haku was trying to use
Sasuke’s weaker teammate against him.

It was a calculated move on Haku’s part. At the slower speed Sasuke had been going, Sasuke
would just barely make it in time to block the hits with his own body. The only problem with the
plan was that Sasuke had not been fighting at his actual speed. He activated the first state of the
sharingan and boosted his speed enough that he could appear in front of Naruto and deflect the
needles with a swing of his sword.

“Nobody fucking touches Naruto.” His eyes were taking in the battlefield. He had missed fighting
like this. It felt like one of his arms had been constantly tied behind his back. He could not wait
until he could pretend to develop the next stages of his eyes. For now he made sure to check
Naruto’s reaction. His teammate seemed a little confused, but not surprised. He would collaborate
on the narrative Sasuke would be telling to Kakashi. Goal one achieved.

“Your eyes. You are an Uchiha.” Haku spoke with some annoyance. No doubt Zabuza had been
researching the sharingan ever since they had run across Kakashi.

Haku tried another shower of senbon. Sasuke deflected them all and threw a kunai in the middle of
his shielding movements, which brushed Haku close enough that it tore his sleeve. The fight was
on their side. Outside of the ice, Kakashi and Zabuza were doing their jounin dance. Sasuke had to
depend on his chakra sense, the mist too thick to see them fight. If it worked out like last time, it
would only be a little while longer before Zabuza would be defeated.

He only needed to buy some time. Unfortunately, Haku seemed to be aware of that as well.

Multiple versions of Haku started to come out of the mirrors simultaneously. The needles came at
more angles. Every single one was calculated to require a massive shift in Sasuke’s position to
block or large movements to dodge. Haku was more quickly making it more difficult than Sasuke
could believably increase his speed. If Sasuke went any faster, Naruto would notice, and he would
tell Kakashi a much less convincing story about him acquiring the sharingan.

There was an easy solution, which required Naruto being less aware of his surroundings.

So Sasuke started to let needles get passed his defences. He let himself get shallow cuts and he did
not block all the needles heading towards Naruto. The genin did his best to deflect or dodge, but
they were quickly getting too much for the boy.

Get angry, Naruto.

Moments passed, yet Naruto did not get angry. Sasuke did not understand why. The both of them
were getting hurt and it was Haku’s fault. But Naruto did not get angry. He did not draw upon the
demon chakra within. No matter how many needles pierced his skin Naruto got up and stoically
kept fighting. He just kept trying.

Sasuke knew Naruto would want to save his teammate. The Uchiha started crying out more
whenever the needles pierced him. He made sure Naruto knew he was in pain. But nothing was
helping. The boy was stubbornly refusing to unleash hell on schedule.

And that is when Sasuke saw Naruto glance at him in desperation. He was counting on Sasuke to
save them. He would never be in such a dire state to draw on the Kyuubi’s chakra when he still had
hope Sasuke would save them.

Sasuke cursed under his breath. He had not planned for this. If he did not draw out Naruto’s demon
chakra, he would have no credible basis to discuss the issue with Naruto. Without that discussion,
Naruto would keep listening to Kakashi’s stupid restriction on the amount of clones Naruto could
use and his progress would be greatly halted.

How could he have been so stupid to think it would work like this? Of course Naruto needed more
to motivate him.

He had to think fast. Too many needles were getting through and in a matter of minutes, Naruto
would lose consciousness. He had until then to trigger the nine-tailed beast. Otherwise a beast of a
very different magnitude would be unleashed. Sasuke was having enough trouble seeing the
needles in Naruto’s body. If Naruto grew unconscious, Sasuke would not be held responsible for
his own actions.

Sasuke first looked for alternatives. After this, there would be no big missions for a while. That
meant that if he needed Naruto in danger, he would have to set something up himself. With the
ANBU still watching him, it would be difficult. It would also take a few weeks to cover all his
tracks and that was time this team could not lose.

Sasuke could try to find another excuse. Seeing Naruto with red chakra and demon-like powers
was good evidence, sure. But there were other ways Sasuke could reasonably be expected to
deduce the Kyuubi had been sealed away inside of Naruto. There had to be. But Sasuke, in his
weakness, had not found that reasonable deduction in the seven days he had been searching for it.
And the chances of finding it in the few minutes he had available for him were too small to depend
on.

If there was a way for Naruto to share his secret willingly, that would serve the same purpose.
Sasuke would have to talk to him in seclusion and carefully manipulate Naruto into being truthful.
Maybe that would work. But that was a big maybe. And who knew how long that would take?

There were no other good ways for Sasuke to stumble onto the secret of the Kyuubi. There was no
way to be given that information reliably and quickly. The chance on the bridge could not be
wasted.

There really was only one option left for him. Naruto needed to learn that Sasuke would not always
be able to save him.

Sorry Naruto. It’s for your own good.

Sasuke started to make more mistakes deliberately, letting more needles hit him. Naruto gasped.
Sakura from outside the mirrors seemed distraught as well. Sasuke gave Haku an opening by
moving too far away from Naruto. Then when a whole barrage was aimed at Naruto, he threw his
body in front of him.

It was the same tactic as before, but this time Sasuke let Haku succeed in his gambit. Sasuke
angled his body where he could to take the least amount of damage from the needles. Just enough
to incapacitate himself. His clones would step in Naruto failed to save them. Sasuke was sure there
was no need.

He was gambling on Naruto saving the day. And those were the best odds imaginable.

It was supposed to hurt a lot. But Sasuke felt no pain. That was odd. There were no needles
covering his body. That was odder. Somebody was in front of him. Somebody had protected
Sasuke .

Sakura went to her knees, coughing blood.

Sasuke’s mind stopped working. She was supposed to be outside of the ice prison. She was
supposed to be safe. When had she gotten close enough to do this? How had Sasuke let himself
focus on Naruto so much that he missed Sakura’s replacement technique? This could not be
happening.

“Nobody fucking touches Sasuke.” She said. Then Sakura’s eyes closed and she stopped breathing.

“Sakura!” Naruto yelled. “Sasuke, what do we do now?”

Sasuke just kneeled next to her. He should put his hand on her body to check her health. But doing
so would tell him if she was dead. So long as he did nothing, there was a chance she was fine. So
long as he did nothing there was a chance his world, finally mended, had not broken once more.
Sasuke was on the bridge, surrounded by water and enemies. And he was also in the forest, looking
down at the massive crater Sakura’s attackers had left behind. He was less than five feet away
from her body that could still be saved. And he was also running his hands through her ashes.

“What are you doing, Sasuke?” Naruto asked. Naruto was also telling him here was nothing that
could have been done.

Naruto pushed him aside to check her pulse. He was putting his hand on Sasuke’s shoulder to
console him.

Naruto went white as a sheet when he felt no response. Naruto was tearing up and asking Sasuke
what they were going to do now.

Then Naruto’s reaction came. He shouted out in agonising fury. The needles started popping out of
his body one by one and a red aura surrounded him. The demon’s energy leaked into the mist and
it must have been very intimidating for the ice ninja who had possibly murdered Sakura. Good.

Sasuke had to get himself under control. This fear was not helping him. Emotions that were
keeping him from helping Sakura were not useful. He had to remember where he was. He had to
act. He boxed all the feelings and confusion away until only the information remained.

Naruto started trashing around and landed a punch on Haku. The ice mirrors shattered as Haku
landed on the other side, his mask broken. Naruto saw who it was just before another punch would
land. He hesitated for a second, but then knocked the boy unconscious. His red aura was
diminishing already. Naruto was becoming his normal self. He had a kunai clutched in his hand
and he was still not backing down. Like he was contemplating a more final solution.

Sasuke brought his hand to Sakura’s body and forced his brain to concentrate. The diagnosis
techniques came back and they did not tell Sasuke that his teammate had been turned to ash. She
was not dead in any way that mattered. Sasuke knew where the problems were now, the minor
damage to her vital systems. He shifted her around and pulled out the worst of the needles, a green
aura around his hands healing the damage. A small jolt of electricity to her heart and she was
gasping for air.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around her. “You’re okay.”

“I’m so happy you are.” She coughed. “I had to do something.”

Sakura stilled in his arms. “Don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad. I promise. But I can’t believe you did that.” Sasuke said. “You scared me.”

“Just following your example… idiot.”

Sasuke laughed through his tears. He had boxed away most of his emotions. But relief was useful.
He was feeling it in spades. “Naruto.” Sasuke said. The genin was not hearing him. “Naruto!”

The genin quickly turned from Haku and ran over to Sasuke. “Teme! You’re okay again? You
weren’t talking and I thought I lost you both and…”

Sakura moved her head. “Breathe, Naruto. It’s okay.”

Naruto’s eyes watered. “Sakura?” He joined in their hug, making her wince where Naruto hit sore
spots.

“Careful. I’m still bleeding.”

“I didn’t feel your heartbeat.”

“It must have been too weak for you to feel.” Sakura said. “Even now I can’t think straight. It looks
like you’re completely fine even though I remember you looking like a pincushion just a minute
ago?”

Naruto shuffled a bit, trying to hide his embarrassment. “I pulled them out.”

Sasuke’s mind was still slow. But he saw the opportunity and grabbed it. He sounded as confused
as he could manage with the few emotions he was allowing inside of his brain. “But the red
aura…”

Naruto tensed. Sasuke waited a few more seconds.

“I see…” Sasuke shared a look with Naruto. “It’s okay. Nothing’s changed.”

Naruto was silent for a few seconds. Then he started sniffling, throwing his head onto Sasuke’s
chest. They heard Kakakshi’s finishing move tear through Zabuza’s chest. And then their sensei
went to check on them. He saw Sakura’s limp body and her teammates sobbing. He seemed
heartbroken at the sight.

“Sakura…”

“Still alive.” Sakura said, opening her eyes and turning her head towards their sensei. “Is Tazuna
safe? I’m sorry for leaving my position, but Sasuke was in danger and… I wasn’t thinking anymore
at that point.”

“He’s unharmed.” Kakashi said. “You put your teammate first. I’m proud of you.

The mist slowly dissipated and instead of an empty bridge greeting them, Gato and his goons
revealed that they had been lying in wait. Naruto was making clones to scare him off, but between
the army of genin and the collection of mercenaries was somebody else. A teenaged boy wearing
hunting ninja clothing and wielding needles, who had apparently woken up. “Gato! We fought for
you! Zabuza died for you! Why are you betraying us?”

He started laughing. “Did you really think I would have ever paid you?”

Haku stared at Kakashi, the man who had neutralised Haku’s partner. “It seems that I am no longer
your enemy, Kakashi. Do you mind if I get my revenge?”

Kakashi shook his head. “Haku, you should know that Zabuza’s final words were about you. He
said that you’d been a better tool that he could ever have wished for.”

Haku’s eyes narrowed in anger, a single tear appearing beneath his eye, and then he charged. His
mirrors of ice appeared all around the crowd and he got to Gato before anyone realised what was
going on. His needles pierced the man’s back and settled in his spinal cord. Gato dropped paralysed
to the bridge’s surface. His screams caused wide-spread panic. The confusion was good. It was
what Sasuke needed. They would not be paying any attention to anyone but themselves.

Haku left after he got his revenge, disappearing into the distance. The Naruto clones and Kakashi
clones intimidated the mercenaries further, and they all ran off when the whole town, mobilized by
Inari, came to the bridge to fight for their freedom. Most of the mercenaries fled away in the other
direction, but some were stubborn enough to take a stance. For each one that was defeated, they
took two villagers with them. But they were greatly outnumbered and stood no chance of victory.
The villagers’ deaths only infuriated the crowd more instead of scaring them like it used to.

The mob went after the mercenaries. They would catch up to some and kill them. Some would go
into hiding and most would run away never to be seen again.

They were the perfect targets.

~*~

Nine thugs were not many, but it was a decent haul nonetheless. They sat blindfolded and tied in a
row, still wet from the trip. Some of them were struggling. The Sasuke clone would have to fix
that.

“You are in an underwater cave at the bottom of the river. Unless you are an exceptionally good
swimmer, I would not suggest trying to escape.”

“Please don’t hurt us.” A woman whispered, trembling.

“Your leader has been killed today. You are lacking direction, purpose and meaning. You are in a
country that wants to see you dead for all the harm you have done. You might be safer here with
me, than up above.”

“I have a family.” One man said. “They’re waiting for me.”

“No you do not, Kazuo. You joined this organisation five years ago after your parents were killed
and your fiancée left you.”

He bristled. “How did you know that?”

“I have been watching you for a while now. All of you.” The Sasuke clone lied. As much as he
wanted to intimidate them, admitting that he could use genjutsu to read their minds would be going
too far. And he needed them to think they were of special interest.

Another nine of Sasuke’s clones moved behind the captives, to remove the blindfolds. He was
recognised quickly.

“You’re one of the ninja that was protecting the bridgebuilder. I thought you were only a genin?”

“A genin already has ten time the strengths of small thugs like you. And I am far more than a
genin.”

One of the men teared up. “You are going to kill us.”

“No.” the Sasuke clone lied. “I need you alive. All of you. There is a task that I need some
mercenaries for, but it must be extremely low profile. As far as the world is concerned, you died
today. You do not exist and that is exactly what I need. I have determined the nine of you have
done horrible things, but are ashamed of it. I believe you. It is why I believe you will accept my
proposal.”

“Why us?”

“I do not think you often discussed it with each other, but each of you has spent time in a ninja
academy. You had the potential and had started to learn chakra manipulation before leaving. I
believe I can make you realise that potential. Spend a few months under my guidance and you will
be stronger than you can possibly imagine.”

That only enticed some of them. They probably did not believe it could be done.

“Regardless of your performance, five thousand Ryo for each day you work for me undercover.
You will need to look presentable though. I will get new clothes for you made. You must also look
well-nourished. Here.” The other clones dropped some food in front of them. “Eat up while I
explain the details.”

They nodded and dug in. The Sasuke clone told them in detail which village they would each go to.
That they would pose as merchants and set up shop in the ninja villages together with one of the
clones. That they would relay information via a complex system that was impossible to detect
while the clone tutor would teach them anything and everything they needed to know.

Once there were no more questions, the Sasuke clone asked them to rest up. He said he would
return later to give them their new clothes and to help them get started on their journey.

They went to sleep with smiles on their faces. Part of that would be the sedatives the Sasuke clone
had put in their food. He made a few loud noises and when that did not wake them, he went to
work. Sasuke did not like dirtying his hands like this. But it had to be done. And if it had to be
done, Sasuke was a firm believer that a comfortable lie was much better than an unbearable truth.

At least he had told them the truth when he said he needed them alive. He had just been dishonest
about how long that would be.

~*~

Sasuke was in the house resting when the memories of one of his clones returned to him. It seemed
everything had worked out successfully. Sakura was recovering in her own room, a victim to his
hubris. He could have handled the attack fine. He could have feigned unconsciousness and
everything would have been better.

Why did his teammates have to act the heroes? Sasuke would be much more at ease if they let him
take all the risks.

But, his first real step towards saving the world had been taken. He had spirited away several of
the bandits who would not be missed. Resources to be used later.

There was a knock at the door. “Sasuke, can we come in?” Naruto peeked inside.

“Go right ahead, Naruto. You know I’m always glad to see you.”

“If you’re in pain, we can come back later.”

“I am in pain, but that’s precisely why I’d welcome my favourite distraction.”

Naruto had been in good shape physically after the bridge. Kakashi was exhausted but had no great
wounds. Sakura was worst off, but Sasuke was close. When they had come back, Kakashi had
pulled out all the needles, applied disinfectant, and had bandaged all the wounds. Sasuke showed
more bandage than skin at the moment.

Naruto was followed by Kakashi. The two of them sat down besides Sasuke. The serious looks on
their faces made it clear they were there to talk about the major village secret Sasuke had
discovered.

It was Kakashi who spoke first. “How did you figure it out?”

“I had been suspicious for a while in a general sense. Naruto is hated for some unknown reason by
the whole village, has supernatural stores of chakra and you were somehow worried about bad
things happening simply by stretching out his presence too much. It all clicked when I caught a
glimpse of Naruto’s red chakra and bestial form. Which I have to say, Naruto, quite impressive.”

Kakashi sighed. “You realize that nobody must know of this?”

“I get that you prefer not to let people know…”

“It is an S-rank secret.” Kakashi looked more serious than he normally did.

Sasuke sighed. “It would have to be, of course. Still, I would not have told anyone anyway. It is not
my secret to tell.” He faced Naruto. “I would suggest you tell Sakura soon though. I think she will
respond much more like I did than you think.”

Naruto nodded. “Thanks, Sasuke.”

“Now.” Kakashi bent over Sasuke. “Can I see them?”

Sasuke nodded. It figured Kakashi was more interested in his eyes than discussing the most
important secret in Konoha. Sasuke blinked a few times and then activated his sharingan. “Naruto
would have gotten hurt and I needed to be faster. There was nothing I could do about it. Which was
unacceptable. I told my body that it needed to do something impossible. And it listened.”

“If there’s ever a reason to do the impossible, it’s for your teammates.” Kakashi brought a few of
his fingers to his forehead protector, hovering them over his covered eye.

"It was awesome!" Naruto helpfully added.

"Told ya I was." Sasuke smirked. If only he knew half of it.

Kakashi stood up. "I should check on Sakura. Make sure she’s taken her painkillers."

Once Kakashi was gone, Naruto leaned forward a little. He made double sure the two of them were
alone but stayed silent even then. He really needed to learn to be more comfortable around his
teammate.

A bit of prompting should help. "What’s on your mind?"

“You’re really okay with it? Just like that?”

Sasuke shrugged, as much as he was able. “There is only one monster I’m afraid of, and it is not
some overgrown fox.”

"What? What kind of monster do you know that is worse than the nine tailed beast?"

"His name is Kurama."

Naruto wracked his brain trying to place the name. "Was that one of the ninja from the last war?"

Sasuke shook his head. "The 'nine tailed beast' you are talking about, his name is Kurama. His
eight siblings and he grew up together and they have done a lot more being chased than actual
chasing."

Naruto wrapped his arms around his tummy. "You do not know it like I do. What it feels like.
There is nothing but hatred inside of it."

"Bijuu chakra tends towards hatred and it does not help that Kurama has been trapped in a human's
body for twelve years. Nothing to say, nothing to do but wait for the occasional glimpse of the
world when your emotions run high. You spent a large portion of the last twelve years isolated and
alone. How did that make you feel?"

Naruto curled up into himself. "How do you know all this?"

"I read about it in the Uchiha archives. The Uchiha, even after their demise, still have a record of
the secrets they uncovered over their many years as noble clan. I did not think the knowledge
would have mattered, until you told me you were carrying Kuruma around. There is also something
else I should be able to do now that I have a Sharingan. But this needs to be kept a secret.”

“No problem, Sasuke.”

“I am serious here, Naruto, far more than I have been. This is a secret that you cannot tell Sakura or
Kakashi about, that you cannot tell the Sandaime and you cannot tell a stranger who has no
connection at all with anyone from Konoha. No one can know.”

Naruto did not hesitate at all as he nodded. “I can do that.”

“Good. Then look into my eyes."

Sasuke activated his sharingan and the world fell away. The walls crumbled and the floor
disappeared. But it was still familiar. It was as if they had always been in this strange hall, where
lines of chakra flowed on every surface, like it had been hiding under reality for all this time. They
stood on a thin layer of water covering the ground, rippling with every movement. Sasuke looked
healthy in the mindscape, no signs of his wounds from the fight on the bridge.

"What is this place?" Naruto asked, a tremble in his voice.

Before Sasuke could answer, a loud low growl vibrated through the room. The red demon energy
perused everything then, surrounding them like a predator’s warm breath.

"It has been ages," an unnaturally hollow voice said, "since dinner has been delivered to me."

“Are you crazy?” Naruto yelled, backing away as quickly as he could. “You brought us to the
Kyuubi!?”

"Kurama, I presume." Sasuke said. "The stories do not do you justice."

The beast growled. "Where did you learn my name? No mortal knows it."

Sasuke smiled. "And no mortal knows it now."

The fox eyed him with suspicion. “Who are you?”

“Just another Uchiha who knows the Sharingan’s secrets. I am here as an arbitrator so the two of
you can get formally introduced.”

“Get us out of here, Sasuke!”

“If you really want to, we can leave. But we are completely safe here. Please trust me when I say
that.”

Naruto trembled. “You don’t know what it’s like.”

“Take a few deep breaths. I realise this must be scary for you, but he cannot hurt you. He’s trapped
and this is his prison.”

Naruto took a while to calm down. Those big red glowing eyes looming over them did not help the
matter any.

“During the battle, I lost control. The demon took over. And all I can remember is the rage. That
monster does not have a single sympathetic bone in its miserable body.”

“You weak sniffling coward.” Kurama’s voice boomed. “You need my chakra to defeat your
enemies. You had your first taste of real power and you will crave it.”

“Naruto.” Sasuke said. “The bijuu chakra will feel strange to you if you are not used to it. You
were in a fight and you were feeling hatred yourself. Maybe the chakra made it worse, but you
should not judge it from one experience.”

“Are you saying I should do this more often?”

“If Kurama is willing.”

The fox growled. “I am not an obedient pet to be played with. Use my chakra and it will
overwhelm you. It will consume you from the inside until there is nothing left of you. And I will be
free.”

“You know that it’s not that simple.” Sasuke said. “The Fourth destroyed half of you and only
sealed away the other half. Destroying Naruto would leave you at a fraction of your original
strength.”

“A fraction is enough to crush you and all you care about.”

“But it is not enough to keep another strong ninja from once again imprisoning you. It is not
enough to get revenge, not against the person you actually wish to fight.”

The fox glared at his visitors. “That man cannot still live.”

Naruto tugged on Sasuke’s arm. “Who are you talking about?”

“I am not the only Uchiha who can use his eyes to control Kurama’s chakra. Another misused this
ability. They made the fox lose control so that he was forced to act like the demon he is so often
painted as.”

“That sounds horrible.”

“I do not need your pity.” The fox growled.

Sasuke nodded. “Then let me tell you exactly what we offer. You know that we cannot release the
seal, but Naruto can practice using your chakra. That gives you a measure of freedom to see and
experience the world. I can teach Naruto to reach this place by himself, so that you can talk
regularly.”

Naruto grimaced. “Why would I want that?”

“Naruto, you are the only one he can talk to. He can be your friend.”

The fox growled once more. “I do not become friends with mortals.”

“Then not friends. But if you are sharing a body, it is in both your best interests not to hate each
other.”

Naruto was shaking, but he stepped closer to the cage. He looked to Sasuke. “Are you really saying
he’s been as alone as I’ve been?”

“I have seen your life, Naruto. Not all of it, but enough.” The beast flooded the room with hatred.
“You know nothing about loneliness.”

“Then make me understand!” Naruto yelled. “You do not have to like me; you do not owe me
anything. But stop telling me I cannot understand if you do not give me the chance.” Naruto
breathed heavily.

Sasuke placed his hand on Naruto’s shoulder in support. Kurama did nothing else for a very long
time, simply staring at the intruders. “Very well. If you want to talk, then do so. It’s not like I can
stop you.”

Sasuke urged Naruto on and the blond nodded. “My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I like ramen. I
want to be the greatest ninja in the world. And even though you are probably the reason my
childhood was hell, it is better to meet you and put a face to the whispers I’ve been hearing about
you.”

“I am Kuruma and my only hobby is counting the amount of people I would have liked to kill
before being trapped. I keep losing count. Even though you are figuratively the walls that are
keeping me imprisoned, I will admit you are slightly more amusing to talk to than the literal
walls.”

There, a start. It was awkward and stilted, but they were able to have their first conversation. The
fox did not play along and Naruto had trouble to keep it going on his own. After a few minutes,
Sasuke suggested to continue this at a later point after both parties had a while to think.

Naruto shook his head after the Sharingan’s genjutsu had completely disappeared. “How?”

“Like I mentioned, the sharingan has some measure of control over the Kyuubi. It allows us both to
talk with him. It can also stop him from taking control of you. It would allow you to use the fox’s
chakra like you did today, but we can make sure he does not take over your head. Again, do not let
Kakashi know about this. I doubt he would understand.” Sasuke paused for a few seconds, looking
like he was connecting the dots. “Kakashi told you to limit the number of clones you use for
training. That has to do with the Kyuubi, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. He talked to me in private last week. He’s worried my clones will start using its chakra
when they are running low. He’s worried that it will…that he will go out of control.”

“I can control the fox. Nothing should stand in the way of your progress.”

“Are you sure? What would Kakashi say…”

“You can follow his instructions while he’s around, but when it’s just the two of us it doesn’t
matter.”

“It sounds complicated. Why can’t we just tell him? He’s reasonable.”
“It’s an Uchiha secret.”

“Like the chakra training? Cause you shared that with Kakashi in the end.”

“It’s an incredibly special secret. Something only the Uchiha heir may know. And something he is
only allowed to share with the Jinchuriki. Please, Naruto. We can’t tell Kakashi about this. You’ll
learn to work together with Kuruma soon. Once you can show that to Kakashi, he’ll let you train
with clones again.”

“Fine. I trust you Sasuke.”

“As I trust you.” Sasuke smiled, then feigned fatigue. His chakra levels would be running low if he
did not have an adult store of it. “Do you mind, Naruto? I should get some rest.”

Naruto stood up and left the room, gently closing the door behind him. Sasuke used the time to get
back on his meditation. He had been neglecting his recovery, even though he would need all the
strength he would be able to get when the next big challenge came around. The next time he would
be facing a jounin, it would be Orochimaru.

~*~

Naruto was just as ridiculously excited to have a bridge named after him as Sasuke remembered.
He would not stop talking about it all the way back to Konoha. It did make the travel time go by
quickly though. They only had to stop to rest once around midday. Kakashi spent the time with
some empty scrolls, while Sasuke prepared them some food on a campfire.

“I can’t believe I’m almost back to my parents.” Sakura said. “Yesterday I wasn’t sure I’d make it
back alive.”

“It’s part of the job.” Kakashi said. “You live through life-altering experiences while for most
villagers in Konoha it has just been another week.”

“Do you get used to it?”

“Eventually it becomes more routine. It never gets any easier, but you figure out how to deal with
it. Or you stop participating in the other life.”

Naruto was staring at the fire. “We were not prepared for this.”

“Nobody ever is.” Kakashi said. “You could spend your whole life training, but only real missions
prepare you for real missions.”

“But I could have been better prepared. If I had been able to use a wind jutsu I could have defeated
the mercenaries without anyone in the village losing their lives. Sasuke’s been putting us through
hell all week and it is what saved us.”

“I like it when you’re alive.” Sasuke said. “But I wouldn’t call a normal workout schedule hell. Just
ambitious.”

“I want to be more ambitious. Sasuke, can you kick my ass next time I want a day off?”

“I don’t know.” Sasuke smirked. “We both know how stubborn you can get.”

“I’ll help.” Sakura said. “No more free days. No more distractions. We are ninja now and slacking
in our training could get us killed.”
“You should not overreact too much.” Kakashi said. “This mission was an exception. You will be
in danger, but you are still of an age where you should take things slow.”

Sasuke finished their lunch and served it to them. “You were a jounin at our age, weren’t you?”

“That was different. There was a war going on. We fought then so that your generation would have
the childhoods we couldn’t have.”

“If that were true, we would not have gotten our genin headbands until we were eighteen years old.
You’ve granted us the privilege of being ninja and then saddled us with weakness. It is the worst of
both worlds and I do not accept the notion that we can be ninja in a casual way.”

“The Sandaime tried to delay graduation, but he couldn’t do it. He settled for the next best thing.
He wants to give you a childhood as ninja that isn’t filled with the dangers our time was. He wants
you to relax and grow into your responsibilities.”

“You took your role as ninja seriously right away because there was a threat to the village. We aim
to be ready in case another threat comes along.”

“That is not what Konoha needs right now. It needs peacemakers, not soldiers. We do not want to
win the next war, we want to prevent it.”

“But conflicts will always arise. We want to prevent a war, but we must still prepare for it.” Sasuke
finished his stew and started packing up his things. “My brother killed my whole clan. I do not
know when we will run into each other again, but he is strong. I do not want Itachi to hurt anyone
on this team. We need to get strong enough to defeat him.”

Sakura and Naruto sat silently. It was the first they were hearing of this.

“It’s your own family who hurt you?” Sakura asked. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m getting over it.” Sasuke said. “I just need my revenge.”

“He’s the S-rank ninja you want us to beat to become Sannin.” Sakura said.

Sasuke nodded. “Ideally.”

“I know he’s a threat.” Kakashi said. “And we’ll work together to get there. But you can’t let your
thoughts of revenge consume you. You can’t let him win by letting training replace everything that
makes life worth living.”

“It’s not like that.” Naruto said. “It’s not like training is work and we’re giving up all our free time.
I like training, because it’s time I get to spend with Sasuke and Sakura. I wanted time off to do
other things, but I can wait to do those things until I’m stronger. How am I supposed to live with
myself if someone ends up getting hurt and I could have avoided it with just one more skill? One
more training session?”

“It’s just until we’re strong enough.” Sakura said. “And it’s just replacing one fun activity with
another.”

Kakashi looked over his team. “All of you are too eager to grow up. The Sandaime won’t like it.”

“Jiji will just have to deal with it.” Naruto said. “We can’t be both ninja and children.”

“As you must well remember from your own childhood.” Sasuke added.
“I don’t like this.” Kakashi said. “But I suppose it’s your decision to make. You are still children
and I hope you don’t forget that. But I’ll try not to forget that you’re ninja too. While I can’t violate
the Sandaime’s rules, I won’t stand in the way of your decision either.”

Sasuke was fine with Kakashi not standing in the way. He had been surprisingly good company,
when he was not getting in the way of Sasuke’s plans, and Sasuke did not need more from him.

Their conversations turned casual and it made for a quiet trip back to Konoha. Before they really
knew it, they were already back, ready to go to the Hokage tower and hand in their mission.

“We will need an extensive debriefing for this one.” Kakashi said, opening his book to pass the
time while some ninja of importance could be gathered up to confirm that yes, Kakashi was in fact
an important enough jounin to be allowed to escalate a debriefing without following the normal
and lengthy escalating procedures.

It took a while, but eventually they were sent up to the Hokage’s office. The Sandaime was
smoking on a pipe, some papers shuffled around so that there was some room on his desk for a
debriefing form.

“I wish I had more time, but I am late for a meeting. Did you run into any problems, Kakashi?”

The jounin motioned for Sasuke. Sasuke was pleasantly surprised. Reporting missions was a
responsibility usually kept from genin until they were ready to be chuunin. “The client had been
untruthful about the dangers of the mission. Just inside the Land of Waves, we were attacked by
two chuunin missing ninja.”

“That would upgrade the mission to a B ranking. Kakashi, why did you choose to proceed at that
point?”

Sasuke answered before his sensei could. “It was a decision by the whole team. We were already
too far into enemy territory. If any high-ranking ninja were after us, they would engage us
regardless of where we were. The client’s family was also at risk for as long as they were left
alone. There was enough time pressure to justify attempting to complete the mission.”

“I see. Well, I am glad to see you were unharmed, but you were lucky you did not run into anything
more dangerous.”

“Actually Jiji,” Naruto added, “There was this jounin guy called Zabuza and he was pretty strong.”

Kakashi nodded and motioned for Sasuke to continue.

“As Naruto says, we were attacked by the jounin-level missing nin by the end of our journey. The
enemy separated Kakashi from the rest of the team. We then freed Kakashi so that he could take
out the target. That was the first encounter.”

“There was a second encounter?”

“Yes.” Sasuke said. “Seven days later, after a period in which both Kakashi and the enemy were
incapacitated. Kakashi killed the jounin, while the jounin’s companion wounded Sakura, Naruto
and me before getting away. In this encounter, I activated my sharingan to the first stage. A great
number of additional low-level targets appeared, but they were overcome through intimidation.”

“It sounds like this was a high-ranking A rank mission. That was not what I had in mind when I
assigned it to you.” He signalled to his assistants. “Tell Hiashi he’ll have to wait. I need a few more
minutes here.”
“Yes, Sandaime-sama.” The man bowed and went out of the office.

“Zabuza’s companion used ice-elemental jutsu, which also allowed him to teleport over small
distances. He should still be in the area around Land of Waves.”

“I’ll notify the hunter ninja teams in the area.” The Sandaime said, making a note of it.

“They have performed beyond expectations.” Kakashi said. He handed a summary of the mission,
with three additional scrolls to the Hokage. “Considering the circumstances, I took the liberty of
providing chakra control training suitable to their level and I assisted in their own training.”

“I thought you had already finished the tree walking exercises.”

Kakashi smiled behind his mask.

“You can’t be serious.” The Sandaime frowned. “You’ve gotten them started on water walking
already? I know you and the other teams got permission this week Kakashi, but this is far too
rushed. The other instructors will not be happy with this.”

“But jiji…” Naruto said, but Kakashi shushed him.

“It is my belief that this team is ready for more of my training.”

“No. Your genin might have a lot of time on their hands because they finish their missions quickly
and they already work well as a team, but I cannot authorize more training. It is too soon. You
know as well as I do that we need ninja with depth in their expertise instead of a varied number of
dabbled skills. You will remain limited to assisting them while they master the skills they have
already acquired.”

“Yes Hokage-sama. I will hand in a complete report before the day is over.”

Sasuke was surprised. Kakashi might not be willing to break the Sandaime’s rules, but it appeared
he was preparing to bend them.

“Very well.” The Sandaime quickly filled a form and handed it to Kakashi. Then he shifted his
attention to the genin. “Naruto, are you alright?”

“It was scary, Jiji, but I’m fine now.”

“It’s unfortunate that each mission comes with risks. I’m glad you handled yourselves so well
under pressure. I would like to hear more of it. I’ll ask my assistant to schedule some time for us to
enjoy tea together. Sasuke, Sakura, I’d very much like to hear your side of things as well.”

Sakura was beaming. “Of course, Sandaime-sama.”

They left the office and went straight to the administration office. They handled Kakashi’s note.

“Our pay and acknowledgements will assume a high B-rank mission as a down payment.” Kakashi
said. “The rest will be awarded when the report has been evaluated.”

It was a little less than their previous pay, but that was fine. Getting an A-rank mission under their
belt was a necessary step for all kinds of privileges that no money could buy. After they had
collected their pay and were away from the building, Naruto blurted out the question he had been
dying to ask. “Why did you not tell hokage-jiji about our training in elemental techniques?”

Kakashi made sure there was nobody around, before stopping and addressing him. “Why do you
think, Naruto?”

“You would have gotten in trouble?”

“I got in plenty trouble already. Sakura, what do you think?”

She stumbled a little on the words. “You are keeping our progress hidden for some reason.”

Sasuke interrupted before Kakashi could give the game away. “Think that implication through.”

Sakura sighed. “Kakashi-sensei, you gain nothing from downplaying our achievements. The
Hokage has his reasons for wanting to slow down our growth. He does not want us to get too
strong too quickly, because he is afraid that will make us soldiers instead of peacemakers. Though
he dresses it up in platitudes. If he had known we were already working on elemental manipulation,
he might have prohibited use from persuing it further. Is that what you wanted?”

“No matter how much details I would use to describe your achievements, the Hokage would
dismiss any training you do yourselves as ineffectual.” Kakashi said. “Without seeing it with his
own eyes, he would not resort to banning you from experimentation.”

“Then I don’t understand.” Sakura said. “You didn’t achieve anything. If you’d stayed silent then
you wouldn’t have had permission, but now the Hokage actually forbade you from training us
further.”

Naruto stopped in his tracks. He just got it. “That was not all Jiji said.”

Sakura gasped. “You got the Hokage’s explicit permission to assist us in our training. He did not
know how much Sasuke has been helping us with that and what he has been teaching us.”

“The Hokage just asked if it was too early for water walking.” Naruto said. “If you thought it was
time for elemental manipulations, obviously you thought it was also time for water walking.”

“Probably,” Sasuke added, “Kakashi made sure that both training requests were kept vague enough
for plausible deniability. It’s easy to make our elemental training sound like amateur genin
experimenting with chakra.”

Kakashi grinned. “I am still not convinced you are going down the right path, but I can see how
determined you are to walk down it. I am curious to see how far along you’ll make it before the
people in charge manage to stop it. The only way to assist you with water walking, is by letting
you practice and correcting any flaws in your form. It is however completely customary to assist
students trying to learn elemental chakra by demonstrating different ninjutsu.”

~*~

“Now pay close attention, because as suspicious as it is for me to use high level jutsu during
training, using it more than once would raise a lot of flags.”

They spent the afternoon watching Kakashi demonstrate a few simple jutsu to practice while he
was ‘sparring’ with them. Each was accompanied with explanations and background information.
He was sure to give pointers so that the one time he showed it, they would get the most out of it.
He showed Naruto the Wind Release Gale Palm, which would help him become more deadly from
afar. It was a technique that created a gust of wind and could be loaded with weapons to increase
its impact. It was a C rank technique that would take a while to learn, no matter how eager Naruto
was.
He showed Sakura the Hiding in Mist Technique, which allowed her to create mist like she had
been but without a water source. It would make her mist more versatile, but also increased the
chakra cost of creating it. As a D-rank jutsu, she would be able to pick it up quickly. The man was
still underestimating her, but Sasuke would compensate for that.

Finally, Kakashi showed Sasuke the Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet. A B-rank jutsu that
was more advanced than the fireball he had been using. It took a lot of effort to create a passable
stream of fire with the technique and only true masters could make it look like a dragon.

They promised to practice what they had learned, though Kakashi took it as a given they would not
be performing the actual jutsu for a while.

They agreed to spend most of the evening at their own homes to get their affairs in order and to
resume their own training the following day. They were excused from missions for two days.
Sasuke strayed from his path as soon as he was reasonably sure neither Sakura nor Naruto were
following.

He returned to the small clearing he had made last time he had gone all-out with his power. From
reports of the not-so-secure Hokage tower, he had learned ninja had found and dismissed the
findings when there were no bodies, reported injuries or missing persons. There was a protocol for
incidents where high level ninja let out steam and its main theme was covering up as much as
possible.

Still, while there was little risk of being hunted, the clearing had a decent amount of symbolism.
From the ashes, as it was said.

Sasuke found the middle of the clearing and started digging down. He did not need much. The
earth jutsu Orochimaru used to create his bases worked fine enough. They had served their purpose
when Sasuke was in hiding as Hokage and it made him feel at home.

He started with a large room that would serve as the entrance for anybody who entered. Three
rooms placed around and below the central room. All of these led down to a central room below
the first. When he had needed to house the entire village, he had gone on like that for a while, but
two layers would suffice for now.

He was about done when his clone went through the ground and arrived in the central room.

"You’re late."

"There were ninja from the Village Hidden in Mist. I had to take the long way around to avoid
them.” The clone dropped the body he had been carrying on the floor, before dispelling.

“Good.” The others would be coming soon. And they were bringing Haku.

He made another clone, to bring the body into the lower rooms and prepare it. There was a decent
amount of work to be done. More importantly, he would need to steal some essentials. For that, he
would need a solid alibi. That would take some planning.

~*~

Inside Naruto, Kurama was thinking. He spent an endless ocean of time with his own thoughts in
this prison, where he could only sometimes glimpse the outside world.

He found himself torn between massive annoyance at the sheer presumption of the ninja visiting
him, and the realisation that it had in fact been more stimulating than he cared to admit.
 He was used to his hosts trying to manipulate him. They held the power and they had the ability to
strongarm Kurama into working along. Some tried the nice words first, but none of them genuinely
cared about him. If he refused to give them what they wanted, all the niceties melted away. There
was no way to test them if they could be trusted.

But there was something about these two young kids that the fox could not put his paw on. Naruto
had changed drastically since he had become a genin and he suspected it was the Uchiha who was
responsible.

The Uchiha boy knew his name. Only the Sage of the Six Paths had known his name. No other
human ever had and none of his brothers would give it. At the fox’s surprise, the Uchiha had just
showed off a knowing smile. The Uchiha was worth paying close attention to.

For now, he would wait. And he would think. He had no interest in the mortals’ lives, but there
were some things he wondered about. He doubted Naruto would be able to answer his questions
but seeing him try might be amusing. Which made him realise he was looking forward to speaking
to the two kits again.

Kurama threw up in the corner of his cell.

~*~

It was late in the afternoon before Sasuke returned home. Naruto was waiting for him, standing
outside of the house with puffy eyes and a red nose. He had been crying.

"Naruto, what happened?"

"My place... it was… Can I, can I stay at your place tonight? I promise I won't be a bother."

Chapter End Notes

Next update on Thursday evening December 16th (CET): Violations. With another
one of my favourite little future intros. It also ends with the second-biggest cliffhanger
in the story. So if you hate that kind of thing, may need to wait two weeks before
reading.

Poor Naruto. He's going to have a rough welcome back to Konoha.

Also, it might be super obvious what Sasuke's doing, it might be totally obscure. There
will be more hints being dropped over the next few chapters and I'm hoping that's
enough to reason out where it's going. And otherwise we'll all figure it out at the same
time that Naruto and Sakura do. Fun things ahead.

I'm sure there's loads more to talk about, but I'm feeling slightly hazy and can't think
of anything. But as always I'll be answering any questions in the comments so don't be
afraid to ask if there's anything specific you'd like to know.
 Violations
Chapter Summary

Back in Konoha, all is not well. Naruto has been robbed and Sasuke is pissed.

Chapter Notes

This chapter had some rough patches of dialogue that needed work. I know it all
sounds better now, but I hope it's good enough. With this update we've broken 100k
words and what a journey it's been already. The master document passed 250k today
with the newest edits and it's hard to fathom. I know there's still more coming and I'm
curious what the end count will be.

I'm still catching up on some of the reviews from previous weeks that have built up.
I'm sorry if I haven't gotten around to replying yet, but I'm getting to them as quickly
as I can.

Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“It’s garbage.” Naruto said.

“It’s a priceless Uchiha vase that portrays the harrowing tale of a ninja learning to walk on
water.”

Naruto’s mouth dropped open. “It’s just a bunch of blue colours smashed together!”

“It’s abstract! My great grandparents paid hundreds of thousands of Ryo to have this
commissioned!”

“THEY GOT SCAMMED!” Naruto held up his green plastic frog cup. “At least this looks fun and
makes you smile when you look at it!”

“Trust a baby like you to smile at a childish little toy!”

“Guys, stop!” Sakura yelled, rolling her eyes. “Neither of them looks good. Sasuke, that vase is
ugly, I don’t care how much it cost. And Naruto, that frog is tacky and clearly very cheap. People
will get the wrong idea if we use either. We’re putting up this instead.” Sakura placed a pink
monstrosity on the mantle. “I made it myself. It’s called The Joy of Team 7.”

It was a deeply flawed attempt of sculpting a happy face out of pink clay.

“We can’t keep that in the house.” Sasuke said. “It’s going to give Naruto nightmares.”

“No it won’t.” Naruto said. “It’s clearly a demon in disguise and it’s going to kill me before I get a
chance to sleep.”
“Well it’s better than what the two of you wanted to put there!” Sakura shouted. “But if you’re
really that adamant, there is enough room on this mantle for three decorations, so…”

“No.” Sasuke shook his head. “The last time we tried that, we ended up dividing the apartment in
three and waging an all-out war. I still can’t hear someone unrolling tape without flashbacks.”

“Well, we need to do something.” Naruto said. “My clones are almost done putting in the roof and
we’re running out of excuses not to move in. The training rooms are sitting empty and if Sakura
can finally move into her home office, maybe we’ll actually see her.”

“You’re seeing me right now.” Sakura said.

“For a single hour. While you have your two best apprentices manning the hospital.”

“Three.” Sakura corrected. “Two weren’t cutting it anymore.”

“You know, there’s going to come a time where they’ll have to run the place without you. Part of
scaling back our responsibilities and spending more time together, you know. Like I’m doing with
Konohamaru. And we are on a deadline to get everything finished. The whole reason we wanted a
bigger house and all that.”

“I’m going to hire an interior designer.” Sasuke said.

“That’s such a waste of money.” Sakura complained. “I’m sure the three of us can figure it out.
Starting with me convincing you why this pink ceramic is perfect for the mantle.”

“We’re hiring someone.” Sasuke repeated. “Before the two of you drive me insane.”

Naruto let out a loud laugh. “Oh, it’s way too late for that.”

~*~

"My place... it was… Can I, can I stay at your place tonight? I promise I won't be a bother."

Sasuke stilled. This had not happened before. It was something new. Something Sasuke had caused
by changing the past. Naruto looked hurt and shaken. "Come inside. Can I get you anything?"

Naruto shook his head. Sasuke practically had to drag him forward to get him seated in the kitchen.
A few minutes later there was a cup of instant ramen in front of Naruto. That seemed to calm him
down a little, no matter how much he insisted once again that he did not want Sasuke to go through
any trouble.

"What did you find when you got home?"

"The lock… it was broken. The door opened and there was nothing. My manga gone, most of my
pictures, my spare ninja gear. The money from the missions. All of it gone.”

Sasuke clenched his fist. The anger was not useful while he was comforting Naruto. Not useful
until they had a target to direct it to. He grit through the feelings until only the information
remained. “Did anyone see anything?”

“My neighbours shut the door in my face when I asked. The landlord said it was me who had it all
moved out."

"That sounds like a henge. Ninja did this?" So not even misguided civilians. Ninja who should
have known better.
Naruto nodded, before starting on his food. "It is because of the fox. They hate me because of it. I
don’t understand how anyone could do something like this."

"They are angry people and you are an easy target. They’ve united under a banner of intolerance,
fuelled by the fires of their anger. What they are doing is wrong, but it is understandable."

Naruto sniffed. "So you are telling me to just ignore this. To act like nothing happened."

"I am telling you that when you push people a certain way, they will respond a certain way."
Sasuke grinned wickedly, putting his fingers together. "Do you know how I believe people react
who have just lost their possessions and money?"

Naruto perked up slowly. "They want to get revenge?"

"All perfectly understandable. Let’s show them they can no longer treat you however they like.”

“I’ve never… I’ve never been able to stand up to these kind of people without making things
worse.”

“Things might get worse before they’re better. But what they’ve done is unacceptable. And we
need to make it known that we won’t accept it.”

“And how do we do that?”

“We’ll investigate. But there is one thing we should do first. We should go into the training
grounds."

“I’ve just been robbed and you want to train?”

Sasuke shook his head and led them around the house. “Trust me.”

Sasuke could sense the ANBU in his house on patrol. He did not want them seeing what they were
about to do. When they were finally out of earshot, Sasuke sat down on the ground.

“When your emotions run high, Kurama experiences some of it.”

Naruto winced. “Is it dangerous?”

“You saw what happened on the bridge. When you get to emotional extremes, the connection with
the Kyuubi becomes stronger. It allows you to draw from his chakra. But the more you take, the
more Kurama is able to overcome you.”

“I don’t even remember properly what happened. I just got so angry and I really wanted to hurt the
ninja that had attacked you.”

“It will be like that for as long as the two of you do not trust each other. You instinctively shut him
out unless your emotions overwhelm your ability to suppress him, and he will instinctively take
advantage of any opportunity granted to him. To start building that trust, you will have to establish
a line of communication.”

“You want me to talk to him again?”

“Are you up for it?”

“Yeah, but is it really that important? Shouldn’t we be getting to my apartment?”

“Right now, Kurama has seen enough to know there is some danger. But he does not know exactly
what happened. The longer we take before speaking to him, the longer you are keeping him in the
dark.”

“Fine.”

The sharingan brought them immediately to the fox’s cage.

“Again the little ants return.” Kurama growled.

“To explain what happened.” Sasuke said. “Unless you’d prefer we leave?”

Kuruma had to bite back the response he immediately wanted to give.

Naruto took a step forward. “Sasuke says that you saw some of what happened. Bits and pieces.”

“I noticed your anger. And your grief.”

Naruto swallowed, before telling the fox exactly what had caused his distress.

“And now what are you planning to do?” Kuruma asked.

“We’ll find who did it and then turn them in.”

“Gah! What weakness from my host. They make you feel like this and all you wish to do is send
them off to one of your little human jails? Have a spine. Commit to ripping out their throats!”

“Well, I can’t really do that.” Naruto said. “On account of me not being a monster and all.”

Kurama waved him off. “Details.”

Naruto sighed, before signalling Sasuke to pull them out of the mindscape again.

“You should make a habit of this, Naruto.”

“He did not seem grateful for it.”

“He’s being held against his will. He is owed information like this and providing it to him is the
first step towards building a rapport.”

“I’m still trying to get used to the idea.”

“Take your time. For now, lead the way.”

~*~

Naruto's apartment was completely empty of possessions. The furniture that remained had been
desecrated. The couch cusions had been sliced with kunai. Chair legs had been methodically
broken off, cabinets bashed broken. There was nothing that had been left untouched. There was a
platoon of ANBU a few buildings away. Close enough to keep watch, but far enough so they could
deny they were there to watch Naruto. They always had to keep up their appearances and pretend
Naruto was just another orphan. If they had been allowed to do their job right, none of this would
have happened.

"There seems to be little damage to the doors and windows.” Sasuke noted. Nobody had forced
their way in. In fact, for all the damage to Naruto’s possessions, the walls and floors were left
untouched. “What’s your security?"

Naruto shrugged. "Jiji always said I shouldn't worry about it."

Sasuke looked at the window. The seal was hidden from view, but anyone past the rank of genin
could find it. “They protected it for you, though it looks too weak. I only know the basics of this
stuff, but I think I can examine this better.”

He ran enough chakra through it to expand the array into something readable. It covered the entire
window. A good chuunin would be able to examine the seal like this. “See here? If the window
gets opened from the outside, or if anyone enters that is not an Uzumaki, a burst of chakra is used
to alarm authorities. There is a weak counter trap for anyone trying to disable the array.”

Naruto squinted at the figures. “I can kinda see it? This looks far more complicated than the
storage seals we use.”

“It has to be to protect people. But wait, there is a part that does not make much sense…”

Only jounin would be able to find that part. Sasuke concentrated his chakra, and that part of the
array expanded as well. It covered most of the apartment.

“The hell?” Naruto stared in wonder at the ink scribbles that had danced away from the window to
decorate the walls and floors. “What’s all this?”

“I’m sure the Sandaime would tell you not to worry about it.” There was enough in this to frighten
the village’s top ninja. A kage would maybe stand a chance of circumventing it without detection
but at that level he could just smash through any guards called to the alarm.

There were only two ninja alive who could make a seal like that and one of them had only recently
graduated the Academy. Seemed Jiraiya had not left his godson completely unprotected.

“Is it normal for seals to be this big?”

“Not usually. I wouldn’t know how to start understanding this mess.” Sasuke said, even as he was
already picking apart the general outline. The Sannin’s work was annoyingly assiduous. For all his
expertise as a sealing master, he lacked the natural instincts Naruto had developed over the years.

Naruto chuckled mirthlessly. “Guess there are some perks to being the village’s Jinchuriki after
all.”

"Well, at least we can rule out the window as an entrance."

The door's seal was easier and showed a log of every time it had been opened. It had recorded
general information about the perpetrator. It was a male ninja who had broken through with the
method of opening the lock with a correct key.

“But I had my key with me in Wave.” Naruto said. He scratched his head. “Can the seal be
mistaken?”

"If the seal’s not mistaken, then what would that mean?”

“I suppose… that there’s another key.”

“Yes. So for bonus points, who do you know that was aware of your absence, who dislikes you,
and who had a spare key to your apartment?"
Naruto's eyes went wide. "That bastard."

A few minutes later they were banging on the landlord's door. Sasuke took the front. “Open up, we
know you are home.”

The man looked disinterested when he opened. He barely spared a look to Naruto, like he was of
no importance. Like Naruto was a spider being allowed to stay in order to scare off the bugs. “I
already told you everything I know. Stop wasting my time.”

He was about to close the door when Sasuke forced it open, taking a few steps into the man’s
home. “I do not think we have been introduced. My name is Sasuke. I am a ninja of the Village
Hidden in the Leaf and I am a close friend of Naruto. Now, we have reason to believe the burglar
got his key from you.”

“You think a little ninja like you is going to scare me?” The man was practically laughing.

“Yes, I do.” Sasuke’s hand filled with a kunai, too fast for the landlord to see. He casually held it in
front of him, like he was debating whether it was worth the loss of a kunai to take the man’s life.
“We know you were involved in the crime that was committed. And if you don’t give us a better
target, we’ll have to take our anger out on you.”

“Ninja like you are not allowed to do anything. I know my rights as a civilian and you won’t
intimidate me. I could have you arrested just for holding that kunai in front of me.”

“If you violate your tenants’ rights, you can’t expect them to respect yours. You’re right that we
wouldn’t normally be allowed to take these actions, but an attack on a ninja’s home is more than
extraordinary enough to count.”

“That can’t be right.”

“And how would you know? We’re the ones who attended the Academy, we’re the ones who got
drilled with ninja behaviour provisions by Iruka. He’s a good friend. Do you need us to go get him
and let him explain it?”

“I don’t need to keep up with this. Stop with the bluffing. Some youngsters fresh out of the
Academy, who the hell do you think you are barging in here like this? Get out, now.”

“But we are not just any Academy graduates. We’re in a genin team with legendary jounin Kakashi
backing us. And he’s not going to be pleased to find out what kind of landlord his student has.”

“Let him be displeased then. He has to follow the same rules as everyone else. I’m protected, you
brats, and I’m insulted with all the insinuations you’re making. I’m a dangerous man to insult.”

“As are we. Do you honestly think you’re going to get away with this? You let one of your tenants
get robbed. That is not exactly doing things right, now is it?”

“I did what could have been expected of me. I followed all the rules and regulations.”

“Maybe to the letter, though I’m hardly conviced of even that. But there is the spirit to consider as
well. I wonder how the Sandaime will look at it, when we tell him you facilitated in making his
favourite genin cry.”

The man tensed. “You two do not know the Hokage. And Sandaime-sama definitely does not like
this brat.”
Naruto huffed. “Jiji totally likes me.”

Sasuke stared him down. “At least we know you did not enter the apartment yourself. There are at
least three pictures of the Sandaime together with Naruto. We could show you right now. You’ll
see exactly what you let happen to a twelve-year-old child.” Sasuke hoped the man did not push
him on the point. It would be hard to replicate the stolen pictures quickly enough, let alone place
them believably in the empty apartment.

The older man sighed. “Look, I really do not know much about the robber. He said Naruto was
storing a lot of cash in the apartment and he offered me a cut if I let him in. I wouldn’t give them
the key, but I showed them where I kept my copy. They stole it and left an envelope with money
behind. Then they showed up looking like Naruto the next day. Anyone watching just saw Naruto
entering the apartment with his own key. Only reason I knew it was them was because I knew
Naruto was still outside of the village.”

“Give us the money back, and we will not tell anyone.”

The man tossed Sasuke a stack of bills.

Sasuke quickly counted it. “You sold Naruto out for a tiny cut.”

“Ten percent was enough for…” He hesitated. “For somebody who is always late with the rent.”

“You got cheated. This is not ten percent. It’s hardly one percent.”

The man looked confused. “Where did the brat get that much money?”

“He did missions for the village. He helped innocent civilians, people in need of help who
deserved it, and even guys like you. He earned it all the hard way.”

“He just lays around all day sleeping and reading manga. He’s the laziest boy I’ve even seen.”

Sasuke sighed, before taking his bank statement out of his pouch. “You can argue all you like, but
the facts are as they are. You can see yourself where ninety percent of one week’s pay was
deposited. Naruto was keeping around the same amount in cash.”

The man cursed. It was finally starting to dawn on him what he had gotten himself into. Or he had
finally realised how badly he had been screwed. Either way, he should be easier to deal with.

Naruto had enough of standing by and took a step forward. “Tell us more about the burglar.”

The man started sweating. “I really can’t. He will hurt me.”

“In case you have not noticed, we are angry and capable of hurting you as well. Give us the
information.”

The man hesitated, then went to a drawer and retrieved a small note. “I never talked to them in
person. They just left that for me. That’s all I know, honestly.”

“You’d better hope that it’s enough.” Sasuke said. “Or we will be back.”

Outside the apartment, Sasuke handed the money to Naruto. “How much did you get from that
conversation?”

“My landlord is a creep, he sold me out because of the demon fox and he is afraid of the guy who
cheated him. Else he would have reacted more strongly to being cheated.”
“Good. Did you notice what I did?”

Naruto tried reliving the conversation. Sasuke had been telling him to work on his memory,
especially for moments like these, where small hints could be hidden in the smallest phrase or
gesture. “He was not intimidated even when you mentioned Kakashi, but he started talking when
you escalated to the Hokage. The ninja we are looking for must be at least jounin level.”

“Yes. That means this just got a lot more complicated than I thought it would be. It goes all the
way to the top.”

“We should contact Jiji.”

“Not yet.” Sasuke said. “Any decent jounin would not have left any evidence behind. We need to
comb over your apartment to be sure, but I do not expect to find anything. The landlord probably
told the truth when he said he had never even seen the ninja’s real face. We might not have enough
to persuade the Sandaime to take this seriously. But there is a way we can do this. We will have to
find out the identity of the robber and bring enough evidence that we can’t be ignored.”

Sasuke looked at the note the landlord had surrendered. It was handwritten, but he could tell it was
not the ninja’s natural way of writing. It was deliberately disguised. The variations were too
constant and they did not fit together perfectly. Most jounin could do it, but not all. And this one
was not good enough to do it perfectly. That was a hint at least, once they had a list of suspects.

“How would we even start with that?”

“Well, did you know chuunin are allowed access to the ninja census data?"

~*~

Sasuke bowed respectfully at Iruka. Even though they had interrupted his dinner, he did not want to
disappoint Naruto who was finally showing an interest in administration. He had provided a
permission slip for limited access to the census.

The Hokage tower would still receive them. Security did not sleep there and they were responsible
for limiting access to the archives. They did point out that they would be watching and that Naruto
and Sasuke would have to come back tomorrow if they had any questions for the ninja responsible
for maintaining the data.

Sasuke let out a frustrated grunt. Chuunin access was more limited than he had remembered. They
only saw rank, code name and amount of missions completed. Still, it was not impossible to get
what they had come for.

"Naruto, we are going to need some manpower. We are looking for jounin who have come across a
decent amount of money. They probably celebrated by participating in fewer missions. Check all
the new mission totals and compare them to last's week. Anyone who has done less than two
missions is a suspect."

A few minutes later, Naruto came to Sasuke with a stack of reports. "Sixty ninja, among which
Kakashi, fit your description. I ordered them by whether they completed no missions or one."

Sasuke went through two of them with Naruto watching. "Look for the past year what their pattern
is. This one gets an A rank mission added to his total every few weeks. We will place low
suspicion on him."

Naruto made clones to help and after half an hour, they had a catalogue of suspects. "That should
be enough for now."

"So what do we do next?"

“We visit the weapon shop tomorrow. See if we can cross reference the information. Maybe we
can make it to the records room and get a few more clues from there. For now, we should head
back to my place and rest up.”

"I promise it will only be for one night. I'll get everything sorted tomorrow with my landlord."

"Don't be stupid. You are welcome for as long as you want to stay with me. It's a big house and I
have been living in it alone for far too long."

Naruto tilted his head. "Are you serious? Cause I really don't want to impose."

"It would be more of an imposition if I had to worry about where you were staying and whether
you were safe."

"It’s a big decision, but I’ll think about it. I will need some things from my place." Naruto sunk
back into himself as he realised there was nothing to get. “Or from the shops, I guess.” Naruto
made a clone that took the long route, while they went back directly to the Uchiha house.

“You can come help me make dinner.” Sasuke said. It might get Naruto’s mind off things.

And it did, a little. Naruto’s expertise with a kitchen knife was limited to the improvised weapon
course from the Academy. Sasuke guided him through the proper way to hold it for cooking and
then through the other steps of creating a meal.

“You’re getting the hang of it.” Sasuke said, lowering the heat.

“It’s fun.” Naruto said. “And doesn’t even take that much more effort than instant ramen.”

“You could learn a lot apprenticing under a chef for a few months.”

Naruto laughed. “We’re keeping busy enough as genin.”

“You could have a clone do it.” Sasuke said. “It’s not like there’s a lot of danger of them popping
unintentionally in a kitchen.”

“I supposed.” Naruto said. “If a chef would have me.”

“That’s what the henge is for.”

Naruto stopped his chopping. He stared at his hands. “That sounds deceitful.”

“The village has no reason to hate you.” Sasuke said. “And I’m sure you’ll change their minds
eventually. But until then, this is a way to grow your skills. As a cook, as a carpenter, as a tailor.
Whatever you want.”

“I’ll think about it.”

They finished dinner and ate at the dinner table. After washing the dishes, they realised it was
already late.

“I’ll just need a minute. You can get ready for bed, if you’d like.” Sasuke went upstairs and
emptied out his parents’ bedroom of personal belongings. He changed the sheets as well.
It would do for now.

“This room is larger than my apartment.” Naruto said. He looked uncomfortable as he looked
around.

“Nobody is using it. It would be good for some life to return here. I’ll clean out the closet and
drawers tomorrow, but you’re free to decorate any surface as you see fit.”

Naruto’s clone brought the only picture frame that had survived the burglary and some toiletries
from a grocery market, hardly enough to fill the room. But Naruto seemed to settle in quickly.

“One more thing. I have something for you.” Sasuke handed Naruto a scroll. Written inside were
the fundamentals of communication with a tailed beast. Not that it explicitly mentioned that, of
course. “You should use it tonight, make it a part of your daily schedule.”

“Without you?”

“You’ll be in control the whole time and you’ll feel better afterwards. But if you want me there just
in case, that’s fine too. I don’t mind.”

Naruto nodded. He sat on his bed and started reading. The instructions were fairly simple and all
revolved around attaining a meditative mindset. Once he had that, he could become aware of the
connection he had with the fox. Once he had the awareness, it would become increasingly easy to
use it.

Sasuke made sure everything was in order and went to his own bed. There were more ANBU than
usual in the house. Apparently, Naruto’s detail had been added to Sasuke’s. That seemed a bit
excessive. He shook his head and then sent out a clone to get things ready for tomorrow. He
needed to know what kind of missions were available and try to manipulate some people.

Naruto went into Sasuke’s room to talk with the fox. Sasuke held his hand while Naruto tried to
explain the situation and recount the progress they were making towards solving the crime. Naruto
was shaking the whole time and seemed white as a sheet when they finally returned to the
bedroom.

“I did it.” Naruto said.”

“Didn’t need my help at all.”

Naruto smiled. He tried to get up, but was unsteady on his feet.

“Sleep here.”

“You went through all the trouble of making a bed for me.”

“And you can enjoy that effort tomorrow.” Sasuke pulled a spare blanket and pillow from a closet
next to the bed.

Naruto collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep just a few minutes later. It was a testament to how
draining the day had been for him. Though Naruto had done his best to stay strong, he was but a
child. And Sasuke would never forgive the people who had done this to him.

The next morning was peaceful. It seemed almost normal as they made breakfast and ate at the
kitchen table.
“Sakura will be arriving soon. What do you want to tell her?”

“I don’t want to tell her anything. But she should know.”

“I’m glad you think that way. I’d feel uncomfortable lying to Sakura, even just from omission, but
it is your call to make.” Sasuke started cleaning up the dishes. He was almost finished when
Sakura knocked on the front door. Naruto let her in.

“You’re here early.” She said. “Did you wet the bed or something?”

“I spent the night here.” He took a deep breath and then rushed out what he needed to say. “My
apartment got robbed yesterday.”

“Oh no. Are you alright?”

“They were long gone when I got there.” Naruto said. They went into the living room and sat
down. ”They took about everything I owned, including the money we had made on missions. I
guess it could have been worse.”

“What did the police say?”

“We have not contacted the police.” Sasuke said, joining them. ”The scene suggested a high-
ranking ninja was responsible, at least jounin level. We will have to talk to the Sandaime, but
without concrete proof there is little he can do.”

“That’s awful. Why would anyone do a thing like that?”

Naruto shuffled. He looked to Sasuke in a panic.

“Sakura, a lot of the Academy students, even you, treated Naruto unkindly. Do you know why that
was?”

“Cause he’s Naruto.” She said it like it was an answer and realized what she was doing only a
moment later. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to dig deeper. “He used to be very
loud and rude. No, Kiba was often worse, but nobody really cared about him.” She searched
through more of her memories. “I cannot remember where it came from. Somewhere along the
years Naruto became a person that we should avoid.”

Naruto was looking at his stomach. He knew perfectly well what had caused the isolation.

Sasuke nodded. “Teachers are meaner to Naruto than others. If Kiba failed at something, he was
called unlucky. If Naruto did, he was called an idiot. Some students were told by their parents to
stay away from Naruto because he was trouble. The message spread quickly until it became a myth
larger than reality. But it did not start with the students.”

Something seemed to click in Sakura’s mind. “The villagers. They all treat you differently. The
looks. I thought it was because of your pranks, but even people who should not know or be
affected by them, they look at you like they want you gone.”

“They do.” Naruto admitted.

“The whole town wants him gone. He became an appealing target and the ninja got in line to make
his life miserable. No matter the original reason, with so many people ignorantly going along with
it, there is bound to be more hatred than deserved. A superstition that everyone bought into and
found their own ways to excuse.”
Sakura stood still for a few seconds and then walked to Naruto with big steps and wrapped her
arms around him. “I’m sorry, Naruto.” She said, with a kinder voice than she other ever directed at
him. “I should’ve been thinking more about what I was doing. It wasn’t fair to you. I know it’s late
and it’s less than you deserve, but I owe you at least that.”

Naruto could not believe what was happening, but eventually he reached around Sakura and
hugged her back. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

Sakura smiled, before stepping back and looking to Sasuke. “So, what’s the plan for stopping the
village’s delusional behaviour?”

“In general people become less afraid of people they know. So merely by doing our missions and
proving our worth, we’ll get Naruto more and more accepted. We’ll shatter the preconceptions and
make sure nothing happens again.”

“And in the meantime, I stand up to the people who cross the line.” Naruto said.

“We stand up to them together.” Sakura said. “We won’t let them get away with that. No matter
how high up the tree we need to escalate this.”

Sasuke nodded. “I agree. For now, we train and keep a low profile. We need the ninja responsible
to think we are sticking to our regular routine. We’ll go to the weapons shop after, and then grab a
mission once the mission desk opens.”

“I thought we were excused from mission until the day after tomorrow?”

“We are. But the mission desk is still backed up. They’ll give us a mission that isn’t too taxing if
we ask for it politely. The records room must have additional requests on file that we can use to get
in there. Or another administrative branch that needs the help.”

“And you really think we can deduce a suspect from the records? It sounds like searching for a
needle in a haystack.”

Sasuke did not say that he had recently developed a technique that would make searching for a
needle in a haystack a far easier task than Sakura was imagining it as. “We’ll manage. But in the
spirit of training, how is the mist technique coming along?”

“I practiced last night, but it takes a lot out of me. You know how it is. The less you know a
technique, the more chakra it consumes.”

“I thought that might be the case.” Sasuke took out three scrolls. “These contain the fundamentals
for earth chakra, medical chakra, and genjutsu. They are all shaping or theoretical exercises, low
chakra-costs, so they will be easier to combine with chakra intensive training.”

“That is quite a lot.”

“It’s up to you where you want to start. Earth chakra is easier to use than regular chakra for
strengthening muscles. Medical jutsu makes it easier to recover from physical training. Genjutsu
helps with willpower and mental endurance. I also have three more chakra sensing pills for you.
Take no more than one per day. They last about three hours.”

Sakura took the box of pills. “What are in these anyway? I went through my notebooks yesterday
and I couldn’t find a single reference to substances that can do what these pills do.”

“Like I mentioned, it’s an Uchiha discovery from plants that create chemicals with different effects
when processed together. The recipe is very technical, but I can show you how they are made later
if you are interested.”

“I am, but I think I have enough to work on already now.” Sakura opened the scrolls and started
going through them. She probably wanted to know more before choosing, but it became clear very
quickly that she would be unable to put any of them down.

“What’s in store for me?” Naruto asked.

“I thought you might enjoy working off some steam. Let’s head outside.” They settled themselves
in the backyard. “You have been working on using wind chakra to make your kunai sharper. It is
time for the next step.”

His eyes were sparkling. “The ninjutsu Kakashi showed me?”

“Soon Naruto. But to get the hang of that technique more quickly, you need to learn to use wind
chakra to make your punches hit harder.”

Naruto nodded. Punching things did sound pretty good. “How does it work?”

“It’s similar to what you have been doing. With your weapons, you coat the knife in a layer of
structured wind. It needs to last no more than a moment. With your fists, you try to contain the
wind so that it can withstand a blow without dispersing. If it’s too soft, it will absorb all the force
and decrease your damage. If it’s too hard, you’ll break your own hand punching people. The real
trick is making it compress only on your end so that it’s hard as steel for the enemy but cushioned
for you. Try it out on the sandbag hanging over there.”

Naruto threw a few punches. It was just a bit windy right now, but it would help him in the end to
have more control of shaping his wind in stable constructions. The practice seemed to make Naruto
feel better at least. Within minutes, Naruto had a small army of clones sparring with each other.
The blows of wind kept looking better and better.

Sakura did her reading at a table outside. Sasuke put down a cup of tea for her and then joined her
with reading a scroll. It was a treatise on ninjutsu. Something he could pretend he had gotten from
the Uchiha storage.

Sakura sipped the tea. “Wasn’t Naruto supposed to limit the amount of clones?”

“Turns out Kakashi was mistaken.” Sasuke said. “But don’t tell him I said that.”

“Now, I respect your abilities a great deal, but are you sure you know more about the dangers of
the Kage Bunshin than a trained jounin?”

“I am. We both know what limits the Sandaime imposed on Kakashi. What do you imagine the
directive would be for a genin that can learn more quickly using shadow clones?”

Sakura sighed. “Of course Kakashi was forced to limit the number of clones in order to keep
Naruto from getting too strong too quickly. So we’re staying quiet to keep Kakashi out of trouble.
Got it.”

“He can’t report what he doesn’t know about.”

Naruto landed a particularly fierce blow on one of the training poles, smiling sadistically at the
result. It was clear what he was imagining punching instead.
Sakura took another long sip of the tea. “You know that catharsis theory has been disproven,
right?”

“Naruto seems to find it comforting.”

“It may look that way, but this is probably just feeding his anger. Humans do not have a finite
amount of emotions that run out. After he is done punching sandbags and wood, he will be looking
for another target to punch.”

“Naruto was mistreated. He has a right to feel anger. He is even allowed to keep that anger alive.”

“Why? We’ll hand over the case as soon as we have enough evidence, right? And then the Hokage
will take care of this.”

“He will want to. But he is a busy man and putting ninja on this investigation will mean taking
them off their other duties. If Naruto is still angry, that may motivate the Sandaime into putting
more emphasis on it. More than if Naruto has already calmed down when they speak. And if the
Sandaime denies us, Naruto’s anger is useful in the investigation we will have to continue on our
own.”

“And if you find someone that the authorities did not, you will take justice in your own hands?”

“If the situation calls for it. Do you think that’s wrong?”

“I think it’s dangerous. We were attacked by a ninja as powerful as Kakashi in the Land of Waves
and I saw you fight with just as much ease as when we faced the chuunin. Naruto and I were so
scared, while you acted completely unfazed.”

“Is that what it seemed like? Don’t tell Naruto, but I was terrified.” Sasuke said. It was true in a
way. He had been terrified Naruto or Sakura would get hurt. He had completely broken down when
Sakura had been hurt and Sakura had not seen half of it.

“Sasuke, you act unusually confident when you face these enemies. I’m afraid you’ll take someone
on who is too strong for you.”

“I promise I won’t fight anyone stronger than me callously. Confidence is a helpful mask. When
you are strong, you want to be underestimated. While you are weak, you want to be overestimated.
If they think I am strong, they act carefully. When they act carefully, that gives us the chance to
stall until help arrives.”

“And what if no help is coming?”

“If I get forced into such a situation, then it hardly matters how I act. The result would be the same
whether I pretend to be strong or weak, no matter how fatal that may be.”

She punched his arm playfully. “Don’t say things like that.”

“Being a ninja is dangerous, Sakura. We both know it can end at a moment’s notice. And that all
we can do is spend the time we have fighting for what we believe in.”

“I’m all for protecting out believes. But our lives are dangerous enough without actively looking
for trouble.”

“They started it by stealing from our team. They hurt Naruto. I will not let anyone get away when
they hurt my teammates.”
Sakura sighed. “Just… be careful.” She brought her attention back to her scrolls, but seemed unable
to concentrate. “You know, my parents care for me, but I don’t really think they get it. They are
still trying to raise me like I have not seen death. If anything were to happen to you two, I think I’d
be all alone.”

Naruto came over, panting and stretching. His clones kept up the practice while he took a small
break with them. Apparently, he had overheard. “Are they really so bad, Sakura?”

“My dad’s sweet, but he still treats me like a little girl. Doesn’t listen to anything I say. My mom’s
even worse. She likes reminding me that she let me become a ninja in order to get a better
husband.”

Naruto blanched. “Of all the awesome reasons to become a ninja…”

“Konoha is run by ninja families.” Sasuke reminded him. “It’s unusual for prominent ninja, the
ninja in power, to marry a regular civilian.”

“That sounds horrible. That’s not why you became a ninja, right Sakura?”

Sakura sneaked a glance at Sasuke, blushing a little. “It might have been one of the reasons.”

Sasuke smirked. “And it works too. When my parents were discussing potential matches, one of
their first question was whether we would be getting another ninja in the Uchiha family.”

“But you shouldn’t become a ninja to date!” Naruto seemed sick at the very notion. “Sasuke, please
tell me that’s not why your parents wanted you to become a ninja.”

“No. I’m pretty sure they wanted me to do the clan proud. My brother was the obvious choice to
become the next clan leader. He would be the one they sent to the Academy so they could match
him up with a better wife. They would have wanted me in a position where I could support him.”

“That’s all so strange. Normally parents wouldn’t do that, right? They’re supposed to support you
no matter what.”

“Ideally.” Sakura admitted. “But normally people are too young to make up their own mind when
they’re at the age to decide whether to go to the ninja Academy. So it’s only natural it’s the parents’
decision.”

“I decided for myself.” Naruto looked away. “Sometimes I wonder if my parents would have liked
me to become a ninja.”

“I’m sure they’re proud of you.” Sasuke said.

"Me too.” Sakura said. “And unless they were drastically different from the average Konoha adult,
they would have sent you to the Academy at the first sign of chakra manipulation. Were they
drastically different?”

Naruto shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“I’m sorry. What do you remember about them?”

"Nothing. They died on the day I was born, the day the Kyuubi attacked the village. And I haven’t
been told much either. Just that they were both ninja."

"Isn't there a list of ninja who fought in that battle?"

Naruto shook his head. "It is incomplete. There were too many casualties for any official list. When
I checked, there were no Uzumaki present at the fight."

Sakura grinned. "I bet you were not a ninja when you last checked. We’re going to be digging
through files anyway today. Why not keep a look-out for any Uzumaki while we’re at it."

Naruto shook his head. "No, it’s fine. Forget I mentioned it."

"Why? We have a real chance of finding their names."

Naruto stayed silent. He seemed to have trouble articulating his objection.

"It is difficult for us without parents." Sasuke said. "We have spent a lot of time thinking what life
would be like if they had been alive, while still trying to show our appreciation of those who took
our parents' place. But sometimes we wonder if this is not the better reality. Maybe they were
horrible people and we’re better off without them."

Sakura stared at them, not comprehending yet.

"There is one category of people who most definitely did not make the list.” Naruto admitted.
”When the Kyuubi attacked, some were too afraid to fight. They left their post and ran as far away
as possible. Other ninja did not blame them. They looked into the deaths of everyone who had been
killed. So if someone died while deserting, the friends and family of the traitors pretended not to
find them. They would be marked as missing instead of dead. No unhonourable marks had to be
made against them. I heard about the rules from another kid and made Iruka tell me the procedures.
If my parents are not on the list of casualties, it is probably because they ran away."

"There are other options." Sakura noted, but Naruto shrugged.

Sakura agreed to drop the subject and they were back to training soon after. But when Sasuke went
inside to get them something to drink, Sakura caught up with him.

She looked back to the garden to make sure they were alone. "Naruto is the fourth hokage's son."
She said simply, without any doubt in her voice.

That was impressive. Sasuke had to take a moment to catch his breath. His brilliant teammate had
once again outdone herself. He did not have to hide the shock in his voice. "How did you come to
that conclusion?"

"It becomes obvious once you start looking at the signs. I can’t believe I never noticed, never
connected the dots. The Uzumaki clan was the largest clan of the hidden village Uzushio. They
used to be part of this big alliance with Konoha, until they were wiped out. It wasn’t in any of the
recommended reading, but you know I never stuck to that.”

“Of course you didn’t. How does this connect to Naruto and the Fourth?”

“There were several female Uzumaki who grew up in Konoha. They are some of the women I
researched for a paper on Kunoichi. One of them was in the same class as the Yondaime."

"That is quite a coincidence. Are we sure Naruto’s parents were named Uzumaki? Did you
consider the possibility it might be an honorary surname?”

“That… could be, yeah. There were a lot of orphans and a lot of them were named for famous
clans of allied villages. It’s probably why I dismissed it for so long. But then Naruto turned out to
have monstrously large chakra reserves, the exact thing the Uzumaki were most famous for.”
“It could still be a coincidence.”

“I know, but the more I’m thinking about it, the more I’m noticing the possible connection. I
noticed that Naruto is the name of the main character of the Yondaime's favorite book, the same
Yondaime who had a wind affinity and blond hair. And I know there were rumours that he was
dating a former classmate."

Sasuke stayed quiet for a minute, looking pensively at the wall. “Those sound like a lot of
coincidences.”

“A lot of them.” Sakura said. “Wind affinity is rare. There are a few famous ninja from the
Sarutobi clan who use wind jutsu, but at most wind users make up about five percent of the ninja
population. Blond hair is not common outside of the Yamanaka clan. At most one percent of
Konoha citizens have blond hair. Naruto is a rare name. If someone did name their child Naruto it
was probably to honour the protagonist of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. That book has only been read
by three percent of Konoha.

"So you are saying the individual characteristics don’t explain anything, but that the chance of
another blond wind user named after the Yondaime’s favorite book is quite low? In fact, about 3 in
100,000 people. With Konoha’s population, that’s only about two people who would fit all three
criteria."

"Yes."

Sasuke made it look like something had clicked for him. "There is something you do not know, a
secret that I cannot tell you, that makes all this more likely than we already thought."

She gasped in excitement. "Tell me."

"I can't. But I thought it fair you should know at least of the presence of the secret. I was not
supposed to say even that much. Now, I assume you came to me first to confirm you were not
crazy about this?"

She nodded. "I can't imagine what it would do to Naruto if I told him the Fourth was his dad and
then had to disappoint him."

"We cannot do that." Sasuke walked over to his bookcase. He grabbed a scroll and checked the
data. "Did you know that the Yondaime has had only one team under him? Two of his students
have passed away, but the third is a jounin who is still in active service."

"You suggest we search him out and start asking questions?"

"You got that half right." Sasuke said, grinning as he showed Sakura the name. “No search
required. Our sensei was the Yondaime’s student.”

“We should talk to him.”

Sasuke nodded. “We’re back on active duty tomorrow. We’ll ask him then. Let’s get back to
training.”

Sakura looked at Naruto, still training outside. “If it’s true… then I don’t understand. How could
the Hokage ever condone Naruto be treated this way?”

“He is a busy man.” Sasuke said.

Sakura grimaced, not accepting the answer as any kind of excuse. In that the two of them were in
total agreement.

They went outside and pretended they had not just worked out one of the village’s most closely
held secrets. Sakura was making great strides grasping the chakra theory, while Naruto kept getting
more destructive with his punches. Sasuke made sure to answer questions and offer suggestions
when needed. After they had lunch together, they made their way to the weapons shop.

“Hey Naruto, you know how we’ve been talking about gaining skills for disguises?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“The smith said he needed an apprentice. It might be good to learn how our weapons get made.
Smiths are always popular and being able to impersonate one would make it easier to sneak into
another village.”

“I don’t think the man likes me that much, though. He didn’t seem comfortable last time we were
shopping there.”

“Yeah. It might be best to use the Henge to look like someone else.”

“That sounds dishonest.” Naruto said.

“It’s just making sure he doesn’t use any of his misconceptions to judge you before he gets to know
you. And you can reveal who you really are once you’ve inevitably befriended him.”

Something in Naruto perked up. “That sounds like such a good prank.”

“Well, you can think about it. You don’t have to decide today.”

Naruto did not need the time to think. The boy made a clone and disguised it. Nothing too
elaborate, just a different hair colour and some slight adjustments to the shape of his face. Enough
so that the smith would be fooled.

“Ah, Uchiha-san.” The man greeted him. “I am afraid your sword is not done yet. I am still
gathering the necessary supplies.”

“There is no rush. True beauty lies in taking your time. I just wanted to pick up our conversation
from last week. Did you finish the list?”

“Oh yeah, I have it right here.” He went through his paperwork and got out a handwritten note. “It
would be very appreciated if you could do something about these merchants. The more I’ve been
thinking about it, the more likely it seems they’re somehow cheating the system.”

“I’ll do my best. In the meantime, I did find a temporary solution to your other problem. This is
Max.” Sasuke motioned to Naruto’s clone. “He’s a ninja who’d be very interested to assist you
around the workshop for a few months as long as he can learn to smith from you in return.”

“Is that right? It’s not usual to take on an apprentice for such a small amount of time.”

“He’s a quick study and hard working. I was hoping he could take off the worst of the pressure for
you. That would hopefully free you up to look for a permanent apprentice, though I’ll be keeping
my eyes open as well.”

“That seems acceptable. Max, it’s nice to meet you. If you would, there is a box of kunai that need
to be put on the stand over there.”

Naruto’s clone nodded. “I’ll get right to that.”

The man smiled. “What a nice boy. Is there anything else I could help you with?”

“I hope this is not too forward, but we were hoping to get a look at your accounting. It would help
me in the council if I had a better idea how a local shop functions in practice.”

“Of course. The damn things are anonymised anyway, so it’s not a big secret. I don’t understand
why you’d want to spend your time going through my books, but it’s the least I can do. Will you
need long?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll let you know when I have a good enough picture.”

The smith showed them to his office. The daily ledgers were gathered in the room at the end of his
shifts. He started explaining the basics, when he had to step out to help a customer.

“Excuse me.”

“It’s fine. We’ll try to figure it out.” Sasuke waited until the man was out of the room before
turning to his teammates. “Sakura, stay on the look-out. Naruto, time to make some clones.”

Sakura moved to the door and opened it slightly to peek through the gap.

Naruto went through everything at an insane speed. As much as he had been complaining about
reduced sales, the numbers were still nothing to scoff at. For each purchase he noted nothing of a
ninja’s name or gender or rank. The data was anonymised, after all. All that was listed was the
ninja’s ID. Lucky for Team 7, they only had ninja IDs to work with. Naruto checked the numbers
that had stood out the day before.

The work was fragmented, stopping every time the smith came back. But it was worth it in the end.
“I found something strange.” One of Naruto’s clones said, showing them that week’s books. “This
ninja ID has always been consistent. He orders the same thing every week, going back years. But
last week he suddenly bought two really expensive katana with chakra conducting steel.”

“And he was on our suspect list?”

“Yeah. Took no missions last week, while he usually does at least two B-ranks every week.”

Sakura was still keeping watch. “Do we know who he is?”

“No.” Naruto said. “Should we ask the smith?”

Sasuke thought about it and then shook his head. “We can’t trust him. If he is in any way working
with those ninja that broke into Naruto’s apartment, he would let them know we were onto them
immediately. He would also give us false information. Naruto, when we did the mission for the
mission archives, we had missions that contained both ninja IDs and names. Do you remember any
of them?”

“No. Was I supposed to memorise them?”

“It was one of our first missions.” Sasuke said. “The goal was to complete them quickly and we
more than managed that. Though we should probably work on our memory retention soon.
Because it would have come in handy here.”
“So what’s next?” Sakura asked.

“The mission desk. And we hope for an administration mission that lets us connect the final dots.”

They thanked the smith for his time and then went onto the Hokage tower. Iruka was waiting there,
ready to get to business. “You’re not on the books today, are you?”

“We were getting restless just sitting around doing nothing. There’s still a backlog, right?”

“There is. Hang on a second.” Iruka went through the scrolls on his desk. “We have quite a few
and the priority missions have already been assigned. Any preferences?”

Sasuke nodded, glad that he was asked. Otherwise he would have had to try to manipulate the man.
Asking directly would be suspicious, but his clone had luckily found out exactly what was
available and pushed the best mission higher on the priority list. “Do you have anything
administrative? We shouldn’t exert ourselves too much physically, but some mental work should
work.”

“Actually, there is something like that.” Iruka took out a particular scroll. “It’s from the same
department you helped last time. I’m sure they’d be glad to see you.”

“That would be very nice, thank you.” Sasuke accepted the scroll and went on his way.

Sakura looked a bit uncomfortable. “That was a big coincidence.”

Naruto shrugged. “Universe owes me a little luck.”

“But don’t you think it’s strange? We might be getting set up.”

“You saw how much help that department needed. It made sense that there would be more than
one mission on file for them.”

“So you’re saying everything’s fine.”

“I’m responding to your intuition. You should always acknowledge when you feel something.
Sometimes our subconscious notices things we don’t. But feelings are notoriously less reliable than
arguments. Check these intuitions against logic.”

“I still have a bad feeling.”

“And that’s fine. Keep a look-out and maybe you’ll notice something you otherwise would’ve
missed.”

They arrived at the Statistics Department to the delight of the man in charge. He had another task
like the previous one, though this time there was only one box to go through. Naruto’s clones
quickly got to work with it, while team 7 looked at the other resources available.

“I didn’t realise last time, but isn’t it dangerous to let us into a room with so much classified
information?”

“It’s called security through obscurity. There are terrible secrets somewhere in these cabinets, but it
would take us years to find them without knowing where to look. The only entrance here is through
the Statistics Department and that is heavily guarded. They notice if you come here too often and
without an excuse.”

“That sounds fishy.”

“It’s more secure than it sounds. There is a big safe under the Hokage’s office which has been
broken into about twenty times since Konoha was founded. It’s a single point of failure. But no
enemy has ever thought about breaking into this place.”

“Hey, I found him.” Naruto said, holding up a sheet. Even his clones looked up from their work.
“He's named Stripes here. A chuunin who has been considered for special jounin several times
now.”

“What else can you find out?”

“Just details about the mission was on. Nothing that would help. But I do have his address.”

“We’ll stake it out tonight.”

“What?” Sakura said. “Shouldn’t this be enough to take to the Hokage?”

“It’s all circumstantial so far. If Stripes knows we’re onto him, he could get rid of the evidence.”

“I’m worried you’re getting in too deep. Especially since I can’t come along to keep an eye on you.
I promised my mom I’d be home and I’ll be worried all night now.”

“We’ll be careful. You don’t have to worry about us.”

“If you do anything stupid… well, I know where you live. You’ll regret it.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Sasuke smiled. “I’ll be on my best behaviour.”

It took them a few more hours to get the actual mission done. They would have finished sooner,
but Sasuke figured they might as well make themselves useful while they were there. They
processed a more boxes from the pile and used to time to be on the lookout for anything having to
do with Stripes. They found a few reports, but no new information. He favoured lightning
techniques. Half the missions he took on ended up a failure because he stepped out of line. Stripes
was either a good suspect for their investigation, or an easy scape goat for the real perpetrators.

The man in charge was again delighted that they had done full reports instead of minimum ones.
He was blown away when they showed him all the additional work they had done. He promised to
put in a good word for Team 7, not the least bit suspicious why they had gone the extra mile. He
benefited too much to look too closely at their motives.

Sakura went home and Naruto went with Sasuke to the hostile ninja’s home address they had
found. It was a normal looking flat with the first floor housing a shop. There was a food stand just a
little further along the road where they had dinner while checking out the street.

There was almost no foot traffic in the street. When it became dark, the lights in Stripes’ apartment
turned on. Then a little later, they turned off again. They could see somebody with a Konoha
headband leave from the alley next to the flat.

“Come on.” Sasuke said, taking Naruto with him. If they had had the time, they would have spent
more nights on lookout, trying to figure out the guy’s pattern. But the longer they waited, the less
of a chance there was of Naruto finding his things again. The alley was out of sight, which gave
them the perfect cover to pick the lock on the building’s back exit.

Naruto picked the lock while Sasuke kept watch.

“I can’t believe I just did that.” Naruto said as the lock opened.
“Why not? You practiced enough. I’m just glad there aren’t any seals. Keep an eye out for traps.”
Sasuke opened the door carefully. There was nothing here yet, just a staircase that led up to several
apartments. Not enough that they had to worry about the residents, but enough that they could not
waste any time.

They made their way to Stripes’ door. There was a weak seal on there that Sasuke could break
easily while Naruto picked the lock. This time when Sasuke opened the door a few inches, there
was a wire connecting to a small mechanical trap. It might have given civilians trouble, but Sasuke
had no issue disarming it. They closed the door behind them and spread out.

The ninja maintained his place meticulously. There was not a speck of dust anywhere. The living
room was decorated with just two picture frames. No magazines or letters though. Those were all
kept in a small office room next to the bedroom. He also kept most of his ninja gear in there.
Several scrolls and books were stored in a closet against the wall. But it was a bag in the middle of
the room that drew their attention.

It contained random things. Items thrown in with no respect of their fragility. Some of it had
broken. All of it belonged to Naruto. He looked through his things with bewildered eyes.

“They just took it. Not because they wanted it. He just didn’t want me to have it.”

“Where did he collect these things from?”

“I think this is all from the living room.”

“Nowhere else?”

Naruto looked again. “No. Does that mean anything?”

“He obviously didn’t act alone. And the group is organised enough that Stripes was assigned a
specific area to clean out. They wanted it done quickly and efficiently, sending each person to a
different room so they could be in and out as soon as possible.”

“Think this is enough to convince Jiji?”

“It’s a smoking gun. But it would be best if we can link it to Stripes specifically.” Sasuke said. He
went through the desk next and found several notes. They were coded with a non-standard key and
took a few minutes to decipher. “They planned it quickly, while we were still away. He wrote
down some key instructions for himself. The notes are in his handwriting. It matches all the other
documents here.”

“I thought you said they could mask their handwriting.”

“One of them could. But this handwriting is natural.”

“How can you tell?”

“There are too many natural deviations. But the Hokage tower will be able to do more scientific
analysis. They’ll confirm it’s Stripes’ handwriting.”

“So that’s enough for Jiji.”

“It should be.” Sasuke took a bag out of his storage scroll. “Now we are going to burgle as many
expensive things we can find.”
Naruto opened his mouth, but ended up just blinking.

“It’s sensible.”

“Why?!”

“Stripes will be arrested. We’ll make sure of that. And after that we want the investigation to go as
quickly as possible. If Stripes thinks his companions betrayed him and took his things, he will talk
more quickly. If the Sandaime thinks that these ninja will not only steal from a genin one time, but
also against a chuunin, he has more ammunition to ramp up the investigation. And ultimately, if
we somehow fail to find the other people responsible and retrieve the rest of your possessions, we
can use the items as compensation for their crime.”

“What if Stripes figures out we did?”

“Then he has even more incentive to talk. In fact, we should take anything that looks sentimental
for precisely that reason.”

The sadistic pleasure Sasuke took as he pocketed a bundle of letters from a boyfriend was just an
added benefit of the strategy.

“What if they go after us?”

“They can’t.” Sasuke said. “No matter how much the Sandaime denies it, we have ANBU guards
protecting us. Anything they try will have to be indirect and give us more evidence to figure out
their identities.”

Naruto nodded, starting to look for as many valuable things as he could. They were gone a few
minutes later, leaving both doors locked behind them without a trace. Sasuke had to resist the urge
to apply a different seal on the door. Just something quick that would explode a sticky fluid in the
ninja’s face if he tried to enter the apartment. Nothing fatal, but he would have to go to Konoha
hospital to have it removed. It was tempting, but having him arrested would have to be justice
enough.

They made their move quickly. The Hokage office never slept and there was an ANBU captain
ready to hear their story. He was shocked to learn that Naruto’s apartment had been ransacked
despite ANBU supervision, though he could not admit as much. He grudgingly accepted the
evidence they had acquired, trying not to ask too many questions of where they had gotten it.

“The Hokage will want to hear of this as well. Please come back tomorrow morning to speak with
him. In the meantime, I will ask my people to apprehend Stripes. Such a shame. He was a
promising candidate for the ANBU team.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Sasuke said. “We will return tomorrow.”

And just like that, it was done. They made their way home happily. They had managed to make
great strides with just a single day of investigation and it was only a matter of time before they
caught rest of the criminals.

When they came home, they headed to bed pretty much as quickly as they arrived. Naruto had
some of his things to arrange in his new bedroom and a bag of loot to rifle through. Maybe he
would keep some of it as trophies. That would be satisfying.

Sasuke had already closed his eyes. He was going over five different tactics for the next day’s
investigation, when his door slowly opened.
 His mind scrambled to catch up. Because Naruto’s chakra signature was too far away from the
door to have opened it.

It was embarrassing how little he had been paying attention. He had sensed nothing but ANBU
moving through his house, exchanging information to prepare for the shift change. He had failed to
notice when the ANBU had moved from their hidden passages in the ceiling to the actual room and
hallway of the house.

Not until an ANBU guard opened the door to his bedroom. And the guard was not alone.

There were five of them, all wearing ANBU masks. They had covered themselves up even more
than usual. Other than height, only the masks gave any indication of who they were. The one in the
middle had a tiger mask. To his right was a fox and a bull. But Sasuke’s eyes were mainly drawn to
the two on the left, the snake and the frog, who were holding Naruto. There was a bruise on his
teammate’s cheek and fear in his eyes.

The tiger spoke. “The demon does not deserve a roof over its head. Let alone the Uchiha master
bedroom.”

Chapter End Notes

I did warn you there was going to be a cliffhanger.

Next update: Retorsion, on Thursday evening of December 23rd. For the intro, we'll
get to see Team 7 in a war room. We'll also, obviously, resolve the current scene and
then find out what happens when Sasuke feels like his own private home isn't secure
anymore.
 Retorsion
Chapter Summary

Though Naruto and Sasuke were able to apprehend one of the ninja that had burgled
Naruto’s house, it came at a cost. They are violently awoken with five intruders in the
Uchiha house, threatening to hurt Naruto.

Big mistake.

Chapter Notes

We've passed 10k hits and I'm so grateful for everyone reading and enjoying this story
with me. Your comments and encouragement have been amazing and I'm finding
myself looking forward to working on this story with more enthousiasm than I've had
in months. Thank you so much for your support!

Trigger warning in this chapter for torture.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“No, that won’t work.” Naruto mumbled, rearranging the figures on his map again. The war room
was darkly lit, because no one could know they were in there. Their only light were the candles
they were holding.

Sasuke sighed, observing all the figurines in front of him. It pained him to notice some errors in the
work. Each one had been made with a meticulous eye for detail and had then been painted as life-
like as possible. Sakura offhandedly mentioned once how much he liked how Sasuke had made
them and it had become a slight obsession to outdo himself with every new creation.

“How about we get some coffee and then try again?” Sakura asked, rubbing the sleep out of her
eyes.

“I concur.” Shikamaru said, unsurprisingly. He always agreed when someone asked for a break.

“No. We can rest when we have our plan. There is too much to be done after.”

“That’s because you’ve set impossible standards.” Sasuke said. “We can work on this plan for
three years and there will still be weaknesses.”

“I refuse to believe that. The four of us are smart enough to find a solution that does not sacrifice
anyone.”

“Can you stop calling it ‘sacrifice’?” Sakura picked up one of the figurines. “They’re going to be
thrilled we’re throwing them a graduation party at all. It’s not a sacrifice if a few of them figure it
out beforehand.”

“But it’s supposed to be a surprise!” Naruto pouted. “And they’ve worked so hard to make the
new ANBU training program succeed. I was sure some of them would end up quitting when we
started, but they all made it through. And you know why? Because I do. They told me it was
because they didn’t want to disappoint me. So I’m throwing them the perfect surprise party. And
it’s not a surprise if they figure it out.”

Sasuke rearranged the complicated net of connections again. Who knew who, which ninja could be
counted on organising the party without letting anything slip, how they could get all the supplies
into the village without alerting either the administration or the counterintelligence officials.

“There’s always Danzo’s secrecy seals.” Sasuke said.

“Oh har, har. Those things were cruel and I’m not subjecting anyone to them. They’re unusable
anyway with those disciplinary contingencies. Which can’t be removed without destroying the
basic structure of the seal. I think. Wait, unless…” Naruto blinked a few times. “I need some
paper.”

Naruto found what he was looking for on his desk, frantically drawing sketches.

“I’ve bought you five minutes.” Sasuke whispered to Sakura and Shikamaru. “Bring back a pot of
coffee and some creative ideas. Naruto’s not going to let this go.”

“Sometimes I hate him.” Sakura groaned. “Except I don’t. Because we can’t even be mad when
he’s being like this to be nice to other people.”

“Those ANBU better appreciate all the effort we’re going through.” Shikamaru said, dragging
Sakura away before their window of opportunity closed.

The pot of coffee helped. It was empty by the time they finished a functional plan and had written
down a long list of tasks each to complete before sunset of the next day. Naruto slumped down in a
chair with a big sigh. “We did it.”

“You just had to break your promise you wouldn’t be a tyrant Hokage.” Sasuke said.

“It’s for a good cause.” Naruto said. “When I was young, it was the ANBU who always kept me
safe from the angry villagers. They’re the protectors without a face, all for the good of the village.
For just one day I want to remind them that I see them. And I’m grateful to them.”

“They haven’t even started their ANBU work yet.”

“Come on, Sasuke. We’ve both seen their training matches and studied the results of their final
exams. They’re amazing. I just love the ANBU so much.”

~*~

“The demon does not deserve a roof over its head. Let alone the Uchiha master bedroom.”

Sasuke looked over all of them. The tiger’s chakra was strongest. He was the leader. An
experienced jounin by the feel of it. The snake and frog holding Naruto were barely strong enough
to qualify as jounin, probably newly appointed. They had to be new to ANBU. The crow and bull
were at the level of chuunin. There was no way they were ANBU operatives. They might have
been dressed up to look the part, but they would not have the skill to back up their appearance.
“You are responsible for the burglary.”

Crow stepped to the bed and slapped Sasuke across the face. Bull followed him and looked far too
pleased with himself.
Tiger shook his head. “Do not speak. You have already been speaking too much, to too many
people. I’m impressed you found our scape goat. We had Stripes involved so the ANBU
commander would find him first. Weeks from now. We hadn’t expected you to beat him to the
punch within two days.”

Sasuke spit blood to the side. He had to bite his cheek to get enough. Konohamaru had been able to
hit harder than that. Naruto let out a muffled wail. Those bastards just had to do this in front of
Naruto. There were over two hundred methods to kill them, all more gruesome than the next, but
being limited to genin power levels eliminated most of them.

Sasuke remained quiet, but he glared at the tiger-faced ANBU. In his mind Sasuke was running
through different scenarios to hurt the ninja. Poison would cause a suitably painful death, but sadly
not available. Incineration was a good alternative, if he could only separate them from the equally
flammable Naruto.

“We work hard for the village. We have been working for years. The amount of money you made
in a single week with D-rank missions, it’s what we earn in a month with missions more difficult
and dangerous. Did you think we wouldn’t understand that you’re the one responsible for that? Did
you think we would be fooled by the rumours that Kakashi’s responsible? No. The only thing
Kakashi contributed is the shameless reading of porn in public. The one actually responsible in
elevating this team is you. You are the most promising genin. Stronger and smarter than your
peers. You’re going through all this effort while the girl and the demon take advantage of your
hard work.”

He threw a pouch on Sasuke’s bed and a lot of money spilled out of it. It looked to contain about
half of the amount that had been stolen from Naruto.

“How about we give you the money the demon would be getting? It’s only fair, right, that the one
who puts in the work gets to enjoy the spoils?”

Naruto was struggling, so Snake and Frog him dug their nails deeper into Naruto’s arms. Frog
punched Naruto in his stomach. Sasuke tensed further. He was getting awfully close to letting his
anger take over, screw the consequences.

“It’s wrong that the money we bring to the Hokage gets handed to the demon as charity. It was
only natural of us to correct the injustice. Pursuing this matter further would be bad for you. Now,
you are going to listen to me. The money would be better suited in your hands. Nod if you agree.”

Sasuke nodded. He could see Naruto slumping in his assailants’ grip. “Then we have an
understanding. You will treat him as he should be treated.”

Sasuke nodded again.

“The demon will have no place in your home.”

Sasuke nodded.

“And tomorrow when your teacher will ask why the demon is bruised all over, you’ll claim to have
no idea.”

Naruto whimpered, tears in his eyes. But there was a resignation there, like he was at least a little
bit familiar with having his hopes dashed just as they had been raised. Like he had experienced this
feeling many times before. Like it was not the first time he was held down by stronger ninja who
wanted to beat him up. Sasuke glared at the ninja in front of Naruto. Tiger made a motion to make
Crow strike Sasuke again.

“Shut the fuck up.” Sasuke said, catching the palm before it hit him. He twisted the wrist until it
would go no further and then heard Crow’s bones breaking when Sasuke kept twisting anyway.
Bull stepped forward. Big mistake. Sasuke pulled Crow’s arm down and used the momentum to
lift himself up and punch Bull in the throat. Both ANBU pretenders were down for the count.
Sasuke jumped out of his bed. One foot was lightly on Bull’s windpipe while the other was on
Crow’s shoulder. Neither could move without severely hurting themselves.

Sasuke remained still, looking at the other ninja. They were surprised, but there was a reason they
had sent the weakest to him first. They wanted to see what he could do. Right now, they still
thought they stood a chance against him.

“So far I’d been in agreement with you.” Sasuke said. “You said the one who puts in the work
should get the spoils. And why do you think we agreed to let Naruto get the lion’s share in the first
place? You want me to treat Naruto like he should be treated, and I’ll continue giving him all the
respect our future Hokage is due. You said there should be no demons in this house and I agree.
The five of you will leave now before I am forced to make you leave.”

The weaker two reinforced their hold on Naruto with a kunai. They were going to take no chances.

“I’m sad to hear you will not see reason.” Tiger said. “I wanted to end this peacefully. But we’ll
hurt you if we need to.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Tiger’s stance tightened. “Why do you care so much about this boy? Do you honestly believe he
will become Hokage one day?”

“Without a doubt in my mind.”

Tiger waited for a few seconds, considering his options. “Let’s put it to the test then.” He signalled
Snake to remove Naruto’s gag. “Oh tell me, future Hokage of Konohagakure, what are your taxing
policies going to be?”

“Wh-what?”

“How do you feel about our tax codes? Are the current tax brackets sufficiently balanced? How do
you feel about taxation on income versus taxation on consumption?”

Naruto swallowed.

“No insights? Then how about immigration policies? Your stance on offensive versus defensive
strategies in war prevention?”

Naruto still looked puzzled.

“I thought you became a ninja to become Hokage. Surely you must have some idea of what you
want to do when you get there?”

“I… I don’t…”

“Why’d you even become a ninja? If it was just for attention, you should stop playing around.
Nobody will ever pay attention to a demon brat like you.”
“I swear if you call Naruto a demon one more time…” Sasuke said.

“What do you see in this boy, Sasuke?” Tiger asked. “Why can’t you see how useless he is?”

“Because I have eyes.”

“I had heard of your actions in the Konoha Council and hoped to negotiate with you. It appears
you’re not as smart as I’d hoped.”

Sasuke shifted his position to strike. The ninja under his feet groaned and Tiger pointed his kunai
straight at the Uchiha.

“Sasuke, stop it. I’m not worth it.” Naruto sobbed.

“Idiot. You’re always worth it.”

“No, they’re too strong for you. We need to listen to them.”

“Naruto, do you trust me as much as I trust you? We can do this as long as we work together.” As
soon as Naruto closed his eyes, Sasuke looked back at the jounin. “You didn’t want to get your
hands dirty, did you? You were hoping your underlings would do the work and you’d only need to
say a few ugly words to the Uchiha heir.”

“You cannot distract me, Sasuke. You are not in control here. We are far more willing to kill
Naruto than you are to risk his life. You have no weapons, no time and now nothing to offer us. We
are faster than you, stronger than you and we wield more power than you. You have nothing.”

“No. You’re wrong,” Sasuke smiled. “I have Naruto.”

The ANBU let Naruto go, scampering away from him. Naruto was surrounded with a red glow and
his eyes were deep red. His voice sounded primal, more beast than man. “You bastards wanted the
demon?”

Naruto jumped Snake, while massive tails of chakra pinned Frog to the wall. They both screamed
in terror.

With Naruto freed, Sasuke turned his attention to Tiger. Sasuke made the signs and then lit up
Tiger’s side of the room with a fireball. The jounin jumped aside, breaking through the window
and jumping away. The moment the situation had turned against him, he had made his escape. He
realised that even if the battle could be won, the fire would attract too much attention.

One of Sasuke’s clones would follow him. With the current danger neutralised, the next priority
was minimising the damage. He focussed on extinguishing the flames before it could spread to
other rooms. His chakra blanketed the room and snuffed out the burning surfaces quickly. Most of
his stuff had been damaged and all four ANBU had burn marks on them as well. Sasuke supposed
he should show the home intruders some mercy.

“Naruto, it’s over.”

“They need to pay.” Naruto growled. Snake was bleeding all over his body, marks cut into his skin
with Naruto’s new claws. The man was sobbing, terrified of what might happen. Frog had already
been strangled to death by the fox’s tail that had wrapped around his neck.

“They will pay. But we need information from them. One of them got away.”
“I can pursue.”

“No. Not looking like that. Kurama, you need to calm down. You know what will happen if you go
out looking like this and the villagers see you.”

Naruto looked back with hesitation, even as the violence was stalling. “What if the strong one
comes back?”

“Then we will ask your help again.”

Naruto growled, but the chakra started receding. Slowly he turned back into himself.

Sasuke wasted no time. He retrieved chains and rope from the next room and tied the ANBU
together in his bedroom. He checked on the dead ninja to see if anything could be done, but Frog’s
neck had broken. His life could only be saved by the intervention of a medical ninja. What a shame
for this excuse of a ninja that Sasuke was only a genin, whose attention was better spent on
important people. “Naruto, are you alright?”

“I think I am. Kurama healed all the wounds.”

“Can you make a clone to get Kakashi?”

Naruto’s double was out of the door within seconds. “Now what do we do?”

Sasuke turned to the tied-up intruders. Snake seemed unable to focus enough to hold a
conversation. Bull’s throat was too damaged to talk. That only left Crow. He had escaped the
evening with only some broken bones. “Who was the ninja in the tiger mask?”

“I don’t know.” Snake said. “I swear.”

“Then why did you go along with this?”

“He talked me into it. He promised me money and a chance to hurt the Kyuubi. The demon killed
my parents! And it almost escaped again tonight. How could you let that happen?!”

Sasuke sighed. “I think it’s your provocation that necessitated Naruto call on the Kyuubi’s help.”

Crow winced.

“We’re not going to get anything out of them.” Sasuke said. “Let’s hope T&I has more luck.”

“Should we even stay here?” Naruto asked. “What if they come back?”

“It’s possible. Which is why we’re going to keep ourselves safe, no matter what the village might
think of it. Follow me.”

Sasuke took them to the basement and lighted a few candles around the room. The entire floor was
covered with a forbidden seal. It had taken Sasuke’s clones days to copy the design. “I’ve been
studying up on this house’s defences. My parents meant for this to be a fail-safe measure if the
village was ever invaded.”

His parents had enough resources to pull it off, but in truth it was Naruto’s design. Brilliant as most
of his work and designed as the ultimate defence. Sasuke’s clone had placed it inside of the Uchiha
House during the mission at Wave, when there were no ANBU guards watching the house.

“What does it do?”

“It creates a barrier. I’ve been trying to understand the details, but the important part is that it
makes it possible to keep unwanted people away. You just have to keep a list of people who have
access. I have removed everyone that was originally on the list and only included Team 7’s
names.”

Naruto looked at the seal work. “This looks even more complicated than the array that was at my
apartment. Are you sure it’s safe?”

“Yes. It’s top of the line work. If it’s turned on, nobody will be getting inside this house without
our permission.”

“If it’s so good, why haven’t you activated it yet?”

“Two reasons. The first is that there were ANBU protecting us. I thought Konoha’s most loyal and
experienced ninja would keep us safe enough, but clearly I was proven wrong. The second reason
is that it requires chakra to maintain. It takes this chakra from everyone inside the barrier in such
tiny amounts that we don’t even notice. But if it’s activated and the barrier gets attacked without
having shored up enough to withstand the attack, it takes as much as it needs from the inhabitants.
Which could be dangerous than the attack itself. I have been slowly charging it to build up a
reserve.”

“Dangerous how?”

“If it was just me in here? The seal might kill me before it broke down. With two of us inside, it
would leave me unconscious while you would have to rely more on Kurama’s chakra. Of course,
all of this is only if we don’t have a reserve. And thanks to our prisoners, we will be fine.” Sasuke
went to the middle of the room and added a drop of blood on the middle of the seal. The ink from
all over the room retracted into four small Konoha leaves arranged like a diamond in the middle of
the basement. The room looked empty without the seal.

Naruto looked around. “Did it work? Nothing feels very different.”

“It wouldn’t be a good barrier if it were noticeable. But there is one way we will be able to tell.”
Upstairs in Sasuke’s bedroom, the three ninja were still tied up. While they had been struggling
before, now they slouched tired in their bonds. “They are not on the guest list so the seal will keep
them drained from chakra as long as they are here.”

“This quickly?”

“They could have fought it if they had not been weakened already.”

“They... don’t look that threatening like this.”

“If you already think that now, prepare to be surprised further.” Sasuke said. He stripped them off
their masks first. They were not ninja he recognised. They were either killed in the next few years
or had been forced to leave the city. Sasuke had already taken their weapons, now he patted them
down to make sure not a single piece of gear remained on them. Then he took off their clothes.

“What are you…”

“Identification is kept on the inside of their shirts.” He took out the small cards and looked before
tossing them to Naruto. Crow and Bull, only chuunin, did not have anything with them.

“We saw these names, but they were not on our list of subjects.”
“They might be fake names. Or maybe they were smarter than we had thought and we were lucky
to find even one of them.”

A big flash came from the outside. The seals alerted them Kakashi had arrived. The jounin entered
the house quickly.

“We’re up here!”

Kakashi appeared in the blink of an eye. He looked over the charred remains of the Uchiha’s
bedroom. “What happened?”

“They attacked us. It didn’t end well for them.”

Kakashi checked the pulse of the four intruders, wincing as he found Frog did not have one. “I’m
going to need more detail than that.”

“There were five of them. ANBU, or impersonating ANBU. The strongest of them fled away.”

Kakashi had his dogs summoned as soon as the sentence was over. “Pakkun. Go to the Hokage and
tell him Naruto and Sasuke were attacked by ANBU at the Uchiha residence. The rest of you, track
the location of the ninja that managed to escape. Do not engage.”

Within a moment, they were gone. Kakashi took in the scene very carefully. Two shinobi had been
quickly and efficiently taken out. One had been suffocated to death. The last looked like he had
been attacked by a rabid animal. “The Kyuubi?”

“I needed his help.” Naruto said. “Like on the bridge.”

Kakashi paused for a second. “You actively called on it?”

Naruto nodded.

“And you pushed it away again?”

“Sasuke helped us calm down.” Naruto admitted. “I-I shouldn’t have let it get so far.”

“It’s okay.” Kakashi said. “You did what was needed. But… why are the others undressed and
chakra depleted?”

“We checked for identification.” Sasuke handed over the documents they had collected. “As for the
chakra, that has to do with the house’s new protections. We should wait outside for reinforcements.
It may trouble them when they cannot go inside.”

Sasuke grabbed one of his captors and threw him over his shoulder. Naruto followed the action,
still shaken. Kakashi took the last one as they headed to the front yard and laid them out. Then he
took the time to sense the seal working under him. It would be gently tugging at his chakra. It
would be easy enough to deny and make it stop bothering him. It saw Kakashi as a fiend. But just
because the seal was not biting, did not mean Kakashi could not feel its teeth.

“Some kind of protection. Powerful. Something like this would have to be signed with blood.
Naruto’s and yours. You would have needed my blood as well to tie me into the wards.”

“I took some of your discarded bandages after you were wounded in the Land of Waves.”

“You could have asked.”

“I did not know I would be needing it this soon.” Sasuke said. “It was always a precaution. I
would’ve preferred to ask you for permission before activating the seal.”

“How did you even know that it’d work like that? That the seals were there?”

“My dad mentioned them once. I found the instructions how they worked in the Uchiha Archives
and it’s taken me a while to figure out how to make use of it.”

Kakashi looked over the ninja again and shook his head. “I know these guys. They’re brats, but I
never thought them capable of this.” He sighed. “Did you do anything to provoke them?”

“We just held them accountable.” Sasuke said.

“There was a burglary in my apartment.” Naruto said. “We quickly realised ninja had been
involved, high ranking ones at that.”

Kakashi glared at them. “Why didn’t you just go to the Hokage?”

Naruto bristled. “They took everything.” He said. “Every single thing I owned.”

“You were worried about what they might do to your things?”

“We were worried Jiji would not take it seriously.” Naruto said. “People have been stealing from
me and hurting me for years and he’s never been able to stop them. But Sasuke did. He figured out
how we could catch them.”

“At least one of them.” Sasuke said. “Someone by the name of Stripes. He had some of Naruto’s
things and had been involved. We informed the head ANBU this evening. He must have informed
the other ANBU. And he must have accidentally informed the assailants too. And you were
wondering why we didn’t go to the Hokage office immediately?“

Kakashi shook his head. “This was not the deal.”

“The deal was teamwork. It was placing Naruto and Sakura before all else.”

“How the hell did you do that?” Kakashi accused. “You could have been killed tonight. Both of
you. Because of your stupid, insane little egocentric stunts.”

“They hurt Naruto!” Sasuke yelled. There was anger and fury in his eyes. How could that idiot not
just understand this? “They wanted to humiliate him in the worst way they knew how. Their
response to seeing a twelve-year-old boy happy and accomplished, was to take everything that
mattered to him out of jealousy.”

“I understand you’re upset…”

“Upset!?” Sasuke cried out. “It is taking every ounce of my willpower not to scoop out their
eyeballs and force them down their throats!”

Naruto put a hand on Sasuke’s arm. “I-it’s over now.”

Sasuke tried to calm himself down. Naruto was willing to die for this village. That was not a
hypothetical, as Sasuke knew all too well. But nobody appreciated how much Naruto cared, how
much he loved Konoha. The boy was special. If anything had happened to him at all, Sasuke would
have let all five of them ‘escape’. Only Naruto’s presence had saved these four ninja.

Deep breaths. Sasuke tried to acknowledge the emotion until only the information remained. But it
was anger. And that was the hardest emotion to control. What helped most was knowing that one
of his clones would be busy getting revenge. Sasuke was looking forward to getting those
memories.

Sasuke turned to his teacher. “I’m sorry it ended up like this, but I can’t find myself to be sorry for
any of the actions I’ve taken. Are you thinking of using the scroll to punish me?”

“I’m considering it.” Kakashi said, before shaking his head. “We already talked about this in the
Land of Waves. It’s not good that you keep all these secrets from us.”

“Honesty was part of the deal. I did not lie to you.”

“It was a lie by omission.”

“No.” Sasuke shook his head. “You knew from the start that I would be keeping secrets. Had you
come to us at any point to ask us what we were doing these past two days, I would’ve told you.
Maybe not everything, but at the very least that there was something going on that we couldn’t
share the specifics of.”

“They were my days off.” Kakashi said. “Which I sorely needed after our time in Wave.”

“We had days off too, but we still met up to spend time together. You could have dropped in. In
Wave you said you wanted to be part of the team too. That’s more than spending time with us
when it’s forced by your jounin duties.”

Kakashi hesitated and then shook his head. “I already expressed my willingness to contribute. I’ve
already shown it. Now it’s your turn. I will be included. If anything like this happens again, you
will actively go out to find me to fill me in. Is that understood?”

Sasuke nodded.

“We’ll get back to this later. But know that if you cut me out one more time, your career as a ninja
is over.” Kakashi said.

The ANBU commander showed up only a few moments later, a trusted team in tow, trying to join
them on the property. The invisible chakra shield kept him from doing so. He looked questioningly
at the jounin present.

“It’s fine.” Kakashi said. “Or if not fine, then a special kind of Uchiha clan protection is not our
biggest problem. One ANBU escaped, Jounin level. My dogs are tracking him. These three over
here need to be taken into custody and get healing. They apparently broke into Naruto Uzumaki’s
house and stole numerous items. Retrieve them.”

The operatives listened to Kakashi as if he was in charge. The ANBU commander did not seem to
mind. “I’ll go after him personally.”

“No. Stay here and protect my genin. My dogs have a better chance of finding him.” Kakashi
disappeared from sight.

“I don’t suppose you would be willing to let me in.” The ANBU commander said, testing the field
again. He ran his hand over the barrier. It was normally invisible to the naked eye, especially at
night, but there was a slight shimmer while being touched.

“We’re working with a selective guest list.” Sasuke said.

The man nodded. “We still need to retrieve the captives.”

Sasuke grabbed the one with the most injuries and brought him right to the edge, then he let him
fall through. The ANBU caught the man. “It’ll take a few hours before his chakra has recovered
enough for him to walk. Naruto, bring over the other two like I just did.”

The boy nodded. He used a clone to drag both at the same time. That gave Sasuke time to go back
into his bedroom and retrieve the dead ANBU. He pulled his blanket over him and then carried
him outside so he could be handed over like the others.

The ANBU commander had only a minimal response to seeing one of his own deceased. Sasuke
appreciated his professionalism. “One of the attackers?”

Sasuke nodded.

The commander lifted the sheet. He had to recognise the man, but said nothing of it. “We will need
to examine where it happened.”

“Only Kakashi-sensei is allowed there.”

“We are ANBU of Konoha.”

“And ANBU attacked us tonight.” Sasuke said. “Only sensei.”

The man was silent for a while. He seemed about ready to storm the seal, but stepped down before
he did anything rash. Smart man. “Fine. Then we’ll wait.”

~*~

Ro cursed under his breath. This was not how it was supposed to go. They were little kids. How
the hell had they stood face to face against five seasoned shinobi?

His apartment was clean and orderly, just how he liked it. He went over every loose thread again.
None of the others knew his real name. He had disguised his abilities and used the fake tiger mask.
The others had gone along without hearing his real voice, without reading his actual handwriting.
He had disguised his height and build. He had coated himself with a different scent. Even his
chakra signal had been altered.

It had been disguise number 27, no part of which he would ever use again. He collected every
component of it in a single airtight bag, which he then hid away under a floorboard. Not a loose
one. He was no amateur. It was lifted from the floor with chakra and soundlessly reattached,
completely indistinguishable from the others. The next time he had a mission outside of the village,
he would take the disguise along to discreetly incinerate.

He was a perfectionist after all and had not been named one of the village’s greatest assassins
without earning it.

Everything had been perfect. And yet Kakashi had jumped into his apartment only moments after
him. His confusion only increased when a henge dropped away and it was Uchiha Sasuke who
stood in front of him.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my apartment?” He tried.

But the boy radiated anger and fury. Ro tried to move but he was completely paralyzed. Genjutsu,
but nothing he did to manipulate his chakra stopped the effect. “What are you doing?”
“I know who you are. You cannot remain in the village.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He said. “You have no proof.”

Sasuke said nothing, but the ANBU’s body started to move. Ro grabbed a kunai from his pouch
and put it against his own neck. He fought the grip, but there was no stopping it as he started
cutting into his skin. Ro gasped as blood trickled down. And then it stopped. Just a shallow cut, but
he would have been helpless if Sasuke had forced him to go deeper.

Ro had never seen this level of control over another body. Even the Nara’s shadow bind could be
fought and only worked with the user making those movements first.

This freaking kid was scarier than Itachi. “What did you do to me?”

Sasuke grinned and hardly seemed human. His features grew grotesque and within seconds he
looked more demon than human. Massive waves of suffocatingly vile chakra washed over the
room and it felt wrong at every level of Ro’s being.

Fuck Itachi. This kid was scarier than the Kyuubi.

“Leave the village.”

The man felt control of his body return and he reached for a bag. His arms halted before he could
take anything.

“You left Hokage-sama without his things. You’ll leave without any of yours.”

Hokake? Did he mean Naruto? He grimaced but went for the window. He took one step outside
and then froze up again, his control gone again. He looked outside to the village, to the people he
had tried to protect against the demon. He needed their help now. Even if the more delicate
solution was to take care of Sasuke himself.

Ro gasped as he felt a piercing pain in his stomach. He looked down to see a metal sword sticking
out. He screamed, delicateness be damned. Yet he saw no lights turning on. There were supposed
to be three ANBU patrols close enough to interfere.

“Was this the only time you hurt Hokage-sama?”

“Y-yeah, I swear it!”

Another sword pierced one of his arms. He screamed again. Ro could feel the blood rush out of the
wound. Why wasn’t anyone coming for him?

“Liar.” Sasuke said. “I can tell when you don’t speak the truth.”

He was bleeding and every part of his body hurt. The swords appeared to be poisoned, corrupting
the flesh around the wounds. He had been trained to withstand torture, but nothing had ever caused
pain like this.

“Tell me everything. What is the first misdeed you committed against Hokage-sama?”

“I-I bribed the cook at the orphanage. Made sure the best food went to the other kids.” He felt
another wave of dread come over him, but at least no more metal piercing skin.

“Why?”
“The kyuubi killed some of my best friends. Yet they were feeding it like any of the other kids. I
had to protect them. I had to protect them from the monster.”

Another sword entered, this time in his leg.

“And here I was hoping to be setting a good example. You will address him as Hokage-sama, you
filth.” Sasuke sounded more demon than human.

The questions kept coming. Whenever he withheld any bit of the truth or disrespected the demon,
Ro was punished. Sword after sword entered him, somehow keeping him alive until he was a
shivering and sobbing mess. This was insane. His screams should have been reaching the Hokage
tower. Why was nobody stepping in?

The final sword was set against the back of his head. Slowly, this time. “P-please…” he cried,
unashamed. “I do not wish to die.”

“Fuck. You.”

The sword pushed against his skin and then his skull. He heard the bone crack and felt the metal
scratch his brain until the world went black.

He was standing in his apartment again. Sasuke stood in front of him.

“Twelve minutes done. Six days, twenty-three hours and forty-eight minutes to go.”

~*~

The man fell to the floor. It was done. He could weep from joy. His burglary of Hokage-sama’s
apartment felt like a lifetime ago.

His master was staring at him, he knew, even as he was scared to look back. “H…” his voice
broke. It should not be coarse because all the screaming had not been real, but it felt horrible
anyway.

“Cooperate and I will not have to do that again.”

Ro just nodded. He did not want master to have to punish him ever again.

“Follow me.” Sasuke used a Henge again, this time looking like a regular ANBU guard. Together
they made their way to the city wall and left the village. They circled around while master
performed several techniques to mask their trail. Some of those he had never seen before. He had
already figured out that master was somehow stronger than the ANBU general was, but it was
surprising to see he was better in the ANBU’s specialty as well.

They made their way to a clearing, where a tree hid the way to an underground labyrinth. Figures
were waiting there in white robes with red borders. Their faces were hidden behind strange masks.
Some were apathetic, but a couple made their way to Sasuke with determination. They did not look
pleased.

“You said no Konoha ninja would be harmed.” A woman said.

“I also said there would be exceptions. He is one of them.” Sasuke said.

“You don’t just get to change the rules like that.”

“He attacked Naruto and me. He would move against us again if given the choice.” Sasuke raised
his hand and Naruto appeared in front of them in the form of a genjutsu. He showed them all how
Naruto had looked when discovering his apartment empty, explaining it to Sasuke, how he had
been held in the arms of two ANBU who roughened him up. “And this is not the first time. He has
been making Naruto miserable all his life. He is one of the people who spread the rumour among
the civilians that Naruto is the jinchuriki. He made up stories so that more civilians would fear
him. He arranged to be Naruto’s guard duty and coordinated with civilians so they could attack
Naruto without repercussion.”

The woman did not calm down at master’s explanation, though she directed her irritation at Ro
now instead of master.

“We’ll prepare him. Have you punished him sufficiently yet?”

“Tsukuyomi.” Master said.

“Almost enough then. We’ll take care of the rest.”

~*~

Naruto and Sasuke had mostly recovered from the altercation, though Naruto still looked shaken.
The ANBU commander had asked them more questions as they came up. At least the ANBU had
been able to retrieve most of Naruto’s possessions from the apartments of the culprits. Tiger had
separated the stolen goods among his underlings and kept nothing for himself.

When Kakashi arrived it was clear he looked frustrated. “I tracked him to an empty apartment.
From there the trail let to the east wall where it stops cold, not that it matters that much. It was
Ro.”

The ANBU commander did a double take. “Ro? I trusted him with my life.”

“We all did. But it seems he has turned missing nin. With his skills in masking his trail and chakra,
there is no telling where he has gone.”

“Damn it.” The man shook his head. “We’ll have to get more people involved. Kakashi, since we
were not allowed inside, I’ll ask you to finish examining the attack site.”

If their teacher was surprised, he did not show it. “I’ll document what I can. Thank you for all the
help so far.”

The man nodded. “Of course. There are ANBU guarding around the perimeter.”

“I will report in as soon as I am done.”

Kakashi went inside without a word, going to work in Sasuke’s bedroom. Naruto and Sasuke went
to the kitchen, where Sasuke made them some tea. “Are you really okay, Naruto? Did they hurt
you anywhere?”

“I’m fine. Just… guilty.” Naruto looked like he had been punched. “They came to you because of
me. They may come again any time. You cannot be safe as long as you are near me.”

“Safety is overrated. I’d take your company any day.”

Naruto looked funny at that.

“I have said it before, Naruto. You are my friend. What kind of person would I be if I let some
bullies get in the way of that? Do you think I could ever be happy knowing that I chose freedom
over my precious people?”

Naruto was smiling, leaning against Sasuke’s shoulder. The boy had been through a lot. “I have a
spare futon. I’ll lay it out in the living room and you can take the couch. I don’t particularly feel
like going back into one of our bedrooms. I don’t know how much sleep we’ll get, but we should
finish resting.”

He nodded, before helping Sasuke set everything up.

“I’ve gathered all the evidence.” Kakashi noted, as he came downstairs. “Normally we would send
in a clean-up crew.”

“I know how to clean blood.” Sasuke noted. “I can do it myself.”

Kakashi shook his head. “Of course you do. I need to take everything I’ve gathered to the ANBU
commander. But I have some questions I need to ask first. What happened with the Kyuubi?”

“I asked him for help.” Naruto said. “I’ve been talking to it and it’s not as scary as everyone’s made
him out to be.”

Kakashi opened his mouth and then closed it again. It took him several reboots before he could
form his response. “You’re telling me that you’re developing a friendship with the Nine-Tailed
Demon Fox?”

“His name is Kuruma.”

Kakashi decided it was probably better to sit down. “This is dangerous, Naruto. If he gains control,
there’s no telling what will happen.”

“It’s safe.” Naruto insisted.

“You didn’t live through the Kyuubi attack. You don’t understand how many lives could be lost if
the demon was released again. I can’t let you go through with this.”

Naruto looked to Sasuke.

Fine. “There is no danger.” Sasuke said. “I can control the Kyuubi with the Sharingan.”

“No.” Kakashi groaned. “That’s too much. You can’t be serious. Where would you even pick up
that skill?”

“I read about it in…”

“… the Uchiha Archives.” Kakashi rubbed his forehead. “Clan secrets are going to be the death of
me someday. I’m going to stop asking questions now for the sake of my own sanity. I’ll come back
tomorrow and we can continue our conversation.”

Sasuke wanted to agree, but that might come off as insulting. Kakashi seemed to be ordering rather
than asking.

“Obviously no missions tomorrow. Good night.”

“Good night, sensei.”

Kakashi disappeared.
“Hey Sasuke, I was wondering about something.” Naruto said, as they were settling down. “What
would you have done if Kuruma hadn’t helped out?”

“Fired my fireball at the centre of the room, probably. You have more healing than they do. I think
the jounin could have dodged it and made his way to me if I had not directed it at him alone. Still, I
would have tried to draw his blood while he attacked me. Something Kakashi could later use to
identify him. Alternatively, I would have switched positions with you using the Kawarimi no jutsu
and I would hope that the element of surprise would let me disable the two ANBU around me. But
Kuruma did help, so it hardly matters.”

“You looked so confident, like everything was under control. Didn’t you have a back-up plan to
defeat them?”

“No. Plans where I put my trust in you don’t usually need back-ups.” Sasuke said.

“I really wasn’t sure I could do it.” He said weakly. “But you were in trouble and I couldn’t stand
it. Even less than I could stand the fox.”

“You did well.”

“It’s just… you always think about everything.” Naruto said. “When we were facing Zabuza, you
never froze up at all.”

“With Zabuza, my teammate wasn’t gagged and about to be killed.”

Naruto nodded a little. “What was Kakashi saying about a deal you made with him?”

“It’s not important.”

“Sasuke.” Naruto said sternly. “It sounded important. I think I deserve to know.”

Sasuke sighed, relenting. “Remember the bell test? Kakashi said I could not prove to him that I was
genin material because there was no way for him to tell the difference between me being someone
with team spirit, or merely acting like I had it.”

“That’s when you gave that big scroll to Kakashi?”

“Yes. We made a deal. Since he couldn’t test it right away, I provided a legal contract that allows
him to test me over the course of several years.”

Naruto gasped. “Years? It’s going to last years?”

“Kakashi can stop it sooner. But he insisted on a long timeframe.”

“How does that even help?”

“If I were faking it, really faking it, and it’s as indistinguishable from the real thing that a trained
jounin can’t tell the difference over the course of several years? My goals would be so far aligned
with Konoha and Kakashi and team 7, that it hardly matters whether my intentions were pure or
not. The result would be the same.”

“And he went along with it?”

“Kakashi did want to become our teacher and I was the only problematic element. By giving him
everything he would need to destroy my career as a ninja, I showed him I was willing to sacrifice
whatever was needed for the team. I added a strong external motivation to force me to behave in
the way I was already planning on anyway.”

“That sounds extreme. Why didn’t you just tell us?”

“I knew we would need to hit the ground running as genin and that we would need to take certain
risks. I was confident in our ability to complete 6 D-rank missions in one day and Kakashi only let
us do it because he would have been able to take away my genin rank if we failed. I didn’t want
that information hanging over you. Over us. I wanted us to be a proper team.”

“You’re damn right we wouldn’t have gone through with it.” Naruto said. “Sakura and I want to be
ninja together with you, Sasuke.”

“I knew we would be able to do. I was willing to risk my rank on it. We’re going to be the team
that does impossible things.”

“If Kakashi ends up using that scroll against you, I’ll quit being a ninja.” Naruto said. “And I think
Sakura will too.”

Sasuke groaned. “Don’t overreact.”

“I trust you, Sasuke. But I also know you’d be more willing to risk your own ninja career than
mine. So next time you feel like doing something risky, know it’s my career on the line too. Not
just yours.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sasuke said, a small warmth spreading through his chest.

“And for what it’s worth, if Kakashi is testing you on your team skills, you’ve aced them as far as
I’m concerned. It’s okay if you’re being tested. And it doesn’t matter how long it’ll take. You’ll
nail it.”

Sasuke smiled. “I’ll do my best.”

Naruto laid back. He sighed.

“Was there anything else?”

“Sasuke… should I have an opinion on taxation?”

“No.” Sasuke said. “When you’re Hokage, you’ll have advisors around you and the Konoha
council to take care of political matters like those. If you ever feel strongly about something you
can intervene. Mostly, your job will be diplomatic, like talking to the leaders of other villages and
getting them to agree with the positions you’ve reached together with the council. And it will be
strategic, deciding which ninja to send on which mission.”

“There won’t be a lot of fighting as Hokage, will there?”

“As a last resort. The Hokage must project strength so he should be the strongest ninja in the
village. But no, the day-to-day dealings don’t actually involve many physical battles.”

“Okay.” Naruto looked at the ceiling. “I’m trying to imagine it and it’s hard. I always just pictured
myself fighting bad guys until they made me Hokage. I’m not sure what to think of it now.”

“You’re only twelve years old, Naruto. You have plenty of time to learn all of this.”

“Three whole years, right?” Naruto smiled.

“Yeah.” Sasuke nodded. “Gaining Hokage skills is just another part of getting stronger.“

Naruto still seemed a little troubled, but the boy had had a tiring night. He was sleeping soon after.

Naruto had gotten his money back. Sasuke’s clones were at that moment using the information
Sasuke had extracted from the ANBU to retrieve everything that had been stolen from Naruto and
into the safe ANBU’s hands. Sasuke’s clones were safeguarding those bags of evidence with their
life and if any of them even thought about spiriting anything away, they would live to regret it. So
far, everything was going fine.

Sasuke might have thought differently though if he had been in the Hokage’s office and had seen
the expression on the Sandaime’s face.

~*~

“A sealing barrier… we haven’t had such a faithless protection since before Konoha’s founding.
Protection by ANBU should be enough to keep anyone in this village safe. This sets an
unacceptable precedent.”

“To be fair, they were attacked tonight.”

Sarutobi sighed. He was getting too old for this. Too old by far. “I cannot handpick every single
ANBU that protects Naruto, as much as I would like to. Ro was a single rotten apple. I will not let
this incident threaten the peace of this village.”

“There won’t be much peace either if someone from team 7 gets taken.” Kakashi noted.

Sarutobi felt another headache coming on. Kakashi was one of his best and most loyal jounin, but it
was a pain to deal with him. Kakashi just loved making these innocent little remarks that could
imply different things. Konoha could not afford to lose the Kyuubi. Sarutobi could not afford to
lose the last Uchiha. And at the same time, Kakashi was issuing a threat. Kakashi would guarantee
there was no peace if Naruto or Sasuke disappeared.

“Examine the seal.” Sarutobi said. “If we can combine our standard security measures with it I will
consider letting it stay.”

He dismissed Kakashi and stared out of the window onto Konoha. On his desk was another letter
from Danzo. His old friend and current enemy was supposedly so busy with his special project that
he had withdrawn not only from the upcoming council meetings, but from several prominent
committees as well. Danzo was giving up his influence on all fronts, which implied his special
project was going to be big enough to be worth it.

And now a young genin was proving to be almost as vexing. Sasuke was supposed to be the
figurehead of the resurgence of one of Konoha’s founding clans. Sarutobi was hoping for good
things. Hoping that Sasuke was telling the truth when he said he wanted to help the village. That
these new protections would become a tool to keep safe two of the most vulnerable young ninja of
this village.

The Hokage did not like making assumptions. He worked with facts and probabilities. This same
mindset however also meant that he refused to rule anything out. He was going to have to make
precautions for the worst-case scenarios. As much as he hoped Sasuke had good intentions, there
was an alternative hypothesis that was worrying and that had been gaining probability with each
new report Sarutobi read about Sasuke.

No matter what, Konoha had to be protected.

Chapter End Notes

Next chapter on Thursday evening (CET) December 30th: Team 7 - Naruto. Which
will involve Sakura bringing her suspicions to Kakashi, Sasuke versus the Hokage
about a barrier, the inroduction of the new Uchiha Platoon, and Kakashi learning to
have some fun.

Sasuke gets scary when he gets mad. Which is all I'm going to say about it.

Retorsion is a legal term in international law and is an act that is performed in

retaliation to a slight from another nation. It's not just revenge, but a measure taken to
ensure the end of conflict. It also implies that Sasuke sees himself as an independent
state from Konoha, which is fitting.

I have a week off from work and whoo boy did I need it. I have grand writing plans
and only so much energy in the day before I turn back into my natural state of pudding,
placed in front of a computer screen to recharge with Netflix shows. But progress is
being steadily made and I'm going to keep up this update schedule as long as I'm able
to. Many fun chapters and revelations still to come =D
 Team 7: Naruto
Chapter Notes

Happy new Year everyone! Hope you've had nice hollidays.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Please tell me that’s not what you’re wearing.” Sakura said.

“Doesn’t it show off my muscles? It works, right?” Naruto flexed and his orange jumpsuit did
everything to cover up his body. It was impossible to take him serious in that. Naruto laughed it off.
“Nah, just waiting till Sasuke finishes the laundry. Keeping myself busy till he brings my uniform. I
can’t believe it still fits.”

“I’m not going to stare at that monstrosity for that long.”

“Fine by me.” He smiled, taking it off right in front of her. He joined her at their kitchen table,
wearing nothing but his boxers. “Since you made me take off the bad clothes, will you help me get
dressed in the proper ones?”

Sakura rolled her eyes at the soon-to-be Hokage, ready to punch him through several walls, but the
expression on his face stopped her. She never could resist his puppy dog eyes. She smiled, feeling
she should at least put on some token resistance. “And why can’t you do it yourself?”

“It’s nice when you dress me. Your hands are warm and soft. And I’m getting sworn in today! I’m
so incredibly nervous, Sakura-chan! Just imagine if I’m putting on the suit and my hands are
trembling so much that it accidentally tears. Then I’d have to wear the jumpsuit anyway. How
would the village react to seeing their new Hokage wearing that?”

“Fine, I’ll help.” She sighed. Naruto often felt more like a petulant child than a regular roommate.
“But only because you would have gotten the pins wrong anyway. Can’t you tell at all when
they’re upside down?”

“I don’t have to with you around.”

Sasuke coughed as he entered the room, putting down a laundry basket. “Sakura, there were some
nurses looking for you. The doctor on duty is making changes to your care directives. They figured
you would want to know about it.”

“Honestly.” She rolled her eyes again. “Today keeps getting better. I’ll join you guys at the
ceremony. Sasuke, Naruto was just saying how much help he needs getting dressed.”

“Is that right?” He grinned.

“Not from Sasuke-teme!” Naruto blanched. “He keeps shocking me with lighting chakra whenever
I move.”

“I wouldn’t have to if you just stayed still.”

Sakura smiled, before standing up and getting ready to leave. “Stop making those cute faces when
he teases you and maybe he’ll stop.”

“I’m not cute!” He said, putting on the biggest pout at the insult to his ego. “I’m gonna be
Hokage! Treat me with some respect!”

“Oh trust me.” Sasuke said. “We always treat you with the exact amount of respect you deserve.”

~*~

The next morning Sasuke had breakfast with Naruto. Naruto seemed to be feeling a lot better,
though he seemed to avoid looking at the stairway and the upper part of the house.

Sakura joined them soon after, incredibly relieved they were all right. “What did you find at
Stripes’ apartment?”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, sharing a look with Sasuke. Neither seemed particularly happy
to tell her.

“Was it bad? Was it good? Come on, tell me. You’re freaking me out.”

“Well, we found evidence and brought it to the ANBU commander. He went on to apprehend the
guy.” Naruto said

“That’s good, right?”

“And then his friends attacked us last night, we fought them off and Kakashi got all of my stuff
back and Sasuke made this big protective barrier around the house so that only the four of us can
enter and I think I maybe killed a jounin?”

She stood perfectly still.

“Sakura-chan?”

“I… have to sit down.” She said, turning white as a sheet. “Are the two of you all right?”

“Yeah.” Naruto smiled.

“Good.” She punched Sasuke first, but Naruto followed closely after. “I TOLD YOU TO BE
CAREFUL!”

“You did…” Sasuke rubbed at his head. He had missed the girl’s temper. “Does it help that we
were very careful while fighting for our lives?”

The second punch was answer enough.

It took Sakura half an hour, alternating between incredible rage and devastating relief, before she
had taken in the whole story and had calmed down. Sasuke was glad they had already cleaned up
the bedroom, or she might ask to see it and get mad all over again. They remained vague about the
particulars of how Naruto had managed to overpower a jounin and Naruto looked increasingly
uneasy about that deception. Sasuke kept to the partial truth that Naruto had surprised them and
had given Sasuke an opening to attack.

Kakashi joined them just a little later.

“There’s been no sign of the ninja that escaped.” He said. “They are increasing the search radius
today.”
“How likely is he to be found?” Naruto asked.

“Not very. If he was laying low inside the village, we should have caught sight of him by now. If
he went out of the village, we should have found a trace. But he is skilled in escaping without
leaving evidence, so it’s possible we won’t find anything until he’s too far gone.”

“Do you know why he did what he did?”

“I’ve been talking to his colleagues. There was nothing suspicious about his behaviour, though
they often heard him speak negatively of Naruto.”

Sakura looked confused. “What did you ever do to him?”

Naruto shrugged.

“Probably just a prank that went wrong.” Sasuke said.

“No.” Naruto said. “It’s something else. I don’t want to lie to you anymore.”

“Naruto…” Kakashi warned him.

“It’s my secret to tell.” Naruto said harshly. “Isn’t it?”

Kakashi sighed, but then he nodded.

Naruto turned to Sakura. “You know I was born on the night the Kyuubi attacked the village?”

"Yeah.”

“That night the Yondaime sealed something inside of me.”

“Did the Fourth seal inside of you whatever he used to defeat the Demon Fox?"

"No. Just the fox itself."

Sakura seemed to freeze completely at that news. "But he killed the Kyuubi. It's supposed to be
dead. Everyone said..."

"Everyone lied to protect the peace. To keep anyone from going after me until I would be old
enough to defend myself."

"This can't be right. The Fourth wouldn't lock up that demon with an infant. Especially not his own
s..." Sakura bit her tongue. "… civilian."

Sasuke shook his head. "I saw the characteristic red chakra when we fought Haku. It's true."

Sakura shook her head. It was just so hard to get her mind around it. "Okay. I believe you. And it's
okay. Seriously, now that I'm getting used to the idea, it really isn't all that strange. Naruto, you're
peculiar enough already. Obviously you're also the host of the strongest tailed beast."

"You're really okay with it?"

"Mostly? I think that should be good enough. To be fair, I used to worry about you getting even
with me for a bad joke by putting dye in my shampoo. Suddenly 'releasing a demon to destroy the
whole village' is among the options."
Naruto winced. "I wouldn’t let that happen."

"Of course you wouldn’t. And I’ll trust my young genin teammate to be stronger than an ancient
demon fox with an unlimited amount of chakra."

Naruto gave her a very weird face and she shook her head.

"Okay, forget everything I'm saying. My brain has shut down and my attempts to lighten the mood
are falling flat. I'm fine with all this, really. Just need to process."

Naruto nodded softly. Sasuke knew he had been hoping she would take it as easily as Sasuke had.
But she had her own demons to deal with. She probably didn't even realise it. That the real reason
this was bothering her so much was because the Yondaime’s mistreatment of his son reminded her
uncomfortably about her own situation.

“Anyway, I would like to take a closer look at the seal protecting this place.” Kakashi said.

“No problem.” Sasuke headed towards the basement. “Sakura, Naruto, you come too. It’s good to
know how it works.”

They descended the stairs again and Sasuke showed Kakashi the miniature seal. Without
prompting, he expanded it for further inspection. “It’s a five pronged seal. Five inner components,
each connected to four outer modifications. They are ‘barrier’, ‘defensive chakra drain’, ‘offensive
chakra drain’, ‘chakra battery’ and finally ‘blood identification’.”

“What’s it called?”

“The Uchiha Last Stand.” Sasuke said. He could hardly admit it was actually named after the
Uzumaki who had invented it.

Kakashi went over the work one part of the design at a time. He asked more technical questions,
which Sasuke answered generally enough that Naruto and Sakura would understand it as well.

“How do you add more people to the list?”

“One of the modifications is an item seal. As the current owner, I can summon a scroll that holds
the names and blood samples of everyone who’s allowed inside the barrier.”

“I would like to see it.”

Sasuke nodded. It was suspicious how Kakashi was acting, but there was no harm in telling him.
Sasuke bit his thumb to draw blood and then drew it across the seal. A small scroll appeared.
Sasuke rolled it out to show four names and small blood prints below each one. Sasuke dropped the
scroll into the seal again and it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

“This is quite advanced work.”

“It’s surprising how far the Uchiha fortune could go towards protecting the house.”

“And how charged is it?”

“It drained three ninja to the point of exhaustion and has been feeding excess from all four of us as
long as we’re here. It can withstand a few high-powered attacks, but much more and the shield will
start to draw from our chakra directly.”

Kakashi nodded. “Do you have some tea?”

“I’ll make some.” Sasuke said. He shrunk the seal again and then led them all into the living room.
A few minutes later they all had a cup of tea in front of them.

“Why did you erect the barrier, Sasuke?” Kakashi asked.

“We were in danger.”

“Yes, but there were many ways to get to safety. Why did you erect a barrier that only the four of
us can get through and which you will not even drop for the ANBU commander?”

Sasuke looked outside. “I like Konoha. It’s a nice and peaceful village. A lot of people go in and
out of the village all the time. It works because everyone trusts each other. But enemies are
especially capable of taking advantage of that trust. That is why I have been looking into more
protection. But apparently even supposed allies can do the worst things in the shadows. I can’t
count on any ANBU to be safe.”

“There was one bad man.”

“No. I wish it were that simple. There are many bad ninja out there. And while most are loyal to
Konoha, they aren’t loyal to me. Not loyal to Sakura or Naruto. They’d sacrifice any of us on the
orders of a superior. Whether that superior is legitimate, like the Sandaime, or just acting on behalf
of a grudge like Tiger. Yesterday proved that none of the ANBU can be trusted.”

“And there’s no way to convince you otherwise?”

“There are usually many ways to convince me.” Sasuke said. “But that would require concessions
you’re not in the power to bestow. And it’s not like these complaints are originating from you.”

Kakashi shook his head. “I’ll cut to the chase. The Hokage wants you to deactivate the seal.”

Sasuke sighed. “That was to be expected.”

“After your attack, he wants a permanent ANBU detail on both you and Naruto.”

“Even more extensive than the one we already had?” Sasuke scoffed.

“More official, at least.” Kakashi said.

“Wait.” Sakura said. “Why was there ANBU protection on two genin?”

“They’re both of special interest to the Hokage.” Kakashi said. “He was keeping them safe, even if
an official allocation of those resources would make him vulnerable politically.”

Sasuke nodded. “I suppose that’s why you wanted to check the seal. ANBU are anonymous, so a
seal that requires their name and a sample of their blood would not be acceptable. How is the
Sandaime playing this?”

Kakashi took out a scroll and handed it to Sasuke. “He has offered you a permanent ANBU patrol
for inside the house, with a mandatory response before the end of the day. My suggestion would be
to let him have his way. There is little you can do to stop it.”

“Can’t Sasuke just refuse?” Naruto asked.

“No, that’s not an option.” Sasuke admitted. “The offer is a kindness. If I refuse, he’ll use it to call
me childish and unable to make proper decisions. Considering the danger that might come, this
barrier is not enough. He is right in that, at least.”
“You will listen to him, then?”

Sasuke looked the scroll over. “The Sandaime is a good ninja, but he is a bad politician. He has
made a mistake.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“I have many plans. Until just a few moments ago, my plan was to let the Sandaime post ANBU
around the Uchiha barrier. It would be a reasonable compromise. Let the Sandaime’s forces protect
us from outside threats, while the barrier keeps us safe from the ANBU’s hands and ears. He
would stop violating our privacy, while he could still protect us. With this however, he has forced
my hand.”

Kakashi was looking worried. “Sasuke. What are you going to do?”

“He thinks this house is not safe enough. Let’s make it safer.”

“Please, for the love of god, tell me you’re just thinking of putting up more traps.”

“Not quite what I had in mind.” Sasuke smiled. “Protection is a good like any other. Anything can
be bought at the right price. I’ll need to make some arrangements. Can I count on your support,
Kakashi?”

“That would depend highly on what you’re going to do.”

Sasuke grinned. “Nothing that puts you against the Sandaime. And nothing you weren’t planning
on doing anyway, if I’m to believe your previous comments.”

Kakashi shook his head. “I’m going to regret this.”

Perhaps it was time to distract Kakashi before he would start thinking of getting in the way.
Luckily, they had just such a distraction on their to-do list. “Before we deal with all that, Sakura
and I have something to discuss with you that’s been bothering us, Kakashi-sensei.”

Naruto perked up. “What’s this about?”

“We just have a small question for him about something Sakura read, but it’s important for her
training.” Sasuke said. “Can you start preparing for lunch, Naruto? We’ll be right back.”

They went into a separate room upstairs.

“Is this another trick?” Kakashi asked. “Are you trying to get information out of me to use against
the Hokage?”

Sasuke shrugged. "No tricks and no ulterior motives. I will admit my first instinct was to pretend to
know more than we actually did, but I do remember the talk we had last time and I did take it to
heart. I don’t want to manipulate you. So, we’re going to ask you straight. Is Naruto the son of the
fourth hokage?"

Kakashi sighed. “Can you try not to create new head-aches for me while I’m still recovering from
the old ones?”

“Would you have preferred us to be less direct?”

“No.” Kakashi took out his Ichi Ichi and leaned against the wall. He flipped to a random page and
then pretended like the conversation was not bothering him at all. “If you’re going to be asking
silly questions, I’ll have to behave myself appropriately.”

“We’d still like an answer.” Sasuke said.

Kakashi pensively stared at his book. "If your theory were true, why would Naruto not be told?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at the transparent distraction.

“You are my students and I trust you to think rationally. Hypothetically, if what you are saying is
true, what reason would the Hokage and other ninja like me have to keep it from him?”

Sakura froze as she realised what Kakashi was implying. “It would be too dangerous for anyone to
know. The Yondaime had a lot of enemies.”

"Then you’ll understand why I cannot respond to your theory and why you must tell nobody else.
Take it from a man whose famous dad brought him nothing but trouble."

Sakura nodded but Sasuke cleared his throat. "That’s unacceptable. Do you know that Naruto
thinks his parents were traitors?"

Kakashi frowned but realised why a few moments later after modelling Naruto’s knowledge and
views on the matter. "It’s unavoidable. I'm afraid I cannot tell him a name."

"Then tell him everything but a name." Sasuke glared at Kakashi.

The older ninja sighed, closing the book again. “Will you give me time to prepare?”

“You get five minutes.” Sasuke said. “Or we’re telling Naruto outright.”

“I hate you little gremlins.” Kakashi groaned. “At least grab me some aspirin.”

Kakashi waited exactly five minutes before heading back to the living room. Naruto was waiting
curiously for them.

"Naruto." Kakashi sighed. "You value your promises, right? If I tell you to promise to do
something, you’re going to listen, right?"

"Of course. I never give up and I never break my word. That is my nindo."

"Then I have something to tell you. I knew your parents. And I can tell you about them if, and only
if, you promise me you will not repeat to anyone what I say today and that you’ll not try to search
out any information on them in the future."

Naruto looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

Sasuke stepped next to him, placing his hand on Naruto’s shoulder. "Sakura and I figured out
yesterday that Kakashi would know them. He’s willing to share if we drop the issue afterwards."

Naruto seemed a little confused, sitting down to steady himself, before he seemed to settle on
something. "For how long? I mean, the way you’re talking it’s obvious you could get in trouble if I
figured out who my dad was, and with additional information I might be able to figure it out.
Hearing about them sounds amazing, but I’m not going to promise anything without an endpoint."

"Sasuke’s influence is starting to show. Fine. Two years." Kakashi said. "I’m going out on a limb
telling you as much as I’m about to, but I can justify it as long as you don’t pursue it further."
"Two years… or whenever I find out their identity by accident.”

Kakashi sighed. “Fine, agreed." He looked at the other two. "Don't you think we should do this in
private?"

"Can they stay?” Naruto asked. He looked at his teammates. “If you guys don’t mind?"

Sakura sat next to him. "If you want us to stay, we will. It’s as easy as that."

Sasuke nodded and sat on Naruto's other side. "We are with you all the way."

They smiled and settled themselves down on the ground.

"They were both ninja, of course." Kakashi said. "One was a real genius and the other an absolute
monster. Your dad had quite a reputation outside the village and your mom was feared by
everyone. In a good way. The other ninja used to dislike taking missions with her because she
attracted trouble like a magnet. Not that anything bad ever came from it. She never gave up on
anything."

“How did you know them?”

“I grew up without my parents. Your mom took one look at me and declared herself my big sister.
Note that I was a jounin at the time, but that didn’t bother her at all. Your dad tried to treat me like
an adult ninja. Your mom wouldn’t let him. Every time we would train together, he had an extra
bento box that your mom had made for me. They were very kind people.

“Were they loyal to Konoha?”

"Naruto, your mother's presence at the time of the Kyuubi’s attack was complicated. She was
officially out of town. As for your father, there are a few reasons you cannot find his name on that
list, but him being a traitor was not one of them. They fought valiantly that night and sacrificed
their lives to stop the Kyuubi from attacking the part of the village you were resting in. They lost
their lives so you wouldn’t lose yours."

Naruto sobbed a little, then let out a large cry of relieve. "Wh-what else can you tell me about
them?"

Kakashi sat down to start talking. Sasuke would have loved to stay, if only to see the blond boy’s
expression as every tiny bit of information was handed to him. But he had arrangements to make.
As soon as Naruto indicated he would be okay, Sasuke excused himself.

~*~

“This had better be good.” The Hyuuga clan leader said. “I was informed this was an emergency.”

Hiashi looked agitated. The last time they had met, Sasuke had talked himself into a half-seat on
the council after years of relative stability. But he had also given the Hyuuga claim on a property
they had long wanted, solved a political dilemma they had been arguing over for years and landed
a political blow against Sarutobi for them.

“It is.” Sasuke said, handing the scroll to the man. “The Sandaime is moving against the clans.”

Hisashi looked it over. “This is just a request. And if anything, he’s moving against the Uchiha.”

“As a first step. The meeting with him is tonight and I require the help of the council.”
“We do not move against the Hokage. This is still Konoha.”

Sasuke nodded in deference. “I did not mean any offence. I just request you hear my offer before
you make up your mind.”

“It’s a waste of time.” Hiashi looked hard as stone.

“I do not presume to tell you that you’re mistaken. But I would caution you as one the council’s
members that it is always better to reserve your judgment until you are in possession of all the
facts, as was demonstrated the last time I brought an issue before you.”

Hiashi had to think for a few moments before he nodded and let Sasuke continue.

“To start, you wish to have the Uchiha police station. To show my gratitude in listening to me I
will not contest the claim.”

“You contesting it would make no difference.”

Sasuke kept his head high, speaking with confidence. “In preparation of the festival I have hired
two gardeners to remove the weeds from the property. I can argue in the council that I assumed we
would take joint responsibility in getting the station in better shape. You internally, me externally.”

Hiashi could not help but quirk his lips. “It seems I keep underestimating you.”

“Secondly, I know that you have some difficulties with your heir.”

The stony expression returned. “Hinata is a strong ninja.”

“When she fights at full strength, which her disposition does not often let her do. My sources tell
me you had hoped her jounin instructor would be able to assist, and that you have been
disappointed in the results.”

“Perhaps.” Hiashi said. “Are you threatening to expose this alleged weakness?”

“On the contrary, I propose a solution. I have several ideas to help her with her problems. And all I
need is a few hours with her privately. In exchange, if I manage to convince you to go against the
Sandaime, you will help me convince the other council members.”

“I can accept those terms. Though that leaves you in the disadvantageous position that you will
still need to convince me to go against the leader of this village.”

“And here I thought you were going to stop underestimating me.” Sasuke smirked.

~*~

The Aburame clan leader nodded. “I agree it is a transgression for the Hokage to order an ANBU
detail on a Noble family’s estate against their wishes. I disagree that we should support you against
the Hokage.”

“This is one transgression too many.” The Hyuuga leader said, fully supporting Sasuke.

“But what would you have us do?”

Sasuke nodded. “To start, as gratitude for listening to us tonight I would like to offer you my
research notes into the building codes that have been troubling you.”
Shibi looked over the notes. “This would finally let us continue construction.”

“You’re welcome. Now, about the Sandaime, I propose the following.”

~*~

“No, I will not go against the Hokage.” The Akimichi leader said, staring in disbelieve at his
fellow council members. How could those two side with the young Uchiha?

Shibi shook his head. “You realise that we already have a majority. Your refusal would have no
practical effect. However, we would appreciate it if we could present a united front.”

“The boy makes a good case.” Hiashi said.

“I trust the Hokage. He has good reasons for everything he does.”

“As do I.” Sasuke said. “Let me lay my reasons out and then you’re free to make your own
decisions.”

~*~

Sasuke sat in front of Sarutobi in the Hokage’s chambers. It was the end of the day and the old man
had a very satisfied smirk on his face. For all of Sasuke’s grand gestures, even he could not stop the
Hokage when when orders were given. Sasuke had proven smart enough in the past to understand
the implications and the way he had come to this meeting in his Uchiha robes showed that he was
respecting the office. Finally. “Have you made your decision, Sasuke-kun?”

Sasuke was smiling too. “We should wait for the others to arrive.”

“Others?” Sarutobi was not expecting the entire Konoha council to walk in. Nor did he expect them
to stand behind Sasuke as if the Hokage would have to have this conversation with the whole
council instead of just Sasuke. “What is the meaning of this?”

“We were invited by Sasuke to sit in on this meeting.”

“It was not his place to invite anyone else.”

“On the contrary.” Sasuke said. He placed the Sandaime’s scroll on his desk. “You made a request
to a noble clan. It is political by its nature, and therefore a matter of the village’s political ruling
council.”

“Has he told you what has happened?”

Hiashi spoke up first. “He has told us that ANBU operatives were involved in an attack on the
Uchiha council member.”

“A rogue ninja.” Sarutobi said. “The involvement with ANBU was incidental.”

Shibi shook his head. “Higher-up ANBU ninja are directly responsible under the Hokage. That
such a ninja was not caught sooner is more than incidental.”

“Not to mention,” Sasuke said, “The inability of Konoha ninja to locate the threat in a timely
fashion after the fact, letting this one ‘rogue ninja’ escape and leaving open the possibility of
collaborators that facilitated the one responsible to disappear unscathed.”

Sarutobi sighed and rubbed at his eyes. “And good evening to all of you as well. I see Sasuke is
fitting right in. I take it that you are refusing my offer?”

“Yes. After what happened, I do not trust anonymous ANBU inside of my living space. I would
consider letting them patrol the outside of the barrier if I could screen who guarded me.”

“The identity of ANBU is known only to me and the ANBU commander. You can’t expect me to
let a genin in on village secrets.”

“Arrangements could be made to accommodate it.”

“Be reasonable, Sasuke. It is unfortunate what happened, but we need to find the best way forward.
What would you do if you were in my position?”

“No, there will be none of that.” Sasuke said. “What you call ‘reasonable’ would be compliance as
my rights as a noble heir get stripped away. I know concessions will cost you in standing, but I am
the victim here. I must look out for myself and I must refuse to take on any more damage. Either I
get a say in which ANBU are assigned to me, or there will be no ANBU at all.

“Will you deny this to him, Hokage-sama?” Shibi asked.

“Yes. He is obviously worried after a single incident and is letting that cloud his judgement. I will
be moving ANBU into the Uchiha estate.”

“So you confirm you would do this against my wishes?” Sasuke asked.

“Yes. You think you are wise, but you are just a genin. You do not know better.” Sarutobi put on
his most grandfatherly face. “Trust me, Sasuke. This is better for you.”

“Is it? Because it seems to me like you’re the one who most benefits from keeping a clan heir on a
tight leash. Just over two weeks ago you told me that there was no ANBU surveillance on my
house. But that was a lie.”

“There is a routine ANBU patrol for all the students.” Sarutobi said.

“The patrols I witnessed are not routine check-ups, they are constant.”

Chouza shook his head, looking uncomfortable like that made the betrayal any more digestible.
“Stop lying to the boy. You have had a guard on Sasuke for years. You have been paying even
closer watch since graduation.”

It was not news to any of the clan leaders. Though the orders were not official, all three families
had found out about them. Sarutobi sighed. “I was protecting a clan heir.”

Sasuke grimaced. “Against my explicit wishes and telling me I was imagining things.”

“Enough!” The Hokage pounded his fist on his desk. “I am the leader of this village. I made a
move to protect a lonely child without parents. I know you are prideful, Sasuke, which is why I did
not risk telling you. I do not need your permission to protect my citizens.”

Sasuke nodded. “We mean no insult, Sandaime-sama. I am merely saying that I am a ninja now,
member of the Konoha council, and I should be able to make this decision for myself going into
the future.”

“And all of you agree with him?” Sarutobi asked.

The three council members nodded. It was Hiashi who spoke. “He makes a very persuasive
argument.”

Sarutobi realised he was losing. But the battle was far from over. “The ANBU would not be only
for your protection, Sasuke. Naruto Uzumaki has moved in with you and he has a nasty habit of
getting into trouble. The pranks he plays are harmless, but we need to keep an eye on him to keep
disruptive from getting destructive.” He looked at the clan leaders, making sure they understood he
was speaking directly to him. “We wouldn’t want him unintentionally destroying the village.

The council members looked at each other uneasily. They all knew what this meant. The village’s
jinchuriki was living somewhere and they were preventing ANBU from guarding him. That was
not what they had signed up for on a random Tuesday evening no matter how many ‘convincing
arguments’ Sasuke had made. More importantly, the conversation would be halted. None of them
could speak the S-rank secret in front of Naruto’s teammate.

It was not Sarutobi’s favourite tactic to use, but the council had forced his hand. He had to have
this conversation with Sasuke himself. He would speak to the council later and fix whatever
whispers Sasuke had infected them with.

“It matters little if I have one person under my roof or two.” Sasuke said. He gave the same pointed
look Sarutobi had given. “Or even three.”

Sarutobi had to blink. It could not be. “We are just talking about the one guest, Sasuke.”

“Yes, but all of you know Naruto and what his deal is.” Sasuke said. “All his childhood, people
stayed away from him, but he has an exceedingly kind heart. When I invited him to live with me, I
was half expecting him to bring a pet with him. A dog, a cat, or something from the forests like a
fox or an owl. I trust Naruto and I trust both his judgement and his ability to contain any destructive
tendencies that reside within him.”

How did Sasuke know of Naruto’s secret?

“I was not aware multiple ninja would be staying in the Uchiha compound.” Hiashi said. “Sasuke,
with so much power under one roof, would it not be better to have Konoha’s guardians present?”

“Naruto has been under the Sandaime’s ANBU protection his whole life.” Sasuke said. “Where
was the Sandaime when Naruto was bullied as a child? Where was the Sandaime when Naruto was
attacked and shunned and taken advantage of?”

“Every attack was dealt with.” Sarutobi said, even as he felt a sting in the back of his throat. He had
done his best to respond to each report even as the secrecy kept him from devoting as much
attention to Naruto as the young boy had deserved. He had done his best to solve the problems and
get Naruto connected to the kinder people of Konoha. When nobody would feed Naruto, it was
Sarutobi who had made sure Teuchi reached out to Naruto. Sarutobi had done all he could.

“Yet Naruto never felt protected. That is all I want to do. Give him and me a place where we are
truly safe. Where Naruto can go to be his true authentic self. A place we can call home. A bed
Naruto can sleep in without worrying that ANBU might wake him in the middle in the night to
rough him up. Is that so wrong?”

“It is not your job to make Naruto feel safe.”

“I’m certainly the only one who has stepped up.”

“Now see here…”

Shibi coughed to get their attention. “Sasuke, your intentions appear good even as we do not
understand why you waited until this office to reveal this information. But I have a larger objection.
You argued that it was against the village’s interest to impede on a clan’s autonomy. That
argument worked when if was just you, but now Naruto is involved as well. Why would it be in the
village’s interest if exceptions to the general rules were made for Naruto?”

“Naruto is a strong ninja. If he ever got broken enough through unhappiness and depression that he
would direct all his anger against the village? I would imagine a disaster like the village has not
seen for over a decade. But if he’s happy, if he truly loves the village and the citizens, I think he
has the power to save us all.”

“This is all moot.” Sarutobi said. “There is a guardian detail that is assigned to Naruto. Inside the
barrier he is not safe enough.”

“Yes, Sandaime-sama. You’ve made it clear that there will be protection needed inside of the
barrier.” Sasuke placed a single scroll on the Hokage’s desk. It was markedly similar to the one
Sarutobi had given Sasuke.

“What’s this?” Sarutobi rolled it out. He almost ripped it apart. “Mercenaries?”

“I have made every precaution. The other clan leaders have reviewed the contracts and have given
their blessings. The only concession we had to give the mercenaries in exchange was anonymity, so
that none of their old enemies would look for them here.”

“These ninja have no loyalty. They work for the highest bidder!”

“Lucky for me, the Uchiha are high bidders. They will have extremely limited ways to be
contacted by outside sources. Their salaries also gets increased, with bonus pay, if they come to me
whenever anybody does manage an attempt to outbid me.”

“You trust these men more than Konoha ANBU?”

Chouza sighed. “It might be for the best. They know nothing of Naruto’s circumstances. They
might be a safer choice than anyone Konoha has to offer.”

“They cannot enter the village without my approval.” Sarutobi said.

“The council has unanimously approved it, as is allowed in protocol 49, subsection 7, line 3.
Sasuke has guaranteed their loyalty and has agreed to additional measures to ensure safety, among
which the surveillance of Kakashi for a trial period.”

“I have vetted them myself.” Sasuke said. “On my mission to Wave I reached out to several parties
I knew would be interested in such a position. Granted, I assumed I would have months or years
before I would have cause to employ them. But there are three that were immediately available.”

“It is still a risk. We would not know if another village provided these mercenaries. No matter how
competent you imagine yourself, Sasuke, spies have a way of fooling even the most paranoid of
souls.”

“I have thoroughly eliminated the possibility.”

Sarutobi could feel a head ache coming on. “Even if we are to entertain the suggestion of allowing
a genin to hire mercenaries in the stead of Konoha’s ANBU, I would never approve until I’ve
audited your selection process. Until I have verified your research with T&I and have a thorough
report. All of which is going to take weeks. The risks are simply too great. And the barrier you’ve
erected needs a solution without such delays.”

“The process your describing is not required during times of peace.”

“It is too dangerous with enemies all around us! We are still at war! Why do I seem to be the only
one to realise this?!” The Hokage said.

He was greeted with four disappointed face across him.

It was Chouza who spoke. “For how much longer, Sarutobi?”

“What?”

“You have had your power for so long, you have grown too accustomed to it. Konoha was founded
with a leader and a council, equal in status and responsibility. For years you have let the council
govern with a severely limited role. No more.”

The Sandaime shook his head. “You do not know what you do.”

“That would be your fault.” Hiashi said. “You have kept us in the dark. You have acted like our
general instead of our peer.”

“The war is long over.” Shibi said. “It is long past due for the administration to acknowledge it.”
He handed over another scroll to the Hokage. An official demand from the council.

After all this years of truce, they broke ranks to stand with a young genin.

“Why now?” Sarutobi asked.

“We have had the growing impression that you do not respect us.” Hiashi said. “That you do not
respect the Council or the power it has to balance yours. This has been a long time coming.”

No. They had been fine with the way things were. The Hokage held an absolute position of power,
which he needed to properly run this village. The council took on many tasks but did not have the
official approval to do anything. Most of their decisions had to be signed by the Hokage. Sarutobi
did that with no questions asked. That was their truce.

They had allowed Sarutobi to have the power as long as he did not use it.

The reality of war had been a mountain on which Sarutobi had built the balance of powers. Slowly
that mountain had chipped away until it had turned into a hill. Until it had turned into a peak. And
still Sarutobi stood proudly on top of it, doing what had to be done. As long as he refrained from
calling it a mountain in front of the people who mattered, his place on top of it would not be
questioned.

Of course Sarutobi realised the biggest threats were gone, but that did not mean they were safe.
That did not mean the balance could be safely overthrown.

Sasuke had someone predicted this. The boy had chosen his words to provoke Sarutobi into making
explicit what had so long been unspoken. And the Council had trounced on the opportunity.

So many plates Sarutobi had kept spinning. How many would start crashing down?

“Leave, all of you.” The Sandaime said. He did not care how tired and defeated he looked.
“Declare peace. Hire mercenaries. You are now the least of my worries.”
Sasuke bowed and let the Sandaime get to his work. The council had disrespected the leader of the
village and there would be consequences. Sarutobi’s enemies would be getting ready to strike now.
It was only a matter of time before Danzo would seize his chance.

The room was empty. There was much work to do. But if Sasuke was going through with this
insane plan, there was one last thing to do.

“Somebody get me Kakashi!”

~*~

“Let us meet these mercenaries of yours.” The Akimichi leader said.

“Of course.” Sasuke led them to the South gate. It raised eyebrows, the Konoha council walking
together over the streets. Meeting the foreigners had been one of their conditions for the council to
agree to Sasuke’s plan.

The newcomers were waiting just outside the gate. Three ninja in white robes with blue edges. The
Uchiha symbol was embroidered around their chest. Their identities were hidden behind masks of
three different colours. The masks were like those the ANBU wore, but there were no markings to
differentiate between them. Only the colours were different. Each mask contained thin slits to see
through and the Konoha leaf on the forehead in replication of the forehead protector all ninja wore.
It signalled loyalty to Konoha without claiming the status of a ninja. Orange and White stood on
either side of Pink.

“You issued them a uniform?”

“They demanded anonymity and suggested this. I merely insisted on the addition of certain
elements.” Sasuke said. He urged the ninja forward.

They lined up for the admittance desk. Tatami checked their paperwork, nervously staring at the
three Noble Clan Leaders waiting for him to finish. It was not every day that a group of disguised
ninja stood on standby next to the village’s entrance, insisting that they had the proper paperwork
which they would only be willing to present once their employer made an appearance.

Once they were cleared, they made their way to the council members. The one in the middle
dipped his head in deference.

“Welcome to Konoha.” The Akimichi leader said.

The man dipped his head again, to thank the man.

When the mercenaries said nothing further, the Aburama leader tried. “Sasuke has told us how you
were hired. This must a different mission than you are used to.”

The mercenary nodded but gave no other reaction.

“What shall we call you?” The Hyuuga asked.

All three answered at the same time. “The Uchiha Platoon.”

Sasuke started to his home. “This way, please.”

The council members made more attempts to gain information on the way.

Each of the council members had a guard detail nearby, circling around the group of foreign ninja.
They were both to protect their leaders if any of the mercenaries dared to attack, and to keep an eye
out for any of their younger clan members in the area to warn them to get out of the way. Only the
Akimichi guards seemed to bother getting civilians out of the way when needed as well.

“You have taken all the precautions we discussed, Sasuke?” The Hyuuga clan leader asked him.

“Yes. I have heard their stories before I accepted them. They are sincere. They have accepted the
tracker seals and you will receive an alarm the moment they are not on the Uchiha grounds and
further than fifteen feet away from me.”

“I would feel better if you could tell me the identity of these people.”

“And yet you will trust me, as the Uchiha’s clan heir who gives his word that they can be trusted,
and you will trust Kakashi as a capable jounin of verifying that trust.”

They rounded the corner and came to the barrier. The council members touched it carefully. Hiashi
seemed most troubled. “I can’t see through.”

“My bugs can’t get inside.”

Sasuke nodded. “It’s a good design. I’ll just be a moment.” He stepped through and entered the
house.

Naruto and Sakura perked up. “How did it go?”

“As planned. The ninja I hired will be guarding us.”

Kakashi sighed. “You could have asked me to babysit instead of just sending me a scroll. The
Hokage put so many extra conditions on the job that I barely made it in time.”

“Ready to meet them? I’ll add their names to the barrier now.”

He made quick work of it, adding blood and fake names to the entrance list. Kakashi looked over
Sasuke’s shoulder, clearly confused when the names were unfamiliar to him. When Sasuke let the
ninja in, there was a small look of nervousness on the council’s faces. Like they were expecting the
ninja to strike the moment they were away from the clan’s protective details.

Instead, they acted the same inside of the barrier. Sasuke led them inside.

Naruto and Sakura were waiting with interest.

“Team 7, I would like to introduce you to the Uchiha Platoon.”

Pink tilted his head. “It is nice to meet you.”

They approached carefully. Kakashi was reading his book in a corner, though he was keeping a
close eye on the encounter.

Naruto looked them over and then nodded as he made up his mind. “They look pretty creepy.”

Orange burst out laughing. She had to hold her knees to keep herself steady. “I told you guys the
uniform was too much.”

Pink whined. “But it’s functional! I did not hear you complaining when I designed them.”

“You would not let anyone near them.” White said.

“You would have ruined my awesome design!”

Orange finally steadied herself. “Can’t ruin disaster.”

“My heart!” Pink complained, clutching his chest. “Why must you wound me so?”

Naruto shook his head. “Okay. Not so creepy. Just totally insane. Sasuke, where did you find these
guys?”

“I told you.” Sasuke said, leading them all into the kitchen. “I put out feelers while we were
heading back from the Land of Waves. I got some recommendations and they led me to these
people. These three are ninja who have spent most of their lives away from home and welcome a
steady assignment like this.”

White started making tea for them, while the rest sat down at the table. “Uchiha-sama is very
generous in his pay. It was hard to refuse the offer to stay here.”

“Even with all the restrictions?”

“We can understand restrictions. We can understand caution. Both are predictable. Predictability
can be comforting.”

White served tea to everyone, joining his fellow guards. “Hatake-sama, you have agreed to our
conditions, yes?”

“So far.”

White nodded. Then all three of them took off their masks. Their faces were plain and
unremarkable and similar to each other. They pulled back their hoods to reveal black hair. The two
men kept it shorter and messier while the woman wore it long and straight.

Kakashi looked over them. “You really aren’t in any BINGO book.”

“Surely Uchiha-sama must have informed you as much.”

“It is still surprising after seeing how good you are.”

Naruto looked confused. Sakura was too but did a better job of hiding it. Sasuke smiled at them.
“Ninja are exceptionally good at sizing each other up before they exchange blows. Kakashi-sensei
is looking at how silently they move and how aware they are of their surroundings.”

Kakashi still looked suspicious. “They make no sound when they walk. They leave no smell. I
can’t tell how many weapons they are carrying. It’s highly skilled for mercenaries, especially if
they have somehow evaded registration in BINGO. I’d guess around chuunin rank.”

“We’re special. I’m hoping you’ll come to realise this. We’re not stupid. We realise that we are
mainly here for our chakra. We also realise we cannot settle down in a ninja village without an
intense amount of scrutiny. But we are patient and our intentions are good. We are sure you will be
convinced if you give us a chance.”

Kakashi sighed. “I spoke to the Hokage today. He asked me to seize you up. See if you were a
threat or not. Whether Sasuke and Naruto would be able to handle you if you stepped out of line, or
whether you were notorious enough that we would have grounds to push you out of the village.”

“And how do we measure?”

“An annoying middle ground.” Kakashi shook his head. “I will have to supervise while Naruto and
Sasuke are with you in this house.”

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” Sasuke said. “I did not think this situation would impact you
personally when I erected the barrier.”

“All you ever do is inconvenience me.” Kakashi said, but the tone of his voice was light. “It’s not
what I thought teaching a group of genin would be like.”

One of the guards chuckled, his pink mask on the table in front of him. “It’s always different than
you imagine it will be. All you want to do is teach them and keep them safe, but students have this
nasty little habit of having minds of their own.”

“You taught a team?”

“Ages ago. When I was still aligned to a village. It was a very frustrating time for me. They could
never get along and they never listened to anything I said.”

“Does it get any easier?”

“No.” Pink smiled. “But that just makes it more fun.”

“Yo.” Naruto waved his hands. “You know we’re sitting right here?”

“I know.” Kakashi said. “You should hear what I have to say about you behind your backs.”

Sasuke stage whispered to Naruto. “It’s good for him to let out steam. He might think we’re
gremlins, but we’re still his gremlins.”

“Slander.” Kakashi nodded.

“Now that the introductions are out of the way, we should do something productive.” Sasuke stood
up. “Into the back yard. Let’s see how far you’ve gotten with your training while I was away.”

Kakashi and the three mercenaries made themselves comfortable on the back porch while the three
genin started their daily practice. Sasuke went slow, his eye more focussed on his teammates than
on his own improvements. Naruto’s practice with the air chakra punches had made him more
comfortable with the element, which helped him progress with the wind jutsu Kakashi had shown
them.

“You’re thinking too much.” Orange said, before joining him.

“I’m just trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong.”

“You’re getting stuck in your head. I used to be like that too.” She smiled, before going through the
hand seals and delivering a wind assault on some unsuspecting bushes. Her taijutsu was flawed,
but the elemental manipulation looked effortless. “Trust your body.”

Pink shook his head. “That’s terrible advice. Naruto, you need to pay more attention to your control
of the wind chakra. You know the fundamental principle of energy preservation? Its third sub law
is interfering with the effectiveness of your final hand seals, by creating a feedback loop in the
gyrating cycle. It’s obvious what you need to do.”

Naruto deadpanned. “Practice?”

Orange nodded enthusiastically, while Pink shook his head.

“End the loop with frequency clause.” Sakura said. “That makes a lot of sense.”

Pink focussed on her. Sakura’s exercises with Earth chakra, genjutsu and medical techniques had
given her the additional perspective to grasp water chakra more quickly. Still, her mist was coming
out a little too thin.

“For you it’s the fourth sub law.”

Sakura thought for a few seconds and then smiled. She made the seals again and the mist came out
much thicker, taking over the whole back yard. “I can’t believe I missed that! It’s so basic. But
even so, it’s not fully absorbing my chakra yet.”

“Did you consider…”

“Of course! But then what about the…”

“Immaterial, because…”

“Chakra blending.” Sakura said, bright-eyed.

Sasuke let his teammates continue, while he casually charged his sword with lightning chakra. He
touched the ground to discharge and then repeated the action.

White sat down next to him, together with Kakashi. “You’re not going to be practicing your
ninjutsu?”

“This is my secondary affinity.” He said. “It costs more chakra to practice actual jutsu, so I get
more results to my control from a small exercise like this.”

He did not mention that it made it easier to focus on his teammates and all the progress they were
making. It had been a strange day, but he was happy he got to bring in the external help. Sasuke the
genin could only push them so far without raising suspicions. Ninja from another village with
unknown skills were the perfect teachers of some of the methods he had brought back from the
future.

Their growling stomachs soon reminded them that they had skipped dinner. Kakashi observed
them as Sasuke cooked and prepared food for them. He noticed how comfortable Naruto and
Sakura were at the table, having settled into this routine. They knew exactly how to help and where
everything in the house was.

The guards ate with them and they had the polite dignity to look equally uncomfortable at the
novel situation.

“So, what are your plans for the rest of your evening?” Kakashi asked.

Sakura took another big bite. “Probably going to read.”

“I was thinking of setting up a tent in the yard.” Naruto said.

“And I’ll need to write some correspondence to keep my promises with the Council. After the race,
of course.” Sasuke smiled.

“You had a busy day, Sasuke. Why don’t you relax like your teammates?”

Naruto looked confused at Kakashi. “We’re not going to be relaxing. I’m setting up a tent to
practice. The two of them are a lot quicker and inventive in figuring out how to hide their sleeping
locations. I’m supposed to be the most surprising ninja you know!”

Sakura nodded, picking out the scrolls from her bag. “I’ll be reading chakra theory.”

“So, what do you do for fun?” Kakashi asked.

Sasuke smiled. “Read theory, practice our skills, compete against each other.”

Kakashi took out his Ichi-Ichi Paradise book. “You should really find a way to unwind.”

White grimaced. “That is not appropriate material to read in front of children.”

“They’re ninja.” Kakashi shrugged. “They’re going to be exposed to a lot worse things than a little
harmless fiction.”

The three bodyguards shook their heads but let the jounin continue. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke had
fun on their race and it was already becoming clear that their training was closing the distance
between them.

Their other training was making strides as well. Pink took a seat next to Sakura to read with her.
Orange was giving Naruto pointers on the tent. Sasuke was drafting up letters for the clan leaders,
thanking them for their support with White and Kakashi looking over his work for suggestions.

Before they knew it, it was time for Sakura to head home. Kakashi observed as the bodyguards
retreated into the basement and made a rudimentary sleeping area for themselves. Sasuke activated
the containment seal that would keep the bodyguards in the basement for as long as the Last Stand
barrier functioned.

Once Kakashi was satisfied with its security, he went with Sakura to walk her home. “Just
remember. Don’t deactivate the seal tomorrow until I get here.”

“I’m serving breakfast at eight, at which point I will release the seal.” Sasuke said. “If you don’t
want me releasing it before you get here, you know what time you have to be here.”

Kakashi glared, but left with Sakura.

Naruto chuckled. “Are you going to blackmail him to be on time for everything now?”

“Just the important things, lest I piss him off so much that he actually does expel me as a ninja.”
Sasuke smiled. “But I don’t want to be rude to my new guests. Are you okay sleeping in my
parents’ bedroom again?”

“Y-yeah. They might have surprised me in that room, but I was already in your bedroom before I
realised what was going on.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to take the other side of the bed for now. Just until we’re sure we’re
safe.”

“I thought that’s what the barrier and the bodyguards were for.”

“Please, Naruto. Last night I woke up with my best friend being held at knife point. It would make
me feel better to know where you were.”

“Fine.” He said. He shrugged, though he looked relieved as well that he would not be sleeping
alone. “It’ll just be like out on missions and we’re sharing a tent together.”
“Then let’s get ready for bed.” Sasuke said.

They brushed their teeth and changed into their pyjamas. Once they were in bed, they quickly
settled into a deep sleep. It was the safest Sasuke had felt since he had returned to the past. His
Hokage was next to him, one of Naruto’s seals was keeping out enemies and there were three
impossibly capable and impossibly loyal ninja in the basement in case anything happened.

It was nowhere near Sasuke’s preferred standards, but it was a good start.

Sasuke spent the next morning getting a breakfast ready for everyone. He had to drag Naruto’s butt
out of bed to be seated at the table. The boy was still rubbing his eyes, wearing his pyjama.

At a quarter to eight, Sasuke felt Kakashi’s chakra approach. The man was staying outside of the
barrier though, at some angle where he could observe them. Sasuke ignored Naruto’s protests and
unlocked the basement at exactly eight o’clock, letting the bodyguards join them at the table.

Kakashi quickly moved into position, glaring daggers at Sasuke for going through with his threat.
He must have been hoping Sasuke was bluffing and would wait for his sensei. Like hell that was
going to happen. Just because Kakashi and Sarutobi were convinced his known members of the
Uchiha platoon were dangerous, did not mean they actually were.

“I saved you something.” Naruto said as he greeted the bodyguards. “Sasuke said you would be
making your own food, but that sounded mean.”

“You’re very kind.” Orange said, sitting herself next to Naruto. “But Sasuke’s right. We’re getting
paid more than we’re comfortable with and the least we can do is take our meal breaks on our own
times.”

“It looks delicious though.” Pink said. “Did you help make it?”

“I only helped a little.” Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “Are you sure you don’t want
anything?”

“I’ll eat some after you leave.” Orange said.

Kakashi coughed to get their attention. “Though Sasuke took the effort to secure any privileged
information in the house, I have taken further steps to lay my own traps. I will know if you go
snooping where you don’t belong.”

“We understand.”

“I trust you’ve already been informed of what would happen if you left the Uchiha Manor?”

“The alarms will set off immediately.” White said. “And our lives will be forfeit.”

“That sounds extreme.” Naruto said.

“It’s a good precaution.” White said. “I wouldn’t be trusting the competence of Konoha as a ninja
village if they had settled for anything less.”

“It takes time to build up trust.” Pink added. “We’re aware of this and we have enough patience to
wait until given further leeway.”

White nodded. “We do realise this is an unusual arrangement. I apologise for the inconvenience
this will cause you, Hatake-san. We are truly appreciative of the efforts you go through for Uchiha-
sama, and by extension us.”

“It’s not like I had much of a choice.”

“There’s always a choice.” White said. “And thank you for choosing this.”

They finished gathering their things, before heading out to the mission desk. Naruto had the good
sense to look sheepish to be wearing his pyjamas when Sasuke and Kakashi were ready to go. He
quickly changed into his normal ninja clothes.

Sakura was waiting for them and they were one of the first teams in that day. Iruka could not quite
believe Kakashi with his legendary reputation had joined them. Besides the mission they had been
assigned, they took on two more. Iruka gladly handed them out and added how much he had
missed Team 7’s enthusiasm. With just a little thinking on Sasuke’s part and some creative ideas
from Naruto and Sakura, they had it all wrapped up in under an hour.

Kakashi followed them to a training field after the missions. He had been surprised how quickly
Sakura and Naruto were progressing with the elemental techniques. All the practice and guidance
had been paying off immensely. Kakashi ended up mostly observing with fascination as the three
of them burned through their chakra practicing the techniques, chatting with them as they worked.
They were left panting and tired at the end of the afternoon.

Kakashi was the first back in the Uchiha house, checking all his traps before giving the rest of the
team permission to enter. Dinner was easier to make when the bodyguards had already done some
of the preparations.

It was strange how easily Kakashi fit into their dynamic. For someone being forced to be there, it
did not look like he minded.

Kakashi was baffled to see them telling the truth about training for the rest of the evening even on
a day where they had already completed several missions and had trained until their chakra had
been exhausted. He read his book and sipped on tea, trying to relax while also making sure the
three new bodyguards were not going to suddenly kill them. Sasuke was happy to see Kakashi
seemingly drop his guard once or twice as he became more used to the masked guards.

Thursday and Friday followed the same schedule. Kakashi picked up Naruto and Sasuke from the
house in the morning to free the guards and escort the genin to the mission desk. Kakashi
supervised their afternoon training on the training grounds and was present for the evening. Sasuke
would have thought it would feel like an intrusion, but Kakashi blended happily away. Present, but
not speaking. A comfortable houseplant.

“What do we do for the weekend?” Naruto asked. “We promised to keep training.”

“I have a council meeting tomorrow.” Sasuke said. He might consider skipping it, except for the
fact that they had just been freed from the Sandaime’s oversight and that was not something to
miss. “I’m free otherwise.”

“I’ll do my parents’ paperwork tomorrow then.” Sakura said. “I’ll come over in the evening and
my Sunday will be free.”

Naruto turned to Kakashi. “Do you want to come play Danger and Deceit with us?”

“Absolutely not.” Kakashi shook his head.

“Why not?”
“I don’t know where you learned that game, but I have zero interest in starting another group.
You’ll just have to wait until you’re ANBU to find someone to teach you how to play.”

Naruto chuckled. “We already have a group. I’m just asking if you’d like to join as a player.”

“I’ve been setting the missions.” Sasuke said. “All you’d have to do is show up.”

Kakashi tilted his head. “Who taught you how to be a Deception Master?”

“Does it matter?” Sasuke deflected, feigning discomfort. The most reasonable conclusion for
Kakashi to come up with was that Itachi had taught him how to play. Convenient for Sasuke
because that meant Kakashi wouldn’t be asking any questions.

“I suppose not. I’ll give it a go then.”

~*~

The Council meeting was absolute chaos. The Sandaime was actually forced to show up, looking
extremely malcontent. The Clan Leaders had all found ways to undermine him and his policies.
There were three completed and contradictory plans to get Konoha back into shape from its martial
law, and nobody wanted to budge on anything. It was going to take months before there were any
plans, let alone something they could start executing.

Sasuke simply listened and offered his input where appropriate. He had already detonated the
bomb. Let the others deal with the clean-up.

~*~

Kakashi did not look pleased with the sheet he had been given. “I’d never create a character like
this.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s too balanced. What point-buy system do you use? Because I’d love to shuffle these stats
around.”

“I approximate stats based on the current strength of the team.”

“I’ve never seen that done before.” Kakashi stared at his sheet more. “Do you use the generalised
or the medically expanded rules for calculating damage?”

“I believe that knowing the precise mechanics gets in the way of enjoying the game. So I’m going
to have to ask you not to focus too much on the details.”

“How am I supposed to lead the team if I can’t predict what my actions will lead to?”

“You’re not.” Sakura said. “It’s my turn to be team leader.”

“I clearly have more experience.” Kakashi said.

Sasuke smirked. “Which is why you get to lead all our regular missions. Naruto and Sakura get
their own turns when it’s make-belief. Now, I’d like to start us off. We’re in an unknown village in
the middle of the Land of Wind. You are passing through in pursuit of a missing ninja.” Sasuke
proceeded to summarise the other relevant details.

“I go into the first house I see.” Kakashi said.

“That would be the baker’s house. The door is unlocked and you find his wife and children playing
on the floor. She asks you what you’re doing.”

“What does she look like?”

Sasuke sighed, before making a hand sign. He became a large woman, curly brown hair tied up
above her head. Streaks of flour marked her face and clothes. “I said, what are you doing here?”

“So, this is probably plot relevant.” Kakashi said to Naruto and Sakura. “Usually only a few houses
are prepared ahead of time and when you enter a random one, the DM will choose one of them. We
just need to search the house for clues and we’ll skip half the mission.”

Naruto frowned. “I don’t think it works like that.”

“Yeah, sensei.” Sakura said. “I think you just walked into a random woman’s home and started
talking nonsense. And since I’m team leader, I’m taking over. Excuse me ma’am? Excuse my poor
teammate. He seems to be dehydrated from the journey through he dessert. Could we trouble you
for a glass of water?”

Sasuke let the henge drop. “She gladly hands you some water and sets you on your way.”

Kakashi frowned. “Do we see anything out of place inside of the home?”

“You’d have to be more specific than that. It’s a unique home, but nothing that is noteworthy.”
Sasuke took a sheet of paper and started sketching out the lay-out, mentioning items.

“There’s a puzzle here.” Kakashi said as he started going over the paper. “Something’s out of
place.”

Sasuke shook his head. “I try not to do step in, but I’ll help you along.” He took another piece of
paper and started drawing out a map of a small portion of the village. “You entered through this
gate and the reason you went into the baker’s home is because that’s the one closest to that gate.
He gets his wheat imported and likes to be the first to hear of any new merchants coming into the
town. There’s nothing special about this one particular house, except that you’ve chosen to enter it.
I have a similar background for every house in this village and I can draw similar sketches of their
living spaces if you choose to invade anymore privacy.”

Kakashi made a face. “How much effort did you go through to prepare for this game?”

“Less than you think. I prepared a universe that’s internally consistent, so that when you ask me to
sketch someone’s living room, I can improvise all the details.”

Naruto sighed. “Can we get on with the adventure? Usually we have at least a few clues by this
point.”

“Why don’t you try again?” Sakura asked, more patiently. “Stop thinking about this as a game and
pretend it’s a real mission for a moment. What would you do then?”

“I suppose… I’d hang back and wait until I’ve overheard the information we need. Where we are,
who we could contact for more information. That sort of thing.”

“That’s a good suggestion.” Sakura smiled. “Naruto?”

“Well, we did just barge into the baker’s home and found his wife accommodating. Why not make
a bit more use of her kindness and start asking questions?”
“Wouldn’t hurt.” Sakura said. “We’ll try Kakashi’s idea if this doesn’t pan out.”

Sasuke activated his henge again and fussed over Kakashi’s character, the poor dear who had
stumbled through the desert, showing off how much of a gossip the baker’s wife was at the same
time. Kakashi had seemed dismissive of the idea, but slowly started to get into it. When Naruto
criticised Kakashi for not sounding like himself, the jounin took that as a challenge.

~*~

Naruto and Sakura had already gone into the back garden to practice some kata moves they had
screwed up in the scenario. Kakashi was still staring at the table, even after Sasuke had long
cleaned up all of the papers.

“I’ve never played a game like this.” Kakashi said.

“You were a fun addition.” Sasuke said. “Once you actually started playing.”

“My first time being a DM, I spent four months preparing a village. I named it Ermigori” Kakashi
said. “I’d created a new language for the villagers and had spent time practicing to speak it. I’d
assumed my players would infiltrate it and that I would get to explore layers of complexity over
many sessions. Instead, they burned it down five minutes after arriving.”

“That’s rough.”

“Having been punished for being meticulous, I created shortcuts. And the ANBU I played with
took advantage of those shortcuts. So I started laying traps in my shortcuts. The game we played
became about tropes and subverting them. It was about being unpredictable enough that the
players would not be able to skip my adventures before I had even been able to set them up. It’s
never been about realism.”

Sasuke shook his head. “I need it to be realistic for Naruto and Sakura to learn tactical awareness.
To learn strategies and learn ways of thinking that are useful on actual missions.”

“Don’t you need to learn that too?”

“And I do. I let Naruto and Sakura come up with solutions and I practice calculating the outcomes.
I practice other important skills. But I need the world we’re playing in to be realistic.”

“I like it. I didn’t expect to. Not to this extent. But I find myself looking forward to next week’s
game.”

“Maybe this time you can finish the mission without seducing anyone.” Sasuke smirked.

“You put charisma on my character sheet, then I’m going to use it.”

“Noted.”

~*~

Their Monday progressed as normal. During their training, Naruto had a lot of aggression to work
out and it showed during their first run. Naruto was doing a fair job keeping up with Sasuke and
Sakura was not falling behind much at all. Of course, the realization that he might win hit Naruto
hard, almost as hard as the branch hit his head when he got too distracted to dodge it.

Sakura was laughing, which is why she slipped.

Sasuke could not help but stop to taunt. “I know I have a tight ass, but did you both have to drop to
the ground to admire it?”

Sakura was turning red. Naruto too, but because of a different reason. He let out a small growl as he
tried to tackle Sasuke to the ground. Sakura was joining in and throwing kunai to force Sasuke to
dodge. At least she was using dull kunai. Future Sakura had usually not been that kind.

He laughed it off and continued their race, with several assaults slowing him down along the way.
Near the finish line, several dozen Naruto clones were waiting for him in ambush. They had strung
up ninja wire and there was no way that he would be able to detect them at the skill level he was
pretending to be. That was excellent.

He let himself be caught up in the wires, pretending to struggle to get out while Naruto and Sakura
went over the finish line. They were high fiving and celebrating while the clones undid the wires.

Sasuke had to congratulate them. “Looks like you won.”

“What are you talking about?” Naruto asked.

“Yeah. We cheated.”

“So?” Sasuke shrugged. “You won. As ninja, we can appreciate the beauty of winning no matter
how it happened. We never agreed that it should be a fair race.”

Sakura held up one hand. “No. We are not winning like this. It is not fair.”

“Sakura?” Naruto asked.

Sakura was shaking a little, a look on her face that Sasuke had seen only a couple of times before.
“When we went to the Land of Waves, you defeated ninja. I know I helped, but if I had been
stronger, maybe Kakashi would not have gotten hurt. Maybe we could have done it all without
losing Haku and Zabuza. Then you got attacked within the village just a few days ago. It was a
miracle you both survived without getting hurt. Next time I want to be there and I want to help. I
am a ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and I refuse to let anyone down.”

Sasuke nodded. “If you are serious about this, then I think it is time the two of you learned about
chakra reinforcement.”

Sasuke went back to the house and spent the next half hour together with their bodyguards
explaining the basics behind using chakra to make the body stronger and faster.

He focused on the mechanism for Sakura, so that she could do it as effectively as possible. When
she finally got the methods down together with Pink, she was moving at half the speed she had
been. Sasuke assured her it would take a little practice, but it would be worth it in a few days.
Especially since her Earth chakra would be able to increase the effect even more.

Naruto would never be able to control his chakra that finely. Sasuke and Orange focused on some
cheap and dirty ways to improve the muscles, which all revolved around flooding them with so
much chakra that at least some of it would help. It was incredibly wasteful, but it got the job done.
And really, that was all that mattered at that point.

Over the course of the next days, they practiced the technique in the evening and in the afternoon
after getting exhausted by their jutsu training. Channeling their chakra into their muscles was not as
intense as the jutsu training for Sakura, and not as frustrating for Naruto.
It helped that when they felt frustrated, they could complain to the bodyguards and they would
lend an ear. Sometimes they even had some useful advice.

It was a Wednesday evening when Naruto and Sakura were able to keep up with Sasuke during
their daily race. Sasuke activated his sharingan to win that day, but it only bought him an extra day.
They had pushed themselves to the limits of effective control and achieved Sasuke’s simulated
speed level.

They had won fair and square.

“You are progressing so quickly.” Sasuke said. “I’m really proud of you guys.”

“I never thought we’d get this far.” Sakura said. “It really shows how well you’ve been training
us.”

“And a promise is a promise.” Sasuke said. “I’ll go on a date with the both of you.”

“I’m not going on a date with you teme!” Naruto complained.

“Naruto, we would go to Ichiraku’s and I’d be paying.”

“All right! I’m going on a date with Sasuke!” Naruto cheered happily.

Sakura had to stifle a laugh. “I never imagined the two of you dating.”

“I would like to request something.” Sasuke said. “Could the two of you go out on a date as well?”

Sakura frowned. “Why would you want that?”

“We have been spending a lot of time together and enjoying ourselves, but I do not think the two of
you interact that often without me. There were particular problems with this when the two of you
had to find a certain cat, I believe. I think it’s a lot better already, but it would do you good to spend
some time together.”

Sakura nodded. She looked at Naruto. It was not like she disliked the boy anymore. “That sounds
acceptable. Is it okay with you too, Naruto?”

“Yeah, of course.” Naruto said.

“Thank you.” Sasuke had divided a paper in three, naming each of the three dates with simple key
words. “Tomorrow I will go have dinner with Naruto. Saturday Naruto can have dinner with you?
My day will be spent with the council again. Then Sunday, I will go with you Sakura. Does that
work for everyone?”

They nodded and then continued their training. Sakura was happy she could go back to her other
exercises, but Naruto seemed to have some trouble filling the evening now that he did not have to
practice strengthening his muscles anymore.

Sasuke was quick to notice and offer a solution. “I think I have something new for you to do that’s
less chakra intensive. You’ve been neglecting some of the theory lately.”

“You are going to try to get me to read again, aren’t you?”

“A little, but only fun books, I promise. And I actually had something else in mind to start with.
You know the safety seal we activated on the night of the attack?”
 Naruto nodded. “That stuff looked awesome.”

“I thought I saw you looking. If you’d like, you could try making some seals of your own. Both
Orange and Pink dabble with it. Unlike genjutsu, you do not need much control or patience to make
a good seal. It consists for a large part out of emotion and expression. The fourth Hokage was able
to place complicated seals on any surface merely by touching it.”

“Not really useful though, is it? I know the Yondaime was able to teleport with his seals, but there
was more to it than just the seal. What can you really do with seals?”

“Storage, explosions and security are the main three. But the better question is, what can’t you do
with seals? They are like jutsu, except you can make anything by yourself without having to wait
for some jounin to take the time to consider teaching you.”

“And then show up hours late.” Naruto was chuckling. “Sure, I’ll give it a try.” With a
mischievous grin he was looking at the Hokage monument. “I’ve always wondered if there wasn’t
an easier way to make those faces more colourful.”

Chapter End Notes

Not gonna lie, this chapter took some work. Next chapter, Team 7 - Sakura to be
updated Thursday evening (CET) January 13th.

It's also 2 hours past my bedtime (the things I do for you), so I'm just happy my mind
stayed awake long enough to complete the chapter.
 Team 7: Sasuke
Chapter Summary

Sasuke and Naruto go out on a date.

Chapter Notes

Surprise update. I realised part of my problem was that the chapter was too big. I
wanted to put all three dates into one chapter, but that seemed to make less and less
sense. So I've split it in 2. Total chapter count is raised to 27. Enjoy!
(I'm also secretly glad because I'd always liked the idea of having a Team 7 Naruto,
Sasuke, Sakura chapter trio, but I never had enough material to actually do that. Yay
me).

See the end of the chapter for more notes

There were three targets moving along the road and three Konoha ninja. Easy math. Sasuke would
take on the biggest target as leader of the team. The one that had the largest chance of running
away. Sasuke signalled his temporary teammates the plan in a simple ANBU code.

The girl tried to clumsily sign back while the boy just looked confused. Sasuke sighed. They had
been over this multiple times before they had started the mission. The girl quietly crawled her way
to the boy and whispered in his ear. Finally the boy nodded and Sasuke counted it down with his
fingers.

Three.

Two.

One.

Engage.

The boy let out a war cry as the three of them jumped from the bushes, alerting the targets. The
puppies startled and started running away. Sasuke reached the biggest of the three and lifted it up
onto one shoulder, before retrieving a few dozen kunai and throwing them into the path the other
puppies had fled. They whimpered and stopped in their path, frantically turning around to escape
in a different direction.

Wagashi readied her stance and refused to let her puppy get passed her. She pounced the puppy
and then held it up triumphantly, almost buckling under the weight. “I got it!”

Unfortunately, Songoku was having more difficulty.

“Go help your brother.” Sasuke said. He took the puppy off her hands so she would have more
ease to move.
The puppy had gotten away though and the two little ninja were left chasing after it. Sasuke was
half convinced they had forgotten their mission objective halfway through as their giggling ruined
any credibility they had left as ninja. In his mind he was already drafting a training regime to
address the deficiencies in their form. There were actually some good books he could get them to
read.

“I’m pretty sure your assignment was to stay inside.” Naruto said, sliding next to Sasuke.

Sasuke shrugged. “They wanted to play ninja.”

“Is that why they both have a mission scroll on their belts?”

“I wanted to make it authentic.”

“They can’t even read yet, Sasuke.” Naruto smiled. “You’re ridiculous.”

“There’s a reason I wanted to stop taking babysitting missions.”

“And there’s a reason Sakura and I always denied you that request.”

“The two of you are better with children.” Sasuke said. “And now that you’re here you can step
in.”

“But you were doing so well, Sasuke.” Naruto beamed. “I can’t wait to see how you debrief two
toddlers. Are you going to point out all their flaws like you do with Sakura and me?”

Sasuke glared.

Naruto gasped in delight. “You were!”

“Shut up. If you’re going to stand here and gloat, at least carry one of the puppies.” Sasuke tossed
one and Naruto had to scramble to catch him in time.

Naruto looked indignant, as if the Hokage could actually be such a bad ninja to drop a defenceless
puppy no matter how surprised he had been. The puppy licked the face of his saviour and the one
Sasuke held started looking jealous.

“Was I supposed to do it differently?” Sasuke asked.

Naruto gave a look like that was a ridiculous question. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Sasuke frowned. “Not to me.”

~*~

“The earth is being stubborn.” Sakura complained.

“Much like you.” Pink grinned.

Sakura made the seals again. She had progressed beyond the point where she had to shove her hand
into the dirt. Her foot was a perfect conduit of her chakra and she could channel the technique
without having to kneel down. But from there on it was a snail’s pace. After more than a minute
had passed she let the technique finish. Just a few meters away from her, a small wall rose from the
earth. It was just a few inches wide and tall. Sakura was not wasting chakra on full constructs.

“It’s further than it was.” Pink said. “Perhaps you just need more practice.”
“I feel like I’m missing something.” Sakura groaned. “It shouldn’t be this difficult. But no matter
how many times I go over it, I can’t think of any chakra laws I’m violating.”

“Earth chakra isn’t my specialisation.” Pink said. “Orange has water and White has lightning. I’m
afraid we can’t help.”

Sakura sighed. “I’ll look over the scrolls again. Thanks for looking over my form anyway.”

Pink nodded, helping her dismantle the practice attempt and move back inside.

At least Naruto was just as frustrated with his training.

“But it looks exactly the same!” Naruto grumbled. He tried pulling his hair out, before going back
to the drawing board. “Why isn’t it working?”

“I already told you. It’s not enough to copy it without understanding the seal.” Sasuke laid out the
two kinds of exploding tags that were sold in the village in front of Naruto. “For your first seals,
you have to find your own way to make it.”

“That didn’t work though.” Naruto said, pointing to the tags he had produced before. They were
just drawings of clouds with the word ‘BOOM’ written under them.

“You’re actually thinking too much here.”

Sakura snorted. “That’s a first.”

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her.

“Can I help?” Orange asked. She had just finished making them tea and had brought it out.

“Are you a sealing expert, Orange-onee-san?” Naruto shoved over a little to make room for her.

“I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but I have picked up some things over the years.” She took out a
brush and wrote down her own exploding tag. “That’s mine.”

“It’s completely different from the others.” Naruto looked more lost than before. “I can’t make
heads or tails of it.”

She chuckled. “You’re concentrating on the exact shapes too much. Look at my seal and tell me
what you feel.”

Naruto picked it up and gave it a very thorough look. The lines were nothing like the clean marks
on the Konoha official tags. They looked splattered on the paper. Not carelessly, but like the paper
had insulted Orange personally and had to be taught a lesson. “It feels angry.”

“That’s right. I use explosive anger as my inspiration for my seal.” She made another seal. It
looked minimalistic, with effective brush strokes. “This one is Pink’s. It’s a little harder to make
out, but it’s about practicality. Doing what needs to be done even if that involves a large explosion.
Can you tell what the official Konoha sealers use?”

Naruto looked them over again. The one on the left had a few meticulous markings, while the one
on the right had a lot of them repeated over and over again. “Awe and determination.”

“Right again. I think the creator of the left tag is very impressed by explosions. Maybe a little bit
more than is healthy. The one on the right doesn’t seem to like explosive tags very much. Maybe
not sealing in general. I think the only reason he is producing them is out of a sense of obligation to
Konoha.”

“Does that mean you’re angry at explosions?”

Orange chuckled again. “I’m a passionate fighter and I quickly get angry when fighting my
enemies. I’ve always seen the use of exploding tags as the culmination of that anger. How do you
use explosions during fighting?”

“I don’t really use them to hurt my opponents. They’re just easy to hide and I like how it surprises
them.”

“Ah, so it’s like a prank you pull on them.”

“Exactly!”

Orange pulled up a new sheet of paper and put it in front of Naruto. “Hold that feeling in your head.
Really concentrate on it. And then just put the emotion down.”

Naruto went at it immediately. It took time as Naruto did his best to express himself in an artistic
depiction. The end result was rough, but it was passable. Though it looked nothing like the other
notes, it was the first attempt that looked like a proper seal. He picked it up to channel chakra
through it.

There were four bodies piling up on Naruto to stop. All three bodyguards and Sasuke. Sasuke
carefully pulled the seal away from Naruto’s hand and put it to the side. “No activations of
experimental seal work inside. Check if it works outside. With a clone.”

Naruto was happy to oblige. The only thing louder than the explosion was Naruto’s cheering.

“I did it!”

Orange clasped his shoulder. “So you did.”

“Now make another twenty.” Sasuke said.

Naruto almost tripped over himself. “What the hell? It took me hours just to make one, Teme.”

“It’ll get easier with repetition.” Sasuke noted. “And the explosions will get bigger too as you get a
better hang of it.”

That seemed intriguing to Naruto, if nothing else. He begrudgingly went back to work.

It was many hours later, with Naruto covered in a thin layer of dirt and soot, that he had to be
pulled away from his work. Despite his protests, Naruto had taken to the hypnotically repetitive
sealing work just as well as Sasuke had thought he would.

“Naruto, it’s time to shower and change.” Sasuke said. “Let’s see how well you clean up.”

~*~

“These things feel weird.” Naruto complained, tugging at his kimono. “Tell me again. Why
couldn’t we just go eat ramen in our normal clothes?”

“Because I’m taking you out for dinner and I want it to be special.”

“Ramen is always special! You don’t need fancy clothes for that.”
“If the food’s always special, just imagine how special it will be while wearing special clothes.”
Sasuke smiled. “And it has to be more comfortable than that jumpsuit you wear everywhere. How
old is that thing anyway?”

Naruto shrugged. “It was given to me second-hand. It might be a little old, but at least I don’t have
to worry about it. This thing looks and feels expensive. What if I spill anything on it?”

“Then I’ll clean it. It was my decision to lend it to you, you don’t have to feel guilty if anything
happens to it.”

The stand was just where it had always been. Naruto had often dragged them there in Sasuke’s
original future. When the owner had passed away, his daughter had taken over. She used to say that
Naruto was her biggest client. She always said the ramen stand would not survive if the Uzumaki
ever perished. In a way she was right. The same attack that had killed Naruto had taken the stand
with it as well.

Naruto and Sasuke took a seat at Ichiraku’s.

“Old man, two miso ramen!” Naruto smiled.

“Same for me, please.” Sasuke said. “But I’ll start with just one bowl.”

Teuchi beamed at the boy. “Naruto! So good to see you. I’m not used to going so many days
without you showing up. I was starting to get worried, but here you are again out of the blue and
looking so handsome. Are you two going on a date after this?”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “N-no… not after this…”

The old man seemed confused, but Ayame squealed softly when she realised what he meant.

“It’s not anything like that!” Naruto tried to tell the girl.

“Not at all.” Sasuke confirmed. “I’m only going out with him because I lost a bet.”

Naruto gaped. “Y-you insisted!”

Sasuke smirked. He just loved messing with his Hokage.

Teuchi served three bowls of ramen. The man was fast and still an expert in his craft. The dashi
and broth were flawlessly proportioned, the noodles had perfect texture and all the toppings
smelled inviting. Sasuke was still enjoying his very first bite, when Naruto put down his two empty
bowls with gusto.

“Seconds, please!” Naruto said. “After all this time I have some catching up to do.”

Sasuke shook his head, but he could not keep the smile off his face. “I’m happy I brought my
larger wallet tonight. I have the feeling I’m going to need it.”

“You made your bed, now you have to lie in it.”

“Sure did.” Sasuke said. “So, have you been thinking about your date with Sakura?”

“I have, but it’s really hard. I’ve had a crush on Sakura for so long, but I know she doesn’t feel the
same. I haven’t been able to think of anything grand enough to change that.”

“Then perhaps something a little less grand. What would the two of you be doing in an ideal
scenario for you?”

Naruto had to think about that one. “I don’t… I don’t really know. I guess I always imagined us
sitting in one of those fancy restaurants. I’d know exactly what wine to get and what all the food
was. You know, like in all the manga. She would be completely impressed with me if I could do
all that.”

“It doesn’t sound like you.”

“Yeah, and it doesn’t sound like Sakura to enjoy a night like that with me either. She’ll just keep
complaining she isn’t out with you. What do you think Sakura and I should do together?”

“It wouldn’t be right of me to suggest anything. I’m sure you’ll figure something out. If there’s one
thing you’re good at it’s making other people happy.”

“I can’t think of any kind of date where Sakura would enjoy herself.”

“You’re getting along pretty well during training sessions.”

“Then we’re just hanging out as friends. It’s different.”

“How so? We can hang out as friends and now we’re having a nice date together.”

“It’s still different. This isn’t a real date. It’s just us having fake-date-dinner together as friends.”

“Can’t you spend time with Sakura as a fake date?”

“There will be expectations.” Naruto sighed. “Do I bring her flowers? Girls like that kinda thing,
right?”

“Some girls do, some girls don’t. Do you think Sakura would like to get flowers from you?”

“No, from me she’d think it was lame.”

“The funny thing is that you already know the answers to your own questions. That means you’re
pretty close to the solution.”

“Really? Cause it feels like I’m stuck. Every idea I come up with is a bad one.”

“Ah, then the solution is simple.” Sasuke said. “Come up with better ideas.”

“Teme.” Naruto rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

“Seriously though, I think your main problem is that you’re thinking too conventionally. Just put
yourself in her shoes. You’re Sakura. And now Uzumaki Naruto, your teammate and friend, is
going to spend the night with you. What are you hoping you’ll do together?”

“If I were Sakura, I’d just want to hang out as friends. Someplace not romantic at all.” Naruto said.
Then his eyes went wide. “I think I have an idea.”

“Excellent. I’m sure you’ll nail it.”

“I hope so. It’ll be my first date.”

Sasuke coughed.
“My first date with a girl, Teme.”

“You don’t have to sound so uncertain about it. It’s not like I’ve been on any dates before either.”

“Really, even with all those fangirls following you around?”

“I never talked with them. An actual date was completely out of the question.”

“But I’m sure you’ll be brilliant at it. Just like everything else you do.”

“Was that a complement, dobe? It’s starting to feel like a real date already.”

“Don’t get used to it.” Naruto hunched over the third serving of two bowls in front of him, happily
taking in the scent. “Something about this place makes me really happy. You know how Iruka-
sensei treated me to ramen before? While I was at the Academy that was almost a weekly thing.”

“That sounds nice of him.”

“He’d talk about my grades and about how I’d need to study more. But he’d also happily talk
about everything I was doing right. Without him I would have been expelled years ago.”

“That would certainly have been a shame.” Sasuke said. “Konoha would have lost so much
standing if you would have become Hokage as an Academy drop-out.”

Naruto laughed so much he almost choked on his ramen. “Can you imagine the looks of all the old
geezers having to swear me in?”

“I like this way better though. Team 7 would not have been the same without you.”

Naruto waved it off. “You’d have found some other poor sap to train as your Jiraiya.”

“Nobody else would have worked out.” Sasuke said.

“Kiba or Choji would have been decent taijutsu specialists though.”

“It’s not enough for them to know taijutsu. It goes deeper than that.”

“What do you mean?”

Sasuke twiddled with the chopsticks between his fingers. “Do you believe in destiny, Naruto?”

“Not really. Why?”

“As individuals, we are all unpredictable, but the bigger the group, the more predictable it
becomes. Looking at history, some rivalries seem to keep coming back. Strong ninja who know
each other from childhood and become enemies over the course of their life. There is something
about you Naruto that makes me want to become my absolute best. You know that one time in the
Academy when you landed a blow on me? I spent the weeks after that training mercilessly.”

“Well, I certainly know what it’s like to want to beat my rival. But why are you helping me so
much if it annoys you when we get the better of you?”

“During our academy days, I was pushing myself as hard as I could and it was exhausting. But
when I’m teaching Sakura and you it doesn’t feel like work anymore. I can train twice as hard for
twice the time.”
“So, you’re lifting us up because that will push you to keep improving too? Sounds pretty cocky.
You do realise I’m going to beat your ass before too long, right?”

“That’s the other reason.” Sasuke said. “The cycle in history is always the same. Two ninja are
born. One gets an early start and a lot of help. They achieve while young and are called a born
genius. This isolates them too, which they think is fine. They can find strength all on their own.
The other takes a little longer to find his way. He is frustrated being the weaker one, but he only
sees it as a challenge. Pretty soon, he makes friends who all help him become an unstoppable
genius of hard work. And he surpasses the born genius. The born genius feels frustrated too, before
feeling jealousy and anger. Instead of recognising the value of help, they retreat deeper in futile
attempts to keep up with this force of nature.”

“For a genius, they don’t sound too smart.”

“Which is why I don’t want to repeat the pattern. I think you’re the genius of hard work for me. I
think you’ll surpass me, before taking the world by storm.”

“History can’t tell us what’s going to happen.” Naruto said. “And it’s not a good comparison. There
are three people on our team, not two.”

Sasuke shook his head. “Forget I said anything.”

“But Sasuke, you’re already different from the born genius in your story. You chose not to be
alone. You have Sakura and me to help you. So all three of us can both become geniuses of hard
work together.”

Sasuke smiled. “Thanks.”

“I don’t think I tell you often enough how much it means to me that we’re doing this together.”
Naruto admitted. He was staring down at the counter in front of him. “All through the Academy I
heard classmates talking about going home and having family members helping them with their
jutsu, only to go back to my own apartment and try to figure everything out by myself. I’ve never
had what they had. Not until you gave it to me.”

“It’s nothing less than you deserve.”

Naruto smiled. “It’s nice. And I’m just saying I’m grateful for it.”

There was a squeal behind them. When Sasuke checked, it was a small gaggle of girls gathering.
He recognised them from the Academy. It looked like they had been catching up and had forgotten
how many days had passed since their graduation. They were openly admiring their crush, wearing
a kimono in public.

“God… no…” Sasuke groaned in frustration.

“SASUKE!!!” They yelled, and more were gathering. The more there were, the more they dared
approach.

He looked at Naruto. “Please help me.”

“Back off, everyone!” Naruto yelled, standing up and positioning himself between the girls and
their idol. They were mostly ignoring him. That is, until Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s hand and leaned
into him, draping himself over Sasuke’s arm. “He’s mine!”

They stopped in their tracks. They looked at Naruto, then back at Sasuke. They were close to tears,
but most of them were backing off.

“Let’s go somewhere quieter.” Sasuke said. He paid Teuchi and then, still holding hands, started
walking to the Uchiha grounds.

“Y-you thief!” One of the girls shrieked. “Get your filthy paws away from our Sasuke!”

Sasuke and Naruto shared one troubled look, before jumping onto the rooftops and sprinting away.
The more capable ninja in the group actually followed them and they had to put effort into putting
distance between them and the fangirls. They arrived at the edge of the Uchiha grounds, breathing
heavily. They looked behind them, and then started walking casually through the forests
surrounding the grounds.

“I think we lost them.” Sasuke smiled. “But I’m afraid they might come after you more often.”

“How rude do you have to be to chase away your crush’s boyfriend?”

“We’re boyfriends now?”

“As far as they know!” Naruto said. “How did you survive them for so long?”

“Mostly by complaining to my classmates. I told you guys several times that having a crowd of
adoring girls was annoying. You didn’t believe me.”

“I would like to formally apologise if I ever implied you were lucky to be in that position. What do
they see in you, anyway?”

“They think they can protect me. After my family got killed, everyone wanted to help me. When I
refused, they concluded I was so damaged that I had self-esteem issues. That I thought I wasn’t
deserving of their love.”

“Which made them want you all the more.”

“And when I started being a good ninja, it made everything only worse.”

“But you’re Sasuke. You’ve always been able to take care of yourself.”

“I had to.” Sasuke said. He took a deep breath. It was probably time to rob Naruto of some of his
innocence. “What do you know about the Uchiha massacre?”

Naruto went silent. The sun was almost done setting and it painted the Uchiha grounds red. Naruto
knew logically that there had been families who had lived there, just as he knew Sasuke’s family
had died at some point. But he had always thought it was rude to ask about the details. “Just that it
happened a few years ago.”

“I was eight.” Sasuke said. “I remember doing history homework in my room about the rise of the
major villages. I was having trouble memorising details and was wondering whether I should
search for my brother. He was uniquely capable of anything and he usually helped if I pestered him
long enough. But when I realised I did not have the time to whittle him down, I went to my parents.
They were talking in sharp, hushed arguments. They stopped as soon as I came in and sent me to
bed. I got so angry with them that I tossed my history book against my bedroom door. Just another
time they didn’t have time for me, I thought.”

“Were you neglected as a child?”

Sasuke had to bite off a laugh. “I was a brat. I could not understand why my brother could not
forgo essential Konoha missions to train me. I did not understand my father had responsibilities to
the village or that my mother took care of more clan members than just me. They were not perfect,
but they loved me.”

Naruto hesitated to ask more, but Sasuke was already sharing so much. “Then what happened?”

“My parents had left me a note and breakfast in the fridge. I left the house without seeing them. I
spent the day at the Academy and rehearsed what I was going to say to them. I worked up the
courage to confront them. I did not know that most of my clan had already been killed. It wasn’t
until I was almost home that I started suspecting something was wrong. Something felt off. I went
to my parents. Even if I was angry, even if I was not sure, I had been taught to always go to them if
something felt off. They were in the living room, on the ground. The whole floor was red with
blood.”

“That’s terrible.”

“My brother stood there in front of them, holding a blade. He told me he had killed our mom and
dad. That he had killed our whole clan to prove his worth and that I was too weak to provide a
challenge. He looked at me and told me to fill up with hate so that I might one day be worthy of his
attention. And then he used a torture technique.”

“Your own brother? What did he do?”

“Genjutsu. He made me relive that horror. Relive that very moment when I recognised my parents
and realised they were dead, that my whole life had just fallen apart. And that my loving brother
was the cause of it. Over and over again, for three days. The technique lasts just for a second in the
real world, but inside of the genjutsu time stretches grotesquely.”

Naruto’s step faltered. He had spent his whole childhood in pain. Naruto’s misery had lasted
longer, but Sasuke’s had been more intense. “How did you come back from that?”

“I very nearly didn’t.” Sasuke admitted. “My memory is hazy after that moment. I know that
ANBU found me. I know I was questioned and examined. I’m not sure which parts I remember and
which parts I think I remember because I pieced them together later. It is referred to as
disassociation, withdrawing from a world that feels so very wrong that you cannot help but shut
down.”

“I-I’ve felt like that sometimes.” Naruto admitted. He shook his head. “You were telling your
story.”

“There’s not much more to say. After the massacre I moved back into my family home and learned
to live by myself. I was forced to find a way to carry on. I never had much of a choice but to start
taking care of myself. Much like you. Have you dissociated recently?”

“No. It was ages ago.” Naruto sighed. “In the orphanage. When they visited us, we would all line
up. Our caretakers would select the kids who fitted most with the family that had come to visit.
They would chastise the children who were not prepared. Not me though. I was a lost cause. Just
one look at me and they didn’t bother saying anything. And I knew what I was doing wrong. They
were always on the other kids’ case about looking and smelling presentable. I knew what to do, I
just never did it. But once, when I was four or so, I did everything they had asked of the other kids.
I knew someone was coming over, so I woke up early. I cleaned myself thoroughly. In fact,
anything that would be covered up with clothing later, I scrubbed so hard that my skin was raw and
red. My hair was a mess even then, but I made the effort. I had saved up my meagre allowance for
good shampoo and wore my very best outfit.”

“You must have been desperate to get out of there.”

“They kept me alive, but that is the extent they did. I had long since learned that crying did not get
their attention, nor did asking nice. But there had to be a family out there who could love me. All
us orphans fantasised about it all the time.”

“But you were not picked.”

“We lined up like always. The caretaker went over the line and separated us. The good kids to one
side, the rest to the backroom to stay out of the way. With each one she rejected, she told them
exactly what they had done wrong. And then she came to me. And without a word she sent me
away.”

“Why?”

“That’s what I was wondering, scrunched up in a corner in the backroom. She had to have noticed
the effort, I thought. She had to have seen I had at least tried. With everything I had done, even if it
had not been perfect, she had to have seen a difference in me. I came to the realisation that no, she
had not noticed. With every kid she was paying attention, down to the tiniest flaw, but I was the
lost cause. She dismissed me before even looking. Nothing I could ever do would make them
consider me. I would be stuck an orphan forever. There was no hope. Nobody would ever love me
like the stories said parents, biological or adopted, were supposed to do. And time started passing
without me noticing.”

“How long did it last?”

“I’m not sure. It’s not like anyone around me was paying attention to me. But I remember lying in
bed, while the caretaker was reading a story to the other children. My mind started working again
and I was so incredibly disappointed.”

“I can imagine feeling that way. The caretaker was seriously neglecting you.”

“I know that now. But I was disappointed with myself. I had let them win by reacting the way I
had. I wanted to be a ninja, even then. And ninja do not sulk when life gets hard. Ninja are
warriors. When they are not given what they want, they take. The next time a couple came to
inspect the orphans, I kicked open the backroom’s door and marched straight up to them to
introduce myself.”

Sasuke chuckled. “What did you say?”

“What do you think I said?” He smiled. “I yelled as loud as I could: ‘I’m Uzumaki Naruto and I am
going to be Hokage someday.’”

“They could not have been very amused with that.”

“Not really. But it was their loss.”

“Yeah.” Sasuke said. “Yeah, it was.”

“I’ve been thinking Sasuke…”

“That’s unusual.” Sasuke smiled, even as Naruto punches his arm.

“Don’t be mean. I’m curious, why did you become a ninja?”

“Everyone in my family was a ninja. There was technically a choice, but not after the massacre. I
had to continue my clan’s tradition.”

“That’s why you had to be a ninja. Why did you want to?”

To kill Itachi, was the original answer. But that had stopped being true a long time ago. “Before the
massacre, I wanted to impress my family. After, I wanted to be stronger so that I could get my
revenge. Now I have a better reason. I know the world is a cruel place, with many cruel people.
Powerful people fighting each other to decide what happens to everyone weaker than them. I want
to be one of the stronger people, so that I can help decide what happens. I don’t want the world
happening to me anymore. I want to shape what happens.”

“And once you have that power? What will you do with it?”

Sasuke had never really been the one to decide the goals. That was not his part in life. Even when
he was all that was left, he let his commanders decide where to go. He had always focussed on
getting everyone where they wanted to be. “When I get the power, I want to help you. Anything my
Hokage sets his mind to, I will help him accomplish.”

Naruto sighed. “Sasuke, I know you told me not to let that ANBU get to me, but I’ve been thinking
and I’m not sure it’s still my dream to become Hokage.”

Sasuke had to blink away his confusion. How badly had he screwed up with Naruto was stepping
away from his dream? “I don’t understand.”

“Becoming Hokage used to be the only thing I wanted. But then I met you and I realised I don’t
have to be Hokage for people to acknowledge me. I wanted to become a ninja to prove myself. For
attention, as that homicidal ANBU put it. But I don’t feel like I have to prove myself anymore. I
want to help people. I thought the best way to do that would be to become Hokage, but I know I
wouldn’t be happy taking Jiji’s hat and doing the same things he’s doing.”

“Then your dream’s no longer to be just any Hokage. You want to be a good one. The best.” Like
Sasuke knew Naruto could be.

“If that’s what it takes. But I just want everyone to be happy. I don’t care about being a good
leader. I don’t know if the village would be better if I was leading it. I want the whole world to
be… just… better.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I don’t know.” Naruto admitted, frustration in his voice. “And that’s the other thing. I don’t know
anything about the decisions Jiji is making and how I would do it differently. I don’t know what I
would want to achieve. Not with any detail. I suppose wanting world peace is too vague an
answer.”

“It is.” Sasuke said. “But it’s a good goal eventually. I think you’re making this too hard for
yourself. Just imagine it from a different angle. Let’s pretend you did get appointed Hokage this
morning. You’ve spent the day hearing what other people want of you and what they expect of
you. And now you’re behind the desk. You have the power now. What is the first thing you want
to do with your new power?”

“Help the orphans.” Naruto said right away. “Make their lives better. The Hokage office has the
money. We can increase funds.”
Sasuke halted for a few seconds, closing his eyes. Everything in his mind realigned itself and it was
the weirdest feeling that he had not realised he had missed. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

Sasuke nodded. “Okay.”

~*~

It had been dark when they had started; it had to be close to midnight when they were back in the
forest to head home. They had visited every orphanage in Konoha and had met with all the
children. Naruto had been terrified the caretakers would keep him away, but their disguises had
taken care of it.

They had solved minor problems while they were there. One orphanage had no running water
because of broken plumbing, so they had fixed the pipes. One had a leaky roof, so they had
repaired it. They had done that in missions often enough. One orphanage had such loud neighbours
that the kids could not sleep at night. Two intimidating ninja telling those neighbours off did the
trick.

The caretakers were curious why two mysterious men were doing all this at night, but they lived in
a village of shinobi where stranger things had happened. They did not question the acts of kindness.

Naruto and Sasuke knew the children’s names now. Sasuke had made small cards for each of them,
like character sheets in their roleplaying game. Each card held a score in attributes and key words
for personality and hobbies.

There were just so many. Jiro was a right bundle of energy. He volunteered to help in the kitchen
every day. Akemi was shy, but opened up once you started asking him questions. He was a book
worm and recited facts about bugs like they were normal things to know. Dai was a real menace.
She had her own sense of justice and though she picked on the other kids, when any of them were
in trouble she stepped up and protected them no matter the risk to herself. And there were so many
more.

“We will find a place for them.” Sasuke said. “We can’t fix everything in a single night, but we’ll
fix it for them.”

Naruto was shuffling his feet. “How can you be so sure? We’re not the first to try to find families
for them.” He had been careful all evening. He talked to them all, but he was careful not to promise
anything. As much as he had bravado, he knew very well how devastating it would be for these
children to get false hope. “What we did tonight was a good first step.”

“But we can do it.” Sasuke said.

“I missed Sakura though.” Naruto said. “She would have liked talking with the kids too.”

“It’s good to have our own projects.” Sasuke said. “But I feel her absence too. Next time we try to
solve social-economic problems we’ll bring her along.”

Naruto smiled. “We should probably head to bed.”

“If it’s okay with you, there is one more thing I want to share with you tonight.”

“Of course.”
“Follow me.” Sasuke said. They were almost back home, but instead of going into the barrier,
Sasuke led them to the small lake behind his house. The wooden groyne was old, but still held.
“Do you know why this is here?”

“I figured it was to train water walking.”

“This is where Uchiha boys become Uchiha men.” Sasuke said. “We take our fire affinity
seriously. The day we can breathe fire, we are ready to leave our childhoods behind and can start
our training as ninja.”

“Seems like an advanced point to consider it a start.”

“Itachi managed it when he was still a toddler. He was always ahead of the curve. My dad ignored
me most of the time as the inferior son. But one day Itachi had done something to annoy him, so he
wanted to test my worth.”

The night was very silent and cold around them.

“My dad showed me the signs and then he watched me try and fail. And he had this look in his
eyes. Not disappointment; I would have been able to get over that. He looked like he was
reprimanding himself for hoping. That he was reminding himself not to think too much of me. That
he was resigning himself to a second son who was second-best.”

Naruto winced. “I know that look. Iruka-sensei…”

Iruka looked that way once at Naruto when checking practice exams, Sasuke remembered. The
actual exam was the only test Naruto had ever aced.

“My dad turned away and I just kept practicing. My mom dragged me to my bed, but I snuck out
five minutes later to continue. I did not sleep. I skipped breakfast. My mouth was dry, all my
muscles ached and it felt like I had swallowed a porcupine. But when I dragged my dad to the lake
the next day, ignoring his protests that he did not have time to teach me, I could show him that I
had mastered it. And my dad finally acknowledged me.”

Sasuke made the signs and blew the ball of fire over the lake. It burned hot and bright and then it
was gone.

“After Itachi did what he did, I kept coming back here to practice. I spent weeks trying to make it
bigger. If I could not get the fireball at a younger age, I thought I should at least be able to make it
bigger than Itachi’s. But I realised later that it was impossible. There is a limit to how big the
chakra construct can be.”

Pushing out fire chakra from the mouth into a sphere was not exactly rocket science. It was an easy
shape and the chakra manipulation was not at all complex. With its simplicity came limits though.
The technique was created with a chakra funnel in the neck, which made it impossible for the user
to increase the amount of fire chakra coming out of the mouth beyond 3.14 meters in diameter.

“While a lot of our goals are ambitious, I do realise there are limits.” Sasuke said. “Some things
are just impossible.”

“But you’re you.” Naruto said. “The way you talk, no goal’s ever off the table.”

Sasuke smiled. There was a lot to be said about Naruto’s stubbornness. “It’s physics though. A law
of nature. It can’t be beaten.”
“Can you try again?”

“Naruto…”

“Please? And really try. I don’t like seeing you resigned like this.”

Sasuke went through the signs again and made the fire ball.

It illuminated the lake and its warmth was a clear contrast to the earlier chill. It was as big as it
could possibly be.

And then it grew. Naruto had done the signs quickly, before adding his wind chakra to the ball.
The fire consumed its additional fuel to shine harder and bigger and brighter. And then it all fell
apart.

“Th-that’s cheating.” Sasuke said, but he was smiling.

“Like a good ninja.” Naruto said. “Maybe some things were impossible while you were alone. But
not anymore.”

Sasuke had to fight back tears. This. This was the Naruto he had known. “You need to grab my
hand, after you start your jutsu.”

Naruto smirked. “You’re too good to be my boyfriend, but now you want to act all lovey-dovey?”

“Just do it, dobe.”

Sasuke made another fire ball. When Naruto gabbed his hand, their chakra sang together. Naruto’s
wind did not break the ball that time. They worked together. When Naruto’s chakra flared, Sasuke
could hold his own back and focus on control. When Naruto’s wind momentarily fell, Sasuke
could pump more chakra in to keep it from collapsing.

The fire grew and grew. It reached ten meters wide and then grew beyond. Sasuke’s control
protected him from the heat, but he could see Naruto’s skin turning red. They should have stopped,
but neither of them was ready for that yet. Naruto was too enthusiastically providing chakra for
them to stop.

It reached fifteen meters. The air was dry and the lake was starting to simmer from the heat. A lot
of ninja in the village would have been able to sense it when they combined their jutsu at first. As
big as it was now, any civilian would be able to see it.

Naruto’s skin was blistering and even with Sasuke’s protections, the Uchiha could not protect
himself completely. Naruto winced in pain, which made them break apart. The fire died slowly,
turning their surroundings dark again. As the flame’s sounds disappeared into the air, all that was
left was Naruto and Sasuke’s panting.

Naruto’s burns were already healing, red chakra covering the damage. Sasuke was not so lucky and
would have to deal with sensitive skin until he had the privacy to heal himself.

“It’s a shame we can’t do this in combat.” Naruto said.

“We could.” Sasuke protested. “It would still do more damage to them than to us.”

“I don’t suppose you know of a way to protect ourselves from the harmful effects?”

“Actually I do.” Sasuke smiled. “We would need a third person to encase us in a protective Earth
 jutsu.”

“Sakura.” Naruto grinned. “I thought she was still learning?”

“She’ll have it down soon enough. And when she does we can start our team training in earnest.”

“Oi! We’ve been working hard, teme.”

“And it’s all been leading up to this.” Sasuke said.

They would become The Dragon.

They sat down on the dock, the toes of their feet barely touching the water.

“Hey, Sasuke?”

“Hm?”

Naruto kissed Sasuke’s cheek. “I’m sorry I called this a fake date.”

Sasuke smiled. He leaned his head against Naruto’s shoulder. They should go inside and get some
sleep. But that would involve getting up.

Instead, they held hands and looked over the water for hours.

Chapter End Notes

Edit: There's now fanart of the fireball scene in this chapter <3 I'm absolutely thrilled.

Next update Thursday evening (CET) January 13th, this time really Team 7: Sakura.

Sasuke is trying to be open about his past this chapter, while also presenting the
trauma as more significant than it really was. He's had a few decades to process it,
after all. It's sometimes hard to keep in mind Sasuke's a 40 year old timetraveler who's
very aware what he's doing by actively bonding with Naruto and being deliberate
about what he shares and not, while also pretending to be a teenager who's just being
spontaneous.

Start getting HYPE about the dragon. It may just be a name for a co-operative fighting
style, but boy am I hyped about sharing it. Once they've learned it. And are then in a
situation to use it. So, 3 or 4 chapters from now. We're getting there!
 Team 7: Sakura
Chapter Summary

Sakura has a date with Naruto and Sasuke. And she talks about her mother.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“Can anyone tell me how population genetics work?” Sakura asked. The Academy class looked
distracted, completely bored by her.

“Can the Hokage show us a cool justu?” a little brat asked. It made Sasuke and Naruto chuckle.

“Maybe later.” Sakura tried to keep on a nice face. “First we are going to be talking about gene
frequency. Konoha was founded by very powerful ninja who had very liberal ideas about coupling.
As such, we have one of the highest amount of civilians becoming ninja despite coming from non-
ninja families.”

“But they’re not very powerful.” A little Hyuuga girl said. The Hyuuga family was the exception to
the rule, keeping their line as pure as possible. Even branch family members were highly
regulated. At least, that was the story.

“Did you know that there are civilian babies born in the Konoha hospital with a Byakugan?”

That sure got their attention. “That is not possible. Only Hyuuga are born with that bloodline
limit.”

“The families are paid to keep quiet. The children are adopted into a Hyuuga branch family. Those
that do not comply, are pressured until they do. I was expressly told never to repeat that
information, but I run the hospital now so I get to treat that command with all the respect it’s due.
Now, sit down so that I can continue with my lesson.”

The girl glared but sat back down. Naruto was whispering complaints about how many fires he
would have to put out now.

“What does she know?” The Hyuuga girl whispered to the boy next to her. He was a Nara,
listening with a lot more interest than the Hyuuga was. “Everybody knows she’s just a civilian girl
that got famous because she was in a team with an Uchiha and a Jinchuriki.”

“You should be more afraid of her.”

“Why? Naruto’s the one that talked the other Kage into permanent peace treaties. Sasuke’s the
one who did human experimentation and got away with it. I heard he even had his genin students
helping him.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” The boy said. “And you should show a little more
respect.”

“Respect has to be earned. Not given to someone out of pity.”

Sakura had stopped talking, looking straight at the Hyuuga girl, her chakra flaring. She was
getting ready for a demonstration while Naruto and Sasuke were doing everything in their power to
calm her down.

“Make no mistake.” The boy said. “Sasuke has the Sharingan. Naruto has a Tailed Beast sealed
into him. But Sakura is considered the strongest of all three.”

~*~

The water made Sakura feel free. When she had her mist around her, the genjutsu senses were like
extra limbs letting her touch around her. She had none of the difficulties navigating that she did
with earth. She had assumed it was because of the chakra she pumped into her special mist. But
when she made the mist without her chakra infused within, her attention still flowed through the
dome of influence with the speed and grace of a figure skater.

While both water and earth were continuous substances, water let her move while earth restricted.

“You’re supposed to condense the mist into water again.” Orange said. “What’s taking so long?”

“I haven’t mastered navigation yet.” Sakura said. And it was not a complete lie. She enjoyed
moving through the mist and leaving a trail of chakra behind. But she was still learning too. This
was her domain and she wanted the control to become instinctual. She wanted absolute mastery of
her abilities. Otherwise, what was the point?

“When I agreed to help you with water chakra I assumed you would want to make a water dragon
or something. Don’t you want to do something flashy?”

“That’s never quite been my style.” Sakura said. Flashy was Naruto’s thing. The boy she was going
on a date with that evening. Sakura mostly tried not to think about it. Naruto had become a friend
and he was very tolerable while Sasuke was around to mitigate. The date would probably be fine
without Sasuke’s help. Probably. Hopefully. Anyway, not thinking about it. “I don’t have as much
chakra as Naruto or Sasuke yet. That means I have to be smart with what I do have. Though… I’m
building my reserves and I’d love to learn a water dragon once I’m ready.”

Orange waved her hand. “I can’t actually do a water dragon, no matter how often I’ve tried. I have
some experience with water techniques, but I never got the control for such an intricate technique.
That’s exactly why I thought it’d be cool to see you do it.”

“I’ll demonstrate for you.” Kakashi said. He was leaning against the house’s back wall. “Once you
have the reserves.”

“I’d like that.” Sakura smiled. “Are you leaving with Naruto? I didn’t realise I’d run out of time
already.”

Kakashi shook his head. “The probation period is over. I had a talk with Sasuke before he left for
the council meeting. I’m going to relax the rules.”

“That’s great!” Orange said. “So you’re finally convinced we won’t stab you in the back as soon as
you drop your guard?”

“I have finely tuned jounin instincts and they’re telling me we can trust you.” Kakashi said. “And
though Sasuke still won’t share how he can guarantee your loyalty, his conviction is absolute. Even
if I didn’t trust the three of you completely, I can’t believe Sasuke would risk any amount of danger
no matter how small the chance.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s a complete secret anyway.” Orange said. “We’re only here because of Sasuke
and we like it here. We’re not going to do anything to jeopardise our position here.”

“And how is Sasuke so sure of that?”

“He simply knows that we have no other choice.”

Kakashi frowned.

“We’re all ninja here.” Orange said. “Life isn’t always perfect and we don’t always have choices.
But we make the best of it where we can. I’m glad to be here and spend time with all of you. I may
have no other choice than to be here, but if I had had a choice, I would have chosen this. However,
that’s not something Sasuke can be sure of. How did he put it when it came to your contract? It’s a
way to force yourself to act like you had already intended on acting. But in a way that guarantees it
for outside parties.”

“Still, I’d rest easier knowing your background.” Kakashi said.

“I’m sure you’ll find out who we are someday.” Orange said. “Once we’re ready to share.”

“And until you’re ready, you can still be locked in the basement while the children are sleeping.”
Kakashi sighed. “Anyway, Naruto was looking for you. He’s having some trouble with storage
seals.”

“I thought Pink was helping him.”

“Pink knows the theory, but he’s more successful in giving Naruto a headache than any new
insights.”

Orange sighed. “I keep telling him to ease up. Sorry Sakura. Come find me if you think there’s
anything I can help with.”

Sakura nodded, before producing more mist around her and continuing her exercises. That evening
would be filled with Sasuke’s new special ‘team bonding exercise’ with Naruto and Sakura wanted
to get all the training in while she still could.

“What’s the real reason you’re so obsessed with navigation?” Kakashi asked.

“It’s something that’s giving me trouble with earth chakra and medical techniques. Since I’m stuck
with those, I figured I should spend more time on navigation in water chakra where I’m halfway
decent.”

“If I’m sensing you correctly, you’re far more than half-way decent.”

Sakura playfully poked Kakashi’s chakra in the mist, before running her centre of attention away.
Kakashi chased her and made it difficult to keep away from his focus. Either Kakashi was messing
with her, or she really was better at this than she had thought. She dodged Kakashi’s pokes and
kept out of his way.

Kakashi grinned, cracking his neck and then sitting down to take the challenge seriously.

Sakura realised with a smile she had found a new way to train.

~*~

Naruto was panting when he finally reached Sakura at the Academy where they had agreed to
meet. It had been a long day for Sakura with training and helping her parents. She had barely seen
Sasuke in the morning before he had run off to his meeting and Naruto had been busy with his own
project.

“You’re late.” Sakura said.

“I know, I know, I’m so sorry!” Naruto said between hard breaths. “I had to combine this list for
Sasuke and hand it over and then I lost track of time and…”

“It’s okay, Naruto.” She said. Sakura really had not been waiting for that long. Though she doubted
Sasuke would have made her wait. “Let’s just go.”

Naruto nodded and started walking.

There was an awkward silence between them.

“This is awkward.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Saying that only makes it worse.”

“No, I mean… I know this is awkward. But I don’t want it to be.”

Sakura shook her head. She had spent an entire Academy education being hounded by the orange-
clad boy begging Sakura to notice him. “I just never thought I’d go on a date with you. It takes
some getting used to.”

“Y-yeah, I know. So, I’m officially renaming tonight’s activity.”

Sakura stopped in her tracks. “Renaming it?”

“Yeah. It’s a friendly outing now. Dinner between friends over a fun conversation.”

Sakura smiled at that. “That does not sound so bad.”

“And as a good friend, I know exactly where to take you.”

They went through the Konoha streets. They got to a fancy diner which seemed decent, but not
somewhere two friends would go. Sakura hesitated when Naruto told her to wait as he went inside,
wondering if Naruto’s words had been insincere. She did not like the idea of sitting at one of those
tables with Naruto as the setting worked against them. But then Naruto came out carrying take-
away and leading them in a different direction. “Next stop is the library.”

“Whatever for?” Sakura asked. They had come there often, but they offered too few books on their
level.

“Well, you know that secret door in the back?”

Of course Sakura did. They had been eyeing it jealously since their Academy days. It was where
the advanced material was being kept. But you needed to be a chuunin to get in. “We filed for
those passes on an off chance. The paperwork is supposed to last weeks. How did you…”

“There is a big advantage to being good friends with your Academy teacher.” Naruto grinned.
“When I told Iruka I had an independent study project, he almost choked on his coffee. He couldn’t
do more than put in a good word for the permanent passes, but he arranged for us to have access
for the evening.”
She could hardly believe it. Without thinking, she threw her arms around the boy. “This is
amazing! I have been dying to read the Hokage’s paper on elemental manipulation, not to mention
Tsunade’s notes on medical chakra.”

Naruto was smiling, which made Sakura realise that she was being an idiot. She pulled back a bit
abashed. “You know, I appreciate this a lot. But it’s okay to spend some time doing something we
would both enjoy.”

He rubbed the back of his head. “Actually, there are supposed to be some scrolls on sealing in the
restricted area for beginners. I might have gone there anyway.”

“Sasuke’s going to be mad we went without him though.”

“Meh.” Naruto waved her off. “He has the Uchiha Archives to comb through. Us non-clan kids
need our own advantages.”

Sakura chuckled. “It would be nice to pull some piece of esoteric knowledge and confidently
proclaim I got it from the Konoha Library in the same tone Sasuke does his Archives thing.”

“Please do that. But only when I’m there. I want to see the look on his face!”

“That’s a deal.”

There was a noise a few streets away of a metal garbage can falling over and Sakura startled.
Sakura blushed. What an undignified reaction for a ninja. She looked to Naruto hoping he had not
seen her reaction, only to see him grasping a kunai tightly in his hand. Naruto was trembling,
breathing deeply.

“It wasn’t anything dangerous, Naruto.”

“R-right.” Naruto put the weapon away. He swallowed and tried to calm himself. “Sorry about
that.”

Sakura shook her head. It was only understandable after what Naruto had been through. “Do you
want to talk about it?”

“There’s not much to talk about. They caught me off guard while sleeping, which can’t happen
again. It’s silly that I’m letting it get to me while we’re just walking over the street.”

“It’s not silly. You went through something, Naruto, and you’re human. It’s not going to be fine
right away.”

“I suppose.” Naruto said. He did not sound convinced.

“I still have nightmares about the bridge.” Sakura said. “I wake up terrified and sometimes it takes
me a few hours to calm down again. I just sit in my bed thinking any moving shadow is Haku
coming to finish the job he’d started.”

Naruto put his hand on Sakura’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Sakura took a few deep breaths. Just thinking about it was making her feel anxious
again. “It’s getting better. Just like it will for you.”

“You know, I don’t even think I’m that afraid. Just angry.” Naruto said. “They said I only wanted
to become Hokage for attention and… I think they might be right. I don’t know anything about
what a Hokage actually does. I just thought it would be cool to become a strong ninja and prove
myself by becoming the best one. I tried telling Sasuke yesterday and he wouldn’t hear of any
doubts.”

“He’s slightly obsessed with you becoming Hokage.” Sakura said. “Which I don’t think is unfair.
Your heart’s always in the right place, Naruto. I don’t know much about the Hokage position
either, but I’m sure you’d do amazing at it.”

“Thanks.” Naruto smiled. “Hey Sakura, why did you want to become a ninja?”

“My parents enrolled me in the Academy and I never really thought about it.”

“But didn’t you ever think about it?”

Sakura thought about chasing blonde hair across a playground while playing ninja. About spying
on Sasuke and being impressed about his skills with a kunai. She had seen so many people around
her being amazing, she had just wanted to stay close to them. Be like them. She felt like there was
more than she could grasp at. “I don’t think I have a good answer for you right now. I just know
that I’m enjoying myself on the team and while we’re training.”

“So am I.” Naruto was startled to find they had already reached the library. “Let’s head inside.”

Naruto’s permission slip opened the door for them through some kind of intricate seal work. There
was a guard on duty overseeing them, who did not make a fuss when they entered the space.
Probably informed by Iruka.

The back room was not big and it was not very impressive looking. But each bookcase held records
they had not been able to read before. Things that were being kept from under the presumption
they were too inexperienced. Sakura had always performed above her level and this was right up
her alley.

“So, we have a whole section to the library all to ourselves and nothing to do except read and learn
things?”

“Pretty much.” Naruto nodded.

Sakura smiled. “It sounds like the perfect study date.”

They gathered everything they needed at a table and got to reading. They shared take-out. Naruto
had selected the place because it was good food that could all be eaten with chopsticks without risk
of spilling. He knew Sakura would not want dirty hands touching these scrolls, or food ending up
on them because of a single moment of carelessness.

He probably should have been even more careful, but this was Naruto. He was bound to have an
accident sooner or later.

At the end of the night, they had to be kicked out. They wanted just a few more minutes with the
scrolls they were studying, just one more book to look through. They took turns convincing the
guard, while the other kept reading and taking notes. After fifteen minutes, it was getting
ridiculous. After thirty, the ninja stationed there grabbed them by their shirts to haul them out and
throw them on the street.

They were both giggling. “Shall I walk you home?”

Sakura smiled. “Such a gentleman.”

“Just don’t want you to trip over yourself running away from me.”

Sakura checked the time. If they kept up their pace, she could still make it.

“Why do you have such a strict bedtime anyway?”

“It’s a long story.” Sakura said. “But my parents just want to know I’m safe in bed every night.”

“It seems like a drag.”

“It usually is.”

“You could live with us. We won’t make you go to bed early every night. We could stay up and
watch movies and eat junk food.”

Sakura had to laugh at that. She had never imagined herself out of her parents’ house. “Is that what
Sasuke and you are doing every night?”

“Well, no. But it’d be different if you were there. We always have the most fun when the three of
us are together.”

“It sounds like it might be fun. But I don’t think my mother would ever let me leave like that.”

“Why not?”

“I told you about my aunt, right?”

“She’s the one who took you out to look at the stars?”

“Yeah. Aunty Mebae was the most amazing woman. She was kind and sweet and was always
helping everyone. After a falling out with her husband, she moved in with my parents. I was
ecstatic that I would get to see her more often. She would go out most nights to meet up with
friends after I had gone to bed. I’d sometimes wake up when she got home. She’d be a little tipsy as
she checked on everyone. She’d see me up and sit with me until I went to sleep.”

“Why didn’t she go straight to bed?”

“It’s a Haruno tradition that my grandparents started. My grandfather refused to sleep until he
knew everyone in the family was in bed. My aunt would go past the bedrooms to check, but also so
that my mother would know she was safely home.”

“That’s why you have to be home every night?”

Sakura was silent for a few seconds. “My mom never liked the tradition that much. So she didn’t
think that much of it when she went to sleep one night before my aunt had returned. She wasn’t
worried until she found my aunt missing at breakfast, her bed unslept in. She was never found.”

“That’s horrible.”

“I was a little girl at the time and I did not understand.”

“No wonder your mother is so protective.”

“It was one reason. The other…” Sakura trailed off, not quite sure how to continue.

They walked in silence, while Naruto waited for her to find the words. But they reached Sakura’s
house before she could.

“Thanks for the food and everything else. I had a lot of fun. And I never realised you were this easy
to talk to.”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “I can’t blame you. I always thought you were the prettiest girl
in the Academy and I didn’t know the right things to say. Sasuke encouraged me to just be a
friend.”

“It helped.” Sakura said. “You were perfectly charming. Any girl would be lucky to have you. We
should do this again sometime.”

“We will.” Naruto promised. “And you know Sasuke and I are here for you if you want to talk.
About anything”

“I know.” She smiled, before giving him a hug.

~*~

Naruto was still smiling when he reached the Uchiha compound. Sasuke was waiting for him, to
hear how the date went. The surprise was genuine, as the clones following them on their date had
not transferred their findings yet.

Naruto was adorable as he summarised their conversations and tried to repeat jokes he had made
that had made Sakura laugh. He had been so nervous and was so relieved that it had all worked out.

“It sounds like you had a good night.” Sasuke said. “Mine was productive.”

Sasuke slid the papers across the table.

Naruto stared in confusion at the filled out forms. “Apprenticeships?”

“At the council meeting I approached artisans and merchants who have no children to pass their
trade on to, who are too busy to find someone themselves. I let them fill out these forms describing
their craft and who they’re looking for.”

“That sounds like child labour.”

“I talked to them and they are good people. They will ask the children to learn their trade, but they
will not push or exploit. Their biggest trepidation was the adoption costs, which I was able to solve
easily with our mission funds. And then all that was left was matching up the artisans looking for
apprentices with orphans looking for caregivers. The information you collected today was vital for
that.”

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. “The ones I’m looking at are already finalised. You actually
arranged some adoptions in just a single day? I can’t believe it. How many were you able to
place?”

“Most of them are not final yet…”

“How many?”

“All of them.”

~*~
The early sun was shining on her skin. It was slightly chilly and still humid. She breathed deeply as
she concentrated on her training.

There was something unnerving about seeing a breathing human being reduced to flesh and bones.
To look through their body and see past skin and muscles, to follow bloodstreams and neural
pathways. Sakura had only cast the diagnostic charm on a few people, but they had all seemed so
similar from within. Maybe if she saw a few hundred hearts she would be able to start telling them
apart, but for now it was like those cheap boxes of chocolates her mother sometimes bought.
Different wrappers to hide the fact that inside it was all the same.

“Done.” Sakura said.

Kakashi pressed the stopwatch. “Three minutes.”

“I’m going again.”

“Then I’m getting coffee first.” Kakashi rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It’s Sunday morning. You
could let up a little.”

“I want the times updated before we start our adventure.” Sakura said. “So hurry up.”

“Slave driver.”

Sakura took the moment to catch her breath. Tsunade’s scrolls had been inspirational and had set
her research into medical techniques forward weeks in a single night. She never would have
dreamed to be able to do a full body scan in under fifteen minutes. What she would not give to have
a conversation with the Sannin and her brilliant mind.

“I hope I’m not interrupting.” Sasuke said. He had two bodyguards in tow. “I’d like you to meet
Red and Blue.”

“Pleasure.” Sakura looked over them. They seemed just as unremarkable as the other three.
“You’ve barely gotten Kakashi’s blessing and you’re already expanding?”

“I arranged it with the council yesterday and Kakashi just did his first evaluation. They were
chosen for their skills.”

“I’ve read extensively on Earth chakra and medicine.” Red said. She gave a formal bow. “I can’t
perform any techniques myself, but I’ll happily share any information I do have.”

“And I’m versed in water techniques and anatomy.” Blue said. Something about his voice sounded
familiar.

“It almost sounds like you got these two just for me.” Sakura smirked.

“Lies and slander.” Sasuke smiled. “I got Pink for you. These two are going to be taking over some
of my paperwork duties. And yes, helping you when they can.”

“I need a ginny pig for a diagnostic technique.” Sakura said.

Blue easily sat down and offered his arm.

Sakura liked the new person to work on. She let her glowing hand touch his and started going
through his system. She had settled on a routine, using the blood vessels to move quickly to
different parts of the body and then taking her time to scan the surrounding tissue. Not all of the
information made sense to her yet, which was fine. She did not need to be able to diagnose
complex diseases. She could find bruises and cuts and that was more than enough for the kind of
first aid she was currently capable of. The focus was on gathering the information quickly.

“You’re very gentle.” Blue said. “Too gentle.”

“All the resources say that you can’t be careful enough when you’re using chakra in another
person’s body.”

“The resources are wrong then. You’re allowed to force your way through sometimes. Some
membranes are resistant to chakra and they need a firmer hand. I’ll tell you if you’re going too
hard.”

Sakura nodded with hesitation, before trying again. She kept thinking Blue would stop her at some
point, but the ninja never even flinched.

She got her time down to a minute. She had never realised how complex navigating a human body
would be. There were soft and hard parts that required less or more force like Blue had said. But
there were also areas with different temperament and Sakura found that they responded better to
Yin or Yang energy. All this time she had been trying to look without touching anything and it had
slowed her down. She needed to kick in the door, pretend she belonged wherever she was looking,
and be gone before the body realised something was wrong.

Sakura also tried not to pay too much attention to the particular results she was getting to respect
the new bodyguard’s privacy. There had been surgery done on most of his body. The man must
have been hurt badly if a doctor had taken such drastic measures. His chakra pathways also felt
strange, freezing.

Kakashi was eyeing them, sipping a cup of coffee. “Find anything interesting?”

“Nothing I’d care to discuss.” Sakura smirked. “Patient-doctor confidentiality. Or would you like
me to divulge your own medical secrets?”

“I’m an open book, Sakura.” Kakashi smiled.

Sakura snorted. “Oh, sensei. I know how many inches.”

“Nope.” Kakashi shook his head. “Why would you even? For the love of god no. You’ve made
your point.”

Sakura went back to her training. She liked her new time. But there was still room for
improvement. “Think I can go again?”

“Sasuke’s setting up the table. You’d better come inside.”

Sakura nodded, before thanking Blue. To her other side, Red was staring at her.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No. You just seem a very dedicated young girl.” Red diverted her gaze. “What made you so
interested in medical jutsu?”

“It’s all forms of chakra manipulation, actually.” Sakura said. “I’ve always been taught to be a
perfectionist and I enjoy getting the most of what I can do.”
“I respect that.” Red nodded. “Can I get you anything? Some tea?”

Sakura shook her head. “Naruto said he’d have a full kettle for the game.”

“All right. But I’m here if you need anything.” She sounded soft.

Sakura appreciated the effort. This was normally the point where she would have asked about her
background that had made her be so kind to a random girl who was a stranger to her. But the
invasive questions would have to wait until a later time.

It was time for a D&D adventure, after all.

~*~

Sasuke kept it short. Their visit to the Daimyo to uncover a murderer in the royal family was an
easy introduction to politics by all accounts. Sakura knew how to act, but had never practiced her
court etiquette. Naruto remembered bits and pieces from fiction and mixed everything up. Kakashi
was surprisingly inept, no matter how much he tried to cover his lack of knowledge with
mysterious ninja scowling and lurking.

After the murder plot was unravelled, Sakura left for her home. Sasuke took all the paperwork his
clones had filled out and sent Naruto to deliver them to the relevant parties. He was glad with the
cover of Red and Blue, letting them be the faces of the work so that Kakashi was not suspicious
about Sasuke’s ability to multitask.

Sasuke had his own errands to run to visit all the people who had suddenly found themselves with
a child in their homes and needing immediate problems solved. Usually that was just a matter of
providing monetary aid or loans.

The orphanages were empty. The caretakers had closed all but one of the facilities, in case it was
needed again. Sasuke assured them this was not a one-time arrangement and that any new child in
need would be helped just as quickly and efficiently.

With all the adoption fees paid, the caretakers had enough money on hand to last them until they
found their next jobs. Some of them were nurses and could go back to the hospital. Some of them
were teachers and would rejoin the Academy. Some of them were volunteers and they were free to
help others in the village now. The ones that had worked only for the orphanage and had nowhere
else to go, kept the one remaining facility running and ready. They would be spending most of
their time checking up on all the kids and easing the transition.

Sasuke assured them all that the Uchiha clan would be willing to assist wherever needed.

He was still home in time to get ready and go to Sakura’s house without being late.

He made his way to the Haruno’s front entrance and knocked politely. Sakura’s mother answered
the door. “She’ll just be a moment. Please come in.”

Sakura’s home was decorated to impress. The wooden floors were impeccable and expensive art
was hung up on the walls. There was just enough letters by the front door to make the place looked
lived in, meticulously calculated to make it look like it was not meticulously calculated. But of
course the letters they had ‘accidentally’ left out were from the Konoha bank. As prominent
merchants, they would often entertain guests. Not all of it was genuine, Sasuke knew. Their very
best was at the front of the house where people would see. As long as they kept up appearances,
they did have many other needs.
Sakura’s mother sat Sasuke down in the living room and brought him some tea.

“You have a lovely home.”

“Thank you, dear.” Mebuki said. “I’ve always found it important to have a warm home to come
back to. My sweet husband tries to keep everything tidy.”

Sasuke nodded politely. “When he’s not managing one of the most successful businesses in
Konoha.”

He smiled. “I owe everything to my dear wife. She invents the product.”

“But you make it.” She said. “And nobody can sell my perfumes like you.”

“So, Sasuke, it is very nice to finally meet you. You have been keeping my daughter away from
here so often I’d almost think she had moved in with you.” He laughed.

“I apologise for any inconvenience. It is so easy to lose track of time in her company.”

“Yes, we noticed.” Mebuki said. “She has repeatedly missed her curfew since she’s become a
ninja. I was hoping you could start sending her home at a reasonable hour again.”

“It’s her decision to make when she comes home.”

Mebuki took a sip of her tea. She did not look pleased. “I thought an heir to the Uchiha clan would
show more courtesy. I’d better hope you’ll at least escort her home at a reasonable hour tonight.”

“I assure you I will be a perfect gentleman.”

“That is good to hear.” She said. “You know, I always hoped you and Sakura would end up
together. To think, my parents never imagined I could become a ninja and here is my daughter,
going on a date with the heir of a noble clan.”

Sakura came down the stairs, wearing a white and red kimono. “Hey mom, have you seen my
forehead protector? I could have sworn…” She stopped as she saw Sasuke.

“Good evening, Sakura. You look absolutely stunning.”

“Th-thanks.” She smiled. She had braided her hair in a complicated fashion, red flowers woven
into the pink. Her kimono was decorated with pink blossoms and accented in black. “You look
very handsome as well. I just need to find…”

“Now, now.” Mebuki said. “You’re going on a date. Why would you need your hitai-ate?”

Sakura looked down. She was used to her mother having the final say.

“You never know what might happen.” Sasuke said, pulling his own forehead protector out of a
pocket to show the woman. “Every ninja needs it with them at all times.”

“It’s just an innocent date and Sakura will be home in no time.”

“The rules are clear. You seem like a woman who respects authority, or am I mistaken?”

She shook her head. “No, no. And I remember now. I must have taken it to the laundry room to
clean.”
Sakura nodded and retrieved it. She seemed eager to leave her parents as soon as she had it safely
put into a pouch.

“Don’t forget to count your calories and to have lots of fun.”

“Yeah mom. See you later.”

It took her two blocks before she could calm down again. “I can’t believe her.”

“She is quite a handful it seems.”

“You don’t know the half of it. But let’s just enjoy tonight.”

“Gladly. Are you nervous?”

“Honestly? A lot less than I thought I’d be. I used to want so badly to go on a date with you. And I
thought it would have to be perfect or you’d never want to see me again. That I’d only have one
shot at this. It sounds ridiculous now.”

“There’s nothing you could do that would ever drive me away.” He said. “Where do you want to
go?”

“Isn’t the guy supposed to decide?”

“I took Naruto to Ichiraku. I heard he took you to the library.” Sasuke said.

Sakura nodded. She was always quick to understand. “So it’s fair that I decide where we go. Oh. I
have not actually made any reservations…”

Sasuke chuckled. “We’re both ninja, in our home town, with my Uchiha name to throw around. I’d
be embarrassed if we could not talk our way into any establishment we wanted.”

Sakura blinked a few times. “Any establishment?”

“Anywhere you want to go.”

Sakura looked to the expensive part of town. “I have always wanted to go to Narisawa.”

“Then we’ll go there.”

“It’s supposed to be booked for weeks in advance.”

“There will be an opening for us.” Sasuke said. “Especially after today. You actually picked an
easy one.”

“What happened today?”

Sasuke smiled. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” They made small talk all the way to the
restaurant. They drew eyes wherever they went. When people shot them a glance, Sasuke made
sure to walk a little closer and take her arm. The whole village was going to know they had gone
on a date.

It was just a shame Ino would have to learn of the date through the rumour mill rather than
witnessing it firsthand.

Sasuke was apparently reading her mind, because they passed by the Yamanaka flower shop. And
Sasuke knew just what to do.

“Good evening, how can I…” Ino looked absolutely stunned.

“I would like a rose for my date.” Sasuke said. “Pink, if you have it.”

The blonde nodded, dumbstruck. She was just going through the motions as she wrapped it up and
accepted Sasuke’s money. “H-have a nice evening.”

Sasuke bowed slightly, before holding up the rose for Sakura. He looked at her like she was the
only woman in the world. “For you, my dearest Sakura, though its beauty pales in comparison to
yours.”

She accepted hesitantly, their fingers brushing over each other. They looked at each other in their
best impressions of manga romance. “My sweet prince…”

Ino fainted behind the counter.

They bolted to a nearby alley before bursting out in laughter.

“Where the hell did you learn those moves?” Sakura asked, her chest hurting. She just could not
contain herself. That image of Ino would be with her for the rest of her life.

“Ninja seduction training.” Sasuke said. It felt good to laugh like this. “How did you learn to play
along so well?”

“With both Naruto and you I’ve learned to roll with all the surprises that come along.”

They took a few more minutes to steady themselves and then made sure they were decent. But
when they moved out of the alleyway, they barely dodged a large group of women. The Sasuke
fanclub.

“They’re around here somewhere!” One of them said.

“If I get my hands on that wrench that has stolen Sasuke away…”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “This is ridiculous.”

“Yeah. I can’t believe them.”

“I know just how to get passed them though.” Sakura grinned. She put her hands together and with
a poof of smoke she turned herself into Naruto. She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into
the street.

“Sakura, this isn’t…”

“Good evening!” Naruto-Sakura yelled out. “What a fine night to walk around doing nothing. Oh,
and I’ll be Hokage one day! Believe it!”

The whole group of girls turned to look at them.

Sakura was so sure they would let them pass.

“It’s the guy saying he’s Sasuke’s boyfriend!”

“WHAT?!” Sakura almost dropped her Henge. “I’m your what now?”
“It made sense in context.” Sasuke sighed. “We’d better run.” He took Sakura’s hand and
performed a few rapid replacement techniques to lose their trail. They gave up easier than last time,
having learned how futile it was to chase a Sasuke that did not want to be chased.

Sakura was back in her normal form. “Care to explain?”

“Just Naruto being Naruto.”

“Right.” She smirked. “If he got to be your boyfriend, does that mean I get to be your girlfriend
tonight?”

“It’s only fair.” Sasuke offered his arm. “Shall we?”

Sakura looked more satisfied than Sasuke had ever seen her as she took his arm and walked with
him. They arrived at the restaurant a little later.

“Good evening.” Sasuke said. “I’m afraid we don’t have a reservation.”

The woman looked annoyed at the admission, but brightened up when she looked up. She smiled,
big and heartfelt. “It’s the least we can do.”

Sakura blinked a few times, surprised as they were led to a table near the kitchen. It was being
hurriedly set up by the woman, but she had a quick hand. “Honey, I’m setting up table 20.”

“Why? We agreed to keep it small tonight…” The chef said, walking out of the kitchen. But he
understood as soon as he saw Sasuke sitting there. “Jiro will want to say hello.”

“How’s Jiro treating you?”

“The little squirt’s amazing, exactly as you said he would be. It’s only been a few hours, but it
already feels like he’s right at home.”

The small boy darted between the chef’s legs to jump on Sasuke’s back for a hug.

“Hey there, Jiro.”

“You liar.” The kid said. “You told us it might take weeks.”

“There was a real chance of it.”

The kid stuck out his tongue, before going off. “I get to taste all of the food. Narisawa-san is the
most amazing cook!”

The chef laughed. “That’s not what you said when you tasted the soup.”

“You oversalted it! And it must have been on purpose.” He looked at Sasuke, beaming. “I passed
his tests. He’s going to train me. The best chef in Fire Country is going to train me.”

“Better get back to chopping, kiddo.” The chef said.

The boy nodded, running back into the kitchen. “I’m already halfway through!”

“Who’s the lovely lady?”

“This is Sakura, my teammate.” Sasuke said. “She’s a fan.”

The girl blushed. “I’ve read so much about you, sir. There are ninja who have observed you for
weeks and still have no idea how you’re able to put so much flavour in your dishes.”

“It’s no great secret.” The man said, drawing his wife closer. “You just have to cook with love.
Now, I should get back to my kitchen. You two enjoy your evening.”

The man went to check up on the kid, while the woman took their order. After she left, Sakura
looked to Sasuke. “What the hell did you do for them?”

“They’re unable to have children.” Sasuke said. “They’ve been trying for years and had given up. I
talked them into adopting a kid. They were hesitant at first, but that all fell away as soon as they
met the boy.”

“How did you meet Jiro?”

“Naruto and I went to all the orphanages two days ago. We met all of the kids and set them up with
families today.”

Sakura gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged. “Naruto asked me to do it Friday evening and we haven’t spoken much since then.”

“I would have helped.” She shoved his shoulder. “Are they all happy?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

“Good.” She said. “The two of you did well. How did you even think of this?”

Sasuke shrugged. “Naruto wanted it done. So I approached it like a mission. You know how good
team 7 is with missions.”

“But those are missions.” She said. “We’d never get a mission to help orphans. That’s not how it
works.”

Sasuke just smirked. “You are a jounin commander.”

“A D&D scenario, really?”

“Humor me.” He said. “You have multiple teams under you and you are tasked with destroying an
enemy military encampment in an enemy town. It’s a place that holds their weapons, but also their
explosives. Which means that when you set it off, there will be civilian casualties. Including an
orphanage nearby.”

Sakura thought the situation through. “A long-range strike would be safest.”

“Your teams can find several suitable locations for it, but none that would actually work. The
enemy ninja would see the projectile and intercept it before it hit the target.”

“So we need to sneak into the village anyway to plant explosives. If we’re there anyway, we can
minimise the amount of innocent people getting hurt. It’s still a stretch to find families to adopt
orphans. Can’t we just sound a fire alarm?”

“It would buy you a few minutes, especially if you start an actual fire, but the ninja would increase
security right away as well. They would check the armoury and they would find any explosives
you had planted.
“Some kind of feast then. Invite everyone close to the military base.”

“The people who live there are too diverse. You can’t invite all of them to a single event without
drawing suspicion.”

“So we do multiple events?”

“That’s what I would do. We gather information and then we manipulate events. We make sure
families that are looking for kids happen to come across them. The other houses we take care of
one by one. Make sure that there is a poker night organised by friends of potential victims. Gently
poison a woman so that her sister is called to babysit the kids across town. And yes, shut down the
orphanage by finding them families.”

“Okay, I get your point.” Sakura said. “You can make a mission out of everything. Did you do that
tonight?”

Sasuke smirked. “Give Haruno Sakura a good date. Get into a romantic disguise, retrieve her safely
from hostile environment. I’d say D-rank, but your mom is an ex-ninja, so that makes it C-rank.”

Sakura smirked. “Did you approach our training like that too?”

“Of course. Get Sakura to the level of Tsunade, get Naruto to the level of Jiraiya. Gather
knowledge to rival Orochimaru’s battle prowess. Long-term mission, many intervening steps. But
the principle is still the same. The mission is nothing else than the goal that must be achieved. It’s
up to us to figure out all the steps to the end.”

“And then there’s the endgoal.” Sakura observed. “Killing a ‘certain man’.”

Sasuke nodded. “When you want somebody dead, it’s still all the same process. Figure out a way to
do it and then do it.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

“Everything can be made simple, if you ignore all the things that make it complicated.”

Sakura let out a laugh. “Is that how you manage impossible things?”

“I guess it is.” Sasuke said. “People claim things are impossible too quickly. When usually they
mean they do not have the necessary skills or knowledge yet to achieve what they want. But I want
to be one of the best ninja. And the best ninja aren’t allowed to be bad at anything. So there’s one
rule I follow. I’m allowed to find something difficult. But I’m not allowed to give up. Because
when I’m fully trained, I need to be able to do anything that’s asked of me. I may not be able to do
something now, but I need to be able to do it eventually. Why not get started learning it as soon as
possible?”

“Sasuke, do you think I’ll be able to become one of the best ninja too?”

“Of course.” He said. “I do not doubt it for a second.”

“I don’t know if I can do what you’re saying. Shut away all the doubts I’m actually feeling and
pretend I can do everything eventually.”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “You do it every day.”

“What?”
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed. There is a way you want to respond, and there is a way you actually
respond.”

“Inner me.” Sakura admitted, looking away. “No matter how hard I try, she won’t go away.”

“Because she’s part of you. You know you don’t have to censure yourself around Naruto and me,
right?”

“You won’t like that part of me.” Sakura said. “It’s ugly and vindictive and…”

“Raw and has a strong sense of justice. Impulsive and passionate. Why would you want to hide
that?”

“You make it sound so nice. You wouldn’t feel the same way if you’d actually hear what that
Inner voice has to say. It’s like… I try to be careful what I say. Polish my choice of words.”

“You try to be a perfectionist even in casual conversation.”

“I suppose. I’m embarrassed about most of my impulses. It’s better to filter, isn’t it?”

Sasuke sipped from the glass of amazake that he had been served. The fermented rice was
refreshing. “I’m jealous of your passion. I don’t often have intense feelings about anything. And I
would like it to see more of it from you.”

Sakura shook her head. “It’s nothing special.”

“Naruto and you are spectacular. Naruto sees the joy in life and you see the beauty. All I see is the
utility. When I look at that pink rose we got earlier, I’m thinking about the fragrances that can be
extracted from the petals, the cutting force of the thorns.”

Sakura smiled. “That’s not fair.”

“What?”

“You don’t get to say Naruto and I see joy and beauty and then call your own way of looking at
things ‘utility’. You see the potential of things. You see what things could be. It’s one of the things
I admire so much about you.”

“That’s a fair exchange. I’ll think more positively about how I look at the world and in exchange
you can try to let Inner Sakura out a bit more.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“My mom…” Sakura shook her head, cheeks a little red. “Can we change the subject please?”

“Of course.” Sasuke hid his disappointment. But Sakura had the right to keep her issues her own
until she felt comfortable sharing them. “The robes you are wearing are very charming. Where did
you get them?”

Sakura smiled and launched into a story at the market. She had tried on dozens of different dresses,
until the shopkeeper had suggested this one. It would normally have been too expensive for her, but
the way they had been doing missions, she could afford to splurge a little.

They traded stories for the rest of the evening. The food was exquisite and the drinks paired well
with the food. They looked a little out of place, just twelve years old in a restaurant visited mostly
by wealthy adults, but they paid no mind to stares or chatter.

Before they knew it, the evening had passed. Sasuke paid with a generous tip, no matter how much
the couple objected. “You opened up a table for us. It was a great meal. As a customer, it is my
right to tip you exactly what you deserve.”

When they still tried to give some of it back, Sasuke and Sakura shared a look. Just a single second
of charged chakra later, the chef was left staring at two logs of wood while the two ninja were
walking on the street. Sakura was leaning into Sasuke’s arm as they walked. It felt nice.

“At first I didn’t understand why you made us go on these dates. But I think I understand now. I
mean, you told us it was to bring us closer together. But I didn’t quite understand how this all
would actually help.”

“Sometimes a change of environment can do a lot of good. Dressing in a kimono and eating at a
restaurant makes us talk about different things than when we’re training.”

Sakura nodded. “It was a lovely evening.”

“Everything you’d hoped it would be?”

“Yes. And no. I had to experience it to truly believe it.” Sakura said. “Everything you did tonight
was just for my benefit, wasn’t it?”

“I enjoyed the friendly conversation. I enjoyed the food.”

Sakura nodded. “I was so sure there’d be a moment where I took your breath away. A moment
where your eyes would linger or where you’d bleed out of your nose a little. You really aren’t
interested in girls until you’ve avenged your clan.”

“And even then…” Sasuke said. “I liked tonight. I could get used to it. But I’m pretty sure I’m
asexual.”

Sakura knew what that meant. The Academy literature had covered the basics like these. Iruka had
made sure of it and had been their personal experience with an asexual person. “Okay.” She said.
“Do you want me to stop hanging on your arm?”

“No. It’s comfortable.”

Sakura settled in more. “It doesn’t change anything for me, so you know. I like you. I would like to
be your friend. I’d like to be more. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Would you still want children? Like, I understand you don’t want to… you know… but there are
other ways.”

Sasuke had to take a few deep breaths. There were painful memories associated with that question.
And he would never be able to have children. The cost of time travel had been infertility. “I’d have
to think about that after my clan was avenged.”

“I understand.” She nodded absent-mindedly. It had not been a question she desperately wanted the
answer to. It had just been a question to stall.
“What’s on your mind?”

Sakura stayed silent. Whatever she was thinking of, still had not crystalised.

A different question then. “When did you first have feelings for me?”

“It took me a while, actually.” Sakura grinned. “Everyone was obsessed with you. They thought
you were so handsome and smart. I remember thinking that if that was the only thing they wanted
in a crush, they could just like Mizuki instead.”

“So how did I win you over?”

“I had a falling out with Ino. She really liked you and I…” Sakura sighed. “I wanted to see what the
big deal was. And then I saw you training one time.”

“You were that impressed?”

Sakura nudged him. “There was a bird that had fallen out of the trees and you were taking care of
it. That was when I realised that above all else you were kind. And that was it.”

Sasuke nodded. It had been his mom that liked to take in damaged animals and nurse them to
health. Sasuke had been broken after the massacre, but when he had seen a hurting bird he had
thought about his mother and what she would have done. At the time, he had no idea Sakura was
watching. Had no idea what it would unleash.

After a few seconds of silence, Sakura finally said what she needed to get off her chest. “Yesterday
I wanted to tell Naruto about my parents. But I couldn’t find the words.”

“Can you find them now?”

“I’m not sure.” She said, so softly it was hard to hear. “I think my parents are bad people.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“More than anything. But it’s a long story. I don’t think there is enough time before my curfew.”

“Your mom said I should escort you home at a reasonable hour.”

She sighed, close to relenting. “Maybe I should…”

“Just know that the Uchiha compound is your home as much as it is Naruto’s and mine. So, to
which home should I escort you?”

Sakura smiled, clinging closer to the arm she was holding. “I want to tell my story. I want to see
Naruto. And I think I’ve been obeying my mother for long enough.”

“The Uchiha grounds it is then.”

The route was familiar to them. They had taken it often enough.

At the Uchiha house Naruto was reading on the couch. “Hey Sasuke, did you have a good night?”
He looked up to look at them. “Sakura?!” He looked her over in her fancy Kimono and her done-up
hair. He had to wipe away a small trail of blood coming from his nose. “What are you doing here
so late?”

“I wanted to talk.” She said. “Finish the story I started yesterday.”

Naruto just had to take one look at her to know it was serious. His clone went into the kitchen for
tea, while Sakura took a seat.

“I can tell you guys anything, right?”

“Of course you can, Sakura-chan.”

“It all started when I was a lot younger.”

~*~

Sakura was crying at the kitchen table while her mom was making dinner. Familiar smells that
combined with the perfumes into the strangest combinations. It never smelled edible. Or maybe
everything started smelling edible.

“What did they say now?” Mebuki asked.

“They called me billboard head.”

“Honestly, if you just hid it better, they wouldn’t have anything to tease you with.” Mebuki fussed
Sakura’s hair, trying to get it to cover the top of her face. “The rest of you is beautiful, Sakura.”

Strangely, that did little to calm her.

Sakura’s aunt had heard though and dragged her to the backyard. “Honestly, you shouldn’t let
those kids bother you. You should just beat them up.”

“What?”

“Beat them to a pulp. That’s what I do when people say mean things.”

Sakura tried to imagine herself punching the bullies, but there was no possible universe where she
could stand up for herself like that. When Sakura told her aunt, Mebae just laughed.

“Kid, you have the Haruno blood in you. Just need a little bit of practice.”

Mebae got out a punching bag from her room and hung it from the tree. Sakura’s mother was the
ninja, but Mebae was no wallflower. She got kicked out of the academy for starting too many
fights. She had no patience and a big temper.

She made Sakura punch and kick the bag, pretending they were the bullies. Sakura was exhausted
at the end, but she did feel a lot better. They went back inside to eat dinner and Mebae snuck
Sakura out of the house after her bedtime. They laid in the garden and looked at the stars. Sakura’s
aunt told Sakura stories until they both fell asleep outside. Mebuki was furious when they walked
back inside, a little dirty and freezing cold. But Sakura’s aunt talked her way out of it. She got most
of the blame and she had a way with Sakura’s mother.

It became a regular thing. Whenever Sakura would come home crying, her mom would have no
idea how to make me feel better, while her aunt found some way to cheer her up. Sakura did not
remember the details, but she remembered fun. She remembered games. She remember doing
whatever they wanted without a care in the world.

Sakura was not able to put any of Mebae’s lessons into effect though. Whenever the bullies started
taunting Sakura, her mind would just blank. The tears would start coming until she was home and
in her aunt’s arms.
It all changed when she met Ino. Sakura was picked on like any other day, when suddenly this
force of nature came upon them. Sakura was still trying not to cry, when Ino unleashed her fury on
the bullies. Sakura could not believe how easily Ino had defended her.

“You know, they only pick on you for your forehead cause you try to hide it away. You act
embarrassed by it and they want to tease you for it. If you show it off, they’ll leave you alone.”

“I can’t…”

She just smiled and used a ribbon to tie Sakura’s hair back.

“See? Nothing to be embarrassed about. You have a lovely face.”

Her blond hair shone in the sun, framing a smile that could bring emperors to their knees. Sakura
would have pledged her alliance to her right there and then if she had been able to speak in the face
of such beauty.

She became Sakura’s best friend and if Sakura was not doing homework, she was bugging Ino to
get her to play. Mebuki did not like that Sakura was spending so much time with a clan heir when
she should be socialising with the boys in her class, but Sakura told her mom that Ino was teaching
her how to act around them. Sakura got grounded every other week for staying past curfew. It was
just so hard to pay attention to the time when Sakura was with her.

Then Mebae died and everything was harder. Sakura did not want to get out of the house for
anything, even if her mom still made her go to the Academy. It was after two weeks of depression
that Sakura found Ino knocking at her window. It was in the evening and Sakura had already
changed into my pyjamas. Ino did not care as she pulled her out her bedroom.

She had laid out a blanket in Sakura’s yard and they looked up at the sky. They talked and pointed
out constellations until deep into the night. As it got colder they cuddled closer together. Sakura
knew she’d get a cold falling asleep outside like that, but she did not care. It was the first time
since her aunt’s death that she had felt even a little bit okay.

Sakura was still happy that they woke up in the morning before her mom did, so they could sneak
back into Sakura’s bedroom and escape the punishment.

The next day, Sakura did not protest to go to the Academy. She happily took a seat next to Ino,
even as she blushed and was not her usually cheerful self. Ino was quiet during lunch and Sakura
had to drag her back to her home after school for a sleepover, where usually Ino had been so eager
to get the invite.

They had dinner with Sakura’s parents and promised to do homework in Sakura’s room. Her mom
would be out for the evening, so Sakura knew they’d be alone. They were in Sakura’s bedroom
when Sakura asked what was wrong.

“I’ve just been thinking about Sasuke.” Ino said. “How wonderful he is and how cute he looked
today. You know he likes girls with long hair? I’m going to tell my dad to stop cutting mine.”

It was strange. Usually when she talked about Sasuke, it was like the whole world dropped away.
But that day it just felt like words.

“I guess I just realised I’m nervous.” Ino said. “What if I go on a date with him and he wants to
kiss me at the end of the night and I panic? My one chance to impress the boy of my dreams,
thwarted because I’ve never kissed anyone before. Wouldn’t that just be the most horrible thing?”
“It would be his first time too, Ino.”

“You don’t know that. Maybe he’s going to try to date all the girls. He’ll be my first, but he would
have had lots of practice. No, I’ve thought about it and there’s only one thing to do. I’m going to
have to practice.”

“I’m sure that would make Sasuke jealous too.” Sakura giggled. “But who with? Shikamaru would
never agree with it.”

“Eww! I’m not going to kiss another boy. Sasuke’s the only one for me.” Ino said, her cheeks
flushing. “If I’m going to practice with someone, it’ll have to be a girl. Someone I trust. Like my
best friend.”

“Oh.” Sakura felt heat going to her face.

“Would that be okay?”

Sakura nodded, even as the rest of her body was petrified. Ino leaned in and placed her lips on
Sakura’s. Sakura’s heart was racing and she thought she’d faint. Ino brushed her hand over
Sakura’s arm and it sent shivers through Sakura’s body.

“That was nice.” Sakura said. “I’m sure Sasuke will like it.”

“Good.” Ino said.

“Do you… need to practice again?”

Just a few more times. Sakura was pretty sure Ino had learned whatever she wanted, but Sakura did
not want to point that out. Pointing that out would mean the kissing would stop. And Sakura did not
want it to stop.

The only reason they did was because they heard the door open.

Sakura’s mother was standing in the door opening, eyes cold and focussed. She was supposed to be
gone for a few more hours. But Sakura never was able to keep track of the time while she was with
Ino.

“Ino, you’ll sleep in the guest room tonight.” Mebuki said.

“But I always sleep…”

“Not tonight.” She said.

It was lonely. Sakura had such butterflies in her tummy and she just wanted to talk with Ino more.
Hold her. Kiss her again. Sakura tried sneaking out of her room, but her mom had locked the door.

The next morning, Sakura’s mom dragged them down for breakfast. She had everything prepared
and told them to hurry it up. Sakura tried talking about her homework, but mom shut that down.
Sakura tried asking Mebuki about perfumes, but Sakura’s mom did not want to talk either.

After breakfast, Mebuki asked Ino to go home. And then she turned to Sakura.

“What you did was wrong. It’s unnatural.”

“We were just fooling around.” I said. “I like spending time with Ino.”
“You’re not supposed to like it. I’m not raising a broken daughter. You will promise me that you
will never do anything like that again.”

“Why?”

“Sakura. You must ignore whatever you’re feeling towards that girl.”

“I just want to know why!”

Sakura’s mother hit her. The slap stung Sakura’s face and neither of them could talk. Especially
not when Sakura’s mother dropped to her knees, crying. “I’m sorry Sakura. I’m a bad mother. I’ve
failed you.”

“D-don’t cry…”

“Why won’t you just promise to be a good girl for me? Do I mean so little to you that you can’t
even listen to me when I say it’s important?”

“No, mom. I trust you.” Sakura crawled into her lap. She just wanted her mom to stop crying. “I’ll
never do something like that again.”

“It might be best if you stop seeing Ino.”

Sakura nodded, tears forming in her eyes. “She’s my best friend… I wouldn’t know how to explain
it.”

“Tell her that what she did was wrong. That you can’t be friends with someone who is this broken.
Because you’re my good girl. You don’t want to be broken, do you?”

“I don’t.” Sakura said.

But Sakura would never be able to tell Ino what her mother had told her to say. If Sakura wanted to
stop seeing her, it would have to be something different. Something that would make her believe
there was no more choice but to stop seeing so much of each other.

There really was only one solution. Sakura would have to tell her she had fallen in love with
Sasuke.

It was the weekend and there were two days of chores. Of locking herself in her room and making
her plan. Sakura would do it when she saw Ino at the Academy on Monday. And Sakura was
strong for a long time. But Sunday evening she could no longer resist.

Sakura knew where she would be. There was a training ground close to her clan, where she and the
other Yamanaka children would play. Ino liked going there in the evenings to pick flowers.

Sakura made sure to stay hidden as she looked at this goddess that she would never again be
allowed to call her friend. Ino wore a smile that she would never be able to cause again. Looking at
her helped, but it also made it harder.

Among the flowers, Ino found a bird trapped in some thorny branches. Very carefully she cut the
branches away and let the bird fly. Because that was just the kind of person she was. She saw
something or someone in need, like Sakura had been, and then she helped. And Sakura would have
to throw it all back into her face. The kindest person Sakura had ever met.

Sakura went home after that. She tried to sneak back into my bedroom, but there was a new lock on
the window. She had to go in through the back door, where her mother was waiting at the kitchen
table.

Mebuki stared at her and said nothing. If she had levelled any kind of accusation, Sakura could
have told her the excuses. Instead, they stood in silence against each other.

“Never again.” She said simply.

Sakura nodded.

Sakura’s mother sighed and walked out.

And Sakura vowed never to disobey her parents again.

~*~

Naruto and Sasuke were speechless. The clone that had been making tea runs was idling near the
kitchen’s entrance.

Naruto was the first to move, wrapping his arms around Sakura for a hug. “If you need us to kick
her ass, just say the word.”

Sakura could not help but laugh at that. “She’s still my mother.”

“That only means as much as you make it.” Sasuke said. “Naruto and I have chosen our new
family. You are always welcome here. And if you need me to talk to her…”

“No, it’s my problem to deal with. But thank you, anyway.”

Sasuke settled on her other side to join in the hug. “Okay, but anything you need, just say the
word.”

“Guys, I’m fine.” Her eyes went to the clock. “At least tonight I’m going to get back at my mom by
finally spending the night. I mean, if you guys don’t mind.”

“We already said, anything.”

Naruto beamed. “It’s finally happening. Clones, activate plan zeta!”

“Hai!” His clones responded from the places throughout the house they were working. One came
tumbling downstairs with blankets and pillows. Another brought a whole box to the television set,
rummaging through it. The final one was busy in the kitchen. The scent of popcorn was already
filling the air.

“Cheesy romance, or cheesy horror?” Naruto’s clone asked, holding up the best options.

“Do you have anything in the genre of cheesy fantasy?”

“Do I?!” Naruto had dozens.

The three of them settled on the floor, under soft blankets. Naruto’s clones finished setting up the
movie and filled the whole table with junk food. The lights went out and then there was just a
television playing a movie that was impossible to take seriously.

They were halfway through the movie when White flashed to the living room. “There is someone
outside of the perimeter, trying to get in. She seems angry.”
Team 7 shared a glance, before getting up and into the front yard. Sakura’s mother was there,
looking livid. The moment she spotted her daughter, she started banging on the barrier. “What are
you doing in there? I raised you better than that!”

Sakura winced, but Naruto and Sasuke stood beside her. “Remember. Anything you need.”

Sakura nodded. She stepped forward until she was at the edge of the front yard. “I’m not going
home tonight. I’ve decided to stay over.”

“You’re a ninja because we let you be one.”

“I’m a ninja because I chose to be one.” Sakura said. “You put me in the Academy, but it was still
my decision.”

“To impress that Uchiha brat who is poisoning your mind. Do you know what they’ll say about
you? Do you have any idea what this will do to your reputation?”

“I never cared about any of that. That’s not why I became a ninja.”

“Then why did you?”

Sakura hesitated. She still did not know why.

Naruto moved towards the woman and reached out for her arm. “I think it would be best if you
went home…”

She shoved Naruto away. “Get your filthy paws off me.” She raised her hand to strike Naruto and
suddenly Sakura knew exactly what she wanted to do.

Her aunt, her mother, Ino, Sasuke.

She wanted to be a ninja so that she could protect the people she loved and so that nobody could
force her away from them ever again.

Her mother had taken Ino. She wanted to take Sasuke. She would not be laying a single finger on
Naruto.

Her mother was too far away for her taijutsu. She did not have time for ninjutsu. But her genjutsu
could stop her. She still had not learned how to make a connection through air. She had no time to
make the mist. But she had been practicing earth manipulation day and night. She shot her chakra
through her feet and the earth was still stubbornly bad at listening.

But she had learned how to push. She had learned how to shift her chakra to quickly go through a
human body. The earth was nothing compared to that. She pushed and she pushed and refused to
give up.

With every moment that passed, she could see her mother’s hand coming down further. Sakura’s
chakra was close, but it was not where it needed to be. She closed her eyes to concentrate.

She pushed and pushed and finally something gave. She felt the earth open for her and it became as
easy to channel chakra as her mist. As soon as she had the access, she made the connection.
Through the earth and along her mother’s leg. Her torso, then her arm and then her hand.
Paralyzing muscles was the first thing she had been taught and she hardly had to give it any
conscious thought to make it happen.
 She heard the gasps of people surprised by her. Why were they always surprised? She was just this
good. Surprise was not an appropriate reaction.

“Stay the HELL away from Naruto!” She said, ready to stare her mother down and dare her to try
to break the genjutsu.

Her mother was staring at her and so were Naruto and Sasuke.

Her mother was immobilised, but not by genjutsu. Wrapped around her mother’s legs, over her
torso and all around her arm, was a thick branch of wood that she had summoned from the earth.
Mokuton no jutsu.

Oh.

Yeah, surprise was an appropriate reaction.

Chapter End Notes

Update next week on Thursday. Team 7: Uchiha. Final chapter in the Team 7
grouping. Where Sakura can use Mokuton and argues with her mother. And then we
can start moving towards the Chuunin exams, whoot.

May expand this end note later, but right now I /need/ sleep. Most of the Sakura
training scenes were added in the past week. And this chapter required so much
editing. Hope you enjoyed!
 Team 7: Uchiha
Chapter Notes

I'm behind on responding to comments. Many apologies! I'm reading every single one
and hereby a collective thank you for taking the time to read and leaving your
thoughts! You are the motivation that's pushing me to keep going and share this story
in the best shape I can make it. <3

Enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Sasuke was furious. Why could Naruto not just understand? They had the power now to end all
war. The measures Sasuke was proposing were drastic, but necessary. Could he not see how much
the world would be improved if they just killed all the people with hatred in their hearts?

Naruto was gathering chakra again. Probably to protect himself from the chidori in Sasuke’s hand.

This was how it had always been. Naruto talked about being friends, but he never backed Sasuke
up when Sasuke really needed him to. Sasuke was disappointed. It looked like Naruto would just
have to be killed too if Sasuke wanted his perfect world.

Sasuke lifted off, chidori in front of him. They would meet in the middle again. He knew it was
probably not enough to hurt the jinchuriki of the Leaf, but he had to try.

A flash of pink left them dumbfounded. Sasuke pushed the lightning chakra away and he saw
Naruto doing the same with his rasengan. Sakura looked pissed off. “You will stop this right now.”

“That dobe won’t…”

“The teme isn’t…”

“Neither of you are fixing anything!” Sakura yelled out. “You always think you’ll convince each
other by beating the other into a pulp, but it never solves anything. You guys want to actually
resolve something, how about you use your fucking words.”

Sasuke glared at her. “It didn’t work before. Why would it now?”

“Why is that the three of us just finished defeating a literal goddess and it’s the healthy
conversation afterwards that you think is impossible?” Sakura said. “Naruto, you have something
to say to him. Come out and say it.”

Naruto made a fist. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Go slow and try.”

“Sasuke,” Naruto looked at his former teammate. “I want to beat you so bad that it hurts. But it’s
always been my problem that I act before I think. I like to think I’ve grown. I think we can work this
out together if we really try.”
“We think too differently. I see all these problems around us and all these easy ways to fix them.
Why won’t you just let me do it? Why won’t you just help me?”

“You’re not the first person to think you can kill the beast by cutting off the head. But then we’re
just left with a lot of blood on our hands while another head takes their place, twice as eager to
bite.”

“Just because they failed, does not mean I will. Nobody’s had the kind of power I’ve had. Nobody
has come as far. I can build an army from the dead to help me.”

“And sacrifice how many civilians to do it?”

“Civilians won’t work. You need people who have some control over chakra.”

Naruto saw red. “You’re talking about killing innocent people! How much of an utter bastard…”

“Naruto.” Sakura interrupted him. “That won’t help.”

Naruto sighed and took a moment to collect himself. “Right. I’ve changed. I can do this with
words. Sasuke, there are only two ways this fight can end. Either I lose and you destroy every
principle I hold dear, or I win and you’ll hate me forever. You won’t be able to execute any version
of your plan because I’ll always be the stronger one. You’ll resent me and you’ll leave us.”

“You’d have to beat me first.”

“I don’t care, bastard. If I win this fight and I become Hokage without you by my side, I’ll hate
every second of it. It won’t feel like winning. Please, let’s just end this endless cycle of violence.
Come with me to Konoha and help me find a way to stop the hate without fighting. Come with me
so we can win together.”

“I don’t know if that’s something I can do.” Sasuke said, unsure. “You inspire so much in the
people around you and Sakura’s become one of the world’s best healers. If we go back together,
the two of you will have a place. Fighting’s the only thing I’m good at. It’s my strength. If we try to
fix the world another way, how am I to keep up with inspiration and health?”

Sakura held out her hand. “Sasuke, Naruto’s changed. I’ve changed too. We’ve all done things we
never would have imagined. Come change with us. Please?”

~*~

Naruto was gawking at her. Sakura’s mother seemed at a complete loss for words. But Sasuke was
smiling, like he always did when any of them learned something new.

“I didn’t know you could do that.” Naruto said.

“Neither did I.” Sakura said, looking at her hands.

“Think you can do it again?” Sasuke asked.

Sakura concentrated. She frowned as she shook her head. “It’s hard.”

“How about the wood itself?”

Sakura turned her gaze to the wood keeping her mother in place. The wood darkened and pink
petals started growing, almost ethereal under the moonlight.
Her mother was struggling now, as if she had suddenly realised that her daughter had incapacitated
her with no effort at all. “Release me!”

“Will you try to hit Naruto again?” Sakura stared at the woman.

That just made her angrier. “I am your mother and you will do as I say!”

Sakura was trembling, but she stood as firm as she could. “These are my friends and I will not let
you hurt them.”

“It was discipline.” Mebuki said, venom on her tongue. “That brat needs to learn to listen to his
elders. Just because his parents abandoned him is no excuse not to learn his manners.”

She was met with three genin staring daggers at her. “You need to apologise to Naruto.” Sakura
said.

She could not look more offended. “How dare you speak to me that way?”

“I’m old enough to speak my mind. I’m old enough that you can’t tell me when to come home
anymore, or who I spend my time with.”

“It’s all to protect you, you foolish idiot child.”

“I’m not a child anymore, mom. You don’t get to guilt me anymore into doing whatever you say.
Like you did with Ino.”

“Don’t you say her name in front of me. I had so high hopes for a future clan heir being friends
with you and then she corrupted you. She made you do those vile things.”

“Stop talking about her that way!” Sakura shouted. “I liked her! Because I like girls as well as
boys!”

“You watch that tongue!” Mebuki looked around her frantically. “You don’t know who might
overhear you say such depravity!”

“I’m bisexual!”

“You’re confused that’s what you are! First by Ino and now by these miscreants. As long as you
live under my roof I’m responsible for making you behave modestly and I will not stand for this!”

Sakura’s face fell. “You’re right.”

Mebuki looked to have a slimmer of hope on her face.

“This has been a long time coming.” Sakura said. She ran her fingers through her hair in
exasperation. “I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to realise.”

“I can talk to your sensei.” Sakura’s mother said. “We’ll get you transferred to another team.”

“I’m moving out.” Sakura said.

“What?”

“I’m moving out.” She repeated.

“Where would you even go?”

“Right here.” Sasuke said. “She’s welcome here. She’s always been.”

“You can’t be serious.” Mebuki said. “Do you have any idea what it will do to our reputation?
They’ll think you a common harlot. We could have negotiated if Sasuke asked for your hand.
There would have been other offers. Not like this. You’ll ruin yourself and your family with you.
What will you do when Sasuke tires of you? Do you just expect us to take you back after this?”

“Sasuke is my teammate and I trust him.” Sakura said. “Not as a future husband. Not as a potential
suitor. I trust him as a friend. And I feel safe here. Safer than I’ve ever felt at home.”

“We cared for you. We gave you everything you needed.”

“The things you thought I needed.” Sakura said. “So that I could further the Haruno name and
expand your business. You never gave me what I wanted.”

“You’re a child. You don’t know what you want or need.”

Sakura shook her head. “I am a ninja of the village hidden in the leaf. An adult in the eyes of the
law.”

“Doing safe missions and brushing up on theory. You’ve been lucky as a ninja. Do not press that
luck. Do not call yourself a ninja when all you’ve been doing is painting fences and cleaning
rivers.”

“I’ve almost been killed!”

“Oh please. Don’t be dramatic.”

“In the Land of Waves mission, I was wounded and almost died from blood loss.”

She stilled. “You never mentioned…”

“My friends were in danger and I protected them. And I knew I might die.” She cried out. “And I
had never been happier because my important people were saved and I helped and I wasn’t useless
as a ninja. And then I came home and I was too afraid to tell you. I’d never been prouder of
anything I had ever done nor ever been so ashamed to talk about it.”

“You risked your life…” Sakura’s mother glared at her teammates, “…for them?”

“It’s what a ninja is supposed to do. Not wait around looking pretty until she can get married. I’m
going to become a strong ninja and I am going to risk my life for the people I care about.”

“I’ll rescind my permission for your ninja life.”

“You don’t have the authority anymore.” Sakura said.

“I’ll lock you in your room until you start seeing sense. I’ll ground you until you’re eighteen.”

She let out a laugh. “I don’t live with you anymore. You can’t ground me.”

“Sakura.” Sasuke said. “Maybe you and Naruto should go get your things from your house?”

Sakura cherished the opportunity to escape, but looked hesitant. “I can’t just leave you like this.”

“I’ll be fine. Just undo the wood jutsu before you leave.”
She nodded. She reached for the wood with her hand.

“Not here. At the end of the street.”

“Where do you think you’re going?” Mebuki said. “You’re going to be a thief too?!”

“I won’t take anything that I didn’t pay for with my own money.” Sakura said. “We both know you
wouldn’t give them to me later if I had to ask for them. And I would prefer not to see you for a
while anyway.” Sakura said.

Sasuke nodded. “We wouldn’t want a repeat of the forehead protector incident.”

The wood started shrinking, the petals disappearing and the bark thinning. Her mother broke free
as soon as she could and moved to chase her daughter.

Sasuke was in the way and refused to budge.

“You will let me go after Sakura.” She said. “Or you will find out exactly what ninja training has
taught me.”

“I’m more afraid of Sakura than I am of you.” Sasuke said. “You never even participated in the
chuunin exams, did you? Too dangerous for your taste?”

“I’m still lethal enough to make it hurt.”

“Not as lethal as I am.” Sasuke disappeared and grabbed the woman from behind. He held a kunai
to her throat. “If you ever hurt Sakura again, I will end you.”

“I don’t believe you.” At least she had the nerves of a ninja. “I know a bluff when I see one. You
have too many ties to Konoha. You work to gain the respect of the council, you are abusing your
missions to gain alliances with other merchants. You wouldn’t throw that away by breaking the
law. You’re a loyal ninja of the Leaf.”

“I am more loyal to Sakura. And it wouldn’t affect my standing either way. I am indeed a ninja; I
know how to make your end look like an accident. Or I could make you go missing, like your
sister. She wronged a ninja too, didn’t she? And if there’s one thing ninja can do, it’s dispose of
bodies without getting caught.”

The woman started sweating. Finally. “How do you even know what happened to her? We never
told Sakura.”

“There are records. You agreed never to pursue official prosecution and the conviction was
handled internally by the clan responsible. Were the high-end clients directed to you worth her
death? Did you ever even love her?”

“Of course I did! She was my sister.”

“I’ve seen how you treat your daughter. I’m not impressed.” Sasuke reappeared in front of her with
another shunshin. “I need you to understand that Sakura is her own person and she will make her
own decisions.”

“And what? You just expect me throw out twelve years of planning? Twelve years of hard work
and building relations and preparing her future?”

Sasuke glared. “Yes. My teammates and I will refuse to feel guilty about work you have done on
her behalf without her consent.”

“The consent of a child? Please.”

“And that is exactly why she is moving away. No matter how often we correct you, you are under
the mistaken assumption that Sakura is still too young to decide on her own. But I think you are not
going to let this lie. Because you believe you are in the right. You feel like we are taking a child
away, when in fact we are merely providing a choice for an adult ninja.”

Mebuki shook her head. “She’s twelve.”

“She’s already killed enemies and saved lives.” Sasuke said. “Nobody with the power of life and
death at their fingertips is a child anymore.”

“And what if I do decide to be a responsible mother and fight for my only daughter? Will you try to
threaten me to make me give up?”

“Sakura’s choices are her own, and so are yours. I can hardly stop you from fighting. But know
that we will win. Know that I will enjoy making sure your losses cost you. Surrender, or it will be
the end of you.”

She took a careful step back. “Okay. I’ll stop.”

Sasuke smirked. “Please don’t insult me. I would love it to be this easy, but you’re not as good a
liar as you think you are. It is not in your nature to listen to my warnings. Yours is to touch the fire
and get burned.”

“So now what? You’re going to keep me here forever?”

“Not forever.” Sasuke said. “But long enough.”

She rolled her eyes and made a step. Sasuke flicked a kunai past her head, the steel barely missing
her cheek.

“I didn’t say you could move yet.”

She glared, but bit her tongue. It took a few more minutes before a Naruto clone signalled Sasuke.
Sakura had gone into the house from the other side.

“You’re free to go.” Sasuke said, stepping towards the barrier. “Don’t try to enter the Uchiha
compound without an invitation again.”

She fumed, but stormed off.

Sakura was sitting on the couch inside, trembling. “I can’t believe I just did that.”

“Standing up to your mother, moving out of your house, or an impossible wood technique?” Sasuke
asked.

“Yes.”

Naruto snickered, before putting his hand on Sakura’s shoulder. “We’ll take care of you. We’re
teammates. It’s what we’re here for. I think we need to start with tea.”

“I have a pot.” Red walked in, putting it on the table in front of them, and pouring out cups.
“Thanks.” Sakura cradled the cup close to her, letting the warmth sink into her hands.

Red stood awkwardly waiting, like she had been meaning to go but could not help herself. “It’s
going to be alright.”

“Did you hear the fight?” Naruto asked.

“I caught most of it. I’m sorry your mother did this to you.” Red said. “I would have punched her.”

Sakura snorted. “I was tempted.”

“It’s less than she deserved. I never had a good relationship with my own mother. I always had a
big mouth and got into trouble for saying things I shouldn’t. I got out of there as soon as I could.”

Sakura took a long sip of her tea. “Was it better? When you were away?”

“It took some getting used to. I didn’t belong anywhere and I needed some time to find a new
family. But I have the feeling you’ve already found yours.”

“I have.” Sakura’s expression became lighter, looking at the boys next to her.

Red nodded. “We were preparing to retreat into the basement for the night. You should head to bed
soon too. You’ll feel better after some sleep.”

“Naruto was looking forward to a movie night.”

“We can do that another time.” Naruto said. “I don’t mind.”

Sakura nodded. “Okay.”

“I’ll start by showing you your room.” Naruto grinned wide, before he had to turn to Sasuke in
confusion. “Uhm, actually… what room is Sakura’s?”

“Follow me. And bring her stuff.”

There was only one bedroom remaining in the house and it was long since time since it was put to
use. Itachi’s personal things were quick to clear, since there were so few of them. His brother had
always been very efficient and practical. There were no photobooks in his bookcase. No frivolous
items in his desk. He had once managed to ask Itachi about it and the answer had been simple
confusion. Why would he need things to remember the people around him if he could just think
about the actual people instead?

Naruto helped Sakura decorate. There were some cupboards and shelves, but they would need to
add a lot more storage to the room to accommodate for all her ninja gear, books and various
possessions. Mostly books. They pulled every unused bookcase from the house they had, and it
still left her with two large stacks of books on the ground that could not be fitted in.

“I should make the bed.” Sakura said, but her hands were still trembling.

“Don’t bother for tonight.” Sasuke said. “You shouldn’t have to be alone.”

That night they slept in Naruto’s bed together. It was the first night since Sasuke was back in the
past that he felt truly and utterly at home.

The next morning, Kakashi was just in time to witness Sasuke unlocking the basement seals. He
noticed Sakura as she brought in the breakfast they had made. “You’re here early.”
“I… kinda live here now.” Sakura said. “Had a big fight with my mom.”

“That sounds unpleasant.” Their teacher said. “But I’m glad you have a place to go.”

“I also kinda made a tree by manipulating my chakra.”

Kakashi tilted his head. “Pardon?”

“She has Mokuton.” Sasuke said, sitting down at the table. “Pass the salt.”

“Fascinating.” Pink said. He had come up from the basement and halted in his steps. “That’s what
the commotion was about yesterday? I haven’t heard of anyone being able to mix earth and water
chakra since the First Hokage. Are you related to the Shodaime, Sakura?”

“Isn’t everyone?” Orange asked, tilting her head in a way that suggested she was smirking. “Dude
got around.”

White flicked her head. “Show some respect.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Sakura said.

Pink considered it for a few moments. “Well, the First Hokage came from the Senju who
themselves were a collection of different families that had united under a single clan. The different
genes responsible for letting the First use wood manipulation must have been present in some
shape or form in the rest of the Senju clan. And since the Senju were the biggest contributors of
Konoha’s initial population, a connection’s not impossible.”

“I thought Bloodline limits for combined elemental techniques like these were always expressed
from birth.” Sakura said.

“Not necessarily.” Blue said. “There are some children who learn to use their combined element
around the same time they learn to use chakra, but others don’t learn until they’re an adult.”

“Where did you read that?”

“The Land of Waves has done much research on Bloodline limits during the purge of them.” Blue
said. “For a long time they were convinced they could discern them through physical
abnormalities. The research was abhorrent, but useful for anyone interested in human bodies. The
final conclusion was that it was impossible to tell until somebody manifested, whatever age that
might be.”

“Fascinating.” Sakura said.

“Well, I still say Sakura just has an adulterer somewhere up her family tree.” Orange shrugged.

White swatted her head with more force this time. “Respect!”

“I’ll show you some respect as I shove my foot up your ass!”

It took all of Pink’s strength to hold her back.

Kakashi was still processing and seemed quite broken. It left Naruto snickering and Sakura in a
much better mood than she had been.

Sasuke smiled. He had so missed this.

“You know a lot about Konoha’s history.” Sakura said to Pink.

Pink still had his arms around Orange’s torso as he looked to Sakura to respond. “Got to do
something while I’m locked away at night. Might as well read about the place I’m staying.”

“Do you think it’s still necessary to lock them up every day?” Naruto asked. “I feel bad that they
have to be so cooped up.”

“It was part of the condition for letting them stay at all.” Sasuke said. “But I’ve been preparing a
proposal for the other clan heads to allow the bodyguards to patrol the Uchiha district. The barrier
seals should not be hard to modify. I’d still like at least one bodyguard in the house each night, but
the others will be able to patrol the district for threats and have a change in scenery. They’ll need to
work in shifts and I’ll also be adding more bodyguards to the roster soon to make that possible.”

“You already have five.” Sakura said. “How many more are you thinking of?”

“A platoon’s worth, of course!” Orange said.

“It seems like a lot of work and expense.” Sakura said. “Why go through all the trouble for some
extra patrols?”

“When you have a good defence, it can never hurt to make it better. Additional layers of support
around the house will achieve that.”

“Does that mean the bodyguards will get their own houses?” Naruto asked, excitedly. “And we get
to visit them?”

“Why do you want to visit them?” Sakura asked. “They’re around you all the time.”

“They’re really cool, Sakura!” Naruto said. “The basement only has some beds, but if they have
their own homes, imagine how awesome they’ll decorate it! I can’t wait to see it.” He rubbed the
back of his head. “I mean, if you guys don’t mind.”

“Course not, squirt.” Orange said. She had calmed down from her earlier outrage and had finally
been released by Pink. “You’re welcome any time.”

“But we won’t take up much space.” White said. “A single home close to this one. A single room
each. We do not want to be too far away in case something does happen and we’re needed.”

“What about all that space in the district?” Naruto asked. “You could have six houses each and
we’d still only be using a fraction. Unless there’s some other way you want to use the space,
Sasuke?”

“I don’t have any particular plans right now.” Sasuke said. “But occupying more houses than
needed still seems like a waste.”

“You wielded Mokuton.” Kakashi said, looking at Sakura.

“Hey, sensei’s woken up.” Naruto smiled.

“I did.” Sakura said. “Want to see?” She pulled a flowerpot from the corner of the room and started
channelling her chakra into the flower. It grew bigger before their eyes, blooming and adding more
petals.

“It’s so pretty!” Naruto said.

“I haven’t been able to do much else besides pretty though. Yesterday I made a tree while trying to
do something else and I haven’t been able to repeat it. Do you need to report this to anyone, sensei?
Sasuke said we should keep it a secret for now.”

“That would be wisest. I am obligated to report this, but I can bury it somewhere so that it will take
a few years to reach the Hokage unless he starts looking for it specifically.”

Naruto grimaced. “Won’t that make him more mad than just not saying anything?”

“You’d be surprised.” Kakashi said.

Naruto turned to Sasuke for a better explanation.

“The Sandaime doesn’t want to know, but if Kakashi just doesn’t tell him then he’ll be forced to
penalise Kakashi when the truth comes out by banning him from missions and losing income. If
the information got lost in the system, the Sandaime can blame the complicated rules that are being
imposed on him or the lack of funding causing a staffing problem.”

“Okay, so if it becomes an issue and people complain that the Hokage didn’t know, he gets to turn
the tables on them.” Naruto squinted his eyes. “Wait, I’m still confused. Why doesn’t the Hokage
want to know?”

“Ideally he would want to be kept in the loop.” Pink said. “But what the Sandaime doesn’t know,
he cannot be blamed for not sharing with political semi-allies who have a right to know but are
likely to misuse the information.”

“Misuse knowing about my mokuton?” Sakura said. “In what way?”

“I’d only be able to speculate. Kakashi?”

Kakashi frowned. “They might view you as a political bargaining chip if you’re not able to control
it, a figurehead who can be traded for immediate gain. There are certain organisations even in
Konoha itself that will see your potential and will want to steal you while you’re still unable to
defend yourself. If you do know how to wield your Wood release and you can start matching the
First Hokage’s strength in combat, there will be voices to use you as you are wanting to be used.
As a respected ninja of Konoha.”

“So I need to get more powerful. Not just to Tsunade’s level, but to the Shodaime’s.” Sakura took a
few deep breaths. “Guess it’s just another goal on the list. But how am I supposed to train my
Wood Release? It’s not like there’s been a Mokuton user in the village since the First and I can’t
precisely ask him.”

“I might be able to help with that.” Kakashi said.

“Wow, you can talk to dead kage, sensei?” Naruto gasped.

“No, but I do know the next best thing.”

~*~

“Good afternoon, captain.” Yamato said. He looked so much younger than Sasuke remembered.
He had not gotten to know the man until he had returned to the village and had earned back the
trust of his teammates. Yamato was older by then, not barely out of his teens like now.

“What we’re about to show you must remain within this team.” Kakashi said. He then turned to the
genin. “The same applies to what you learn of Yamato. This is confidential information.”

“Are you a specialist in the Shodaime’s wood release?” Sakura asked eagerly. “I know that he’s
written extensively of his abilities but all the scrolls are confidential beyond believe.”

“I am indeed the foremost expert.” Yamato said. He looked once more to Kakashi for confirmation
and then made a few seals. Wooden beams shot from the ground and created a small structure.

Sakura’s eyes were beaming. “No way.” She made her own seals, and decorated the wood with
branches of pink Sakura flowers.

“No way.” Yamato echoed. “I haven’t ever met another Mokuton user.”

“Yes, I’m sure the two of you have a lot to discuss. You should hurry. Yamato only has an hour
before his next shift starts.” Kakashi said, shooing them off to talk. He then turned to Naruto and
Sasuke. “It is clear from the observable results that Sakura’s training in Earth and Water jutsu has
gone beyond all expectations, which leaves me to wonder about how my other students are doing.”

“I want to put my experimentation with lightning on hold for a while.” Sasuke said. “Naruto’s
become proficient enough with wind that he can strengthen my fire jutsu.”

Kakashi frowned. “Cooperation jutsu are not usually practiced until late-chuunin. Ninja are
encouraged to increase their own strength before they commit to techniques that require other
people for more effectiveness. Are you sure you wish to start this now?”

“Yes.” Sasuke said. “We’ve had a successful first attempt already. Want to show him, Naruto?”

The boy nodded eagerly. They made their hand signs and then held hands as they combined their
wind and fire together. Sasuke’s normally impressive fire grew larger and more effective, but they
only kept it stable for a few seconds. As much as Sasuke tried to compensate, Naruto was not used
to modulating his chakra for use with someone else. And they could not have a soul-revealing date
leading up to each cooperation if they wanted to be able to use this in the field.

“The groundwork’s there.” Kakashi said. “Unbelievable. The only limit will be how much you can
force out without hurting yourselves.”

“I was planning on using Sakura’s earth chakra for that, but her Mokuton would be even more
effective.”

Kakashi rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Three-people cooperation?”

“I also feel like Naruto has mastered enough of the basic taijutsu form and Sakura has increased her
strength and speed enough, to move on to a specific school of taijutsu that will allow us to work
better together.”

Naruto smiled wide. “Are you going to show us those Uchiha moves you’ve been holding over our
heads?”

“That’s the idea.” Sasuke smiled. “It will be a nice chakra-low activity between cooperative
ninjutsu and cooperative genjutsu training.”

Kakashi groaned. “You realize you’re being ridiculous? Mastering one cooperation technique can
take years. This can’t be done in the timetable you’re suggesting. I refuse to believe you can cheat
your way out of this one.”
Naruto shook his head sadly. “Sensei, why do you have to keep underestimating our ability to do
impossible things?”

“Fine.” Kakashi gave up. “Are you expecting me to help with anything here? Because you might
not realise this considering how highly I value teamwork, but I haven’t been partnered with any
ninja long enough to justify working on a cooperation technique.”

“Observations would be appreciated.” Sasuke said. “And someone to practice our form on later.
Actually, could you run some Naruto clones through the basics of grappling techniques?”

“I don’t see why not.” Kakashi shrugged. “Are you sure though? Grappling? That’s not a
traditional taijutsu path to learn right after the basics.”

“Have some trust.” Sasuke smiled. “It will all come together.”

Naruto made his clones and went off with Kakashi. The original stayed behind. “So how do we do
this?”

“Remember the exercises we did to learn our elemental affinities? We’re going to be doing
something similar.” Sasuke took a kneeling position and beckoned Naruto to do the same across
from him. Sasuke took a leaf in each hand and then held them out in front of him. “Link your hands
in mine. You’re going to keep both leaves floating in your hands. And I’m going to slowly burn
them.”

Naruto nodded, concentrating as he made the leaves raise up from his skin. Sasuke went slowly at
first, bringing his own chakra to the leaves in tiny amounts. Naruto was still struggling. “Is it
supposed to be so difficult?”

“The wind chakra wants to become fire.” Sasuke said. “And it’s allowed to, but only when you let
it. Too much too soon, and there’s no wind chakra to make the leaf float. Too little too late, and the
excess will blow the leaf away. You have to breathe calmly and feel my chakra. Feel what I’m
doing until you can anticipate it.”

“How am I supposed to anticipate you?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke let fire chakra build within his body, before releasing it in a steady stream through his arms
and then from his hands. Naruto noticed it just a second too late, unable to get enough wind chakra
there in time. The leaves ignited and shot away from them. “Did you feel it coming?”

“I shouldn’t just be concentrating on your hands.” Naruto realised. “That’s not where the chakra is
forming.”

“No. You need to grow accustomed to the delay. Feel instinctively how to act when you sense the
fire is coming.”

Naruto sighed. “This sounds like it’s going to take a long time and there’s no way to speed it up
with clones.”

“We have time.” Sasuke said. “And despite what Kakashi says, it’s actually easier to learn three
cooperative skills at the same time rather than sequentially. The important part is the connection
between us.”

“Right. Let’s try again.”

A few dozen attempts later, they had to stop when a foreign chakra signature started to approach.
Naruto had improved marginally. Sasuke had enough data to estimate how long it would take and it
was well within the parameters to blow Kakashi away. Sakura and Yamato stopped their practice
and Kakashi stilled as well.

A messenger hawk, well-trained and expensive, headed straight to Kakashi and dropped a scroll in
his hands. Kakashi wasted no time opening it.

“It seems I have been summoned.”

“The Hokage?” Yamato asked. “Did he hear about the Mokuton already?”

“No. Sakura’s parents have demanded a parent-teacher meeting.”

“You don’t have to go, right?” Sakura asked hopefully.

“I’m afraid the laws are clear about this. You are an adult, but your parents are not without their
rights. The kateihoumon is one of them.”

“An obscure right.” Sasuke said. “They’ve either thoroughly studied the laws to find the provision,
or they’re getting help from someone.”

“They’re expecting me within fifteen minutes.”

“So you’ll show up two hours late, right?” Naruto said.

“Much as I’d like to, that wouldn’t be wise.” Kakashi said.

“We are in a good position here.” Sasuke said. “But the more rules we would break or bend, the
more easily Sakura’s mother would be able to build a case against us.”

“That’s bullshit.” Naruto fumed.

“It’s bureaucracy.” Sasuke said. “So yes.”

“How do you want me to handle this?” Kakashi asked Sakura.

“Do I get a choice in this?”

“Of course. Your parents might not accept it, but you’re an adult by ninja law. It’s up to you.”

“Well, what are my choices?”

“There are roughly three roads to take. I can flatly refuse whatever they’re asking, I can obfuscate
and make vague promises to look into the possibilities, or I can go in looking for an actual
compromise.”

“I suppose… it would be better to stall for now.”

Kakashi nodded. “I’ll come discuss with you as soon as I know more.”

“Would you like to listen in?” Sasuke asked.

Sakura blanched at the idea. “I don’t think I could deal with that right now.”

“That’s okay.” Sasuke assured her. “Take the time you need. Kakashi, how much longer are you
staying here?”
“Didn’t he just say that he needed to go?” Naruto asked.

Kakashi smiled. “The advantage of habitually being hours late to meetings, is that I’ve really
lowered the bar of expectations for showing respect. I’m in no hurry.”

“Good. We still have a few more minutes of Yamato-san’s time. Let’s make the most of it.”

Sasuke glanced at Sakura, who had already mastered the technique of absorbing ambient nature
chakra to power her mokuton so that she could create trees instead of flowers. She never ceased to
amaze. She had extracted as much information as possible out of Yamato in a small counselling
session and practice would be taking care of the rest.

Everything was settling into place.

~*~

The mission desk was busier than usual. They tended to pick up their missions early in the
morning, but with all the excitement they had shuffled their schedule around. They wanted to grab
their mission before lunch.

“Ah Team 7.” Iruka said, smiling. “Come to clean out more of my backlog?”

“Whatever makes your life easier, sensei.”

“The priority cases have already been taken, but I have a few lying around that would be perfect.”

“We’d like to pick ourselves.” Sasuke said. “Protocol 23.”

“You don’t have to do that, Sasuke.” Sakura said.

“I know we don’t have to. But I also know it will be better for you.”

“I see.” Iruka stood from his desk and went to the rack behind him. “Normally I’d check in with
your jounin-sensei, but you’ve proven yourself by now. Can you tell me how long you expect this
to last?”

“A few days.” Sasuke said. It was their right not to get into details, especially with so many ears
around them. He would have preferred to be even more subtle than this, but Iruka was hard to
manipulate when it came to the ninja rules. Better to immediately declare there were personal
reasons why they could not go on particular missions than try to circumvent it and raise his
suspicions enough that they would be forced to explain with more details than they were
comfortable with.

“These rows here are eligible. Go through them and try to find something from the top.”

Sasuke nodded, quickly opening various scrolls. Anything that would take them through the
market district was dismissed. That eliminated a lot of possibilities, because most of the affluent
citizens able to afford ninja assistance were merchants or serviced merchants. That left only a few
options. And one of those was very tempting. Ameliorating the orphan situation for Naruto had
been more comfortably familiar than Sasuke had thought possible. And it was not the only problem
Konoha faced.

He settled on three minor missions that he showed Iruka.

“You’ve noticed that pay is reduced for these missions?”

“I’m aware.”

Iruka nodded. “Fine then.” He registered Team 7 and handed the scrolls over. “Good luck.”

~*~

“This isn’t somewhere we normally take missions.” Sakura noted. She was walking a little closer
to Sasuke as they entered the city’s slums. “I don’t think I’ve ever been here before. If I’d even
suggested going to the slums, my mom would have had a stroke.”

“We were here a few days ago.” Naruto said. “There’s an orphanage here. It’s actually the one that
needed the most work. It’s better to take off our forehead protectors before we go any further. They
don’t like ninja in these streets.”

Sakura nodded, putting away the hitai-ate. “So what are we going to do here?”

“One of the main roads was damaged a few years ago and they haven’t been able to fix it. There’s
also a power relay and some water pumps that have broken down.”

“That seems like essential maintenance.” Sakura said. “Why is there a reduction in pay for us?”

“Maintenance is usually funded by civilian collaborations. The people here didn’t have enough
money to file an official mission request, so they had to settle for a partially official one. They’re
available as missions for us, but since Konoha isn’t getting a full fee, neither are we.”

“Is that why there were rain collectors at the orphanage?” Naruto asked. “Because there’s
something wrong with the water pipes? Why wouldn’t anybody fix it?”

“In other parts of the village, Konoha might absorb the costs as an investment if there is profit to
be expected. But most of these places are gifted water and electricity as part of social contracts.
There is no profit and therefore no incentive. The major clans have argued for years about an
obligation for these companies to provide these basic necessities, arguments which inevitably fall
short when the business use their money or influence to persuade the council from making any
laws that would cost them money.”

“That’s not right.”

Sasuke shrugged. “It’s not. But they dress it up nicely enough that nobody notices. They claim that
these obligations would be a massive burden on the cost of their service all over the village. That
there is a continued risk of more damage. And therefore, that it is much better for the people here
to pitch in and fix their own problems than to get handed a solution.”

“And the council falls for that?”

“You’d be surprised.” Sasuke motioned for them to go into a side street, where they stopped dead
in their tracks.

Calling the road damaged was an understatement. There was a hole at least six feet deep, with only
small intact passageways along the side. The hole itself was uneven and the deepest parts were
filled with dirty water. There was garbage floating around in there as well.

“Hey, get away from there!” An old man started shouting, running towards them. “It’s dangerous
to get too close. Don’t you brats know anything?”

“What happened here?” Naruto asked.

“I heard there was an accident with a crate of explosive seals.” The man said. “And that some of
them are still active in there and could go off if you get too close.”

“The ink would not survive under these conditions for more than a few months.” Naruto said. “And
I wouldn’t expect a hole so deep if only a portion of the explosives went off.”

“Well what do you know?” The man glared.

“We’re going to try to fix it.” Sasuke said. “Do you know if there’s any sand we can use?”

He looked over the three of them. “I’d think you’d have something better to do, but if you’re
offering I won’t complain. The river’s three blocks that way. More sand than you will know what
to do with.”

“Thank you, sir.” Sakura said.

“Huh. And polite too.” The man scratched his head. “Wasn’t expecting that. Do try to be careful.
There are not many people who will see you falling into this hole as an opportunity to help, when
they can snatch up your wallet just as easily.”

The river was easy to find and so was their building material.

“How are we going to get all this to the hole?” Sasuke asked his teammates.

“I could do it with clones.” Naruto said. “I don’t have a good container besides my backpack, but it
would serve its purpose.”

“Do you have a storage seal?” Sakura asked.

“Those don’t perform well with a high quantity of loose material.” Naruto said. “Though I suppose
I could try something if I switch the modifications around a bit.”

“Messing with seals already?” Sasuke grinned.

“It’s just a storage seal.” Naruto dismissed as he took out an empty scroll. “Those are easy.” He
sketched out his creation and then started to fill in the exact design.

Sasuke chose not to comment on how ridiculously impossible Naruto was being, saving that
revelation for when they next talked to Kakashi. Instead he turned to Sakura. “Do you think you
could use an Earth Jutsu to strengthen the road?”

She blinked a few times. “Making earth dense is usually a first step in the other earth jutsu I’ve
been practicing before I change its shape or hurl it at enemies. But I wouldn’t know how to modify
a ninjutsu so that only some of the effect is expressed. If you have a different technique, I could
practice it.”

“I do.” Sasuke talked her through the seals and then a few practice runs on the river’s shore. “Just
even out the different earth components. Make the hardest part rise to the surface.”

Sakura took a few steadying breaths, before the technique failed. She shook her head in frustration.
“You’re not giving me a lot to go on.”

“You will not get a chance to read complicated scrolls of every technique you ever need to learn.”
Sasuke teased her. “But I’ll look this one up so you study the intricacies tonight. Remember, it
doesn’t have to be perfect, just as long as it works.”
Sakura tried again. On her fourth attempt, she made wobbly stones appear on top of the ground.
“Urgh, they’re so ugly.”

“That’s just a matter of practice.” Sasuke promised her.

Naruto yelled out triumphantly as he finished his seal and made a few clones start dumping it full
of sand. “It actually works!”

“What’s the capacity?” Sasuke asked.

“I’m not sure. A small house worth? I could fill it up with water and test it out.”

“Better to safe that until later.” Sasuke said. “If it holds enough to fix the hole, we’re good.”

Naruto shrugged as he rolled up his scroll and put it back into his backpack. They made it back to
the road and Naruto released the scroll’s contents there. Sakura used her new jutsu to flatten
everything out and that left the road completed.

“What’s next?” Sakura asked.

“The water pump should be this way.” Sasuke led them down the newly repaired street.

A scream brought them to attention. They darted into an alley where the sound had come from.
There were two boys there, hunched up against the wall. One of them was nursing a bruised jaw.
Three burly men surrounded them.

“What’s wrong? I thought you would like the touch of a real man.” The other two laughed, while
the ringleader turned to Sasuke. “Move along. Nothing to see.”

“Like hell there is.” Naruto glared at him. “Leave them alone.”

“Now look here, you little fucker. You don’t tell me what to do. One more chance. Run along.” He
stared Naruto down.

Naruto was a hell of a lot more stubborn and stared back just as hard. “You don’t tell ME what to
do. You want me moved, come and move me.”

The ringleader snarled and punched Naruto’s cheek as hard as he could. The two boys against the
wall yelped, but Naruto recovered within a second. He looked at the ringleader with a grin. “You
call that the touch of a real man, huh? I haven’t been hit that softly since kindergarten.”

The guy only got angrier. The next swing he made, he was holding a knife.

Sasuke pulled Naruto out of the way and pressed a kunai against the man’s throat. “Give me one
reason I should let you live.”

“Y-you’re ninja.”

“Factual. Not convincing.”

The other thugs were backing away slowly, but Naruto made clones quickly enough to hold them
where they were.

The ringleader tried to move, but Sasuke had a good grip on his arm and was very good at pressing
the kunai into skin whenever he tried too badly to move away. The man cursed. “This is just a
misunderstanding. Just let me walk away.”
“That’s not going to happen.” Sakura said. “We did not see you assault the kid here, but we saw
you hit our teammate. We are in our rights to arrest you, using any force necessary.”

“Arresting me is not the same as holding me at fucking knife point. This crazy bastard is talking
about killing me!”

Sasuke shrugged. “Accidents can happen during arrests. So, unless the next words out of your
mouth are ‘I’m sorry’, I don’t think I’ll leave you with the vocal cords to say anything.”

He grumbled, but then spit out an apology.

“Better.” Sasuke turned his kunai around and knocked him unconscious. Naruto followed his lead
and knocked the other two out as well. A bunch of rope had them immobilised soon enough.

Naruto reached his hand for the two boys. “Are you alright?”

They nodded, slowly. The bigger one, who had the bruise, shrugged. “Worse has been done to us.”

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Sora. And this is Reo. We didn’t mean any trouble. You’re Naruto, right?”

Naruto blinked. “Yeah. How did you know?”

Sora smiled. “I can’t believe you’re actually a ninja now. You were just the little brat shouting to
everyone you were going to be Hokage. I’m not surprised you don’t remember me. You were still
a toddler when we moved out.”

“You’re from the same orphanage.”

“I never properly expressed my thanks. Can’t say how many times my friends and I threw a pebble
against your window to make you wake up crying as a distraction so that we could sneak back into
our rooms without the caretakers noticing.”

“You’re welcome?”

“Can we go now?”

“You may need to give your story to the police.” Naruto said. “So we can be sure to lock these
guys up longer.”

“Naruto,” Sasuke said, “it’s probably better if they leave.” He turned to the boys. “Homeless, I’m
guessing?”

Sora nodded, looking away.

“The police won’t care about them. Punching a ninja is a bigger crime than hitting underage
civilians. Don’t worry, Sora. We won’t tell them about you or your boyfriend.”

The boy tensed when he heard that, but relaxed when he saw neither Naruto or Sakura reacted
badly by it being said out loud. “Th-thank you.”

“Before you go, let my teammate look at that cheek. It’s a pretty nasty bruise you’ve got there.”

Before he had a chance to say anything, Sakura was already approaching him. She extended her
hand, but waited for Sora’s permission before she actually touched him. Her hand glowed blue
with chakra.

“Isn’t that supposed to be green?” Reo asked.

“Healing is green, yeah. But I’m nowhere near learning how to do that yet. What I’m doing right
now is just a diagnostic technique checking to see what the exact damage is. He hit you pretty
hard. What happened?”

“We were just walking over the street. We didn’t do anything.”

“But I did.” Reo said. “I held his hand. I wasn’t paying attention and it was only a second. Those
guys started following us after that. It was stupid of me.”

“Totally worth it.” Sora said. “But next time wait till we’re back.”

Sakura smiled. “Nothing’s broken. It’ll heal by itself in a few days.” She reached into her backpack
and got out two small containers. “Have these. The first is against the pain. You should take some
now before the adrenaline wears off. It should last you until it’s healed. The second is supplements
with some antibiotics, to make sure your body has everything it needs to repair itself properly and
stave off infection. Do you have a place to stay?”

“Yeah, there’s this abandoned building we’re using to crash. Auntie’s in charge of it.”

“Is that someone from your family?”

“In a way. She took us under her wing. Sometimes we do small jobs for her and she gives us a hot
meal. And some cash, if she can spare it. Would you guys be willing to talk to her? You did us a
huge favour by showing up here when you did and there are more people here who need those
kinds of favours.”

“We can stop by after our missions.” Sasuke said.

Sora nodded. “Go to the old butcher shop two streets that way. We’ll get you from there.”

“Be safe.” Naruto said. “I know these streets have dangers lurking around every corner. Just
remember there are friends here too.”

“Thanks. We won’t forget this.”

Naruto waved them off. He let his clones carry the criminals away to the nearest police station.
“When we found a place for all the orphans in the orphanages, I forgot about the orphans that had
already left.”

“It’s not just orphans on the streets.” Sasuke said. “We’ve been helping everyone with our
missions.”

“I just wish we could do more.” Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded, his mind already racing.

When they reached the water pump, Sakura took the lead. “The mission didn’t go into great details,
but it seems there are just a few pipes that are leaking and they shut down a valve until they can
get fixed. The damage is too extensive to fix, so we’ll just have to replace the segments.”

“Right. I’m not quite following.” Naruto said. “But I guess it’s a good thing you studied
plumbing.”
“It was useful for my water chakra training. Still won’t get you off the hook if there are pipes that
need fixing at home.” Sakura warned him. “I’ll make you a responsible house owner if it’s the last
thing I do.”

“I’m responsible.” Naruto complained.

“Your room was a week away from mildew with how moist it was. Didn’t you ever crack a
window?”

“I didn’t want to let the warm air out.” Naruto pouted. “I like a warm bedroom.

“It’s so irresponsible.” Sakura rolled her eyes. “But, like, from you I understand. Why didn’t you
say something, Sasuke?”

Sasuke shrugged. “He likes a warm bedroom.”

“You’re both hopeless. Honestly…” She paused as she saw the men in front of the water facility.
They were dressed in construction clothes, but seemed to just be hanging around. “Excuse me,
what are you doing here?”

“We’re working.” The leader said. He was lying on top of a concrete wall and hardly looked at her.
“Move along.”

“We’re on a mission to fix the water pump.” She said.

Finally the man looked up, self-conscious enough to brush off some dirt off his construction
clothes that were a size too big on him. “Shit, you’re the ninja. We were just taking a break. But
you really can move along. There was a mix-up at the mission desk. We’ve got it handled.”

“Is there anything we can help with?” Sakura asked. “We did come all this way.”

“No really, it’s fine.” The man said. “I’d feel bad if I needed some teenagers to help me with my
job, you know. Pride of a craftsman and all that.”

“Right.” Sakura said. “How are the repairs going so far? It must have been hard to tape up the
pipes.”

“Please. The taping went off without a stitch. We’re about halfway through.”

“Right…”

The man stared at her silently.

“I’m going to have to insist that you let us through to have a look for ourselves.”

The man sighed. He suddenly pushed himself of the wall and used the momentum to try to land a
hit on Sakura.

She startled, but slipped to the side and grabbed the man’s fist as it passed her. She turned him
around in the air and threw him to the ground, diving after him with her knee in his stomach. The
other two were running towards her armed with lead pipes.

Naruto got into the personal space of one of them and Sasuke in the other’s. Strangely enough they
actually managed to change their charge and hold their own against Naruto and Sasuke’s taijutsu.
Whoever they were, they had had some ninja training.
That also meant that the leader she had taken down would not be unconscious from a single blow.
She jumped back just in time as the man swiped at her with a knife he had been concealing. That
would have cut right at her belly if she had not moved. “Just stand still, you bitch.”

Sakura knew it was smarter to grab her kunai. But she could not resist the urge to go back at him
with just her fists. He seemed to think he had the upper hand. He was still underestimating her.
People were always underestimating her.

She dived past the stab and landed a solid hit against his chest with her fist. The man stumbled
back breathless. She kicked at his wrist to make him release the knife, which fell a few feet away
from them, under some crates and out of sight. “Make me.”

He clearly took that as a challenge. He threw a handful of sand up into her eyes and tackled her
while she was distracted. He threw her against the ground and pinned her legs. The man was much
heavier than she was. It was physics and her chakra was not able to overcome the difference yet.
He pulled back his hands and let them crash down.

Sakaru used the small mobility she had to move her head away from where the fists crashed into
earth. She had but a moment and jumped at the man’s wrist with her mouth. Her teeth sunk into his
skin and he was too surprised by the move to prevent Sakura from leveraging her way free from his
pin. She crawled backwards and out of his reach, before jumping back upright.

Naruto and Sasuke had pinned their opponents and were tying them up. Naruto in particular was
trigger happy. “I’ll come help in just a second.”

“No.” Sakura said. She took a few steadying breaths. She was part of Team 7 and she could take
down her opponent just as well as her teammates could theirs. “I can do it.”

“I know you can, Sakura-chan.” Naruto said.

“Moreover, I want to.” Sakura’s back was aching from the surprise tackle. She was already angry
and now she had an excuse to direct it at someone.

The man looked hesitant, but still got back into a fighting position.

Let’s dance.

Sakura ran towards him and let him block her hit. She could have gone around it, but all of her
style and technique was not giving her the same satisfaction as simply connecting her fist to his
skin and seeing the trouble he had holding back her pure physical strength. He tried to counter and
she blocked that hit, feeling an ache in her arm that felt amazing for not becoming anything worse.

She landed hit after hit, getting sweaty and exhausted as she met this adult man not with her
intellect but her raw power. And it felt good. This is what she had been training for. That even with
no chakra strengthening her muscles she could keep up with an adult man. She could win.

It took just a few minutes for his block to slacken and her punch to make it passed his defence and
to his head. He was knocked out after a few direct hits and in no state to fight anytime soon.

When she turned around to see her teammates, Naruto was staring at her with wide starry eyes.
Sasuke just had that knowing grin on his face, like he had known she had it in her all along.

“I think I finally understand what my aunt was doing, training me.” Sakura smiled. “Catharsis
theory might be disproven, but sometimes you just need to feel powerful when the world makes
you feel weak.”
~*~

It turned out one of the local gangs had taken to filling empty water bottles from the main pipe line
and selling them for premium prices. They did not appreciate Team 7 meddling with their source of
income. Tough for them.

Once Sakura had diagnosed the problem, fixing it was easy. They noted the sizes and lengths of
pipes they would need and then bought them. Sakura guided them through the process or replacing
the pipes, even if practice was a bit different from theory. Naruto deployed one of the standard
Konoha protection seals on the facility once they were done so that only a ninja would be able to
enter it. That should keep anyone wishing unwell from damaging it again on purpose.

Electricity was even easier. Sasuke took the lead there and he showed his actual practiced expertise
in diagnosing faulty wiring and replacing it. Naruto protected the station for good measure and with
that their missions were done.

They met up with Sora, who guided them into an office space in abandoned factory building. There
were half a dozen teenagers spread around the room. Another three of them were concentrated in
one corner, their backs turned to the entrance, chopping some ingredients. In the middle of the
room was a long-beaten couch, and on top of it a woman.

“You must be the ninja that saved my boys.” Aunty asked from the couch. She was lying leisurely,
wearing a white dress decorated with white feathers. She had a paper fan folded out in front of her
face, only showing her eyes. They were an unnaturally light blue, clearly wearing contacts. She
wore heavy eyeshadow that was meant in no way to be subtle. “Welcome.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Sasuke bowed. “We were told you had a task for us.”

“I do.” She said. “But first, I must offer you my hospitality. We have electricity and running water
for the first time in ages. This calls for a feast.” She turned to the three kids in the corner. “How
much longer till dinner?”

“We’re almost ready, Aunty.” One of them said. “Ten more minutes.”

She nodded. “You heard them. Start setting the table!”

The other kids, including Sora, dragged a desk away from the wall. There were boxes pulled in and
placed next to the desk to make more room. Mismatching plates were scattered over the surface.
With great pain they found three actual stools and placed them around the desk, improvising other
chairs for the rest of their improvised table.

Sasuke took one of the offered seats and pulled his teammates with him. Naruto and Sakura looked
uncomfortable. Sakura looked unused to the environment, while Naruto escaped as soon as he was
able to start helping.

“Do they live like this?” Sakura leaned towards Sasuke to whisper. “It this normal?”

“No.” Sasuke said. “They’ve got a good set-up here. Not everyone in the slums is so lucky.”

Sakura blanched.

Naruto was already chattering with the kids, laughing loudly at some of their jokes. There were
large pots of rice and curry that were brought to the desk. The kids doled out portions, together
with sprinklings of spring onion.
“Itadakimasu.” Sasuke said, before eating. It was a simple meal, but nonetheless filling. Naruto
followed his lead, while Sakura was a bit more hesitant. She had not picked up the chop sticks that
had been offered, using a spoon from her backpack instead.

Aunty was offered her own plate of food at the couch. One of the kids helped her sit up, before she
put away her fan and started eating. It revealed the lower half of her face, where she did not have
enough make-up to finish her face. There was a shadow of stubble visible. It was a show of trust
that she was willing to show it. She looked to be fifty years old, her grey hair covered with an
elaborate blonde wig.

After the meal was finished, Sasuke took his chair and sat across from the woman. She had her fan
in front of her face again.

“It’s the first proper rice we’ve had in years.” She said. “Now that the water is working again it
won’t be the last. And to think that we’ll get used to this is a great gift you’ve given us. And yet I
am faced with having to make another request of you.”

“We would not be here if we were not willing to listen.” Sasuke said. “What is it?”

“Have you heard of Kikatsugan?” She asked.

Sasuke tensed. So that’s what this was about.

“Isn’t that some kind of medicine?” Sakura asked.

“It will depend on who you ask. Here we only know of it as a drug.”

Sasuke nodded. “It’s based on the Akimichi coloured pills. It’ll burn out a user’s chakra system.
Part steroid, part painkiller, part stimulant and part hallucinogenic.”

“You’re familiar with it.” Aunty said.

“I know of its existence and I know that it’s a problem.”

She sighed. “It’s being produced in this district. The leaders have convinced some of my kids to
join them. I would like you to persuade them to come back.”

“Is that all?” Naruto asked. “Why not talk to them yourself?”

“My arguments have fallen on deaf ears. More importantly, they have ninja on their side. Even if
they have changed their minds, they will not dare come back for fear of retaliation.”

“So we need to show them they’ll be safe if they come back. And in danger if they stay.” Sakura
said.

“It’s probably easiest to sabotage the drug ring.” Sasuke noted.

Aunty laughed. “If only it were this simple. I told you, there are ninja on their side. A few chuunin
and at least one jounin. A few genin won’t help with that.”

“You’d be surprised.” Sasuke said. “For now, talk us through your pitch for the kids. How are you
trying to convince them the group’s bad news?”

“There was a young woman working for them. Lovely blonde hair and sweetest girl you’d ever
met. One of the ninja got her pregnant and she disappeared after that. They say she moved in with
the ninja, but I have my own sources. The girl is gone. More likely dead than not.”
“Getting evidence for this would be a good first step.” Sasuke said. “It would make the story more
convincing and could remove one of the ninja from their organisation. A good stick. Now what’s
the carrot? What’s in it for everyone here?”

“I provide a place to sleep, for one.”

“Forgive me for being blunt, but they don’t need your permission to sleep here.”

Sora chuckled. “Like anyone would dare sleep in Aunty’s home without her permission.”

“And why is that?”

Aunty smirked. “I might not look it, but I am the most connected woman in the slums. When I was
still an entertainer, I visited every village in the Fire Nation regularly. And let me tell you, they are
far less interested in people’s family status than here in Konoha. I’m one of the only ways out of
the slums and I am respected as such.”

“Wait, why can’t they leave by themselves?”

“Remember our time at the gate?” Sasuke asked. “People aren’t allowed to leave Konoha without
the proper paperwork, which is expensive. And you can’t get the paperwork without having a good
reason to want to leave.”

“So they force them to stay here and then do nothing to care for them?” Naruto made a face.
“That’s horrible.”

“Part of running a ninja village is containing traffic. We want trade, yes, but we do not want to
make it easy for information to leave Konoha.”

“Oh yes, the council’s reasons for keeping us prisoners.” Aunty said. “Forcing my children to find
sponsors in villages they will move to. Will you help us or not?”

“Of course we will.” Naruto said. “But we’re still trying to get a full picture here.”

Sasuke smirked, before urging him to continue.

“How are you with food?” Naruto asked.

“We have a decent supply.” Aunty said. “And means to get more.”

“How does that work?” Sakura asked. “I understand what you do, but how does that generate
money?”

Aunty paused, presumably to find a diplomatic way to phrase the reality.

“You steal the food.” Sasuke concluded.

“Never so much that it will be missed.” Sora said. “But we were denied so much from the village
already. The least they can do is look the other way as we take what we need to survive. Is that
going to be a problem?”

“We’re not going to report you.” Sakura said. “But we won’t be able to help either if you get
caught.”

“How about the other essentials?” Naruto asked. “Heat and places to sleep?”
“We have fires to keep us warm and enough futons that everyone has a place to sleep, even if some
of the kids have to share.”

“We also take turns as look-out.” Sora said. “So that’s one less bed needed.”

Naruto nodded. “And what’s the drug dealer’s pitch? What is pulling your kids away to them?”

“They promise money and a better life.” Aunty said. “Until today, they had a monopoly on
electricity and water. They ask for a small errand with a big reward and then threaten to turn them
in if they don’t do a larger errand with a smaller reward. Before they know it, they’re caught and
with no way to leave. Was there anything else?”

“Just one more thing.” Naruto said. “We’ve been trying to improve the village and it seems like
your situation is stable, but far from perfect. If we find a better location or another way to help,
would you be open to our suggestions?”

Aunty eyed him suspiciously. “I’m here for the benefit of the children. I will not refuse any
assistance in principle, but I will need some guarantee you’re not planning on taking advantage of
them like the drug dealers are doing.”

“Of course.”

“We should be heading back home.” Sasuke said. “Thank you for the food. We’ll be in the area
tomorrow to look for the missing children.”

Aunty nodded.

They made their way back to the Uchiha compound. Kakashi was not waiting for them in the
kitchen as Sasuke had thought. Sakura’s mother had to be keeping him for longer than any of them
had anticipated. Or Kakashi was too overwhelmed to deal with her. Probably a little of both. Sasuke
made tea and they sat down to wait.

“I want to help them.” Naruto said.

“That is what we promised.” Sasuke poured the tea and gave his teammates a cup each.

“No, I want to do more.” Naruto said. “Every mission we get, we do what is asked and then go
beyond. I want to do this with her request as well.”

“I get that.” Sakura said. “We don’t just want to fix this problem. We want to make life better for
them.”

“But I don’t know what we can do.” Naruto said. “Most of them are unschooled and if the
merchants did not want to apprentice them from the orphanage, their luck will be even worse as
teenagers.”

“Go over the options.” Sasuke said. “What is it you want to do exactly?”

“They’re currently forced to live together in run-down buildings. They steal for their food, which is
risky for them and for us if anyone hears we did not report it. Sora and his boyfriend got hurt just
by holding hands. That would never happen in the Konoha streets patrolled by ANBU.”

“It’s about the hierarchy of needs.” Sakura said. “They have managed to take care of their
physiological needs, though not reliably and not without problems. They have some safety with
each other, but not enough. They have friendships amongst them and find some esteem from being
the most together group in the slums. But the foundation is unsolid. Everything higher is in danger
of collapse.”

“They need to get out of the slums. Which means having the money to afford better housing.
Which means getting a job. Which people, apparently, won’t offer to anyone living in the slums.”
Naruto groaned. “I don’t see a way out of this one.”

“We have connections all over town.” Sakura said. “Surely some of these people will be interested
in going against convention?”

“Perhaps.” Sasuke agreed. “But that is hard to scale up. And we already used most of those
connections to place the orphaned children.”

“This is impossible.”

Sasuke smirked. “Not quite.”

“Is there an option we’re overlooking?” Naruto asked, hopefully.

Sasuke nodded. ”When the orphans needed help, we facilitated. There was a clear way inside of
the system to help them, and we just provided manpower to bring that solution to fruition. But we
are now faced with a problem that the system has no solution for. The rules that exist are so unjust,
that it becomes impossible to solve the problem.”

“So what are we missing?”

“There is always the option of not limiting ourselves to the options Konoha has created.” Sasuke
said. “If the system is broken, we can make a new one together.”

“I don’t understand.” Sakura said. “You’re saying we need to go to council meetings and make
new laws?”

“Not quite what I had in mind. Changing the laws would take too long.”

“Then… we steal for them?” Naruto scratched his head. “I don’t see how that could help.”

“Have you ever heard the expression that you shouldn’t give someone a fish when you could teach
them how to fish?” Sasuke asked. “It’s wrong. Teaching someone how to fish is of no use if they’re
too starved to use a fishing net. People need to be fed before they can learn.”

“You want us to just… give them money?” Naruto asked. “We can’t pay rent and living expenses
for all of them.”

“I have some reserves, but not enough for this, no.” Sasuke admitted. “What I do have, is a lot of
unused real estate.”

“The Uchiha district.” Sakura said.

“Yes. We’ll offer it up as an alternative to the slums. They’ll be allowed to live here for as long as
they follow some basic rules. We’ll also ask them for some minimal chores, like maintaining the
houses and setting up a community garden.”

“Aren’t you worried about the houses?”

“I think them being empty is doing more damage than anything they can do. It’s not like there
won’t be oversight. We would ask Aunty to oversee everything.”
“And if they’re not in the slums, they can apply for actual jobs.” Naruto smiled.

“Not that there will be a rush.” Sasuke said. “We can provide some training and build their skills.
There is a good chance many of them will not know how to clean and manage repairs in their own
living spaces. Like Sakura said, the goal would be to get a solid foundation for their basic needs.
Let them know that they can get their own apartments when they want and if it does not work out
they will always have us as a safety net.”

Sakura looked at him. “You don’t want to do this just for Aunty’s group, do you? You want to give
this opportunity to everyone in the slums.”

“Not everyone.” Sasuke said. “There does need to be some vetting. We do not have the resources to
provide security and management if malicious actors get in.”

“Who gets to decide?” Naruto asked.

“Aunty.” Sakura said. “She knows the slums the best already.”

“And we could ask Jun.” Naruto said. “Last time we did her laundry she mentioned she wanted
more to do. It would be nice having her somewhere closer.”

“We’ll propose it to them tomorrow. We could invite them to the Cherry Blossom Festival
tomorrow evening to discuss the details.” Sasuke said. “But there are still many preparations to
make first. Some of which we can start on tonight. We…” He looked to the front door. “Kakashi’s
back.”

Their jounin sensei came in and sat himself down at the table. He looked exhausted.

“Sakura, how it took you so long to get away from her, I’ll never know.” Kakashi said. “What a
thoroughly unpleasant woman.”

“What did she want?” Sakura asked.

“Mostly she wanted to complain. She seemed to be under the impression that if she insulted me
long enough, I would eventually be so worn down I would do anything to make it stop. She vastly
underestimated how little I care about the opinion of others.”

“Was that all?”

“No. She demanded I order you to come back home. I kept dancing around the refusal, but I had to
be direct in the end. So she told me to step down as your jounin instructor.”

“Fat chance.” Naruto rolled his eyes.

“She’s not planning on leaving me a choice.” Kakashi said. “She is going to bring it to the
council.”

“An emergency meeting just for her?”

“Just so. Where she’s going to make the council forcibly remove me from Team 7.”

“She’s going to try.” Sasuke said. “But she won’t pass anything if I’m there.”

“We promised to help Aunty tomorrow.” Naruto said. “Can we do both?”

“That depends. Sakura, do you want to be present for the council meeting?”
“I will be if it’s needed.” Sakura said. “But I don’t want to.”

“Then you should go to the slums tomorrow with Naruto. I’ve got this.”

“You want us to take on the mission without you?” Naruto said. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Last time we went out on our own, we were outsmarted by a cat.” Sakura said. “We didn’t even
capture it.”

“So this is a perfect learning opportunity.” Sasuke smirked. “You’ve come a long way since last
time.”

The two of them looked at each other dubiously.

“It’ll be a success if you gather information and prepare a plan. These kind of operations take more
than one day. And until then, we still have an entire evening left to plan and prepare for
tomorrow.” Sasuke said. He drew the attention of the bodyguards who had been respectively
standing in the other room. “I’m going to need all the minutes of council meetings again.”

White nodded. “I’ll bring them.”

Sasuke returned his attention to his teammates. “Naruto, Sakura, what are you going to need?”

Naruto shrugged and turned to Sakura. “Do you have a plan?”

“No. I mean, not yet.” She sighed. “I mean, making contact with the kids is going to be easy, but
doing it safely is going to be trouble.”

Kakashi raised his hand. “Excuse me, what are you little devils planning now?”

“Nothing much.” Sakura said. “Just going to dismantle a drug ring that has the support of corrupt
ninja.”

“And then house all the homeless people from the slums in the Uchiha compound.”

“Oh.” Kakashi rubbed his forehead. “I’m going to need some tea.”

“On it!” Orange said, heading towards the kitchen.

“I’m going to have to split in two, won’t I?” Kakashi asked.

“I mean, Team 7 isn’t on an official mission. So you have no obligation to help us in the slums.”
Sasuke said.

“I think you’ve had enough adventures without my supervision.”

Sasuke smiled. “In that case, you’ll have to split in three actually. I’m setting the bodyguards on
the clean-up of the Uchiha district and until the council arranges the defences around the district,
they can’t work outside of this house without your presence.”

Kakashi sighed. “Don’t you ever get tired of setting impossible goals?”

“We prefer ‘ambitious’.” Naruto grinned.

Sasuke thanked Orange as he got his tea and drank. He was going to need the caffeine. For all their
posturing, he had to admit wresting everything at the same time was going to be a challenge. This
was going to be an all-nighter.

~*~

Sasuke focused his mind to ignore his exhaustion. The make-up was hiding the worst signs, but not
all of them. He had made the effort to appear like he was trying to conceal the sleep. He needed
everyone to know that he had spent all night researching, while they got the impression he was
hiding it. He was a competent adult pretending to be an inexperienced child, pretending to be an
effortlessly competent one. And he might have to go one level deeper, depending on who was
present that day.

“Ah, Sasuke. So nice to see you again.” Utatane said. The advisor of the Sandaime seemed to have
trouble hiding her irritation. “We were worried you wouldn’t be able to make the extra meeting
today. Heavens know how much trouble you have attending the regular ones.”

“I could hardly grow into a respected council member if I did not take my job here seriously.”
Sasuke said. “Will the Sandaime not be joining us today?”

“He has other matters to tend to.”

“Yes. I heard he’s been keeping himself busy.” Sasuke smirked. “You would think being relieved
of responsibilities would have freed up some of his time.”

“He has to do the same work, but now has three more parties he has accountability to, constantly
demanding updates.”

“It’s a good thing he has you to take care of him.” Sasuke nodded to her. “If there’s nothing else,
there were a few other people I wanted to talk with before the meeting.”

“I would just like to know how you’ll be conducting yourself today. Considering recent events.”

“Like an Uchiha.” Sasuke turned away from her.

It looked like she wanted to follow, but Kakashi intercepted perfectly. “Pleasure to see you,
Utatane-sama.”

“You’re attending, Hatake? And early as well. Hell must have frozen over.”

Sasuke made his way to the Hyuuga. The clan leader was sitting at his own table, sipping tea.
Hinata was next to him.

“Hello, Sasuke.” Hinata greeted.

Sasuke nodded to her. “Good day. How is your training going?”

“I continue to improve.” Hinata said.

“I still don’t know what you did, but it worked.” Hiashi said. “What surprises me more is why
Hinata won’t tell me either.”

“I promised.” Hinata said softly.

“I wouldn’t be a good politician if I told you all of my secrets.” Sasuke said. It was also hard to
explain how he had been able to use Tsukuyomi as a genin to shove weeks worth of therapy into
the girl in the time it took Hiashi to go to the bathroom.
“You’re still in training to be a good politician.”

Sasuke smirked. “All the more reason to establish proper habits.”

“Fair.” Hisashi took a sip of his tea. “I assume you’re attending because of the Haruno petition.”

“Yes. But there’s no reason not to settle other business why we’re here.” Sasuke retrieved some
papers from his backpack. “I’ve formalised the paperwork for going from three to five bodyguards,
including the provisions for expanding beyond five. I’m also increasing the area from just the
Uchiha house to cover the entire Uchiha district.”

“You do not have the council’s permission for such an expansion yet.”

“And neither do I have to get it, considering I’m dealing with internal Uchiha security. I’m sharing
this as a courtesy and to get advice from someone with your esteemed experience.”

“Why do you need more people?”

“You know about the Haruno petition. You know that not just Naruto but also Sakura is now living
with me. We are going to need more space than only the main house. I already asked for the
preparations to establish a secure perimeter around the district. Three body guards was bare-bones
for the house. Five was better, but not sufficient for a whole district.”

“There are a dozen ways we could challenge this anyway.”

“Father!” Hinata looked scandalised.

He looked at her with a disapproving glare.

“Don’t be alarmed.” Sasuke told her. “This is the game we play. Pay attention and learn.” He
turned back to the Hyuuga leader. “I have a proposition for the trade dispute with Suna, which I
believe you’ll find favourable.”

“My compliance will cost more than a single resolution.”

“I’m not talking about a single resolution.” Sasuke grinned. He pulled out a heavy document from
his backpack. “I’m talking about a complete draft that the Akimichi and Aburame will get on their
knees to accept. It’s yours if you back me up.”

“Satisfactory.” Hitashi said with a small smile. “I’ll support you.”

“I also have a few updates for the Uchiha charter. I’ll add them to the docket of the next meeting.”

“What kind of updates?”

“Small updates. Most of the regulations were written with prerequisites that members must have a
Sharingan. If something were to happen to me, that would put the fate of the Uchiha line in
Kakashi’s hands. Or worse, Itachi’s or his descendants’. I want the framework updated.”

“And I’m sure this has nothing to do with the Haruno petition.”

“Not at all.” Sasuke said. “Thanks for your time, Hyuuga-sama.”

“Good luck, Sasuke.”

The meeting was called to start soon after. Sasuke took his seat at the table. There was a separation
between him and the clan leaders, to signify his lower status. It had taken some getting used to, but
it was fine.

It was the fourth meeting he was attending, having missed only one. It was a better record than he
had feared, but worse than he had hoped. The whole point was to establish his presence and gain
political capital. That was hard to do when missions got in the way. It would be satisfying to reveal
his ability to make clones eventually so that he could multitask more openly.

They called the cases from the docket. Even though Sakura’s mother had called for an extra
meeting, public perception could not be that she was the sole reason for it. So they had a small list
of other important matters that supposedly could not wait. The Suna discussion concluded after just
a few minutes when it was tabled by Hiashi. With how little the other leaders made a fuss, it
appeared they had already been negotiated with and would look over the proposal before the next
meeting. There were some minor issues with the Cherry Blossom festival. Normally they would
have been handled informally, but since the council was meeting anyway it was felt prudent to
discuss them officially. A few other disputes that had arisen were on the docket as well. There
were allusions to bigger overhauls to replace the Sandaime’s previous powers, but most were still
in the works. It had only been a relatively short time since the council had gotten legislative powers
back and laws were not rewritten with expedience.

“We will now hear the Haruno petition.” The secretary said.

Sakura’s mother looked smug as she stood and addressed the council. “Respected Clan elders, you
all know me. You all know of the valuable services and products I provide this village. Most
recently, I have allowed my daughter to become a ninja and serve the village further. I did this
trusting the village to take good care of my girl and her modesty. Instead, her teacher Kakashi has
corrupted her. Her teammates have stolen her. And when I went to confront the man responsible,
he dismissed me. I demand his resignation.”

“Those are high accusations.” Hyuuga said. “What proof do you have of this?”

“What proof do you need?” Mebuki snarled. “Considering the pervert reads porn in public and
everyone in this village can tell you his students have taken over the habit. What more proof do
you need considering the disrespect this tidsoptimist shows every day to the honourable ninja of
this village?”

Sasuke could not take it any longer. “Considering Kakashi’s achievements in the Third Shinobi
War and his merits as a celebrated jounin of Konoha?”

“I don’t believe it’s your place to speak in these proceedings without permission.” Mebuki said, an
evil smirk on her face. “Which just shows my point. Team 7 has learned many things, but
following rules and procedure is not one of them.”

“I’m confused.” Hyuuga said. “Under Konoha law, your daughter is an adult as a ninja. What
would it achieve for Kakashi to be dismissed?”

“Surely you must see that any decent jounin would want the girl to be reunited with her mother.”
She said.

“I agree.” Akimichi said. “When I was a jounin instructor, I cared for my genin. I would never let
any of them walk out of a stable home life. That he has not stepped in to rectify the situation is
inexcusable. Haruno-san, you spoke with Kakashi extensively, did you not?”

“Of course. I wanted to make him understand.”

“And what did he say?”

“He refused to answer any questions. Refused to commit to any actions. In my years as a Konoha
resident, I have never been more disrespected.”

“As tragic as this all is, I don’t see how a single incident can make us decide on disciplinary
action.” Aburame said.

Mebuki huffed. “There was more than one…”

“Are you going to drag a Konoha jounin’s reputation through the mud in this public forum?”
Aburame asked.

“There is a simpler option.” Akimichi said. “It is in our power as the counsel to compel Kakashi to
return his student back to her natural home. There need not be any talk of discipline for a jounin,
while Haruno-san can still be helped along.”

Strangely, Sakura’s mother did not look surprised by the suggestion. Sasuke glared at the Akimichi
elder. They had planned this together.

“On what ground?” Hyuuga said.

“Common decency for one.” Akimichi said. “A child belongs with their family. In this hall of clans
we should all agree of this basic fact.”

“I was not aware the Haruno were a clan.”

“What is a clan, but a well-established family?”

The Aburame nodded. “Laws of decency are not limited to the ninja clans. I am curious however
why the separation happened in the first place.”

“There was an argument.” Sakura’s mother said. “My daughter is being stubborn, as teenagers can
be, and refuses to take my advice to heart. Truthfully, she has been lost in her affection for a young
clan heir who is present here today, who has broken her chastity.”

“Permission to speak.” Sasuke grit between his teeth.

“Granted.” Hyuuga said, before either other council member could refuse him.

“I will forgive Haruno-san her insinuations as an ignorant civilian. She has encouraged her
daughter to diet, putting her in mortal risk against her enemies. She has laid down curfews and
rules that have interfered with her training on numerous occasions, like she is a child instead of one
of Konoha’s soldiers. The argument is not between mother and daughter, but between civilian and
ninja. For all her words of praise to Konoha, she wants Sakura to withdraw as a ninja.”

“Just this team.” Haruno said.

“A ninja that retreats from their genin team, is as good as withdrawn as a ninja completely.” Sasuke
said. “We would be losing the smartest graduate of the Academy in years, as well as one of the
most promising genin on the current registry.”

“This seems easy to resolve.” Akimichi said. “Haruno-san, if Sakura were returned to your house,
would you agree to keep her enlisted as a ninja in her current team.”

“I would need to have guarantees she would not be spirited away for training so much that her
pervert sensei could become a bigger influence than myself.”

“Halt.” Hyuuga said. “I’m not comfortable pushing this order onto a jounin sensei. What has
happened to our tradition of jounin autonomy?”

“What has happened to letting children stay with their parents?” Akimichi said. “Sasuke, how
many steps has Kakashi undertaken to mend the bridge between Sakura and her mother?”

“As many as Haruno-san deserved.” Sasuke said.

“I’m looking for a number. For specific examples.”

Sasuke frowned.

“As I thought. All we’re asking is that the man does his due diligence before he breaks up a family.
I would like to move to the vote.”

Sasuke could see the Hyuuga elder judging his options. There were few avenues to publicly go
against such an argument. The Aburame elder was already swayed, by the way he looked. If they
voted now, the result was clear.

“No.” Sasuke said.

“It is not up to you.” The Akimichi elder said, managing to put some sympathy in his voice. He
gestured the secretary to start the vote.

“Not up to me, but up to the agenda.” Sasuke said. “There are several open topics from previous
meetings that I urge be resolved before any new votes are called.” He turned to the secretary
himself. “Item 1654.”

The secretary looked up the business. “Wall security skirmish three years ago. The counsel thought
the incident was suspicious and ordered additional information. The information was gathered after
six months, but has not been reviewed in any subsequent meeting.”

“It’s waited for so long. It can wait for another meeting.” Akimichi said.

“Are you claiming the security of our village is less important than a domestic dispute?”

“I am when that security issue is over 35 months old. We have not read the information.”

“You have not read information that was provided to you 30 months ago?” Sasuke asked. “Why
even ask for a report if you’re not going to use it? How is the reporting department supposed to
take you serious with any new requests?”

“We will read the material and prepare for the next meeting. Put it on the next agenda.” He waved
it off.

“Delaying a topic requires a unanimous vote.” Sasuke said.

“There are no objections.” Akimichi said, frustration in his voice.

“I don’t know.” Hyuuga said. “Sasuke has raised an interesting point. What if there was really a
fatal breach in the security of our walls? How much would it be worth to solve this issue one week
earlier?”

“You can’t be serious.”

“We can at least review the information.” Aburame said. “If nothing else, this will clean up our
administration.”

Akimichi sighed. “Fine then. We’ll discuss this one. How many more items are you planning to
add, Sasuke?”

“Just a few more to clean out unresolved business. I’m sure the vote for Haruno’s petition can take
place right after the lunch break.”

“This is outrageous.” Sakura’s mother said.

“Sit down, Haruno-san.” Akimichi sighed. “Apparently we have some priority subjects before we
can come to a resolution.”

~*~

“I don’t want to hear it.” Akimichi said.

Sasuke stood across from the elder in the separate room, his arms crossed. “Tough luck.”

“I get that Sakura is your teammate and that you have an interest in this petition. But there is more
at stake here than you understand.”

“I understand more than you think.” Sasuke said. “Haruno is a prominent member of the merchant
families. Considering your support, she either threatened sanctions or bribed you.”

“This is just about what’s best for Sakura.”

“You don’t honestly believe that. Or you would have insisted on hearing her side of it. On having
her testify.”

“Do not presume to school me, boy.”

“What you have failed to understand, honourable elder, is that I can bribe you better than Haruno-
san can. And my threats are worse as well.”

“I sincerely doubt that.”

Sasuke took a deep breath to steady himself. The disrespect was getting to him. “If you were
crossing Hyuuga-sama, you would have gone to him first to minimise the damage. If this would
have impacted Aburama-sama, you would have tried to come to a compromise first to keep your
relations stable. I am the leader of the Fourth Noble Clan of Konoha and I will not be treated like
this.”

“You are a child, Sasuke. And as much as you like to play on this council, you are not a player
yet.”

“That’s what Sarutobi thought.” Sasuke sighed. “I was hoping beating the Sandaime would be
sufficient warning.”

“You only managed to win that battle with our help.”

“Is that what you think?” Sasuke asked. “I suppose I will have to make an example of you as well
then. I am going to expose a loophole in the Cherry Blossom Festival lease arrangements.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Konoha profits from the festival through taxes. The Akimichi and your allied clans, however,
profit from sales of vendors. As the leading family, you are in charge of deciding who gets to put
up their stalls at the festival. In exchange you are paid a leasing fee. But due to limitations of the
Konoha charters, you are not allowed to take in these fees from any booth that has a ninja in its
employ.”

“This is not news to me.” Akimichi said. “The two or three ninja-founded businesses are placed
automatically without any problem.”

“And what business would go through the trouble of hiring an expensive ninja when they could
just pay you the lease cost instead? But this model falls apart when it’s turned around. Why would
anyone pay you 2000 Ryo for a leasing fee, if they could just pay a ninja 200 Ryo to be employed
for the evening?”

“No ninja would work for such a low fee.”

“Who says they have to do any work? As long as they’re employed on the books.”

“That’s not the intention of that law.”

“But it’s how it’s written. The festival is tonight. You don’t have any time to change the laws.”

Akimichi’s face was stone. “I’ll admit this is a good threat.”

“Oh no.” Sasuke chuckled darkly. “This is your punishment. I’ve sent Kakashi out to distribute the
information already. Before the lunch break is over, every merchant in the festival will be aware of
this loophole and most will be using it.”

“You’re insane. You think I will help you after you pull a stunt like this?”

“It’s what the Hyuuga or the Aburame would have done. And yes, I do think you will help me after
hearing about your punishment. Because I haven’t even told you the threat yet.”

“And you think that will help? This is quickly becoming personal, Sasuke.”

“Of course it’s personal. It has been from the start. Because this is my teammate you’re sending
back into an abusive household. It’s my best friend you’re threatening to take away from me. All
without deigning to even ask the Uchiha heir of his opinion.”

“So, what other loopholes do you think you have found?”

“The Hyuuga and Aburame do not know that you control the supervisory merchant board, do
they?”

That made Akimichi freeze.

“It’s impressive, really. The Merchant union got too intwined with your family, so you were forced
by the council to hand over many of the powers to an independent supervisory board. You got
control of it five years ago, but keep complaining when its powers are expanded. Your political
opponents feel like they have bested you when they divert power from you to the supervisory
board, while you were going to win no matter the outcome.”

“You can’t prove anything.”

“I can prove enough that the others will start digging.”

“This cannot be allowed to get out.”

“Yes. I convinced the Hyuuga to back me through a new draft of the trade agreement with Suna. I
promised him it would get unanimous approval. Hyuuga-sama does not understand why you would
agree without objection, since a lot of the discretionary power goes to the supervisory merchant
board. Just one conversation and that power would go to the Konoha economic department instead.
The treaty won’t pass unanimously, but after such an underhanded move on your part, I don’t think
the other elders will care much. They’ll be too busy retaliating against you with their punishments
they’ve been keeping in reserve.”

“I get it. You’ve got me. What do you want?”

“Refuse the Haruno petition. Do not object to the additional bodyguards I’m hiring for the Uchiha
district. And support the internal clan legislation I’m introducing next week.”

Akimichi grimaced. “Anything else, your highness?”

“Yes, actually. What did Sakura’s mother threaten you with?”

“Her perfume business sources raw material from the Yamanaka. She’s threatening to only work
with imports.”

“That would cost the Yamanaka quite some business.”

“They won’t be happy.”

“It’ll take a few days to set up, but I’ll find a way to match the quantity of her orders. The
Yamanaka will lose no business and within weeks they will prefer our business over Haruno’s.”

“Why?”

“You felt like you had no choice but to accede to Haruno-san’s demands. I am merely
demonstrating that you have more options than you had thought, had you remembered proper
etiquette and brought the matter to me.”

Akimichi huffed incredulously. “You’re rubbing salt into the wound.”

“For all your complaints, you should be grateful I’m asking for so little. We both know you are
going to better protect your interests after this. I could have made you compromise your principles.
Instead I’m using the knowledge of your deceptions so that you’ll respect an adult ninja’s right to
her own freedom. Just remember that this is not the last secret I’m aware of.”

“Letting you onto the council was a mistake.”

“That’s the wrong lesson to take from this. The lesson is that I’m a player in this game. You
wanted me to be a politician. Don’t be so surprised that I’m acting like one.”

~*~

Sakura’s mother was outraged as the council refused her petition. “No. This isn’t happening. I’ll
pull out of my trade deals. I will!”

The elder Yamanaka was in the crowd and reacted visibly to it. Akimichi gave him a look, before
turning to Haruno. “Do not be mistaken. This council is not led through bribery or threats.”

“What did Sasuke offer you?” She snarled. “It must have been impressive for you to change your
mind so quickly.”

“Do not insult me. Uchiha-sama merely told me some stories about the way you have been treating
your daughter. The way he tells it, I am glad we will be rid of your business.”

“This isn’t over.” Mebuki said, before leaving the room.

“Next order of business!” The secretary called. And the meeting continued.

~*~

Sasuke leaned over the roof’s edge, looking at the blooming Cherry blossom trees. There were
merchants and citizens mingling around, enjoying themselves. It was hard to see individual faces in
the twilight. Soon the lanterns would be lit and the festivities would really kick off.

“You’re here.” Naruto smiled, settling next to him. The orange kimono looked nice on him. His
hair had been tamed. Probably Orange’s doing. “I thought you were supposed to meet us back
home.”

“Sorry. The meeting ran late.” Sasuke’s nerves settled with the familiar presence beside him. He
knew his teammates were okay, or else one of his clones would have alerted him. But knowing was
infinitely less reassuring than seeing.

“Was it productive?” Sakura asked. Her red kimono was tied meticulously and it looked like she
had gotten help with her make-up. Probably Red’s work.

“The council is on our side. Your mother’s only remaining resource is the Sandaime, who is being
kept too busy to see her.”

“What did it cost us?”

“Surprisingly little. We just need to set up a perfume business in the next few days and compete
your mother into the ground.”

Sakura smiled. “Sounds fun. I don’t know all of her recipes, but I know enough of them to make it
hurt.”

“How did it go with your operation?” Sasuke looked them over again just to make sure. There did
not appear to be any injuries, but it was hard to tell with the kimono covering most of their skin.

“We got the kids back. And they were enthusiastic about moving into the Uchiha district. They’re
all relocating as we speak. Jun should be around later to tell us how it went. District won’t be so
empty from now on. Especially since we brought in more than just the kids.”

“Aunty already had recommendations?”

“Not exactly.” Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “We kind of invited everyone in the drug cartel
to join us.”

“Oh.” Sasuke said. “Why?”

“We couldn’t just leave them after we disbanded their entire operation.”

Sakura nodded. “They didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“I’m sorry. You already disbanded the operation? The one that was being run by corrupt ninja?”
 “Well, you put us in control of the mission and we just did what we think you would have done.”

Sakura chuckled. “Kakashi put in a good word with the ANBU commander and the addicted jounin
were admitted into a rehab clinic. Which meant they were out of the way as we arrested the
civilians in charge. We confiscated the money and drugs first and after middle management
scattered, the rest did not know what to do.”

“How did you even convince them to join you?” Sasuke asked.

Sakura smirked. “I couldn’t figure out how to do it, so I thought I’d borrow a page from your book.
I threw Naruto at them.”

Sasuke was so proud.

“They’re good kids, most of them.” Naruto said. “I know we should have checked in with you first,
but…”

“If you trust them, then so do I.” Sasuke said. “I’m looking forward to meeting them.”

“They’re still settling in.” Sakura said. “And I think we’ve deserved a night off after our day.”

“We do. But we have one last chore tonight. We should introduce ourselves.” Sasuke said, looking
around for the other people on the roof. Noble people and high-ranking ninja were the only ones
present. If they could make an impression and get requested for higher ranked missions, that would
do wonders for their reputation.

“I was hoping for a bit more fun than that.” Sakura said. “And a bit more dango.”

“We’re not spending all evening here, are we?” Naruto sounded disappointed.

“Until it gets darker.” Sasuke said. “Too easy right now to accidentally run into you-know-who.
But I wouldn’t keep Sakura from dango all evening either.”

~*~

The training ground was empty and calm, a stark difference to the rest of the Uchiha district. It was
only the first day of having these newcomers around, so Sasuke fully forgave their early energy.
They were still adjusting. He sincerely hoped there would be quiet again without having to wake
up at the crack of dawn.

“What are we working on today?” Naruto asked. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. The
festivities had gone on deep into the night, first at the Sakura tree and then continued in the Uchiha
district. But when Sasuke had gotten out of their bed, so had Naruto and Sakura.

“Co-operative techniques.” Sasuke said. He had the scrolls ready as he handed them to his
teammates. “Let me tell you about the family of techniques that we will be learning. Let me tell
you about the dragon.”

Chapter End Notes

Next update Thursday evening February 3rd: The Chuunin exam nomination. Which
is basically everything up to, but not including, the theoretical exam. I'm going to take
an extra week because there's a few more things than usual to fix. There's a bit of a
time skip and I'm going to need a better introduction to catch you up what happened
and what level our little genin are at. Current version is a bit too old, and wanted to
show their MASSIVE progress because Naruto and Sakura could use elemental
techniques now. Which, uhm... we're well past that point.

I had two theories for Sakura using Mokuton, the first being that she has some Senju
blood in her, the second that she's just THAT good at chakra manipulation that she's
figured out how to combine two elements without having the bloodline. So the truth
settles somewhere in between. She has some relation with the Senju, no matter how
many generations ago that was, and it's her unrivaled mastery of elemental techniques
combined with her unique genetics that allow her to use the Mokuton. Exactly where it
comes from is not the most important part. She has it, she's going to use it (as soon as
she can show it off), and that's the end of it.

The Hyuuga was quickly made an ally, the Akimichi was punished and bribed in the
same conversation. The next time the Aburame look at Sasuke, they are going to
respectfully nod and just go with it.
 The Chuunin exam nomination
Chapter Summary

As Team 7 prepares for the chuunin exams, there is an unwanted family reunion.

Chapter Notes

Special thanks to Esseraph for helping give some feedback when I got stuck on
editing.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“What did I miss?” Naruto squeezed into the small stone compartment. There was precisely
enough room for the three of them, but only because they had long since given up the concept of
personal space.

“There was a fight with the proctor.” Sakura said. “Because of an alleged unfair decision.”

“That’ll hurt the genin’s chances, going against the referee like they know better.” Naruto said.

“Actually, it was a jounin sensei that started the fight.” Sasuke smiled. “One of your students in
fact. Haruke. ”

Naruto snickered. “Then the proctor’s decision was unfair. I trust him.”

“Did the other kage suspect anything?”

“Nope. As far as they’re aware, my real body is watching with them and breaking bread and all
that other nonsense. Really, how are they objecting to me watching my grandstudents?”

“That’s still not a proper word, Naruto.” Sakura said. “It never was and it never will.”

“Do I need to make it a Hokage decree that it’s a word? Because you know I’ll do it.”

“I’ll block it.” Sasuke said.

“You guys are supposed to be my friends.” Naruto complained. “First you won’t let me be a plant
for the written portion…”

“Cause you’d get all the answers wrong.” Sakura said.

“…and you hardly talked to me in the Forest of Death.”

“It’s called stealth.” Sasuke said.

“And we’re not your friends.” Sakura said with a smile. “Haven’t been for a long, long time.”

“I don’t know a better word for what we are.” Naruto said.

“That hardly means anything.” Sasuke teased.

“I’ve got one.” Sakura said. “But it’s a bit silly. Promise not to laugh.”

“We promise not to laugh.”

And then she said it and they laughed and Sakura started kicking them, though neither of them
knew how she could with the limited space. She was cutely petulant for the rest of the day, mostly
an act so they would make it up to her. It was not her fault that the right word sounded silly. But
she would get over it. They were soul mates after all.

~*~

“I am Hatake Kakashi. I am the leader of team seven, consisting of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno
Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke. I nominate my team for the chuunin exams.”

Kakashi was smirking as the other teams applied for the chuunin exams as well. He had seen the
other teams and they were indeed ready, though nowhere near as advanced as his team was.

Iruka endorsed them of course. He had seen team 7 break record after record for completing
missions. Not every ninja was that enthusiastic though.

“It hasn’t even been three months since graduation.” Gai said. “I understand the energy of young
graduates as well as anyone, but would it not be better to wait?”

“My students are ready.” Asuma said. “They have grown into a cohesive team and the exams will
do them good. And I have hopes for one in particular.”

“We have a year of clan heirs.” Kurenai said. “It was to be expected.”

“And you, Kakashi?” Gai asked. “Your team is ready too?”

“I’m surprised their accomplishments have not spread to this room. It should be obvious they are
ready.”

There was much collective groaning.

“We’ve all heard your fabrications.” Inoichi said. “The rumour mill has been speaking of breaking
records, impossibly fast improvement and unprecedented achievements. To believe the whispers,
they have single-handedly cleared the orphanages, dismantled drug rings and created the most
bountiful harvest of the century. Excuse my scepticism.”

Put like that, it did sound a little crazy. Kakashi had seen them do impossible things and even he
had trouble believing half the shit his gremlins got up to. Not even the Shodaime had realised
Mokuton could be used to increase the yield of farm land..

“I have seen them in action just a few days after graduation.” Kurenai said. “I do not know about
the rumours, but they were impressive enough to pass my evaluation. They’ve been allowed to take
missions independently ever since.”

“And what trick did Kakashi play to achieve those results?” Inoichi said.

Iruka shook his head. “I made sure there was no cheating.”

“With all due respect, you are but a chuunin. And Kakashi is the most venerated jounin in the
village. As easy as it is to believe Kakashi could beat all of these records, so hard is it to believe
Kakashi’s particular skillset translated into teaching three genin to achieve these things on their
own.”

Kakashi shrugged. “Let them compete in the chuunin exams and you’ll see with your own eyes
what they are capable of.”

“It is not such a casual thing as you speak of it.” Inoichi said. “You may not remember the dangers
of the exams, but I do.”

Asuma sighed. “You need not worry. Your daughter is ready for this, Inoichi.”

“You don’t know that!” Inoichi protested.

Kakashi was grateful for Asuma’s interjection. He had had no clue how personal Inoichi’s protests
had been.

“They should be tested.” Gai said. “To ease all our minds. My own students were capable after
graduation, but the year’s wait has done them good and has let them settle into their skills. I would
wish the same of these new students.”

Inoichi nodded eagerly.

At least Kakashi had a say in the testing conditions. He emphasised that it would be a bad idea to
push them to their limits emotionally. He implied it had to do with the kyuubi, but with nobody
comfortable enough to outright say it, the rule got applied to the whole of team 7. That way he did
not have to say that he had realistic concerns Sasuke might kill someone if a proctor hurt Naruto or
Sakura.

But the suggestions were still too dangerous. They wanted to kidnap Konohamaru and see if
Naruto would be able to save him, not realising that Naruto would enlist Sasuke’s help to make it a
national emergency within minutes. They wanted to put Sakura under genjutsu, not realising that
she would probably break out of it withing seconds and send out a distress signal without the
examinator realising, so that Team 7 could beat the perpetrator into pulp before they had a chance
to explain. All of their ideas about Sasuke involved Itachi, which was a great suggestion if the
desired end result was to replace Konoha with a large pile of ash.

Kakashi had to convince them to test Team 7 as a single group, and not to interfere at all. They
were sceptical they would be able to get any results just by looking at them work, but Kakashi
insisted it would be fine.

The jounin instructors remained behind while the examiners went out to find the students. Kakashi
usually kept track, but he had been unable to follow them into the mission desk that morning in
order to attend this meeting instead. Knowing them, they would take a couple of high D rank
missions for today, maybe even one C rank just outside the village. He trusted them to be
competent.

The examinator returned a little later with a strange expression on his face. He seemed almost
frustrated at how little he had to report. Team 7 solved their simple problems quickly with minimal
communication but with maximum efficiency. There were no slip-ups like you would expect for a
team at their level. The easy way to evaluate was to see how much went wrong. With no mistakes
they would need to participate in higher ranked missions to get an accurate read.

But that very fact made clear they were functioning at least at a chuunin level.

Reports of the other teams came back just a little later. They had been deemed ready for the
examination after putting them in life threatening situations, but there were plenty of things they
were being penalised for in their evaluations.

The Hokage gave the approval and before Kakashi knew it, he was finding his team in the Uchiha
district to inform them that they had been nominated for the exams.

They seemed happy, but a lot less surprised than he would have thought. He sighed. "You noticed
the examiner, didn't you?"

Sakura rubbed at the back of her head. "Sasuke has been teaching me to cast with a chakra net at
regular intervals. I noticed a chuunin's chakra and told the others."

"Is that bad?" Naruto asked. "They won't disqualify us for that, will they?"

"I do not believe so. In fact, you would have gotten extra credit for exposing him. Once again
you’ve surpassed all expectations."

There was giggling in a nearby bush.

Naruto chuckled. “Come out here.”

Three toddlers gleefully stepped out. They were wearing crude replicas of the Uchiha Platoon
robes, their faces painted in rainbow colours. The eldest of the three was the only one confident to
speak after being called out. “Are you gonna be chuunin, Naruto-ni?”

“What did I tell you about spying, squirt?” Naruto asked.

“Not to get caught!”

“That’s right! You need more practice. Luckily, your big brother is going to pass all his exams and
show you some super secret tricks.”

Usagi beamed. “Can we come over tonight to play ninja again?”

“If your big sister’s okay with it.” Naruto said.

“And you’ve done your chores.” Sakura reminded.

Usagi frowned. “Okay. Come see the schoolhouse with us, Naruto-nii! Black’s been working all
day on it!”

“Sure!”

Sasuke shook his head. “We’re going to take a look when it’s finished. We still have our own
chores to do.”

Usagi slumped. “But it’s super cool.”

“Meet you there at sundown, okay?” Naruto winked at her.

“Yeah!” And then she ran off, her two mini followers trailing after her.

“It’s just been a few weeks.” Sakura shook her head. “How are they so attached to you already?”

Naruto shrugged. “They’d like you more if you stopped reminding them of their chores all the
time.”
“I wouldn’t have to if you picked up the slack.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that chores are boring. And we have some celebrating to do too!”

“I assure you we’ll have proper celebrations.” Sasuke said. He had already sent word to have the
ingredients collected for a big cake. Naruto would enjoy decorating it. “After we’ve done our
chores.”

~*~

“Why are we the ones to clean this place?” Naruto complained, raking up more dead leaves.

“Because no one else is allowed here.” Sasuke said.

“Yeah, but why?” Naruto asked. “I was cool with you being all cryptic when I thought it would be
a small job, but this is the third day here.”

“It’s only the third day because we’re splitting the work up in small sections.” Sasuke paused in his
rubbing of the stone slabs. He rinsed the murky lap in his bucket of water. “This is where the
Uchiha heroes would be burned.”

“What?” Sakura looked around her, recognition dawning. The small pond in the middle of the
compound, the island in the middle of it, with a small wooden bridge to cross the water. There
were stone slabs set in the earth in circles, all surrounding a central fire pit. “This is… this is for
the Uchiha’s cremation?”

“Not all Uchiha. Our clan believed that if you died of old age or natural causes, then the flame
within you would find its way to the next life peacefully. But anyone who died a warrior’s death, if
they had deserved it, they would be burned by the Clan Leader. The rest of the clan would tell
stories of their heroics and give them their place in the hall of heroes.”

“But why so many?” Naruto looked around him. All in all there were forty-seven slabs.

“After each great battle, all the casualties would be gathered and laid down peacefully so that their
families could mourn and say goodbye. If there were not enough resting places, more were added.
Forty-seven was our greatest tragedy. And every battle afterwards, as sad as the passing was, we
could see the empty slabs and know it could have been worse. My parents used to tell me the story
of Senju versus Uchiha, the battle that forever made our families enemies. When Madara moved
our clan to Konoha, some of the elders argued that we should start again with only one resting
place. Madara refused. He thought we should never forget.”

“It’s peaceful.” Sakura said. “Why are we fixing it now?”

“After the massacre, I should have brought all my clan members here. I should have added more
slabs and taken care of the cremation. I couldn’t do it then.”

“You were eight.” Sakura pointed out.

“And now I’m clan leader. And I have a clan, a large one that’s getting larger every day. And some
of them are working towards their genin rank. Which means the risk is increasing of losing one of
them. If anything happens again, there’s no more excuse not to follow the Uchiha traditions.”

“We’ll just not let anything happen.” Naruto said. “I’ll help keep this place clean, but we’re not
going to be needing it.”
Sasuke smiled. He sincerely hoped that was true.

~*~

Naruto gaped at the wall, massive beasts depicted in battle over its entire length. “It’s beautiful.”

Black kept working until Pink put a hand on his shoulder and directed him to respond. Black put
down his brush to give a slight bow when he finally remembered that he was supposed to be a
social human being. “I’m glad it meets your approval, Uchiha fanboy.”

“I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Should I go back to the original nickname then?”

Naruto flushed. “Don’t you dare!”

Sakura examined the wall. There were hounds and large birds, black creatures inhabiting a
colourful landscape. “It really is quite extraordinary. You did all this in a day?”

“I did, Uchiha fangirl. Of course it would have been faster if I had not been distracted by the
intrusion attempts.”

“More villagers are becoming curious about the district each day.” Pink said. “So far we’ve
managed to scare them off, but you’ll have to let people in eventually.”

“I’ll consider it once there are more guards.” Sasuke said.

“So you keep saying.”

“We’ll discuss this later in private.” Sasuke shook his head. “We’re working on a system of trust
inside the district’s walls and it has allowed us to keep incidents to a minimum. That changes the
moment we allow outsiders in. Right now we have enough bodyguards to keep the peace. But if
we open the gates we’d need a police force.”

“And how many would that be?” Naruto asked. “We already have twelve of them.”

“Probably around thirty to forty.” Sasuke said. He had not thought that far ahead. He simply
assumed he would be able to fill out the ranks after Suna’s invasion attempt.

“It’s good that you’re here, actually.” Pink said. “There are many paint brushes that need drying.”

Naruto’s eyes widened. “Sasuke, help me.”

“Don’t be dramatic.” Pink chided the boy. “You’re the one who wanted to master wind jutsu.”

“I’ve mastered it! I kicked your butt in a spar just yesterday!”

“And we’re all so proud how much chakra you can pump into your techniques without them
failing. Imagine how much easier you’d be able to beat me if your control was as good as your
force.” Pink drawled.

“You’re a monster. Orange never makes me do such boring chores.”

“Orange spoils you.”

Sasuke suppressed a grin. Pink could be just as bad.

Pink tilted his head in the particular way that they could feel the grin behind the mask. “Besides,
staying with me means that Green can’t find you.”

Naruto flinched. “I’m still sore from last time Green found me. Why’s he looking for me?”

“He wouldn’t say.” Pink said. “He was just talking excitedly about a new taijutsu training
technique he wanted to teach you.”

“I can hide from Green just as easily if I’m with Sasuke.”

“Go with Pink, Naruto. If he says it’s needed to improve your wind chakra, it’s needed.”

Naruto pouted, but relented.

“There you are!” Gold shouted, running up to them. “Sakura, you must come with me. I found the
most peculiar breed of nightshade by the river. I am most curious if your techniques will work on
reproducing it.”

Sakura beamed. “Peculiar? In what way?” She set off with him immediately.

Silver sighed, having to move again just as Gold had stayed in one place for more than a second.
“Can you not take a moment’s rest?”

“Keep up brother!” Gold yelled. “Life waits for no man.”

“Sasuke!” Green charged towards him, still jogging in place when he arrived. “Where’s Naruto?”

“By the entrance gate, I think.” Sasuke lied. “Can it wait until tomorrow?”

“He’s the only one of you young ones that has the energy to keep up with me.” Green pouted. “I’ve
had a great epiphany how we can help Naruto open the third gate.”

“Oh?” Sasuke was tempted to arrange a training between Green and Naruto after all. This would be
unprecedently fast, even with Sasuke feeding Green all of Sasuke’s future knowledge on training
techniques. “Why don’t you tell me what you had in mind?”

Green gave him a look. “Not like that.”

Sasuke sighed, before starting to jog in place. Talking with Green was such a chore.

~*~

Sasuke whisked the butter and the sugar together. Their soup was simmering on the furnace and
completely Naruto and Sakura’s responsibility.

"Do you think we are ready to be chuunin?" Sakura asked.

Naruto raised his thumb at her. "I'm ready to be hokage, so chuunin really should not be a
problem."

Sasuke smiled. "Sakura, I know it all happened gradually, but you will see during the exams when
we can compare ourselves to other ninja from the academy.”

“I suppose, but strength isn’t the only thing that matters. There are other things.”

"What other things?" Naruto asked.

Sakura sighed. "There are a lot of guidelines for chuunin skills. We will need to be able to lead
others, master all kinds of secondary skills, start choosing our specialties. We’re not even halfway
through the list of skills you said would be beneficial for us."

Right. The list that a jounin like Kakashi had mastered about a quarter of. Sasuke looked her over.
"You are no less able to lead than Naruto and me. So, might you be worried because leading
implies being separated from us?"

She huffed. "Cause how could I live without the great Uchiha-sama ordering me around?"

"You would be absolutely miserable. You would give up your ninja ways and live out your live
alone forever. Naruto would try to console you, but with the loss of his best friend, he would barely
be able to function."

Naruto grinned. "If I die before you two, I am sooo haunting you just to get back at you for that. I
would follow you around on all your missions and wail around so that you can never surprise
anyone."

Sakura whistled. "Nice thinking. I would just follow him around looking hurt at how he had failed
to protect his adorable pink-haired teammate when she most needed it."

Naruto laughed. "Don't you dare stay a ninja if I die, Sasuke. Because if you make hokage before I
do, I'll haunt you together with all my friends. And you know how good I am at making friends!
Within weeks half of the after-life will be on your butt!"

Sasuke took a few steadying breaths. The response to their teasing did not leave his lips.

“Are you okay, Sasuke?” Sakura asked.

Sasuke nodded, turning away from them. “Just need a moment.” The grief was not useful. The guilt
was not useful. He calmed his mind until only the information remained.

“I do hope I get to haunt you if I go first.” Naruto said. “Afterlife wouldn’t be any fun without the
two of you around.”

“None of us get to go first.” Sasuke said. “We go together or not at all. And when we pass the
chuunin exams, we’ll still be doing our missions together. The administration can’t complain we’re
helping each other on our solo missions if all those missions are completed three times faster than
they otherwise would be.”

“I really do hope we pass.” Sakura said. “I ran into Chouji last week while grocery shopping and
he mentioned Asuma had them on a special training regime. I don’t think I’d be able to take it if
Ino beat me in these exams.”

Sasuke had to supress his chuckle. He knew exactly what Asuma’s special training regime entailed.
Sakura really had no idea how far ahead they were of their peers. “That’s not happening.”

Sasuke worked to combine the rest of the ingredients and put the cake into the oven. Just in time
for Pink to announce their guests had arrived. Aunty and Jun joined the dinner table to discuss their
various projects. It was a delight having them there and they were indispensable keeping
everything working smoothly. There were almost a hundred residents in the Uchiha district now,
maintaining homes and operating the small businesses they had set up. Most of them were getting
an education that had long been denied to them, which would give them options.

As expected though, most of their ‘temporary’ residents wanted to stay. They had found a
community that provided for them and for the first time in their lives they could feel safe and seen.
Sasuke had encouraged the dozen new bodyguards especially to interact with them and make them
feel at home. They had become Uchiha in all but name.

The next day Kakashi surprised them at the mission office. “You’ll never guess what I have in
store for you little devils today.”

“What?”

“Genin are being pulled from missions to prepare for taking the exams. Which means that chuunin
are being used to fill up genin missions. It means jounin are being used to fill up chuunin missions.
And that’s not even counting all the chuunin and jounin who are being pulled from missions to
prepare with the exam itself.”

“Okay.” Naruto looked confused. “But what does that mean?”

“It means we have a unique opportunity.” Kakashi said. They walked inside and Kakashi headed
straight for Iruka. "The mission to the border, please."

Iruka held it out. "Are you sure? That is an A rank mission, Kakashi. It lasts for three days."

"I know that. It is also the first A rank we have been eligible for since the Land of Waves."

"Yes, since the Land of Waves mission was never meant to be an A-rank. Because normally genin
shouldn’t be taken on A-rank missions.”

“Yes, but these are not normal genin.” Kakashi countered. “They get bored on B-ranks. And the
border mission is a low A-rank. We both know it could have just as easily been labelled B.”

“I know that there is always risk when taking our ninja to the border. Honestly, I don’t care what
strings you pulled to get this mission assigned to you. I should still deny it.”

“Please, Iruka-sensei!” Naruto was using the puppy-dog eyes. “We’ve been so looking forward to
another A-rank!”

Iruka was even weaker to those eyes than Sasuke was. “Very well. But Kakashi, if Naruto misses
the exam because of you..."

"I will be fully available for one of your lectures."

Iruka sighed deeply, shaking his head.

Outside, Kakashi quickly explained what they had to do. A border patrol had recently fought with
some unknown missing nin. The patrol had wounded them, but the missing ninja had escaped. The
fight had passed so quickly that the ninja’s skill level was undetermined. A team of ninja had to
search a large area for any trace of them. Finding them would be even better, of course.

Naruto nodded. "So I will use clones to survey a large area so that they can be quickly found."

"I will study the area around the outpost on maps so I can direct Naruto's search." Sakura added.

Sasuke started for the gate. "And I will use my Sharingan to track them down completely once
Naruto and Sakura have figured out the general area."

Kakashi nodded. "Since there is some priority to this one, I will be sending along a dog with each
of the clones."
It sounded so easy. It sounded like nothing could go wrong. Nothing did go wrong, not until they
saw the missing nin and realised just how much trouble they were in.

~*~

It was not supposed to happen this way. Sasuke had a careful plan in motion. Things were
supposed to happen in a certain order. His order. He was not prepared for this. He was not prepared
for this at all.

"Hello, little brother." The man said, holding one hand against his bleeding upper arm. The ninja
guarding the outpost had managed to scrape the skin there before paying for it with his life.

"Itachi." Kakashi said it as an accusation.

There was just sixty feet between them. Itachi’s body was tense, looking for any weakness and any
opportunity to finish the fight before it could start.

"This the brother you told us about?" Naruto asked, his whole body tensing in preparation for a
fight.

"Do not fight him." Sasuke said sternly. "I would very much prefer you stayed alive."

Kakashi grabbed his kunai tighter. "I will take care of this."

Sasuke held him back. "There is no way you can win in a direct fight."

Itachi nodded. "The years have been kind to your intellect."

Sasuke took a step forward. “You lost the right to comment on my development. Kakashi, you
can’t take him on in a direct fight because his skill in genjutsu is too great. If we’re going to try to
capture him, we need to do it together.”

“The mission parameters are also met if we let him run away.” Kakashi said. “We don’t have to
fight.”

“We do.” Sasuke said. “There’s no telling what he’d do if we let him go. Itachi’s not known for his
mercy for the people I love.”

“Then what’s the plan?”

“The three of us counter Itachi’s genjutsu.”

“The Dragon’s Eyes.” Kakashi realised. “It’s untested.”

“And there’s only one way to fix that.” Sasuke motioned for Naruto and Sakura, who were already
preparing.

“I’m not sure I can fight against a sharingan.” Sakura admitted.

She would have been if that massive prick had not screwed up Sasuke’s schedule by showing up
far too soon. “We’ll switch roles. I’ll do the fighting. You manage the connection.”

Kakashi looked uneasy. “What do you need me to do?”

“If Itachi’s genjutsu is neutralised, you’re the stronger combatant. Wait for an opening.”
“Like I will give you a chance.” Itachi said, his eyes twisting into the Sharingan.

“Eyes closed!” Sasuke yelled out, before taking Sakura and Naruto’s hands.

“Senju no genjutsu!” Naruto shouted, creating a massive cloud.

Sasuke was tucked away in a henge together with Naruto and Sakura. It took a lot of chakra to
bring others along in a transformation, so Naruto had zero issues with it. The earth rumbled as the
sheer mass of the pink dragon moved slowly around Itachi at a distance. They were slow and large.
Sitting ducks. But that’s why Naruto had made dozens of copies.

All the dragons were circling Itachi, their giant heads turned to him. They looked hungry as they
stared intensely at their opponent, breathing out with deep primal force. And with each breath,
Naruto strengthened the thick blanket of chakra he was expelling. Crude and wasteful by any
normal ninja’s standing, but unparalleled in its ability to hide their location from chakra sense.
Naruto had become the dragon’s body.

Each face bore Sasuke’s sharingan, enlarged and unblinking. Sakura easily stepped out of her
normal role as the dragon’s mind, taking instead the job bouncing the Sharingan’s connection
between the different faces before assaulting Itachi. Today she was the dragon’s eyes, gazing
deeply in the soul of the mortal who dared defy it. Sakura opened up the door to Itachi’s mind and
cleared the pathway for Sasuke to enter.

“Nice try.” Itachi said, throwing a kunai into the face of one of the dragons.

It disappeared in an explosion of smoke, just another clone. Sakura had no trouble finding another
connection. The dragons chuckled with the deep voice Naruto could normally only achieve while
he was channelling the Kyuubi.

Itachi had many kunai, but even he was not able to attack them all without leaving an opening
Kakashi could exploit.

And so the dragon’s mind slipped into Itachi’s.

Sasuke and Itachi were near the Uchiha district, each on one side of a river that separated them.
The sky was a wrong colour, the water too blue, like the world they existed in had been painted.
The trees surrounding Itachi were trembling, before a murder of crows was released from them,
heading towards Sasuke. Sasuke was not worried. From the ground emerged a giant pink dragon,
wrapping itself protectively around Sasuke and staring the crows down. Its mouth was opened just
enough to let them know it was hungry for poultry. The terrified birds retreated from their assault
but kept circling, searching for weak spots.

“What an inefficient way to utilise genjutsu.” Itachi said. “You have much to learn.”

“I know more than you realise. And I’m able to hold my own.” Sasuke glared as his brother. “The
lasts report mentioned you were making trouble in Hidden Cloud. What are you doing here?”

“I wasn’t aware genin were granted access to the movement reports on missing ninja.”

“Clearance levels are irrelevant to me. Why are you here?”

“Does it matter?”

“That’s what I thought.” Sasuke sighed. “You foolishly decided to come see me.”
“I did no such thing.”

“You don’t need to lie to me.” Sasuke said. “Not anymore.”

Itachi stared.

Sasuke had not been planning for this to happen so soon. But he had prepared for this. He had
insisted to Kakashi that they needed to fight, so that Sasuke would have this moment alone with
him. It would be foolish not to take advantage of the opportunity afforded him. “I know why you
killed the Uchiha clan. I know that you still love me. That I’m the only one left who you love.”

Itachi tried to give nothing away in his expression, but the very world they inhabited shivered from
the shock of Itachi’s secrets being uncovered. “Who’s been telling you these lies?”

Sasuke let his eyes develop. In the genjutsu world it was easier than ever to show the Mangekyou
Sharingan. “My team will not hear us here and there are things we must discuss.”

“Why do you have those eyes?”

“They were a gift from somebody dear to me. Somebody who murdered my family and brought me
to the brink of revenge. Somebody whom I finally killed years later, just before he was about to die
from a fatal lung disease.”

“What are you talking about?”

“These eyes used to belong to you. Or I suppose you owned the genetic information that allowed
my own eyes to reach this form. It was the final gift of a brother who loved me and made the
ultimate sacrifice. The Sandaime trusted you, but I think even you do not know about the secret
jutsu that is hidden away from ever being used again. Until twenty years from now one Uzumaki
discovers it and tries to unravel its secrets.”

Sasuke saw the very moment Itachi caught on. “You are not my little brother.”

“No. I have not been your little brother since my eighteenth birthday. I may not look the part, but I
have lived almost three times as long as you have.”

“And you expect me to believe this?”

“I know secrets I have no other way of knowing. How Danzo ordered you to kill the Uchiha to stop
a rebellion and how Madara helped you. I know you are a double agent. I know Madara wants you
to collect Tailed Beasts. He says it’s for world domination, but its actually to create a genjutsu
world he wants to trap the world in. He says he helped you mitigate the damage Danzo would have
done. In truth, he’s the one that incited both the Uchiha rebellion and Danzo’s response to it.”

Itachi did not respond, his face emotionless.

“Within the next few years, all the villages will unite against Madara and together we defeat him.
He will be dead and we will celebrate.” There was also a goddess involved that they would have to
beat, but Sasuke figured it would be better to stick to only the relevant impossible to believe
revelations. “But a monster like Madara has a contingency plan for death. After years of quiet, he
will start destroying the world once more, but this time with whispers and shadowed daggers.
Tsunade, the fifth Hokage, will fall in battle. The Seventh Hokage brought peace for a time. Until
he too fell. The village had not even learned of Naruto’s passing when the eight hokage sacrificed
himself so we could evacuate. I took all the ninja that remained and let them follow me. I told them
we were but one of several teams to evacuate. I told them they had it most rough and that Naruto
was leading the other team and were already settling. I told them they would need to work for just
a little while longer and then they could join the others.”

Itachi’s face was blank, but Sasuke could see the calculations going in his head.

Sasuke let himself age in this genjutsu world, age into the adult that he had once been. “I named
myself leader of the Uchiha platoon, but officially I ruled Konoha. My name is Uchiha Sasuke,
Ninth Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves.”

“I see…”

“Naruto had entrusted the forbidden scroll with me already, but as hokage I studied it fully. It
allows the user to travel back in time under certain circumstances.”

“A scroll like that would have been used far more often if it existed.”

“The price is too great. I lived in an apocalypse of a world and I was still reluctant to pay it.”

Itachi studied the image in front of him. “You have no proof for this story.”

“I do not need to prove everything. But I can tell you I know you were not responsible for our
parents’ death and I will not seek their vengeance. I can tell you I am acting to create a future where
less people die and I can live long enough to retire with my team. I can also advise you to keep
your guard up around Madara.”

“You are serious about all this.”

“Deadly. Work with this warning and verify my claims. And then know that there is a place in
Konoha for you. I know what you’ve done and I’ve forgiven you. There is a way for you to be
home again. A place for you in my family.” As a tutor for Sakura, but that was not something
Sasuke would say. The man needed to feel like he still had a brother to return to, even when Sasuke
had long since found his new family.

Itachi hesitated. “Even if what you say is true, Konoha would never have me.”

“I’d make you an anonymous bodyguard and call you a member of my Uchiha Platoon. It’s worked
so far.”

“I must think on this.”

“Of course. Meet me…” Sasuke could sense a disturbance. Kakashi was charging a Chidori. They
only had limited time. “Escape from this battle. We will meet again in two years’ time. It has been
a long time, brother. Please be strong for a little longer and then we can be together again.”

Itachi charged up his chakra and the genjutsu ended violently. Sasuke was back in the real world,
having to keep Naruto and Sakura steady. The dragons had deformed when the chakra network had
broken and Naruto looked visibly exhausted from it.

Itachi blocked Kakashi’s attack by creating an inferno of black flame between them, before
jumping away and starting his escape. Kakashi’s clothes were caught in the fire and he was
frantically taking them off before they could spread. Itachi was gone.

Sakura rushed to Kakashi, running her hands over his leg. “Second degree burns. I have a salve.”

Naruto dug into his backpack for a spare pair of pants and tossed it to Kakashi. “I don’t suppose we
can pursue.”

“Not like this.” Sasuke said.

“What happened?” Sakura asked.

“Nothing I did had any effect.” Sasuke shook his head. “I tried to keep him from leaving the
genjutsu as long as I could, but he overpowered me in the end.”

“You were lucky to get out of that unharmed.” Kakashi noted. “I will send for back-up, but they
will not get here in time. We should head back. We identified and found the missing ninja, which is
all we were hired to do.”

“Fine, let’s go.”

They got back to the village late that night, giving a quick debriefing before heading home for
dinner and bed. Kakashi lingered when the evening ended. Sasuke did not need to be asked, and
threw some pillows and a blanket on the couch for him.

“I should head home.” Kakashi said.

“But you’ll feel better if you sleep here tonight.” Sasuke said. “I get it. We’ll feel better too if
you’re here.”

Kakashi smiled and nodded.

Any other day, Naruto would have made a night of it. But they had to rest. They had quite a
morning ahead of them.

~*~

Sasuke’s clone pored over the various documents his previous iteration had created. Three days
worth. His existence would consist entirely out of checking the documents then, instead of making
anything new. It was what the original needed and so it would be done. He knew it would benefit
Naruto and Sakura in the end and that was motivation enough, even if he had to spend all his time
in an underground base with barely any light and only one of the guards for company.

Pink had one hand on his chin, taking in the story. “And you just told him the truth?”

Sasuke’s clone nodded. “He’s my brother and his genjutsu skill is unmatched.”

“What if he tells the rest of Akatsuki?”

“He wouldn’t.” Sasuke said, though he had to admit it was not a possibility he had considered. “If
he does… I’m not sure how that would change things. It’s not like they can move any faster.”

“Do you think they’ll come for you?”

“No.” Sasuke said. “Perhaps.” He sighed, giving it serious thought. “Assuming Itachi tells them,
which I think is unlikely, and then assuming he tells them straight away, which I find even more
unlikely, they would need at least three months to plan a kidnapping. We’ll deal with it after the
Chuunin Exams.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am. We need to go through the menial work of surviving Orochimaru before we take on the
actual threats.”

~*~

Sakura approached the ‘genin’ with a raised eyebrow. “Do you really think a weak genjutsu like
that is going to fool anyone?”

They grumbled as it dissolved. “How were they supposed to pass the exam if they could not even
look through a trick as simple as that? We were only trying to protect them.”

The punches on their faces surprised them. It also knocked them out of the genjutsu Sakura had
placed on them. “Protect yourself first. You really should not be falling for the trick you are using
on others. She rolled her eyes and cracked her knuckles. It felt good to hit somebody again. Ever
since Naruto had become her friend, she had been lacking targets.

“That is amazing! What strength, pink flower of youth!” A strange boy in green clothes
approached her.

“And who might you be?”

“I’m Rock Lee and if you’re here for the chuunin exams, then I have no doubt you’ll make it far in
a grand explosion of your youth. I’m sorry to trouble you, but I’m looking for Sasuke. Do you
know him?”

“You’ve found him.” Sasuke stepped forward.

“I come with a warning.” Lee said. “They say you’re a genius, but you will not defeat my
teammate.”

“Neji from the Hyuuga, carrier of the Byakugan. A match with him would be very unfair.”

“You agree then that you cannot beat him?”

Sasuke gave him a look. “It would be unfair because he has specialised excuslively in close-range
fighting and I am more than capable of keeping my range.”

“Bold words and I do not know if you are filled with youth like your teammate or simply delusions.
Let me challenge you. I will show you the kind of strength you will have to deal with.”

Sasuke sighed. He did not particularly see the benefit of indulging Lee. Then again, they did have
some time left before the exam and if it happened like last time… “Very well.”

Together they went outside to a place large enough for them to fight in. Lee took his stance and
Sasuke bowed. Lee’s first kick came and Sasuke had to block. He was still made to slide across the
area.

He recovered from the blow and activated his sharingan. He had told his team it had matured to
three tomoe after the encounter with Itachi and with it Sasuke’s simulated speed had gone up as
well. The next punch he dodged and the third he countered. Lee was not phased at all and simply
kept up the assault. They kept it up for a couple of minutes before Sasuke halted the fight.

“Enough.” He said.

“You fight well, Sasuke. It surprises me how well you can keep up with my taijutsu. But it will not
be enough to beat Neji.”
“I did not stop the fight for that. I did it because I am done evaluating your strength. You are no
match for me.”

Lee glared, before seemingly disappearing. With speed he had not shown before, he appeared
behind Sasuke to deliver his next kick. He was struck out of the air with a punch to his gut.

Lee gasped for breath, panting loudly. However, it took him just a few seconds to get back up and
in a fighting position. “My match was with Sasuke.”

“It was.” Naruto said. “And then the match was stopped and you still tried to attack. That’s not
very honourable.”

“I’m just trying to show him he’s not the only one holding back.”

“You’re pissing me off.” Naruto glared at him. “Sasuke, do you mind if I tag in.”

“Not at all.” Sasuke smirked, stepping back. “You’re the taijutsu expert of our team, after all.”

“Naruto is?” He looked the orange ninja over. “I heard he was the least skilful of the year.”

“That was three months ago.” Naruto said, stretching his arms and legs before the upcoming fight.

Lee got back in position. “Fine, but I will not hold back.”

“Neither will I.” With a quick hand sign, three Naruto clones formed besides the original and
charged. Their fists had a faint green glow. Lee fell back and popped them one at a time. Naruto
made more clones and followed the assault. Lee was forced to keep defending as Naruto kept
attacking from different angles, making new clones regularly and leaving no openings in his form.

As Naruto learned more and more of Lee’s fighting style, his attacks became more focused until
finally they started pushing through. Lee had to stop the fight at that point, so he could undo the
bandages of his arm. “You are strong, I give you that. But nobody works harder than I do.”

He signalled Naruto to continue, but Lee had become almost twice as strong. It surprised Naruto.
Lee popped clone after clone and then kicked the original into the air, appearing behind him as his
bandages wrapped around the genin.

Gai stepped in out of nowhere, the jounin sensei stopping the technique before it could complete.
“What have I told you Lee about using that?”

“I’m sorry sensei!” Lee said. “I just wanted to show them my dedication.”

“I apologise for my student.” Gai said, giving a bow to Team 7.

“No harm done.” Naruto said. He leisurely emerged from his hiding spot. “Lee had a clone trapped
in his technique instead of me.”

“Impressive.” Gai said.

“Can we ask a favour?” Sasuke said. “To make up for your student’s transgression?”

“That would depend entirely on the favour.” Gai said.

“Fight us.” Sasuke said. “We have developed a cooperative taijutsu style and you’re the village’s
leading taijutsu expert.”
“Ha! I like your spirit. But you shouldn’t be fighting so close to the chuunin exam. You’ll be in no
state to participate.”

“Just a friendly spar.” Sasuke said. “We have the time.” And it was the whole point of following
Lee out here in the first place.

“Okay then.” Gai smirked, getting into position. “Five minutes. What is the goal?”

Sasuke looked on the ground and then picked up some of Lee’s discarded bandages. He wrapped it
up into a tiny bundle and handed it to Sakura. “You win if you can take that item from us.”

“So it’s a defensive stance. Interesting.”

Sakura took a deep breath and then got into position. Naruto and Sasuke took either side of her,
their own postures coming natural to them. “Begin.” Sasuke said.

Gai smirked and he was a blur. Sasuke could see him going around the group and trying to get to
Sakura from behind. No chance of that.

He had his sword out and pointed to Gai before he was within ten feet of the group. Gai tried to
move around and Sasuke followed. He was closer to Sakura and could more easily circle her. His
sword was drawn and moving constantly around the ten-foot area around Sakura. Sasuke was the
dragon’s tail and his sweeping attacks would make it impossible to carelessly come close.

He varied his rhythm, going higher and lower, faster and slower, to make himself less predictable.
But Gai was not a master in taijutsu for nothing. He found the weaknesses in his coverage quickly
and then he was past the first hurdle, dancing around the sword like it did not have the capacity to
behead him.

Naruto’s hands grabbed Gai’s wrist and pulled him down. Gai was strong, but Naruto had leverage,
standing on Gai’s back foot and forcing him to compensate. A second Naruto landed on his back
and used his weight to alter Gai’s course. Naruto was a nuisance, because it was not his job to be
dangerous. He was the dragon’s paw and he just needed to slow him down.

Gai was met with a single finger from Sakura, pressing against his forehead.

“I win.” She said.

“Was that another rule I wasn’t aware of?” Gai asked. Naruto had gotten off him and Sasuke had
put his sword back into its sheath. They made it clear they considered the battle won.

“As sure as a blade against your throat would have meant we won as well.” Sasuke said.

“I don’t understand.”

Sakura chuckled, before crouching down and punching the ground with that one finger. The
ground cracked in all directions, displaying the effects of being touched by the Dragon’s Claw.

“Sensei. I want to marry her.” Lee said, his eyes wide.

“I’m already taken.” Sakura smirked. “Thanks for the spar, Gai-sensei. It was informative.”

“I didn’t nearly get enough leverage.” Naruto pouted.

“And I couldn’t even see the guy until you were on him.” Sakura complained, heading back to the
chuunin chambers. “We have so much more work to do.”
Sasuke smiled. The impossible standards he had been setting had definitely rubbed off on them. He
should probably talk to them about that. Beating Gai as a genin team, even when the jounin was
just humouring them, was something to celebrate.

They hurried along a little, though still appearing there right on time. They were told to wait in a
corner, where they quickly met up with their former classmates. Ino was giving Sasuke an admiring
look while ignoring Sakura, and the others seemed rather apathetic to seeing team 7 again. Only
Hinata gave a friendly wave.

When Kabuto came along, Sasuke was on his best behaviour. He needed there to be no suspicions
that Kabuto was a traitor until Sasuke squeezed the life out of him with his bare hands. He had yet
to determine whether that would be metaphorical or literal.

“Here are some of the cards. Kiba-kun, you can see here how your strengths are measured, special
skills and how many missions you have completed. Your team has done 32 D-rank missions, and
three C-ranks. That is quite impressive and well above requirements.”

“We did not sit on our asses like some teams.” He glared at Shikamaru and Choji, who were being
harassed by Ino for not paying attention to information that could be important.

“Ino… her team has done 11 D-rank missions and 1 C-rank mission. Just enough to qualify.”

“Seems we were the best team of our year. Hinata-chan, Shino-kun, let’s go celebrate.”

Naruto coughed. “You are forgetting a team there.”

Kiba shrugged. “The team of one supposed genius, one fangirl and the class doofus. I did not
forget, but I really cannot believe you have been working half as hard as we have.”

“Naruto Uzumaki. High chakra reserves and mission totals… that cannot be right.” Kabuto looked
at team 7 like he had been confronted with a trio of yokai and was deciding between redefining his
entire reality to include the supernatural or to launch an investigation into the threat of how he
thought the world worked. “323 D-rank missions, 75 of which were led by him.”

The people near Kabuto went silent. Other teams had picked up on that fact, and the news was
quickly spreading, it seemed. More and more kept their ears perked to pick up the conversation.

“I thought I’d done more!” Naruto said with a big smile and his loud I-want-to-be-Hokage voice.
Already people were rolling their eyes and dismissing the numbers as an error, unable to match the
achievement with the image of Naruto.

Kabuto looked back at his card. “Fifteen C-rank missions, two B-rank missions and an A-rank
mission. With these scores for your strength, I really do not know how you managed all that.”

He checked on Sasuke’s cards and Sakura’s next. They had the same low combat scores as the
others. Sasuke smirked. They were evaluated two days after graduation. The next evaluation was
not scheduled until after the exams. But there was no reason to mention all that and show their
hands before they had to. “Either we’re the most impossible genin team that’s ever existed, or
someone messed with your data.”

“Sasuke, you’re amazing!” Ino practically shrieked. “I am sure you did all of the work.”

Sasuke looked her over. “You are free to believe what you want. But I assure you, Naruto and
Sakura are every bit as capable as I am.”
 Kiba snorted. “If you’re saying Naruto is as good as you, it just makes me think it’s going to be
easy to beat the famous Uchiha prodigy after all.”

Kabuto seemed like he was about to speak, his calculated look examining them, when a jounin
yelled out into the group. “Genin, into the examination room. Take a seat at the desk assigned to
you and the first chuunin test will commence.”

Chapter End Notes

Next chapter: Theory and Practice, will be updated evening of February 10th (CET).
As the title implies, it includes the Forest, but not the exhibition matches. And for the
people looking forward to the reaction of other teams when it comes to Team 7, that'll
be more during the exhibitions that the rest of the exam.

Wow, really needed both weeks to get this chapter done. For those interested in the
process, many interactions with the Uchiha Platoon were added. Kakashi nominating
Team 7 was a very descriptive scene before I added the dialogue and made it more
explicit what the objections were and why people are still not instantly respecting
Team 7 (they still think Kakashi's doing most of it). I also added the transition from
Itachi to the Chuunin exams, because it was too jarring to go from moral peril to
teasingly breaking genjutsu 2 paragraphs later. Many scenes were polished and
rewritten.

Genjutsu dragon and taijutsu dragon are revealed. One more to go. For those having
fun working out the identities of the Uchiha Platoon, (and I'm having great fun reading
your thoughts on them), have some more. For those who are annoyed at the
introduction of a large number of characters out of nowhere, sorry? Don't sweat too
much on the details. The important thing to take away is that Sasuke's personal guard
has expanded from 3 to 12 and that they exist as a resource to give Naruto/Sakura
training they shouldn't already have access to.

See you next time =D

 Theory and Practice
Chapter Summary

Team 7 has to do a written exam and then they're rewarded with a nice camping trip in
a forest.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“That sounds absolutely horrible.” Sasuke said. “What key are you singing in?”

“You’re supposed to sing in key?”

“Yeah… that is the general consensus.”

Naruto looked confused as he pulled his house keys out of his pocket and brought them to his
mouth. “How is this supposed to help?”

Sasuke rubbed between his eyes. “I’m sorry, are you a complete idiot?”

Naruto flinched. “I’ve been practicing for weeks. More than you! Haven’t heard you play even
once.”

“I’ve been learning to read sheet music and I’ve been studying musical theory. Like a civilised
person. Playing the instrument will be easy once I’m done.”

“Then try it already.”

“Fine.” Sasuke stepped behind the piano and pressed all the keys in the right sequence. It was a
flawless execution of the piece they were studying. All the keys were pressed in the right order with
exactly the amount of force that the dynamics called for.

“You have no sense of rhythm!” Naruto said. “That sounds like shit.”

Sasuke glared. “I can always get rhythm later! At least I’m not flat!”

“What an achievement! Your instrument is doing the one thing it was designed to do!”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Boys, stop fighting. At this rate you’ll never pass off as musicians. Naruto,
you need to stop skipping your lessons and learn some musical terms. Sasuke, you need to practice
until you get a feel for the music.”

“Are you saying you can do better?”

Sakura raised one eyebrow, before her fingers travelled down her guitar. She played her parts
perfectly, as if she had been playing for years. “I wasn’t top Kunoichi just because of my stunning
good looks.”

Naruto swallowed. “God, Sakura’s sexy when she shows off.”

Sasuke would have disagreed, but it was at times like these that he could almost feel it too. The
kind of attraction Naruto and Sakura felt regularly. The fantasy was nice. “The staring can wait
until after we’re done practicing.”

“No promises.” Naruto grinned.

~*~

The rules had been made clear. Pens were already scribbling on paper. That would be the plants
who could start without needing to read any of the questions. Sasuke activated his sharingan and
let his pen follow the plant that was seated in front of him. Just under his neck, Sasuke could feel a
small muscle growing numb. It was reflex more than anything else that made him fight the
genjutsu in a specific pattern, acknowledging to Sakura that he had noticed and it was really him.

How strange. Sakura was sitting too far away and Sasuke had not been expecting her to make a
genjutsu connection with him. She was full of surprises.

She would have linked with Naruto as well. A coded signalling followed. He translated Sakura’s
message as the letters came in. W-E. A-R-E. M-E-A-N-T. T-O. C-H-E-A-T.

He could hear Naruto let out a sigh of relief from across the room even as he tried to hide it.
Sasuke signed back two words by resisting the genjutsu in a pattern they had agreed upon. P-L-A-
N-T-S. S-H-A-R-I-N-G-A-N.

Sakura gave a quick acknowledgement back. She seemed to focus on finishing her own exam first.
It would be almost easy for her. She had studied hard enough the last few months. Considering the
material she considered leisure reading, it was not surprising when she finished the exam a mere
twenty minutes later. Right after that, Sasuke could hear Naruto start writing down answers.

A quick check on the chakra levels in the room confirmed to Sasuke that Sakura was using
genjutsu in some way to project her exam for Naruto to copy. Ibiki trying to pressure them about
the tenth question was almost comical with nine perfect answers already on their sheets. There was
absolutely no reason to get worked up. Absolutely no reason at all.

“Shut up!” Naruto stood up in anger, pointing a finger to Ibiki, before even the plant had a chance
to resign. “We are all here because we are serious. Give us that damned tenth question already!
Who cares if this is our only chance? I’ve been a ninja for only three months and I’ve already seen
enough missions where one chance is all we get. Anyone walking away now has no business
calling themselves a ninja!”

Naruto sat back down with a huff. Ibiki seemed irritated, but there was little he could do. Even
though the plant still stood up to dramatically leave, the effect was diminished. After listening to
Naruto, only two teams still wanted to quit. They left the room and then there was a long silence as
everyone waited for the tenth question.

“It seems you all decided to stay. In that case, you all… pass.” He did not seem so enthusiastic
about it.

Naruto was smirking. It had not come as a surprise to him. Ibiki explained the true nature of the
test and was interrupted when Anko crashed into the room. She was ready to burst into a big
threatening speech only to be caught off guard by her audience. She glared at one of the chuunin
proctors by the window “Oh great, how incompetent do you have to be to screw up my signal? I
thought you were done Ibiki.”
“I am.” He seemed stoic, even as her jaw dropped.

“You mean I have to go to the second exam with all these people? What a drag.” She sighed.
“Listen up kids. I will not be holding back. Meet me at the Forest of Death for a briefing
tomorrow. That is all.”

She disappeared with a puff of smoke and Ibiki quickly dismissed them after that. The mass of
potential chuunin burst out of the room. Team 7 quickly found each other and tried to find
somewhere quiet.

An empty alley behind the building would suit them fine. Naruto turned to his teammates. “Hinata-
chan was sitting next to me.”

Sasuke nodded. “Was she having trouble?”

“Yes. Or no, not exactly. She kept offering me to cheat off her sheet. Which was nice and I used
my peripheral vision to check her answers against Sakura’s. But Hinata couldn’t tell I’d already
seen and her attempts to show me became so obvious that a proctor started catching it. Hinata lost
six points just trying to help me.”

“So she needed the points from the tenth question to pass.”

Naruto nodded. “She wasn’t sure how many points she’d lost for some reason. I saw she was
thinking about quitting. I couldn’t let her fail, not after she had been so kind to me. And I just knew
something was wrong. The way Ibiki was pressuring us, it didn’t feel like a real choice. He was
increasing the pressure so much, the only way it made sense was if choosing to stay was the whole
point of the exam.”

“And the other competition?” Sakura asked. “We’ll have to face more people now.”

“I thought about that. And I wouldn’t have stood up if there had been any other way.” Naruto
sighed. “How badly did I ruin our chances?”

“You probably helped them.” Sasuke said. “If we’re going into the Forest of Death, there’s a good
chance they’ll make us compete with the other teams. Adding teams that lack confidence and
ability will benefit our chances.”

“Oh thank god.” Naruto beamed. “I love when I’m an accidental genius.”

“Speaking of genius…” Sasuke turned to Sakura.

Sakura’s cheeks turned pink. “I was going to try to get a thin trail of mist between us, but it would
have been too conspicuous. I couldn’t use line of sight or any of the methods we’d practiced. But
the room was humid enough that I could push my chakra into the trace moisture of the air. It was
horribly inefficient and everything would have broken if they’d as much as cracked a window.”

“It was brilliant.” Sasuke said. “Well done.”

Sakura smiled wide. “Thanks.”

Unfortunately Kakashi was not waiting for them at the Uchiha house when they returned. “He
sends his congratulations.” White said. “But he’s not allowed to contact you until after the second
round.”

“We’ll have to celebrate without him.” Orange said. “Who wants left-over cake?”
“Dinner isn’t even ready yet!” Pink complained from the kitchen.

“Exactly! And what better way to sate their well-earned appetites than something sweet?”

“Nutrition is all the more important in preparation of stressing physical activity!”

“We’ll wait for dinner.” Sasuke said. “That will give us a chance to go over our supplies.”

They laid out their gear in the living room.

“Everything’s in order.” Naruto said after he had inpected everything. “How long do you think
we’ll be in the forest?”

“It’s a large training area.” Sakura said. “But it should be possible to go from one end to the other
in a single day if there are no distractions.”

“We’ll probably have to go to the centre.” Sasuke said. “There’s a tower where the proctors can
wait for us. And they’ll do something to complicate it for us and force us to interact with the other
teams.”

“Like what?” Sakura asked.

“Either make it so that only the fastest teams pass the round so that we’ll be motivated to sabotage
each other, or introduce some kind of resource. They could for instance hide objects in the forest
that need to be found before we’re allowed to continue.”

“A search that has to be done with stealth?” Sakura frowned. “That could takes days.”

“Yes. It is very likely we will be occupied for a longer period of time.”

“Like camping?” Naruto asked. “In the non-codeword sense.”

“Among other things.” Sasuke rolled out a scroll on the table and started sketching out a map of the
Forest. “We’ll have to make a few plans. Naruto, how are the Mist Scrolls?”

“They’re fine.” Naruto pouted. “I have a few more that need to be charged.”

“It might be good to do that tonight if you can spare the energy.”

“It’s just so slow. I wish there was a better way to do it, you know?” Naruto complained. “I read
about seals that can turn chakra into any element that you want.”

“What’s stopping you from making those?” Sasuke smirked.

“Everything! Orange keeps telling me to practice and Pink keeps trying to explain it in ways I can’t
understand. I wouldn’t even know where to start making elemental manipulation seals.”

Of course this Naruto did not. Those were legendary seals that had not existed in centuries. It
would be at least a few more months before Naruto would be able to make them. “You made the
mist seals.”

“They’re just glorified storage seals.” Naruto said. “Sakura adds a bit of her mist and I feed in
chakra slowly enough that the mist absorbs it.”

“I appreciate them.” Sakura said. “I never would be able to make as much as mist as you can put in
even one of those scrolls.”
“That’s good. And I’ll charge the ones that aren’t full yet. And also, I can’t wait till I have the next
version of the seal where I can make twenty of them per minute, instead of twenty a day.”

“Do you have your spare jumpsuit?”

“I have twenty spares.” Naruto said proudly, patting one of the scrolls in his bag. “And even some
of spare outfits for the two of you in case of emergency. Do you have enough weapons?”

“Never enough.” Sasuke said. He made a mental inventory as he went over his scrolls and
provisions. “But I’m getting ever closer.”

“I’m hesitating between the long sleeves and the short ones.” Sakura said, comparing two of her
dresses against her body. “The long sleeves conceal the amour plates better, but the short sleeves
have a stronger metal weave.”

“Either is fine.” Sasuke said.

“The short sleeves.” Red said from the door opening. “It makes you look cuter.”

Sakura made a face. “I don’t really care about how cute I’ll look.”

“If you look cute, the other teams will more easily underestimate you. Pink wanted me to call you
in for dinner.”

“We’re almost ready.” Naruto said, packing his gear away again.

“Don’t let it go cold.” Red said. “Pink’s been working hard. I think he’s nervous how you’ll do
tomorrow.”

“We’ll be fine.” Sasuke said, holding his gaze on Red. It was not a certainty Orochimaru would be
there and Sasuke’s most optimistic plans had Team 7 outrunning them.

Red nodded, before stepping back.

After dinner, Sasuke made a quick trip to Aunty to let her know they would be gone for a few days,
to keep leaking false information to the Yamanaka spy that had infiltrated the district and to keep
searching for the spy the Hyuuga had sent and had so far gone undetected.

~*~

The next morning they stood in front of the forest of death with a near army of genin.

Anko held up a white, a black and a green scroll. “Each team will be given a single scroll. To
advance to the next stage, you must reach the tower in the middle of the forest with a scroll of each
colour.”

Sasuke counted the teams around him. There were roughly twice as many as last time. That would
explain why they had felt it needed to use a third scroll to further eliminate contestants. All the
usual subjects, plus more. And Orochimaru within their midst, not as hoped but just as expected.
The missing nin would do nothing until they were in the forest.

Sasuke got a white scroll and they were then directed to their entrance. “We need to try not to get
separated.” He said. “But if we do, we’re using password 17.”

By the time the starting bell sounded, they had already chosen which simple strategy to deploy. An
army of Naruto clones, disguised as Anko, would flood the forest. They would leave the mist seals
at regular intervals and activate them. For the duration of the exam, it would give Sakura an
incredible boost in range for her detection. It also helped for Sasuke, but he could not admit that to
them.

They moved along quickly to be away from the starting gate. Once they found a good hiding spot,
they set down their equipment and laid out Sasuke’s sketched map. Naruto had a brush in hand and
drew out the information on the paper where they had come from and where they currently were.
Then, as more clones started popping, he noted the location of teams on the paper.

“The one closest to us on our left side noticed my clone and are on guard. A second clone is
observing them to gauge their strength. The one closest on our right side gave no sign that they
noticed. They seem to be young and inexperienced. We can ambush them and have the upper
hand.”

“Agreed.” They grabbed their things again and moved into the direction Naruto had indicated.

Naruto stopped suddenly. He gave several signs to communicate non-verbally. The other team
would arrive at this spot in five minutes. Sakura looked at the direction Naruto had indicated and
confirmed their presence. Naruto set up a single trap and then the three of them hid.

The other ninja did not stand a chance. Not only did they walk slowly and unprepared, they were
talking among themselves about strategy. The first walked into a piece of rope hid by leaves and
got strung up high. Sakura caught him in a genjutsu at the same moment to paralyse his arms. The
other two took too long. By the time they had drawn their weapons, Naruto had knocked out the
first and Sasuke had rushed the second with his sword. Sasuke’s opponent raised his kunai in time
to block, but the electricity running through the sword took his consciousness.

“What did you do to them?!” The one hanging upside down screamed. Sakura glared at him and
changed the nature of the genjutsu to affect his senses. In the ninja’s mind, Team 7 was giving a
large monologue about how they had defeated them, using a maliciously fancy words and
generally stalling for time. The real team seven was checking the other team’s pockets and stealing
anything they could use, leaving them a single kunai per person. A green scroll had been acquired.

They went on, following Naruto’s directions to the location of another team that had not noticed a
clone. Naruto’s information was outdated, so they had to move quickly. Naruto regularly made
clones to station across the areas they had left, while Sakura directed them to move away from
other teams when she noticed they were getting too close.

Naruto signalled they were still ten minutes away from their next destination, when a large
explosion of wind came their way. They all dodged away frantically in different directions. Sasuke
hid when he was out of the way beneath some bushes. He cast his awareness around him. This had
to be the attack.

When nothing happened, he slowly emerged again. He spotted Sakura a little distance away and
stepped next to her.

“When is the best time for a ninja to strike?” Sasuke asked, his kunai drawn.

“When the enemy is sleeping, when their weapons lay forgotten in the dark.” Sakura responded
verbally, while giving the actual password. One down.

Naruto came to them next. Sasuke turned to him. “Naruto, when is the best time for a ninja to
strike?”
“When the enemy is sleeping, when their weapons lay forgotten in the dark.”

Sakura smiled, before throwing her kunai at the fake. Sasuke rushed to the orange clad ninja and
delivered a chakra-enforced kick as the impersonator dodged the kunai. The fake was thrown
across the clearing.

“What are you doing, Sasuke?” Naruto complained.

“Drop the act. We know you are not our teammate.” Sasuke’s body was tense, staring down at
Orochimary wearing Naruto’s appearance.

The fake licked his lips, before turning into his other disguise. The sound ninja looked imposing,
but Sasuke knew what was beneath that scaly skin. Something much, much worse than merely
imposing.

“Tell me, how did you know? I gave the same answer your teammate did. Naruto was supposed to
answer differently?”

Another ninja that looked Naruto joined Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura turned to him. “What is the
best time for a ninja to strike?”

“When the enemy is sleeping, when their weapons lay forgotten in the dark.” Naruto answered,
settling in a stance besides them.

“That is the real Naruto.” Sakura said, confirming that this one had responded to Sakura’s genjutsu
in a pattern they had agreed upon. Orochimaru had been right that Sakura and Naruto had different
responses, but he had underestimated the complexity of the whole system. Responses were
dependent on day, weather, situation. Simply knowing their code was not enough. You had to
know the system underlying their non-verbal passwords as well.

“Amusing.” The ninja said, laughing eerily. “You should know that I like to savour my fights. I
think it’s so boring not to play with my food. The stakes must be high. So, at the end of this
encounter, one of us will have another scroll. The other, will be dead.”

The killing intent hit them like a mountain, impossible to ignore and unmovable. Naruto and
Sakura swayed. They had not been around something this intense since the encounter with Zabuza.
It was like Orochimaru’s desire to make them bleed was too much for him to contain. Naruto
whimpered, grasping Sasuke’s wrist tightly before becoming paralyzed with fear.

Sakura’s breath was irregular and her eyes wide.

Sasuke grit his teeth. “It’s okay. It is just a cheap trick.”

He stared at the ninja across from them and let go of some of his control. He thought of the war
Madara had created. He thought of the people who had died, many under his care. He thought
about the day he heard Sakura had died, and the day Naruto had. He thought about all the good
years that could have been if Madara had never interfered. He thought about what he would do to
the Uchiha if he could get his hands on him.

And then he looked at Orochimaru. The man who had tempted Sasuke away from the village.
Whom he had given two years of the time that he could have spent with Naruto and Sakura. Time
the snake had not deserved in the slightest. This was the man who had urged Sasuke to kill, who
had tried to take advantage of him every step of the way. And he was right here. If not Madara,
then he would have to do.
Orochimaru swayed slightly, letting out a breath as the killing intent hit him. That seemed to shake
Naruto and Sakura up enough to let them jump into the trees together.

“Where did all this hate come from?” The voice sounded like it was whispered in their ears, like
Orochimaru was right behind them.

“Genjutsu.” Sakura whispered. She tried some hand seals. But the voice was still there, taunting
them.

“How amusing that you think you can run.”

Sakura hissed. “It’s too difficult for me to cancel. How insanely strong is that genin?”

“Not a genin.” Sasuke said. “We should…”

The snake trying to bite them seemed to come from nowhere. All three of them threw their kunai
and pinned it to a branch in three places. The exploding tag on Naruto’s kunai went off and when
the blast cleared the snake was limp. Orochimaru appeared out of nowhere, leisurely walking to the
snake and picking it up to examine it. “Good awareness of your surroundings. Impressive, even if
two of you need to work on suppressing your emotions. As for the last of your… I do not sense any
fear from you, Sasuke. How marvellous. You are much more advanced than I thought you’d be.”

They were not going to get away without a fight. And the more Sasuke looked at Orochimaru’s
face, the more willing Sasuke was to give him one.

“Spoiled ramen!” Sasuke ordered. Countless copies of Naruto surrounded them and together they
charged. Naruto had each one throwing kunai, Sasuke was using his fire ball and Sakura reached
out with her genjutsu.

The weapons were deflected with a speed not noticeable to the naked eye. The jounin moved out of
the way of the fire and the genjutsu seemed to have only an effect for a fraction of a second.
Orochimaru jumped back and summoned another large snake to provide his counter. This one was
faster too. Sasuke and his teammates had no choice but to dodge the first strike.

Sasuke had taken out shuriken and shot them out into the Snake’s eyes while Naruto and his clones
took wind charged kunai straight to the beast’s neck. It wanted to scream out in pain, but Sakura’s
fist hit its jaw. The beast did not stand a chance. Its jaw shattered and it lay dead.

Orochimaru looked surprised at the quick take-down and that was their chance. Orochimaru should
never have underestimated them.

“Dragon’s Breath!” Sasuke shouted.

Naruto and Sakura dashed towards him and slid into position. Naruto was pressed firmly against
Sasuke’s body, Sakura crouching at their legs.

“Senju no ninjutsu!” Sasuke and Naruto shouted at the same time. Sasuke inhaled and sent his
fireball towards Orochimaru. The bastard thought he could dodge, which quickly turned out to be
the wrong move as Naruto’s wind chakra joined Sasuke’s fire and instantly doubled the size.

And still Orochimaru thought to escape by moving away fast enough. Sakura would not have it.
Her earth had surrounded the three of them, taking the shape of a dragon’s head. The fire spewed
from its mouth and even though Naruto and Sasuke had trouble aiming their attack, Sakura could
simply turn the very earth they were standing on.
Orochimaru tried to jump back and out of range. Also the wrong move.

Sasuke held Naruto’s hand tighter and together they unleashed more of their chakra. The inferno
grew wider and longer. Much, much longer. The force of the heat was so intense that it was
making Sasuke sweat. It would have done more if Sakura’s earth was not actively absorbing the
heat. Veins of glowing stone surrounded them and still the technique held. The dragon did not rest
until its mission was completed.

If Orochimaru had been a chuunin, he would have been burnt to ash. Unfortunately, Orchimaru
was no chuunin.

“I think he’s gone.” Sakura said, slowly letting the earth fall away.

Naruto and Sasuke dropped their own technique, though that did little to stop the forest fire they
had started. It seemed their technique had reached the fence of the Forest. Someone would come
along to investigate. Which meant that Orochimaru had too much to lose if he risked staying.

“I hope so.” Sasuke said.

There was an eery chuckling around them. “I’m not done playing.”

Sasuke cursed. They just had to stall now. If they waited, someone would come and Orochimaru
would be forced to flee.

“You’re far too interesting.” Orochimaru stepped out of his hiding spot behind a tree.

“Taijutsu!” Sasuke screamed out. They all charged and engaged the jounin from three different
directions. Sasuke was holding his sword. He went for the jounin’s neck, his heart, his eyes, but
each swing was getting dodged. Naruto held a kunai that was bright green with wind chakra and it
was being deflected without cutting through anything. Sakura was using her fists which
Orochimaru easily blocked like Sakura did not have the strength to crush mountains.

Orochimaru was laughing, seeming under no pressure at all, but Sasuke could see the shift in the
ninja’s demeanour, some worry leaking through the cracks of his disguise. When Naruto saw an
opening, he used a burst of wind chakra to blow the ninja away from them. They disengaged,
panting as they settled on a branch nearby.

“If we’re going to beat him, we can’t hold back.” Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded, activating his sharingan as far as it could go. “But if this is who I think it is, we
can’t afford to give away Sakura’s secret.”

“I’ll just have to open a gate then.” Sakura frowned. “I can only do one. It’s not fair.”

Naruto’s eyes started turning as red as the Sharingan’s, whiskers appearing on his face fangs in his
mouth. “Stop whining and maybe I’ll leave something left of him for you to fight.”

Sakura shifted her stance slightly and took the time to control her breathing. She did not often have
to push her body like it was about to be pushed.

Naruto had a red glow around him when he charged full speed at the jounin. Orochimaru blew fire
at him, but the two Naruto clones coming from the opposite direction had to be dodged. They
brushed by the jounin’s feet as Sasuke threw kunai with string just above the ninja’s head. It
distracted him enough so that he did not notice the explosive seals Naruto had applied under his
feet.
He stepped out of the way just in time, but had to dodge Sakura’s fist there. She was using the
speed of opening a gate to jump quickly across the battlefield and assault from impossible angles,
regularly throwing a kunai and using her water string to make herself even more unpredictable.
When Orochimaru jumped up to dodge, Sasuke’s trap closed and the jounin got wrapped in wire.
Sasuke sent electricity through it and then blew fire across its path. The ninja lay dead in the trap,
until suddenly he was not. Orochimaru’s corpse dissolved in a black goo and the jounin appeared
elsewhere with nary a scratch on her.

Orochimaru tried going after Sakura, but she replaced herself away. Even then, Orochimaru kept
closing in on her. As fast as Sakura was with a gate opened, the jounin’s speed was still greater.
Naruto had to step in the way with several of his clones to dogpile Orochimaru. Naruto’s chakra
had made a single tail behind him and it showed in his speed and strength. Sasuke moved with all
the speed he was allowed to show and attacked as well. Once Sakura saw the opportunity for what
it was, she pumped her muscles with chakra as well and countered.

They put as much pressure on the jounin as they could and were able to make him slowly fall back.
They were winning. Sasuke could not help but grin as Team 7 was claiming their glory years
earlier by defeating a Sanin just three months away from their Academy graduation. If this was any
indication how well they would fair against Madara, Sasuke had nothing to worry about.

And it was all on Orochimaru for daring to underestimate Team 7. For daring to scare his
teammates.

Orochimaru was blowing through his stamina and it showed in his moves. He was leaving
openings that would spell his defeat.

And then it was done. He had dropped his guard on Sakura’s side and she went for it. The sight of
Orochimaru’s body exploding in gore was glorious.

For the split second it lasted. And then it was only woodchips.

In the second it took them to recover, Orochimaru was dropping down from above, ready for a fatal
strike on Sakura.

The world seemed to freeze as Sasuke’s only priority was getting to the snake. He had to kill
Orochimaru. If Sasuke was going for the killing blow, then there was an angle he could use.
Lightning was already gathering at his fingertips.

But instead of leaving an opening, Orochimaru had laid a trap. The attack on Sakura had been a
feint, designed to lure Sasuke close and catch him.

Orochimaru twisted in the air, dodging Sasuke’s attack and using the close proximity to sunk his
teeth in Sasuke’s neck. Sasuke could feel his body going numb as his consciousness started
slipping away. He fought as hard as he could to stay awake, but it was costing him all he had. His
clones were in the forest. As long as he stayed awake, they could still step in. If unconsciousness
grabbed him… that was not an option.

He needed Orochimaru to be away from him. Now.

“Orochi.” Sasuke said, pulling the flames to his body. Orochimaru had no choice but to pull back,
lest he wanted to be caught up in fire.

Sasuke went to his knees, grasping his neck.

He hoped Naruto and Sakura would exploit the opening Sasuke had created. Instead, they were too
shocked from seeing Sasuke defeated. Orochimaru had no trouble finishing the fight. The jounin
kicked Sakura away and then lifted Naruto off the ground by his neck, putting a seal on his belly
with the other hand. “I had not expected the Jinchuriki would have so much control over his tailed
beast. If I had more time I’d love to study how you achieved that, Sasuke.”

It hurt to watch helplessly, like one of his clones except now he couldn’t even step in if the worst
happened. He had to rely on them. The way his body was feeling, he wouldn’t even be able to use
his sharingan-aided genjutsu.

“An interesting fight, but how easily your teammates fall when you are not there to protect them.
I’ve heard the rumours how you’re the one who’s lifted up this team. Perhaps when we’re better
acquainted, you’ll let me have a look at that infamous Uchiha Archive you keep talking about?”

Sasuke spit at him.

Orochimaru just laughed. “I enjoyed seeing such fire in you. Yet, how easily you fall when you’re
distracted by the safety of this teammates. Just to think how much more challenging this fight
could have been if they had not been holding you back. Do you think you’ll ever defeat your
brother with these liabilities holding you back? Why don’t you take some time to think about it?
That seal I placed on you, that’s real strength Sasuke. And if you ever want to look for more, you
know just where to find it.”

The snake ninja shimmered away.

Suddenly it was just Sasuke, weakened and hurt, together with Naruto and Sakura both left
paralysed in the dirt. The first thing he had to do was check on Sakura. She could not have gotten
hurt from the kick. She was made of sterner stuff than that. Yet Sasuke’s breath was still halted
until he had run blue hands over her body and confirmed she was all right. Simply concussed.

Sasuke cursed himself, grasping at his neck. Fuck this. He had not wanted Orochimaru’s seal in the
last life and he had not wanted it now. He had wanted Naruto’s modified version, that still gave
access to the nature chakra, to the incredible boosts in power, but in a controlled and peaceful
manner. Naruto had once looked at Orochimaru’s sealwork and had laughed. “He might have been
a genius in a fight, but he was an idiot when it came to fuinjutsu.”

Fuck Orochimaru. Fuck him all to hell.

The negativity was not useful. Sasuke got a handle of it until only the information remained. He
had things to do and resentment for Orochimaru could wait until he was in a better place to plot his
revenge.

Just as leaving had not been an option before, now staying was out of the question. Konoha was
going to send ninja to investigate. That would have been great if Team 7 had been able to deliver
Orochimaru or at least report the sighting. It was less great when they would find three wounded
children they would want to drag out of the Chuunin Exams.

Orochimaru had done enough harm for the day without ruining the team’s promotion schedule.

They had to move to avoid getting found by Konoha. They had to hide quickly. But they also had
to hide well. Orochimaru would send three Sound ninja to them soon to test their strength. One of
them was a genjutsu specialist and would see through any illusionary protections. Another used
sound as a destructive pulse of force. He would be able to break through any barrier. The last used
loud noise with a frequency to hurt. Hiding from them would only bide them time. But they were
also in no state to get away.
Sasuke tried to list options, but his head was clouded with the pain. The seal was affecting the
chakra in his whole body, including his brain, and it made it more difficult to focus. He needed to
address the damage it was doing before anything else. There was no time to move away from the
Sound ninja test. It was impossible to hide. They would have to fight. Or rather, with Naruto and
Sasuke both incapacitated, Sakura would have to.

Looking around through the seals, the Uchiha saw a large tree that would serve as cover just
twenty minutes away. He flared his chakra to summon his clones.

Three clones jumped out of hiding, as if they had been waiting desperately for the chance. Oh,
right. “Sakura’s fine.”

They glared at him. “You took unnecessary risk.”

“I will not argue. We need to hide.” Sasuke indicated the location he had chosen.

One clone gently lifted Sakura, the other crouched down so he could carefully pick up Naruto. The
last grabbed Sasuke without any care.

“You’re aggreavating my injuries.” Sasuke complained.

“Consider it punishment for making us watch that.” The clone said. “Naruto and Sakura come first.
Always. We’ll fight the Sound Three.”

“No.” Sasuke said. “We can’t explain why there are clones.”

“You’re putting her in more risk.”

“You’re not thinking clearly.” Sasuke said. “Do your mental exercises.”

“Or perhaps you need the perspective. We should dispel and show you how that fight looked from
our perspective.”

Sasuke hated how irrational he could get when this emotional. “And leave Sakura defenseless? It’s
your job to watch. I’ll review your memories and kick myself when there’s time to do it. Now we
move on.”

The clone sighed.

All four of them turned their heads to the fire. Anko was coming and she was coming fast.

“Go.”

The clones were not happy, but they deposited the three of them inside the hollow tree as they were
supposed to.

Trying to ignore the pain, Sasuke summoned the chakra to heal Sakura’s head. “Sakura, wake up.”
He said, softly tapping her cheek.

She stirred and then opened her eyes. It took her only a second to remember the fight, and to get up
quickly and become battle-ready. With a kunai clutched tightly in her hand, she looked around for
any sign of trouble. “Where is he? What happened?”

“He knocked the two of you unconscious and left. I carried you here.”

“Your neck, what did he do?” She reached for Sasuke, but he drew back quickly.
“Some kind of mark. I think I can fight it, but I need chakra ink. Naruto should have some.”

“I think he used most of it in the fight with Orichumaru. How much do you need?”

“A lot.” Sasuke rummaged through Naruto’s pockets to find the ink. Sasuke had an emergency
supply in his bracelet, but adding those together he was still short. “A cup more.”

“I can make some. I think I saw some chakra conducting plants around. Give me a few minutes.”

“Please hurry. I don’t know how long I can stay conscious.”

She nodded and rushed out to find the plants. Sasuke went over to Naruto. Even without the
Sharingan, it was easy to see how much his chakra system was struggling. The seal Orochimaru
had placed around the Kyuubi containment was disrupting Naruto’s entire body. More importantly,
it kept the Kyuubi’s chakra from healing Naruto. The snake sanin wanted to keep Naruto out of the
fight long enough to see Sasuke’s progress when the Sound Three attacked.

Sasuke raised Naruto’s jacket to inspect his belly. The seal had been placed quickly, but it was too
complicated to have been created spontaneously. Orochimaru must have been researching it for
years. It had triggered all the Kyuubi’s defensive measures, making sure to redirect them against
Naruto’s body. No seal would be able to do that for long, and it would only work once. The
moment the Kyuubi’s chakra broke through, Naruto’s body would adapt to the disruption and he
would be mostly fine.

Fine with a crippled chakra system, but fine nonetheless. But removing the seal now would cause
the defensive measures to run rampant. That would not work out well at all.

“What are you doing?” Sakura asked. She was holding a bunch of plants in her arms, leaving sap
smears over her arms.

“Orochimaru tampered with Naruto’s seal. I think I can remove it, but right now that would only do
more harm.”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to mess with that thing?”

“I can’t do anything worse to it than Orochumaru tried to do.” Sasuke placed his hand on Naruto’s
belly and concentrated. He was pulled down into darkness almost immediately.

“What the hell is going on?!” Kuruma was trashing against black tendrils trying to restrain him.

“We were attacked. Somebody tried to mess with the seal. I can’t disable the effect, but I can make
sure you can go all-out.”

Sasuke brought his hand to the ground and let his chakra transform into an intricate pattern of seals.
There was a crudeness in mind space, but at least you could make all the seals you wanted without
any ink. A great barrier formed around the Kyuubi’s cell. “It’s secondary containment. Unleash
whatever hell you want. I’ll undo it as soon as the corruption is gone.”

Sasuke moved to leave.

“Wait. Is the brat alright?”

“Naruto is unconscious, and Sakura and I are hurt. But we’ll manage. Keep Naruto’s chakra safe.
We’ll protect his body.”
Kuruma nodded, and then Sasuke returned to their shelter. Sakura was busy unpacking the plants
she had gathered.

“Is that the material for the chakra ink?”

Sakura nodded. “We will need something heavy to ground it all up.” She looked through her
equipment and retrieved some food bowls. She tried mashing it up inside with the backside of a
kunai, but it was not working.

“How about…”

“Earth jutsu.” Sakura said, completing Sasuke’s thought. She made the appropriate seals, and made
two large earth disks come out of the ground. It took a few minutes to shape the stone slabs in her
mind, but the result was worth it. She laid one out horizontally and placed the plants on top of
them. Then she bent through her knees to lift the other slab with makeshift handles and let it drop
on top of the first. Softly at first, but continuously harder, until all the plant material was crushed.
Some of it had escaped out of the sides, but there was enough left to use.

She used her kunai to scrape it off the stone, and placed it all in a spare shirt. After adding some
water, she squeezed it manually into one of the bowls, getting a steady stream of the material
inside. It was heavily diluted, but it would serve its purpose. She made a shallow cut to her lower
arm and added her blood to quickly add the needed chakra. By the end, her hands and most of her
body was covered in blank ink residue.

“Remind me to always bring back-ups to the back-up equipment with me, next time we go out.”
She said, handing the bowl to Sasuke.

He went to work immediately. With a brush, he started painting the necessary seal on the ground.
He would only need a simple design for the seal itself, since he would be using it mostly to focus
his meditation.

“Once I start this, I will need to concentrate for twelve consecutive hours. I can’t interrupt it when I
start without it failing and I can’t try it again if it fails.”

“So I will be alone until Naruto wakes up?”

“I think he will be under even longer than I will be. And… there’s something that will make it
worse. Orochimaru was taunting me. I think he is going to send people to test me. I do not know
when they will get here exactly, but they will probably be powerful.”

She nodded. “You worry about that seal for now, I will take care of the rest.” Sakura said with a
smile. But she could not hide her insecurity from Sasuke.

Sasuke stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her into a big hug. “You are going to be fine,
Sakura-chan. You can do this.”

She nodded again, this time a bit more confident. Sasuke stepped onto his seal work and sat down.
He cleared his mind, and started fighting the seal. He needed his chakra, so he dismissed all the
clones outside of the forest. The memories of his clones rushed to him and he tried to ignore it. He
would sort out the specifics later.

He had a seal to deal with now.

It helped that he was so intimately familiar with its work. It transformed the victim’s body, making
it both dependent on the seal and corrupted by it. Using chakra while affected made its grip tighter
and made it unbearably painful to try to hold the seal back. Before long, it taught the victim to stop
fighting and let it progress. As it covered the ninja’s body it pulled in nature chakra that made any
technique that was used stronger. It also used that energy to dominate the ninja’s mind, until said
ninja could easily be influenced by whoever had placed the seal.

At the second stage of the seal, it drew in chakra continuously. It stored it, and let it all free in a
way that worked with the rest of the body. It strengthened skin, turning it a different colour. It
increased all the senses. Some lucky people got extra limbs or wings as well. More importantly, it
stopped causing pain. It used pleasure instead as a motivator. It had felt painful to disobey
Orochimaru, but now that the victim had succumbed, it would be ecstatic to be faithful.

Sasuke needed the first stage of the seal to develop more like the second one did. That meant
protecting his brain from the seal’s influence, and keeping his chakra system from feeding the seal.
He also needed the seal’s pain signals to be replaced with the second stage’s pleasure signals. Not
just because pleasure was easier to ignore than pain. While the first stage’s pain signals were
protected like an iron fortress, the second stage’s pleasure signals were hidden. Orochimaru
assumed people would try to get rid of the pain, and had protected the system accordingly. For the
second stage, Orochimaru had made the signals as subtle as possible, which also kept him from
protecting it too much. A skilled ninja could find the signals if they knew what they were looking
for, and sever the tie completely.

Since Sasuke was only doing three things at once, he was also able to keep an eye on Sakura. She
had gone outside for a little longer and had come back with a new bundle of plants which she was
processing.

~*~

Sakura had noticed the plants when she had gone out before. The perfect combination of chakra
strengthening plants, and some healthy fruits and vegetables. She made the chakra pills first, a
good half dozen. She fed one to Naruto and gave the other to Sasuke who ate it gratefully. The
other four she pocketed, in case they would be needed later.

Then she started on the rest. She hesitated to call the resulting smoothie ‘medicine’, but it would
help her teammates all the same. She had found berries that were known to lower fevers, tangerines
that were known to speed recovery against bruising, cucumbers that were known to help skin
growth. She added sugar to the mixture for the increased glucose boost, and fed it to the others.

That was all she could do at the moment. She started rummaging through Naruto’s equipment
next, looking if she could use any of his traps. Spare kunai were hung up with strings outside,
explosive tags placed at strategic areas. She used two of Naruto’s mist creating scrolls to shroud
the area with enough water to detect anyone coming near.

After a few hours, she had set up everything as well as she could and returned to the tree. It was
hard to sit still, just waiting for enemies to come. But she knew the best thing to do was wait and
rest. She had spent a lot of energy in the fight against Orichimaru, and she would need to be able to
fight more.

Her muscles were aching, and her joints hurt. Opening the gate was a sacrifice of her health and it
would be a few days before she had fully recovered. Lying still was supposed to help, but it only
made her focus more on the discomfort. She tried to close her eyes instead and meditate. Focus on
one toe, then her foot and her ankle and her shin and her knee and her upper leg. Then the other leg
from bottom to top. Her waist, her arms, finally her face. When she had no more body to go
through, she turned her focus to the mist as an extended form of meditating. It required surprisingly
little chakra to move her awareness across the mist dwelling around them to sense all the small
forms of life in the forest. There were small bugs moving through the dirt. A snake slithered at the
end of the perimeter, distracted by a rat.

The mist covered a wide enough area that she could be done with one sweep and most things
would have changed by the time she started the next. Most of the night passed like that, Sakura just
acting as sentry and spy for the little critters.

But then they came.

She could sense the three ninja approaching and heading almost straight for them. They bypassed
the traps with an experienced ease. They would be with her soon. She tried to poke at their
defenses, trying to mess with their senses. There was a girl and she was defending herself
completely. It was more instinct than conscious thought. She had to be a genjutsu specialist. The
other two, both men, were a bit slower to respond. The older one noticed after a few seconds and
brought his defenses up. The younger one took over a dozen seconds to notice, but then managed a
shield strong enough. Genjutsu would not work, so all she could do was get as much information as
she could.

Their chakra levels were relatively high, though the girl’s were lowest. There was also something
peculiar about their chakra systems. Both men had a few more nodes at their arms, where chakra
seemed to cluster strongly around some artificially linked device in or around their limbs. The
older one only had it on his right arm, but the younger one had it on both.

They were almost close enough to see the tree. Sakura made sure her equipment was in place,
before clutching a kunai tightly in her hand and moving to the entrance. When they came in sight,
she could get her first good look at them.

The older guy had an air of authority around him. His face was covered in bandages, leaving only
one eye visible. He was also draped with a kind of fur coat that made it difficult to tell what size he
was. His slouching did not help either. Both his arms were covered with very long sleeves, but his
right sleeve seemed a little bulkier. It was difficult to tell what it was without getting a closer look,
but there was definitely something there.

The younger guy was walking on the leader’s left. His wrists were covered with a tight black cloth.
Whatever had been modified to his arms, it had only altered the interior of his limbs. He was also
wearing a yellow shirt with the word ‘death’ printed on it multiple times. It would make him
intimidating, were it not for his mannerisms. He appeared more like a teenager trying to come
across as edgier than he really was.

The girl walked confidently on the leader’s right. Her arms and legs were covered with the same
camouflage fabric that the others had. Her hair was long, but tied together at the end of her hair and
at her neck. She kept looking around, and Sakura could feel her genjutsu probing. It was clear they
did not know exactly where they had to go even if they knew their location generally. It meant
Sakura could hide and delay the encounter for a few minutes.

She shook her head, and quietly moved outside, towards another tree. If she did not confront them,
they would search and find out where Sasuke and Naruto were staying. She would not only have to
defeat them, but also keep them from going straight after her teammates. By coming from a
different direction, they would have to search. And searching would be easier for them after they
had dealt with the threat of Sakura first.

Sakura went over her options. She could try to pick one off from her hiding place, but they knew
there were ninja here and that they could be attacked. The moment she started a surprise attack, she
would have to fight three ninja at the same time. She had only very little knowledge of their
abilities. That kind of approach worked better if she had time to observe their fighting style and
figure out any weaknesses beforehand.

She could try to get their attention and then draw them away from the clearing. She could lead
them to another team and hope to escape in the confusion. However, she had no guarantee they
would all follow her instead of searching for a prone Sasuke and Naruto. In fact, there was a very
real chance only one or two of them would follow, leaving the remaining ninja capable of
searching for the rest of team 7. The worst of both worlds.

If she wanted to fight, a surprise attack would be wisest. And there was one desperate idea that
would be well suited for it. There was only one tactic remaining.

“Stop, don’t come any closer!” She yelled at them. “We do not want to fight. I will give you our
scroll if you leave right now.”

They started laughing. “We do not care about the scroll, little girl. Tell us where Sasuke is.”

“Please, have some mercy.” Sakura pleaded. She had to sell the act if she wanted to goad a reaction
out of them.

The girl’s expression turned sour. “You make me sick. Scared little girl playing ninja. Dosu, I’ll
take care of her.”

“Don’t take too long Kin. We don’t have all day.”

She nodded and moved forward, kunai in front of her. She rushed at Sakura, sprinting forward. Her
long greasy black hair waved behind her.

“Don’t!” Sakura cried out, mustering as much fear as she could.

Kin was careless as she approached and swiped. Sakura blocked the attack, pretending that the
force was too much for her and that it pushed her back a few feet. Kin tried again and Sakura kept
stepping back. Each hit Sakura cried out like she was barely able to withstand the force. She
needed to distance Kin from her other team members so the men could not step in as quickly.
When they were far enough away, she used her chakra to enhance her muscles for a burst of speed.
She took a kunai in her off-hand and used the surprise to pierce at Kin’s chest. It was slower than
Sakura had liked.

Kin jumped back in time, but Sakura stayed on her relentlessly. The Sound girl was good, but she
had not been as extensively trained in taijutsu as Sakura had. Green had drilled efficiency and speed
into her body. And even though Sakura’s body was damaged from the fight against Orochimaru,
even in this weakened state she was doing better than Kin. Though Kin deflected all the blows, she
was slowly losing ground. Each strike took her longer to block. It was only a matter of time before
Sakura would make it through. Dosu seemed to realize this too.

“Need any help, Kin?” He asked.

“Fuck that. You guys stay the hell back!”

Oh. That was lucky.

Halfway in a block Kin reached into her back pocket with a free hand and took three senbon
needles between her fingers. While jumping back, she threw them towards Sakura. Sakura went
sideways to avoid the needles, and then again to dodge the next volley. The sound ninja was
relentless and kept at it, getting new senbon with her free hand while her other hand threw them.
Sakura studied her rhythm. Kin was slower with her needles than she was used to training against.
But with senbon she had to be sure before she made a move. Too big a chance the needles were
covered with poison and a single hit would cost her.

Sakura dodged to her right twice, but then had to jump up to the trees to avoid the next round.
There was ninja wire attached to the needles, even if Kin had not used it yet to adjust the trajectory.
Sakura dodged to the left. She wanted to jump to another tree, but Kin blocked her path with
needles. Sakura tugged on the water string she had attached to the previous tree, stopping her own
movement and swinging around. She landed at the same place she had started on the ground. She
was about to move again, when something stopped the movement. Bells attached to the senbon
were being rung though a tug on the ninja wire and the world was trembling.

Sakura could feel the sound waves working on her. It was the first time she had ever encountered
sound-based genjutsu. She would have found it fascinating, were it not for the fact that it was
currently affecting all her senses. She felt her muscles trembling, keeping her from moving more
than at a snail’s pace. She managed to get to the ground in a controlled fashion before the effect
became so bad it would make her fall.

“What did you do to me?”

“You seriously need me to explain it?” Kin sighed, before shrugging. “How did you even become a
ninja? Most pretty little dolls like you at least study enough to fool the average instructor into
thinking they are halfway competent.”

Sakura tried to ignore her, focusing instead on the bells. There was a genjutsu effect there, but her
normal defenses were not working. Her synapses were being tampered with in a way that she could
not stop. It was almost as if there was none of the girl’s chakra in the disruptions themselves.

She had heard of such weapons before. There was a small chakra container in the instrument,
which released chakra together with the sounds. The frequency was calibrated to hit the exact right
spot in the auditory tract. The sound waves reached her inner ear and from there affected her brain.
In theory, the change was pure physics and there was nothing you could do in defense.

But if that were true, Kin would be affected just as much as Sakura was. Her team members would
be just as incapacitated. She was either shielding them, or they were each shielding themselves.

“You walk around a dangerous forest, not even covering up your arms and legs. Don’t you know
that there are insects here that could bite you? Their venom could kill you. But no, you want to
look pretty. You want all the boys to admire you. For what? Having skin? So impressive.”

Unless it was all just a pretense. That would make the most sense. She was using chakra infused
sound to sledgehammer a way inside Sakura’s head, and then using a backdoor to make the actual
connection. Sakura’s efforts were automatically going towards the holes forced in her defense, but
Kin was using the feelings of the sledgehammer to conceal her needle prick. Once Sakura started
looking for it, she could find it easily. A small tingling at the back of her head that moved like the
sound. It was concealed by it, but she had found it.

“You give all us kunoichi a bad name. Men do not take us serious because of little girls like you.
And now you want me to explain how sound based genjutsu works? Pathetic. Maybe I should bring
it down to your level? Bells make sounds. Little girl gets confused.”

Cancelling the technique was not going to be enough. The other two would know Kin was in
trouble and would come at her aid. She needed to reverse the genjutsu to stand a chance. She
swallowed hard, and then with her own chakra followed the connection Kin had made.
“Now little girl is all trapped with nothing she can do to escape.” Kin said, retrieving more senbon.

Sakura winced as she was hit with three senbon in each leg. It made her keel forward a few inches.
Kin had hit the points that would cause the most discomfort and pain. Sakura needed more time.
“But I know genjutsu. My chakra releases aren’t cancelling anything.”

The link between them was subtle, but it went straight to Kin. The sound ninja was using all her
attention on keeping the genjutsu working, so she did not notice Sakura’s chakra riding on the
connection, getting ready to take control. Kin had left open all the doors and Sakura could waltz
right in.

“No shit. This isn’t anything like normal genjutsu, where a little chakra imbalance will make the
technique fail. Once you get passed the academy level techniques you learn, surprise, that there are
more complicated ways to do things.”

“Like a domination counter?”

Kin looked confused for just a second, but she understood fully when there was not one Sakura in
front of her, but twenty of the pink-haired brat. She tried to release the technique, but Sakura had
her own ways to prevent it breaking. Since Kin had made the connection, it was her chakra that
made the link. A surge of her own chakra did nothing to cancel it.

“Fuck. I think I hate you even more now. A serious ninja, but dressing and acting like a girl one to
get your opponent to drop her guard. You proud about your little win? You proud about exploiting
the image of a weak defenseless little girl and furthering the stereotype, you misogynistic little
bitch?”

“Can you shut up already?” Sakura said. Her real body sprinted to Kin as fast as she could and
slammed her palm into the back of her head. She dropped unconscious. “Cause I really hate people
who think it is an insult to be called a girl.”

The younger one of the two remaining men was chuckling. “This is going to be interesting after all.
My turn.”

He was about to dash forward, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. “Don’t be an idiot Zaku.
We are going to take her together.”

“Come on Dosu. She trounced Kin. Shouldn’t we regain some of our honor?”

“Will we enjoy honour when we report back our failure? We have no use of honour when we’re
dead.”

“Fine, fine.” Zaku said.

“Or maybe you do get to finish her off with three times as much effort as it otherwise would have
taken, and I have to face Sasuke on my own with only a laughable amount of backup.

“I said fine already!” Zaku raised his palm to Sakura.

Sakura jumped aside just in time to avoid the massive blast of air coming her way. The tree behind
her was unfortunately unable to dodge. The hit splintered and cracked the tree along its entire base.

Sakura winced as she landed on a nearby branch, the senbon that were still in her legs moving with
the impact. She pulled them out quickly and let them drop. She could not waste her chakra
attempting to heal the puncture wounds. Her elementary healing was not advanced enough for
anything deeper than shallow cuts. But it was the work of a moment to wrap a bandage around the
wound and make sure she would get through the fight without aggravating it.

The two Sound ninja were looking around carefully. They could be chasing her, but they were
conserving energy for the next fight. Only when Zaku noticed her staying still at the same location
for so long, he shot another blast of wind at her.

She dodged to the side, twisting her body to go around the next blast fired in her path. Dosu was
just standing there, waiting, his right arm flexed. If he was not waiting to attack, then he was
waiting to defend. Sakura had to make sure. She did the necessary hand signals, before charging at
Zaku. She held kunai in both hands, darting from side to side to avoid the attacks. She made a feint
to his front, and then approached from the back. Just as she was about to hit Zaku’s back, a
shrieking sound crippled her whole body. Zaku turned around and blasted her, just after the
replacement technique kicked in. The log left in her place splintered, but did no damage to the
sound ninja.

Sakura’s leg trembled as she tried to recover from the attack. What the hell had Dosu done? She
stared at him, catching a glimpse of the metal device around his lower arm. He had done
something with that high-pitched sound, but it was not like Kin’s genjutsu. The effect was too
immediate for that.

“Kin was lying about her bells causing the genjutsu, but you can actually do it.” Sakura said, “You
produce sound that affects people’s senses.”

Zaku was about to respond, but Dosu stopped him. The older ninja looked straight at her. “Kin and
Zaku like bragging, but you won’t coax any more information out of us. Now stop being such a
little wimp and come at us already.”

Sakura hesitated. She had figured out Kin’s lie by noticing how little her bells affected Zaku and
Dosu. The same inconsistency held true here. Dosu used a blast of sound that should cripple Zaku
and him just as badly as it had affected Sakura. So what was protecting them?

Zaku shot at her again, causing Sakura to dodge further away. He seemed to be timing his shots to
lead her somewhere, like Kin had done before him. If they could not hit her, it made sense to have
another plan. She had to figure it out quickly.

Sound has an origin, a medium through which it travels, and an end point. It was much like
genjutsu in that way. For all three ninja, the sound’s origin was identical. Dosu could perhaps be
adjusting the frequency and direction of the sound so that it only went to her, but that would require
some fundamental difference in their biologies. With Sakura, it would travel through her inner ear
and disturb her balance. With the sound ninja, it would travel through their inner ear and do
nothing. That required some intimate knowledge of her genetic make-up, to figure out a frequency
that would only affect her.

Also, Dosu had been incredibly confident his defense would work. That kind of confidence was ill-
suited if enemies might have been born with ears immune to the sound disruptions. As a close-
range weapon, it also made much more sense to project it in all directions. It made it impossible to
miss and let it attack multiple targets at once.

The end point then. The Sound ninja could have adjusted their ears to stop the sound. With the rest
of their bodies altered, it was not impossible. However, that would only stop one particular
technique. They were from the Hidden Sound Village. They probably had to deal with team
members using sound-based techniques constantly.
Disrupting the medium was a much easier way to do that. Use chakra to disrupt the air around their
ears so that they could filter out unwanted sounds. Sakura had read about those kind of techniques,
though only in reverse. The Konoha ninja were much more preoccupied with increasing their
hearing, rather than limiting it.

She had practiced some of the principles, though boosting primary senses was an ongoing progress
that could take years to master. She could not just will herself to become a master in something
those Sound ninja had probably spent years perfecting. She was reminded of the old saying to
never fight a swordsman with a sword or an archer with a bow.

She had seen how slow Zaku was. If Sakura was immune to the sound waves she could knock them
down. She dodged two more times and ended up in the trees. Someone was waiting for her there.
The horrible sound started and she was left immobile, her head pounding. She could see Dosu
standing there. No, she would have detected Dosu with the mist. This had to be a clone.

She could see Zaku aiming at her. She just had a moment to figure this out. The water and earth
jutsu she knew could not protect her. The enemies were protected against her genjutsu as long as
they kept their distance. But there was something else she could try. The very first technique
Sasuke had brought to her attention. A genjutsu that stunned the victim.

Sound can only hurt you if you are able to hear it.

She made herself lose her hearing just in time to dodge Zaku’s sound burst. A large puddle of water
replaced what had been Dosu’s clone. Sakura engaged immediately. With several transparent
clones beside her, she charged at Zaku. She made another feint from the front, but then followed it
up with an actual attack. Her chakra-powered punch hit him so hard, he fell against the tree behind
him and hit his head hard.

She leapt to Dosu next, knocking him out with a hard kick against his chest. Once she was sure
none of them were getting up, she dispelled her own genjutsu and tied them up. Rummaging
through their equipment, she found a white scroll and some spare ammunition. She pocketed the
ammunition and then went to check on Naruto and Sasuke.

It was difficult to tell time exactly, but it had been a long time since Sasuke had started meditating.

As Sakura checked the ninja's gear, she felt the approach of three more ninja. Scavengers probably,
who had heard the fight take place and wanted to score an easy win while one team was still
weakened.

Sakura hurried back to Sasuke and Naruto, trying to affect the three newcomers with a genjutsu that
would let Sakura hide from them. She was surprised when it succeeded to immediately take hold of
all three. Were they… were they Academy students? She was able to stand at the tree's entrance
without worry.

When they came into view, Sakura couldn't help but smile. She let the genjutsu drop as easily as
she had created it.

"It's good to see you, Ino-pig." Sakura said.

Ino startled, looking frantically for the voice's origin. When her eyes rested on Sakura, she had to
do a double take. "Forehead girl? What happened here?!"

Shikamaru and Choji looked utterly bored at this turn of events. They had been expecting a fight,
not a reunion. Mostly though, they seemed disappointed that they had taken the trouble to walk
there, without any of the rewards.

"We were attacked by Orochimaru, the missin nin sannin. Sasuke and Naruto were hurt."

"Yeah right.” Ino rolled her eyes. “And The Sage of six paths joined in to save you. Wait, if you’re
on your own, then who fought these guys?"

Sakura tilted her head, blinking a few times in confusion. Wasn’t that obvious? She pointed to
herself. "Who do you think?"

"What, by yourself?" Ino smirked. "All this boasting has got to stop, Forehead. First all these
rumors about your insane mission count and fine, I can accept those with how amazing Sauske is.
But then you had to push it and play a prank on the whole village to let everyone think you were
dating Sasuke. You even had me fooled in the flower shop, until I hear Sasuke allegedly went on a
date with Naruto two days earlier. Tell me the truth. You and Naruto went on a date and used a
henge to play the prank.”

“That’s not…”

“So you didn’t go on a date with Naruto?”

“And what if I did?” Sakura was going to rethink her pacifistic attitude if she was going to start
insulting Naruto.

Ino motioned towards the three Sound Ninja. “And now this. Seriously, how mad do you think
Sasuke will get when he hears you tried to take the credit for this? I bet he’s not even hurt and just
out looking for food or something"

"I'm serious, Ino-pig. I’ve grown stronger than I used to be. I am not the same girl I was when we
graduated the academy."

"What, you think I haven't been taking my training seriously?"

Sakura looked at the blonde genin in front of her. She had fallen into the genjutsu trap so easily.
Ino stood in stark contrast with Kin and not just in terms of ability. Where Kin had worn pants and
a shirt, Ino was wearing a skirt that left the skin bare. Where Kin had chosen camouflage colours,
Ino was wearing purple.

She looked much like Sakura did, except Sakura doubted her former friend was wearing the outfit
to appear weaker than she really was. She doubted Ino had the armour sewn into her dress. She
doubted Ino had a full body suit sealed away on her possessions like Sakura did.

Many of the insults Kin had mistakenly hurled at Sakura, loath as Sakura was to admit it, would
appear to apply to Ino.

"I somehow doubt it. You don’t seem dressed for a survival test."

"Oi, what are you talking about?"

"I’m wearing this because I wanted to leave an impression on others. It was a deliberate choice.
Did it even cross your mind to wear anything else than one of your dresses?"

"I don't know about you, but I feel comfortable in my dress. I chose to wear it because it does not
restrict my movement and because I like the way I look in them. Confidence is important during
exams."
"Is it confidence or conformity?"

Ino chuckled. "Going against the grain for the sake of it, is conformity of a different kind."

Perhaps. Sakura pushed her hair out of her face. It had gotten tangled and of all the things to bring
to the forest, a brush had not been on the list. Sasuke had shared the Uchiha hair manipulation
techniques with her, that would eventually allow her to keep it orderly in any fight. She had not
mastered those techniques yet and it would take until she was a jounin to get there.

There was blood in it and it would be a nightmare to take it out. She would need to use shampoos
and find a water source and carefully dry it all. It made no sense.

She grasped her hair together in a bundle, brought a kunai to the back of her neck and then cut the
pink hair off. It felt better.

Ino looked at her strangely. “Just like that?”

“Why not?”

Ino looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “You are different. I can tell you’ve grown up a lot these
last few months.”

“Thanks, Ino.”

“No way I am falling behind.” She said, taking her own kunai and cutting her hair short with one
quick movement. The blonde hair disappeared on the wind. "But Sakura, I still don't believe you
actually beat them."

On that cue, Shikamaru and Choji dropped to the floor, collapsing. The genjutsu Sakura had
prepared fired off without a problem. Sakura considered them friends, of course, but friendship was
no excuse to let one’s guard down.

“Need me to kick their asses in the ground to show off more, or are you sufficiently impressed?"
Sakura said with a grin.

Ino stared at her fallen teammates. "That was genjutsu? Asuma showed us some of it, but nothing
this strong. What the hell have you been up to?"

"I already told you. I have been getting stronger. Working with Kakashi, but also with Sasuke and
Naruto, every moment we can."

"Sakura!" Sasuke said, running to her and embracing her. "I was so worried. Did those bastards
hurt you?" He checked her leg.

"I'm fine Sasuke-kun. They fought hard, but they went down hard too. How's Naruto?"

"Still sleeping, but he should wake up soon. What did you do to your hair? Did that happen during
the battle?"

"No, after. Do you like it?"

“I do.” Sasuke smiled. “It looks very practical.”

Ino stepped between the two, trying to get the Uchiha's attention. "Sasuke-kun, I cut my hair too."

"That's nice, Ino-chan. Looks almost as good as Sakura's."

She startled a bit with that.

Sasuke grinned, glancing at Sakura. "This was almost as much fun as in the flower shop."

Ino’s mouth dropped.

“I hardly remember the flower shop, Sasuke.” Sakura said. “Considering how eventful the rest of
the night was.”

Ino huffed. "Are you making fun of me?"

"Relax.” Sasuke said. “Friends should be able to poke a little fun, shouldn't they?"

"Friends?"

"Well, any friend of Sakura's is a friend of mine. I heard you two were close. Speaking of which,
why are your teammates unconscious in the corner?"

Ino stared at the two sleeping boys. They had gone down so easily. She could have been caught
just as easily. She had been, actually, before Sakura had let them find her. Ino could see her old
friend and her ‘crush’ staring at each other, relief in their eyes. But they also looked confident, in
their place on the battlefield. Ino's knees were still shaking from their first fight in the forest, where
Choji and Shikamaru had bound and taken care of two enemies, while she possessed the third and
ransacked their stuff inside of the enemy’s body. It had felt disgusting.

Ino walked over to her teammates, pressing her hands against their heads. "Kai."

The two darted awake, with a slight panic. "What happened?"

"Sakura happened. Now stop embarrassing our team further, get up and do your genjutsu defence
exercises."

"Those things give me a headache..." Shikamaru started, but the expression on Ino's face gave him
pause. "Troublesome."

"You guys seem to have everything under control and it's clear there's nothing to be gained from
hanging around here."

"Wait." Sakura said. She grabbed the white scroll and handed it to Ino. "We have this one double.
It was good seeing you. After dealing with all these enemies, it made me feel a lot better to know
we still have friends." Sakura stepped forward and hugged Ino.

"I thought we couldn't be friends anymore, because we had to be rivals instead."

"Yeah, I was an idiot when I told you that. I’ve missed you a lot and I want to hang out again if
you’re okay with it too. I want to tell you the whole story, but a chuunin exam in The Forest of
Death is not the time or place for it."

Ino smiled, looking at the scroll in her hand. "If you want, we could stay a little longer? Might be
safer to travel together. And we can repay you for this favour."

Shikamaru shook his head. "That's not a good idea."

"I know." Ino sighed. "We need to spread out, because it is a big forest and staying together we will
probably not encounter enough teams."
"We also will be out of action a little longer.” Sakura said. “You guys go ahead. We'll catch up
with you at the end of the test."

Ino nodded and went with her teammates to chase after another fight in the distance.

“Are you really okay?” Sasuke asked, putting a hand on Sakura’s shoulder.

“Yeah. It was good seeing her. Good in a painful way, but good all the same. After I told you…
you know… part of me was thinking it would be nice to get back together with her.”

“We’d support it if that was what you wanted.”

“I’ll always be grateful for her. But I’ve changed and she’s stayed behind.” Sakura chuckled. “And
it’s embarrassing how little training they’ve done. They’ll be so embarrassed when they see Kiba,
Hinata or Shino in action and realise just how far behind they were.”

“Yeah.” Sasuke said. Sakura still did not have a clue how powerful genin usually were three
months out of the Academy. "We should check on Naruto."

Sakura nodded and followed the other genin into the opening beneath the tree. Naruto was on his
side, stirring slightly.

"Don't wanna wake up yet..." Naruto grumbled, turning around.

"Oh come on." Sakura rolled her eyes and shook the blond ninja awake. "Stop sleeping, you lazy
bum."

Naruto sprung up, looking around in confusion. "We were attacked. What happened?"

"Sasuke brought us here to hide out and recover."

"Who got hurt?"

"You and Sasuke, mostly."

"Sakura had a serious hit to the head. It's lucky she felt so little of it."

Naruto nodded. "How did you get hurt, Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned around, lowering his shirt and showing off the cursed seal. There was a circle round
the three commas that functioned as containment. "I kept it back as much as I could. With Sakura
keeping the other ninja at bay, I could spend all my attention on it."

"Wait, there were other ninja?"

Sakura cracked her knuckles. "Not anymore."

"Awesome." Naruto stood up then, gathering about his things.

"Come on. It's your turn." Sakura drummed her fingers.

"Huh?"

"Seriously? Don't you want to know how you got hurt?"

Sasuke motioned towards Naruto’s tummy. “The bastard put a seal on your belly. Kuruma has been
fighting hard to keep it all under control.”

Naruto looked horrified. “You’re not supposed to meddle with a Jinchuriki seal. What even did he
do?” Naruto lifted his shirt to take a look. He looked pained. “That poor fox. This must be really
hurting him.”

He closed his eyes and went into his landscape. It took him only a few minutes to catch up with the
Kyuubi and get back to his team. Naruto had been doing that more and more.

"So, what now?" Naruto asked.

"You keep your shirt lifted up so I can undo the stop-gap measures."

Naruto just tilted his head in confusion, letting out a small squeal when Sasuke lifted his shirt for
him. Sasuke stared at it for just a few seconds, before pressing his fingers around the seal.

Naruto gasped at Sasuke’s cold fingers. It only took a minute though.

“How did you figure out the cancel to the seal so quickly?” Naruto said. “I couldn’t make heads or
tails of it.”

“I saw a version of it in the Uchiha archives.” Sasuke said.

Naruto groaned. “Of course.”

“It’s not the first time someone has tried to incapacitate a Jinchuuriki.”

“Wait!” Sakura rifled through her backpack until she could pull out a notebook. She made a big
showing of adding another mark on a page. The page was almost full. “Okay, you only get three
more of those before we demand you show these mystical archives.”

“You mean the ones I was sworn to secrecy to never show anyone else not of Uchiha blood?”

“That sounds like a you problem.” Sakura said. “You’re the one who inspired this team to become
known for reading books and then keep dangling a big secret library in front of us anytime you do
something extraordinary.”

Naruto nodded. “Only three more and then there are sanctions.”

“Sactions?” Sasuke smiled.

“We’ll do a trade embargo.” Naruto turned to Sakura. “That’s a thing, right?”

“Good enough. We’ll figure something out after the exams.”

"Yes, the exams we’re still participating in and should be getting all our attention since they’re not
finished yet." Sasuke said. "We won't be breaking any records, but I think facing a jounin-level
obstacle is as good an excuse as any."

Sakura and Naruto laughed, settling on the ground. Sakura set the two scrolls in front of her. "We
have two scrolls, and we need a third. My chakra is starting to run low, though I should be able to
manage at least one more battle."

Sasuke nodded. "My body is still recovering. I should be fine to fight, but I would rather avoid
extraordinary strain for now.”
“I am at full strength. If you two are okay to move, we should start heading towards the center.”

Sasuke nodded. “Then we have two possible courses of action. The first is to go with stealth and I
will call that plan A. We sneak our way to the center. We try to draw a minimal amount of
attention to ourselves and ambush another team as they attempt to enter the tower with three
scrolls. This is the safe way to finish this exam with an adequate score.”

Sakura winced. “I used a lot of our resources to set up traps around this perimeter. I don’t know
how much advantage we can get with an ambush with what we still have left.”

“I also don’t know how effective our stealth will be with two injured teammates. Not to mention
that it requires a lot of patience and a delicate hand. To be frank, Naruto will probably screw that
up.”

“I very probably will.” Naruto said with a huge grin on his face.

“Okay, so stealth would be a bad idea.” Sakura rubbed at her elbow. “What’s the second course of
action?”

“The second course of action is something I would like to call plan K.”

“What’s that?”

“We throw Naruto at the problem.”

~*~

It was hard to move when your entire chakra system had so recently been completely reworked.
But still Sasuke moved on.

It was hard to move when you just singlehandedly defeated three chuunin-level ninja while still
weakened from fighting a jounin. But still Sakura moved on.

It was extraordinarily hard to move when you had just exhausted most of your chakra reserves by
flooding the entire Forest of Death with your kage bunshin. But still Naruto moved on.

All around them battles were being fought. Everyone was too busy attacking a lone orange ninja
carrying two fake examination scrolls to pay much attention to the three ninja making a wild dash
to the center of the forest. Stealth by creating a massive diversion.

Naruto received memories from one of his clones and adjusted his course slightly. A strong team
had managed to land a surprise hit and had destroyed a Naruto on the left, so they went to the right
around them.

Within the hour they had reached the center. Two Naruto clones were waiting for them, each
holding a scroll. Sakura and Sasuke scanned their surroundings before giving the all-clear to their
teammate. It was done.

Sakura smiled widely. “We can finish the exam. We did it.”

“I can’t believe how weak some of these teams are. My clones are taking them out by themselves.
One hit on a clone and they would dispel, yet they’re still winning more often than not. It’s like
some of these teams are just children playing at ninja.”

Sasuke considered this. “Naruto, do you have enough chakra to send out another burst of clones?”
 “It’s been an hour since I exhausted my reserves.” Naruto said. “So of course I do. How many do
you need?”

“A couple hundred should do. Just send them out in groups of three to five, to engage any team
they come across.”

Naruto formed a hand seal and copies of Naruto swarmed the forest in all directions.

“We could not get a record when it came to time.” Sasuke said. “Let’s go for most scrolls.”

~*~

Ninety teams had entered the chuunin exams. Sixty teams had entered the forest of death. Only
eight teams had made it to the end.

Iruka was pleased to be summoned by Team 7. He was slightly less pleased to see over two dozen
spare scrolls lying around the room.

Naruto grinned wide. “We wanted to make sure we would have enough of them.”

The chuunin rubbed his brow. “Of course you did. Well, congratulations. Did you figure out the
saying on the wall?”

Sasuke and Sakura nodded, while Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

“Then I guess I’d better get on with my explanation. But first, we detected a jounin-level fire jutsu
being performed in the forest and I’m very curious whether a missing ninja actually invaded the
exams or you guys just did something impossible again.”

“Both?” Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

“Right.” Iruka sighed. “My explanation can wait. It’s your turn first.”

Chapter End Notes

Okay, this update schedule is taking so much out of me. Going to try something new
and put the deadline on two weeks while seeing if I can do it in one. So next update
"The Preliminaries" in two weeks on evening of February 24th (CET), (at the latest).

Sasuke: Orochimaru almost got us killed, or worse… expelled.

In canon Sakura had an awesome fight in the Forest of Death where she found her
determination, and I knew that as much as I’m messing with canon I didn’t want to
take that fight away from her. As my sister always said, if Naruto or Sasuke had been
in that position, they would have found a way to defeat these enemies.

I was not looking forward to working on this chapter, because I thought it was twice as
long (nope, exhibition matches are their own chapter) and because I thought it still had
Sakura's full feminist awakening after her fight with Kin. Which was just cringe. I
hated it while writing it, and I hated it while reading it back. So I was SO HAPPY
when I got to that point and realised past WriterBen01 had already taken out the worst
lines. It physically hurts to think back on it.
Anyway, I got to add the intereaction with Sasuke's clones last minute (it used to be
half a sentence blagh) and that was very satisfying.

Also, for anyone keeping track, the total story is now at 266k. It keeps getting longer.
And I still have a list of things to add to fix the holes. There are still things coming up
I'm super excited to share, and I'm working hard to make sure those moments are
shared in their best possible form.
 The preliminaries
Chapter Summary

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke fight for the right to be in the Chuunin Exam finals.

Chapter Notes

This chapter used to be called 'The exhibition' until I realised that it was not a synonym
for 'Preliminaries'. It's still a kind of unofficial subtitle for the chapter because this is
where Team 7 gets to do an exhibition of their strengths.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“It’s so good to meet with the leader of the Uchiha platoon.” Gaara said, shaking Sasuke’s hand
with a level of awe in his eyes that was normally reserved for meeting deities, daimyo or Naruto.

Sasuke sighed. “I’m the ANBU commander.”

“And also the leader of the legendary Uchiha Platoon.” Gaara said. “Which is far more
impressive.”

“Naruto put you up to this, didn’t he?”

“What do you mean?” Gaara asked, but the corner of his mouth was quirked.

“How is the Hokage on my team and yet it still gets named after me?”

The door of the Hokage’s office opened and Naruto walked in on his hands. “You’re the most
prestigious member of course! It is a great honour to be a teammate to someone’s who’s related to
the co-founder of Konoha.”

The entire delegation of Sand stared as Konoha’s Hokage tried to look serious while upside down,
the length of his white cloak bundled up around his hands on the ground.

Sasuke did not know where to start. He took a very deep breath. “No, I’m not going to ask.” He
decided. “And you’re related to the First Hokage, the actual founder of Konoha.”

“Doesn’t count.” Naruto said. He hopped from the ground to his swirling chair and it spun around
as Naruto tried to stay balanced with one arm and keep the chair from topping over with the other.

“And what precisely is the difference?”

“One counts and the other doesn’t.”

“Flawless logic. You’re just doing this to rile me up.”

“Obviously. And maybe I’d stop if it didn’t work so well.” Naruto smiled.
“Okay.” Temari said. “Why the hell are you doing a handstand?”

Sasuke groaned. Don’t indulge him.

“Funny story, actually.” Naruto said.

There was a sudden scurry of wind as Sakura used a shunshin to enter the office. And of course,
she was also upside down. “Konohamaru’s bragging all over town that he beat us.”

“That little brat!”

“I think he’s become bolder thinking we can’t make him regret the boasting while we’re
handicapped like this.” Sakura used the floor to crack her knuckles one after the other. “I say we
show him how wrong he is.”

“I’d be able to beat the punk with six arms tied behind my back. I’m in.”

Sasuke sighed. “Naruto, you have diplomatic talks. You can’t just skip out on them.”

But Naruto was already running out of the door. With his arms. Because this was Sasuke’s life
now.

“Hey Gaara!” Naruto yelled. “Come help us teach my kouhai a lesson!”

Gaara nodded, before chasing after them. Upside down.

“Kazekaga-sama!” Temari yelled after him. A group tried to chase after their leader, but they were
swept off their feet by Gaara’s sand.

“No cheating. Follow me on your hands or not at all.” Gaara shouted back.

Sasuke and Temari shared a look. And they sighed. “Better go after them.” She said.

“And kill them.” Sasuke added.

“Obviously.”

~*~

They came in at the tail end of the Sandaime’s speech. Iruka had already summarised the gist of
what Sarutobi was going to say, so they had not missed anything important. Even with the
additional teams that they had eliminated in the Forest, there were still too many ninja going into
the final round. Just like the last time Sasuke had gone through the Chuunin exams, the Sandaime
announced preliminaries to eliminate half of all participants.

“I wish you much luck.” The Sandaime smiled kindly. He caught Iruka’s signal and switched track
without any noticeable tells. “We will first give you fifteen minutes to collect yourself and then the
first match will be called.”

The Sandaime disappeared to a side room to get Iruka’s report. Iruka had already warned them,
after taking the time to recollect himself, that he was not sure how much they could do about
Orochimaru. They would increase security for the escort back to Konoha from the tower and they
would take their time after to come up with the proper plans.

Sasuke looked around where they had to go. Kakashi was on one of the railings and they needed to
clue him in on what was going on. But before they had a chance to move, Shikamaru blocked
them.

“Sasuke.”

He wondered what Shikamaru had deduced after Sakura’s run-in with Ino. He would have to be
careful.

“I want a rematch.”

Sasuke blinked. “Against Sakura?” She had been the only one who had fought him recently, as far
as completely dominating him with genjutsu could be considered a fight.

“What? No. I have a travel board with me and we have nothing better to do while we wait.”

Sasuke had to rub the bridge of his nose. “Shogi?!”

Ino walked over, sighing. “I told you not to do this.”

“I’ve been analysing the game we played.” Shikamaru said. “And I have a strategy to beat you.”

“This isn’t really the time or place.” Sasuke said.

“Well I tried challenging you at council meetings but you’re always off talking with people.”

“That is the general purpose of those meetings. To talk.” Sasuke sighed. “How about I come early
to the next meeting and we can try to have a rematch?”

“Why not now? Do you have anything better to do?”

“You’re embarrassing us.” Ino said through gritted teeth, while she tried dragging him away. She
turned to Sasuke. “I’m so sorry about this.”

Sakura shook her head. “In case you didn’t notice, Shikamaru, these are the preliminaries. Anyone
who wins a match today is going to be in the finals and will be a potential opponent. Observing the
matches is necessary preparation.”

“Just because you girls have difficulty multitasking, doesn’t mean Sasuke and I do.” Shikamaru
said. “Just a quick game then?”

“You’d better start walking.” Sasuke said. “Sakura’s a few moments away from knocking some
sense into you.”

Shikamaru glanced over to Sakura and paled. She was not an expert in radiating killer intent yet,
but she was no amateur either. “Next council meeting then.”

He finally let Ino drag him away. Chouji lingered. He waited until Shikamaru was out of earshot.
“He’s never been obsessed with anyone like that before. Are you really that good of a player?”

“Yes.” Sasuke said. “Why?”

“Teach me.”

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow.

“I want to be able to play with Shikamaru and provide him with a challenge.”
Sakura blinked. “And you have time in your training schedule to take up lessons?”

“I’ll do it in my free time.”

Naruto mouthed ‘he has free time?’ in confusion.

“And what would I get out of this?” Sasuke asked.

“I can trade you something. I don’t know what.”

He was the Akimichi heir and getting a favour from him would not be a bad thing. It would be all
about leveraging it in the most beneficial way.

“My dad keeps talking about you, you know.” Chouji said. “He says you’re a ruthless politician
and that I need to be careful how I deal with you. Ino is still shaking about that encounter in the
forest where I don’t even know what happened. And Shikamaru is obsessed with getting that
rematch. They’re all paying attention to you.”

“You can come to the game house.” Naruto said.

Sasuke frowned. He had been hoping to do that with more subtlety. “Yes. We have a Shogi club
and even though I won’t have time to teach you the basics, there are plenty of other children around
who can. Come over and they’ll teach you.”

Chouji could not help but smile. “Thank you. I’ll take you up on that.” He ran off to the balcony to
join his teammates at Asuma’s side.

“We have a Shogi club?” Naruto asked.

“Ai and Cho play Shogi weekly.” Sasuke said. “But calling it a club makes it sounds more
official.”

They were finally free to go up to their sensei as well. Gai was standing next to Kakashi, with Gai’s
team already assembled.

“I’ve heard through the grapevines that you broke the record of amount of scrolls stolen.” Kakashi
said. “Congratulations.”

“That’s not the only thing that happened.” Naruto smirked.

“If you’re trying to surprise me with the news about your encounter with a snake, I’ve already
heard. They’re trying to catch him. The Hokage is going to set his best men on it. I made sure of
it.”

Sasuke nodded to him. “Thanks.”

“I must congratulate you as well.” Lee said, bowing to the team. “I’ve underestimated your
abilities greatly if even half of the rumours are true.”

“They just graduated.” Neji said. He was leaning against the wall, putting as little effort into
speaking as he possible could. “The rumours are exaggerated.”

“You saw Naruto’s clone that we came upon.” Lee said. “All the teams ran into one. There must
have been dozens. The amount of chakra it would take…”

“Hundreds, actually.” Naruto grinned. “And I was tired, or I could have made more.”
“See, Neji?”

“No.” Neji said. “But I suppose both of will see soon enough.”

Tenten hesitantly approached. “You’re Sasuke, right? You’re the one responsible for setting up all
the smiths in the Uchiha district?”

“I mainly funded the operation.” Sasuke said. “It was a team effort.”

“Then I must thank all of you.” She made a bow. “I work at one of the local weapon shops and it’s
been a long time since we’ve seen such quality. You got old man Tsurugi’s help, didn’t you?”

“He needed more apprentices.” Naruto said. “And those apprentices needed a place to practice.”

Naruto had learned a lot of smithing techniques by having one of his clones help Tsurugi. And as
soon as Naruto had learned to make some basic weapons, it had freed up Tsurugi’s time to work on
custom weapons, his actual passion. He had jumped at the opportunity to work in the Uchiha
district’s smithery, once the greatest supplier of weapons in all of Konoha. And though he was
reluctant having the older orphans working for him because of their age, their enthusiasm had soon
won him over.

“We’re still working on increasing production.” Sasuke said. “If you have the time to discuss your
foreign merchants, I’d like to set up a meeting with the people in charge of that project. It’s been
difficult to secure a steady supply of metal.”

“It would be my pleasure.” Tenten said, the opportunity for mutual profit shining behind her eyes.

Her specialty was a costly one and it could never hurt to get more capital for the investment.

“Excuse me.”

Sasuke turned around to see Hinata had approached them.

“I-I wanted to wish you all good luck for the preliminaries.”

“Thank you.” Sakura said.

“Thanks Hinata-chan!” Naruto beamed at her.

A blush formed on her face and she had to divert her gaze in order to not melt into a puddle. Sasuke
considered himself a miracle worker for getting her confidence to this level with only a few hours
of genjutsu-assisted training.

“N-Naruto, I wanted to ask after the written exam how it had gone for you. I d-didn’t realise until
later that you probably already stole the answers from someone.”

“Yeah, Sakura was able to get them to me.” Naruto said. “But I’m still grateful that you tried to
help. And I felt so sorry that you lost points because of me!”

“D-don’t be.” Hinata smiled, her eyes firmly fixed on the ground. “I should’ve known you would
find your own solution. That’s what I’ve always admired about you, your determination to see
anything through to the end.”

Sasuke grit his teeth. “You wouldn’t believe how much it’s helped Sakura and me over the last
three months.”
“Hinata, come on.” Kiba walked over, barely sparing a look at Team 7. Shino was right behind
him. “Kurenai wants to give us some last-minute pointers.”

“I’ll be there in just a minute.” Hinata said. It seemed that now that she had found her voice, she
was going to use it. “Kurenai-sensei said that she evaluated you just a few days after graduation and
that’s why your official stats are so low. But that you’ve been breaking all the records.”

“As if.” Kiba rolled his eyes.

“It’s true.” Hinata said. “You haven’t talked to Sasuke, but he’s a good teacher.”

“I don’t care how good a teacher you say he is. I’ve spent enough time with Sasuke in the
Academy to know what he’s really like. And even if he somehow found his social skills, the class’
deadbeat and the useless fangirl were hopeless cases anyway.”

“Kiba!” Hinata gasped.

Kiba stepped closer, pointing at them. “I don’t know how you fooled everyone, but I know how
hard we worked to get where we are and I don’t believe for a second you’ve managed the things
they say you’ve done. We were supposed to be the best team of the year! I’ve been busting my ass
off! And I’m going to show you just how much better I am in the ring! I really hope I get matched
with one of you so I can show you.”

He stormed off.

“I’m so sorry.” Hinata said, going after him.

“What’s his problem?” Naruto asked.

“He feels you have stolen his achievement.” Shino said. “Why? Because we broke the record for
the fastest completion of the Forest of Death today. And yet all people are talking about is how
you broke the record for most scrolls.”

“He’s jealous?” Naruto tilted his head. “He has a funny way of showing it.”

“Yes. Kiba takes some getting used to.” Shino said. “It used to inhibit the team’s progress. But it’s
better now. Why? Because Hinata is speaking up and mediating between us. I do not understand
what you did for her, Sasuke, but I am grateful for all the help. I should offer you a favour to show
my appreciation. Though obviously my means are currently limited.”

“I have something in mind.” Sasuke said. “Come visit the tea plantations in the Uchiha district. We
need some advice on the right ways to ward of pests.”

“Visit your clan district?” Shino asked. “Excuse me for being blunt, but why do you extend the
invitation so easily when my father and the other clan leaders have been trying to…”

“Infiltrate it?”

Shino pushed up his glasses. “I was going to say ‘assess’.”

“They are just as welcome to come. They just haven’t asked.”

“I appreciate the invitation.” Shino said. “But I’m afraid I must decline. Why? Hinata would be
upset if I got to visit before she could.”

“Then bring her along.” Naruto said. “The more the merrier.”
“That… would be acceptable. Before I go, I have one more warning for you.” He motioned over to
Gaara’s team. “That team from Suna, they’re dangerous. I’ve heard that the red-headed one killed
another team in cold blood. If you’re matched up with him, consider forfeiting.”

Sasuke glanced at Lee. It seemed Lee had heard the warning. Though Sasuke doubted it would do
much good. “We’ll keep that in mind.”

The Sandaime entered again the whole room became quiet as he announced the first match. Naruto
and Sakura stood fascinated next to Sasuke as they watched.

“Why are they holding back so much?” Naruto asked.

“Maybe they’re still tired from the forest?” Sakura asked. “Or they’re saving their best stuff for the
finals?”

“Maybe…” Naruto said. But within a few minutes the fight was over without either side escalating.

“Maybe they just weren’t stronger than that.” Sasuke said.

“Surely not.” Sakura said.

“It looked like they were barely out of the Academy.”

Lee shook his head. “For most people, three months out of the Academy is no time at all.”

And then Naruto had to go up against Kiba. The Inuzaka and his dog seemed to be grinning at each
other. “Luck’s on my side today. Not only do I get to take someone from Team 7 down a peg, I get
the weakest of the bunch.”

Naruto did not respond, simply walking down the stairs to the arena. Sasuke considered signing
him some tips before the match, but he figured that Naruto would be able to take care of himself
and ask if he needed anything.

“Hey, what’s with the dog?” Naruto asked.

“Akamaru’s going to be fighting with me.”

“As a ninja tool?” Naruto beamed. “That’s cool. Oy Sasuke!” He waved to his teammate. “Can we
get a dog as a gimmick too?”

“Only if you clean up after him.”

“Akamaru isn’t some household pet, idiot.” Kiba tried. “He’s a special ninja dog from the Inuzuka
tribe.”

Naruto shrugged. “Whatever you need to tell yourself. To me it just looks like you need an
emotional support animal because you’re afraid of taking me on by yourself. Which, you know,
that’s cool. I don’t judge.”

That riled Kiba up quickly enough. “Akamaru, stay back. I’ll deal with this punk by myself.”

They bowed to each other and then the proctor called for the match to start. Kiba went in for a first
strike. Naruto dodged to the side, letting Kiba speed past him. Kiba tried again, but Naruto fell
back again. Kiba kept throwing punches and Naruto danced out of the way, with Kiba growing
more agitated by the second.
“Stop being a coward and fight me!” Kiba shouted. He finally saw his chance when Naruto lost his
balance. He kicked Naruto’s face onto the floor with enough force to finish the match before
jumping back. Kiba seemed momentarily happy, until he had to dodge the kunai flying towards
him at his landing spot from the other side of the stadium. The Naruto he had kicked turned into a
log of wood with a puff of smoke.

Naruto charged at Kiba, dodging the kunai that Kiba had thrown in retaliation. When they met
again, Naruto was slow and deliberate, not leaving any openings. Naruto blocked each hit and gave
back as hard as he got. When Kiba over extended, Naruto grabbed Kiba’s wrist and pulled him off-
balance. He kicked Kiba’s legs out from under him and then halted his assault to give Kiba a
chance to get back up.

And then they continued. Except Naruto kept going faster. Kiba tried to keep up, but it was clear
out of the two of them only one was starting to reach his limits.

“Is that really all he’s got?” Naruto asked. The real version was hanging from the balcony in front
of Sasuke. He looked at his clone fighting. Kiba was too busy to notice.

“It’s not nothing. He’s about as strong as I was expecting you and Sasuke to be.”

Gai nodded. “Kiba is showing the strength of an incredible genin.”

“Then what about me?” Naruto asked cheekily.

Kakashi sighed. “An impossible one.”

Sasuke nodded. “Kiba will have some tricks up his sleeve. You need to finish it quickly if you
want to avoid them.”

“Do you think I can’t handle the tricks?”

Sasuke grinned. “What are you thinking?”

“Can’t hurt to show off a little. This is an exhibition match, after all.”

“All right then. If you want to draw this out, you should let him exhaust what he has been holding
back and then do something flashy to finish him off. Something that will capture the crowd.”

Naruto went over his options. “The scroll?”

Sasuke nodded. “That would work.”

Kiba had had enough. He whistled for Akamaru’s help and together they made the room to jump
back. Two smoke bombs detonated where he had just been. The Naruto clone was disoriented, but
still able to block the kunai that Kiba threw at him.

Kiba fed his dog a soldier pill and took one himself as well. His animal characteristics got more
exaggerated and Akamaru turned more human. They were perfect copies of each other.

And then they charged. They were a lot quicker, channelling all their feral energy into strikes
made more with instinct than strategy in mind. The clone was doing his best to dodge, but was
popped at a surprise last-moment speed-up. It was only then that Kiba noticed it was not the
original.

“Hey dog-breath! If you’re not going to be fighting alone anymore, then neither am I!”
Naruto sent in four new clones from above. Kiba and his mirror image pushed through, spinning
their bodies through the air in a whirlwind of unstoppable force. The clones dodged, but the Naruto
on the balcony had been the actual target.

Naruto let himself fall down, unfazed as the two piercing ninja hit the railing above him. Sasuke
and Sakura had grabbed the people besides them and had dodged aside. Not for Kiba hitting the
railing, but for the explosion that followed.

Sasuke and Sakura breathed through it, shielding their eyes from the light and their bodies from the
tremors.

“I did not even see the explosive tag.” Tenten said. She stood up and brushed off the dust that had
landed on her. “How did he leave one so quickly?”

“He has some tricks up his sleeve.” Sasuke said. It would not do to explain the specifics to
someone outside of their team. But with all the time Naruto had been hanging there, he had plenty
of time to leave an explosive seal on the metal itself.

While Kiba and Akamaru fell to the ground, Naruto took the opportunity to sprint to the opposite
side of the stadium. Akumaru seemed worst off, having taken the brunt of the explosion, but Kiba
was far from unharmed.

“It’s over, Kiba.” Naruto said. He jumped up onto the statue in the room, landing on top of the
hands.

“The hell it is! You act so big but you still haven’t defeated me in our close ups. Make as many
clones as you like, I’ll take them all on!”

“If you insist.” Naruto grabbed a scroll from his backpack and let it unfurl all the way down to the
floor. He made a sign with one hand and pressed the other onto the scroll. Two of his clones
popped into existence next to him, both wielding a sword. Naruto moved his hand to the next seal
and the next two clones were formed with spears. The next two had axes. Then two with iron
knuckles.

“He’s mastered all these weapons?” Tenten asked.

“He’s proficient with them.” Sasuke said. Part of opening up the smithery had been to provide
Naruto with enough weapons. “Naruto likes to keep his options open.”

They all engaged Kiba at the same time. Kiba jumped aside, but he was driven away from the
scroll and the original Naruto all the same. Only two or three Naruto would engage Kiba at the
same time. But with the effort it took Kiba to pop even one, a waiting line formed of impatient
Naruto clones. Kiba’s confidence was shrinking by the minute.

As the fight went on, Naruto made clones with big shuriken as well, clones with bows and clones
with a whole sash of kunai hanging over their chest. They all started an aerial assault. Kiba looked
like he was about ready to shit himself.

Kiba was about to dodge a sword right into a spear’s path, when the clone shifted its grip at the last
moment to only graze the genin.

“Forfeit, Kiba. It is done.”

“You just outnumbered me!”

“The Kage Bunshin is my signature technique. Can’t you just admit your defeat?”

“Like hell I will! As long as I’m still able to stand, I’m going to keep fighting!”

“Very well.” Naruto nodded, making a hand sign. The room filled with smoke as the Naruto clones
disappeared. The weapons turned to ink and then slid back to the scroll one by one to be resealed.
All that remained was a single Naruto, jumping down to the fighting ring and getting into a proper
stance. He held no weapons in his hands and he seemed perfectly harmless. “Come at me.”

Kiba hesitated, looking around.

“You’re still standing, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” But exhaustion showed in Kiba’s frame.

“Time’s up.” Naruto dashed forward. Kiba tried to block the hit, but Naruto had finally put some
real force into it. His punch launched the Kiba’s body against the wall, which cracked high. An
explosion of dust filled the room.

The proctor confirmed Kiba’s unconsciousness and then immediately called the match.

“No way.” Lee said. “He didn’t show any of that strength when we sparred before the first round.
How strong is he?”

“He’s the future Hokage.” Sasuke said.

Naruto walked back to his teammates, gloating at all the attention. All the teams were gaping at
him, the Konoha teams especially. Nobody would be underestimating him for a long time now.

Neji was especially gloomy. “You’ve been training the same way Lee has. Trying to overcome
your lack of talent with sheer determination. But destiny is not kind to those without a clan behind
them. You are doomed to fade into irrelevance.”

“Wow, rude.” Naruto dismissed him, revelling between Sakura and Sasuke instead. “I made it
through the round.”

“Easily!” Sakura said. “I can’t believe it. You think I’ll get an easy opponent too?”

Sasuke could not help but smile. For the three of them, all the others were easy opponents.

It took just a few minutes to clean up the fighting area and let the next round begin.

Choji and Shino had to face off against each other. Shino drained a lot of Choji’s chakra, but the
fatter ninja had very big stores. In the end, Choji turned into a human cannon ball and crashed into
Shino just as his chakra was drained. It was a double knock-out.

Misumi, Kabuto’s teammate, had to face off against Kankuro. That went as well as Sasuke
remembered. Tenten had to fight Tamari and there were no surprises there either. Except the crowd
was a little less surprised by the giant scroll of weapons she used.

Hinata had to face Neji and it was just as painful as Sasuke remembered. Naruto cheered her on,
trying to return the favour from the first exam, but the older ninja was better than her, no matter
how much she struggled. Eventually she forfeited. Neji edged her on, but she said there was no
shame in losing to someone who was a year older and had more experience than her. Neji tried to
keep the match going anyway. The procor’s back was turned and he would not be able to stop the
attack in time.

“Stop.” Naruto said, replacing himself with Hinata and using the surprise to grasp Neji’s wrist.
“You’ve already won.”

“I’m not done.”

“Yes you are. You’ll get your chance to show off next round.”

Neji glared at him, before storming off.

Naruto helped Hinata up. “Are you alright?”

Hinata blushed furiously. “Y-yeah. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. That guy’s been pissing me off all day. I hope I get matched with him.”

Neji chose to leave the room. So dramatic. Hinata was trying to join them on the balcony and
Sasuke had to glare at her until she excused herself and went back to her team. She had had her
moment with Naruto, but it was over now.

Finally another team 7 member was called.

Sakura had to face off against Ino. She made her way down, trying to keep a straight face.

“I hope there won’t be any hard feelings.” Sakura said.

“Then stop acting so smug.” Ino said. “I don’t know what’s gotten into Naruto and I don’t know
what kind of trick you played in the forest, but it won’t work here. Not with everyone watching.”

“You sound jealous.”

“You wish. Don’t think I haven’t noticed all the weight you put on. And you call me a pig.”

Sakura sighed. “That ‘weight’ is called muscle mass. I can’t believe I used to sound just like you.
Used to sound just as… childish.”

“We’re the same age! You’re my rival and you’re nowhere near my level. Never have been and
never will be.”

“No.” Sakura said. “I would say I’m on a completely different level.”

“Time to put your money where your mouth is, Forehead.” Ino said, dashing forward with her
kunai in front of her.

Sakura deflected the blow and then grabbed Ino’s wrist with her free hand, twisting it behind Ino’s
back and forcing her to drop her weapon. She pushed Ino away and got back into her stance.
“You’ll have to come at me harder if you want to stand a chance, Ino-pig.”

Ino glared, before running forward and trying again. She pulled out every trick in the book,
feinting her direction and using bunshins to distract. The result was the same every single time.
Sakura stopped the attack and pushed Ino away.

“I remember you being faster.” Sakura said.

“I’m just as fast as I was in the Academy!”

“Oh, that might be the problem then.” Sakura smirked. “I guess I’ve just gotten used to training
with Sasuke every single day. You’re moving like a slug compared to him.”

“Kyaa!” Ino increased the distance between them and started throwing her kunai, one after the
other.

Sakura jumped back, making the hand-signs while still in the air, and then landing with her hand
on the ground, raising a wall of earth in front of her. Then she went through more hand signs,
inhaled deeply, and pelted the other side of the battlefield with water bullets.

“Two elements?” Gai asked. “Which one did she already know in the Academy?”

“Neither.” Kakashi said. “She’s just that quick a study.”

Ino had to bend herself double to avoid all of them, panting and sweaty by the time that Sakura
decided to give her a break.

Not that the break lasted very long. “There’s a spider on your arm.”

“I’m not falling for…” Ino screamed, trying to brush the spider away. But one spider became two
became three. It took her embarrassingly long to shout out the genjutsu release and get rid of them.

Of course that was also the moment she realised that Sakura was no longer on the ground with her,
frantically looking around where she had gone.

“I’m starting to feel sorry for her.” Sakura said, hanging from the rafters much like Naruto had
done. “She’s not even at Kiba’s level.”

“Was that genjutsu?” Gai asked. “In addition to your taijutsu and ninjutsu skills?”

“Genjutsu’s actually my specialty.” Sakura said. “But it’s not good to put all your eggs in one
basket.”

“You’re so strong, Sakura-chan.” Lee said. “A true embodiment of youth.”

“Thanks. I think.”

“She’ll still have her own tricks up her sleeve.” Sasuke warned her. “But much like you used to be,
she’s not a close-combat fighter. What do you want to do?”

“I have an idea, but it is a little mean.”

“That sounds interesting.” Sasuke smirked.

Sakura rolled her eyes, before jumping back down. She left a trail of Cherry blossom petals in her
trail from the balcony to the earthen wall she had made earlier. Mostly to be extra, but also to make
sure Ino was finally paying attention to her again. “Ino, this isn’t going anywhere. You don’t stand
a chance. So I’ll issue you a challenge.”

“What the hell are you talking about now?” Ino was in position, her eyes darting all over the
stadium in desperation. Whatever plan she was trying to come up with, she was not having much
luck.

“Years ago I pushed you away and declared myself your rival. I worked hard to perfect my grades
in the Academy, and afterwards to become as strong as I could possibly be. I wanted to surpass
you, so I set my sight on the even more impossible goal of surpassing the Legendary Sannin
Tsunade. I did not realise until today how much further I had gotten than you. And how little sense
it makes for me to call you my rival anymore.”

Ino finally stilled, shocked into relaxing her posture. “What are you saying?”

“You’re the one who taught me to make myself strong. And I’ll always remember that. But it’s
your turn to chase after me.” Sakura reached into her pouch and withdrew a single bell, hung by a
string, which she tied to her belt. “Show me that it’ll still be worth looking back by stealing this
bell from me, like I had to show my jounin instructor I was worthy of his attention.”

Ino let out a laugh. “You can’t be serious. We’re both genin. Getting a bell from you will be too
easy.”

“Then show me.”

Ino ran forward. She threw several kunai in her approach, though Sakura could easily side-step
them. That was not the point, however, as Ino pulled the strings attached to her kunai taut and tried
to trap Sakura.

Sakura dodged and weaved to avoid the ninja wire. One wire glanced her arm, and it immediately
sparked with blue chakra. “Paralysis? That’s a nice touch. Just need a bit more speed if you want to
catch someone with it.”

“You’re awfully smug for someone who missed the explosive tag right behind you.”

Sakura quickly turned around, but none of Ino’s weapons had been enhanced with a tag. That had
not been the point. Because as Sakura turned her body to look, Ino replaced herself with a kunai
near Sakura’s foot. She reached for the bell and it was already too late for Sakura to escape.

Just as Ino’s fingers brushed the metal, Sakura tugged her hand. Several kunai soared through the
air between Ino and Sakura.

“You’re not the only one who can use strings.” Sakura said, her water strings keeping the kunai
afloat that she had summoned to help her. Ino had to retreat her hand and let Sakura create distance
again. Sakura turned mid-air, guiding the kunai on strings of water to attack Ino and push her
further and further back.

“Close one, Ino-pig.” Sakura smiled. “I wonder what you’ll try next.”

Ino made a single sign with her hand and suddenly Sakura stood frozen. Ino’s foot was on one of
the ninja wire, one that combined with the rest of the wires on the ground to reach Sakura across
the arena. “You thought I actually wanted the bell? I’m still in this to win. You never considered I
would try it at this distance, did you?” She created a triangle with her hands, and pointed at Sakura.

Kakashi sighed. “Sakura was too arrogant. The Yamanaka clan technique is game over for her.”

Ino slouched, and Sakura took a slow step forward. But she looked wrong, her expression not that
of Sakura. She raised up her hand and looked at the proctor.

“She’s not too arrogant.” Sasuke said. “You just have too little faith in her.”

“I, Sakura Haruno, forf…” Sakura’s mouth clamped shut.

Sasuke could not resist peeking with his Sharingan. Ino’s grasp on Sakura’s body was strong. But
Sakura had a force within her that Ino was not prepared for. An inner-Sakura that would not take
losing as an option. And it was that part of Sakura that was rising and taking back control. Ino
needed Sakura to believe she was powerless, but that was not who Sakura was. She refused.

And that refusal reached a breaking point. Ino wavered as the mind that had been possessing
Sakura snapped back all the way across the battlefield. The force was too much for Ino and she
swayed before falling unconscious to the ground. Ino’s teammates rushed towards her. But Ino was
tough and she would be fine. Still, they turned protectively to the approaching Sakura. Not that it
was needed. Sakura was not there to fight.

Sakura smirked. “Call it, proctor. I’ve won.” She crouched beside Ino. “It won’t matter how strong
I get, will it? You’ll always fight to defeat me.” She snapped the bell off her belt and placed it in
Ino’s hands. “I wonder what kind of challenge you’ll give me next time.”

Chouji gawked at her. “You’re just as strong as Naruto.”

“No.” Shikamaru said. “But she comes close. Impressive for a girl.”

“What did you just say?” She cracked her knuckles.

“That you were impressive.” He immediately corrected himself.

When Sakura made it back to the balcony, Naruto tackled her with a hug. “You were amazing.”

Kakashi put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m proud of you.”

Sometimes, Sasuke liked his team. It was at times like these, that he loved the shit out of them.
“We made it to the finals. We did it.”

“You still need to win your match.”

“And do you have any doubt I will?” Sasuke smiled. His teammates were not smiling back. “Guys,
it’s going to be okay.”

They were silent and just stared at the lottery. Actually, the whole room had gone silent.

Sasuke turned around to see the result.

Sasuke Uchiha VS Gaara of the Sand

Crap.

~*~

This was not supposed to happen. He had not planned on this happening.

The Jinchuriki of the one-tailed beast stared at him with bloodlust in his eyes.

“Be careful Sasuke.” Sakura said. She was trembling.

Sasuke moved down to the fighting area as slowly as he could. He knew he could win the match,
but Gaara had a pivotal role in the invasion to come. Gaara had to go on to the Chuunin
examinations. If Gaara did not go, the invasion would find a different signal to start. Sasuke would
lose his tactical advantage.

More than that, Gaara’s transformation was a crucial part of the enemy’s plan. If Gaara was at
another location or if he was completely outside of Konoha, Orochimaru would have no choice but
to compensate across the board with new elements. That made everything more unpredictable.

He knew all about the invasion as it had happened in his time. He had seen only a small part first-
hand, but the invasion had been taught as a strategical exercise regularly. Pain’s attack had been
more brutal and final. It had levelled the whole village with supernatural powers. It had been more
like the Kyuubi’s attack. But Orochimaru had presented a much more manageable challenge. A
collection of weaker and stronger ninja who were spread all across Konoha’s weaknesses so they
could the maximum amount of damage. Orochimaru was a crazy genius, but a genius nonetheless.

The proctor was talking but Sasuke could hardly hear anything. Sasuke could not forfeit this match.
That would mean that he would not continue to the next round. He would not get trained by
Kakashi. Maybe he would have no excuse at all to start using the Chidori technique. He would not
be inside of the ring to trigger Gaara’s transformation and force the enemy’s hand. Sasuke needed
to face him in the Finals for the timeline to make any sense.

“And, begin!”

Sasuke fell back immediately, dodging the torrent of sand that wanted to crush him. He darted
around the fighting area, fast enough to get out of the sand’s way but there was always more
waiting for him. It was not until he was on the other side of the room, as far away as possible, that
Gaara finally stopped his assault.

Sasuke charged at Gaara, kicking into his head until a barrier of sand blocked his leg. He moved
quickly, attacking from different sides, trying to be unpredictable enough that the sand could not
catch him. He mixed ranged attacks with shuriken between the physical strikes, but nothing got
through.

He retreated to his spot across the stadium.

“You have an ultimate defence, which you can also use to attack.” Sasuke said. “The sand is chakra
infused and you have a decent control over it.”

Sasuke wanted this match to end up in a tie. Not a double knock-out, but a tie where the proctors
had no choice but to postpone the battle. If he was in their shoes, he would be very reluctant to do
so. The contestants hurting each other, even very badly, would not be enough. That would lead
them to decide the least hurt as the victor.

No, it would have to be another reason if they were to call a tie. They would have to decide that
this location was not suitable to host the battle. Politically, Sarutobi and the clan leaders would
want a large audience for this match. Having the biggest fight happen in the preliminaries was
unfortunate. In theory, Sarutobi would be looking for any excuse to postpone this fight to the
finals.

But Sasuke had no way of knowing whether the proctors had been instructed on this. Having the
Sandaime step in himself would break so many protocols, he would never do it. There would be
too much repercussions when the other villages accused him of rigging the exams in Konoha’s
favour. No matter what Sarutobi wanted, it was out of his hands. Sasuke’s best bet was still the
proctors.

They would have to be convinced that this sparring facility was too small to host the match. If the
location was unsafe, they would have no choice but to call a temporary tie.

“Naruto, Sakura! You might want to stand back!”

Sasuke saw them move to the wall and many confused genin followed their lead.

There were many hand signs, but that was to be expected of a B-rank jutsu. The fire dragon he
produced was halfway to Gaara in seconds. When a wall of sand blocked it, the dragon’s body split
in two and moved around the blockade. Gaara kept raising walls and the heads kept splitting. There
were twenty dragon heads when they reached Gaara, all pummelling down on him with the
deafening roars of their blaze.

He could see Gai murmuring with Kakashi while most of the genin looked in awe at the display.

It took him just a fraction of a second to cocoon himself with sand, just in time to protect him from
being burned to a crisp. There were flames all around the sand ninja, burning bright and hot. And it
would go on for as long as Sasuke held his concentration.

Sasuke could feel the temperature in the room rising, and most ninja watching were getting damp
with sweat. Sakura was holding Naruto’s hand and using a shield of water chakra to keep them cool
and protected. They were two of only a handful of shinobi watching who were capable of
protecting themselves, most of the others being jounin.

People were pulling at their clothes, fanning themselves. Those near the exits were slowly
increasing their distance from the technique.

The technique was doing what it was supposed to do, but it was also burning through Sasuke’s
chakra and seemed to be having no effect on Gaara. Sasuke could tell the sand insulated him well
and that the defensive dome cost little chakra for Gaara to maintain.

It stretched the limits of imagination that Sasuke would keep this up much longer and keep wasting
chakra. He had to cut himself of. When he glanced at the Proctor, he seemed to be far from
interfering. More fire would not help.

Sasuke extinguished the flames and Gaara slowly got back out of his shell. The boy was grinning
at Sasuke, showing off his perceived invulnerability, daring Sasuke to try something else.

Fine. Other seals, another element. He aimed his hands at Gaara and let out the ranged lightning
attack. Electricity coursed through the hall until it struck an impromptu lightning rod that Gaara
had quickly formed to intercept. The sand fell apart at the strike, but it had served its purpose.
Sasuke, however, was not done. His chakra curved the electricity before the next strike and let it
attack from different sides. Each attack was literally lightning fast, but Gaara kept responding in
turn.

Gai’s murmuring got louder. Most genin were watching with their mouths open in awe, even as the
fear was forming on their faces.

Again, Sasuke paid close attention to the proctor’s face as lightning soared in every direction.
Sakura had used earth chakra on the balcony to fashion her own rod for protection, but the other
teams were vulnerable to be hit by a stray bolt. Yet the proctor still did not respond.

Sasuke did not understand, until he studied the faces of the ninja watching him. There was awe and
fear yes, but curiosity was the main emotion shared across the room. They could all step back and
get to safety but they were choosing to watch. If anything were to happen, that was their risk to
take. And so the proctor would not call the match just for being unsafe.

Even more, Sarutobi and the jounin were watching with interest. Sasuke did not see any annoyance
for having the match take place earlier than would be ideal politically. They wanted to see what
Sasuke could do and they were more willing to ignore the political disadvantages of their
impatience than Sasuke had thought.

Sasuke could go on trying to escalate and force a tie. There were earth techniques that would tear
this entire place apart. But he was starting to get the impression the officials would be willing to
sacrifice the location if it came down to it.

There was no end to this. They were not going to stop this fight until either Gaara or he emerged
victoriously.

There was no choice. Sasuke needed to forfeit.

That would ensure he had enough information about the invasion to save countless lives. It was the
most sensible option. He could find an excuse to do it. He could find the reasons to explain the
decision. Shino had given him a warning and that was sufficient reason to put fear in his heart. It
was the best way forward, no matter how he looked at it.

Sasuke started raising his hand, putting a defeated look on his face.

But as he looked to Naruto and Sakura, logic stopped mattering. He could see the disbelief. He
could feel the measure of trust they had built together tensing. Sasuke had promised them they
would go to the finals together.

And so it would be.

Sasuke wanted to stand beside them for the next round. He wanted to become Chuunin together.
Forfeiting now would derail all the training he had planned to get team 7 to the next level. It would
stop Sasuke from getting them ready for the bigger fight that mattered more. Giving up would
mean hurting them, and what were the lives of a few Konoha citizens compared to Naruto and
Sakura’s emotional well-being?

No, he was not going to give up. He was going to win.

His expression tightened. This was not a fight he could win without showing a portion of his real
strength. There would be consequences. Everything would change.

So be it.

With his hand still raised, he looked at Kakashi. “I want to get serious. Are you okay with that?”

Any other sensei would have been confused with the question. But Kakashi had a special
arrangement with Sasuke. The jounin knew there was a special reason Sasuke was asking.

Kakashi sighed, before nodding to give his permission. Undoubtedly there would be consequences
for him as well.

Sasuke made the seals that he should not know, drawing electricity into his hand. The sound was
deafening as the Chidori formed and stabilised. If there were surprised gasps among the ninja
watching, he was not able to hear them. Not as he turned all his attention to his opponent. He drew
his sword in his free hand, the metal catching stray bolts of the Chidori’s lightning and charging
itself. Sasuke’s firm grasp on lightning manipulation made sure it stayed around the metal, only
increasing in intensity as time passed.

And then he walked towards Gaara, step by step, like Sasuke had nothing to worry about. The sand
attacked him again, but he blocked it with his sword. As soon as it hit the electrified metal, the
sand fell apart and dropped to the ground. Sand came from every angle, but Sasuke was faster. He
effortlessly blocked each attack with his steel.

The Chidori was safeguarded in his hand, an unstoppable force to counter Gaara’s unmovable
defence. And no matter what Gaara was trying, it was creeping ever closer.

And Sasuke moved step by step, locking eyes with Gaara. The attacks came faster. Gaara was
getting nervous. Gaara attacked from four sides at once and Sasuke’s sword moved in a great arc
around to block it all. Gaara tried to go low, but Sasuke’s sword was long enough that it did not
matter.

Finally, when Sasuke stood right in front of Gaara, he pointed the Chidori forward. The defensive
sand tried to block. As the electricity crackled, sand fell away but it also instantly reformed to
remake the shield. It looked like an impasse. But looks could be deceiving.

Sasuke increased the amount of chakra going through his Chidori and started to apply pressure on
his push forward. And then his hand started to move, inch by inch.

Sand attacked him from the side again, but he still had his sword. It required just the tinies twist to
disable the sand and make it flop uselessly to the ground.

Gaara was finally starting to panic. “This should not be possible.”

“You are welcome to forfeit.”

The gourd on Gaara’s back started to empty, sand filling up into a great cocoon around him again.
The sand hardened around the chidori, until it felt like it was stuck in stone. But even then it was
not enough for the ninja from Suna. The sand spread over the ground to cover the whole hall. And
Sasuke could sense the increasing chakra flowing into it. It joined with whatever sand Sasuke had
disabled and infused it once again. Gaara tried to better ground himself. He wanted to make it
withstand the lightning better.

He was naïve.

Sasuke channelled some real lightning chakra through the chidori, none of the powered-down
weak stuff anymore. Gaara’s cocoon flew open, sand flying everywhere. One of the stray sparks
had cut Gaara’s face and he was bleeding.

“No!” Temari yelled from the balcony.

Gaara touched his forehead with his hand. When he pulled back his hand he looked terribly
confused. He had not seen his own blood in a long time. In a previous life when Sasuke had made
him bleed, Gaara had released a tailed beast and had destroyed most of the village.

Right. It probably was better to prevent that this time. Somehow.

The chakra was coming. It was bubbling under the surface. Temari looked horrified from her
distance and the world seemed to slow down. Only the Suna ninja knew to be in a panic.
Everybody else had no idea.

This could be a huge problem and Sasuke was not completely sure how to fix it. So he went with
his instincts.

Sasuke looked at Naruto with red eyes and then back to Gaara. The world fell away.
~*~

“Where are we, Sasuke?” Naruto said.

It was a flowerbed, but most of the plants had withered a long time ago. It stretched for miles and
would have been peaceful, if not for the dangerous sense that there was something just under the
surface. “We are inside Gaara. And there he is.”

“Strange mental space.” Kuruma grumbled. He walked besides Naruto, only as tall as a large dog.
“And it feels different.”

“There’s some time dilation.” Sasuke said. “Courtesy of the Sharingan.”

A little boy was hugging his own legs just a little further along. “I just want the pain to go away.”
He whispered.

There was more rumbling and the very ground started to crack.

“Naruto, he is letting his tailed beast free on purpose. You know what that would do to Konoha,
right?”

“He can’t do that. Which one is it?”

“The Ichibi.”

“Shukaku.” Kuruma grumbled. “Idiot Tanuki.”

“We have to stop him.”

“That’s what we are here to do.“

The little boy started crying. “You’re going to hurt me!”

“No, Gaara. The fighting is over. We just want to talk with Shukaku.”

The trembling stopped. Gaara stared in confusion. “Who’s that?”

“Kurama’s brother. We want to talk.”

“Who is Kurama? Who is Shukaku? You’re confusing me.”

“Shukaku is the guest inside your body. But the body is yours. You are in control here. And you
do not need to destroy everything to get to him. You can open a door.”

The little boy still did not understand, but he was thinking about it now and that was enough. The
ground split open in a much more controlled way, a stairway leading down.

“Gaara, you need to lead us there.”

The boy trembled. “I can’t.”

Sasuke sighed. He would go alone then.

“It’s okay.” Naruto said. “He can’t hurt you. Take my hand.”

Gaara shook his head, but he carefully reached out anyway. There was a strange expression on
Gaara’s face as he grasped Naruto’s hand, like it was the first bodily contact he had had in years.
“We’ll go together.”

Gaara swallowed, but then walked slowly down the stairs. It led down into a large cavern, water
covering the ground and spikey rocks surrounding a large beast with a single tail. A transparent
lake above the beast shone down its light like spotlights while faceless puppets surrounded the
prison.

“Shukaku, I presume.” Sasuke said, halfway down the stairs. He was still high enough to be at eye-
level for the giant creature. “Stop throwing this tantrum.”

The tailed beast roared. It threw his entire body weight against one of the walls of spikes. The cave
shuddered and stalactites trembled on the cave’s ceiling, close to falling. Gaara squeaked, clinging
to Naruto’s leg and hiding his face in the genin’s orange clothes.

“Shameful display.” Kuruma grumbled. “Show a little dignity!”

The creature tilted its head. “I have not heard that voice in a long time. Have you come to join me
in hell, Kuruma-kisame?”

“You’re just trapped in a human. Toughen up.”

“Ah, another part of my suffering. So be it. Lay on your worst, Kitsune. I guarantee you I’ve had
worse.”

“At least you’ve gotten out! I can tell you’ve broken out of your seal many times. Before this brat, I
hadn’t seen sunlight in years.”

“Brother’s nagging sounds like singing. Bring in the chorus. Let them scream.” Shukaku threw his
body against his prison again.

Kuruma grimaced. “He’s too far gone. I don’t understand what’s happened to him. A seal wouldn’t
do this by itself.”

Shukaku chuckled darkly. “It doesn’t change anything. Soon I’ll be free and I’ll finally get to kill
again.

The faceless puppets chuckled, moving their bodies like they were having a seizure and their torsos
were fixed in pace. “Kill! Kill! Kill!”

“Make them stop!” Gaara cried. “I don’t want to kill anyone.”

“What are we supposed to do, Sasuke?” Naruto asked. He clung to Gaara and tried to keep the boy
from completely freaking out.

“Gaara, this is your mind. It’s your body. And that racoon can’t do anything you don’t want it to.
You want him to stop?”

“Yes!”

Sasuke looked at the prison and extended his arm. Red chakra bubbles formed and shot towards
Shukaku, penetrating through the prison’s walls and wrapping themselves around the beast. It was
held in place, the struggling slowing by the second. “Tell it to sleep.”

Gaara swallowed and then turned to the beast. “Go to sleep.”

The Tailed Beast glared, but the Sharingan’s power channeling Gaara’s will was stronger. Soon
Shukaku’s eyes dropped closed and he collapsed in a heap inside of his cage.

The puppets stopped in their tracks and the world stopped shaking.

“I don’t understand.” Gaara said. He slowly let go of Naruto to look at the beast that had been
terrifying him all of his life. “He’s never listened before.”

“He was trapped here against his will.” Naruto said. “He doesn’t like being underground like this.
But he’s just a person underneath everything else. You just need to treat him like you would want
to be treated.”

“If we can fix whatever else is going on.” Kuruma said.

“Yeah, there’s that.”

“I think I already see the problem.” Sasuke said. “Look at the stalagmite in the center, right
beneath the seal.” He pointed it out for Gaara.

The boy gasped when he saw it. The figure of a woman made from sand etched into the beast’s
prison. “Mother?”

“There is another spirit caught within the seal.” Sasuke said. “She died giving birth to you, didn’t
she? Her protection is a part of you.”

“Why did she hurt Shukaku?” Naruto asked.

“She’s trying to protect.” Sasuke said. “But the seal wasn’t made to hold another spirit. Shukaku is
cramped and merely existing in its prison makes her think Shukaku’s trying to break free. So she
keeps attacking him. It seems that just like Gaara hasn’t been able to sleep, Shukaku hasn’t been
able to either.”

“Wh-what must we do?”

“The easiest solution is to remove the spirit.”

“Mom!?” Gaara gasped, trying to back away.

Naruto held onto him and calmed him. “We’re not going to do that. There are other ways, right
Sasuke?”

“The other takes more time and work.” Sasuke said. “Just like you learned to control your sand,
you must learn to control your mother’s protection. Let Shukaku exist without her attacking him
for no reason. It will take practice and time.”

“But we’ll help. Right Sasuke?”

“We may not have an opportunity.” Sasuke said. “But if you find us, we will help you.”

“Suna won’t like that.” Gaara said. “I… I don’t know what to do.”

“For now, rest. Shukaku has been subdued. Your command will last at least until the sun next rises.
Go to sleep.”

“I haven’t slept for so long.” Gaara said. “I haven’t been able to.”

“You’ve been alone. But you aren’t anymore.” Naruto smiled. “We’ve got this.”
Gaara nodded slowly. He yawned and then it was like every missed night of sleep came for him at
the same time. He collapsed in Naruto’s arms and the light started to fade around them, the very
landscape responding to Gaara’s condition.

“He’s almost fully asleep.” Sasuke said. “We should go out.”

“Do we have to rush it?” Naruto asked. He was on his knees and letting Gaara rest his head on his
leg. “You said yourself that we don’t know when we’ll see him next.”

“You just met him.” Sasuke said.

“He’s a jinchuriki like me. I’ve never met someone like that before. I can only imagine what he’s
been through. This feels like the least I can do for him.”

Sasuke nodded. “I can wait for the last moment.”

Sasuke took a seat on Naruto’s other side. Kuruma rolled his eyes at the sentiment, disappearing
into smoke as easily as he had formed.

The light disappearing went slow, first only in the distance so that it was like the three of them
were all there was in a vast expanse of empty darkness. Still, Sasuke waited. Until the moment that
it threatened to undo them as well.

He deactivated his sharingan and suddenly he was back in the Genin arena, surrounded by floating
sand and many spectators. The sand fell from the air, all strings cut. Gaara collapsed as well. The
proctor was by Gaara’s side quickly enough to keep him from injuring himself from the fall. The
chuunin checked the boy’s pulse.

“He’s sleeping?” He said confused. “Uchiha Sasuke wins the round!”

Tamari and Kakuro looked scared out of their minds, but nothing happened to their teammate. That
worried them in a quite different way. A medic came to the young ninja and picked him up.

And with that he went back to his teammates.

“Where did you get all that power?” Sakura could not believe it.

Sasuke shook his head. “Not here. I’ll tell you when we get home.”

Kakashi gave Sasuke a look. “Sooner for me.”

“What was that final technique?” Tenten asked. “You did something with your Sharingan?”

“I didn’t need to do anything.” Sasuke lied. “He passed out from seeing his own blood. With
defences like that, it must have surprised him.”

Rock Lee had no opponent to fight and was passed to the next round automatically. They all had to
draw their lots to decide who would fight who in the next competition. Shikamaru had to fight the
guy Sasuke had needed to fight in his past life.

When all the fights were done, they pulled lots for the final round.

Naruto would have to fight Neji. That much was the same as he remembered. Sakura was new in
the tournament and was matched with Shikamaru. Sasuke would have to face Temari and that left
Kankuro who was matched up with Lee.
That concluded the first part of the exam. They would be given a month to prepare for the next
stage, but their names would already be gathering renown. Team 7 would be the only team entering
the next stage with all their members.

Sasuke had to pay a price, but he could at least celebrate this small victory.

His main worry was another ninja, who kept looking with suspicion in his direction. He had been
paying attention to the Sandaime, but his face had remained stoic. Sasuke had been paying
attention to the other jounin, but they just looked impressed. Because he had started to see Kakashi
as more of an ally, he had paid less attention to him.

But Kakashi looked concerned. “Outside, now. We need to talk.”

Naruto and Sakura patted his back as he left. He entered a hallway with Kakashi and travelled deep
underground.

When Kakashi was satisfied they were properly alone and not even ANBU were nearby, he
stopped them. “What happened in there?”

“I won my match.” Sasuke said. “Weren’t you watching?”

Kakashi sighed. “You could have finished that match in seconds if you really wanted to. The
ending proved that. That kid was incredibly dangerous, but you still held back.”

“I had my reasons.” Sasuke said. He could not tell Kakashi about the invasion, but there was a lie
that worked almost as well. “I wanted Gaara to be in the finals. He is the strongest fighter there and
if we can face off against him in the coliseum, we can show everyone how far we have grown.
There is no other enemy that could help us like he could.”

“You’re saying you wanted a tie?” Kakashi sighed. “Do you really expect me to believe this? You
are lying to me, Sasuke. You were lying the first day we met and you have lied every single day
since. And now the Chidori…”

“I’m not ready to talk…”

“You never seem to be. I don’t care what you say, but the main reason you held back today was for
Naruto and Sakura. When you raised your hand, were you really trying to ask my permission, or
were you about to forfeit?”

Sasuke sighed.

“You have put off showing them the truth for so long that it has become second nature to hide it.
How long did it take you to consider using more of your strength? If we are in a dangerous
situation, how much time will you waste hesitating?”

“I would never hesitate in an emergency.”

“Not even a single second? If they attack Naruto, that one second could be the difference between
his life and his death. How much more could you have done against Orochimaru if you weren’t
holding back?” Kakashi sighed. “We pry concessions from you bit by bit, but you never commit to
trusting us. That needs to stop.”

“We have made it as a team so far.”

Kakashi shook his head. “I want you to fight me seriously. And I want Naruto and Sakura to
watch.”

Sasuke’s face fell. He had been expecting a price, but not this. “No.”

“It’s not a request.”

“Or what? You’ll use the scroll to kick me off Team 7?”

“You know, Sasuke, the distance you keep between us really keeps you from knowing me.” He
placed a small scroll into Sasuke’s hand. “If you knew anything about me, you could have
predicted this.”

Sasuke opened the scroll. He had not predicted it. “What is this?”

“You know what it is. An amendment to the contract we made. Notarised just like the original
document. It’s an annulment.”

“When?”

“After the Land of Waves.”

“You… never mentioned that.”

“It was useful to keep my student on his toes, even when I was already convinced you had proven
your devotion to the team. Consider me keeping this from you pre-emptive payback for what
you’ve put me through by possessing far more power than you have any right to, including an
impossible Chidori. I am going to spend most of the day trying to evade summons to a disciplinary
meeting while trying to come up with some excuse. They will not believe me when I say I’ve had
little to do in training you. I’m going to look like a fool. But I will bear it for the team. I’m doing
my part. You need to do yours.”

“I understand that. I really do. But is there no way to postpone it until after the Chuunin exam?”

“Sasuke, as long as we remain faithful shinobi of Konoha, we are stuck together. I have no legal
pressure to put on you, no authority to make you behave. I cannot demand respect as a sensei,
seeing that you have shown clearly how much you have learned that I did not teach you.” He
looked pointedly at the Uchiha. “But if you value this team as much as you say you do, you will
meet me tonight.”

Sasuke shook his head. “There’s really no other way?”

“Training ground 7. Sunset.” Kakashi walked away.

Sasuke let himself lower against a wall. Fuck.

~*~

Naruto and Sakura were waiting outside for him. “What did Kakashi have to say?”

“He wants me to fight him later today.” Sasuke said. “Everything I’ve got.”

“Which is more than you’ve been showing us.” Naruto said. “I’ve never even seen you use
elemental techniques like you did in your match. What was that?”

Sasuke sighed. “I wish I could say that it was me going all-out. I’m afraid you won’t really see it
until tonight.”
“How bad can it be?” Naruto laughed. “I doubt you could have hounded us any harder. Were you
keeping back in training us?”

“Of course not. I’d never.”

“Sasuke.” Sakura said. “I have a question. I saw you used genjutsu on Gaara to keep the Bijuu
under control.”

Naruto shook his head. “It’s some kind of weird Sharingan thing. Genjutsu is your thing.”

“It is my thing. Which is how I know that what you two did was an advanced form of genjutsu. Not
just a connection with a Jinchuriki, but actually manifesting in their dreamscape. And with
temporal manipulation. And with someone fighting you every step of the way.” Sakura looked
very pointedly. “I would not have been able to do this. But you could.”

Sasuke nodded. He felt sick in his stomach.

“I started thinking and so my question is this. Are Naruto and I actually better than you in
anything?”

“I-I don’t know.” Sasuke said. “I try to avoid using abilities that are your specialties, but I do train
them on my own. I am better, possibly much better than you think, in those areas.”

Sakura nodded. “I thought so.” She punched the wall behind her leisurely. It only cracked for half
its length. Then she took a few deep breaths. “I really needed to get that out of my system.”

She glanced at Naruto a few times, who still seemed far too at ease with the situation and who
could so easily be driven to anger if the full implications were explained to him. Instead, Sakura
shook her head. “I do not want to deal with this right now. We just made it to the final round of the
Chuunin Exams. I am exhausted and in need of celebrations.”

Naruto grinned wider than humanly possible.

“Yes, Naruto.” Sakura smiled. “Let’s get Ramen.”

~*~

The normal ninja in team 7 were halfway through their second bowl. The insanely gluttonous one
was just starting on his fourth.

“So, I’m assuming you have plans for the upcoming month for us.” Naruto said.

“Of course.”

“What crazy training schedule did you cook up now?”

“It’s not as detailed as you’re used to.” Sasuke said. “It’s customary for chuunin candidates to
receive individual training. Considering the competition that we’ve observed in the exhibition
matches, it’s clear we’re the top three. It’s inevitable we fight each other.”

“Isn’t that all the more reason to practice together?”

“It sends the wrong message to the people gathered.” Sakura said. “The other villages might think
Konoha is playing it too safe or that we are rigging the exams somehow.”

“Screw those guys.” Naruto said. “I’m not pulling my punches. Especially not with you guys.”
“We feel so loved.” Sakura said

“I just know you guys can take it.”

Sasuke shrugged. “Well, no matter what, we can’t get completely separated. We’re still living
together. Nobody can mess with that.”

“So, what are you planning?” Sakura asked.

“There are rumours going around that Orochimaru isn’t the only Sannin who wanted to visit
Konoha.”

“Another Sannin is in town?” Sakura asked. “Is it Jiraya or Tsunade?”

“Yes.” Sasuke smiled. “Both of them.”

“I thought Tsunade had sworn never to return to the village?”

“Oh, she did. According to all official sources she is still far away from the village and gambling
her money away. All the official sources are wrong.”

“And you think they’ll train with us?”

“I think they’ll refuse outright. But I think we are more persistent than they are used to. And we
have to start associating with them at some point if we want to actually get dubbed the next
generation of Sannin, don’t we?”

“They won’t know what hit them.”

Naruto smiled, before staring at his fifth bowl of ramen. “Are you guys sure we’ll see each other
enough?”

“I’m positive.” Sasuke said. “As long as we want to, we’ll be able to.”

“I’m not so sure.” Naruto admitted. “We are all very serious about our training. Having separate
teachers will keep us apart at a very large portion of each day.”

“We will have the evenings together and I will not be going easy on you just because you had a
long day. I still expect the three of us to learn more than enough to keep up with our non-combat
schedules.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Lighten up a little. Of course we will still be doing that. But don’t you get
the magnitude of this moment? The next time we will have some free time again, will be after the
chuunin exams. That means this is the last relaxing we have together as genin.”

Naruto smirked at that, raising his glass. “Just two more months and we get our first promotion.”

“Two more months and we can start clearing out C-ranks until they are in the triple digits like our
D-ranks.” Sasuke added.

“Two more months and we can start studying from the chuunin library. Maybe even the jounin
library!” Sakura said dreamily. She had been running into more and more limitations lately with
her independent studies.

“To getting stronger.” Sasuke toasted.

“To finally killing Sasuke’s brother.” Sakura added.

“To becoming sannin!” Naruto said.

Sasuke tried to enjoy the moment as much as he could, but he knew something the others did not.
He knew that after the chuunin exams, he would have very little time left. He had to tell them about
the time travelling at some point. After the Chuunin exams were finished, everything would
change.

~*~

Sasuke tried to make the day last as long as possible, but the sun refused to set any slower. They
went to the training field together without mentioning it. But as they approached, it was
immediately clear how serious it was.

Kakashi, on time, was waiting for them. He did not have his book out. He did not seem like himself
at all. “I see you are all here.”

“Just like you told us.” Sakura sat down in a corner of the field. Naruto followed her lead and got
ready to watch the fight.

“Then we can begin.”

“Not yet.” Sasuke said. “Give me a minute.”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but Sasuke did not feel like elaborating. He just went down into his
chakra system and relaxed the restrictions he had placed on himself. Fifty percent of his power
level ought to be plenty to dominate Kakashi without putting the jounin in any danger. When he
was done, he nodded to Kakashi.

Kakashi held up the Konoha signal to start a friendly spar. Sasuke returned it.

And then the jounin charged him. He did not seem to come armed and Sasuke had no reason to
escalate the fight. He grabbed his sensei’s wrist to block a punch, before having to jump over a
kick that Kakashi used to get himself free. Kakashi’s form was flawless, but it was impossible to
cover all of one’s weaknesses. He pushed into Kakashi’s space with one finger outstretched.

Kakashi jumped back and Sasuke hit only solid ground, which he shattered with his version of the
dragon’s claw.

The jounin tried to use the commotion to hide in the trees, but Sasuke shunshined right next to him.
Kakashi lunged at him. Sasuke grabbed his wrist again and was able to pin it behind Kakashi’s
back. Kakashi’s used the elbow of his other arm to hit Sasuke in the face. Sasuke took it as it gave
a perfect opportunity to grab the other wrist and hold that too. He pushed off against the branch
with Kakashi beneath him, trying to crash him to the ground.

The jounin wrapped his legs against Sasuke’s by bending with extreme flexibility and twisted in
the air so that they would both land on their shoulders. The impact forced Sasuke to loosen his grip
for just a second, which was all Kakashi needed to put some distance between them again.

“Your speed and strength are impressive.” Kakashi noted, moving his arm around and testing how
badly his shoulder had been hurt. “Well into Jounin levels.”

“I’ve never been one to set my goals too low.”

“No. That you have not.” Kakashi brought his hands to his forehead protecter and pushed it up to
reveal his Sharingan. “Show me your genjutsu.”

Sasuke’s eyes went from black to red in just a split second. Kakashi had formed a connection
between them and was sending fear. It was one of the weaker suggestions and it showed Kakashi
had not progressed far into his studies into genjutsu beyond the basic masteries.

To answer his teacher, Sasuke easily hijacked the connection and sent comfort turned into
constraint. He turned the sky twilight deep dark and filled it with stars in the shape of the Hokage
monument. The beauty was only temporary, as the darkness dripped down from the sky like rain,
pooling around Kakashi’s feet like slime and holding him in place.

He glanced at Naruto and Sakura and pulled them into the illusion. Sakura gasped when she
realised what Sasuke had done.

“Sasuke, you’re watching what effect the illusion has on Kakashi.” She said. “And you’re bringing
us into it too. That’s leaps and bounds above what I can do.” She looked absolutely betrayed.

Sasuke wanted to talk to her. He knew this had to happen, but he still wanted to explain himself.
There was little time though as the jounin he was fighting got ready to make his move.

“Kai.” Kakashi said, but Sasuke was too practiced to let a simple dispel break his hold. “Kai. Kai.”

The darkness was to his knees now and still rising to engulf him. He closed his eyes to concentrate
on building up a larger dispel.

I’m not done yet. You wanted me at my worst. You’ll get it.

He sent along flashes of ‘guilt about betrayal’ just as Kakashi got closest to escaping. It manifested
as whispers and unnerved Kakashi enough to start shaking.

“Why did you kill her, Bakashi?”

But then he looked back at Sasuke with renewed intensity. Kakashi poured his chakra suddenly
into reversing the effect and it happened too quickly for Sasuke to prevent it. He sent all that hate
and pain back to Sasuke.

“You just need to admit it. You never loved me.”

Sasuke cursed, his body starting to shake. Kakashi was too good at copying others. Sasuke
shredded the genjutsu and then he pushed the memories back into a corner of his mind where he
did not have to think of them. That gave Kakashi enough time to build up a kai powerful enough to
break the original layer.

Kakashi did not pause for even a second. As soon as he was free from the illusion, he jumped back
and started moving through hand signs. Sasuke watched closely. First the Rat, then a snake sign.
There were a lot of jutsu that could be, but since Kakashi was testing him, he felt confident enough
to take a gamble.

His hands were moving twice as fast as his sensei’s. Kakashi went through three more signs and
then inhaled deeply. “Wind release: Vacuum serial waves!”

Sasuke finished his technique when the blades of wind were already halfway to him. They were
sharp enough to cut him apart. “Fire release: flame whip!”
The flames sprouted from Sasuke’s hands and he set them on his teacher. When they clashed with
the wind, they broke through Kakashi’s attack completely, absorbing the wind chakra and
barrelling towards Kakashi even greater than before.

Kakashi jumped back further, finding shelter behind a tree. Sasuke followed his chakra signature
disappearing to the other side of the training field. His hands were moving again and he used his
fire to hunt Kakashi down.

The jounin fell back further and further, but both Sasuke and his whip followed. Little was left of
the trees as every one of Kakashi’s hiding spots were decimated one by one.

“Suiton: water dragon!” Kakashi had reached a small lake and had used the water to make his
counter move. It tunnelled right through the fire technique’s base, destabilising the technique
enough to make it completely fall apart, before continuing towards Sasuke.

“Doton: Great cannonball!” Sasuke ripped a sphere twice his size from the ground and punched it
to launch it through the water dragon.

Kakashi only had a few seconds to respond with lightning and that meant he went with his
signature move. The air crackled with the sounds of chirping birds, before a great cloud of dust
replaced what had been a huge boulder. Kakashi turned his gaze at Sasuke.

Sasuke knew that his sensei would never use that technique on him. It was not a technique that one
used on teammates. But they were dancing and it was not done yet.

“Fuuton: whirlwind.” Sasuke brought his hands together and then released the wind chakra
powered technique in his teacher’s general direction.

Kakashi dropped the Chidori and went through more hand signs while jumping further back. The
wind was cutting into his clothing and leaving red strips across his skin before he managed to
finish his fire dragon. The wind fed it and it grew quickly to make his move on Sasuke.

But he had already positioned himself near the water. “Suiton: Water dragon.”

His teacher tried to summon the cannonball, but he fumbled on the final chakra manipulation. A
combination of chakra exhaustion and trying to copy a technique he had only seen once. The ball
was only a quarter Sasuke’s size and when he launched it, it only gave Kakashi a few seconds of
respite. He went for a more familiar earth technique and summoned a thick wall to keep him safe.

Sasuke prepared for the final move. He went through the signs and created the chidori. He started
running, his sharingan notifying him of Kakashi’s shadow clones and letting him dodge them. The
infamous tunnel vision that came with this jutsu was no problem for an Uchiha.

He reached the wall and pushed right through, the ball of condensed lightning stopping up a good
two feet from Kakashi’s face. Anyone watching would think he stopped too soon. Kakashi would
recognise it as the exact distance you use the chidori if you wanted to guarantee not to hurt
whoever you are attacking.

“Do not be fooled.” Kakashi had told him in another life. ”The power is concentrated in your
hand, but lightning spreads easily.”

“That was awesome!” Naruto yelled out. He was running towards them. “I need you to fight me
and show me some of those taijutsu moves. And I can’t believe you got through all the elements!
How much training have you been doing behind our backs?”
Sakura was keeping up with Naruto, but she seemed a lot less pleased. “You said we had surpassed
you.” She said. “But you’re stronger than Kakashi. What the hell, Sasuke?!”

“It was for the good of your training.”

“I don’t care about my training! You’re supposed to be our friend. Our family!”

“Sakura, calm down.” Naruto said. “We’ve always known he was ahead of us. No matter how
much we learned, he always had more to teach us. Yes, it stings that it’s much further than we
thought. But there are still things we can do that he can’t. Can you do the Mokuton, Sasuke?”

“No. The Sharingan is my only bloodline limit.”

Sakura still looked livid. “You don’t get it. My specialty is my genjutsu. Sasuke has gained a
height of expertise in it that makes my own achievements seem laughable in comparison. That was
like if Sasuke had sealing expertise. Which he probably has, considering how much he has helped
you, Naruto. How the hell has Sasuke been learning so much?”

Sasuke assumed the situation would not be helped if he said he had learned from the Uchiha
Archives. “I’ll try to explain. But there are still things I cannot tell you.”

“You were holding back when we fought Orochimaru.” She said. “On the bridge with Haku and
Zabuza.”

“And with the ANBU in your bedroom.” Naruto realised.

“In all those cases you were in less danger than you thought.” Sasuke admitted. “I couldn’t let you
know how powerful I was, but I would’ve put all that hesitation aside if it was needed. No matter
how much harder it would’ve been for us to become friends, your safety was most important.”

“You thought we wouldn’t be friends with you?” Naruto made a face. “Are you a complete idiot?”

“I love the two of you so much.” Sasuke said. “I couldn’t risk it.”

Sakura sighed. “We love you too, you dolt. I just don’t get how you got so strong so fast. At least
Naruto I can understand. He has his…” She stilled. She looked at Sasuke. “Can you do the Kage
Bunshin?” Sakura asked.

Naruto laughed it off, but Sasuke nodded.

“No.” Naruto said, his face stricken. “You’ve never made clones. You don’t have the chakra to
maintain them properly.”

Sasuke looked away, before making the hand seals and letting a dozen copies of him form around
him.

Naruto took a step back. Then another. He was running soon after.

Sasuke made a move to follow, but Sakura’s glare stopped him in his feet.

“Don’t you dare. I’ll go talk to him.”

“I didn’t mean…”

“I don’t care what you meant with it. We’re angry now and we have a right to be. If you care for us
at all, you’ll give us time and space to process this.”
“Wait!” Sasuke said.

Sakura hesitated, standing still for just a moment.

“I’ll give you space. I’ll stay in the Uchiha Platoon house, you two can have the manor.”

Sakura stayed silent for a few seconds, before nodding. She went after Naruto.

Kakashi shook his head. “I wondered how well you would be able to keep up. I never expected you
to better me in combat. Have I been slacking off that much?”

“You do spend an awful large part of the day reading the same book. Quite literally jerking around
with your training.”

“I was so sure there was only a little bit more to you. I saw your reactions when people attacked
you. It looked like you were so close to giving your all. But I still haven’t seen everything, have I?”

Sasuke shook his head. “I put limiters on my chakra pathways to control my reflexes. I relaxed
most of them before the fight tonight, but not completely.”

“I just don’t get how you could copy the chidori. You’ve only seen it once before the exam.”

“It’s a hard technique, that’s true.” Sasuke made the seals and chidori was formed on his palm. He
used too little chakra, so that it would be harmless and silent. “The ox sign gives stability, the
rabbit sign gives speed and the monkey sign is a nice touch. You could have used the snake to
make it easier to move during the technique, but it would have increased the risk of your allies
getting hurt by a stray bolt. Ending with the tiger would have made it more silent at the cost of
using even more chakra.”

“How did you…”

“I know jutsu. I understand them like no other ninja before me. You want to know what level I’m
at? I’m at the level where copying other’s jutsu have become unnecessary. I can just make my
own.”

“How long have you been able to do this?”

“To this degree? Only after I had learned to use all the elements. I got a better sense of how
everything felt and that led to understanding how everything fits together. But I’ve always had
somewhat of an intrinsic understanding.”

Kakashi sighed. “You’re a genius. Like your brother.”

Perhaps it was meant to sting. The Sasuke he had been in his past life might have been insulted to
be compared to the ninja whose genius had eventually resulted in the destruction of his clan. But
this Sasuke knew to look beyond what Kakashi was saying at first glance. “And like you.”

“Take it from one child prodigy to another. This life is not an easy one.”

“There is a reason I wanted to keep it secret. I did not know whether I could trust you. And when I
did know, I did not want to betray the trust you had placed in me.”

“It is supposed to be a happy feeling to be surpassed by your student.”

“Well, these are unusual circumstances.”

“What use is a sensei when there’s nothing left to teach?”

“I don’t think I ever really needed a sensei.” Sasuke said. “But I needed a family. And you helped
with that.”

Kakashi smiled. “I actually feel a little better now. You know, I spoke to the Hokage before
coming here.”

“Your disciplinary meeting.”

“On the nose. He demanded to know how you had gotten so powerful. Especially after the Land of
Waves, where he had reprimanded me for overstepping my bounds.”

“What did you say?”

“I told him that he could hardly blame me when I was not the ninja who had been training you. He
wanted to know if I had ever seen Danzo talking to you.”

Sasuke scoffed. “No.”

“Exactly. I was truthful and said you had no contact with a Konoha jounin besides me. That’s led
them to suspect there’s someone out there in contact with you without my knowledge. And he has
a plan to put an end to it. Before the day is out, every ninja in the village will have explicit orders
not to provide you with additional training. I have been ordered to keep a close eye and report any
ninja outside of team 7 teaching you anything. He’ll be sending random patrols too to check my
reports.”

“Sarutobi wants to freeze our progress.”

“I feel better now, knowing that you can still train Naruto and Sakura. I don’t always agree with
your crazy timeline, but I’d be happier if you went into the exams with the necessary preparation to
survive whatever comes your way.”

“You know we’ll have to go behind your back to acquire extra training.” Sasuke said. “Just
because everyone has been forbidden, does not mean we won’t try to find someone less beholden
to the rules. I already have two people in mind.”

“I figured that’s what you would do. I’ll have to submit regular reports to the Hokage on your
progress. It would be easier if he could have pulled me off the team altogether.”

“No.” Sasuke said. “Things aren’t easier when you’re away, Kakashi. We like having you around.”

“Oh my. This must be quite the day when your dear old sensei needs encouragement from his
precious little genin.”

Sasuke smiled. Guess things would work out fine between them. It was time to stop thinking about
if they would every have a relationship again, and start thinking about how to further rebuild it.
“Can I admit something to you?”

“Hm?”

“Ever since I’ve been able to make clones, I have kept some trailing you.”

Kakashi tightened. “What for?”

“To make sure you’re okay. I sent them after Naruto and Sakura too. I spend every second of every
day worrying something might happen to any of you. It hurt so much to lose all my loved ones the
first time around. I can’t let anything like that happen again.”

Kakashi looked out into the distance. “When my second teammate died, I couldn’t imagine
anything ever filling the hole it had left inside of me. For a long time I thought I would simply not
get attached to anyone, no matter how hard they tried – and believe me, I’m pretty cool so some
people tried really, really hard – and so there would never be anything more to destroy.”

“I know how that feels.” Sasuke said.

“We both moved on from that and I am happy for us.” Kakashi said. “But whenever we spent time
together, I feel like it’s the calm before some inevitable storm. Surely something will come along
to tear all this away. So, I get wanting to protect it.”

“Thanks.”

“How come I never sensed them?”

Sasuke gave the signal and his clones dropped from the trees. They were wearing an ANBU henge
and they were different enough from each other that a cursory glance would not expose them as
clones. They dropped the henge at the same time, before slowly building up their chakra to where
Kakashi could sense them.

Kakashi gasped. “That’s chakra suppression like I’ve never seen before. You could sneak up on
the Hokage like that.”

“I probably could.” Sasuke smiled. I had to sneak up on the best Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki.
Sarutobi has nothing on that.

“So how often have you followed me?”

“I never let you out of my sight. It’s been at least a month since I started following you. I try to
keep my distance, so I don’t listen in on conversations or read what you’re reading. I just wanted to
make sure you were safe, and that I would know the instant you were not.”

Kakashi sighed again. “I’m lucky to already live my life as if I’m being watched. I don’t suppose
one extra pair of eyes means very much in the grand scheme of things.”

“The signal to subtly ask for their help is this.” Sasuke said, before scratching along his ear.
“They’ll do what they can without being seen.”

Kakashi nodded, filing that information away for when he might need it. “I can’t help but wonder
how you’ve come across all this power.”

“I trained.” Sasuke said defensively.

“Yeah. And you read the ‘Uchiha Archives’.” Kakashi said. “I understand that you can’t tell me,
but I have a few credible theories how you pulled this off. Don’t be surprised if I guess before you
tell me.”

Yeah, right.

“You can make fun.” Sasuke said. “But every technique I’ve shown and every technique I taught to
Naruto and Sakura did come from the Uchiha Archives.”
“The Archives you won’t show us.”

“There’s trust and then there’s trust.” Sasuke said.

Kakashi shook his head. “So, it’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll make chuunin after the exams.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if you were the first ninja in history to get promoted to a higher rank
straight from genin.”

“We already completed enough missions to qualify for jounin. We’ll do whatever it takes to get a
reputation as the next Sannin. From there, it’s a small step to push Naruto to become Hokage with
us as his advisors.”

“There are a lot of old ninja who would oppose someone so young.”

Sasuke smiled. It was already a major improvement that Kakashi was entertaining the thought
enough to think of other obstacles. “It’ll be a major battle, but it’ll be necessary to make it a
political war instead of a political compromise. There is something deeply wrong with a village
that looks at Naruto’s kindness and sees only a weakness. Naruto is the kind of person who makes
things better. The kind of person who makes you want to be better.”

“Is my cute little genin talking about treason?”

“Gotta do something to pass the time.” Sasuke said. “Why not talk about revolutionising the very
foundation of our entire society?”

“Considering that there’s nothing more that you can blow my mind with, I should probably check
up on your teammates. See if they require any help.”

“Well, just a few more things.” Sasuke said, scratching the back of his head. If they were sharing
secrets, Sasuke might as well get it all over with. “You know how my sharingan has some control
over the Kyuubi, which I’ve been using to help Naruto train to control it. A sharingan that is, by
the way, completely developed, though I hide it most of the time. When we fought Itachi, I used
my control over that development to discuss some things with him.”

“What?”

“And we talked about how the Uchiha massacre was ordered by a Konoha official because the
Uchiha were planning a revolt.”

“Okay.” Kakashi said, sitting back down. “I think we’ll need to chat for a bit longer.”

~*~

Another report completed, handed off to a mouse to deliver it. The Uchiha District was completely
mapped out. Each person living in it was monitored and analysed.

Sai did not understand why he had been assigned there, but he was going to work on the mission to
the best of his ability. Like he always did. Even in the strange costume he had been given.

He went around the perimeter of the district again, searching for anyone who meant harm. The
instructions had been clear. Not a single person was to be harmed. Not a single item could be out of
place. Not a single building damaged. Those instructions had been repeated again and again. Not a
single grain of sand out of place until his plans were ready.

And so Sai went on. He was a tool. He would do whatever he was ordered to do. And the moment
 he was asked to burn the district to the ground, he would do it.

The hesitation he would feel for having so much of his work destroyed would be squashed down.
It was dangerous to grow affection. It was too dangerous.

As long as he worked for Danzo, orders were all that mattered.

Chapter End Notes

Next week march 3rd chapter 19: Calm before the storm. Naruto and Sakura get
trained for the Chuunin Exams and Sasuke keeps Kakashi busy.

A big chapter of around 40 pages and a lot happened in it. Glad I was able to take two
weeks to work on it. I was able to round out the battles and the genin interactions. Was
also able to work ahead a bit and set up the scenes in the next chapters that were
missing. Next two are relatively shorter and will fit neatly in a weekly update
schedule. *checks page count* Oh yeah, next chapter got expanded already. Whoo
boy, will simply have to power through. I'm far too excited about the Chuunin exam
finals.

So, I mentioned in a comment that I'm not following canon for the sake of following
canon. Sasuke's changed things, but also butterfly effect is limited. Nothing they've
done has interfered with plans for the Chuunin exams, or Orochimaru's plan to seek
out Sasuke. But the preliminaries are a bit of chance and a bit of rigging, and Sarutobi
is too unsure about Sasuke to give him a small opponent that wouldn't reveal more of
his real strength.
Naruto and Sakura got canon fights to play with expectations.

I had a weird tendency to write drawn-out fight scenes for Naruto and then only a page
or so for Sakura. And I had to reprimend myself when I realised I was doing that,
fastly expanding the fight between Sakura and Ino to actually have some emotional
stakes and showing off more of her abilities.

Next chapter is mostly going to focus on the montage of Naruto and Sakura preparing
for the Chuunin Exams. There's a bit of drama to talk out first and then it's off to
BAMF status.
 Calm before the storm
Chapter Summary

In which Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke have a talk about Sasuke's secrets. And in which
Naruto and Sakura prepare for the Chuunin Finals. And in which Sasuke steps on
some toes.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The funeral service was short, discreet. Just four people, quickly chiselling her initials into the
memorial stone. It wasn’t like they had left much of Sakura to bury. Their enemy had not wanted to
risk Konoha being able to revive her. They all said a few words and then the other two returned to
their duties.

“I’ll take care of the envoys.” Wagashi said. “You take all the time you need.”

“What about you?” Naruto asked.

“I’ll feel better if I can keep myself busy. Put that jounin promotion to good use.” She wore it with
pride, as much as her prepubescent face allowed.

“Okay.” Naruto, holding back the tears, kept staring at the stone.

There was a floral scent in the air and Sasuke kept trying to pick up Sakura’s perfume in it. Every
time there was a hint of it, Sasuke was again disappointed. It was the wrong mix. And he was not
even sure what the right mix was. Did it have peony? Or was it camellia? He had been so
convinced Sakura would be a constant in his life, he had only ever focused on recognising it.

“Promise me you will never die.” Naruto said suddenly.

“We are ninja.” Sasuke responded simply.

“Then, at least promise me you won’t die as long as I’m alive.”

“You’re the Hokage. You don’t get to make selfish requests like that just because you’re tired of
leading the village. We get to give our lives to protect you.”

“Can we pretend? Just for now?”

There was a breeze along the trees, rustling the leaves. A nearby river babbled.

“Okay.” Sasuke said softly. ”I promise to never die.”

Naruto rested his head on Sasuke’s shoulder. “Do you think she was happy? I keep thinking back
to my worst moments. I disappointed her so many times by being forgetful or unthoughtful or not
taking her as seriously as she deserved. I could have made her happier.”

“She was happy.”

They were so far away from the village, it was like it did not exist. No hospital to stress over. No
missions that would need the village’s strongest kunoichi to complete. No shops shouting out their
sales. It was quiet at the memorial stone. It was a nice resting spot for her.

“We should head back.” Naruto said, but when he tried to move Sasuke held him in place.

“Naruto, when my family was killed, it tore a big hole in me. Over the last years, the two of you
have been slowly filling it. I don’t know about Sakura, but I know I was happy. But now, I lost half
of myself again. I’m not like you, I don’t have anyone else.”

Naruto huffed. “You have more than just me.”

Sasuke shook his head. “If you passed away, there would be nothing left of me. Keep that in mind if
you want to act the hero and sacrifice yourself to save me.”

~*~

Sasuke was meditating behind the Platoon’s house when one of Naruto’s clones found him.

“The boss wants to talk.” It said before dispelling.

Sasuke finished cataloguing memories and information, opening his eyes and waiting for his
teammate to get to him.

Naruto looked a little pale, like he had not been sleeping right. Naruto did not let it affect him as he
sat down next to Sasuke, holding his legs.

“So, the thing is,” Naruto said, “I get why you’d want to have clones. They’re completely awesome
and incredibly useful and one of the best techniques.”

“There’s a reason one of the best ninja uses them.”

“Exactly. There are tons of ways they can help. They help around the house. They help with
missions. They help with reading and learning and pretty much anything.”

“Their uses are very versatile.”

“So I get why you’d want to learn it. Why didn’t you ever ask me to teach you? You know I would
have done it.”

“I didn’t want you to know I had the chakra for it.”

“So you went behind my back and just took my signature technique without asking?”

“I learned it before we became genin.” Sasuke said.

Naruto sighed deeply. “Now you tell me.

Sasuke looked away. “I regret how I handled this.”

“You should.” Naruto punched his shoulder. “You remember the first time you invited me to your
place? When I turned you down?”

“Of course.”

“I was afraid you were only interested in learning the kage bunshin. I knew you dismissed the idea
at the time, but you had to be interested at least a little with how quickly it let me improve. All this
time it’s been in the back of my head. What if the only reason Sasuke talked to me was to get his
hands on the shadow clone technique?”

“I would never…”

“I know that now, teme, after spending the whole night going over every interaction in the past few
months. I realised that we went through too much, that you sacrificed too much for us, for simply
wanting to get the clone technique. But it was a very shitty thing to put me through. I don’t like
having to doubt our friendship.”

Sasuke bumped his shoulder. “If it helps, I don’t like giving you cause to doubt it.”

“There’s something I want you to have.” Naruto said, before reaching into his vest and pulling out
a bundle of paper sheets. They were notes on the Kage bunshin.

“What is this?”

“A pretty big mess. All of my experience and thoughts about the shadow clone technique so far. As
well as a lesson plan for teaching it to others. I’ve been working on it for weeks.”

“I never saw you work on anything like this.”

“I’ve been compiling in my head, like you taught us. I wanted it to be a surprise. I was going to
finalise it this week and then offer to teach it to you. To repay you for all you’ve done for us. I
thought you might be ready to try one clone, if you were careful. Guess I was underestimating
you.”

“A little.” Sasuke rubbed at the grass. “But only a little. The first time I tried it, I messed up pretty
bad. The technique took away four times its normal chakra cost. It had me passed out for hours. It
would have probably been better to wait longer before trying it.”

“Karma’s a bitch.” Naruto grinned. “How long did it take you to learn?”

“Three weeks.” Sasuke said. Two weeks of fruitless efforts, before a week training with the
previous Naruto had finally taught him the intricacies. “Every time I did something wrong, it blew
such a large portion out of my chakra that I had to rest up. Even with chakra pills to help it along, it
was a slow process.”

“You were trying for three weeks by yourself? You stupid asshole!” Naruto let out a cry of
frustration. “After all your speeches about how I need to let others help me to get stronger, about
how nobody ever got there on their own, you stubbornly tried the same thing over and over again
for three weeks straight?”

Sasuke had to laugh. Naruto had him there. “I tried my best.”

“Your best isn’t good enough, teme! You need to be doing our best. We’re a team. If you had
waited to learn with my help, you would have learned it sooner. You would have been stronger.
We would be getting to our goals quicker.”

“I’m sorry to have offended.” Sasuke said. “I haven’t trained like that since we became a genin
team together. All that time before… I guess it’s easier to give advice than to follow it.”

Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke for a hug. “I didn’t like sleeping alone. I was angry, but I
kept worrying about you. I’d worry about ANBU getting to you, but I guess you’d thoroughly kick
their ass if they tried anything.”

“I missed you too. I started meditating here to at least get some rest.”

“Are you insane? You fought a crazy jinchuriki and a jounin on the same day. You’re coming
home right now. What did you even eat?”

“Ration bars.” Sasuke shrugged.

Naruto dragged him through the Uchiha Platoon’s house and had some choice words for the
bodyguards that were present about their lack of care. Sasuke shrugged apologetically at Gold and
Silver. They had just been treating Sasuke as the adult they knew him to be.

“What about Sakura?”

“She wants to talk to you too, but she’ll agree to let it wait.”

Naruto pulled him along into the Uchiha estate. Sure enough, Sakura was waiting for him, not the
least bit surprised to see him.

“Change of plans. We’re putting him to bed first. He didn’t sleep at all.”

Sakura glared at Naruto, before taking Sasuke’s hand away from him. “That just means I’ll be
quick. You two don’t get to air your grievances together and then pretend everything is fine with
me as well.”

Naruto stuck out his tongue at her, before moving into the kitchen. She guided Sasuke to his
bedroom and closed the door behind them. “I did a lot of thinking last night.”

“I hear that’s been going around.”

Sakura sighed. “I came to a conclusion. I don’t care that you’re stronger than me. I do work my ass
off, but I’m used to overcoming bad odds. You know I come from a civilian life. Everything I have,
everything we achieved, we worked hard for to get there. I’m proud of that.”

“As you should be.”

“Sasuke, this team was my escape. All my life I’ve had to pretend. You guys are the only ones I
have ever been able to truly be myself around. Why couldn’t you do me the same courtesy?”

Sasuke sighed. Trust Sakura to go right for the jugular. “I have secrets. I’ve never shied away from
telling you that.”

“Oh no. That’s not the same. We’ve accepted long ago that there were things you would not tell us.
We accepted that already. But that’s not the same thing as lying.”

“It isn’t.” Sasuke admitted. “I thought that I had to lie about what I could do to keep my secrets. I
got too used to doing that. I was wrong to keep it up for so long.”

“It put us in danger.” Sakura said. “We could’ve died because of your dishonesty.”

“I would never have let that happen.” Sasuke insisted.

“Just because you feel a certain way, doesn’t make it true.” Sakura said. “Did you mean for me to
block Haku’s needles? Did you mean for Orochimaru to mark you with his seal?”
Sasuke diverted his gaze.

“I just… I just don’t know if I can trust you anymore, Sasuke. And I hate feeling like that.”

This was wrong. Sasuke would trust Naruto and Sakura with his life. The three of them fitting
together, it was the one constant that should never change, a universal law. How had Sasuke
messed that up so badly? Was that… was that even a problem Sasuke could fix?

“Did you ever mean for us be your equals? Or were we just another part of your plan to get
reputation? Like you helped Hinata to make the Hyuuga accept the Uchiha clan?”

“You don’t understand why I lied.” Sasuke moved to his bookcase. Okay. At least that was a
problem Sasuke could fix. “Have you ever heard of the fable of the ant and the cat? It’s a story my
mother used to read to me.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“It’s about a little ant that is adventurous and bold. He moves away from his family and tries to
make it on his own. But when he builds a house, he fails. When he tries to gather food, he fails.
And then he sees a cat walk by, who seems to be able to do anything. The ant gets so frustrated. He
tries to do what the cat does, but he cannot defeat mice. He cannot jump over walls and he cannot
reach any of the warm sleeping spots that the cat reaches. He begs the cat to teach him, but the cat
tricks him and leaves him behind close to death.”

Sakura was looking at him attentively.

“The ant goes back to his family and they bandage his wounds. They help him build a house next
to theirs and they share their food with him. All those tasks that had seemed impossible by himself,
didn’t seem so hard when he could work together. Some things you just can’t do on your own.”

“That’s a pretty depressing moral for a children’s story.”

“It wasn’t when I had my mother to read me stories, a brother who sometimes helped me train,
more aunts and uncles than leaves on a tree. We were all a family in the compound and I grew up
believing my family would always support me. And then they were gone. For the longest time I
felt broken. Like nothing I did could ever be right. An ant without a family.”

“And then you found us.”

Sasuke had been a fool to go to Orochimaru. He had been a fool to try to take on the world by
himself. He had been dragging himself forward to avenge his clan, until Naruto and Sakura had
taken his hands and taught him how to run. “I found you and I wasn’t alone anymore. I never
meant to hurt you. But we were together and I was happy. And I was just so afraid it would end if I
showed you how strong I really was.”

“Then why did you need to keep training?”

“I can’t stand the thought of losing you. And there are bigger threats out there that I still can’t face.
I’ll never be able to face them alone.”

Sakura took a few deep breaths. “Sasuke. I left my home to get away from someone who lied to me
because it was for my own good. You can’t do this to me. Not ever again. You got that?”

“You want complete honesty?”

“I am happier here than I have ever been, but I need the promise from you. Do you promise to
never lie to me again?”

“There are still things I can’t tell you…”

“Keep your secrets. But never lie to me again. Can you promise that?”

“Yeah, I promise. I don’t want to be anything like your mother.”

“That makes two of us. I can’t let you take advantage of me.”

“I want to regain your trust, Sakura. Whatever it takes.”

“Do you trust us?”

“Of course.”

“Then stop hiding. Tell us whatever you can and give us the half-answers you’re concealing.”

Sasuke rubbed at his head. “Okay. I’ll need some coffee.”

“What you need is sleep.” Sakura made for the door. “Just because you need to speak to us, doesn’t
mean it has to be right now.”

Sasuke sat down on his bed. The mattress was soft and inviting. “I’ll set an alarm for twelve.”

“Sweet dreams. And Sasuke, if you ever pull this crap again, I’ll make you pay for it.”

Sasuke lay down and he realised he should be worried. That he should be going over strategies and
reciting his carefully crafted words. But his worst fears of their relationship breaking had not come
true. And that relief brought a calm to his mind that welcomed sleep. His explanations did not have
to be perfect. Naruto and Sakura were his family and they would understand.

~*~

Lunch was waiting for him when he went down at noon. He sat himself at the table and motioned
the bodyguards to move away. He waited until they were completely out of earshot. He looked to
Naruto.

“Did Sakura tell you?”

“Yeah.” Naruto picked at the remains on his plate. “I can’t really believe it. We’ve just so gotten
used to you evading our questions.”

“I know. I can’t say everything, but I’ll tell you what I can. When it comes to these secrets, there
would be dire consequences to them getting out. I’ll tell you what I can, and then you agree to
avoid the subject, okay? No asking probing questions to try to get at more of it. Can you do that?”

“Of course!” Naruto beamed. “I managed with Kakashi and my parents, didn’t I?”

“It’ll be hard.” Sakura admitted. “But yes, we can do that.”

“Okay then.” Sasuke said. “I’ll start small. The Uchiha massacre was not the sole responsibility of
my brother.”

“Th-that’s a small one?”

“In the grand scheme of things, yes.” Sasuke said. “There was another group called Akatsuki
responsible and they manipulated Itachi with the help of someone inside Konoha. Besides me and
Kakashi, only two people in the village know about any of this. Neither of them know that I
know.”

“I thought you wanted revenge on Itachi?”

“That’s what I want everyone to think so that they do not suspect I know about the group or
Konoha’s involvement. In truth, I think Itachi is gullible, not evil. But my desire for revenge is not
limited to the scapegoat.”

“Why…” Sakura took a deep breath. “I’m not supposed to ask follow-up questions.”

“You can ask what you want today.” Sasuke said. “I’ll answer if I can.”

“Why did they want to destroy your clan?”

Sasuke could not tell them about Madara yet. “The Akatsuki have a leader with… history with the
Uchiha. I can’t say any more.”

“I was talking about the person in Konoha.”

“Oh.” Sasuke chose his words carefully. “We were worth more dead than alive to them. And this
was the kind of person not bothered by ethical concerns. It’s not something to be worried about
now.”

“Okay.” Naruto sat back, trying to process. “So there was a massive conspiracy to pin the entire
massacre on your brother. And that’s one of the smaller secrets to share with us.”

“I know a technique that can destroy the world.” Sasuke said.

Sakura shook her head, rubbing at her eyebrows. “Of course you do.”

Naruto just gawked. “What the hell kind of technique is that?”

“A technique that would spark a revolution that humanity’s not strong enough to survive. It is
dangerous to know it exists, because to know it exists is to want to use it. And to use it, is to risk
more people learning about it. The less you know about it, the better. Suffice to say, it would be
very bad if it fell into the wrong hands. And unfortunately, it already has.”

“And why are you not freaking out about this all of the time?”

“Because there is still time. They do not yet realise the danger of what they hold. The best we can
do is become strong enough to stop them before they learn.”

“And then save the world.” Naruto said.

“Yes.” Sasuke nodded.

“Does the Sandaime know about this?” Sakura asked.

“Not to the extent that I do.” Sasuke said. “He cannot be told. He has too many responsibilities on
his shoulder and would be tempted not just to use it, but to teach it to others.”

Sakura looked at him. “Have you used it, Sasuke?”

“Yes. Many times. I’ve always tried to do good with it, though.”

“And is that also the reason why you’ve gotten so strong?”

“No.” Sasuke said. “In part.”

“The rest is from the Uchiha Archives?” Naruto asked, a slight grin on his face. “Oh can we visit it
now that you’re being all trustworthy?”

“It’s not a place you can visit.” Sasuke said. “It exists in my head.”

“That can’t be. We’ve seen scrolls from that library.”

“I made them myself.” Sasuke said. “When your training regime required something more specific
than there was a scroll to provide.”

“So… how did you get this strong then?”

“I suppose there were two techniques I used to get stronger. The second more minor one is the
technique that could destroy the world. But the first, the major one, the one I used before we
graduated as genin, is something I can’t tell you about yet. Not until after the chuunin exams.”

“Do you have a cool name for that one too?”

“The Most Forbidden Technique.” Sasuke decided.

Naruto and Sakura seemed to like the dramatics. They were not realising how serious Sasuke was
being. Time travel had been declared thusly by the Nidaime, who had uncovered the seal
instructions and had locked it away when he had read about the price. Only Hokage knew about its
existence. And Sasuke had been the first ninja since ancient times to use it.

“Is it something we could use to become stronger ourselves?” Naruto asked.

“No. It’s not something you could use. Even if you could, you would not want to. Even I never
would have, had I not been in the desperate situation I was in.”

“Then it hardly seems worth the effort to discuss it further. Especially if it’s another one of
techniques where it will hurt us to know about it.”

“It’s not like that. But the story is a long one, and I hope you’ll agree that it is better to wait until I
can tell it to you.”

“So,” Naruto counted on his fingers, “you have the Akatsuki with a leader you won’t talk about, a
technique that could destroy the world, and something Most Forbidden that made you strong. Is
there anything else?”

“One more thing, which is only fair you know about. I cannot tell you how I know, but there is a
very good chance that Konoha will get invaded by two foreign villages, led by Orochimaru, during
the final phase of the chuunin exam.”

Sakura and Naruto both dropped their foreheads to the table. “How could you possibly get that kind
of information? But okay. Fine. At least we won’t have to train for the exams. That’s one less
concern.”

“Oh no. The attack would happen sometime during the exam. Our promotion is still on the line.”
Sakura groaned. “W-we’ll just prepare for an impressive match that shows off all we can do, while
conserving all kinds of tricks and most of our chakra in case we have to fight in a war. How bad
can that be?”

Sasuke smiled. “Don’t forget the jounin were ordered not to train us.”

The two genin groaned into the wood while Sasuke started his lunch for real. “Jiraya is a
coincidence, but Tsunada is actually only in town because I asked her to. We should meet up with
her tomorrow.”

The two were banging their heads against the table then.

With all the need of secrecy, Sasuke had forgotten how much fun he could have telling the truth.

~*~

“Are you sure this is the place, Sasuke?” Sakura had spent many days in the slums and had helped
many people move to the Uchiha compound. But the slums still existed for the people who did not
want to leave and were happier with their less-than-perfectly-legitimate dealings away from prying
ninja eyes. And this was not the place Sakura had expected to find the legendary Slug Princess.

“I’m sure.” Sasuke said, before leading the three of them into a gambling den. There were tables all
around and a lot of civilians drunkenly placing bets on all kinds of games. Most were too busy to
notice three kids wandering in, but it was a good thing they had their forehead protectors tucked
away where they would not be seen.

“I don’t serve alcohol to children.” The barkeep said, dismissing them.

“We’re here to see the princess.” Sasuke said, before sliding a few coins over the bar.

The man made sure nobody was looking, before taking the coins and leading them around the
corner to a concealed door. He opened it to a backroom, where Tsunade was playing mahjong with
three other players.

“Shousangen.” One of the players declared.

Tsunade cursed, before handing over the last of her sticks. “Let’s go again.”

Sasuke cleared his throat.

When Tsunade looked behind her, she sighed and signalled the others to leave. “Let’s get this over
with. What do you want?”

Naruto looked the woman over. “I think we might be in the wrong place. Aren’t the sannin
supposed to be ancient?”

A single vein was trembling on Tsunade’s face. “What are you saying, you brat?”

Sasuke stepped between them. “He’s merely appreciating the effectiveness of your transformation,
hime-sama. My teammates already know that you came here because I did you a favour.”

Sakura sat down opposite to the woman. “So that you can train me.”

“Hell no. I agreed to come here to meet you. I don’t normally take on apprentices.”

“I know, Tsunade-sama.” She said. “I’m already grateful for the meeting. That said, I will not take
no for an answer.”

“If you were planning on making a good impression, you’ve failed already.”

“I’m sorry if it offends you, but I am merely stating a fact. My teammates depend on me and I
refuse to be left behind. I know I have what it takes to learn from you and, knowing that, I’m afraid
I will not leave you alone until you take me under your wing.”

“That sounds like quite a lot of trouble. I’ll pass.”

Sakura tilted her head. “Excuse me?”

“I’m not going to do it. So hurry along. I’m getting those gamblers back for a rematch.”

Sakura raised her hand, before bringing it down and crushing the Mahjong table into a thousand
pieces. Tsunade was barely able to grab her bottle of sake and step back.

The commotion shook the entire establishment and brought all the background chatter to stillness.
Sakura was smiling brightly. “Maa, how will you play without a table?”

“Where did you learn how to do that?” Tsunade’s mouth was open.

“The Uchiha Archives.” Sakura said. It sure was a handy little lie to use. “It took me a few weeks
to get it down, but my other projects did distract me.”

“What other projects?”

“Well, there is only so much chakra exercises you can do before tiring. At that particular point in
time we were reviewing genin basic first aid for our theory, and speed training for our bodies.”

“Hmmm.” Tsunade looked Sakura over again. “There is still a lot to be done.”

“Of course.”

“I won’t take any complaining or dawdling.”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

“Okay then.” Tsunade sighed. She downed the rest of her sake and wiped her mouth with her
sleeve. “Training starts tomorrow at nine. I hope you don’t take after that sensei of yours. Every
minute you’re late is a lap around Konoha.”

Sakura gave her a thumbs-up and started backing off. Sasuke dragged Naruto away with them
before he could make Tsunade regret her decision. He would get another chance to get to know her
better, but for now it was probably better not to throw dynamite at their shaky agreement.

“Next stop, the ladies’ bathhouse.” Sasuke said.

Naruto grunted. “Are all ninja this messed up?”

“Most of them, yeah.” Sasuke smiled. “Of course, we’ll be the exceptions.”

Sakura laughed, before having to step out of the way of some running children who had almost
bumped into her. “We’ll blow them all out of the water with our issues.”

“But if you don’t mind, I’ll put ‘becoming less mentally stable’ on the bottom of our to-do list.”
They made the rest of their trip with quiet determination. They still had a Sannin to impress.

~*~

“Hush! You’re scaring away the pretty ladies.” Jiraya whispered, barely paying any attention to the
three ninja standing beside him.

“I see…” Sakura said, before stepping off. “Excuse me, I have business to attend to.”

Naruto just shook his head. “Are you sure about this guy, Sasuke? He doesn’t seem like a cool
ninja. Like, at all.”

“Well, he’s certainly influential. You know that erotic novel Kakashi keeps reading? He’s the
author.”

“Him?!” Naruto’s eyes went wide. “So he’s just a massive pervert. Great. Sakura gets the alcoholic
gambler, but I have to be taught by Ero-sennin.”

“Now look kids.” Jiraya said. “If you’re here for an autograph, you’re just out of luck. I don’t do
meet and greets with the fans during my research.”

“I’m sorry for wasting your time.” Sasuke said. “But we’re in need of instruction. And I just
figured you might want to talk with Naruto, considering who his father was.”

Jiraya froze, before standing up carefully. “Now why would I be interested in some random
orphan’s parents?”

“You know that’s not true. I know that’s not true. Even if Naruto doesn’t know the details, he
knows it isn’t true.”

“Will you at least hear us out?” Naruto asked.

“Even if I would want to listen, when I got back to Konoha I was only told two things. One, I had
to report to the Hokage immediately for a friendly chat that is actually a debrief. Two, don’t dare to
take anyone from Team 7 as a student.”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head uneasily. “Look, I just need somebody to train me for the
Chuunin exams. There aren’t that many seal makers in Konoha, and none as good as you.”

“I don’t have time to teach some brats the basics and watch him explode all the time.”

“I’m well passed exploding tags, Ero-sennin.” Naruto smirked. “I can plant them on any surface
after a few moments of concentration. I’ve made storage seals, too. I want to make my own seals.”

“That’s even worse! You shouldn’t learn to copy seals until you have a firm grasp of making your
own. You’ll never attain true mastery with other people’s designs cluttering up your head.”

“I do make my own!” Naruto said. “It’s been hard and frustrating, but I haven’t copied a single seal
from someone else.”

That gave Jiraiya some pause. “Still. Sealing is a notoriously difficult craft that is not suited for
everyone. It can take years to learn. A month won’t even leave a dent in it. Maybe, just maybe you
could learn a summoning technique in that timeframe. That’s even on the special list of loopholes I
wouldn’t be blamed for teaching you.”

“You don’t know how motivated I can get.”

“It’s not about motivation, kid. Sealing is more art than science. You need to be more experienced
before you can grapple it.”

“I have plenty of experience.” Naruto objected.

Jiraiya grinned sceptically.

Sasuke coughed. “I think he’s trying to say that you’re too young.”

“I’ll show you. I’ll learn that summoning technique from you within days and then you’ll have
plenty of time to teach me sealing!”

“I didn’t agree to anything like that. I still don’t see why I should just drop my productive research
for a fool’s errant.”

Sasuke grinned. “Well, one reason is that Naruto knows a technique that will help you research.
And pretty soon, it’ll be the only way to get any research done at all.” He motioned to the
bathhouse.

Dozens of women, hastily dressed and out on the war path, were coming their way. Leading the
charge was Sakura. “He’s right this way ladies.” She was cracking her knuckles.

“You should run.” Sasuke said. “She’s training to be just like your old teammate Tsunade. She
already has the super strength down.”

Jiraiya’s eyes went wide. “Meet me here tomorrow at noon. I’ll see what we can make out of you.”

Naruto sighed. “I’m happy he agreed, but I really wish he wasn’t such a pervert.”

“You survived Kakashi, didn’t you?”

~*~

When they were back at the Uchiha compound, Sasuke went into the kitchen to quickly throw
something together. Naruto and Sakura stood nearby.

Naruto dawdled. “You know, I would offer to help, had I not recently learned that you are perfectly
capable of having extra hands whenever you want.”

“It’s a fair point.” Sasuke said, making a hand seal and letting a kage bunshin help him prepare.
“Though I’d still prefer not to make clones outside of the house where others could learn about it.”

“You’re still keeping up the charade?”

“Just like Sakura and her mokuton.” Sasuke said. “We need the proper timing to reveal ourselves.”

“So, the chuunin exams.” Sakura said. “Fighting an enemy invasion force.”

Naruto smirked. “You got to admit, it’ll be quite dramatic. All these jounin around panicking, and
we just blow them all out of the water.”

Sakura sighed. “It’s just too soon. Only a month away. Even with our new teachers, I don’t know if
it will be enough.”

“We still have each other.” Sasuke said. “It’ll be enough. But now that you mention it, I do think
there is one more thing that will help us bond as a team.”
“What’s that?”

Sasuke let his clone finish off, while leading his teammates into the backyard training area.
“Naruto, it’s up to you for the final say, but I think Sakura is ready to learn the Kage bunshin.”

Naruto beamed. “That would be perfect. It’d be our team technique!”

“Are you sure I have the chakra?” Sakura asked. “Kakashi-sensei is always telling us how
dangerous the technique can be if you mess up.”

“That’s only if you mess up.” Sasuke said. “Your chakra control is too good for that. And we’ll be
helping you all the way. The moment something even threatens to go wrong, we’ll step in.”

Sakura nodded. “So where do we begin?”

Sasuke turned his sharingan to her. “Naruto, can you tell her the steps?”

“Course!” Naruto could hardly contain himself. “First you make the horse seal and use it to get
your chakra all fired up and ready to go. Then you make the tiger seal and use it to slash your
chakra in two, like this! Kage bunshin no jutsu!” Naruto demonstrated by making the signs slowly,
and suddenly there was a second Naruto standing next to him. “The technique takes care of the rest
once you say the words.”

“The proper separation is key.” Sasuke added. “Naruto can get away with doing it a bit roughly,
since his chakra pools are big enough that they’ll fix themselves. You and I need a bit more finesse
to make sure the chakra construct is stable enough. This isn’t like other clone techniques where
you only need to give enough to make a single clone. You have to balance it so that it contains half
of your chakra.”

“Okay… that does not sound easy.”

“Which is why you’re going to practice. Just make the signs and separate your chakra. I’ll tell you
if you can complete the technique or not.”

“Okay then.” Sakura sighed. She made the first sign and Sasuke could see her chakra flurrying
quickly in all directions. Then she cut with the tiger seal.

“That was too shallow.” Sasuke said. “Wait a few seconds for the chakra to mend and then try
again.”

The second attempt was much better, but the cut was still not clean enough for a functional clone.
It took twenty tries, before Sasuke was satisfied. By that time Sakura had a much better sense of
what to look out for and she refused to try the technique before it was at her standards. That
basically meant it had to be perfect.

She got there a small half hour, and eighty tries, later.

“It’s so surreal to look at a reflection of myself.” She said, gazing at the clone in front of her.

“I’ll say.” It responded.

“Naruto, how do you deal with this all the time?”

“It gets better over time. It helps to think of them as super fans who are dressing up like you
because they think you are really awesome. That’s why they call me boss, you know.”
Both Sakura looked horrified at that suggestion. “I would feel horrible as the target of a fan club.”

Sasuke shrugged. “I like to think of them as members of my army. We’re all just wearing the same
uniform.”

“That doesn’t sound much better.”

“I have a suggestion.” The clone said. “I could call you Aneki.”

Sakura like that a lot better. “I’ve always wanted a little sister. I think that’d work very well,
Imouto.”

“Now that that’s taken care off, we have a busy afternoon ahead.” Sasuke said. “Your first dispel is
going to feel weird, but you need to get used to it. Knowing the technique is only the beginning to
figuring out how to master it.”

Naruto already had more clones ready. “I have so many things to show you that’ll blow your
mind.”

~*~

Dinner was strange. Naruto and Sakura really wanted to talk about the Sannin teaching them, but
they could not say a word as long as Kakashi was there. The bodyguards were extra silent as well,
too anxious they might slip and say something that Kakashi would have to report and let Sarutobi
realise they were more help to Team 7 than anyone expected. Kakashi knew asking the wrong
questions might lead to him reporting on his students, or lying to the Hokage, neither of which
were preferable. After exchanging pleasantries, that left a lot of silences in the room.

Sasuke only had one way to break through that. “I was thinking we might solve social inequality in
our spare time.”

Sakura looked taken aback, before nodding and going along with it. “We have a month where
we’re not doing anything, since nobody’s allowed to train us. Might be good to use that time to
give back to the community.”

Kakashi sighed. “I don’t think that’s quite what the Hokage had in mind when he put you on
medical leave.”

“We’ve got to do something to pass the time, right?” Naruto smiled. “It’ll be great to help people.”

Sasuke nodded. “Plus, you know, as a bonus it’ll prove to Konoha that you’d make an amazing
Hokage.”

“Like that matters.” Naruto shrugged. “I’ll get appointed no matter what, and then they’ll see for
themselves.”

“So Kakashi, want to help?” Sasuke offered.

“What do you mean?”

“You need to be babysitting us anyway, right? Might as well let something good come out of it.”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you tell me you would be finding someone to train you? That
sounds hard if I’m tailing you all of the time.”

Sasuke smiled. “Why, the very suggestion that we would go against the Sandaime’s wishes is
preposterous. It’s the least we can do after getting you into so much trouble. If you’re stuck in
Konoha, you can at least be stuck here with us.”

“And it’s not like we can be in multiple places at the same time.” Naruto said. “So if you see us,
that means you know exactly where we are.”

“Right…” Kakashi said. He shook his head in resignation. “What are you planning on doing?”

“Well, there is a severe lack in the social security net in Konoha.” Sasuke said. “Unable to change
the policies, we’ll have to make up the deficiencies ourselves.”

“Yeah.” Naruto said. “Basically, when people get into a bad situation, there is nobody to help them
get out of it. They have to scrape the bottom of the barrel just to make it through another week,
another month, which leave them with nothing to climb out of the hole they’ve found themselves
into.”

“Which is where we come in.” Sakura said. “A hole isn’t much of a problem for a ninja who
knows earth ninjutsu. There are a bunch of problems we are in a position to easily fix.”

“Like the people from the slums that lacked a roof over their head and have their housing in the
Uchiha district now.” Sasuke said.

“If there are bad guys, we can lock them up.” Naruto said.

“If there are money problems, we can donate some of our earnings.” Sakura said.

“Whatever small or big way we can find to help.”

Kakashi stared at them for a while, before smiling. “You know, I’ve heard dog therapy to be a
great relieve from anxiety.”

~*~

After Kakashi had left, they moved the dirty dishes into the kitchen for cleaning up.

“How do you want to multitask this?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke ran the water into the sink. “Doing the dishes? Need it explained to you again?”

“No, teme. I was obviously talking about your new crusade to fix the village.”

“Well, I’d be happiest if I could get a clone from both of you. There’s a lot of ground to cover and
it is a lot easier to brainstorm if your team members have a mind different from your own.”

Sakura started drying the dishes Sasuke had washed. “Won’t Kakashi’s reports be a little
suspicious if Naruto never makes any clones?”

“I can make them and pretend they’re Naruto’s if it comes up. But it would be good if the original
Naruto could join me sometimes.”

Naruto sighed, before taking a dry dish and putting it away in the cupboard. “The thing I don’t
understand though, is why they’re all so against us getting stronger. Wasn’t that the whole point of
us becoming ninja?”

Sakura shook her head. “We’re still children, Naruto. They don’t want us getting in over our heads.
We’ve been over this.”
“It’s stupid! Kakashi was surprised we’d been training when we were forced to defend ourselves in
the Land of Waves against an enemy jounin. And now there’s an invasion to prepare for and we’ll
be caught in the middle, but nobody wants us strong enough to survive! They let Kakashi get a lot
stronger than we are now when he was half our age.”

“That was different. There was a war going on. They needed every person they could get.”

“What’s so different now?” Naruto said. “We’re a month away from another one! Wouldn’t it be
better if they had as many capable ninja as possible?”

“We’re going to be young jounin.” Sakura said. “And jounin are expected to risk their lives every
day. The only way to make sure children are not sent in to fight, is to make sure children can’t
become jounin.”

“That’s one way to look at it.” Sasuke said. It was time they learned more about the problems they
were facing. “But it’s not the whole story. They like being the gatekeepers to power and
knowledge. It’s how our society was built.”

“Who are the ‘they’ in that sentence?”

“The people in power, generally speaking. It’s not like the Sandaime wakes up every morning with
a deep desire to dangle a carrot in front of our eyes. But he values the techniques this village has
created, and so feels like those techniques have to be earned. The more we have to do to earn the
technique, the more respect we signal. And therefore, the more respect is entitled to the people
who already know those techniques.”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “That sounds farfetched.”

“Take the Will of Fire. It’s the fundamental principle of the whole village, right?”

Sakura nodded. “It’s the collective love for the village, nurtured by the ninja who have come
before and passed onto the next generation. Konoha ninja are known as the fiercest fighters,
because we fight for each other selflessly.”

“It sounds so nice.” Sasuke said. “But in the end, it is propaganda. It lays the seeds to ignore your
own thinking in favour of serving the village. Strength is kept from us until we prove that we have
the Will of Fire. But they test our Will by seeing how well we can follow orders. Will we keep the
system going, or will we make trouble? If we are the sort to make trouble, it is probably better to
keep us weak enough to squash us.”

“That sounds so cynical.” Sakura said. “Doesn’t it make sense to have some checks and balances in
place? You don’t want ninja like Orochumaru showing up and gaining power completely
unchecked.”

“Orochumaru is an extreme, but one of the reasons he is extreme is that there is no weaker dissent
allowed. And if you are going to be labelled a traitor of the village for a minor offence, why not
commit the bigger offence as well?”

Naruto shook his head. “People should always be able to voice their objections.”

“The way Konoha has been built, asking people to voice their objections is akin to asking them to
betray the village. To betray all the ninja that have come before and worked so hard to leave us the
world as it is today.”

“Fine, then how do we solve it? What are the answers?”

“Radical change.” Sasuke said. “It isn’t enough to compromise your way to Hokage. You’d have to
force your way there and replace the whole command structure. Make a couple of unpopular but
necessary changes and pave the way for the next generation to grow up knowing only peace.”

“Like what?”

“Raise the age that people can become ninja to eighteen.” Sasuke said. “Sarutobi’s desire to
eliminate child soldiers is noble, but a half-measure won’t cut it. Clans will be angry that they’ll
have to wait longer before their members are counted as active ninja, but they’ll just have to suck it
up. Integrate with the other villages using exchange programs so that we’re too reliant on each
other for war to be an option. The old guard will think it’s too dangerous, which is why they
shouldn’t get a say in how the younger generation treats friendships from other villages.”

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other for quite a while. “What you’re describing, sounds like
treason.”

“There are too many incumbents to fix Konoha any other way. The only other solution would be to
found our own Hidden Village and lead by example.”

Naruto smiled. “We could revitalise Uzushio. It would be really fulfilling to bring back the
Uzumaki clan. Who knows, maybe there are even some surviving family members who would join
us there.”

“They would never let us do that.” Sakura said. “We’d have to become missing nin.”

“But we wouldn’t be like normal missing nin.” Naruto stressed. “We’d help everyone out and be
super nice.”

“What do you think, Sasuke?”

“I think we’re not normal, no matter what we end up being. And I get wanting to rebuild a clan. It’s
what I’m trying to do with the Uchiha. I think Konoha is our home, and that means it deserves to
be fought for.”

“You’re just saying we have to get rid of some unsightly people in power first.”

“I’m just saying that not everyone in Konoha is our ally and that some people will work against us,
no matter how many innocent people it hurts.”

“Hard to argue with you, if you weaken your stance so much that it actually becomes reasonable.”
Naruto said. “Can you believe we’re going to be taught by actual Sannin tomorrow?”

Sakura grimaced. “I’m happy, but they seem very damaged. Just because they’re powerful, doesn’t
mean they’re good teachers. Are we absolutely sure they’re the right ninja to train us?”

Sasuke shrugged. “It can’t hurt to at least try it out, right?”

~*~

“I hate that fucking pervert.” Naruto moaned.

“I hate that fucking drunk.” Sakura joined in.

Sasuke patted their shoulders. “Was it that bad?”

“He let me sign a summoning contract, which seemed really cool. But then he just let me try to do
a summoning the whole freaking day. Even with clones, I never got farther than a tadpole. He
wouldn’t give me any feedback or anything. Just told me not to bother him until I’d figured it out.”

“At least he let you do something.” Sakura said. “Tsunade has me on this crazy hard chakra control
exercise to learn the chakra scalpel, with a butt load of theory whenever my chakra runs out. I’m
not allowed to even attempt a medical jutsu until I’ve properly mastered both.”

“If it helps, I didn’t get far with Kakashi either.” Sasuke said. “He’s still treating this as a joke.”

“We know. Are you sure it’s all right using clones to finish up?”

“Yeah, Kakashi wasn’t coming back. Reconnaissance is hard work, but not very difficult. I can
finish that up by myself. Besides, now that you guys are back, we have more pressing concerns.”

Naruto sighed. “If you’re going to say more training, I will be very tempted to punch you.”

“I was actually thinking of working on something else than taijutsu.”

It was Sakura who punched his shoulder. Since he was still standing upright and not lying outside
in a puddle, he was fairly confident she was not objecting seriously.

“I’ll have my sharingan help you out. We only have a month’s time. I promise it’ll be better. Now,
time for clones. Orange, you’re with original Naruto. Pink, you’re with Sakura’s clone as a study
buddy.”

~*~

Tsunade groaned. “I already told you. Not until you’ve mastered the chakra exercises and can
recite the theory.”

Sakura smiled. “Yes, so right now.” Her hand glowed with the blue of the scalpel. “Ask me
anything.”

“The bone between the scaphoid and triquetral?”

“The lunate bone.”

“At what body temperature does someone reach hypothermia?”

“Mild symptoms from 35 degrees Celsius, moderate from 32, severe from 28. Death at 20
degrees.”

“Hmmph.” Tsunade grabbed a kunai and handed it over. “Cut this.”

Sakura hesitated. The scalpel was strong and sharp, but metal was too dense. Her confusion lasted
for just a second, before running her scalpel over the bandages wound around the base of the
weapon. They fell away easily.

Tsunade examined the blade. “Smart thinking, but I just needed to see the attempt. You left an
indent of a fifth of an inch. I consider the technique learned when it leaves a scratch at least a
twentieth of an inch deep. Fine, I’ll teach you.”

“Shishou, how deep an indent do you leave?”

Tsunade brought her fingers to the thickest part of the kunai and lazily swiped across. The resulting
gash was at least an inch deep.
Sakura paid very close attention. There was a beauty with how easily the Sannin shaped her chakra
to perfection and did something that should be impossible. “I’ll work on it. I’ll try to get it at least
that far by the end of the week.”

Tsunade grinned, downing a glass of sake that she had poured herself. “Okay, the kid gloves are
coming off. You want to learn? I’ll fucking teach you everything I know. Try to keep up.”

~*~

“You’re slacking off.” Jiraiya said as he arrived. He settled in a nice position over the women’s
baths. No matter how high the extra wall was that Sakura had erected with her ninjutsu, there was
still a small gap that he could glimpse some flesh through every few minutes. “I told you to start
without me.”

“Yeah, but then I was told to stop.”

“What? By whom? Some random guy walking by? You’re going to let some old ninja tell you what
to do?”

“Yo, don’t be disrespecting us.” A little red toad said, from behind Jiraiya. He was joined by a
dozen other toads all around him. “The orders came from the big boss.”

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. “And what were those orders exactly?”

“Stop summoning us for practice, it’s clear you’ve got it down by now, I’m getting nauseous from
the repeated trips to Konoha, stop, for the love of kami, stop. If Jiraya has a problem with it, send
him to me. That kind of stuff.”

Naruto grinned. “Now how was I supposed to go against that?”

The toad sage groaned. “Okay. We can work on your seal work.”

Naruto whooped, before thanking the toads and dismissing them.

Jiraiya fished out a scroll and scribbled on a paper. “Fix this.” He settled back in to do his minimal
research.

Naruto stared at it for just a second. “It can’t be fixed. It’s unstable.”

“You’re not even going to try?”

He unrolled the scroll further. “It can’t be done. It needs a full redesign. It’s obviously some kind
of storage seal. Is that a preservation matrix?” He was already redoing the seal. “I don’t know what
all the modifiers do, but you can’t have a two prong seal with three modiers each. You need a
triangle base for that.”

Jiraya came over for a better look. “How do you know about seal bases?”

“I told you, I’m not a beginner.” Naruto said, before giving the seal some thought and adding the
character ‘stability’ in the final section. “But here’s where I get stuck. What am I supposed to do
next?”

Jiraiya frowned, before shaking his head. “You are way too young to be learning any of this.” He
said. “But kage forgive me, I guess a promise is a promise.”

~*~
Kakashi sighed as they helped another old lady with her groceries. “You said you were doing me a
favour by including me. Why does it feel so much like punishing me?”

“We’re doing the paperwork for you, aren’t we?” Sasuke said. “These are the necessary first
steps.”

“And what exactly are we doing here?”

“You know, now that we’re being a lot more honest to each other, you could just engage me
seriously.” Sasuke noted. “I know you have at least half of it figured out already.”

Kakashi smiled. “My little genin are growing up so fast.”

“So, what have you noticed already?”

“You are picking up undesirable D-ranks, the kind that nobody wants to touch. You are using them
to talk to disenfranchised people, let down by the current system. You are making a lot of
connections to a lot of people. You are laying the groundwork for a bigger plan. I can’t help but
think though that there would be simpler ways to get to people than taking on these missions.”

“It makes sense in the bigger picture.”

“Whatever you’re going to do, will involve helping these people. There are several ways to do that.
You could find ways of making their problems stop being problems for Konoha. That would work
for some people, but not all of them have problems that can be fixed.”

Naruto joined in on the conversation. “I thought we were going to fix all of the problems.”

“Take Mrs. Yamahura, who we’re getting groceries for.” Sasuke said. “We could find a specific
non-ninja solution, like finding a strong neighbour who doesn’t mind doing groceries for her while
he’s doing his own anyway. We could also find a general non-ninja solution, like a contract with
the supermarket to cheaply deliver groceries for everyone having trouble. Obviously we cannot
always find general solutions, but often enough we won’t be able to find specific solutions either.”

“Sounds like giving up to me.” Naruto said.

“I’m not saying give up.” Sasuke noted. “I’m saying, we have to be realistic with our goals if we
only have a month. Some tasks will stay recurring D-rank missions no matter what we come up
with.”

Kakashi continued. “The other way to solve this is on Konoha’s ninja side. You could force more
ninja to take on these D-rank missions, under diplomatic pressure. I don’t think you have enough
clout for that, but you managed other things with the clan leaders that I would’ve thought
impossible.”

“It would be redirecting the problem to vital security.” Sasuke noted. “I don’t want to fix the
village, only to be left more vulnerable to outside attack. Nobody is happy if we tempt more
enemies into attacking us by decreasing our patrols.”

“So, what am I glossing over?”

Sasuke smiled. “Is there any reason why it needs to be a ninja who does these D-ranks?”

“Quite a few. There are whole rulebooks about that.”

“Any practical reason?”

Kakashi shrugged. “I don’t suppose. Besides all the backlash you would get. I don’t think you can
get enough connections to actually push through opening up ninja jobs to civilians.”

Naruto looked confused. “What’s the big deal? There’s too much work for it all to get done
anyway. Why not let ninja focus on work that only ninja can do?”

“Hypotheticals.” Sasuke said. “There’s a fear of a slippery slope where if they let some civilians
help a little with a little of the work, it means no ninja job is going to be safe.”

“Fundamental principles are only fundamental principles if they always apply.”

“So, here’s what you missed.” Sasuke said. “The Uchiha are a very old family. Though not every
Uchiha can develop a sharingan, there is nobody outside of the Uchiha who can develop one.”

“I do pretty well with the Sharingan.” Kakashi said.

“And how they hated that. But it is not in your genes. The incident is contained and so, after much
grumbling debate, they could allow you be left alone. But there are other outliers. Ninja born in
other families who get worked up and manifest red eyes at some point in their lives.”

“A quirk of genetics.”

“Exactly. Now, what is a noble family to do with that fact? The only thing they valued more than
the Sharingan, was their traditions. You couldn’t just adopt a teenager who spent his childhood
outside of the family. Just imagine what kind of drama you’d drag in. And so they developed
massive bodies of guardianship laws for any situation where they wanted to include outsiders into
the clan with varying levels of responsibility.”

“You’re saying you can bring anyone you want under the Uchiha wing.” Kakashi said. “And I
know enough of your buddies would be interested. How does that help?”

“Not all outsiders were able to graduate the Academy, due to lack of resources. They would have
the talent and with a small amount of tutoring reach the level required to pass the next Academy
exam. Of course, that might take too long. So there are ways to give ninja privileges to an Uchiha,
even if they’re not a ninja.”

“The mentorship programs.” Kakashi realised.

“Yes. As soon as they’re under Uchiha guardianship, I can nominate them as genin. They would
never pass an exam, of course, but that’s not a problem if we never schedule one. As long as they
have not been disqualified in a test, they are presumed capable and they can take on ninja
missions.”

“But they would have to be supervised.” Kakashi said. “Unless… the supervisor, which would be
you, had already completed the particular mission before to determine it easy enough to be handled
by itself.”

“That’s exactly what we’re doing. Those wanting the honest work can take on D-ranks that ninja
don’t have time for, all within the existing framework of laws.”

“That’s major if you can pull it off. Won’t the elder ninja riot even if it’s technically legal?”

“It’s the other reason we’re visiting all these people and talking to them.” Sasuke said. “We want to
make sure that if there’s a riot of ninja against these reforms, there’s also a riot of civilians to
support them.”

“So this is what you meant with fixing inequality.”

“Well no. I told you. It’s just step one.”

~*~

“An impressive display.” Shino said. His expression was stoic though as he followed Sasuke along
the streets. He was the complete opposite of Hinata, who was showing every emotion on her face.
“And you say the plantation is only a few weeks old?”

“The land is very fertile.” Sasuke said. He did not mention Sakura had fun practicing her Mokuton
there.

“I see.”

“The art is very vibrant.” Hinata said. They passed another wall and more vistas were depicted
along its length. These were exaggerated depictions of Team 7’s dragon techniques.

“One of the bodyguards wanted to paint the side of his house. The children saw and wanted to join
in. And from there it got out of hand.”

“You don’t mind?” Hinata asked. “How would the elders feel if they had to visit here?”

“They’re just buildings. And the elders would be horrified by the population of the Uchiha District.
Having already lost any chance of their approval has freed us from their opinion.”

“Wasn’t there another building you wanted to show us?” Shino asked.

“Yes, the community centre.” Sasuke led the way to a large building that had once been one of the
larger manors in the district. Walls had been knocked down to leave only a few large rooms.
Sasuke opened the door to let Hinata and Shino through, followed closely by Gold and Silver who
were their escorts for the day.

The room they entered had a large table on the side with a shogi board set up. Chouji was hunched
over a finished game.

Across from him was Ai, the eleven year old Shogi enthusiast. She was short for her age, with
black hair and eyes. Her mother had been a drug carrier in the slums to finance Ai’s ninja
education, but since their move to the compound Ai’s mother had become a messenger for Jun and
Aunty.

“You need to learn to be more offensive.” Ai said. “If you stay on the defensive all game, you’ll
never make any progress.”

“Any time I try to attack you punish right away.” Choji said

“That’s no reason to stop trying!” Ai laughed. She scratched her chin. “Want another game?”

Choji nodded. “I really don’t know how I can repay you.”

“Are you kidding? In your taijutsu lesson yesterday you fixed more mistakes in my form in three
minutes than I learned in three weeks at the Academy.”
“You were basically teaching yourself.” Chouji insisted. “It’s incredible how far you’ve gotten
without clan support.”

“She does have clan support now.” Sasuke said. “Uchiha support.”

“Of course. No offence meant.” Chouji’s cheek turned pink. “Let’s play another game.”

“Hold up a second.” Sasuke said. “I’ve just given Hinata and Shino the tour of the district. I
thought this would be a good place to sit and wind down. Ai, can you show them where we keep
the games?”

“Of course.” She led them to a small closet and started going over the options.

By the time Sasuke had a pot of tea prepared, Hinata and Shino were already washing Mahjong
tiles. “Do you want to join us, Chouji?”

“I’m trying to concentrate on my Shogi skills for now. Sorry.”

“Don’t have to be sorry.” Hinata said. “We’re just trying to have some fun.”

“Is there a fourth person who can play?” Shino asked.

Sasuke glanced to his bodyguards. Predictably it was Gold who sat down at the table and started
building his wall with the ease of an experienced player. “I’ll give it a go.”

“Take it easy on us.” Sasuke said. “We’re only children.”

“All the more reason for you to learn.” Gold said.

“If it becomes too bad, I’ll console you.” Chouji said. “I know what it’s like to lose.”

Sasuke tried to stand his own, but mahjong had never been one of the games he had been interested
in mastering. And either gold was just entertaining them, or it was not one of his specialty games
either with the amount of time it took the bodyguard to take their point sticks.

When Ai had to leave to do her homework, Choji started observing the game. Hinata was having
the most trouble and so he sat by her side to whisper advice into her ears. The two-man team was
strong enough to overtake Shino and Sasuke, but Gold remained the strongest side of the game.

Finally the round ended and they cleaned up the stones. “This was fun.” Hinata said. “We should
do it again.”

“I’m here most days after the Academy lets out practicing my Shogi.” Chouji said.

“Shino needs to practice for the exams though.” Hinata said. “And I’m sure Sasuke is busy as
well.”

“I’ve been forbidden from training, actually.” Sasuke said.

“Oh.”

“And I have the time as well.” Shino said. “Why? This has helped me relax and that has been rare
to come by lately.”

“And we’re not an imposition?” Hinata asked Sasuke.

“Come over whenever you like.” Sasuke said.

He had important things to do. But establishing a friendship with the three next Clan Leaders was
well worth the time.

~*~

Tsunade adjusted Sakura’s hands again. “Pay attention to your arms.”

“I-I didn’t feel the chakra pinching off.”

“By the time you feel it, it’s too late. Form is important.”

“It’s not in the books I read.” Sakura said. “I’m supposed to have more leeway. I’m sure of it.”

“Other people have that leeway.” Tsunade traced the chakra pathway down her arm. “You have a
small bend by the elbow. It means your chakra will pinch at an angle of 2 degrees clockwise
compared to people who don’t have that bend.”

“Oh.” Sakura moved her arm and tested for the blockage. “How do you know that?”

“A lifetime of analysing bodies. There are no rules that I’ve been able to discover, but my intuition
has been tuned finely. This is far beyond your current level. You must master the basics first.”

Sakura moved her arms the way she should. And then she checked her legs for the chakra pinching
and positioned them like she knew was ideal, instead of what the book had told her.

“Good. Remember that each technique will have different optimal positions.”

Sakura nodded. “I’ll work on it, shiso.”

~*~

“That won’t work.” Jiraiya said lazily.

“What? Why not?” Naruto checked the design again.

“You’re being too literal. Just because it’s fire doesn’t mean you need to make little flames.”

Naruto rubbed his head. “I don’t have any better ideas.”

“Look, a seal is like a beautiful woman. You can’t just ask her to go out with you. You have to
seduce her. Never be direct.”

“Okay, that sounds like terrible advice. I’m pretty sure women don’t work like that.”

“Just try it. This is a barrier jutsu. What does the fire represent in context of a barrier?”

“It’s hot and repels people from the bars.”

“Too literal.”

“But it’s part of the containment! What else could it be?”

“You’re already containing someone with the main character and the other additions. Okay, so my
brilliant earlier analogy didn’t work. Think about it differently then. This seal is a story you’re
telling. What would fire mean to someone inside of the barrier?”
Naruto closed his eyes and thought of Kuruma. Thought of a fire lit inside of the cage inside of
him. “It’s not just heat. It’s warmth as well. It’s comfort from cold loneliness. It is something new
and changing to look at when the surroundings are all the same and boredom is a constant threat.
It’s… it’s about making the prison bearable so the prisoner is less likely to escape.”

Naruto drew a sketch and it was fire, but it was the fire of a hearth.

“Now that, that will work.”

~*~

“You’ve almost got it, Chouji.” Hinata said.

Chouji stared at the game board. There were only two moves that would lead to victory. Sasuke
wondered if Chouji would be able to find them.

“Hand me that nail polish.” Sora said from the other side of the room. “I want to try on that shade.”

Choji startled, his attention dropped as he watched the boys across the room do their nails. It’s the
first time he was looking at them, and seeing the pink shirts they had on, the eye shadow they had
applied.

“Something wrong?” Ai asked, a dangerous glint on her voice.

“Th-those are boys.” Choji said. “They shouldn’t be… why are they wearing that?”

“Why shouldn’t they wear that?” Ai asked.

“It’s wrong.”

Ai glared at him and opened her mouth to speak again.

“Ai.” Sasuke said. “Could you give us a few moments?”

Ai took a deep breath. “I’ll make some more tea.” She stood up and went to the kitchen.

“I trust that you won’t physically assault anyone in the Uchiha district.” Sasuke said.

“Wh-what? Of course not.” Choji said.

“Because that’s what they had to face before they got here.” Sasuke said. “And as much as I’ve
liked your visits, it’s not something I can tolerate.”

“It is strange to see.” Shino said. “Why? Because in the rest of the village it would not be accepted.
It’s… liberating.”

“I like it.” Hinata said, smiling. “I never realised boys could look cute in pink.”

“So what is the remaining problem?” Sasuke asked.

“It’s just… I’m not used to it.” Chouji said. “I’m kind of glad Shikamaru isn’t here. He wouldn’t be
able to resist saying something.”

“Like what?” Hinata asked.

“You know… like they’re being stupid for wanting to look more like a girl when they were lucky
enough to be born a boy.”

“Do you believe that as well?” Shino asked.

“No.” He shook his head. “It’s just hard. This one time when I was young, I was playing dress up
with Ino and she insisted on putting me in a dress. I still remember the look on Shikamaru’s face
when he saw us.”

“Well if you ever want to try wearing a dress again without Shikamaru around, this district would
be the perfect place.” Sasuke said.

Chouji flushed red. “No. No dresses or make-up for me. I know it’s okay for those boys, but I
wouldn’t look the same. I’m too big for that.”

“I think you’d look cute.” Hinata said.

Chouji looked across the room at the two boys having fun with something akin to jealousy in his
eyes. “I may not always understand Ino, but I’ve listened to her enough to know what a proper girl
looks like. With my… my weight… I’d just look like a boy wearing make-up.”

“Do I look like a girl in a jacket?” Shino asked.

“No.”

“It’s not about the body you’re born with.” Shino said. “It’s about what you wear and how you
present yourself.”

“You were born as a girl?” Chouji asked in amazement.

“I felt uncomfortable being a girl. And since I need to share my body with millions of bugs, it’s
important I feel comfortable in it. It’s your own choice, Chouji.”

Chouji hesitated for a few seconds more. “Sasuke, do you think you could introduce me?”

“Of course.”

~*~

Tsunade looked at the little fish flopping between Sakura’s hands. “It’s still sloppy. I don’t know
where you’re slacking, but…”

“…I need to work on the flow in my shoulder chakra points.” Sakura grumbled. “It’s the trickiest
part of this technique.”

“Right… well keep at it.”

~*~

Naruto put chakra through his seal. A blue chakra cloud filled the air, but nothing else happened.

Jiraiya took a look. “I see your problem.”

“It has to be the shielding prong.” Naruto said. “I colour-coded the different parts of the seal so I
would know what was messing everything up.”

“That’s actually pretty smart. How did you do that?”

“Just a few minor additions.” Naruto smiled, pointing out where he had added them in.

~*~

“Why would we put in volunteer hours? We’re already overworked.” The doctor said, dismissing
Sasuke as he moved to another patient.

“There are a lot of people who need help but can’t afford the hospital.” Sasuke said. “A small
volunteer clinic would mean the world to them.”

“Good luck getting it approved.”

“It’s ready and operational.” Sasuke said. “It just needs staffing.”

“It won’t work. We can’t hand out for free what we charge for in the hospital.” The doctor said.
“There would be riots.”

“I’m quite good at organising counter riots.”

The doctor sighed. “Look, I understand you want to help them. I would love to help them too. But
there just isn’t enough time in the world to save everyone.”

“Actually, I think I can help with that.” Sasuke said, taking out the Konoha hospital rulebook.
“There are at least twenty-one redundancies in your procedures, causing inefficiencies. Solving
them all would save you about three hours each shift.”

“That can’t be right.”

“Ano,” Kakashi said, grabbing the man’s attention. “I’ve gone over it with him. Three hours is a
conservative estimate.”

“Okay then… let’s look at these supposed problems.”

“I’m only showing you half up front.” Sasuke said. “The other half you only get if you get all the
doctors to volunteer at least one shift each week.”

~*~

Sakura’s hands were shaking, until the green glow disappeared completely. She punched the table
in frustration. “I’m not picking this up fast enough. My chakra keeps running out before I can really
practice.”

Tsunade thought for just a minute and then started going through her things. “There are chakra
pills, but they’re a dangerous habit to get started on. And I do have something safer if you have the
time to learn it.”

“I’ll make the time.” Sakura said, running her fingers over the beautiful scroll Tsunade had placed
between them. She made a face when she read the most prominent word on it. “What does my
chakra reserve have to do with slugs?”

~*~

Jiraiya patted Naruto’s shoulder. “It’s okay to be stuck.”

“I don’t like it. Why can’t I just figure this out?” Naruto kept staring at his array, but nothing was
coming to him.
“Sealing is tough work. Sometimes it helps to take your mind off things and do something fun.
What do you do to relax?”

“Usually, I just train. I could run some laps and see if it gets the blood pumping.”

“Well, if training is really the way you relax, I got another idea. Do you know where we can get
some water balloons?”

~*~

“Water jutsu users? What do you need them for?” Iruka seemed confused as he looked at the
application form. “A B-rank mission seems like quite a bit of overkill if you just want some fish.”

Sasuke shook his head. “I’m talking about a recurring Konoha sanctioned mission to safeguard a
food supply in case of hostilities from the Land of Water. Did you know that 84% of our fish
comes from harbours on our west coast? They are in a fragile position and could drop away
easily.”

“Okay, even under extenuating circumstances, you’re still talking about C-rank tarrifs.”

“Actually, if you look at the plans I included, we can send ninja to the riverbanks to the South. A
chuunin making the trip wouldn’t take longer than half an hour on the whole mission. With the
Uchiha supplying storage scrolls and the assigned ninja using water jutsu to cut down on fishing
times, travel and time expenditure are low enough to make it drop another rank.”

He looked it all over. “It actually checks out. But I still don’t understand why you’re doing this. At
a glance, I’d say your profit margins are better than the other fish merchants like this, but with you
invoking national security, 75% of any profits you make will go to Konoha’s coffers.”

“But that was only if I were making any profits. I’m selling at cost to soup kitchens and homeless
shelters. With these reduced prices, they’ll be able to serve three times as many people.”

“That’s… not something I would have expected you to do.”

“I have the added paperwork with me. I had a feeling you might want to see everything in writing.
Because you have a ton of connections and I think you could find plenty of ninja who would be
willing to take on this mission free of charge. The less they take out with mission pay, the more
can go into helping.”

Iruka stared at the scroll, and then signed off on everything. “I’ll put in a good word.”

“Really?” Kakashi asked. “You don’t need more convincing? Because I know Sasuke’s prepared
more arguments.”

“Kakashi, do you see the enormous stack of D-rank missions I still have to arrange for morning?”

“No, actually.”

“Exactly. Because Sasuke here has arranged for twenty ‘genin’ to come help every day with D-
ranks. I have no more priority missions. The backlog is shrinking even more than when Team 7
was taking missions every day. Tonight’s my first night off in three weeks. Sasuke’s earned a little
bit of good will.”

“Won’t fish merchants be mad?” Kakashi asked Sasuke.

“Let them call for the poor to go hungry.” Sasuke said. “And we’ll let the poor eat them.”

~*~

Sakura trembled as she looked at the scroll in front of her. “Are you absolutely sure?”

“Stop asking that. You’re ready to learn it. I don’t know how you did it, but you’ve met every
single challenge I’ve been able to throw at you these past few weeks. The Chuunin exam is only a
few days away and Sasuke told me you needed all the help you could get.”

“But this is… are you sure I’m ready?”

“For the love of god, yes! Go on, study it. You’ve earned it.”

Sakura teared up, but nodded. The concept was deceptively simple, but she knew it was a lot
harder than it looked. Not just reserving chakra, but letting it create a stable construct that would
serve as a basin. The legendary mark that gave the strength of a hundred.

She wouldn’t let Tsunade down.

~*~

“I finished it.” Naruto said. He sounded gloomy.

Jiraiya would have none of that. “Can I see it?”

Naruto pulled out the seal. “You were missing optimism. That completes it.”

“Heh. Such a dichotomy. Who would have thought contacting the death god required optimism?”

“You need to be pretty optimistic to use this technique and think you’re making the world a better
place. I guess the Yondaime had pretty big hopes for me.”

“I think he would be proud of you.” Jiraiya said. “It’s a shame you never got to meet him.”

Naruto dragged his foot across the ground. “What does it mean now that I’ve finished a seal you
weren’t able to?”

“That it’s my time to pass the torch.” The toad sage sighed. “It’s been fun kiddo. I hope you do
well during the exams. I should probably be on my way.”

“Watch me fight.” Naruto said. “Stay for the exams, please. I’d feel better if you were in the
village when…” he swallowed. “…in case something happens.”

“It won’t hurt to put the journey off a few days. My fans will just have to wait a little longer for the
sequel.”

“Don’t tell Kakashi it’s because of me.” Naruto smiled. “But do reconsider that geisha scene. It’s
too predictable.”

“It’s called a cliché because it works. If you hate it so much, try to write something better.”

“Maybe I will. Could do you some good to have some competition out there.”

“Would keep me on my toes.” Jiraiya said. “I have one more gift for you.” He went through his
backpack until he found an old worn notebook. “I’ve been through this thing again and again, but I
can’t understand it at all.”

“What is this?”

“A notebook of the only other Sealing specialist that was able to surpass me.”

“But you said that’s only been…” Naruto looked back at the notebook and almost dropped it from
his hands. “Is this?”

“Yeah. It’s the notes to the flying thunder god technique. I think Minato stopped taking notes in the
end, but these are his experiments along the way. You might be able to recreate it if you put
enough time in it. After the Exams of course. Those are more important.”

“Come on, Ero-sennin.” Naruto grinned. “You know I’m an expert at multitasking.”

~*~

“I can’t believe it’s already been a month.” Kakashi said. He was poking his food with his
chopsticks. “I was getting used to fixing things.”

“It felt good.” Sasuke said. “And it’s not something that should stop.”

“We’re already getting to the point that fractions are turning against us. I overheard someone at
administration. Some of the nobles are complaining so loudly about their businesses losing profits
with all the socialist policies being enforced, that they’re threatening to withdraw their support
from the village.”

“They were exploiting misery. One of those nobles was running the local prison. He’s actually
protesting that crime rates have dropped.”

Naruto groaned. “Seriously? What’s wrong with people?”

“It’s easy to get stuck looking at your own misfortune, if nobody shows you the bigger picture.”
Sasuke said.

“We’ll show him, then.” Naruto said.

“After tomorrow.” Sakura said. “Maybe they’ll listen better if we’re chuunin. Either way, I don’t
think we need the distraction right now.”

“That reminds me, I have a gift for us.” Sasuke said. “Wait here.” It took a few minutes to get
everything, but then he was able to return to the dinner table with a few large boxes.

“What did you get us?” Sakura asked.

“Something cool?” Naruto opened his package. “Armour?”

Sakura almost dropped the box to the ground in surprise. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Official Uchiha armour. Usually gifted to a family member before a big battle. A rite of passage
that signals full acceptance into the clan. So yeah, it also comes with an invitation.”

Naruto tilted his head. “An invitation for what?”

Sakura smiled wide. “Yeah. I accept. Naruto does too, as soon as he figures it out.”
Sasuke threw his arms around his teammates. “Thank you guys. This means a lot to me.”

Naruto backed out of the hug. “What is going on?!”

Sakura put her hand on the gift. “He’s asking us to become part of the Uchiha clan legally. We
would have rights to the Uchiha clan grounds, we would be a real family. We could even take the
name, if we wanted to.”

“I have the paper work with me. My signature is already on there and you can go through
everything at your own pace.”

Naruto hesitated for just a few seconds, before tackling Sasuke back in a hug. “Thanks. You have
no idea how much I appreciate this.”

Sasuke smiled. “As far as I’m concerned, this is just making official what has been reality for a
long time. Now go put them on. I want to make sure everything fits.”

Sakura went into another room to change, but Naruto pulled off his orange jumpsuit right in the
dining room. He put on the dark blue pants and sweater, stitched together with a dark orange thread
that shined in the light like metal. Sasuke helped him lift the heavy red armour pieces into place.

Sasuke was reminded of Madara for only a second. He had commissioned the armour with just
enough differences. The red faded in the bottom to white in each panel, mimicking the Uchiha clan
seal in its colour use. The effect was beautiful, especially because it made the colours of pink and
orange threads visible in the plates. On the front and back of the armour was Naruto’s sign. The
sign of the Uzumaki. The spiral form of Uzushio.

Naruto found it hard to find the words. “I love it. Uchiha Naruto, huh? It sounds a little weird.”

“You don’t have to take the name if you don’t want to.”

“It’s not that. It’s just… at the orphanage, we didn’t really mention each other’s last names. Too
many bad memories for most, and something that would be replaced once you got adopted. I didn’t
really start going with Uzumaki Naruto until I had given up on ever getting a family of my own.”

“Well, you’ve found one now.”

Naruto nodded. “And I’m never letting go. Besides, can you imagine the looks on people’s faces
when they hear I’ve taken your name? It’ll be hilarious!”

Sakura walked back into the room, looking equally awed. Her clothes were stitched together with a
pink thread, and her symbol was a strong Cherry blossom tree. “It’s strong and durable.” She said.
“It must have been very expensive to have made.”

“I got a bulk discount.” Sasuke smiled. He pulled off his shirt and pants and changed into his own
armour set. “So, Naruto’s up for the name change. How about you, Sakura?”

She chuckled. “It’s not how I ever imagined becoming Uchiha Sakura, but it feels right.” She
helped Sasuke fit the armour pieces over his head.

Sasuke’s armour was just a little thicker, with slightly bigger plates signalling his status as clan
leader. He would have preferred complete equality, but he knew there were people who would be
paying close attention. He did not want to seem ignorant of the clan’s traditions, not when he had
done everything to the letter of the law. His threads were a dark blue and the icon adorning his
chest was the Uchiha fan.
 “You three look quite menacing together.” Kakashi said. “You’ll make quite an impact.”

Sasuke smiled. “Want to make an even bigger one?” He grabbed the final box and handed it to
Kakashi. “I know you don’t want the Uchiha name, but there are a lot of variants to join the clan
and you’d be welcome to any of them.”

His armour was made with silver threads and the icon was of two bells, arranged like a curved
shuriken. “The bell test.”

“You know, I never liked the version where one man has to be left behind. I refuse to believe there
is any mission where we can’t save everyone.” Sasuke pointed out the backside of the armor,
where the same logo was repeated. “If you look at the problem from a different angle, there will
always be a way to find four bells and save the whole team.”

Kakashi smiled. “I like that.”

“I thought you would.” Sasuke pointed out a sheet of paper in the box. “I have all the most
reasonable roles gathered there. Take a look whenever you want.”

Kakashi picked it up and unfolded the paper. “This one.” He said, after just a second. “Thank you,
Sasuke. I appreciate all this.”

A protected expert. People who had shared their knowledge with the clan and had proven
themselves worthy of receiving the clan’s permanent protection. Kakashi would forever have a
place to give council to the Uchiha and the Uchiha would always welcome him.

“You’re all family.” Sasuke said. “Especially now. I’d be a lousy clan leader if I didn’t provide for
my own. Now, let’s get all this boring paperwork done so we can have some fun.”

“You want to do more training?”

“Of course not.” Sasuke said. “Well, okay, just a little. To get used to moving around in the armour
pieces. There is a strategic advantage knowing you can take a hit more easily. Not to mention how
much sturdier our clones will be.”

His teammates chuckled. “Just a little.” Naruto said. “We need to celebrate. It’s our last night as
genin. After tomorrow, we don’t get to be irresponsible anymore.”

Sasuke looked over them. They were as ready as they were going to be. They knew what was
coming during the Exams and they had worked their asses off trying to prevent it. Together, they
would do everything in their power to keep the village safe.

Naruto and Sakura had done their best. Sasuke would too. He made eye contact with the
bodyguards. They were ready too. Tomorrow was the day he would put everything on the table. All
of his powers exposed to the whole village.

He would save them all.

And then he would have some serious explaining to do.

Chapter End Notes

Oof. This was supposed to be a short one. Next week I promise an actual managable
chapter length: The Finals. In which Naruto has his match against Neji, Sakura her
match against Shikamaru and Sasuke has his match against Temari. And also there's
no invasion. (Because that's chapter 21).
Next update Thursday March 10th.

It turns out I have far too much fun writing montage chapters. Which you'll also get to
experience during the invasion with its constantly shifting POVs. Ideally, I would have
wanted to put a bit more detail to the training of Naruto and Sakura, but I was out of
ideas and out of time. These are the kind of chapters I could just keep expanding on if I
had unlimited time.

So yeah, Sakura is a healer now, and Naruto is a seals master. If it feels strange how
they were able to learn this in one month time, it's important to remember that Sasuke
has been tutoring them for all that itme as well. And canon does tend to show the
Sannin teaching style as throwing a problem at someone and waiting till they've
figured it out before the next problem's thrown their way. Sasuke (and Sasuke via the
bodyguards) has much help to give and hasten their progress along.
 The Finals
Chapter Summary

In which Konoha gets a glimpse of Team 7's real strength.

Chapter Notes

I know I'm horribly behind on responding to comments. I'm reading each one and
getting so much joy and motivation out of them. Thank you all for sticking with this
story and leaivng your thoughts and reactions. I'm keeping it all in mind as I'm editing.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“I’m going out to train.”

“Again?”

“I feel restless in the Hokage’s seat.” Naruto said. “I need to keep myself busy somehow.”

“Yeah, making me do all the paperwork while you’re gone.” Sasuke sighed. “How long will you be
out?”

“Don’t know. Guess as long as the brat can last. She’s becoming quite a fighter.”

Naruto did not need to say that Wagashi reminded him of Sakura with her chakra-strengthened
punches and her strong ability with genjutsu. They both were very aware of that. It hurt too much
to say it out loud.

“I’ll try to keep everyone away from you.” Sasuke said. He was already grabbing the dayplanner
to see how many appointments he had to reschedule.

“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” Naruto smiled impishly.

He was way too transparent. “No.”

“What?”

“You’re not passing off appointing the new chief medic to me. You’re going to make that decision
yourself.”

“But Sasuke-kun, it’s so hard to choose.”

“You mean it’s hard disappointing people. Suck it up. You know them all better than I do.”

“But I have to go now…” Naruto dawdled.

“Then it will still be waiting there for you when you get back. I’m not cleaning up this mess for
you, dobe.”

Naruto pouted and gave puppy dog eyes.

Sasuke glared at him. The hokage knew Sasuke found it impossible to resist that. “But I guess I
could look over the choices together with you when you’re back.”

Naruto gave a peck on Sasuke’s cheek. “Like I said, you’re a life saver.”

“I hate you and I hope you die. I hope our enemies attack the training site and leave you six feet
under.”

“Love you too.”

Sasuke had meant it in the spirit of their usual teasing. He had never expected it to come true.

~*~

The colosseum was huge. During the time of the Shodaime, it was mainly used for ninja
demonstrations. Genin and chuunin would line the seats and learn from jounin lectures. It was a
time of explosive growth in knowledge. After the First Shinobi World War, there weren’t enough
ninja left to fill the seats. There was too much fear an enemy would sneak in and figure out
Konoha’s secrets. Too much fear about Konoha ninja learning secrets they would disclose to the
enemies by defection or coercion.

Besides, it had gotten too dangerous to gather so many ninja in one place at the same time.

Konoha officials were happy to get some use out of the construction with the chuunin exams. The
stone still seemed a little rough and dusty where Sasuke walked through the contestant corridors,
but then the cleaners would have put more effort in getting the visitor’s entrance taken care of.

His older Naruto had gawked at having a colosseum in a village without ever using it. With much
pushing, he had finally been allowed to rent out the building for theatre productions. The older
ninja had called it a destruction of their traditions, but Naruto had chosen instead to listen to the
civilians laughing and crying at whatever production the actors had chosen to perform that week.

As they entered the contestants’ room, they found Shikamaru waiting at the railing with Ino and
Choji next to him. Asuma stood against the wall, emotional support more than anything.
Shikamaru was looking over the battle ground with an analytical eye, idly chatting with his
teammates.

Ino was the first to spot them. She just looked dumbfounded. Chouji and Shikamaru looked their
way to see what had silenced Ino up so efficiently.

“Quite a look you’ve got going for you…” Shikamaru said. “Oy, sensei, you didn’t tell me we
should coordinate our outfits.”

Naruto smiled wide. “It’s awesome, right?” He proudly pounded his armoured chest. “Nobody is
going to forget what team we’re part of!”

Chouji looked confused. “Is team 7 associated with red?”

Naruto laughed, before patting Chouji’s shoulder amicably. “We’re the Uchiha Platoon of course!”

“I thought the body guards were the Uchiha Platoon.” Chouji said.
“We’re all working together to protect the Uchiha district, so we’re all part of the Platoon
together.”

“We’re the leaders though.” Sakura added.

“I still don’t agree with the name.” Sasuke said. But he had learned in his previous life that this was
a lost battle and he would not be wasting too much energy on correcting them.

“You don’t get to dress us up in Uchiha red and then keep us from naming ourselves the Uchiha
Platoon.” Naruto said like it was fact.

Sasuke settled against a wall. Kakashi went to stand with Asuma, who seemed to have some
questions about the new red armour the copynin was sporting. And if Sasuke was not mistaken,
there were some quips about being early, too.

On either side of Sasuke a bodyguard settled into place. Pink on one side and Navy Blue on the
other. They wore their usual uniforms, with more red fabrics thrown in. Today was about selling a
brand and every little bit helped.

Navy was not used to getting out of the district. Which was precisely why Sasuke had decided on
keeping him close enough that Sasuke could keep an eye on him. Even now Navy kept one hand
constantly on his sword, like the attack had already started.

Sakura gave a small wave to Ino, before leaning into Sasuke. “Mind making her jealous for me?”

“You know you haven’t needed me for that for a while, right?” Sasuke smiled. He still made sure
to hold her hand and lean back, sparing Ino a small look, before turning to Sakura and putting a big
smile on his face. “Something like this?”

“Perfect.”

“You must be really nervous if you’re trying to calm your nerves by picking on Ino.”

“I can handle Shikamaru just fine. It’s the other stuff I’m nervous about.”

The invasion. “We’ll do fine. We’ve been training our asses off for it.”

“I know, but you never know what’s going to happen. Not to mention, if by some happy miracle it
doesn’t, I’ll have to fight you in my second match. I haven’t prepared at all for the look of
disappointment in your eyes when I crush you like a grape.”

“You’re strong. I’m sure your emotional well-being can withstand a little look of disappointment.”

“Withstand it? I wanna savour it. But I never finished those photographic memory chakra
exercises. I don’t think I’ll get another chance to surprise you like this. I have learned an awful lot
of useful things while you were running around town idling away your training time.”

“I helped you through all of your training, remember? I know exactly what you can do.”

“Nope.” Sakura smiled. “I have a secret weapon even you don’t know about.”

“Now that does sound intriguing. Makes me kind of wishful that we do end up fighting together in
the second round.”

“I would think you’d be wishful in general, considering…”

“I am. But I’m confident about my intel. We’ll see what happens.”

Ino came over, looking sheepish. “Sasuke-kun, I’m kind of lonely all the way over there. I don’t
wanna intrude, but I’d so much like a shoulder to lean on.”

“That can be arranged.” Sasuke said, motioning her over. “Sakura, you have an available shoulder,
don’t you?”

Ino looked hopeful for just a second, but then flinched. She obviously thought they were playing a
prank on her.

“Of course, Sasuke.” Sakura said, altering her stance a little. “There’s plenty of room, Ino-chan.”
The blonde was close enough that Sakura could pull her closer.

Before Ino knew what was happening, she was blushing ferociously against Sakura’s shoulder, her
head against the strong plate of armour, Sakura holding her hand.

“How have you been, Ino?”

“G-good.” She said, still unsure what she was supposed to do with this situation. “I really wanted to
train and get back at you, but sensei had to focus on Shikamaru. I’m not planning on staying back
long, though. I’m going to beat you.” She said.

“Need any help?” Sakura asked. “It’ll get busy once I’m promoted, but I’m sure I can make some
time to help out a genin eager to learn.”

Ino huffed. “How are you even so sure you’re getting promoted today?”

Sakura shrugged. “Let’s just say I haven’t been sitting still either. I do mean it though. I still miss
hanging out and if training you is the excuse you need, I don’t mind providing it. Consider it me
paying you back for all those years you helped me out.”

Ino shook her head. “You know there’s no need for that.”

“I’d like to. You fought so hard in the last round and I’ve been meaning to talk to you if it hadn’t
been for…”

“No, I don’t mean that. I’m just saying, we’re friends. Friends don’t need to keep score.”

Team Gai entered with a lot of noise and special effects. Lee was thrilled to have reached the
chuunin exams under Gai’s tutelage, and the sensei could not be prouder at the proof that a genius
of hard work could make it so far. Neji seemed annoyed by all the spectacle and Tenten was trying
to mitigate as usual.

Gaara and his siblings arrived last. The Jinchuuriki of the sand looked confused and still shaken, a
full month after their first conversation. Sasuke was sure it would be best not to bother him.

“Oy, Gaara! You made it!” Naruto almost stormed the boy. “It’s a shame we didn’t get to see each
other before.”

Sasuke stood a little straighter. He could trust Naruto to handle Gaara, but there was no guarantee
they would both make it out unscathed.

Gaara looked uncomfortable at the confrontation. “There hasn’t been time.”

“Are you here to cheer on your brother and sister?”

“My presence was required.” Gaara said.

“Nah, I don’t think they could force you to do anything against your will. You can just admit you
wanted to see them perform. I won’t hold it against ya!”

Gaara looked at his sister. “Could I have stayed back?”

“It’s your duty to the Village of Sand to attend the chuunin exams.” Temari said pointedly, before
turning to Naruto. “I don’t know what kind of mind trick you tried to pull on Gaara at the
preliminaries, but it was very much not appreciated. Stand back now unless you want to lose a few
fingers.”

“Would much rather keep them attached, thanks.” Naruto said, backing off. “But if any of you
want to talk, me and my team are right there. Just look for the big blob of red. Can’t miss us.”

Naruto gave his teammates a look. It sure sounded like Gaara would still be the instigator to the
invasion. That was a useful confirmation to have. They had been unsure what his role would be
now that he no longer was a participant. It seemed the only change to Orochimaru’s plan had been
to release the Ichibi from the audience instead of the stage.

Now that they had all arrived, it was clear that the matches would be starting soon. The proctor had
stopped paying attention to them and was focussing more on the colosseum that was increasingly
getting filled with people. He was coordinating with other ninja and it did not come as a surprise
when he gave the signal and the first contenders were called to fight.

“Good luck, Naruto.” Sasuke said. “I arranged a little surprise at the start of the match. Took a
little doing, but trust me when I say it’s going to be worth it.”

“What kind of surprise?”

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you.”

Naruto smiled. “The pranking is supposed to be my area of expertise.”

“Well, I’ve learned from the best.”

Naruto seemed focussed on the fight as he went into the ring and stood opposite Neji.

The proctor stood calmly between them. “This isn’t much different from the previous fights you’ve
had. It’s over once one of you admits defeat. You won’t be punished if one of your attacks ends up
killing the other, but if your enemy is incapacitated, we will not tolerate you finishing the job.”

Naruto and Neji nodded, though it was clear they were barely listening. They were staring each
other down and trading some remarks, but too softly for most people to hear off the field.

“I hear you’ve been badmouthing me.” Naruto said.

“Just been saying that you’re another in a long line of unknowns who naively think they can defy
destiny. It is foolish to even try.”

“And who are you that you know other people’s destinies?”

“Just a ninja with good eyes. I remember you from the academy. You wanted to be Hokage, but
you were dead last in class. The more people tried to reason with you, the more stubborn you
became. You should have quit the Academy. The life of a ninja is not suited for you.”
“You don’t know me. Not the person I’ve become since graduating. I’ve found my place as a
ninja.”

“You might feel tall standing on a hill, but you will never climb the mountain. It was decided at
your birth. You have no large clan to back you. That was true then and has not changed since.”

“Joke’s on you. Can’t you see the armour?”

“Theatrics. It doesn’t matter how you dress. You’re still an Uzumaki.”

“It’s more than just my armour. I joined the Uchiha. I am a child of the clan now.”

“Right. And I’m a magical princess.”

Naruto laughed loudly. “Oh, I’m going to love kicking your ass.”

Neji settled into his stance. “No. You’ll feel sad in your defeat. It’s inevitable.”

The proctor raised his arms. “Hyuuga Neji,” He announced loudly, before signalling Naruto at the
other corner. There was the slightest smirk in the corner of his mouth as he yelled out the genin’s
name. “Versus Uchiha Naruto!”

The whole stadium fell silent. Neji looked very confused. From the waiting area, Sasuke and
Sakura cheered loudly from the window. “Make our clan proud!”

Naruto grinned wide. “Come on princess, let’s dance. Kage bunshin no jutsu!”

Half a dozen red clones appeared between the two ninja, three of them moving onto Neji. The
Hyuuga was fast and efficient, turning to each clone as they made contact and responded quickly to
Naruto’s taijutsu.

Neji saw a chance and poked with two fingers into the throat of one of the Naruto clones. Before he
made contact, his wrist was grabbed and pushed away by another clone. Neji worked into the
grapple by pulling that clone towards him and jabbing his free hand as an open palm into the
clone’s stomach.

The third clone grabbed that hand and pulled it away, before using the movement to jump up and
over itself. It landed against Neji with enough force to topple him, while its legs wrapped around
Neji’s neck to keep him immobile.

Neji would have gone down, but he expelled enough chakra from his body to loosen the clones’
grip. Once his arms were free, he let himself fall backwards, catching himself with his hands. In
one fluid movement his legs were in the air. The subsequent spin let him use his legs in big sweeps
to fling all three clones away hard enough to dispel them. He started a dash straight from the spin,
going for the four remaining Naruto that had moved further back.

They threw kunai, but there was enough distance that Neji could easily evade them. But the closer
Neji got, the harder it became to move out of the way quickly enough. It was obvious Neji was
being pushed to his limit, but he connected to one of the Naruto anyway.

The Naruto he got to grinned. “Wrong guess.” The clone moved his foot to reveal the exploding
seal it had placed under itself. Where Naruto and Neji had stood, now there was only fire and
smoke.

It was hard to see for the audience what was going on, let alone for Naruto, until Neji darted out of
the smoke away from Naruto and the two clones, taking a second to catch his breath.

Ino gasped at how well Naruto was keeping up. “Naruto’s even stronger with his taijutsu than he
was against Kiba. I can’t believe Naruto has forced Neji into a stale-mate.”

“What makes you say it’s a stale-mate?” Sakura asked.

“Neji can defend himself against the clones, whether it’s close-range combat or thrown weapons,
but Naruto can explode himself whenever Neji gets near. It’s all a matter of whether one of the
explosions can knock Neji out, of whether Neji can find the real Naruto in time.”

“Except Neji has mostly exhausted his bag of tricks, while Naruto has plenty more up his sleeves.”

The smoke was clearing and Naruto could throw more kunai now. Neji dodged the attacks and
moved further back, observing his opponent closely.

The three remaining Naruto moved as one. “Kage bunshin no jutsu!”

The whole stadium was filled with red, but Neji seemed to crack a smile. “I saw that.”

While a lot of the clones stormed Neji, the Hyuuga darted through them. It was hard to follow his
movements through the crowd, since he seemed to change his direction randomly every few
seconds. The clones grabbed at him, but Neji was on a mission and released bursts of chakra to
keep Naruto’s hands from making contact. Slowly but surely, he made it to one of the Naruto at the
edge of the crowd.

“You scraped your foot, to signal the other clones to mimic the movement of your technique.” Neji
declared. “I know exactly which one is the original.”

His fingers were extended as he jumped out of the crowd and made to attack the Naruto that had
given the signal.

“Nice guess.” Naruto grinned, removing his foot to reveal a seal.

Neji broke the attack and darted away. Except the explosion did not follow. When he looked more
closely at the seal, he saw the character for ‘Distraction’ in the middle of the seal, where it should
have said ‘explosion’. He had missed his chance. The Naruto who was standing there stuck his
tongue out at him, before disappearing. That confused Neji greatly. It had not even been the real
Naruto.

Several clones jumped on him, now that he had left some openings thinking he was fleeing an
explosion. They were all wielding kunai, having learned that the grapples proved ineffective
against him. Neji tried his best to defend, but there were too many. As soon as one of the clones
managed to scrape his skin with a kunai, he knew he had to step up his game.

Chakra poured out of his body and he started spinning rapidly in place. “Revolving Heaven!”

The clones that were too close popped out of existence. The others backed away to create distance.
All but one. “The Hyuuga’s ultimate defence. I don’t think you’re supposed to have that.”

Neji’s spin stopped, but he stayed in his stance, ready to continue if it was needed. “I saw it
performed and figured out how it was done.”

“You naughty little boy.” Naruto grinned. “I think I’m starting to like you after all. Fine then. I’ll
give you a chance.” Clones disappeared across the field. “Come at me.”
Neji did not have to be told twice. Naruto had his own ultimate defence, but it was only effective if
it was a clone doing the fighting. He could hardly explode them both if his original body would be
caught in the blast.

Neji jumped on Naruto with his fingers stretched out. He just needed one good hit and all the rest
would follow.

Naruto stubbornly refused to let Neji. Without clones dividing up his chakra, he was faster and
stronger. He took Neji’s wrist sooner and deflected the blows further. Naruto was able to
counterattack, but Neji could use bursts of chakra to deflect the blows.

They spent minutes just trying to lay a hand on each other. The whole stadium seemed to be at the
edge of their seats, waiting to see which of them would be the first to screw up. Or rather,
wondering why Naruto had taken so long before screwing up. Neji’s win was a foregone
conclusion for most of them.

Eventually, Naruto did misstep and Neji’s blow was not fully deflected. The glancing blow hit his
chakra system and kept him in place for just a moment. That was all Neji needed.

“Sixty-four palms!”

Naruto was startled when the first two hits came. They penetrated right through his armour and
blocked part of his chakra. It was the Hyuuga’s strange combination of chakra-assisted speed and
taijutsu. The second pair of hits left Naruto breathless, for just a moment. The next four were even
harder.

It was difficult to watch from the balcony, as the whole stadium seemed to believe the noise brat
was getting his comeuppance.

“Seems Naruto wasn’t equal to Neji after all.” Ino said.

“No, Naruto really isn’t.” Sakura said. “And he’ll prove that soon enough.”

The next eight came, but Naruto seemed to crack a smile. A few Hyuuga in the audience gasped.
Most ninja would miss it. But Sasuke was familiar enough with the style to see. Out of the eight
almost simultaneous hits, only seven had blocked a chakra point. Naruto had twisted fast enough to
avoid the last.

Of the next sixteen, Naruto managed to dodge three. Of the final thirty-two, Naruto was only
affected by twenty.

Neji stood across from him with a troubled expression. “That’s impossible.”

“I’m not my team’s taijutsu specialist for nothing.”

Neji shook it off. “You are still too heavily impaired to continue this match. You need to forfeit.”

“See, that’s the difference between you and me. You wanted me to give up the very moment I set
foot in this stadium. You saw where I came from and thought I was hopeless. Must be easy for you
to think of the world this way. You think I should give up because it’s gotten hard? Fuck you.
Nobody accomplishes impossible things if they don’t even try.”

“You will only become unhappy if you’re fighting battles you cannot win. You’re right. I do think
you should have forfeited before you stepped into this battle ground.”
Naruto sighed. “I’m starting to get why Sasuke gets cross with me when I’m being oblivious. Do
you have any idea why we’re here today?”

Neji looked confused at the change of subject. “We’re here to fight each other and try to win.”

“No. We are here to be evaluated for chuunin. It doesn’t matter whether we win or lose. It matters
whether we show the qualities becoming of a Konoha chuunin. I never came here with just the
intention to win. I came here with the intention to fight you and make it last long enough that we
could both show off our skills. We’ve already done this. I’ve gotten what I wanted just by making
it last this long.”

“If you’ve ‘won’ already, you won’t mind forfeiting.” Neji pointed out.

“Not a chance in hell.” Naruto smiled. “The next part is just for fun. I mean, you got your moment
to shine. Now it’s my turn.”

The blond genin tested out his body. “I hoped I’d still have more mobility than this.” He jumped up
and stretched, experimentally spreading chakra through his system.

“I closed too many chakra points for you to still fight.”

“You closed a lot.” Naruto said. “But you didn’t close enough to beat me. I have about twenty
percent chakra mobility left in my left leg and thirty in my right. My right arm is shot, but my left
should still work for at least sixty percent.”

“You’re handicapped. Your hands and feet don’t work at all anymore. But I am more than willing
to crush your last remaining hope if you think you still have a chance.”

Naruto took a few steadying breaths. “I’m not holding back anymore.”

Neji thought he was joking. Then he was kicked across the field and eating dirt.

The whole stadium fell silent.

“A shunshin?” Ino gasped. “How can he still perform a ninjutsu?”

“It’s not ninjutsu.” Sakura said. “He’s just that fast.”

“Th-that’s not a genin’s speed level.”

Naruto squatted on the ground where Neji had just been, animalistically moving from side to side
and ready to strike.

“Is that… Kiba’s taijutsu style?”

“Naruto practiced it after seeing Kiba use it in the exhibition matches. Must be the best choice with
his current limitations.” Sasuke said. “He has enough styles to choose from, after all.”

Neji got back up and looked at Naruto more warily. The second time Naruto disappeared, Neji was
ready. He spun chakra all around his body to protect himself. Naruto’s kick did not connect with
the chakra protecting him, but then he twisted and swung his arm so hard against Neji’s body that
it almost broke through his chakra shield. It cost Neji all his energy for a moment, but that was
okay because Naruto had no way to attack again. Naruto twisted once more and set his teeth in
Neji’s arm, drawing blood.

Neji used a heavenly spin to get Naruto away. The boy spun back a few times, before ending in
another position, ready to go again.

“You’re supposed to be slower.” Neji said.

“I am.” Naruto grinned. “Told you I’d been holding back.”

“I see.” Neji could not afford a moment of inattention. “You compensated quickly for your
weaknesses. You’re making yourself a smaller target and using your legs differently to compensate
the difference in strength between left and right. You’re used to fighting with handicaps, aren’t
you?”

“I’ve trained under harsher conditions.” Naruto said.

“I’d almost think I missed more teketsu. I wouldn’t believe you’re fighting like this with closed
chakra points if I was not actually seeing it with my own eyes.” Neji said. The Byakuugan was
fully trained on his opponent. “But I will still close your remaining chakra points. Nothing has truly
changed.”

“You’re wrong.” Naruto said. “I’ve won.” He brought his thumb to his teeth, swiping some of the
blood away. Neji’s blood. He pressed his hand to the ground and suddenly black lines were
forming all over the ground.

Neji stepped back, but the black lines seemed to come from all directions. He jumped away when
they reached his feet, but then the lines suddenly sprouted into the air and clasped tightly around
him, dragging him to the ground.

“Sealing art: blood binding.” Naruto said, completing his technique.

Those who were skilled in seals, would recognise what had happened. They would see the ink
lighting up under the sand and creating a pattern. It was a seal with an octagon base. Not many
people could have managed that.

“Why can’t Neji move?” Ino said. “This has to be ninjutsu, right?”

“Fuinjutsu.” Sasuke said.

“It’s a containment seal.”

“Neji was still too strong to be bound.” Gai said, his mouth open.

“It was made more powerful by being custom made to hold Neji.” Sasuke explained. “More
powerful by being made specifically for this day and specifically for this location.”

Asuma and Kakashi were standing by the balcony. Asuma’s cigarette had fallen from his mouth.

Ino looked at him. “Sensei, is that impressive?”

“I would blame Kakashi for somehow training the brat despite all the prohibitions, but I know he’s
not capable of making a seal like that either. Ino, the village’s best sealing specialist would take a
few days drawing this up. A good jounin would take weeks.”

“He started yesterday.” Sasuke said. “Inspiration struck him.”

Asuma turned to Kakashi. “What kind of monsters are these?”

Kakashi grinned. “Very, very interesting ones.”

Naruto moved to Neji slowly, grasping at his non-functional right arm. “Ready to admit your
defeat?”

Neji struggled, but the more he did, the more black lines of ink moved over him to incapacitate
him. There was simply nowhere to go. He used bursts of chakra, but that just made the seal glow
where it absorbed the energy and used it to strengthen itself. “The difference between us is
supposed to be insurmountable.”

“Yeah.” Naruto smiled sadly. “It really is.”

Naruto held out his right hand and concentrated. Red chakra moved through the chakra points and
opened them up one by one. It took just a few seconds before his whole system was flushed and he
was fully recovered from the blocking. He had already fought an impossible battle. The other
genin would not be suspicious of this mystery ability and chalk it up to Naruto’s general strength.
Anyone who knew he was a Jinchuriki would be happy to see him control the Kyuubi’s chakra
without transforming.

Neji slumped in his restraints, visibly defeated. “You had a counter you could have used at any
time? That’s not supposed to be possible.”

“Forfeit.”

Neji closed his eyes. “I surrender.” He said, just loudly enough for the proctor to hear.

“Winner: UCHIHA NARUTO!”

Naruto placed his hands on the ground and unlocked the binding seal. Neji fell, no reason to stand.
Naruto offered him a hand. “We make our own destiny. It’s harder to live knowing we do and it
puts the responsibilities on us to right the wrongs in the world. But it’s the truth. The sooner you
realise it, the sooner you can start working on fixing whatever you think is broken.”

Neji took Naruto’s hand and stood up. “I think… I think I need to see the medic now.”

The proctor nodded and gave the signal. Two medical teams came to the field, one for each fighter.
Neji was guided to the medical room, while Naruto was glanced over. The medics refused to
believe he was not injured after all the hits he had taken.

“One down.” Sakura said, turning her attention to her opponent. “Two to go.”

Shikamaru shuddered.

It was Sakura’s turn next. Sasuke squeezed her hand. “Give him hell.”

Sakura nodded, making her way to the arena. Shikamaru followed and they got to the stage
together.

“Nara Shikamaru versus Uchiha Sakura!” The proctor yelled.

Sakura had been expecting her name change and was certainly pleased. Ino stilted a little next to
Sasuke. “What the hell have you guys been doing?”

Sasuke shrugged. “Bonding as a team.”

“And that involved both Naruto and Sakura becoming Uchiha? Is this a Naruto thing? Did he
convince you to make a gimmick of your name?”
“Ino.” Chouji shook his head. “You haven’t been to the district. You haven’t seen Team 7 yet. But
they’re a family now.”

“It’s only been a few months since we graduated as genin. We can barely stand each other. What’s
different for them?”

Sasuke shrugged. “Our team was just mean to be.”

The proctor gave the sign to start and immediately a shadow shot out from Shikamaru towards
Sakura. Sakura jumped back, evading the shadow and testing its range. When it was clear it had
reached its limit, Sakura stopped. She drew a line in the ground with her foot.

“You don’t move much while manipulating your shadow, do you?” Sakura asked across the field.

Shikamaru mostly ignored her as the shadow retreated back to him.

She threw a few shuriken and Shikamaru broke of his technique immediately to step aside. His
long-stretched shadow wobbled, before snapping back to its normal form. Shikamaru was visibly
shaken from the experience, but it only affected him for a second. He waited until the shadow was
all the way settled, before jumping back and taking shelter behind a nearby tree.

Another shadow shot out and Sakura had the good sense to move a bit further back for security.
Shikamaru could use the shadows he was in to extend his own shadow further and Sakura had to
make a new line once he reached his limit again. The shadow slowly retreated.

“I could attack you again.” She yelled. “It seemed to bother you somewhat.”

He waited until the shadow was all the way back. “Moving is troublesome.” He admitted. “But it’s
a weakness I’ve long learned to compensate for.”

She nodded with interest. It was hard to tell if the boy was telling the truth or not, but any claim at
all was better than Sakura had gotten so far. “The Nara clan technique sure is interesting. I’ve been
trying to investigate it, but you keep your secrets locked up securely. It’s some kind of genjutsu,
right?”

Shikamaru twitched. “Are you expecting me to give up clan secrets?”

“Nah, I don’t suppose you would. It sure is a shame though.” Sakura smiled. “I sometimes wonder
what it would have been like to have been born in a clan with secret clan techniques.”

“It would not have helped anyway.” Shikamaru shrugged. “Nara shadow techniques are only
passed down to the men.”

“Why?”

“Women are weaker than men.” Shikamaru said it as if it were a fact. “We’re taught the technique
to protect our precious people so they don’t get hurt. Women need to be protected.”

“I don’t need anyone to protect me. I’ll beat your ass today.”

“Sorry, I can’t allow that to happen.” Shikamaru said. “My pride as a man won’t allow it.”

“We both know this is going to be a battle of tactics. If your shadow grabs hold of mine, it’s over
for me. You saw me fighting in the last round and I have only grown stronger. If I hit you even
once, it’s over for you.”
“I’ve been training too.”

“That’s cute.” She grinned. “Not as hard as I have.”

“Troublesome woman.” Shikamaru had slumped against the tree. He was contemplating the
available terrain.

“Now, if I were you, I’d think my opponent was bluffing. I’d invite an attack. If she’s so sure one
touch will be enough, that is something to be abused. Let me cure you of the notion and prove my
point.”

Sakura punched the ground and cracks formed from her all the way to the other side of the
battlefield. The whole stadium gasped for what they experienced as a heavy earthquake.

The tree Shikamaru had hidden behind had been pushed one way while Shikamaru had another. As
soon as he was in sight, Sakura threw another round of shuriken at him. The boy twisted around in
the air and made a hand seal as soon as he was sure the shuriken would miss.

“Kai!” Shikamaru yelled, but when nothing happened, his hands quickly moved to his clan jutsu.
Shadows shot out and passed through all the cracks in the earth to move to Sakura. There seemed
to be an infinite amount of stretch to his shadow suddenly.

Sakura jumped back again but she had to keep going as Shikamaru’s shadow just kept following
her. Eventually she was cornered and forced against a wall.

It did not bother her. This was one of the very first tricks she had learned with Sasuke. When the
shadow almost reached her, she made her escape vertically, her feet easily sticking to the wall.
Even there Shikamaru chased her, but she could go further up than he could stretch the shadow. He
retreated once more.

Sakura’s eyes were calculating as they fell upon him. “You’re careful.” Sakura noted. “Do you
always check if you’re under genjutsu before attacking?”

“Ino fell for your trick. I’m better than that.” Shikamaru said.

“I have to admit, it’s smart. Just doing it once makes sure I can’t rely on my genjutsu. It’ll cost me
more chakra than it’d cost you to release the illusion. But that kai isn’t free, now is it? Anytime
you do that and I haven’t put you under genjutsu, you’re wasting energy. And you don’t seem like
the type to focus on stamina a lot. You’re also not one to needlessly waste chakra.”

“I thought I’d grab you. You’re annoyingly good at walking on walls.”

“Like I said, I’ve been training.”

“How long can you stay up there though?”

“As long as I want.” Sakura smiled. “But I’ve learned enough.” She made hand signs and then
jumped to the ground. With her hands touching the ground, it mended itself until all the cracks had
disappeared. She had destroyed about half of the trees and foliage surrounding Shikamaru in the
process, making it harder for Shikamaru to hide and leaving less objects available to extend his
shadow.

She was clearly comfortable with her distance. She made more seals and then shot a burst of water
from her mouth.
Shikamaru jumped aside, only to be met with several more attacks. Sakura kept him on his toes,
having to keep moving to avoid the strong bursts of water. He jumped from side to side. He was
clearly trying to get closer, but Sakura was having none of it.

Eventually, he saw his chance. He shot a kunai at Sakura, who had to get out of her stance to dodge
it. It glanced her armour with a clink and Sakura thought that had been the end of it. But when it
had moved passed Sakura, the flash bang attached to it exploded. While she was distracted,
Shikamaru dashed for one of the trees that had survived the onslaught, jumping into its branches
and then silently switching jumping around.

Sakura surveyed the dozen trees, taking a moment to rub at her eyes. They were all in a heavily
shadowed part of the arena. Getting too close to them risked Shikamaru grabbing hold of her
shadow. She carefully moved down against the wall, keeping her eyes focussed on the area in front
of her.

“This is bad for your student.” Asuma said. “Shikamaru is using his thinking stance. The more
time Sakura gives him, the worse it will be for her.”

Kakashi shook his head. “Don’t count her out. Sakura’s smart too.”

“You don’t understand. Shikamaru is a genius, even if he’s a lazy one. He would have been the
highest scoring graduate of the Academy if he had applied himself. When I measured his IQ, it was
off the charts.”

“See, there’s the difference.” Sasuke said. “Shikamaru might be a lazy genius, but Sakura is a hard-
working one.”

Sakura reached for her pouch and started taking out kunai. She took a drink from a flask, and then
poured enough water out for her to manipulate into strings. Her kunai started hovering above the
ground. She had even more control over them than she had had in her battle with Ino.

She might not know which tree Shikamaru was hiding in, but she did not need to. She sent the
weapons soaring through the branches of one of the trees, spinning back and making sure no ninja
would survive hiding.

And then she moved to the next tree.

“Whatever Shikamaru’s planning, he’d better hurry up.” Naruto smirked.

It was in the third tree that Shikamaru made his counterattack. A line of shadow came from the
trees and headed straight for Sakura. But she was safe behind her line. At least that was what she
thought, as a single kunai with a parachute came from the sky. It cast a shadow that gave
Shikamaru more range and Sakura had to jump back to avoid getting stuck.

The shadow struggled and Sakura smiled, drawing her new line in the sand. And that’s when the
shadow extended further and caught her.

Shikamaru revealed himself from behind one of the trees. “Kai.” He said, but there were no
illusions dropping away.

“Okay, how did you manage that?” Sakura asked.

“Your water strings leave a shadow.” Shikamaru said, walking forward to close the distance and
remove the need of any help to connect to Sakura with his shadow. There was sweat on his brow.
“I have to admit this is more immobilising than I thought it would be.” Sakura said. “Less genjutsu
than I thought it was. It also looks a lot more straining than you are capable of holding for long.”

“You have more chakra than predicted.” Shikamaru said. “It feels more like I’m holding down
Asuma-sensei than Ino.”

“Sounds like I’m a bit too much for you to handle.”

“I can manage.”

“I’m sorry, but you really can’t. Otherwise you would have noticed sooner how suspicious it was
for me to still need water to make my strings.”

Shikamaru’s eyes widened for just a second as he very quickly ran through the implications. Sakura
had been baiting Shikamaru to capture her. Sakura was not worried. Sakura had a contingency plan.
More probably, Sakura was already getting ready to counter.

The flash seals went off on the stadium wall where Sakura had retreated to earlier, detonating now
that Sakura was no longer able to reset their count-down timers. They bathed the stadium in light
that caused the shadows to disappear and allowed Sakura to escape the technique. She flicked the
kunai she still had control of towards Shikamaru and then dropped her water strings, jumping back
and once again establishing the distance between them.

Shikamaru scampered to dodge the projectiles and get back to the trees.

“Oh no you don’t.” Sakura moved in quickly. She pulled back her arm to ready her strike.

And then Shikamaru dropped an exploding tag right between them.

Sakura was pushed back by the sudden force, falling to the ground and tumbling further.
Shikamaru was in a better position by the smallest margin, from knowing to expect it.

“Hey, that’s my trick!” Naruto complained.

Shikamaru swayed as he stood up, quickly moving to another tree.

Sakura took a few seconds extra before she moved. She stood slowly, rubbing at her head.

The proctor approached her and whispered whether she was in a state to continue. Sasuke scoffed.
They had not been as careful when Neji had been blasted by Naruto. They were still
underestimating her.

Sakura stood straighter. She brushed the dirt of her arms. There was a gash on her head that was
leaving a trail of blood on the side of her face.

“That was reckless.” Sakura called out into the trees. “Unlike Naruto, you don’t have a disposable
clone to protect yourself.”

Shikamaru stayed silent. He could not survive giving away his position.

“You’re running out of stamina.” Sakura said. “You might have enough chakra to capture me
again, but not enough to hold me. Which means that it is now time for me to end this.” She got on
one knee and placed a hand on the ground.

The trees started to shake and the crowd held onto their seats as they prepared for another earth
quake. Instead, the leaves of the tree started disappearing. And then the branches started to shorten.
Shikamaru dived away from the tree he was standing on and tried to hide behind its base. But even
that started to shrink. His mouth fell open. “Mokuton.”

“Are you ready to forfeit?”

“You’re still wounded. It looks like a concussion. I stand a chance now in a taijutsu fight.”

“Is that what you think?” Sakura smirked. She brought her hand up and it glowed green. She made
a show of passing the hand over her wounds and closing them up.

“That’s healing.” Ino said, he mouth open. “Sensei. Sakura’s healing herself.”

“I see that.” Asuma said, staring.

“Sensei!!!” Ino shrieked, in a small panic. “How can Sakura using healing techniques?”

“Kakashi…” Asuma looked absolutely lost. “You wouldn’t be able to apply a band-aid without
supervision. You didn’t teach her that. Please tell me this is some kind of bluff.”

“She’s really able to do it.” Kakashi said. “I can sympathise though. Try to breathe through the
next few moments. I can tell you from experience that the impossibilities of Team 7 get easier to
deal with after a while.”

Gai clapped Kakashi’s shoulder. “You’ve really helped these children blossom in their springtime
of youth, my rival.”

Shikamaru was having his own moment of panic. He had nowhere left to hide. He had no chakra
left. And he stood no chance in any normal encounter. “I still stand a chance.” Shikamaru said.

“Not really. You need your shadows to immobilise someone.” Sakura said, pushing her second
hand to the ground. “I don’t.”

Vines shot up from the earth and wrapped themselves around Shikamaru’s limbs, binding him in
place.

“You could have done this at the start.” Shikamaru snarled. “Why did you take the risk of letting
me capture you? You did not need to do that to capture me like this.”

“I wanted to learn about the paralysing effects of your technique.” Sakura said.

“Curiosity… you almost lost this fight because of curiosity?”

“Yeah, no. I wasn’t going to take that chance.” Sakura said. She whistled and the earth started to
move. Two copies of her came up. “I didn’t need them, but they would have gotten involved if I
did. You might have been watching me in the preliminaries but I was watching you as well. Your
greatest weakness is that you can only effectively suppress one person at a time.”

Shikamaru looked to the ground. “I forfeit.”

“Winner: UCHIHA SAKURA!” The proctor called.

Sakura smiled as she patted Shikamaru’s head. “My sympathies to your pride as a man.”

Naruto hugged Sakura as soon as she came into the viewing area. Sasuke joined them. “You were
amazing.”
“Did you have any doubt?”

Kakashi came over to gently pat her head. “Congratulations, Sakura-chan.”

Shikamaru looked very conflicted as he joined his team. Asuma held his shoulder. “You did your
best. I’ll give you and Chouji all the barbeque you can eat.”

“Train me to be as strong as she is.” Shikamaru said.

Asuma flinched. “I’m not sure I can.”

Sakura perked up. “Just find yourself a legendary ninja and convince her to teach you.”

“Yeah.” Naruto said. “And start by fully utilising all the privileges you get from being in a clan.”

“And make your teammates your best friends.” Sasuke said. “Make them your family. And learn to
fight so that nobody will ever take that away from you.”

Sasuke and Temari were next.

He had forgotten what it felt like to stand in the arena like this. There were countless people
watching in the stands. Many had come specifically to watch him. It had not bothered him in his
last lifetime. At that time, he had been too focussed on fighting Gaara. He had wanted to pass the
exams so much that nothing else mattered.

Now, there were other priorities. He saw Sakura and Naruto watching. He saw Kakashi standing
near them. He could see familiar faces in the crowd. At the Hokage box was the Sandaime, right
next to Orochimaru posing as the Kage from Sand. The leader and organisor of an invasation
against Konoha. Team 7’s Konoha. Sasuke would not allow any harm to come to the village .

Temari swung her big fan around and wind cut in his direction. Instead of falling back, he made the
necessary hand signs to blow fire at her. The winds were strong, but fire had the upper hand.
Temari had to move back to keep herself and her fan from burning to a crisp.

“You’ll get to see all the circles from the start, lucky you.” She said, opening her fan fully and
wasting no time to send wave after wave in his direction.

He brought up a protective wall from the earth and took refuge. Temari had a large amount of
chakra and her fan only enhanced her powers. Against any other genin he would settle with waiting
her out.

She had to realise this was not doing anything against him, yet she kept it up. She was planning
something. He glanced at the audience, trying to gauge if anyone was taking advantage while their
attention was on the fight. Nothing seemed out of place.

At least Temari was in a predictable rhythm. Too little time between gusts for Sasuke to reach her,
but not so little time there was nothing he could do. After the next wave hit him, he reached around
his cover and threw a dozen kunai in her direction.

Four straight at her, another four wildly off base and using the last four to correct their course.
They came at her from three different directions. None of it mattered. She spun her fan around her
and all of the kunai were deflected.

Sasuke went over his options. The ground was possible. She would not see it if he submerged. He
could reach her and pull her into the earth. Sakura’s chakra was even mixed up with the ground
since she had used it in her techniques, so it would be harder for Temari to sense him moving
through it. But he would not be able to see the crowd for a while and ending the match that quickly
would not let him show off as his teammates had done.

He could shunshin behind her between wind bursts and engage in taijutsu. The body flicker always
seemed cool to civilians and the ninja would be impressed he managed it through Temari’s wind
chakra interfering with the area. He knew she had training with her fan for close range battles and
Sasuke could draw that out.

She was still at it. He glanced over the crowd again. Still no unfamiliar faces or suspicious
behaviour. Except he noticed people’s eyes growing heavier. People had trouble staying awake
during the match. But there was no conduit for a genjutsu to connect to them. Last time it had been
flower petals filled with chakra. They were noticeably absent this time.

He sensed over the crowd. Nothing but Temari’s chakra from the wind jutsu.

Ah, so that was what she had been doing. He looked for Sakura and Naruto in the viewing area and
flashed them a hand sign.

It’s starting.

He transitioned seamlessly into the signs for the kage bunshin. He moved out from his cover
together with five clones. His clones climbed the walls of the stadium, while his original body
moved to the Sand ninja. She swung her fan again, but Sasuke’s shunshin brought him right in her
range and left Sasuke unaffected by the wind.

He put his hands on the fan and pulled it from her grasp. In her moment of disorientation, he turned
it around and clubbed the side of her head. She fell to the ground unconscious.

He looked over the audience once more. Temari’s chakra had blanketed them. The chakra in the
air was the perfect conduit for three genjutsu enemies spread around the crowd. Sasuke’s clones
had already tracked them and were in position to take them out.

In the viewing box, one of his clones had met up with the rest of his team. Kankuru had some kind
of seal paper ready in his hand. The boy had a protective grip on Gaara and seemed ready to move
at the slightest provocation.

All over the stadium the foreign ninja were getting in position and readying themselves to fight.

There was a pause in their preparations when the proctor called Sasuke’s victory. They had
probably been waiting for Temari to signal the attack.

At the Hokage’s seats, Orochimaru stood up. He judged the situation still in his favour as he raised
his arm and called for the attack in Temari’s stead.

A lot of things happened all at once.

Kankuru slapped the seal paper on Gaara’s chest and Gaara’s eyes shut immediately. Sand shot
from his gourd and began quickly forming a body. Kankuru swung his arm down and used his
chakra strings to open several pockets of poison gas he had hidden in the ceiling. Naruto created
clones that grabbed the other genin in the viewing box and pulled them away to safety. Sakura
created a clone and then worked together with it to enshrine Gaara and Kankuro in wood. It
creaked and cracked and would not last long.

But long enough. It held them in place for the time it took Naruto and his clones to activate the seal
he had spread onto the ground. Naruto did not have the fourth Hokage’s proficiency yet, but with
time, preparation and multiple clones it was easy to pull off a rudimentary version. Sasuke’s clone
made sure he was in the array with the original Naruto and Sakura when it activated. All of them
were transported to the nearby forest where Gaara’s transformation would not harm any innocent
bystanders.

All over the stadium ninja were attacking. Where the Suna ninja had been standing inconspicuous
just moments before, now they had weapons out and looking to overwhelm guards around them.
There were not many, but they were placed strategically to make the most impact.

The genjutsu specialists activated their technique and the whole audience started to sleep. Sasuke’s
clones moved on the specialists and slit their throats while they were distracted.

The original Sasuke opened the fan and swung at the audience. “Wide chakra release!”

His chakra washed over the audience and disrupted their bodies enough to snap out of the genjutsu.
His clones would start recruiting civilians to direct the evacuation.

He looked at the Hokage’s viewing area. Orochimaru and Sarutobi were facing off. Orochimaru’s
Sound Four were nearby and ready to create a barrier to contain them. Time for payback against
the snake bastard.

Sasuke stepped towards them, but had to jump back to avoid a projectile heading towards him. A
strange projectile. Long and white.

“Orochimaru-sama predicted you would be trouble.”

Sasuke was not sure where this man had come from, but suddenly the foreign ninja was standing
there in the arena with him. Sasuke did not know him, but Sasuke knew of him. Kimimaro, the
man who could change his skeleton to fight. It explained why he was currently holding a large
sharpened bone out towards him.

Sasuke did not have time for this. His eyes went red with the sharingan eyes.

Before he could make eye-contact, Kimimaro had already shielded his eyes with layers of bone. He
started throwing bone pellets to Sasuke.

Sasuke dodged them easily, moving closer to Kimimaro and using his full strength to kick him
aside.

Kimimaro was fast enough to create a protective bone layer around himself, a protection strong
enough to only crack a little as Sasuke made contact. The barrier immediately grew teeth as
Kimimaro tried to counter.

Sasuke could probably run away. But there were few other people he trusted to keep an enemy this
formidable busy.

The Hokage and Orochimaru were moving towards the rooftop. Sasuke wanted to be there.

Two battles. Neither one he could leave to a clone. That only left one other option.

He whistled loudly. Pink started climbing to the Hokage. Pink would take a while to get there from
so far away. He would not make it in time. But that was fine. If there were any of his bodyguards
who could afford to be a little late, it was Pink.
 Sasuke focussed on his own fight. “You’re following a horrible man. You realise that?”

“Lord Orochimaru saved me. I would gladly give my life for him.”

“Yes.” Sasuke drew his sword. “I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Chapter End Notes

Next week, Thursday evening March 17th (CET), chapter 21: The Invasion. In which
Orochimaru's attack doesn't go according to plan. Expect a montage, many small POV
scenes, and loads of ass-kicking.
But also, the chapter after that is called 'the storm'. Make of that what you will.

I don't have much to say about the fighting scenes. It was important that Naruto and
Sakura both got a chance to show off their new sannin specialisation (sealing and
healing), and their ultra big secret (Kyuubi and Mokuton). In theory it would have been
nice for Sasuke to do the same against Temari. But just like this Sasuke needed Gaara
in the preliminaries to be faced with the least bit of a challenge, for the finals he's
going to be facing Kimimaro.

We still have only 6 real chapters to go (the 7th is small epilogue), so I'm excited how
close we're getting to the end.
 The Invasion
Chapter Summary

Konoha is attacked. But it is also protected.

Chapter Notes

Wow, I've had a rough week. Each time I think I'll have enough time to work on the
chapter over the course of a full week, and each time enough stuff comes up that I have
to do most of the actual work in one night. At least I got most of the creative thinking
out of the way so that I knew exactly what still needed to be done before posting.

One of the questions that popped up in the comments and I haven't managed to
respond to yet was Shikamaru's sexism in the previous chapter. I try to do enough
research to justify all my choices, but I'll admit this was done mostly from memory.
Looking it up, I see Shikamaru in canon does have a problem with women, but it's
usually a bit more subtle. Unfortunately I don't have time for full nuanced archs and
had to be a bit more blunt. So Shikamaru's kinda sexist behaviour became more
pronounced and explicit.

I don’t like the way Shikamaru talks about the women in his life. His mother, Ino, and
later Temari. And for me it feels like a lot of that attitude was informed by his father,
who seems to be a grown-up lazy genius. He comes across as someone who’d
weaponise incompetence to get out of doing housework, and encourage his son to do
the same. Also, it’s very satisfying to write female characters punching sexist jerks in
the face. If it helps, Shikamaru has had his anime awakening after this fight and won’t
soon be underestimating women as fighters (especially when he sees what else Sakura
can do in the upcoming chapter).

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“They must not know about this.” Sasuke said gravely. An earth jutsu swallowed Konohamaru’s
corpse into the ground. The man had succumbed from his injuries. Sasuke and his team did not
have time for a bigger ceremony and they had already collected enough material to revive him if
they found a living sacrifice. That was a big if. It had been ages since they had last been able to
revive anyone. Too many casualties in these wars and too few suitable sacrifices.

Sasuke moved to Konohamaru’s guards and jolted chakra into their system. His nerves betrayed
him as it took him three tries before he had Konohamaru’s chakra down enough to mimic it.
Finally the guards rose, revived now that they had a new summoner. If it was not for the ability to
revive the dead again without sacrifice, their army would have been decimated long ago.

“They are supposed to meet us here in a few hours.” Songoku said. The pink-haired boy tried to
keep up a brave face, as much as it was possible to on a boy not even ten years old. “I do not know
if I can get to them quickly enough.”
“You must try.” Sasuske said. “I will hold those bastards off here.”

“Uchiha-sama. They have taken the lives of two Hokage already. How will you stop them from
taking a third?”

“I just need to delay them. Konohamaru made all the preparations. The explosives will detonate
and bury these invaders under the rubble of the Hokage monument.”

Sasuke’s first lieutenant was still hesitating. “They won’t believe me.”

“You were given your rank because of your merit.” Sasuke said. “They’ll respect you or you’ll
make them respect you. We both know you have the skill. We’ve trained you to be able to do this.”

Songoku took a deep breath, nodding. “I’ll do my best. What should I tell them? They just came
back from a battlefront to help defend their village.”

“Tell them… that Konoha was defeated today, but shall rise again tomorrow. Tell them our
Hokage has ordered us to survive until he can find an opening. That Naruto has ordered the
Uchiha Platoon to go into hiding for now. That Konohamaru and Naruto have their own
squadrons and will contact us later with the plans.”

They had to believe there was still hope that they would see their friends and family again. That
their colleagues were going through the same thing they were.

And no matter what, they could never know that they were the only living ninja of Konoha left.

~*~

Sand spilled all around Gaara. It was haphazard and out for blood, impatiently spreading out from
the body where it was being formed.

“What just happened?!” Kankuro had to step back, dizzy from the teleportation.

Team 7 stood firm. They were used to the technique by now. Naruto was already making clones
and surrounding Gaara, hands to the ground and ink forming complicated patterns. “You suicidal
maniacs are trying to anger a tailed beast.”

Kankuro, though still disoriented, split in two. His puppet went one way while his real body went
another. The puppet rushed one of the clones, while the real body went to another. Kankuro was
trying to stop Naruto from laying down the containment seal.

Sasuke took the real boy. He grasped the sand ninja’s shoulder and let a pulse of lightning chakra
paralyze Kankuro’s body.

Sakura took the puppet. She smashed her fist right through.

Kankuro knew when he was defeated. He was also like a cornered snake. Even with most his body
out of his control, he managed to twist his hand and activate the explosive tags on the puppet.

Sasuke and Sakura moved away just in time, but Naruto’s clones were hit by the shrapnel and
popped.

“Fuck.” The original Naruto cursed, before making more to continue the seal work.

Sakura tried to contain the Ichibi with her wood. Sasuke trained his sharingan on Gaara, but with
Gaara’s eyes closed in sleep there was little to connect to.
No matter how hard the three fought to contain him, the Ichibi kept growing. It cracked the
wooden prison and slipped out of the seals Naruto had prepared. It had been woken from its
slumber and had no intention of going back wilfully.

“Plan B?”

Sasuke nodded.

Naruto’s fingernails started sharpening. His teeth grew fangs and an aura of red chakra covered
him. The boy chuckled darkly. When he spoke, it was with two voices. “We’ll show our little
brother who’s boss.”

~*~

Iruka was confused. He was hurt and panicked, but mostly he was confused.

He had been herding the Academy children to the nearby shelter. He had had to look everywhere.
Attacks could come from any corner. These were, if not always the most valuable, at least the most
vulnerable hostages.

When a ninja had attacked him, he had just had the time to block with his kunai. He had held off
the assault, but the man was clearly superior. A jounin of some sort. It had taken his all to keep
from dying. He had just had to hold out a little longer. The kids had almost all fled.

The ninja had sliced his arm and Iruka had dropped his weapon from the pain. He had known it
was over for him. Sorry, Naruto.

But then the enemy ninja was bleeding from the nose. Iruka had not seen how it had happened, but
he could see as the enemy lost grip on his consciousness and collapsed.

His first thought was that a Konoha ninja had come to reinforce him, except that was not the new
company offering a hand to help him up. He saw one of the Uchiha guards, the one with a green
mask.

“The kids are safe now.”

“You’re Sasuke’s bodyguards…” Iruka said. “Why are you helping us?”

“The Uchiha are one of the Noble clans of Konoha.” The man said. “When Konoha is in need, we
help.”

~*~

I have the worst luck.

Today was the chuunin examination. The whole of team 7 was participating. Iwashi had really,
really wanted to be in the stadium. But he had drawn the short stick and had gotten guard duty. One
person per gate would have them understaffed on any normal day. Not today. Nothing had
happened. Nobody had left and nobody had entered.

There had not been any mail either. Weird, but not that remarkable. There had been slow days
before. There was no particular reason he should be feeling anxious.

Then he stood on the wall and he was looking at a massive snake heading his way. Three large
heads all staring at Konoha with killing intent.
Fuck. Plenty of reason to be anxious now.

He sounded the alarm. There was little else he could do. There were only four Konoha ninja he
knew who actually stood a chance of stopping such a large creature and only one who was actually
in the village. But the Hokage was in the stadium. Even if he heard the alarm and came right away,
it would be too late to stop these things.

The other three were not in Konoha and had not been in years. Orochimaru was more likely the
cause of the attack than he would be the solution. Tsunade had stopped being a Konoha ninja and
would not be coming for them. Jiraiya had been out of the village for years on undercover
missions.

He knew he should probably run. He had no chance of stopping the snakes. All he could do was
hold them off for a short while. Delay their invasion into Konoha. Nobody would blame him if he
ran. But, he would blame himself. He had not taken on his duties to forsake them when they got
rough.

He steeled his resolve. Iwashi was a wall guard of Konoha. Even if it raised Konoha’s chances by
just a percent of a percent, he would do his best.

He startled at the sudden weight of the man besides him. “It’ll be hard to defeat them before they
get here if they are intent on breaking these walls.”

The wall guard gasped. “Jiraya-sama…” He was even more impressive in person than in all the
stories. He was a mass of muscles. His every motion looked to be a culmination of years of
training.

“Need help?” A female voice asked.

The wall guard had clearly died and gone to heaven. This shit did not happen in real life.

“Hime?!” Jiraiya asked. “What are you doing here?”

At least the honorable Jiraiya was as surprised as Iwashi was.

“Same as you.” Tsunade cracked her knuckles. “Snake hunting.”

“You’re supposed to be out of the village.”

“So are you.” She smiled. “But we’re here for much the same reason, I assume. Now, do you want
to talk about Team 7, or do you want to tag team this three-headed beast?”

~*~

Raido grasped at the kunai imbedded in his shoulder. It was in too deep and removing it without a
medic present would only bleed him out.

He had been unable to do anything. He did not want to lose another Hokage on his watch.

He pounded against the barrier. It crackled under his touch, but refused to budge. All he could do
was watch as Orochimaru faced off against Sarutobi. Raido was too hurt to help anyone or to find
help.

“Are you all right? I’m here to help.”

He turned around in a panic. A robed man stood just a few feet away from him. He really had to
have lost a lot of blood if he could not hear this bodyguard approaching. He had seen him around a
couple of times, hanging around the Uchiha kid. “The Hokage’s getting attacked.” Raido said. “I
need to you to get reinforcements.”

“I’ll have to do.” The man said. It was hard to read his expression behind the pink mask. Even the
voice was distorted. Obviously why he wore it.

“I don’t suppose you know any medical jutsu.”

The body guard shook his head, but he did reach into a pouch and grabbed some sterile bandages.
“They won’t help you get back into fighting shape, but they’ll keep things from getting worse.”

“You should save them for the Hokage.” He said. “I don’t know when he’ll come out, and I don’t
know what shape he will be in when he does. Orochimaru was his student. If there’s anyone who
could threaten him, it’s that snake bastard. I… I wasn’t able to stop him.”

The bodyguard moved over to Raido and pushed the medicine into his mouth, accepting no refusal.
“It’s not your fault. You did your best. Nobody blames you.”

Raido shrugged, only to flinch at the pain. “Will you wait here with me?”

“Sadly no.” The man in the pink mask said. “I’m a sealing specialist, not a waiting specialist.” He
walked over to the barrier and withdrew an ink brush. He created a seal on the ground with expert
speed. Raido had never seen anyone making seals like that. It took him only half a dozen seconds
to create it, but it was complicated enough that Raido did not recognise its purpose right away.

But then there was a lot of smoke. And when the smoke cleared, the man in the pink mask was
inside the barrier instead of outside of it. Orochimaru clearly noticed and was alarmed by the
sudden intrusion, though he seemed to calm considerably when the smoke cleared and it became
apparent the barrier had only been breached long enough for a single person to get through.

Pink joined beside the Hokage and pulled out two Kunai, getting into a fighting stance.

Raido was sceptical it would help. Inside the barrier two power houses were having it out. What
could a single missing nin, so desperate for money he would hide out in the Uchiha compound, do
to contribute? Fighting a sannin would be way above his paygrade. But then, he looked at the
barrier that had been unsurpassable to him.

Maybe, just maybe, it would actually help.

It was not anything more than idle hope until he saw the bodyguard in action.

Raido was an assassin. He prided himself in stealth and speed. It was hard to judge stealth in such
an open setting, but the foreign ninja was faster than Raido was. He dodged the sannin’s attack
almost effortlessly.

Where the hell had the Uchiha brat gotten this guy?

~*~

Kakashi did not know where his charges had disappeared to. It had all happened too fast. A Naruto
clone had told him to get away from the poisonous gas and he had. He had not realised his students
had chosen to stay behind until he was out of range to stop them.

He recognised the seal that Naruto had activated. A variant on the flying thunder formation
technique. It was basic as far as the teleportation techniques went. He knew Minato-sensei had
learned this thing as a proof of concept for the bigger deal. It required extensive seal work to set up
and extensive seal work for the destination.

He had suspected Jiraiya had been teaching him some things, but to have given him Minato’s
research already?

He would not be able to follow them. Some of Naruto’s clones were here, as well as a single clone
of Sakura. But the original Sasuke was right there on the battlefield. He could go to him. It was one
precious person still in his power to save today.

He was about to go, when he noticed the enemy ninja attacking civilians in the crowd. There was a
group of five ninja, being contained by Shikamaru’s shadow technique. Nobody else was in a
position to take them out. So Kakashi did it. It was just a few swift blows to the head.

Kakashi managed to knock three of them unconscious before Shimakaru lost control of his
technique. Kakashi was prepared for a small fight, but there had been no need. The other two ninja
had been bisected with quick sword work.

“You were too slow.” Navy said.

“I was trying not to kill them.” Kakashi had no trouble ending lives when it was needed, but he was
also strong enough not to resort to lethality usually.

“Your village is under attack. This is no time to show mercy.”

“Shouldn’t you be with Sasuke to keep him safe?”

“His instructions were clear. If the village is threatened, we are to protect whoever needs it most.”

“Resorting to murder if needed?”

“That’s for my own amusement. I’ve been leashed for too long.”

Kakashi nodded in acceptance. As long as Navy was on their side, Kakashi could excuse the
enthusiasm.

They split into different directions.

A few rows over, Ino had blocked a kunai attacking a young woman. The enemy ninja, an
experienced chuunin at the very least, was rushing towards her. Kakashi tackled the enemy ninja
away from the genin and neutralised the threat.

There were so many vulnerable people around and so many enemies. He wanted to help his
students and keep them save. The people here needed him more.

Kakashi’s students had said they were more than ready to be chuunin. This was their chance to
prove it.

~*~

Kimimaro was powerful, Sasuke had to admit.

Sasuke locked swords with him again, the bone even denser than Sasuke’s chakra steel. Sasuke had
tried empowering his attacks with all five chakra elements. Lightning did not conduct through the
bone. The sharpness of wind chakra was somehow neutralised as soon as it met Kimimaro’s
weapon. Earth chakra did not make Sasuke’s blade heavy enough. Water and fire chakra were
neither cold nor hot enough to make a difference.

And Kimimaro was fighting blind, relying on sound and smell for short-range combat and chakra
sense to attack at longer ranges. It was a lot more power than Sasuke had predicted.

Sasuke had not been challenged like this since he last fought against Orochimaru a month ago.
Sasuke would have been disappointed in himself if he had any fewer clones running around.

He moved back and placed his hands on the ground. An abyss opened up beneath Kimimaro and
swallowed him whole. With another few hand signs, the hole closed forcibly and buried the
foreign ninja.

The earth rumbled as it burst open again, a protective cocoon of bone surrounding Kimimaro,
which then exploded outwards. Sasuke raised a wall of earth to protect him against the blast. He
had to jump back when Kimimaro fought back with bones jutting out of the earth. They followed
Sasuke as he moved back, like a very long ribcage.

Even when Sasuke ran up the wall, the bones just kept forming. That bloodline’s range was way
too overpowered.

Sasuke needed his strongest piercing attack to break through the bone. As he ran, he formed the
signs for the chidori. It sparkled loudly in his hand. And then he started his charge. Bones came
from all sides to stop his assault, but with the sharingan active it was easy to dodge out of their
way. Sasuke could see the bone forming a defensive wall around the man.

It would not help. The chidori shattered the bone protecting Kimimaro and left a hole big enough
for Sasuke hand to go through.

Bones like teeth assaulted Sasuke arm and kept him from moving further. The chidori was within
range to let its sparks leave trails on Kimimaro’s body. Sasuke had to dismiss it though and retreat
his hand before Kimimaro’s impromptu jaw threatened to penetrated Sasuke’s skin.

Sasuke jumped back further. There were a few electric burns and scars adorning Kimimaro’s body
from the chidori. The boy hardly seemed fazed as he returned seamlessly to shooting off bones as
projectiles and keeping Sasuke on the move.

“It is inevitable that I will capture you and bring you to Lord Orochimaru. It is useless to resist.”

“I’ve managed more impossible tasks.”

“I’ve sparred with Itachi, you know.” The boy said, a smirk on his face. “He beat me. You can
hardly think to defeat your brother if you can’t even stand against me.”

In another life, that would have set him off. The anger would have blinded him and would have led
to mistakes. “My brother and I are very different people.” Sasuke merely said. “But we’re still both
Uchiha. You don’t stand a chance.”

~*~

Gaara was as big as a house now. He trashed his arm around, destroying trees and trying to grab at
team 7. Naruto threw kunai with exploding tags at the great beast. The explosions blasted off
pieces of sand and seemed to slow it down.

Sakura was working at the Ichibi’s legs, strong punches toppling it over and keeping it from getting
a firm footing. Whenever Gaara tried to attack her directly, Naruto was in the way, red chakra
absorbing the blow and countering with double the ferocity.

Sasuke had his sword out and charged it with lightning to nullify the strong earth chakra Gaara
surrounded himself with.

Together, they were making a decent effort in keeping the Ichibi from stabilising. It just was not
enough to make the tailed beast shrink.

“We can’t keep this up forever.” Sakura yelled at the others.

“We’re attacking its chakra.” Sasuke said. “The longer we keep this up, the weaker it will be once
formed.”

“We can’t outlast a demon!”

Naruto growled. “Speak for yourself.” Several clones attacked Gaara from different sides, rasengan
formed in their hands. The orbs of pure chakra left big holes in the sand formation and threatened
to destabalise the whole thing before Gaara refound his footing. “Last I checked, I had eight tails
on this weakling.”

~*~

“I need some more antibiotics!”

“We don’t have any!”

Geo groaned in irritation as the nurses moved away. He knew it was not their fault. The hospital
was in lockdown. But that did not mean he had any less of a problem with his patient.

He put his hands in his hair, trying to think. There had to be bigger stockpiles than just the
basement. Maybe there were still some deliveries in the mailroom that had not been processed yet.

“Here.” A woman in blue and red robes said. Her red mask hid her features. She handed him
medicine from a big box she was carrying.

“What?”

“It’s from the warehouse down the street.”

“But we’re in lockdown.”

The woman shrugged. “It’s not a breech in security if it’s a friendly ninja who breaks it.”

“Stop him!” A nurse yelled from down the hall. She pointed at a teenage boy that was running
quickly towards them.

Geo was not good at dealing with these situations. He had fine motor controls and could make
quick decisions in a crisis as long as he had enough information to work with. This took him too
long.

It took him too long to notice that the boy’s headband was smeared with blood and probably stolen
with how badly it fit him. It held the Konoha symbol, so it was someone pretending to be a
Konoha ninja, therefore probably a Suna ninja. Trying to stop the boy was completely beyond his
abilities. But then, an enemy ninja would have used a Henge. So it had to be someone with not
even a genin ranking. Perhaps Geo could do something. Except that it was already too late to
move.

But not for Red. She blocked the boy’s passage without even having to think about it.

“Move, you bitch!”

She froze in what Geo thought was surprise, before she landed a strong right hook on the boy. Not
surprise then, but anger. She pulled back her left arm for another hit, but the boy was staying
down.

“My training’s been paying off more than I thought.”

The nurse caught up to them, security in tow. “Thanks. He had stolen one of the keys to the
building. I don’t know what he would have gone on to do if he had escaped.”

“It’s fine. Beating people to a pulp is my thing.” Red turned back to Geo and pulled out a large
scroll. “Who can I talk to about distributing the rest of what I’ve brought?”

~*~

The large slug and frog standing in front of the wall side by side brought back memories for
Jiraiya. He had been going solo for so many years that it felt good to fight with Tsunade again. His
old teammate had a rhythm with him that he had not felt since they had fought together as Sannin.
The snakes were good opponents. Not summons. If they had been summoned, they would have
popped by now.

Jirayia jumped out of the way of the snake’s fangs and its teeth sank into the earth. While stuck,
Tsunade crushed the snake’s skull with a particularly nasty punch.

“Next snake, you act like the bait.”

“Sure.” Tsunade smirked. “As soon as you get even half my strength.”

“I can go into sage mode and wipe the floor with you.”

“Ah, have you mastered it finally? Or do you still look like half a toad while powered up?”

Jiraiya grumbled.

“Thought so. Now don’t be a baby and get that snake’s attention.”

“Fine, Hime.” Jiraiya smiled. “But you’re going to owe me a date after this!”

“No dating. I’m taken.” Tsunade said.

Jiraiya should have expected it after all these years, but it still stung.

“Now do something useful and bait another one of them.”

Jiraiya grumbled. “Next fight it’s your turn.”

“Next fight, sure.”

~*~

Pink stepped towards the Third Hokage.

“How did you get in?” Sarutobi asked. For all his lamenting when Orochimaru had closed off the
battlefield for them, at least Sarutobi knew there would be no innocent bystanders getting hurt.

“Not quite so important.” Pink said. He pulled his kunai from his pouch and got into position.

“It’s too dangerous.”

Orochimaru mostly seemed intrigued. “Now sensei, where’s the rush? Surely we can have another
piece on the playboard.”

The Hokage grimaced. He only saw Sakura’s bodyguard. The one who dabbled in sealing
according to the scant reports that had appeared on his desk. With all the issues Sarutobi had had
with Sasuke, the foreign mercenaries had been pushed down lower on the list of priorities. Still,
Sarutobi did not want him to get hurt. “Do whatever you did to get in here again to get out of here.”

“No.”

Orochimaru chuckled, before throwing a kunai with lightning speed at Pink’s throat. Sarutobi
threw his own kunai to intercept it, but Pink was already gone from where he had been standing.

Pink dashed forward, charging straight at the Sannin. Orochimaru almost lazily positioned his
kunai in front of him and right in the man’s path. Pink ducked into the Sannin’s personal space and
kicked. Orochimaru actually had to use his speed to deflect the man’s foot and make a stab at him.

Pink twisted out of the way and flipped back out of range. His hands had only been on the roof for
a second, but it had been enough to leave chakra-charged explosive seals where he had been
standing.

Orochimaru jumped away before the explosions could hurt him, but some of his clothing had been
singed. He seemed to be re-evaluating his position. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Uchiha Platoon.” Pink said simply.

Sarutobi considered the man again. Pink had combined his sealing expertise with enough speed he
would even give a sannin a run for his money. The two of them could fight together and it might
actually help Sarutobi. “Orochimaru won’t let you get close a second time.”

“Then I’ll have to rely on you to create an opening.”

Sarutobi grinned. At least one puzzle had been solved. “I was wondering who had been training
Team 7. You’re the one who taught Naruto how to place explosive seals, aren’t you?”

“Actually no. Jiraiya-sannin taught him seals. After I showed Naruto the basics of storage and
explosions, it was Naruto who taught me the trick to use chakra for instant explosive seals.”

“If you two are quite done,” Orochimaru said, flashing through hand signals and making three
coffins shoot out of the roof, “It’s about time I evened the odds.”

~*~

Sakura’s clone had to be careful. Just one hit would dispel her.

She would just have to not get hit.

Most of the stadium had been cleared of most civilians. All that remained were Konoha ninja
fighting invading ninja. She took it all in. She drew the lines of the different battles in her mind to
figure out where she could help best. There. Team 10 was containing a few enemy ninja. There
was a team of Konoha chuunin fighting an enemy jounin just nearby.

One of the chuunin was hurt and the others were having trouble managing. If the jounin broke
through and defeated team 10, all the enemy they had imprisoned with their techniques would be
free to fight again.

She made it to the injured chuunin, her hand already green.

“Get away. It’s too dangerous.” He said. “There are civilians hurt too, over there by the exit. Go to
them. It’s your responsibility as a medic.”

She ignored his protests and closed up the wound on his side. Her chakra was already analysing.
Internal bleeding as well. Different kind of technique.

“Sakura, you should listen to him.” Ino said. “You’re a clone, right? You need to be out of danger
where you can heal as many people as possible.”

The damage was severe, but Sakura had learned from the very best. Her chakra mended the cells
quickly and efficiently.

Ino gasped. Sakura could tell why without even looking. The jounin had feinted and had manged to
throw a kunai right towards Sakura. It would hit her and dispel her. Her hands were busy and there
was no way for her to deflect. No way for any ordinary ninja to dodge quickly enough.

Sakura was no ordinary ninja. Never stopping her healing, she spared a quick glance to aim a
water-charged chakra string at the projectile. As soon as it was attached, she flicked it off course
enough to miss her. It was a little harder without using her hands. Still easy.

But the jounin was not done. He was rushing towards Sakura now. He still thought the healer was
an easy target. Sakura’s main worry was not being able to heal and defend at the same time.

She moved her hands away from the chuunin’s body. The worst had been fixed already anyway.
Her hands moved quickly through the seals and wood sprung from the concrete flooring of the
stands. They grabbed the jounin and stalled him long enough for the three chuunin, now back at
full strength or near enough to it, to take him out.

“I’m no doctor.” Sakura said, turning to Ino. “I don’t go where it’s safest and where I can heal the
most people. I’m a field medic. I go where it’s too dangerous for doctors to go because they can’t
defend themselves. Doctors help save lives. I help win battles.”

Sakura looked at the battle again and took it all in.

Sakura had to be careful. Just one hit would dispel her.

She would just have to take anyone out before they could land a finger on her.

~*~

There was an Ichibi in front of them. No matter how hard they had fought, they had not been able
to prevent the formation. The Tanuki chuckled menacingly.

“I will crush the whole village into fine sand and paint the streets with your blood.”

“Like hell you will.” Naruto shouted. He bit his thumb and summoned the Toad boss.
Sakura summoned a large part of Katsuya, enough to cover her body and Sasuke’s. Extra
protection as they stood on top of the toad’s head, ready to engage with the one-tailed demon.

Naruto himself was blanketed in red chakra, growing much more quickly than the Ichibi who had
been fought every step of the way.

The One-tail was big and ready to fight.

So was Team 7.

Sasuke and Sakura focussed on fortifying Gamabunta’s body with chakra. The slug helped
immensely to divide their chakra and help the large toad. When the one-tails hit the toad,
Gamabunta was able to stand firm. When he unsheathed his sword and the Ichibi tried to parry
with sand, Sasuke and Sakura strengthened the toad’s muscles enough to break through the
defences.

The Nine-tails was half the size of the Ichibi now and it was enough to fight. Seven large tails
swung behind it, chakra constructs that seemed to have paws and claws formed at its ends. When
the Kyuubi pounced, he had more than enough sharp and pointy avenues of attack. Each attack was
reinforced both with the malignant demon chakra of the strongest tailed beast, but also sharpened
by Naruto’s wind chakra.

“They’re working together.” Sakura said. “Like you said they would.”

Sasuke nodded. “Kurama’s on our side. Or at least on Naruto’s. He’s distracting them.”

“Time for the next part then. Ready, Gamabunto-sama?”

“I’ve been ready ever since the little toadling summoned me.” The frog bellowed. He inhaled
deeply and Sakura and Sasuke chose the exact right moment to imbue the attack with their own
water chakra. Instead of the blast of water that the toad would have expelled, he released a thick
mist that engulfed the area Kuruma and Shukaku were fighting.

“It’s a large area. You’re still up for it?” Sasuke asked.

Sakura nodded. “I’m still the specialist of our team in this area.”

Just because Gaara had his eyes closed, did not mean he was immune to all forms of genjutsu.

~*~

It was hard to concentrate through the noise of explosions surrounding him. But Iroha was a
Hyuuga and he had a job to do.

Not all members of his clan were ninja. Iroha was protecting them today. They were huddled
together in one of the larger rooms. Fifty or sixty people, trembling and waiting for his orders.

He took a deep breath and looked again. There were no chakra signs anywhere along the walls of
the Hyuuga compound. No way to predict where the next explosions would be coming from. He
did not know which exit would be safe and which one would be their deaths.

And suddenly there was a chakra signature approaching him. He did not recognise the ninja at all.
He had his hands raised in a fighting stance as the man in blue robes and with a Purple mask
entered the building.
“They’re not explosive tags.” Purple said. “It’s chemical.”

What?

But Iroha checked again and when he looked at the walls again with an eye for small packages of
chemicals instead of chakra paper, he found the bombs. He saw them all.

There was one more explosion and he had seen what triggered it.

“The north exit is safe. Those explosions won’t go off until twelve minutes from now.” Iroha
smiled in relief. Some of his charges were already moving.

Of course that’s when a Suna ninja dove onto the group. Iroha immediately charged. And Purple
was beside him. The bodyguard wielded a Fuuma shuriken, still folded so that only one of the four
blades was being used. Purple was fast with it too, only taking a few seconds to put the enemy off
balance enough that Iroha could land a solid hit with the gentle fist.

“You should be safe to make it to the exit now. Does anyone else require assistance?” Purple
asked.

“Hoheto-san is in a building on the other side of the compound. There are too many explosives
between us though.”

“Leave that to me.” Purple said. “The Uchiha don’t leave anyone behind.”

~*~

Sarutobi looked with abysmal terror at the three coffins Orochimaru was raising out of the ground.
They were clearly marked with First, Second and Fourth. If the first two contained the Senju
brothers, that was bad for him. If the last contained Minato, the Sandaime was done for. There was
a very clear priority here.

He only had the time to stop one of them. He charged his kunai with chakra suppressing energy,
before throwing them at the last coffin with all the speed Konoha’s Hokage could muster. Pink
apparently had the same idea, since only half of the projectiles embedded in the coffin had been
Sarutobi’s.

The coffin receded back into the ground, while the other two popped open.

The current Hokage gasped as he saw the forms of his two predecessors.

“I can’t believe you recreated this technique.”

“Now, sensei, don’t be rude.” Orochimaru was grinning. “I perfected it.”

Pink snarled at him. “You’re playing with fire.”

“Not my preferred element.” Orochimaru said. “Normally I’d bury you in earth, but if you really
want to I could burn to cinders instead. But first things first.” He had a kunai in each hand with an
extensive note attached.

“You’re binding them to your will.” Sarutobi realised in horror.

“The Edo Tensei never brought people back completely. I was able to change that. Strengthen their
bodies, restore their chakra and fully subjugate them.” Orochimaru pressed the kunai to the men’s
necks. “You’re strong sensei. Think you’re strong enough to take on all three of us?”
Sarutobi stared in disbelieve. The Shodaime was the god of shinobi and no ninja had ever rivalled
the forest of his many skills. The Nidaime had been Sarutobi’s teacher and as untouchable as a
roaring ocean.

“He’s not alone.” Pink said.

“Ah, yes. Our little intruder. It has been fun playing with you, but it is high time we get rid of you.”

“You’re welcome to try.”

All three enemies descended upon Pink. Sarutobi stood frozen as the bodyguard somehow
managed to dodge all attacks directed at him, weaving between assaults with unheard of speeds.

Sarutobi tensed when he sensed the chakra right behind him. “Kage bunshin as well? Naruto really
has been teaching you.”

“I have a plan.” Pink said. “I need you to hold them off while I prepare.”

Sarutobi wondered whether it was the clone or the original fighting. “I can’t fight them. They’re
too strong together.”

“Ah, but you have something they don’t have.”

“And what’s that?”

Pink gestured over Konoha. There was fighting all over and Sarutobi did not want to know how
many of his people had gotten hurt in this attack. It physically hurt to think about it. “The three of
them don’t have the same weight on their shoulders as you do. They don’t have a village to protect.
They want to win. You need to win. Show them why it’s never a good idea to piss off a Hokage.”

Sarutobi sighed. He still did not want to enter this fight, but the bodyguard was right. He had no
choice here. Orochimaru had forced his hand. He would fight and he would do it well. He flashed
through hand signs and bathed the battlefield in flames. That sure got Orochimaru’s attention.

“Finally.” The Nidaime said. “Bring us down.”

“It would be a first for me.” Sarutobi said. “I was never quite able to beat you.”

“That was a long time ago. I’m happy I get to fight you one more time. Show me how much my
student has grown.”

“Gladly.”

There was fire and water and wood. Sarutobi’s muscles ached from the exertion. Though he still
trained regularly, he had not had to push himself like this for years. Attacks came from all sides
and he had to pull off his most impressive jutsu on the shortest notice with the most perfect control
to even stand a chance.

They did not call him the professor for nothing.

But he was still slowly losing ground. It occurred to him that he knew one final technique that
would be able to subdue this threat. One solution that they would not be able to stand against.

“Kage bunshin.” Sarutobi split in three. Each of his clones took one of his predecessors. As the
original he would sacrifice himself for Orochimaru, as was only right. Sarutobi would only need a
moment.
“What are you doing, sensei?” Orochimaru looked alarmed. He had to have noticed the look
Sarutobi was giving them.

“You wanted me to die. I thought you would be pleased.” He started going through the hand signs,
summoning the Shinigami. Minato had taught him this technique. A suicide technique that allowed
a ninja to take one soul with them before the Shinigami took the user’s life in payment. It is what
had allowed the Fourth Hokage to take on the Kyuubi no kitsune and seal it away.

“Stop!” Pink yelled, panting as he pressed his hands on Sarutobi’s and stopped him from
performing his technique.

Pink had two clones. The first was standing behind the Shodaime and pressing a kunai into the
man’s neck. The second was behind the Nidaime and tried to do the same. Sarutobi’s clone had to
help to keep the Nidaime in place long enough.

The Hokage could feel the change of chakra flowing through the air. “What was that? What did
you do?”

“I haven’t had to work under so much pressure for years.” Pink said. “But I saw the seal
Orochimaru used to control them. That was enough.”

Sarutobi’s predecessors’ eyes were clearing and they moved to stand beside Sarutobi. They looked
pissed as hell and were directing all their fury on the snake Sannin.

“I worked months on those seals. This is impossible.” Orochimaru snarled.

“You were raised in Konoha, weren’t you?” Pink asked. “You should have known this would
happen. As every academy child is taught, when you fight one Hokage…”

Orochimaru blanched as the full weight of the situation dawned on him, on the roof of a colosseum
overlooked by Konoha’s Hokage momument. “…you fight all of them.”

~*~

Jun had a strange relationship with her fortune.

She had been lucky to have found her husband and spend many happy years with him. At the same
time she had many strange days where suddenly the universe would conspire against her. She
would wake up on the wrong side of the bed and all day misfortune would follow her. Clothes
would tear, tea would burn and furniture would break.

She had been unlucky to get into her accident and lose her husband. She had been miserable, and
yet her luckiest days had been in her misfortune. Days where she would wake to birds singing
outside her window and everything she did finding unusual success. Her favourite foods were
discounted, her neighbours accidentally cleaned her yard instead of their own, her favourite music
played on the radio whenever she put it on.

For her, life had always felt like it balanced itself. And so when she had met Team 7 the first time,
she thought it was part of her well-deserved break from her hard life.

But the more she had interacted with them, the more she had accepted, the more unsure Jun had
become. Because her life was becoming too good, it felt like she was borrowing too much luck.
And she had been waiting for the universe to compensate her in turn.

When the alarms had gone off, part of her had been relieved. Of course something like this had
been bound to happen. And now she could buckle down and deal with it.

The Uchiha district was organised as loosely as they had been able to get away with. Aunty, as she
liked to be called, was good at knowing people and getting them to trust her. She knew faces and
stories. With barely a glance she could already tell what someone needed and how best it could be
provided to them.

Jun did not have those people skills. But she was good at keeping ledgers. She was good at keeping
track of people and tallying the resources they had available and had already spent. It was why
Aunty could remember people’s life stories, but Jun could remember their addresses.

During an evacuation, Jun’s skillset was more useful than Aunty’s.

There were one hundred and twenty seven people who lived in the district. And there were still
fifteen unaccounted for. Jun had refused to leave before every single one had been found.

Her joints ached and she knew she would feel this exertion for the next few months. She had to
lean on her cane every step she took. But she was moving forward and there was still time.

Except she had miscalculated how much bad luck she had coming for her.

She stood on the street and there was a Suna ninja in front of her. And once the first had revealed
itself, the others were coming out of their hiding. One by one they appeared with wicked grins on
their faces. Soon there were twenty Suna ninja surrounding her. Jun swallowed. She had not been
this outclassed in years. Perhaps the adrenaline that was increasingly pumping through her system
would be able to revive some of her old ninja lessons and she could take one or two out with her.

The irony was not lost on her. Just days before she had been studying the Uchiha histories. She had
become an official member of the clan and had wanted to be in a position to educate the children.
There had been so many stories of self-sacrifice and Jun had felt like an imposter for never having
faced those dilemmas in her time as a ninja. She had wondered how she would react in the same
situation.

Calmly, she found out. With dignity and her head held high. If this was to be the end, so be it. At
the very least she would face the other end having earned the Uchiha title that she had been
bestowed with.

And then suddenly there were only nineteen opponents. The Suna seemed just as confused as Jun
was. At least the next take-down they could all see. One of the Uchiha Platoon was in the Suna
ninja’s personal space and threw a punch with such strength that they literally flew off into the sky.

“Orange.” Jun smiled.

“Kage bunshin!” She yelled, creating dozens of clones that engaged with the enemies. The ones
that tried to run, she mercilessly pursued. The original body moved towards Jun. “Are you
alright?”

“I am now.”

“Man, I’ve been waiting to test that technique out in combat ever since Naruto taught it to me.”

Jun was convinced she saw some rasengan attacks as well. “Among other things, I suppose.”

“That kid is amazing.” Orange beamed. “Now if you’re still here, that means not everyone got
evacuated. Who are you still missing?”
“Just three more.” Jun gave the names.

“This would go quicker if Black was here, but I’ll give it a shot.” Orange placed her hand on one
of the walls. “You know who we’re looking for. Come help.”

The ink on the walls shimmered, before a single mouse started moving.

“That’s some ninja bunkum.”

“Come on!” Orange offered her an arm to help her walk. Somehow she still had energy after all the
clones she made. “I’ll help you keep the people safe, and then I can concentrate on keeping the
place protected for when you return.”

~*~

Sakura’s clone looked over the colosseum once more. There were no more wounded who needed
immediate attention. That meant she could go on the offensive.

“I know that look.” Naruto said from beside her. It had to be one of his clones who had been
helping out where possible. A lot of them had popped already. “You’re looking to finish this.”

“There are a lot of small battles we could assist in.” Sakura noted. “But over there are the generals.
If we can help take them out, it’ll push everything to our favour.”

“Or you’ll pop.” Sasuke said. The original was still fighting on the stage, but his clones had been in
the audience from the start, taking out the genjutsu specialists and fighting alongside jounin. “It’s
risky.”

“Luckily I have a secret weapon.” She said, taking off her forehead protector and revealing a
diamond of condensed chakra.

Sasuke’s eyes went wide. “You mastered the strength of a Thousand? Tsunade must have taught
that just recently. How did you charge it so fast?”

“I helped.” Naruto grinned.

“Okay.” Sasuke said, looking over the battlefield. “This should work. How do you want to play
it?”

“I’m wary of using genjutsu. Taijutsu would be best.”

“There’s no room for my polearm.” Sasuke noted. “But I’ll assist best I can.”

Sakura nodded, before the chakra crystal expanded as black lines all over her body. Naruto’s body
became more feral, claws shooting from his hands and fangs from his mouth. Sasuke was looking
with red eyes at his opponents.

The dragon was ready to fight once more.

~*~

Tenzo had gotten out of the wrong side of the bed. There was no other explanation how he could
be standing in front of the ANBU station and seeing so much blood smeared against the walls.

He saw the bodies of Konoha chuunin, disembowelled, draped across the hallway. Ninja who had
reported to this station for orders and ready to serve, only to be ambushed.
He quickened his step, hyper vigilant of any possible attacker. All he came across was the shape of
three hooded shinobi, fighting through ranks of enemy ninja that had been trying to overtake the
station.

“Back in formation!” White yelled.

Black and Blue listened, just in time to evade a large attack that could have taken them out. The
moment it was over, they dispersed again and continued their gradual take-down of the jounin who
had been sent to kill ANBU.

The enemy did not seem to stand a chance and Tenzo instantly felt a lot better.

~*~

Sasuke had a plan to defeat this ninja that could manipulate bones as easily as other ninja shaped
their chakra. He had dismissed most of the first ideas that required him to distract the audience and
show off speed and strength he should not have.

Kimimaro kept attacking him and Sasuke was constantly on the move to avoid the bones coming
after him.

His Sakura had often made him study anatomy. She was their medic. Some teams used the
presence of a medic to mean the rest could slack off. Sakura was of the persuasion that it
besmirched her honour if her teammates were not at least half as competent as herself. Over the
years, that meant Naruto and Sasuke had to do a lot of studying.

Sasuke was intimately familiar with the composition of bones in general. He was intimately aware
of the medical techniques that were able to cut through bones. These bones were special and
reinforced with chakra. That just made it harder, not impossible.

The only problem was the lack of chakra he had. Currently, there were nineteen clones active. Each
only had one twentieth of his maximum chakra stores. He needed more so he sent out the signal.

It took a few minutes for the first clones to pop and the memories came.

He had a few clones near the Sandaime in case he got hurt after the battle with Orochimaru. That
battle was rounding off and leading up to a very thorough defeat for Orochimaru. They decided
themselves non-critical.

All over the village his clones were popping. The enemy had been expecting they could surprise
Konoha. They had depended on being able to overtake critical structures before Konoha had a time
to organise. But Sasuke had known exactly what they had been planning. He had dismantled the
first charge systematically and given all the Konoha ninja enough momentum to fight back. His
clones were working from the shadows, leaving the showmanship to the bodyguards.

There was a clone near the original Sakura and Naruto who had been defending them against
foreign ninja who wanted to see why the Ichibi had still been contained. With the full power of the
Kyuubi distracting Shukaku, Sakura’s genjutsu had been able to make a connection with Gaara and
had woken him up.

The enemy ninja had seen the collapse and had given up on that part of the plan. Much like all the
other parts of the plan Team 7 had forced them to give up on.

There were only two clones left. The one that was keeping the original Sakura and Naruto safe, and
one that was fighting as part of the dragon.
A third of his chakra should be enough for this.

He thoroughly visualised the ninjutsu he had been creating. There were three sequences of hand
signals he could bind it to, two of which were already taken by other ninjutsu. He took the final
sequence and went through it.

“Coda of the Sakura.”

His chakra grid pulsated with the medical chakra. Instead of dodging the next attack, he stood still.
Kimimaro shot bone filaments at him. They managed to reach his chakra net and then made it only
an inch further before they dissolved into Cherry blossom petals that were carried along with the
wind.

He checked the grid around him. It had taken a significant amount of his chakra to set this up, but
maintaining it only cost him his concentration.

It was time to fight back.

Sasuke charged at the increasingly panicking enemy. Each bone sent his way turned into pink
flowers on the wind. He held out his sword.

Kimimaro raised a wall of bone again, but it dissolved quickly as Sasuke got close enough. He held
the blade against the enemy’s neck. Kimimaro created bones frantically, letting them attack like
claws. Like quantity would make a difference to this ultimate counter.

“I will give you one chance to surrender.”

“I promised Orochimaru I would give my life for his cause.”

“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to.” Sasuke moved the sword across the man’s neck and sliced open
his carotid artery.

He wiped the sword against the enemy’s clothes and then sheathed it. He took a moment to admire
how the dragon was used in the stands. It looked glorious, if still rough along the edges. The
commanders did not stand a chance. In the distance, Shukaku’s form had become so small it was
no longer visible above the trees. It was only Sasuke’s sharingan that allowed him to catch
glimpses of the tailed beast’s chakra.

On the other side, the barrier had dropped. Orochimaru had been defeated.

From the stands, many ninja were staring at him. They had been expecting a genin and had seen
some of Sasuke’s true powers shine through. They would be equally amazed by Naruto and Sakura
once the reports became common knowledge, but he had been the most public fighting right in the
middle of the arena, creating a brand new technique from scratch. Maybe he would get his
nickname back soon. Sasuke noticed Kakashi amongst the stands, fighting by himself with the
occasional support from Navy. It was the best place for Sasuke to join in the fight.

He was about to set off when he saw a shape approaching him. One of the Hokage’s bodyguards.

“You need to come with me, Sasuke.” Raido said.

“I thought genin had to report to their jounin instructors in times of crisis?”

“Special orders.” The man said. “Orochimaru escaped and he’s interested in you. We need to get
you somewhere safe.”
Sasuke cursed under his breath. Away from the fighting? What paranoid bullshit. “Of course.”

He followed the man, but made sure to replenish his clones anyway. There was still plenty for him
to do.

~*~

“Please, please, please.” Shikuro whispered, but his bugs would not listen. They sensed his fear
and were panicking in kind.

There was another explosion nearby and it made Shikuro’s whole body shake. He tried to
remember his lessons from the Academy about how to handle a crisis. But he only had a few
months of lessons to fall back on. He had not even learned to access his chakra. The first steps had
been on today’s lesson plan, disturbed because of that stupid flu he had gotten out of nowhere.

He tried to calm himself, holding his legs tightly. He was hidden away in a closet where nobody
would be able to find him. He just had to stay quiet until his parents found him.

“I think there’s somebody in here.”

Shikuro held his breath.

“You don’t have to be afraid.” It was a woman’s voice. “I’m here to help.”

Shikuro had zero training in ninja tricks and even he knew statements like that one should not be
believed.

“Your parents are already at the shelter. You’re Shikuro, right?” The voice got closer. “I don’t
want to rush you, but it really would be better if we went sooner rather than later. I know you’re in
the closet.”

Shikuro whinced. But if she already knew… then how much harm could it do to take a look? He
opened the closet slowly, finally getting a good look at her. She did not look like a Konoha ninja,
but not like a Suna ninja either. “Y-you’re one of those Uchiha Platoon guards unle Shibi keeps
complaining about.”

“That’s right.” She held out her hand. Her violet mask looked pretty on her. “Can you come with
me?”

There was suddenly someone else in the room. Shikuro’s eyes widened as another ninja, this one
clearly Suna, was behind Violet and raising his sword. “Watch out!”

Violet did not turn around. Faster than Shikuro’s eyes had been able to track, Violet had thrown
dozens of shuriken at the enemy’s direction. Her movement was only betrayed by how her robes
had to fall back into place. The enemy dropped.

Shikuro could not see Violet’s face, but he was sure she had been smiling all throughout.

“I promise I can keep you safe.”

~*~

Sasuke followed the special jounin down the hallways.

“You’re not going to ask me why we’re here?”

“I know enough about ninja procedures.” Sasuke said. “The prison is the safest place to hide
vulnerable targets.”

“Huh.” Raido hesitated for a second. “I’ve been hearing stories about Team 7 for months, but I
figured they had to be exaggerated. Your teammates as good as you?”

“No.” Sasuke said. “They’re better.”

“This is the place.”

It was an empty cell and it looked like any other. Except this one had a fake lock on the outside. It
was so well hidden that it was impossible to tell unless you were looking at the inside of the door
and saw the door handle.

“How long are you keeping me?”

“It’s just while Orochimaru and his followers are fully chased out of the village. We’re estimating
two hours.”

“Understood. What’s the password?”

“Dead Snake.”

Sasuke stepped inside the cell and pulled the door behind him. He locked it behind him and sat in
the middle of the room. He might as well meditate and check in on the situation while he had to
wait.

He smelled gas.

His eyes shot open and he reached for the cell door, unlocking it. It stayed shut no matter how
much he pushed against it to open it. Those bastards had found some way to fake a safe room and
had locked it from the outside somehow.

Options flashed through his mind. Many had to be dismissed. This was a prison cell and the very
walls had been imbued with chakra and seals. Earth jutsu had no effect.

He could feel the gas affecting him. His mind started working slower.

Fuck.

~*~

The commanders were almost defeated, until Sasuke’s clone popped and Naruto and Sakura were
so surprised that their clones did not last much longer.

~*~

There was a foggy darkness that Sasuke drifted in and out of. The memories of his clones were
coming to him, popped against their will. Sasuke could not get his chakra to work. Techniques he
tried to activate were failing before he could even finish shaping them. Before Sasuke could get
control of his situation, he was back under.

~*~

Sasuke woke up in a very dark room. He was lying down in some kind of a bed.
He tried to build his chakra grid and run medical diagnostics on himself, but there were chakra-
suppressing shackles around his wrist. Any chakra he tried to build in himself, just dissolved before
he could do anything with it. He felt a headache, which was thankfully lessened through the drugs
still in his system. Small mercies.

“Good morning.”

The voice was distorted. There was some chakra concealment going on, but Sasuke also picked up
on the acoustics of it being said behind a mask. It was coming from inside the room.

“It’s been longer than two hours then, I take it.” Sasuke noted.

“You can say that. How are you feeling?”

“Lethargic.” Sasuke noted. He raised his hand as far as it could go to emphasise the restraints.
They would not be able to see it in the dark, but they would be able to hear the chain moving. “Are
these things really necessary?”

“Yes, they are. Do you know why you’re here?”

“Not to keep me safe.” Sasuke said. “My best bet is that you saw my potential in the arena and will
be testing me for jounin candidacy. Stupid of you considering I was still fighting in life or death
battles through my clones.”

Sasuke heard the movement of fabric. It sounded like the ninja was shaking his head. “What is
your name?”

“Whatever you want to call me.”

“What is your affiliation?”

“Are we really going to go through all of the standard interrogation questions?” Sasuke groaned. “I
was wearing my hitai-ate when I was drugged.”

“What is your rank?”

“Strong enough to earn my forehead protector. Apparently not strong enough to fight off a surprise
drugging. I’ll have to work on that for next time.”

“This is not a test, Sasuke.”

“Ah, so you did know my name.”

“This is not a test. There is nobody here to give you a medal for being obtuse. We want answers
and we’re going to get them.”

“You know, that’s exactly the kind of thing a proctor would say if they wanted me to slip.”

“We have time.”

“Just until my team comes to extract me.”

“They won’t be coming.”

“Then you don’t know my team.” Sasuke said.

 “We sent a replacement.”

“Not a passable one. It’s impossible.”

“We have been studying you, Sasuke. We have been studying how you deal with your team and
how you do your business. We got a perfect replica. And since we need you to listen to us and
understand your situation, I will even tell you about the two biggest obstacles. We drew your
blood. Your replacement is able to enter the Uchiha house where your team is staying.”

Sasuke frowned.

“I see you look confused. It was a simple matter of a sealing array that overlays your chakra signal
over their own, based on your blood sample.”

Sasuke was still not convinced. That was highly advanced seal work. Who the hell was he dealing
with here?

But there was something more important going on.

How had the ninja seen him in a room without any light? He listened closely. He smelled the air.
The ninja was holding a candle. Why had he not seen it?

His headache. There were bandages tightly applied to his head. They were pressing against his
skull. The pressure was bad, but it was hiding something worse.

“You took my eyes.”

“Are you ready to take us serious now?”

Chapter End Notes

Next update on Thursday evening (CET), 24th of March: The Storm.

 The Storm
Chapter Summary

The invasion is thwarted, but Sasuke is nowhere to be found. And Sasuke is not the
only casualty of war.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

There was no more light in the world.

“You have to eat.”

“Hn.” Sasuke said. He waved the boy off.

“I’m worried about you.”

Sasuke accepted the rations and forced his mouth open. Naruto and Sakura would want him to go
on. He could not go on if he starved. The food tasted like ash in his mouth. “Is there anything you
need me to decide on?”

“No. There’s no sign the enemy followed us. We don’t need you until we move the base in two
weeks.”

“Then leave me to gather my strength.”

The boy left again and it was a little easier. The cold stone walls still hummed with his chakra from
when he had carved the rooms. He had isolated his chamber, the Hokage’s chamber, from the rest
of the Uchiha Platoon’s base. The earth hampered his sensing abilities and he could finally be
alone.

Sasuke had needed to fight the enemy. He had needed to run. He had needed to create a shelter for
the Platoon. But finally he was alone to grieve. Naruto was gone. Killed by the very enemy that
was hunting him down now. Sasuke had spent three days crying. Now he just felt empty. He did not
know what to do.

Naruto would know. Naruto always kept going. Naruto always found a reason.

Sasuke was not Naruto.

He thought of the small group of ninja who had survived. He thought of the small boy Songoku
who was his second-in-command. Surely Sasuke could find some reason to keep going. For them.
If he was in any way a man Sakura and Naruto could have been proud of, then Sasuke could find a
reason to keep going.

Right?

~*~
“Sensei!” Naruto and Sakura ran up to their instructor. “Are you all right?”

Kakashi badgered a Sand ninja over the head to knock him out. Though he had started fighting in
the arena, he had ended up halfway across Konoha putting out fires and subduing opponents. “I’m
fine. Where’s Sasuke?”

“His clone popped. All of his clones.” Sakura said.

“We had a team 7 of clones fighting in the arena.” Naruto said. “Sasuke’s clone popped without
any warning. Screwed up our formation and made our clones pop as well. Sasuke wouldn’t do that
unless he was in trouble and really needed the chakra.”

Kakashi frowned. “Last time I saw his original body, he was fighting on the arena stage.”

Sakura shook her head. “He was pulled away from there. He defeated his enemy and an assistant of
the Hokage took him away.”

Kakashi tensed minutely. “He was probably just put under protective guard. We’ll head to the
Uchiha compound and regroup there. Agreed?”

The two genin nodded.

~*~

Naruto felt like he wanted to gag. He stood frozen in the street, unable to believe what he saw in
front of him. Her Uchiha clothes were in tethers and the orange mask was cracked.

Sakura rushed to Orange’s side, her hands glowing green as she inspected her. She slowly moved
away then. “There’s nothing to be done. She’s dead.”

The sky that had already turned grey and dark, started to let small droplets of rain fall upon them.

“I’m sorry.” Kakashi said. “I know she meant a lot to you.”

“Fuck this.” Naruto punched at a wall. He took a few moments to collect his thoughts. “How much
fighting is there still to be done?”

“The invasion is over.” Kakashi said, looking around. “Everything seems to be under control now.
All that’s left is clean up.”

“Then we take her away from here. Get her ready for a burial.” Naruto made a bunch of clones to
spread across the village, before gently lifting her off the ground. “I’ll have my clones search for
the rest of the Uchiha Platoon. Let them know what happened.”

Sakura nodded. “We’ll bring her to the pond in the middle of the compound. Where Sasuke told us
the fallen Uchiha heroes were brought.”

“You don’t think Sasuke will mind?”

“She died fighting for the Uchiha. She deserves the title.”

Naruto nodded. They took her to the pond and put her on one of the stone slabs. They removed the
mask and started cleaning up the blood from her body. Sakura was ready to close up any wounds,
but they could not find any.

“The blood is from the enemies she fought.” Sakura said. “I don’t see a scratch on her.”
“Then how did she die?”

Sakura ran her hands over the body. “It’s like her heart just stopped beating for no reason. I can’t
explain it.”

“She’s not alone.” A voice said. It was a Naruto clone. He was carrying White over his shoulder,
just as unbreathing as Orange had been. He gently placed the bodyguard on the second slate.

“What happened?”

The clone gritted his teeth. “I found him like this. The ninja around him said that one moment he
was fighting and the other he just collapsed. They think it was some kind of poison.” It put White
on the slab next to Orange and then popped.

There were tears in their eyes. It would have been so much easier to deal with this if Sasuke were
with them. Sasuke always knew what to do.

When the another clone came, they could have wept. The clone itself gasped when it saw not just
Orange but White as well. It took all its strength to place Pink on the next slab before the grief
destabilised him.

Naruto hunched over, cursing to the ground.

Sakura grimaced through her tears. “Naruto, has any of your clones checked in on you yet?”

“No. They were supposed to the moment they saw someone from the Uchiha Platoon.” Naruto
swallowed. He looked to Sakura. “Do you think… this happened to all of them?”

“I don’t want to.”

Kakashi sighed. “I don’t want to think it either.”

As they waited, the sky darkened further. It started to rain in earnest.

Another clone. “I’m sorry Sakura.” He put Red down on a slab. “She was helping the hospital. She
went out to get another box of supplies and went down somewhere along the way.” The clone
looked around at the others and destabilised when he saw the colours of the masks.

Sakura held back a sob.

Naruto clutched his chest. “Every time a clone pops, I get another memory of learning about all the
casualties.”

It did not get easier. One by one the clones came back. Each one carried with them a body. Green.
Purple. Violet. Navy.

It was just waiting until the clones came back with Blue, Black, Gold and Silver. Four more slabs.
Naruto found it too easy to imagine the bodies on them. The only thing worse would be if they
ended up needing the fifth slab too, if whatever had happened to Sasuke for him to need all his
chakra had been more serious than they had thought.

The wait was nervous and silent.

“Some clones have popped with an update.” Naruto let out a sigh of relief. “They’ve been
everywhere and there’s no sign the last four bodyguards. They must have managed to get away.”
“Or they were taken.” Sakura said. “Though I can’t imagine why. What about Sasuke?”

“There were reports of him moving away from the stadium. A few clones are following the trail.”

“So seven casualties and five missing.” Sakura turned to her teacher. “Kakashi-sensei… do you
think this is anything like what happened four years ago?”

Kakashi should have been hit harder by the allegation that Konoha had made a move against the
one of its own clans. Instead he was giving it serious thought. There was a precedent after all. “I
can’t see how. It sounds like they took advantage of the attack. Nobody but us suspected this attack
would happen, as far as I’m aware.”

“But this can’t just be a coincidence.”

“We don’t know how many casualties there were outside of the guards.” Kakashi warned. “Don’t
jump to conclusions until we have a complete picture of the situation.”

“No.” Naruto said as he looked around the stone slabs at the corpses gathered. “My clones have
seen it. The bodyguards of the Uchiha Platoon were helping all over the village. They were holding
their own against powerful enemies and winning. Thanks to them, the total body count for Konoha
isn’t higher than a few dozen. They were in dangerous situations, but they were in situations they
could handle. It doesn’t make sense for all of them to lose their battles at the same time and in the
same way. If so many of the bodyguards are gone, it was deliberate. They were targeted.”

“What do we do?” Sakura asked.

The two turned to Kakashi.

“I don’t know.” Their sensei said. “There are no clues and the ones that we do have … I don’t
know what to do with them.”

“I think Jiji owes…” Naruto stopped in the middle of his sentence. “One of my clones found
Sasuke.”

“Where is he?”

~*~

Sasuke looked horrible in a hospital bed, hooked up to all the different machines. Half his face was
bandaged up. His chakra levels were so low, Naruto and Sakura had not even been able to tell it
was him until the nurse had pointed him out.

“What happened?” Kakashi asked.

The doctor shook her head sadly. “He was attacked on the way to the safe house. He protected the
jounin escorting him from an unidentified type of acid by throwing himself in front of the attack. It
led to critical wounds all over his body.”

“Will he be all right?”

“We’ve done all we can. We had to put him in a medically induced coma. We’re hoping he’ll wake
up somewhere tonight.”

Naruto and Sakura got on the bed and settled themselves on either side of him. They could hear the
rain tapping against the window. “We’re not leaving here until he’s woken up.”
A new voice startled them. “You’d get in my way.”

“Tsunade-sama?” The doctor gasped. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“I’m here to look at Sasuke.” She picked up his chart and flipped through it. She winced.

“What’s wrong?” Sakura came over to her and tried to look at the chart too.

Tsunade’s gaze lingered on the chart, before she put it away to focus on her student instead.
“Sakura… have you had any medical attention since the fight?”

“I healed myself.” She said. “I’m not stupid.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Shouldn’t you focus on Sasuke?”

“There’s nothing I can do right now. Let me feel useful by doing something that I can.” Tsunade
pulled Sakura to a nearby empty bed and started running her green hands over her body. “You’re
next Naruto.”

“I don’t get hurt easily.” Naruto protested.

“Then there’s no harm in me checking.” Tsunade stilled when she settled over Sakura’s right
elbow. “What’s this?”

“It got hurt, so I had to restructure the bone. Did I do it wrong?”

“This is why you still get checked out after your battles, brat.” Tsunade’s hand intensified.

Sakura held back a scream of pain as the bone she had made shifted around and changed shape.
Some of it was dissolved and regrown. “Fuck.” She said. “I screwed up the fifth and sixth chakra
layers.”

“It’s a good thing I’m checking it out. I don’t think anyone else would have caught that.” Tsunade
said. “It would have been fine for a while until one bad hit would have broken your arm in two.”

Sakura winced. “I’m sorry, shisho. I disappointed you.”

“Now don’t give me that.” Tsunade said. “I overheard some of the reports about the invasion.
Team 7 played an integral role in containing the damage. You saved many lives and you fought
well. I’m proud of you.”

Sakura glowed. “Do you think we’ll get promoted?”

Kakashi chuckled. “I don’t know how they’d keep a chuunin promotion away from you.”

Naruto grinned. “Not exactly what she meant.”

Tsunade finished her examination. “You have a real shot at Tokubetsu jounin.”

Kakashi sighed. “How do you keep drafting more and more people into your insane ambitions?”

Naruto took Sakura’s place and let Tsunade look him over. “It’s not like we made much of a secret
out of what we want. Not our fault people start believing in us when we express ourselves. You
know, if the Hokage had not kept you away from us, we would have talked you into believing us
as well. We have places to be and the more people supporting us the better.”

“Oh, I believe you.” Kakashi said. “I fully realise I’m part of the insanity.”

Sakura got back on the bed next to Sasuke. She really hoped he was going to be okay.

Tsunade finally finished with Naruto and made her way to Sasuke. The doctor coughed. “You
know, we could use your help with some of the other patients as well. I assure you we’ve already
done as much with Sasuke as is possible.”

“I’d like to confirm that for myself.”

“You really shouldn’t…” The doctor warned.

Tsunade pulled back the blanket and all of Sasuke’s clothes were drenched in blood.

“I’m sorry, Tsunade-sama. We didn’t have the time to change him into a hospital gown.”

Tsunade grit her teeth. “It’s fine.” She ignored the blood and moved her hands over Sasuke’s body.
She frowned deeply. And then she stopped. “Everything the chart said is correct.” She stepped
away from Sasuke. “I’m going to make some medicine to help his recovery along.”

“Wait.” Sakura said. “What aren’t you telling us, Tsunade-sama?”

“Sakura. Read the chart. Really read it. I’ll talk to you when I know more.”

“We can make the medicine, Tsunade-sama.” The doctor chased after her. “Please! Just a few
patients that are in critical condition…”

“No.” Tsunade said resolutely. “I’m only here because of Sasuke. And I need to speak with him as
soon as possible. I’m making the medicine myself.”

Naruto did not understand and settled next to Sasuke. Kakashi took a chair. Sakura grabbed the
chart and started reading. It was horrible. Damage to his whole chakra network. The damage near
his eyes was so bad they were worried he might never activate his Sharingan again. A concussion
strong enough to cause brain damage. Strong behaviour deviancy and memory loss expected when
he woke up.

She grieved the first time she read it, hearing the news as Sasuke’s family. The second time she
read it as a medic and tried to evaluate the doctors’ performances and where she would have gone
different. The third time she read it as a ninja. That one was the most frightening of all. She shared
a look with Kakashi and she suspected she understood Kakashi’s reaction now when he first heard
Sasuke had been taken by one of the Hokage’s guards.

Sakura turned to Naruto. “There’s a chance…”

Kakashi made one of their Team 7 signals. Silence. Then another few. Wait. Evaluate. Pretend.

She wanted to lie down on the other bed, but instead she stayed right where she was. She would
pretend it was not suspicious. She would listen and observe when the boy in this bed woke up. If
he was really Sasuke, they would find out. If he was not…

Team 7 always came first.

~*~
It was morning when Sasuke first stirred. He groaned and Naruto and Sakura were instantly
moving out of the way and checking on him. “Don’t move too much.” Naruto said. “You took a
real beating.”

“Naruto?”

“Yeah, I’m here. How are you feeling.”

“Lousy. What happened?”

Sakura handed him a glass of water. “They say you were attacked and that you took an attack
meant for someone else.”

“I don’t remember that at all.” Sasuke said. “I’m having trouble enough remembering the chuunin
exams. Just chaos. There was an attack on Konoha, wasn’t there?”

“It was unbelievable.” Naruto said. “The whole village was fighting.”

“Was anyone hurt? Are you and Sakura okay?”

“We’re fine, teme. But the Uchiha platoon… none of them made it.”

Sasuke became very silent and still. “What happened to them?”

“Most of them died. It seemed like they just collapsed for no reason. All over the village. We’ve
laid them down near the pond. There are still four missing.”

“They deserve a full Uchiha burial.” Sasuke said, determined. He tried to get out of the bed, but
Kakashi stopped him.

“You’re not going anywhere until the doctor okays it.”

Sasuke sighed but let their sensei push him back into the hospital bed. “Get him then. I do have
other things to do.”

Kakashi called the doctor. The man seemed relieved that Sasuke had woken up. “That’s a good
sign. We were afraid the head trauma was more severe. I’m going to remove the bandages around
your eyes now. Is that okay?”

Sasuke nodded. The right side of his face was scarred and his right eye was bloodshot. There was
no white visible at all. The damage extended to his other eye, a pink halo implying inflammation.

“Can you still form the sharingan?” Kakashi asked.

Sasuke concentrated, but clasped at his head in pain just a moment later. “It hurts.”

The doctor looked at his notes. “We were afraid of that. The chakra pathways were damaged too
much. With therapy and time, you may regain the Sharingan one day. But it will be a long journey.
If you rush it, you might find yourself unable to deactivate them, like your sensei.”

Sasuke swallowed. “How good are my chances?”

“I don’t like to deal with percentages.” The doctor said. “Every case is different and unique.”

“You’ll just have to be a ninja without the Sharingan.” Naruto said. “Sakura and I manage just fine
without magical eyes.”
“Right.”

“Except…” the doctor said. “We’ll need to do some more testing. If your chakra pathways were
damaged so thoroughly it’s affecting your ability to activate the sharingan, we don’t know you’d
be able to manipulate chakra at all.”

“You’re saying I might not be able to be a ninja anymore?” Sasuke asked. He looked incredulous,
like the very idea was absurd.

“I’m saying it wouldn’t be safe. That you won’t be able to fight.”

“I need to defeat someone. I can’t stop until that goal is achieved.”

“I’m afraid that’s simply impossible.”

“No.” Sasuke growled at the doctor. “I can’t accept that.”

“If that’s really true, we’ll complete your mission for you, Sasuke.” Naruto said. “Sakura and me.”

“No, it has to be me.” Sasuke said. “I have to be the one to kill my brother.”

Naruto stilled. “Remember that night the ANBU attacked me? I was so scared, but we got through
it together. We might not be able to beat him yet, but we’ll get there. You told me about the test
Kakashi suggested to let us pass his bell test. You said you had agreed to his suggestion because
you knew you’d prove yourself if given enough time. We have time on our side here. We can take
as long as we need. Your brother’s not going anywhere.”

Sasuke cursed under his breath, but nodded in the end. “You’re right.”

“We can ask Jiji to give us some time off from missions.”

“I hardly think the Hokage has time for us right now.” Sasuke said. “But I appreciate the gesture.”

Naruto hesitated visibly. He wanted to say something else, but Sakura grasped his shoulder before
he could commit himself. “We’ll let Sasuke rest. It’s been a long day. Sasuke, you’d better listen to
the doctor when he tells you something. Or else you’ll be waking up to another concussion.” She
smiled and sent him a hand sign.

Sasuke looked confused. “I can’t remember hand signs.” He rubbed at his head. “Fuck. What else
did I lose?”

Sakura rubbed at his shoulder. “It’s okay. It’ll come back. We’ll teach you.” She made the sign
again. Slower. “This one is ‘see you later’.”

“Thanks. You’re the best.”

Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi went to the Uchiha house without speaking. It was not until they were
safely inside and protected by the seals that they spoke.

“That wasn’t Sasuke.” Naruto said. He was soaked from the rain, taking off his clothes. His clones
had gathered towels for them to dry off with.

“No.” Kakashi said. “It appears not.”

“Why weren’t you surprised, Sakura?”

“It’s something Tsunade said. She seemed suspicious. And when I looked at Sasuke’s chart… it’s
a bit too coincidental. Everything we’d normally do to test conclusively he’s actually Sasuke has
been damaged. We can’t ask questions because he’s got a concussion. We can’t test his eyes,
because of the damage there. We can’t even make out his face because of the scarring. The poisons
make it hard to do DNA testing, his teeth were damaged and had to be reconstructed.”

“Fuck. I wonder when Orochimaru made the switch.” Naruto said. “I hope the real Sasuke’s safe.”

Kakashi and Sakura shared a look.

“What is it?”

It was Sakura who spoke. “Naruto, Suna was busy invading the village. Orochimaru’s plan was to
take over the village. Why would he want to set up a plant?”

“Then it was a backup plan.”

Sakura shook his head. “No. You’re ignoring the more likely party.”

“We don’t know what happened.” Kakashi said.

“You suspected something would happen.” Sakura said. “When you heard Sasuke had been taken
by a high-ranking ninja. What did the Hokage tell you about Sasuke that we didn’t know?”

“The Hokage?” Naruto asked, until shock lined his face just a few seconds later. “You’re not
saying that Jiji knows anything about this, are you?”

“Answer the question, sensei.”

“I don’t know.” Kakashi said. “Lately he’s seemed worried about my reports. I don’t think
Sandaime-sama knows what to think of Sasuke anymore. He must have discussed it with his
subordinates. I just thought, in all the confusion of the battle, there are a lot of parties who would
feel safer keeping Sasuke out of it.”

“But he was a huge help.” Naruto said.

“Doesn’t matter.” Kakashi said. “They needed to control unpredictable elements.”

“And then what?! They switched him out with some kind of fake? Because they just has one of
those lying around?”

“It’s the very fact that they had a substitute ready that worries me.” Sakura said. “It requires
preparation. Did anyone in Konoha know about the invasion?”

“No.” Kakashi said. “But they would not have needed to know the specifics. Just decide that under
certain conditions they would make this switch.”

Naruto sighed. He stared at the empty table in front of him. “Orange would have brought me tea by
now.” Naruto said. “She’d be cracking jokes and lightening the mood.” He rubbed at his eyes. “I
can’t stand how quiet the house is now.”

Sakura put her hand on his shoulder.

“Do you two think… did Konoha get rid of the bodyguards too?”

Sakura stayed silent. Kakashi made to protest, but the words caught in his throat.
“If they did, I can’t forgive them. No matter who they are.”

“And what if it’s the Hokage?” Sakura asked.

“Jiji?” Naruto shook his head. “He wouldn’t do this. It has to be someone else working in the
office. Maybe one of his advisors.”

“And if it’s him?”

Naruto steeled his expression. “Then I’m in for a challenge. It’s going to be really hard to become
Hokage after we’ve committed treason against the Sandaime.”

“If you’re going to do this, you have to be sure.” Kakashi said. “You’re talking about betraying the
village.”

“It’s no less than Sasuke would do for us.” Sakura said. “We’ll do this together.”

Their teacher hesitated. “My dad was ostracised for disobeying orders and betraying the village. I
swore I’d never repeat his mistake.”

“You don’t have to decide now.” Sakura said. “Think it over if you must.”

“What do we do now?” Naruto asked. “This is the part where Sasuke would normally step in and
give us the plan.”

“Then we’ll just have to make our own.” Sakura pulled out a scroll. “This is what he’s been
teaching us. We have our mission parameters. Our teammate has been kidnapped. We need to
locate him and retrieve him using any means necessary.”

“Right.” Naruto sat down. “It’s just like the D&D games. Just with higher stakes. Maybe we can
find the other four bodyguards and see what they know. What do we do about the fake Sasuke?”

“It’s better if we can search as inconspicuously as possible. And that means letting whoever did
this think that we believe that Sasuke is the real one.”

Naruto made a face. “I don’t want to pretend the fake is our teammate.”

“Neither do I. But it’s the only way.”

~*~

They had an awkward lunch at the hospital. Team 7 together again, except not really.

Their clones were hard at work. All Konoha ninja were busy rebuilding and dealing with the
aftermath of the invasion. Naruto and Sakura were officially on bedrest, which suited them just
fine. They went around the village, handing out home-made lunches under an umbrella and
listening to anyone who was willing to talk.

Sasuke had taught them how to do this in a foreign village. It was both easier and harder to do it in
Konoha. Harder because they had to fool their own friends and allies. Easier, because it did not
require any acting to show sympathy and grief at the loss of their fellow shinobi.

Lives had been lost. Children orphaned. Many ninja had been captured or injured. Naruto and
Sakura talked to most of them. Listened to their stories.

That was enough.

~*~

They had been summoned to the Hokage’s office. The whole of team 7 and Shikamaru as well.

Naruto stood front and centre. Sakura and Sasuke to one side, Shikamaru to the other. Sasuke stood
on crutches. His body was still heavily bandaged and he had trouble getting around. Sakura had
helped him come here. The open windows let them all feel the moist winds on their skin. The
sound of rain was ever-present and there were rumblings of thunder in the distance.

“You were brave yesterday. I am very proud of all of you how you were able to handle yourselves
under such pressure.” The Hokage said. “Though I can’t imagine it’s how any of you imagined
your chuunin exams to go.”

“After the forest of Death, the tone was pretty much set.” Naruto said.

“I imagine so.” The Hokage said. “Now, you must be wondering why I asked you here.”

“Are you finally going to have that tea with us you promised?” Naruto asked.

“I’ve been busy, Naruto.”

“We’re here so you can announce the results of the exams.” Sakura said.

“Yes. As you may have suspected, winning the individual bouts was not the purpose of the exams.
It was to show off the capabilities of our ninja and to show your merit. Through deliberations with
my advisors and the jounin instructors, we have come to the conclusion that the four of you
showed exceptional skill and foresight. Especially you, Naruto, have grown by leaps and bounds.”

“We’ve been training hard for it.”

“It surprised me that you have taken the Uchiha name. You as well, Sakura.”

“It’s been a long time coming.” Naruto said.

Sakura nodded. “If not now, then it would have happened eventually.”

The old man smiled. “It was quite amusing to see the crowd’s reaction. Thank you for that. There
is a lot I should express gratitude for. The reports are still coming in, but it seems the three of you
were responsible for saving many lives.”

“We tried to do the best we could.”

“Shikamaru will be granted the status of Chuunin. However, there is another matter that has to be
discussed with the rest of you.” Sarutobi schooled his expression. ”I see accounts here of the
powers Team 7 displayed. You were impressive during your battles in the exams, but those
matches failed to show your full capabilities. Naruto, it is said you not only used seals in regular
combat, but that you also summoned frogs and used a teleportation technique. Did you train with
Jiraiya?”

“I have, Jiji. Over the past month.”

“Sakura, you used explosive strength while fighting, but you were also said to heal and use the
Strength of a Thousand technique. You trained under Tsunade.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama. She returned to the village a month ago and taught me many things.”
The hokage looked to Kakashi, standing behind him. “And why have you not mentioned this in the
past month?”

“We used shadow clones.” Naruto said. “Kakashi-sensei told us we were not allowed to seek
teachers and that they had all been warned against us. We wanted to get stronger, but we did not
want him to force him to report on his own students.”

“So the three of you take responsibility for this?”

Sakura nodded. “We do.”

The Hokage sighed. “Is this where you’re expecting me to admit defeat and begrudgingly promote
you to chuunin anyway?”

“We were shooting for jounin, actually.” Naruto said. “But we’ll take Tokubetsu jounin just fine.”

“This is no time for jokes. Do you have any idea of the position you’ve place me in? How many
people are complaining?”

“Who cares what they think? We saved so many lives yesterday. They should be…”

The Hokage slammed his desk with his fist. “You disobeyed my direct orders! My advisors are
telling me to strip you of your ranks. Some have called for your execution.”

“For what?” Naurto blanched.

“The rules are in place for a reason.” Sarutobi said. “This village can’t survive if all its ninja just
do whatever they like. It is only by your good intentions that you’re walking freely. But you must
be punished for the rules you’ve broken. Or there will be no trust in you.”

Naruto and Sakura looked at the fake Sasuke. The boy took that as his cue. “It was my idea
specifically, Hokage-sama. I encouraged them. Tell everyone I tricked them or something and take
my forehead protector.”

The Hokage looked surprised. “Sasuke?”

“My injuries have ruined any chance I had of being a ninja. Let me make this sacrifice for them.”

“I won’t allow it.” Naruto said.

“It’s best for us. And it’s only right.” Sasuke said. His face was filled with anguish and regret. The
boy looked so much like Sasuke that it sickened Naruto. “After I got you into this kind of trouble.”

Naruto faced the Hokage. “Don’t you think it’s strange that he’s saying this?”

Sakura turned to their fake teammate. “How will you fight Itachi now, Sasuke? How will you get
your revenge?”

The boy was silent. He stared at his scarred hands. “I can’t fight him like this…”

The Hokage showed just the barest of tells. “Sasuke, I find it admirable that you entrust this dream
to your teammates. I am proud of how far you have come along.”

The fake ninja looked up, smiling at the old man. “Naruto and Sakura are the most important
people in my life. I’ll entrust my dream to them.”
“Fuck you.” Naruto said. He turned to the Hokage then. “And fuck you too. Was this your grand
plan?”

“Excuse me?” The Hokage stood up and unleashed some of his chakra into the room. “You will
not talk to me that way, Naruto.”

“I will talk to you however the fuck I want.” Naruto let out some of his own chakra, tinged with
demon red, not allowing himself to be daunted. “Because that boy is not Sasuke and you seem to be
very aware of it.”

The boy flinched. “What are you talking about, dobe? Don’t you recognise me?” He stepped
towards Naruto, but Sakura blocked his path.

“Keep away from him, imposter.”

“What’s going on here?” Shikamaru asked.

The Hokage stared. “Why do you think this boy is not Sasuke? We have run his bloodwork, no
matter how difficult the poisons made it, and we checked his memories. We know this is him.”

“You tampered with the results.” Naruto said. “Stop lying.”

The Sandaime shook his head. “I think everyone is a little on edge here because of the invasion.”

Kakashi stepped from behind the desk and stood beside his students. He faced the Hokage. “They
checked the bloodwork against the original files. You changed it in so many places, but not
everywhere. The very fact that Sasuke’s DNA seems to have changed in his lifetime is ground for
doubting anything you tell us from here on out. There are only a handful of people who would have
been able to change those records, and none of them without your knowledge.”

“I was not aware…”

“Fuck you.” Naruto said. “You took Sasuke during the invasion and you killed the Uchiha Platoon
and I just want to know why.”

“Does it matter why he did it?” Sakura asked.

“No, it doesn’t. That’s not what I’m talking about.” Naruto said. “I want to know why he still
expects me to be a loyal ninja of Konohagakure when its kage has kidnapped one of its own.
Replaced that loyal ninja with some fake he had just lying around for no nefarious reason
whatsoever.”

The Sandaime straightened. “You’re talking about betraying the village, Naruto?”

“It’s not betrayal. You broke your contract with us. You did that. You can’t get ramen without
paying. You can’t get a ninja’s loyalty if you kill his friends.”

The Hokage glared, using his age and experience to stare Naruto down. “Those are not the words I
would expect out of my successor.”

“Well, I’ve found out that the seat’s not worth it if I sell who I am along the way. What the hell
happened, Jiji, that you kidnapped Sasuke?”

The Hokage looked around his office, clearly checking for anyone who might listen in. He
signalled his guards to close the windows and step outside while he talked. “He was an enemy
spy.” The Hokage said. “A ninja from another village who assassinated Uchiha Sasuke just before
the Academy graduation and took his place.”

“Bullshit.” Naruto said.

Sakura glared. “Why do you think you know this?”

“There have been suspicions since the formation of Team 7. Kakashi himself brought his concerns
to me. We have been preparing for the eventuality that Sasuke would overstep.”

“And the invasion was somehow your cover for doing it?”

“You misunderstand me.” The Hokage said. “I was fighting my former student and was in no place
to order the kidnapping of a Konoha ninja. You must realise I was not the only one with
suspicions. I authorised the preparations, authorised the creation of a contingency plan, but I was
not the one who saw Sasuke fighting and decided that the threat he posed to the village was too
great.”

“Danzo.” Kakashi said. “He didn’t…”

The Hokage sighed. “My old teammate is my greatest ally and greatest enemy. To my great shame
I would never be able to rule this village without him, but he also keeps me from ruling it as well
as I’d like. However, he does not always remember that he needs me as much as I need him.”

“We need to see him.” Sakura said.

“That would prove difficult.” The Hokage said. “Danzo has not shown his head since the invasion.
My suspicions are that he’s interrogating Sasuke.”

“Then what do you expect us to do?”

“I am working on something. A move against Danzo. That is all I can say about it.”

“And what part do we play in this plan?”

“For now pretend that nothing has happened. Live with your new teammate and lay low. Danzo
must not suspect I’m moving to rescue the boy. For now, I have two assignments for you. Sakura,
you will be appointed an internship at the Konoha hospital. We will tell everyone that you turned
down the promotion for chuunin because you realised during the invasion you were not ready for
the fighting. Naruto, you will be given an internship at my office. We will tell people you failed the
chuunin promotion due to gaps in your theoretical knowledge, which my staff will help you
overcome.”

“We’ll need more to go on.”

“This is all you’re getting.” The Hokage said. “You fight in one battle and think yourselves adults.
You criticize me while you know nothing of the decisions I am forced to make.”

Naruto wanted to jump in again, but Sakura stopped him. “We’ll think about it.”

“I want your answer within forty-eight hours.” The Hokage said. “Dismissed.”

“Wait.” Shikamaru said. “There is a problem with this plan. You can’t promote me to chuunin and
keep Sakura as a genin.”

“You will find that I can do just that.”

“No.” Shikamaru said. “I lost against Sakura. She outclassed me in every possible way. If you want
to pretend she’s turning down the promotion, then so am I.”

“We need you, Shikamaru.”

“Why? So you can let Danzo spirit me away later too?”

Sarutobi sighed. “Don’t you start.”

“Resolve the situation in time and maybe I’ll reconsider.”

Sarutobi waved them off with more force than was necessary.

It took Naruto severe restraint not to flip the man off as they walked away.

Kakashi followed them.

“Kakashi, where do you think you’re going?”

“You gave Team 7 forty-eight hours to make up their minds. I’m going to put them to good use.”

Outside of the office, when he was sure nobody would be able to listen in, Naruto casually bumped
his shoulder against Sakura’s and whispered inconspicuously. “You’re not actually considering
this, are you?”

“No. But he was not going to tell us anything else. I’m not even sure the things he did tell us were
the truth. We’ve bought ourselves time to find Sasuke. Everything else can wait.”

“Agreed.” Naruto said. “We’ll get the teme back even if we have to burn down the village to do it.”

“Wait up.” Shikamaru said, catching up to them. “I think we should talk about what just
happened.”

“I’m not sure there’s much more to say.” Naruto shook his head. “We’ll handle this.”

“Yes.” Shikamaru said. “We will.”

~*~

Sasuke took stock of his situation. He was in an isolated prison cell somewhere in Konoha. His
eyes had been stolen, his chakra was bound and his whole body was unable to move. He did not
know where he was or who exactly was holding him. As far as situations went, this one was pretty
bad. It almost made it into his top ten.

“What exactly do you want to know from me?”

“Let’s start with your real name.” The ninja said. “Several months ago, you infiltrated the village
of Konoha and you took the place of Uchiha Sasuke.”

“Ah, so you think I’m a foreign ninja.” Sasuke said. “Have you tested my blood yet?”

“Inconclusive results.”

“Of course. But instead of meaning that you could not find an answer at all, you mean that you
have chosen not to believe the answer you did find. Why would it be easy, after all. I am Sasuke.
No matter what suspicions you have, they are incorrect.”
“You have shown an incredible shift in personality and attitude, not to mention aptitude. If you’re
not an enemy invading the village, then how do you explain these changes?”

“Puberty?”

There came a chuckle from the corner of the room. Some ninja who had been watching. Sasuke
hated not having his chakra sense. He wondered if there were any other ninja hiding. He could not
smell any. He could not even hear them breathing. Without his chakra enhancing his senses, that
did not say much though. Most chuunin would be able to hide from his natural senses.

“If you noticed these changes months ago, why act now?” Sasuke asked.

“Not sufficient evidence, but now we have other grounds to deduce foul play. Culminating with a
large scale attack on the village.”

“You mean the attack I helped defend against?”

“I mean the attack that happened to coincide with your Chuunin examination and where you
showed off significant skill. I mean the attack that was orchestrated by the Sannin Orochimaru who
you have stated on record to want to emulate and with whom you have had an encounter just one
month ago. I mean the attack that you were the very first to counter, as if you had prior knowledge
of it.”

“There are good explanations for all these things, of course.” Sasuke said. “But I see it will be
difficult to convince you.”

A snort from the same corner.

“You do not understand your situation. We will get all the answers from you that we want. The
more you cooperate, the quicker and easier it will be for you. You will either die in pain and agony
if you resist to answer, or you will be allowed a quick death sentence from a hidden trial.”

“I think you will find I have a firmer grasp on this situation than you do.” Sasuke noted. “For one
thing, no matter how much you try to dress this up as a Root operation, I am certain you are
actually working under the Sandaime’s orders.”

“Like that old fool has the stomach for an operation like this.”

“My situation here is proof that he does.”

“Right.”

Sasuke sighed. “This charade is tiring. I was approached by the Sandaime’s bodyguard after my
battle and he took me in. He is loyal to Sarutobi and had the opportunity to receive the order from
the Sandaime right after the barrier sealing the Sandaime collapsed. The sealwork on the shackles
is impressive and very reminiscent of Danzo’s work, but I can recognise Jiraiya’s signature in it.
Also, I am aware of Danzo’s current plans and know that I am not part of them. If you were really
an underling of Danzo, you would have been asking different questions.”

“You know about Danzo-sama?”

“Of course.” Sasuke lied. “Though I do find it a clever little ruse. To make me think I’m under
more danger than I already am. To make me think I’m more hidden from my teammates than I
really am. While in fact there is a paper trail admitting me. I can actually be found.”
“No paper trail.”

“A class S prisoner? I feel flattered.” Sasuke said. “And of course you have fixed every single
bureaucratic loophole that could possibly be used to find me. Wasn’t it until just eight years ago
that you had lower-clearance records of food purchases per department level? You must remember
the huge scandal when Kiri used them to figure out where one of their own were being hidden. But
I’m sure everything’s been fixed beyond possible inference.”

“We can protect ourselves from a genin team. If that was all that was coming, I’d expect you to
behave differently. You don’t seem worried at all.”

“Not very much, to be honest. See, let me explain the full situation to you. I am a loyal ninja of
Konoha. I am also disillusioned from the idea that the village will always protect me. You thought
you had my loyalty. In truth, we merely had a truce and a fickle one at that.”

“Konoha has no need to do any harm to its ninja.”

“Yet here we are and I am proved right in my paranoia.” Sasuke said. “Tell me, have you noticed
the effects of my first Death Trigger?”

The ninja seemed to hesitate. “First?”

“First. It’s no use for negotiation if there’s no slow increase in severity. It’ll get worse until I am
released. I wonder how much longer until the Sandaime caves.”

“What happened?” Another ninja asked.

“We found half his bodyguards dead.” The first answered. “Some kind of suicide seal that
activated as soon as Sasuke was unable to supply it with chakra. It’s funny. Reports say that you
were friends with them, Sasuke. You don’t seem too shaken about their loss.”

“I liked them, but they had access to my secrets and intimate knowledge of the security of the
Uchiha district. They were a liability and I turned this weakness into a warning. They knew what
they signed up for and agreed to the death trigger. I’m afraid the next people who die are not going
to be so lucky.”

“You’re serious then? You’ve arranged it so that the lives of innocent Konoha citizens will be
lost.”

“Of course.” Sasuke lied again. “I have done my moral duty and informed you of the consequences
of keeping me here. I don’t actually know the specifics to stop the triggers. The only way I know
to stop them is by letting me go. So now, the decision is out of my hands. If you decide you’d
rather keep me here rather than prevent the deaths of innocent people, the blood is on your hands.”

“We need you to tell us about the triggers.”

“I had my bodyguards set it up. You’re welcome to ask them, though it won’t do you much good in
the state they’re in. I gave them the standard rules. Made them set it up randomly to make it
impossible to trace. You might want to inform the Sandaime about this. He’ll want to possibly take
action and prevent further deaths.”

“What action can he take if the only possible way to prevent this is to release you?”

“I see you’ve just answered your own question.” Sasuke said.

The ninja grumbled, but stormed off. Sasuke could hear the door slamming shut behind him. After
that, there was just silence. Sasuke steadied his breathing. When he listened carefully, he could tell
it was raining outside. He heard the raindrops crash into the side of the building. That meant he
was kept on a higher level at least, not underground.

“I know you’re there.” Sasuke said to a possibly empty room. “You’re not as good at hiding as you
think you are.”

There. He heard someone readjust their footing. He had unnerved them, as intended. It was all
about appearing strong and making them think their intimidation had no effect.

He checked his mobility. His hands and ankles were both shackled to the bed. There were two-inch
wide straps securing him every five inches. He had basically no wiggle room.

Sasuke concentrated on the energy surrounding him. Not the chakra sensing he usually used. He
looked for the nature energy that blew through the air and touched his skin. Energy that normally
went in and out of his body easily. Now, he held onto it. A different form of energy to use. This
place was hardly abundant in it, but it sufficed.

It took him four hours to reach sage mode. He had never gotten the hang of staying still like Naruto
and Sakura had. In his past life, he had Orochimaru’s forbidden seal to draw nature energy from.
Learning sage mode had not seemed as dire. His current forbidden seal was still in its early stages
and could not be used without alerting others it was being done. Sage mode was more difficult to
achieve stealthily, but Sasuke achieved it nonetheless.

He already felt the seals on the shackles reacting and drawing the chakra out of him again now that
it had been transformed into something usable. He had a minute at most. He looked at the
bodyguards in the room. Their energy was familiar. He stored the signatures away for later. He
allowed himself a very quick look into the village. He found Naruto and Sakura’s chakra like a
beacon. They were okay.

Finally he concentrated on the seal. He thoroughly examined it and committed it to memory. He

needed more than just the general impression he had been getting. He needed every little line and
every little squiggle. It was only a three-point seal. Just nine modifiers. The future Naruto would
devise a counter in seconds. Even the present Naruto would be able to figure it out in a few
minutes. At times like these, Sasuke wished he had an affinity for seals like his teammate.

The sage mode ended and he went to work. He needed to add only one more point to the seal to
destabilise it. But that point needed four modifiers, and he needed a new modifier for all of the
three original points. That was eight additions in total. Fourtyeight hours of work. He just had to
survive for that long.

Somewhere later in the afternoon, the original ninja returned.

“The Hokage thanks you for the warning.” The ninja said. “But he has chosen not to act.”

“Well, let me know if he changes his mind. He’s the only one who can stop this.”

“He has decided that there is no threat greater than letting you go free. He will mitigate the damage
as much as he can. Whatever loss comes next is acceptable.”

“Even though he could have prevented it?”

“Do not play morality games with us. You’re the one who tied the people to the tracks. We won’t
be guilted in feeling responsible what the trolley does, just because we’re not pulling the lever. Of
course, if you know of some way to avert the disasters, you’re free to share them.”

Sasuke did not. But it was paramount he escaped as quickly as possible. At least then he would be
able to do his best to minimise the damage.

“Your pink bodyguard saved the Hokage from Orochimaru. The Saindaime is mad that you let him
die.”

“Pink saved the old fool on my orders. If Sarutobi is grateful, he ought to direct it to me.”

“Yes, let’s talk about the recent attack. You said you had answers for me. Why did it look like you
were using the attack to showcase your skills?”

“I had been preparing for the exams together with my teammates. We knew becoming chuunin was
as much about appearances as anything else. We arrived there with a certain mentality. When the
enemy attacked, we were still in that headspace.”

“Why didn’t you look surprised when the attack happened?”

“We talked with Gaara before the match. He seemed agitated. We knew he was a Jinchuuriki and
had prepared several counters in case he attacked the village.”

“Because you knew he would do it.”

“Because it does not hurt to be careful. Because Naruto is a jinchuuriki himself and was in the best
position to stop Gaara’s attack. Because you would ask it of him when it happened, and he had the
best chance to survive if he was prepared for it.”

“So you predicted an enemy attack from one agitated enemy?”

“No. We were on edge because of one agitated enemy. I predicted the attack when I noticed
Temari lay the groundwork for a mass-genjutsu on the audience instead of focussing on her battle
with me. If nobody else was paying attention to the chakra manipulations of a foreign ninja, I can’t
be blamed for their incompetence.”

“Sure leads up to a lot of coincidences. Team 7 was in the middle of most fights. The two sannin
who have been instructing team 7 just happened to prevent a breach at the gates. All over the
village Uchiha bodyguards were there to help. If you did not plan the attack, it sure seems like you
had prior knowledge about it and chose to exploit it.”

“I’m sure you asked Jiraiya and Tsunade why they were at the gate. I can’t speak for them of
course, but I was all the way at the stadium and I still felt the chakra signatures of the snakes
coming to lay siege on us. The Sannin are the only ninja in the village powerful enough to stop that
attack. Of course they went there. As for my bodyguards, they are all instructed to leave a minimal
guard at the Uchiha compound in the event of an attack and support wherever they could. It’s only
sensible. I can’t help how capable planning makes you suspicious of an ulterior motive.”

“Of course you can’t. Now, let’s try this again. What is your name?”

“Uchiha Sasuke.”

“What is your village?”

“Konohagakure.”
“What did you do to Sasuke?”

“I am Sasuke.”

“Who are your parents?”

“Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto. My brother Itachi killed them.”

“What is your interest with Uzumaki Naruto.”

“He is my teammate and I will support his dream to become Hokage. But his name is Uchiha
Naruto.”

“What is your interest in Haruno Sakura?”

“Uchiha Sakura. She is my teammate. I will support her dream to become a famous ninja who can
protect her precious people.”

“What is your earliest memory?”

The questions continued for hours. The interrogator repeated questions often. He varied the order
in which they were asked. He asked about Sasuke’s early youth, about a recent mission, about the
days at the Academy, about the Uchiha massacre.

“This should be enough for a base line.” The ninja finally said. “Ibiki will continue this tomorrow.”

“You’re still not convinced I’m telling the truth?”

“It’s never been about convincing us, Sasuke.” The ninja said. “It’s about admitting your crimes.
There is no explanation that will ever appease us. Because we know you are a manipulator and you
can make everything sound convincingly plausible. We have already decided you are to be
executed. The only thing left to examine is whether Naruto and Sakura have been tainted too much
and will have to be executed as well.”

Sasuke stilled. “You can’t be serious.”

“You are a foreign ninja who has infiltrated every part of this village. You had a seat on the
council and made sure half the village had your support. You know too many secrets and you
possess power that you should not. Not to mention the Sharingan. We don’t know what
brainwashing you subjected your teammates to with that thing. We will see more tomorrow.”

“Wait.” Sasuke said. “The Saindaime wins. He wanted an explanation, so I’ll give it to him. Tell
him that I had time to find the seal at the end of the Monkey’s tail. He’ll know what that means.”

The ninja scoffed. “With one breath you tell us we win, and in the next you are spouting riddles.
Just speak plainly.”

Sasuke was done being interrogated, but his interrogators were also done with him. “You’re a
ninja, aren’t you? If you want to know what it means, figure it out. I have no obligation to make it
easy for you. Just watch the Hokage’s expression as you tell him. That should be clue enough.”

Sasuke felt tired. That feeling was useless so he pushed it aside until only the information remained.
He focussed on the task in front of him instead. He needed the fourth prong of the chakra
containment seal.

The seal had three parts. The first was binding, the second was chakra disruption and the final one
was density.

The first prong made sure the shackles were tight around the prisoner’s wrist and touched his skin.
It was modified with constriction, immovability and locking. The last modifier made it possible to
unlock the shackles with the right key.

The second prong made sure the prisoner could not use chakra. It was modified with a ripple effect
to ensure chakra was disrupted in the entire system and not just the hands, with dampening that
disrupted the sensing of chakra, and with absorption that siphoned off excess chakra.

The final prong made the metal a lot harder to break. It was modified with chakra strengthening to
use the absorbed chakra to further increase the strength needed to break out, lightness to make the
heavy metal feel lighter and easier to handle when they were unlocked, and finally with purity to
prevent tampering.

The fourth prong he wanted to add was specificity. He would modify it with chakra sensing, a
chakra signature and a comparison module. He would use the signature of somebody from the
future. Then finally an inversion for those not specified. It would drain the integrity of the shackles
to convert it into chakra for him to use.

It was tempting to modify the original points of the seal to sabotage the seal further. But seals were
like jutsu. They wanted to be useful. So he would add modifiers that made the seals even stronger.
The strength would be inverted anyway.

All that was left was creating it. He made a mental image of the seal and added the fourth prong so
that it remained symmetrical. He added the kanji and then stared, letting the specifics come to him.
He was in a hurry, but this was not something that could be rushed.

It was morning before he knew it and his progress was no faster than he had expected.

“Let’s see how you change your tune.”

Soon there was pain and a lot of it. But Sasuke was a seasoned ninja. He did not scream or cry. He
acknowledged the pain existed and then pushed it aside. They cut his skin and rubbed alcohol in
the wounds. The stinging was ignored. They covered his face and poured water over it. It felt like
he was drowning. He turned off his survival instincts and let the lack of oxygen turn into
information.

He fuelled the creation of the seal with his pain and frustration.

The torturers were not happy he was dissociating. They did whatever they could to stop him. To
keep his attention on the pain they were causing.

Sasuke was better at this game than they were.

When they finally left, it was night again. He could still hear the raindrops, this time louder than
before. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Sasuke allowed himself a moment of weakness and gathered nature chakra while he worked on the
seal. It was almost finished. Just two more modifications to complete. After four hours, he saw the
village again. Naruto and Sakura were agitated. Kakashi was with them. Good.

The Hokage was in his office with several jounin around him. He should have gotten Sasuke’s
message. Was the man ignoring it, or did he not understand? More likely was that he had other
things on his mind with half the village destroyed and had failed to think it through.
Sasuke only had a minute. He used it to marvel at the many lives in the village. He only really
cared about three people, but they cared about the rest. Sasuke had helped save them, even if it had
cost him. He had truly changed the past. It made him hopeful about the possibilities to prevent the
other deaths that were supposed to come. The Uchiha district was still empty, all of his adopted
Uchiha still in shelters. Blue was making sure they were okay.

Though Sasuke’s sage mode faded, his motivation was bolstered. He finished another modification
and made great strides with the last one.

When it was morning again, he was prepared for the torture to start again.

“He’s not tranquilised yet.” A new voice said.

“He should be sleeping.”

“He’s not.” The new ninja stepped towards Sasuke with conviction as he plunged a syringe into his
skin.

Consciousness left him. Fuck.

Everything was dark and muffled. Until he opened his eyes and he could see.

He was inside his mindscape. The Uchiha compound. The graveyard to be precise. He heard
fighting nearby.

“Who the hell has these kinds of defences?” The blond ninja was fighting Uchiha skeletons a small
distance away from him.

“That’s what happens when you don’t knock, Yamanaka.”

The ninja’s eyes widened. “How are you awake? We gave you enough to put down a large tiger.”

“My body’s paralyzed, isn’t it?” Sasuke stood beside the skeletons and motioned them to stand
down. “Not my fault you underestimated my mental defences.”

“If it’s a fight you’re after, you won’t have it easy.”

“I know.” Sasuke said. “I’m actually here. You, however, are merely projecting yourself. You have
an awareness of the outside world and can communicate there as well. No doubt you’ve already
called for back-up. For more tranquiliser. Worst I can do is kick you out. Worst you can do is
mentally scar me beyond recognition.”

The Yamake sighed. “Choza warned me of this. You’re well informed.”

“I pay attention. You’re a therapist, aren’t you? What do you think of my mind scape?”

“A little disturbing. Most people have a house. They have a library lined with scrolls. You have
decorated your mind with gravestones.”

Sasuke looked over the various resting places. There were rows upon rows of graves. At the very
end was a mausoleum, with two big shrines in front of it. The shrines each had a statue made of
marble, features unrecognisable.

“It’s a way to honour the fallen.” Sasuke noted. He moved to one of the nearby graves. Most of
them had the Uchiha insignia on it. “My Uchiha archive.”
“I need to see your memories.”

Sasuke nodded. That was why the Yamanaka was in his head after all. And it was the easiest way
to stall him. “I know you’ll fight me for everything. I know it’s inevitable. But if I give my
consent, I can still have some control over the order you see things in. I can give memories
context.”

“That’s right.”

“What do you want to see?”

“Let’s start with your earliest memories.”

“Fine.” Sasuke looked at one of the prettier gravestones. From the dirt rose a woman with pale
white skin and deep dark hair.

“That’s your mother…”

“I keep the memories with the departed. They’re dead, so they sleep in graves. But when I need
them, they can come alive again in my head. It brings me comfort.”

The woman made a hand seal and the graveyard fell away. Instead they were in the Uchiha house.
A young Sasuke crawled over the floor. There was laughter and family and love. Nothing concrete.
No reason this day stood out. He was not even sure whether it was a real memory or whether it was
a combination of many days. But this was his youth. He had not shared it with anyone before. It
stung that he was being forced to now.

“Earliest concrete memory.”

The scene shifted and Sasuke was sitting on a carpet. Itachi was across from him and rolling a ball
his way. Sasuke rolled it back. So it went back and forth.

“He can’t go to the Academy.” Sasuke’s mother said. “He’s too young.”

“He shows great promise and he will do it for the Uchiha clan.”

Itachi looked uncomfortable. Sasuke stood up and dragged his brother away. Because Itachi was a
genius, but he was an idiot when it came to his family. He thought he just had to sit still and suffer
in silence. He did not realise he could walk away from these fights. Sasuke did. And Itachi was his
big brother. Of course Sasuke would help. His big brother was his life.

“Show me the massacre.”

The scene dropped away and Sasuke’s mother descended back into the ground. From a few graves
further arose Itachi. Older and paler than he had been in the memory.

“Itachi isn’t dead.” The Yamanaka noted.

“This isn’t a literal graveyard. My family is a good way to file away my memories. Especially
since it forces me to remember them better. But the memory of that night is with Itachi. Nobody
else should be burdened with it.”

The darkness was all around them then. Sasuke’s parents’ corpses were on the floor with Itachi
standing over them. His sword was red and bloody. “You will learn to hate me.”

The memory shifted to Itachi killing Sasuke’s parents. It was stuck on a loop, repeating again and
again. His parents begged and gasped when they were stabbed. Until they were silent.

“What’s wrong with this memory?”

“Nothing. Itachi used the sharingan on me. That night of the massacre he made me relive the
moment he had killed my parents over and over again, for three days straight.”

“How did you survive that unscathed?”

“I did not have much of a choice.” Sasuke shrugged. “But I was very much scathed. The trauma I
endured changed me.”

“Show me.”

The scene fell away and Iruka took the place of Itachi. Scenes of the Academy passed by. Sasuke
sitting alone in the classroom. Sasuke walking home from the Academy to an empty house. He
yelled out he was home and was met with only silence.

“And then you met Team 7.”

Iruka stepped away and Kakashi rose from one of the graves. His eyes were trained on the book he
always carried around with him.

“And then I met team 7.” Sasuke said.

They were in the classroom, just appointed as a team. Naruto was sleeping and Sakura was reading.
Even just two days after the team appointment, Sasuke was visibly happier. He was training with
Naruto and Sakura. They were doing missions together. He was having dinner with them. Naruto
was attacked at night and fought back with the Kyuubi. Sakura’s mother grabbed Naruto’s arm and
Sakura used Mokuton to defend them.

“You are completely different when you’re with them.”

“Yes. Your colleagues seem to think that’s because I was replaced with a body double.”

“If you were a replacement, you had to have stolen all of Sasuke’s memories. I don’t see any
difference between the ones before graduation and those after. However…”

“You won’t argue my case.”

“I’m sorry. No matter how you try to hide it, my opinion as a therapist is that you underwent a
massive change in personality and abilities around the time of graduation. Even if you really are
Uchiha Sasuke, then I would still have to conclude there is a more than insignificant risk an outside
force got a hold of you.”

Sasuke sighed. “This is a problem. You wouldn’t be satisfied even if you scoured every single
memory, would you?”

“No. The risk is too great that an enemy has tempered with your head so subtly that we cannot
detect it. That said, I’ll still be taking that look.” The man looked to the mausoleum. “Starting
there.”

“You won’t find anything of value.”

“Don’t try to deceive me. I have never seen a mind space like this before, but I recognise the signs
of your most treasured memories. More walls for extra security.” He was already moving there,
 until the marble statues stepped off their shrines and blocked his path. “For all your talk, you won’t
let me look through your memories without a fight.”

“No. I won’t.” Sasuke acknowledged.

“It won’t change anything if you fight me. You said it yourself. You’re just delaying the
inevitable.”

“Close enough.” Sasuke said. “I prefer calling it buying time. This should be enough though. I’m
sorry for the headache.”

“What?”

Sasuke’s mind had been moving, but his body was still. Perfectly still. It had been collecting nature
chakra all the while they had been talking. His mind had been finishing the seal.

It was time to escape.

Chapter End Notes

Next update on Thursday evening (CET), March 31st: The Storm rages on.
 The Storm rages on
Chapter Summary

Sasuke tries to escape.

Chapter Notes

Thank you so much for all the kind words. I'm still behind on responding to reviews,
but your feedback is so important. I often end up being so inspired that I go right to
editing and building upon a concept that I hadn't thought about before in that way. I
feel like there's a more intelligible way to say this, but it's 1 a.m. and brain's foggy
from working to get this chapter out tonight. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Also, happy birthday Danielle_1619 :) hope you have a good day.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Let me grieve.” Sasuke cried.

“For how long?”

Sasuke looked at the boy with venom in his eyes. The impertinence. “However long it takes. Even if
it takes another few weeks, I deserve this time.”

The boy looked strangely. “How long do you think we’ve been underground?”

Sasuke did not care. He remembered so little of the days here. The way the boy had been asking, it
had been longer than a few weeks. “A month or two.”

“Sasuke-sama. It’s been 9 months. You need to move on.”

Sasuke looked at his hands. They did look older. Dehydration and starvation had had their effect
on him. His first thought was that Sakura would be disappointed in him if she saw him. His second
was that she never would. He wanted to go to Naruto, just as he always did when the grief for
Sakura threatened to overwhelm him. But Naruto was gone too.

Sasuke’s mind stopped working. By the time he remembered to look up, Songoku was long gone.

~*~

As soon as sage mode was activated, it was trivial for Sasuke to purge his body from the
anaesthetic. As soon as he had control of body and mind, he was able to force the Yamanaka ninja
from his head with an overwhelming wave of chakra.

He was back in the prison room, fully conscious. The Yamanaka was cursing unintelligibly and
there were ninja surrounding the man. They were asking the Yamanaka what was wrong, but it
would take him a few more seconds to recover from the backlash. The guards were still oblivious
about Sasuke.

Sasuke had a perfect image of the new seal in his mind. He used the nature chakra to impose it on
the shackles. In lieu of paint, he used his blood and seared the additions into metal. The new seal
started working right away. It took less than a second for the metal’s increased density to be
converted into chakra to refill Sasuke’s drained reservoir.

His chakra was itching to be used. He changed its element to fire and pulsed his whole body with
intense heat. The leather restrains holding him burst apart and Sasuke was finally free.

There were eight ninja in this room. The Yamanaka was still disabled and four of the ninja were
caring for him. They were too surprised to respond quickly. The other four had been in the corners
and had been watching. Instinctively, they moved as one to attack him. They had been hard to
discern with just nature chakra. But with his normal chakra active again, he could sense them
clearly.

Sasuke shifted through the air and grabbed one of the ninja to throw him against the other. Another
quick shift and the third was thrown against the fourth. The last five were easily disabled. They
were all just chuunin. The Hokage had told them to treat Sasuke as a kage level prisoner and then
had skimped on the jounin guard. Well, Sasuke was allowed to be lucky sometimes.

He could feel the commotion on the building’s level. An alarm must have gone off somewhere. He
did not have long.

He frisked the guards. No weapons, but he found keys. That would have to do. He made for the
door and slipped into the hallway.

There were ninja to the left coming his way, so he went right. As fast as he could run silently. As
he went through the hallway he sensed prisoners on either sides. They had unfamiliar chakra
signatures, though they felt like they belonged to ninja from Suna. If he needed any more assurance
that he was being kept by the Sandaime in one of the official holding cells, this was it.

From his nature chakra he knew he was in the middle of the village, in one of the tall buildings
next to the Hokage tower. Most of the building was administration, where nobody would look for
prisoners, with just one level to hold prisoners and hidden entrances. Sasuke was making his way
to the closest exit now. He just needed to take the next intersection left.

Except there were ninja coming from the left. There were ninja ahead of him and ninja to the right.
And of course, there were ninja behind him too. Only one way left to run.

His fist hit the ground beneath him and six feet of solid stone crumbled from the chakra-enhanced
strength he had learned from Sakura. This level had no windows, but the one beneath it did. Time
seemed to slow as he gathered as much information as he could while still in the air.

He heard gasps. All around him were ninja, but their signatures were too weak to be more than
genin. The administrative workers who were not expecting a jail break. He ignored them all in
favour of finding the window. He could hear the rain tapping against it. One of the genin was
finally reacting according to protocol. While Sasuke was still falling, the genin threw a kunai
Sasuke’s way. Sasuke twisted in the air and kicked a stray piece of rubble to intercept it, before
finally landing on the floor.

He heard bits of rubble falling around him and discerned the position of a desk. He stepped onto it
and jumped right through the window from there.
A protective chakra shield protected him from the glass. Rain poured on him from above and he
heard thunder rumbling in the distance. He had jumped out of many windows in his time, but this
was the first time he did not have sight to tell him where he could go next. His chakra net could not
sense far enough to make another move. He was preparing to break his fall, when he finally sensed
a chakra signature nearby. An ANBU who had been guarding a nearby building from the roof and
made a careless mistake getting startled.

He had a target now. He used a shunshin to appear next to the ANBU. His feet found solid ground
and with a single motion he pushed the ANBU head first to the roof’s surface. Enough force to
knock him out, not enough to kill him.

Sasuke could sense the prison guards regrouping. And the alarm was not limited to only his prison.
All over Konoha, ninja were mobilising. Sasuke dropped himself low to the roof. He made the sign
for the Henge, but the technique refused to complete.

There were back-up seals on his skin. One specifically to keep him from transforming his
appearance, one to keep him from making shadow clones. He would have to escape the village
while wearing the prison garb that clearly marked him as someone the Sandaime wanted
apprehended. And without clones that could let him mark them off his trail. He should be able to
overpower them, but seals tended to explode if overpowered carelessly.

“Over there!”

No more time. Sasuke reached into the ANBU ninja’s weapon pack and retrieved all the kunai he
had. Only three. And then he ran.

The roof was slippery in the rain, but he had chakra to help him stick. There were three ninja
behind him from the prison, following at full speed. They were either special jounin or chuunin
with enough experience they would be promoted soon. With luck Sasuke would be able to take
them out quickly and efficiently. But they were ready for an attack and there was too much risk
that in the time it took to take out three ninja, six more would take their place.

The roof ended, which Sasuke discovered when his left foot found only air. He was falling off the
side of the building. No matter. It was only for a moment or two, until that left foot found the side
of the building and Sasuke continued his escape horizontally.

He moved left while he went down, because three more ninja were coming from the right. All six
ninja threw a pair of kunai at the same time. Sasuke could hear them soaring through the air. He
kept running and waited for just the right moment. There. He threw the three kunai he had
recovered. Each collided with one of the kunai coming his way and then diverted to stop the rest of
them.

He reached the ground and ran as fast as he could. He could hear the rain splattering on the ground
and that let him know where there were streets to run through.

Then came the second barrage of kunai. While Sasuke had no more weapons to defend himself.
Sakura and Naruto always said he was too paranoid about running out of weapons. But this was
precisely the kind of situation was he tried to avoid with his standard arsenal.

He would have to dodge, but Sasuke was not feeling good about his chances. One of the ninja had
taken the time to use a technique to mute the sound of his blades. Sasuke had heard the throw and
then nothing. He did not know which speed it was going. An

He could probably still dodge most of them. But one of the ninja had noticed Sasuke could hear
them and had applied a muting effect on his blades. He heard the throw and then nothing. He was
not sure he could block that one. He would just have to guess.

He kept going over the dodging pattern in his head. He could afford a cut or two, but if any of the
kunai pierced his flesh, he would be done.

Just as he was about to make his move, the kunai were loudly deflected for him. Someone had
intercepted them. It might have been raining, but Sasuke knew the sun had come out for him.

“Come on, teme. Run!”

Sasuke and Naruto ran together. “How did you find me?”

“We’ve been looking. When a Yamanaka was pulled away from its normal duties for a secret
mission, we tried to follow him.” Naruto said. He pulled Sasuke harshly to the side. “You almost
ran into a wall!”

“Bit hard for me to see right now, sorry.” Sasuke said.

Naruto grumbled until he shrieked. “What the fuck did they do to your eyes?”

“Stole them.” Sasuke said.

“The fuck?”

They made it two streets further, before chakra signatures were coming at them from all sides,
surrounding them. But it was alright. Because one of those chakra signatures was friendly.

“Why the hell are you attacking one of the Noble Clans?!” Sakura yelled.

They did not respond. Team 7 had become a staple for all the civilians in the village, but their
interactions with other ninja had been limited. There were some familiar signatures, but none of
them were willing to defy protocol for them. Sasuke was designated an escaped prisoner by his
clothes, there was a jailbreak alarm going off, and therefore Sasuke’s recapture was the only thing
on their mind.

“We’ll have to fight.” Sakura said, taking up position. “I don’t want to fight Konoha ninja. Not so
soon after the invasion.”

Naruto huffed. “They took Sasuke’s eyes.”

She let out a frustrated grunt as she turned to her teammate. “Okay, feeling better about fighting
now. You’ll be okay, Sasuke?”

“Don’t have a weapon.”

Sakura handed him his sword. “As long as you don’t hurt us.”

“Never.” Sasuke said. He held the sword out, still sheathed. “You’re too good at dodging.” If there
were this many ninja around, he needed to stop holding back. Lightning crackled along the length
of the blade.

The first to charge was an eager chuunin. Sasuke pointed his sword at the boy and the sheath shot
out, still connected with the blade through a line of electricity that sizzled in the rain. The blunt
sheath hit the boy in his chest hard enough to knock him to the ground. Sasuke now had a weapon
a good twenty feet long.
Others were charging and Sasuke swung his blade around. He used the sheath as a club to halt the
advance of people further way, the length of lightning moved as a whip to paralyse anyone getting
closer and the blade was a threat for the few tokubetsu jounin who had made it to the centre of the
group.

That was his true role as the dragon’s tail. Make it impossible to approach.

Naruto grappled one Tokubetsu jounin and pushed him in the way of the blade, easily rolling with
the advanced form of their formation. The man had to put all his effort into dodging the blade in
the only possible path to avoid it, predictably enough that Sakura had a single super powered finger
waiting for him.

It startled the other Tokubetsu jounin enough that Team 7 had an opening. Sasuke’s sheath shot
back to the blade as he grabbed both Naruto and Sakura and used a shunshin to move past all the
ninja halfway through another alleyway.

They were running as fast as they could away from them.

“Where do we go?” Naruto asked.

“Eastern gate.” Sasuke said. “I need to get out of the village.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Sandaime is after me. I can’t stay in Konoha. The paperwork is all in order so that the two of
you will inherit the Uchiha seat. The district will still be protected.”

“Fuck you.” Sakura said. “We’re talking about your use of first person there. You’re not going
anywhere without taking us with you.”

“You don’t know what happened.”

“We know enough.” Sakura said. “And you don’t know everything either. The Uchiha Platoon was
killed. An imposter tried to take your place. The Sandaime tried to give my mom custody of me
again.”

They were being chased by at least four dozen ninja. Some were able to keep up, but a lot of them
were falling behind. Sasuke did one more sunshin and that should have been enough to lose them.

The problem was no longer those that were following. The problem was the signatures of the ninja
intercepting them.

“No further.” Akimichi Chozo declared. He was barring the path right in front of them.

To their left in an alley Asuma was holding blades in his hands vibrating with chakra. Their escape
to the right was blocked with Kurenai, her chakra going wild to weave genjutsu links across that
alley.

“I don’t suppose there’s a way we can settle this from clan leader to clan leader?” Sasuke asked.
He was slowly raising his sword.

“There’s nothing you can say to get you out of this.”

“Not even if I give you enough dirt on the Aburame to get their vote for the next three years?”

“This is no game, Sasuke. We should have seen this coming long ago, the way you manipulated all
of us. I thought you were becoming a proud Uchiha clan leader, but you were preparing a coup.
You were talking to the clan heirs. I see it now. And nothing you can say will make me turn my
back on the Hokage or Konoha.”

Sasuke was calculating the best way to proceed. He would have to fight to kill to take down the
jounin. Hopefully they would survive whatever wounds Sasuke would be forced to inflict.

“No!” Chouji yelled. He was running into the alleyway. “Stop it, dad!”

Chouza’s eyes widened. “Get out of here son. This doesn’t concern you!”

“You’ve always taught me I shouldn’t blindly follow orders. Well, I’m finally listening to my gut.”

“We all are.” Shikamaru said. He was already holding his hand sign as he stepped from the
shadows. “Capture complete.”

Asuma looked at him in annoyance. “You won’t be able to hold me long.”

“I’ll hold you long enough.”

Asuma struggled. “Kurenai!”

She tried to step forward to help, only to have a swarm of bugs block her way.

“Sasuke will be allowed to leave. Why? It is the least we can do to repay his kindness.”

“This is treason, Shino!” Kurenai said.

“No.” Hinata stepped next to Shino, her eyes wielding the Byakugan. “Genin can get away with a
little rule breaking if we’re acting our conscience. We’ll be punished, but nothing as severe as
Sasuke endured simply for stepping out of line.”

“Enough!” Chouza increased the size of his hands and reached for Team 7.

Chouji’s giant hands met the challenge. He looked back. “Go! Now!”

They ran passed Chouza and through an open alleyway. Except Team 7 was not the only one with
reinforcements. Gai stood as an impenetrable wall in front of them.

Sakura charged with her fist held back and used her full strength to hit him. The fist was caught.
The strength granted by her chakra pulsed and then dissipated. Gai hardly looked fazed from the
strength that could crack mountains. That taijutsu monster was able to take even tougher hits than
that.

“Turn yourselves in.” Gai said. “The Sandaime will show mercy.”

They shifted seamlessly into another attack formation to account for Gai’s unprecedented skill in
Taijutsu. It was not enough. Not when Gai had opened one of his inner gates already and Sasuke
could not see.

Gai was about to take advantage of Sasuke’s blind spot, landing a hit that would have knocked
Sakura unconscious, when his fist too was caught.

“Run. Now.” Kakashi said.

“Kakashi. They’ll have your head for this.” Gai threatened.

“I don’t abandon my teammates.”

The three of them started running. Gai moved to keep up, but Kakashi blocked the path and
attacked.

The ninja from before had heard the commotion and were getting closer again. They needed a
distraction. “Naruto, how many clones can you make?”

“Do you even need to ask?” While running, Naruto made his hand sign and traces of chakra went
in all directions. It helped. Not many ninja were able to distinguish the correct chakra signature
from so many copies.

They were halfway to the gate, when they were stopped by a ninja who could.

“Stop this madness, boy.” Jiraiya spat. He turned to Naruto. “Going against Konoha? I taught you
better than this.”

“You were my third elite teacher, Ero-sennin.” Naruto said. “Kakashi’s lessons of loyalty take
precedence over you and Sasuke’s of family over both.”

“This is where it ends.” Jiraiya shifted his stance, ready to fight. “I recognised your ability as a
Fuuinjutsu master, but you are decades away from my level as a fighter.”

“But I’m not.” Tsunade stood firmly between Team 7 and her former teammate.

“Hime? What are you doing?”

“Helping Sasuke, of course.”

“You don’t know half of what he’s done. I was briefed by the Hokage himself. He’s not who he
says he is.”

Tsunade glared. “I know everything.” She looked over her shoulder. “Sasuke. Does the deal still
stand?”

“Of course. But I’ll need some time.”

“Don’t take too long. Not after I went through all this trouble.” She motioned the shadows, and
from there two more people joined her, in Uchiha uniforms and coloured masks. Black and Blue.

“You’re alive!” Naruto beamed.

“We were preparing for Sasuke’s return.” Blue said.

“Do you know where Gold and Silver are?” Sakura asked.

“Out of the village.” Blue said. “They couldn’t be present during the invasion.”

Black grabbed a scroll from his belt and tossed it over to Sasuke. “They were well-hidden, but we
got your eyes back for you.”

Sasuke caught the scroll and tucked it away.

“I need new orders.” Black said.

“Take off the disguise and help the Uchiha clan members. You too Blue.”
“I have a deal with you too.” Blue said.

“And that too stands.” Sasuke said. “But for now we’ll be going.”

“Not on my life.” Jiraiya bit his thumb and went through the signs, summoning a toad the size of
half a house. Tsunade did the same and had her slug beside her.

The giant creatures stared at each other, both just waiting for an opening to let all hell break loose.

“We should go.” Sakura said. “While they’re distracted.”

“Not like this.” Sasuke said. “It’s too easy for Jiraiya to block us.”

Naruto nodded. “That frog is fast and has many different ways of attacking. Tsunade can’t block
them all.

“Can’t you summon a faster toad?” Sakura asked.

“Only if we’re willing to summon one so big it will flatten half the houses on this block.”

Sasuke sighed. “So we need fast and nimble.” He bit his thumb and went through the signs. A
large snake appeared with a puff of smoke. It took up most of the street, its body twisted and
curved to fit without doing any damage.

There were three gasps. Only Tsunade and the bodyguards seemed prepared for the sight. Sasuke
grabbed the hands of his teammates and jumped on top of the snake’s head. The frog’s tongue
lashed out at them, but it retreated as the snake’s head turned and got ready to bite the tongue in
half.

“Go.” Sasuke ordered. “To the gate. No damage.”

“How do you have a snake summoning contract, Sasuke?” Naruto asked, trying his best to keep
footing as the creatures sped away. “Cause the only other person I know who can summon
snakes…”

“I know it looks bad. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you outside of the village.”

“We don’t care how it looks.” Sakura smacked his shoulder. “We trust you.”

“Yeah.” Naruto smirked. “I’m just extremely interested how you stole this from Orochimaru.”

The snake was fast. It darted around the biggest ninja groups and sped towards the gate. They were
getting so close Sasuke could smell the forest. Just a tiny bit more and they would leap right over
the outer wall and into freedom.

“Brace!” Sasuke yelled out.

The snake popped under the devastating attack of the end of a large staff, hard as adamantine.
Sasuke could feel the chakra inside of the staff, the chakra of the summon creature that had turned
into a weapon. That was Sarutobi’s summon. The staff was hundreds of meters long at the
moment, its wielder too far away to sense.

Team 7 wasted no time as they fell. They were running as soon as they hit the ground. They still
had time to make it out of the village. There was confusion amongst their pursuers over what had
happened first with the appearance of a giant snake and then its sudden disappearance, and they
used it as a distraction to move, move, move.
The gate was growing ever closer. It was wide open and the guards were still organising a
blockade. All it would take was one well time sunshin. Sasuke was already reaching out to hold
Naruto and Sakura’s hands. He charged his chakra.

And then they had to stop.

In front of them was suddenly a wall of chakra, unshakable as the Hokage Monument.

“You will not leave this village.” The Third hokage said. He held his staff in his hands, ready to
turn it on Team 7. “Not with everything you know.”

“Still think I’m a ninja spy from another village, Sarutobi?” Sasuke said, panting. He was stopped
from progressing for now. He could sense the other ninja coming closer, creating a circle around
them they would not be able to slip past. There were too many people around to win against the
Sandaime in a fight. Sasuke only had his words to protect him now.

“No. I know what you are now.” The Sandaime said. “The impossible snake summon finally made
me understand your cryptic message.”

“I figured you would remember your own security precaution.”

“You underestimated my memories of events nearly half a century ago. And you underestimated
my desire to forget what I had learned. But you really chased that technique down. Solved the
riddle of the monkey’s tail. You read about the cost. And then went through with it. The Sasuke I
knew would never resort to that seal. But I guess you’re not the Sasuke I knew. Naruto, Sakura.
Step away from him.”

They just got closer to him. “We stand with him, Jiji.”

“You do not even know who he is.”

“He told us enough.” Naruto said. “With everything he has done for us, for the extended Uchiha
family, for everyone in this village. In return, you imprisoned him and tortured him. You took his
eyes!”

“He is dangerous!” Sarutobi said. “He has the power to destroy us all.”

“Powerful ninja are all around us.” Sakura noted. “You don’t treat any of them like you treat
Sasuke.”

“Are you going to make me say it, boy?” Sarutobi asked, turning his attention to Sasuke. “What
you did?”

Sasuke felt around him. There was an audience. The ninja who had been chasing them had closed
rank around them. They all kept their distance, not wanting to get in the Hokage’s way. But
anything he said, would be heard all around them.

“I once told you that I was so strong because of two different techniques.” Sasuke said. “Two secret
techniques that I could not share. The second of these requires a living human sacrifice.”

“What?” Naruto faltered a little. “You killed people to get stronger?”

Sakura tensed further. “What about the first?”

“It requires something worse.”

“Much worse.” Sarutobi said. “For your own selfish reasons you paid a price that should never
have been paid.”

“Sasuke…” Naruto held Sasuke’s hand. “I don’t like this one bit. But you’re my friend. I’ll beat
the crap out of you for doing bad things. After we escape.”

Sakura was still a little more hesitant. “Would you do it again?”

“I can’t change what happened.”

“I’m asking, was it worth it? We’ll hear the whole story later. We need to hear everything. But for
right now, just tell me. We know what kind of person you are. Given the same choice, would you
make the same decisions?”

Sasuke thought of his future. He thought of everything that had been destroyed and everything he
had lost. He hated himself for using the seal. He hated himself for everything that he had sacrificed
to activate it. But, no matter how rotten it made him, it had all been worth it. “It was the only way
to be with the two of you. No matter the cost, it was worth it.”

Sakura grasped his other hand. “Then I won’t doubt my teammates in battle. We stand united.”

“You stand against the whole village.” Sarutobi threatened. “Worse, you stand against me.”

“We’ve faced worse odds.” Naruto said. “We’ll manage.”

The air tensed. All the ninja around them were preparing for a fight. They knew that it was
impossible for Team 7 to defeat the Hokage, but there was something dangerous to Team 7. They
were known to do impossible things. Sasuke knew how intimidating the dragon could be. And all
three of them were prepared to die before they allowed themselves to be captured.

Sasuke had no intention of dying however. “Sarutobi, I have an offer.”

“And what, pray tell, would you have to offer me?”

“We have witnesses here.” Sasuke said. “No matter how quickly you fight, you won’t keep me
from yelling out secrets you do not want getting out. What really happened four years ago with my
parents. What happened twelve years ago with Naruto’s.”

The Hokage grunted. “All these ninja are loyal.”

“And there are things you want to know from me that I can’t let out here. Things you want to hear
before you risk my death. Let us move out of the village for our fight. Away from all these ears.
You’ll still keep us from escaping, but we’ll be able to speak frankly to each other. In exchange, I
will tell you the one thing you really want to know. The thing that’s been keeping you up at night.”

“I don’t want to know what happened.” Sarutobi said.

“No. But you want to know what Danzo is planning.”

Sarutobi stilled. “I see… and how much would you know?”

“Only Danzo knows the full extent of his plotting. But after him I’m second to none.”

Sarutobi took only a few seconds more. “I will not let you go out of the village. We will go to the
Nara grounds.”
“If we’re going to clan grounds, we’re going to the Uchiha district.”

Sarutobi did not reply straight away. He called advisors towards him and whispered in their ears. “I
will accept the Uchiha district.”

That was close to Sasuke’s home and the protective seal. There were many options in the Uchiha
district. And if Sarutobi was agreeing to the location, Sasuke could assume most of those options
had already been closed down on Sarutobi’s orders. “Until then you will guarantee our safety.”

“And I will have my answers.”

“Of course.” It was long past due.

The way through the village was solemn. Sasuke and his teammates carefully moved towards the
Uchiha compound, deeper into the village.

Most of the ninja that had been chasing them mounted the wall. Sasuke could sense more of them,
spreading out in a wide radius. They were following the Hokage’s directions and staying clear of
them. But none of them wanted Sasuke to get away. They were setting up traps and agreeing on
formations.

Naruto and Sakura nudged him frequently and whispered questions to him. Where he had been and
how he had been treated. How he had escaped. He made sure not to reveal anything too damming
while Sarutobi was able to hear them.

Eventually, the gate was so far away it was hard to sense the chakra signatures of the guards. The
Uchiha House was far away from them and Sasuke wondered how much of its defences had been
allowed to remain. Most probably not enough. The other Uchiha residents were still in the shelters,
leaving the district deserted.

It was just team seven, standing in a large square in the Uchiha district, with the Hokage opposite
them. Jiriaya stood by the Hokage’s side and Tsunade stood with Sasuke. Kakashi had come back
as well, now that Gai had been ordered to stand down. The Sandaime was further bolstered by
eight elite ANBU guards. If it became a battle, it would be ten against five. Better odds than they
had been, at least.

“All these men are trusted. Now speak. What do you know about Danzo’s plans?”

“How sad is this world, where a genin knows more about a man like Danzo than the leader of the
village.” Sasuke said. “He was your former teammate. You know what he was like. You know that
he wiped out the Uchiha years ago.”

There was a gasp from Jiraiya. Even he had not gotten the full story. The ANBU did not outwardly
portray the same shock, though their chakra signatures faltered slightly at the news.

“Yet you would have me believe you approached him.” Sarutobi said. “What could have possibly
motivated you to do so?”

“Revenge, obviously.” Sasuke shrugged. “Or altruism, considering the kind of plans he had for this
village. Danzo controlled half the village politically, not to mention his sway in less than
scrupulous circles. He wasn’t someone I could ignore.“

“But Danzo has not been any less active in the decisions that matter. So he got you on his side.”

“I got him on mine.”

“You foolish, foolish boy. Danzo is not so easily swayed. He has been manipulating people a lot
longer than you have.”

Sasuke sighed. “We’re jumping ahead. Let’s start with the truth my teammates need to hear. There
are two techniques I used to get stronger. The Sandaime and I are the only ones who know the full
truth about the first. Tsunade knows some of it. Let’s not dance around it any longer.”

Sarutobi nodded. “You’re from the future.”

“Yes.”

Naruto and Sakura flinched. “What?”

Kakashi slammed a fist into an open palm. “I knew it.”

Sasuke stumbled. “I’m sorry, what?”

“It was in my top three.” Kakashi said again. “Just under alien intervention and demonic
possession.”

Oh. That was unexpected, Sasuke had to admit. “Where did you rank infiltration by an enemy
village?”

“Please. I didn’t have impossible theories on my list.”

“The future?” Sakura asked. She seemed the most lost. The quickest to grasp the ramifications.
“How is that even possible?”

“There is a seal.” Sasuke said. “The instructions were created in ancient times, recovered by the
Senju, and kept safe by Konoha’s Hokage. It is forbidden more than any other technique. I used it
and travelled over thirty years back to the day of the Academy graduation exam.”

“You can’t be serious.” Naruto said. “The amount of energy required… the complexity… I
wouldn’t even know where to start creating such a seal. It sounds impossible.”

“It is theorized it would be impossible to do so without the instructions, which are only revealed to
Konoha’s Hokage.”

“Does that mean you were Hokage?”

Sasuke nodded with hesitation. “Technically, the kyuudaime.”

“Not allowed.” Naruto said. “No way you made Hokage without clutching the hat from my cold,
dead fingers.”

Sasuke turned to look at his teammate with a face without eyes.

“Oh…”

“What happened?” Sakura asked.

Sarutobi interrupted before Sasuke could say anything more. “You will not say. Your very
presence is damaging.”

“All this time?” Sakura asked. “You’ve been lying to us all this time?”
“I couldn’t tell you.” Sasuke said. “The more I said, the more things would have changed.”

“But you knew. You knew about my parents and my past.” Sakura said. “You knew the mission to
Wave would go to shit and you knew Orochimaru would attack the Chuunin Exams. Both the
forest and the matches.”

“All controlled threats.” Sasuke said. “Rather the knowable risks than the unknowable ones.”

Naruto gasped. “That’s why you’re stronger than sensei. That’s why you know all these
techniques. We never stood a chance keeping up with you.”

“You managed pretty well.” Sasuke tried for a smile. “We were on a good track too. Just two years
away from…”

“Stop.” The Sandaime said again.

Sasuke sighed. “The future was changed the moment I opened my eyes in the past.”

“Yes. Let’s talk about the terribly price you had to pay to activate that technique. You destroyed a
thread of reality. Thirty whole years of children being born and lives being led. You committed
genocide of an entire possible world. Every single person living there.”

“There were not many left…”

“Stop.” The Sandaime lifted his hand. “I will not hear your excuses. And I wasn’t finished.
Because more terrible than even that crime is that you had to replace young Sasuke’s mind to go to
the past, killing him. Do not think I will forget that you thought it acceptable to murder a child to
be here.”

“There was no other way. It had to be done.” Sasuke said.

“Do you truly have no remorse?” Sarutobi asked.

“You already said you do not want to hear my excuses. This is my sin to bear. We researched the
technique hoping to limit the costs. But in the end I accepted this cursed bargain.”

There was silence around them.

“Tell me, Sasuke. Do they know that it was your death trigger that killed the Uchiha Platoon?”

“No.” Naruto said.

“I lied to you, Sarutobi.” Sasuke said. “The Uchiha Platoon didn’t have a death trigger.”

“I didn’t kill them.” Sarutobi said. “So then what happened?”

“It’s complicated.”

“We found their corpses.” Naruto said.

“No. You found distractions. I told Sarutobi the Uchiha Platoon was dead at the hand of my death
trigger in order to put pressure on him to release me.”

“Were you lying then, or are you lying now? If I had kept you imprisoned, would there have been
none of the deaths you threatened with?”
Sasuke did not have an answer that would appease him.

“That is the reality of your teammate, Naruto and Sakura. The reality of your student, Kakashi. The
reality of your ally, Tsunade. No matter how many he appears to help, he showed his true colours
when pushed into a corner. He is a monster with no human empathy. But I understand how he
tricked you and you can still be forgiven if only you step away from him now.”

Sasuke took a deep breath. This was the truth he had wanted to more gently break to them, the
band-aid ripped off by the Sandaime under less than ideal circumstances. If this caused an
unfixable rift between them, Sasuke would understand.

“He wouldn’t be the first sociopath to come out of Konoha.” Kakashi said. “He has chosen his
precious people and will sacrifice the world to save them. I used to think you were like that too,
Sarutobi, for all your citizens. But I see now how you treat those who are inconvenient to you.”

“Sasuke was my first friend.” Naruto said. “I grew up around people who wouldn’t even sacrifice
their garbage to keep me from starving. I asked you why you still expected me to be a loyal ninja
after kidnapping Sasuke and I haven’t heard an acceptable answer yet. You were willing to risk
killing one of Konoha’s best, someone who would travel back in the past thirty years apparently
which I’m still trying to wrap my head around. Did you know you were risking me too? Did you
even care?”

“All I did was for the sake of the village.” Sarutobi said.

“Monstrosities for the village, monstrosities for his friends.” Naruto said. “If I have to deal with
people doing monstrous things anyway, I’m sticking to the one who’s actually done something for
me.”

“Naruto’s right.” Sakura said. “Sasuke has tricked us, lied to us and our entire friendship is built on
a foundation of manipulation. And yet standing here before you, he seems like the lesser evil. At
least with Sasuke I can trust that when he explains himself, I will find enough reasons to forgive
him. Whatever you think you see inside of his heart, you’re wrong.”

“You do not know the full extent of the ritual.” Sarutobi said. “You cannot understand how much
of a monster this boy is.”

“And you won’t let him explain why he did it!” Sakura shouted. “Just like you wanted to place me
back with my mother without listening why I wanted to be away from her! Just like you wanted to
punish us for getting strong enough to survive the missing ninja jounin that seem to attack us
whenever we leave the village!” She turned to Sasuke. “How bad was it?”

“Humanity was nearly extinct.” Sasuke said.

“Stop!” The Saindaime’s voice carried, a wave of chakra strengthening the sound. “You shall not
speak of the future.”

“Why not?” Jiraiya seemed confused. “I understand there is more going on here than you can tell
us. But why not let him tell us about the future in a way that we can benefit? He could tell us more
about Akatsuki than I would be able to find out with my spying in years.”

“He’s a poisoned well.” Sarutobi said. “Someone who knows the future, who factually and
potentially knows all you know and infinitely more. Such a person could change the future for the
better, or for the worse. We have no way of knowing which it will be. Only Sasuke here knows.
Considering what he was willing to do to go back, I will not trust a single word out of his mouth.”
Jiraiya seemed disappointed, but nodded.

Kakashi could not accept that. “He saved the whole village from the invasion. What else will he
have to do to earn your trust?”

“We know nothing of what was supposed to happen. Perhaps he helped. Perhaps he made it worse.
What could we compare it with? What if there was no invasion at all in his timeline? What better
way to earn our trust but to incite an invasion he can limit the casualties of?”

Kakashi shook his head. “I know this Sasuke. I know that we can trust him.”

“We are going in circles.” Jiraiya looked to his former teammate. “Hime, why are you standing
with Sasuke if you know all this?”

“I never had to like the brat to make a deal with him. All this talk about the first technique, but he
brought me to his side because of his second.” Tsunade said.

“Yes.” Sasuke said. “Only a limited amount of people know about it and it must stay that way.
Which is why you, Sarutobi, have already taken precautions after the chuunin exams.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Orochimaru used it. The technique that could destroy the world. A technique that must never
come in common use.”

Sarutobi’s eyes widened, all the implications making themselves clear one by one. He looked at
Tsunade. “And that was all it took to make you betray us?”

“Sasuke explained what he was trying to do. He did not ask for anything in return. There were no
strings attached.”

“I don’t understand.” Sakura said.

“They’re talking about… about resurrection of someone who has died.” Kakashi answered.

“How’s that possible?” Naruto asked.

“That’s what I would like to know.” Sarutobi said. “You know how Orochimaru pulled it off,
Sasuke?”

Sasuke nodded. “Do you understand now how I can tell you I have no death triggers?”

The Hokage’s body tensed. “But there were so many casualties when we removed you…”

“You asked me what Danzo was planning and I have given you all the pieces. The death trigger
that you are worried about is not mine. It’s Danzo’s.”

Sarutobi’s eyes widened. “H-how long?”

“The first week of being a genin.” Sasuke said. “I poisoned Danzo and revived him under my
command to minimise his seediest undertakings. I kept up appearances for as long as I could to
minimise the damage. And I admit his plots were useful in distracting you. I tried to dismantle his
many, many death triggers, but I had not finished when you subdued me.” It felt good to let the
truth out.

“All this time…” Sarutobi grabbed his weapon. “I should have listened to my advisors and ended
this ages ago.”

Sasuke was happy that the Hokage had such large chakra pools. It made it very easy to feel him
approaching and dodge to the side. The man was angry and it showed in his strikes. Hard and
unforgiving, but also sloppy and telegraphed.

He slipped under the ground the first chance he got. He barely made it six feet before the whole
earth started rumbling and he was forcibly ejected. Sasuke had to steady himself carefully, his
entire chakra network confused at the sudden blockade.

He could feel the seal work under his feet, even if he could not read the specifics. “Naruto?”

“Something with chakra infusion into the earth. The chakra is being fed from a distance.” Naruto
said. “It’s six-pronged.”

That meant it was too complicated for Naruto to dispel. Sasuke could sense it creeping into the
earth for more than a mile around them, stubbornly refusing to obey any of Sasuke’s own
manipulation. This was the problem with fighting a kage inside of his village. Even if there were
no ninja nearby to help, there were enough guards that could supply their chakra at a distance for
protective measures.

There were no good options here to fight the Sandaime.

But there was a method of escape. All this stalling had led Sasuke study the seal on his skin
enough to overpower it enough to make a single clone. Sasuke covertly made the signs to create a
clone above ground and then dashed back to his team, covering the clone’s escape. Jiraiya tried to
intercept Sasuke’s path and keep Sasuke isolated, but Tsunade kept him busy. Sarutobi was too late
to stop Sasuke before he had rejoined the team.

It felt familiar to stand by Naruto and Sakura’s side. Kakashi helped ground him too and he had
sorely missed their presence these past few days.

“What’s the plan?” Sakura asked, while she easily slipped into a stance next to him. “The Uchiha
house?”

“He will have collapsed the barrier.” Sasuke said. “Too predictable.”

“Then what?” Naruto asked, on Sasuke’s other side.

“I only have half my chakra.” Sasuke said. They both knew what that meant. That there was a
clone that was doing something essential. “So we’ll have to work together.”

“Our specialty.” Sakura said.

The Sandaime made a series of hand signs. After the first two, Sasuke pulled his team mates
together in a formation they were all too familiar with. Sakura needed no prompting to create the
wooden dragonhead around them, nor did Naruto to hold Sasuke’s hand and slip next to him.

The Hokage released his fire at the same time Sasuke did, crashing in the middle. There was no
sense for Sasuke to hold back as he eagerly took Naruto’s wind chakra and encouraged him to push
ever more. Where normally balance and instability were problems, Sasuke now pumped out his
own chakra like they had been working together for decades, using every bit of his hard-earned
control to keep the technique from collapsing.

They were holding their own against the Sandaime. No small feat considering Sasuke was fighting
at only half-strength.

“Enough!” The Sandaime shouted, pushing his hands to the ground. Walls of earth appeared
between Sasuke and his teammates. He had to let go of their hands as the earth destroyed the
wooden structure and then pushed Sakura and Naruto away. “I do not know what has gotten over
you, Naruto, but you would never have attacked Konoha before you met this corrupted Sasuke.”

“He earned my loyalty instead of expecting it.” Naruto said. He created clones and rushed into the
Hokage’s personal space. They barely made it to the Sandaime before the kage’s powerful strikes
popped them out of existence.

Sakura was using her strings to manipulate kunai at a distance. The Hokage threw chakra-enforced
shuriken that cut right through the strings before the kunai could make it to him. Sasuke had his
sword out, pointed at the Sandaime and shooting out bolts of lighting whenever there was an
opening. Earthen lightning poles jutted from the earth and protected the Sandaime from harm.

“I considered you my grandson, Naruto.” The Saindaime said. “I got you your own apartment. I
visited as often as I could.”

“And you meant the world to me.” Naruto said. “The only person I considered family. You know
how messed up that was of you? Isolating me so much that you were considered my precious
person just for visiting and asking how I’d been?”

“It was everything I could do. You were in danger, Naruto.”

“You can’t blame everything on me being the jinchuuriki.” Naruto snarled. “Team 7 knows and
they don’t care! Kuruma helped save the village, just because I started treating him nicely! All I
asked was that you had shown me the same kind of support!”

“I did whatever I could.”

“You wouldn’t even tell me who my father was!” Naruto yelled. “Kakashi wanted to tell me,
everyone wanted to tell me and you forbade it!”

“You complain about being in too much danger as genin, and you complain when I do everything
in my power to keep you safe! You cannot know, Naruto! Nobody can know!”

“You keep saying nobody! But more and more it’s just me! Haven’t I shown myself strong enough
to handle myself? Are you really keeping this from me even as you’re fighting with enough
strength to kill us? Just tell me!”

“No.” Sarutobi said. “Sasuke is the only one here who needs to die. And then I’ll bring in enough
therapists to get you out from his influence. I’m furious at you Naruto, but I’m still your Jiji. I’d
never kill you.”

“If you were really my Jiji, if you really cared about me, you’d proof it by telling me.”

Sarutobi said nothing.

“You’re the son of the Fourth Hokage.” A new voice said. “You’re Minato’s boy!”

Naruto jumped up. Even more than the words, which were not fully registering, he was surprised to
see her there at all. She was supposed to be dead. “Orange?”

She stood by the edge of the battlefield, taking it all in. She wore her Uchiha robes and had her
mask on. It was like she had not been dead at all for three days. “I’m here.”

“We’re all here.” One by one the Uchiha Platoon that had been laid out on slabs, stood side by
side. Sasuke’s clone stood next to them, dismissing himself so that Sasuke could fight at full power
again. Sasuke cracked his neck. Payback time.

“Nobody can know!” Sarutobi said. “Naruto, I wanted you to be safe. There will be so many
targets on your back if they knew who your father was.”

Jiraiya tensed. “Sasuke, who did you sacrifice to bring these people back? There was nobody here
to use.”

“Wrong question.” Sasuke said, dashing forward towards Sarutobi. He made the signal for Naruto
and Sakura to pull back. Sarutobi had his staff on him and blocked the hit with the sword, but
Sasuke did not give him a moment of rest. He would not get any time to recover.

“We thought you were gone.” Sakura said, hugging Pink and red as soon as she got close enough.

“What do you mean, the wrong question?” Jiraiya demanded.

“You’re too slow.” Tsunade said. “You already know what Sasuke can do. You just need to realise
that he has been able to do it for months.”

“Teleportation seal.” Pink said as soon as Naruto was close-by, linking arms and then placing their
hands on the ground. They created a full seal on the ground.

“I don’t know where to take us.” Naruto said.

“I’ll lead the jump.” Pink said. He looked to Orange. “It’s time, honey.”

Jiraiya’s question was answered when Orange stepped up and held out her hands. Her chakra
turned solid and shot out towards their opponents. The golden energy grasped both Jiraiya and the
Hokage and bound them in place. Sasuke flipped back away, right onto the teleportation seal.

“Wh-who are these guardians?” Jiraiya asked.

“That’s the right question.” Sasuke said. “But you already know the answer.”

Pink activated his technique and they left Konoha.

~*~

“We need to move again.” Pink said, as soon as they had landed in the temporary base besides
Konoha.

Sasuke nodded, moving to the walls to activate the seals that would destroy the place. Jiraiya might
manage to trace the teleportation here. But that would be where the trail ended.

“What is this place?” Naruto asked. “Where are we?”

“This is where I recruited the platoon. Barely a few minutes’ travel from Konoha.” Sasuke said. He
activated more seal work, gathering all of his gathered supplies and resources into a single scroll
that he could take with him. “We have another jump ahead of us.”

Pink was already at work and Naruto joined in once he had recovered from the shock. “This looks
like it’s a longer distance.”
“Good eye.” Pink said. “We’ll have to add in a few components to draw chakra from everyone
who’s travelling. I didn’t want to take that long in Konoha itself.”

Naruto looked to Kakashi. “Was Orange right? The Fourth Hokage is my dad?”

“It’s true.” Kakashi said. “How do you feel about that?”

“It’s not really landing.” Naruto said. “The Yondaime is the greatest hero Konoha has ever known.
I’ve looked up to him all my life.”

“It sounds like you’re happy.” Pink said.

“Yeah, it’s just… that means I didn’t just miss out on having a dad all my life. I missed out on
having the Yondaime as my dad. And that also feels worse.”

“We’re owed some answers.” Kakashi said.

“I’ll explain as soon as we’re safe.” Sasuke said. “First I have more questions for you.”

He had one more thing to do. He raised a platform from the lower room with earth chakra.

“What are Gold and Silver doing here?” Sakura asked. “And why do they look dead?”

Sasuke went over to them and jolted their systems with chakra.

Gold gave a big yawn as he got back up. Then he looked around. “Uhm… hello everyone?”

“How long have we been gone?” Silver asked.

“Three days.” Sasuke said. “The Sandaime captured me.”

“Foolish.”

“The seal’s done.” Pink said.

“And this base is exploding in thirty-six seconds.” Sasuke said. “Let’s go.”

The earth was already starting to crumble. Everyone gathered on the circle and the seal dropped
them at the entrance to a cave. The cave looked out over a large body of water, with no villages or
settlements as far as the eye could see.

The cave itself had received the barest treatment of earth chakra to smooth the walls. The most
noticeable thing was the reception seal, glowing from its use. It was already starting to fade into
black and becoming as hidden as it had been. When Sasuke’s clone had prepared the cave, it did
not want anyone finding it.

“My patience is growing thin.” Kakashi said.

Sasuke nodded. He turned to the bodyguards. “Second squad, secure the emergency exits, prepare
the rooms and start the fires. Primary, guard the entrance. We’ll be here for a while.”

“Sasuke.” Orange said, ready to protest.

“Please.” Sasuke said. “Let me talk to them first.”

She took a moment, but then nodded. Kakashi looked after her, overwhelmed. The way he was
looking, he was feeling too weary to hope.

Sasuke brought his hands to the ground and shaped a stone table with some basic seating.

Sakura sighed, before using her Mokuton to replace the chairs with wooden ones, soft vines pulled
across the seating for comfort. “This feels like it’s going to take a long time. We’re going to be
comfortable for it.”

They each took a seat and suddenly Team 7 was left with no more crises to face. There would be no
more stalling. “No more secrets.” Sasuke said. “Where do you want me to begin?”

“So, are you really from the future?” Naruto asked, but he did not even wait for the answer. “How
did you even pull off making such a seal with just instructions? Did I create it?” Naruto brightened.

“No.” Sasuke said. “You found the instructions and then hid them just like the Sandime did. But it
was your student who made it.”

“Did you get a look at the seal before you used it? Can you show me?”

“Focus, Naruto.” Sakura said.

“Right.” Naruto said. “Impossibly impressive seals later. I suppose, what I really want to know and
the Sandaime wouldn’t let you say, what was the future like that you had to leave it?”

“Nothing was left.” Sasuke said. “Konoha had been destroyed, but so had all the other major
villages.”

“Who did that?” Sakura asked.

“We did it to each other. There were wars. There was more fighting than ever before. The civil
wars were the worst. Naruto tried to unite all the villages again, but Madara had sown too much
discontent.”

“Uchiha Madara? The Shodaime’s friend?” Kakashi said. “He’s supposed to be dead.”

“He has a stubborn immunity to death. And he used his functional immortality to unleash the most
dangerous technique in the world and made it common knowledge.”

“You’re not talking about the time travel jutsu. You keep making that distinction.”

“The time travel has too many conditions and too great a cost. I’m talking about the technique
Orochimaru used. The technique to sacrifices one living ninja and uses it to bring another person
back to life. He needs their DNA and there are other requirements. The DNA needs to be intact, but
it can only be taken just before somebody dies, or from someone who’s already dead.”

“Being able to bring back soldiers sounds strong.” Sakura said. “But why is that more dangerous
than the other techniques we use?”

Sasuke wrung his hands. “A lot of reasons. The body that is sacrificed has to be able to channel
chakra. That comes down to only ninja being appropriate sacrifices. But the revived body is
immortal. Done right, the resurrected person is stronger than a regular ninja. When the wars started
and they needed strong ninja quickly…”

“They sacrificed half their population.” Sakura realised.

“Yeah.”
“That’s too messed up.” Naruto said.

“Which is why Konoha refused to participate in it. At least, mostly. Ninja we would have executed
were sacrificed for the resurrection technique instead. We used people who were willing to
sacrifice themselves because of a terminal illness or in place of suicide.”

“Did you perform this technique?”

“Regularly.” Sasuke said. “I’ve become an expert.”

Naruto shook his head. “I want to know about the future you left. You came back just before the
Acadamy exam. That’s why you were acting different. What was supposed to happen?”

“The first time, I wasn’t ready to be on a team. Kakashi tried to teach us teamwork and he saw
potential. We became closer as a team, like now, but it didn’t happen quickly enough. The chuunin
exam happened and it… humbled us. We were not ready for it. Not like we were now.”

“But it became better, right?”

“No.” Sasuke said. “I got so angry… that I left Konoha to join Orochimaru.”

They made a face. “How stupid were you?”

“Very.” Sasuke admitted. “The snake bastard would have taken my body as his own as soon as I
arrived, but the two of you went after me and tried to stop me. They delays you caused forced
Orochimaru to take another body. Though I had left by my own choice, you never abandoned me.
You spent two years training under Jiraiya and Tsunade to get strong enough to bring me back.”

“Wow. We must have been powerhouses. Just one month with them brought us to jounin levels.”
Naruto said.

Sasuke smiled. “You’d be surprised. In either case, it wasn’t enough. I was too stubborn. We
fought and I was manipulated by Madara. He has found a way to extend his life, though it leaves
him immobile. He creates pawns for himself and makes them do his dirty work.” He turned to
Kakashi. “When he found an Uchiha over a decade ago that was dying, he took the opportunity. He
healed him and turned him against the village and his own team.”

Kakashi gasped. “You can’t mean…”

Sasuke nodded. “Your old teammate Obito’s alive and he’s one of the people we have to defeat.”

There was a silence in the room. Kakashi slowly slid down to his knees, covering his face with his
hands. “He’s alive?”

“There’s a chance we can still save him.” Sasuke said. “But he’s confused right now and it’ll take
great effort to make him listen to reason.”

Kakashi nodded. He was still broken, but hopefully he would become better with time.

“After Madara got to me, he collected all the tailed beasts and tried to take over the world. He had
amassed an army and while all five shinobi villages fought in defence, the three of us took on
Madara. We managed to kill him and thought that was the end of it. For years we had peace and
happiness. We were together and climbed the ranks of Konoha. We had our own teams. We were a
family. Until it all ended.”
“Because of the wars.”

Sasuke nodded. “Madara’s soul had reincarnated and found a way to transfer his memories as well.
No matter how good our alliances were, the new Madara was always ahead of us. Always
poisoning the minds of people and making sure nobody trusted anyone. Sakura died first and we
were heartbroken. Naruto fell together with Konoha and that left me to lead the survivors as the
new Hokage. Our numbers dwindled as Madara slowly eradicated all life on earth. We were forced
to hide and run, searching desperately for a way to be rid of Madara permanently.”

“Which left only time travel.”

“Your apprentice suggested it.” Sasuke said. “I didn’t think it would actually work.”

Naruto rubbed his head. “I’ve hardly mastered sealing. I can’t imagine teaching it to anyone. What
were they like?”

Sasuke took a steadying breath. “His name was Songoku. You were very proud of him.”

“Sasuke…” Sakura put her hand on his. “The way Sarutobi talked about what you had to do to
activate the effect… he said you had to kill your younger self. There’s more to that story, isn’t
there?”

Sasuke swallowed.

“Oh my god.” Naruto gasped. “You didn’t just go back and take over your old body. That wouldn’t
be enough for a technique like that. It would be too entwined with symbolism and making sure you
needed to go back in time so badly that you were willing to do anything. You had to do something
like fight your younger self first? Kill the younger mind? That’s horrible. I wouldn’t have been
able to do that.”

“It’s the same thing in theory.” Sakura shook her head. “But it would make it feel so much worse.
I’m so sorry for you Sasuke.”

Sasuke took a few steadying breaths. Of all the things that had be brought into the open, this was
the hardest.

“I can’t imagine how desperate things must have gotten that you even considered it.”

“What was the end like?” Sakura asked.

“I can’t describe it. There were no safe spaces above the ground, so I made my own under it. There
was limited food, limited water and it took most of our time and energy simply to survive. I spent
most days in a meditative state to scout for enemies. It was hard to go on after you two were gone.
No matter what obligations I had.”

“Everything’s set up.” White said. He stood ready for more orders.

“Sasuke.” Naruto looked at the man. “Who are the Uchiha Platoon bodyguards, really?”

“They are the most loyal ninja I could possibly acquire to guard us. The most capable and the best
suited.”

“You taught them things.” Kakashi said. He thought back to the chakra he had seen Orange use.
Sasuke was not sure if Kakashi was hoping it to be true or false.
“The only things I taught them were used to conceal their identity. White, it’s time.”

White stiffened, but then he nodded. He removed his mask, like he had done many times before.
His face was still unremarkable until the flesh started to morph. Until the seals hidden inside his
body to prevent detection had deactivated one by one.

Kakashi’s mouth dropped. “Dad?”

“Hey son.” Sakumo said. “I have a lot to apologise for.”

Kakashi shook his head. “I… I forgave you a long time ago.”

Sasuke motioned the back. “There are private rooms for you to catch up.”

“You used the resurrection technique.” Naruto said. “Who did you sacrifice?”

“I captured some enemies in the Land of Waves. Some of the bandits who had rudimentary chakra
control and could qualify technically as a ninja. Danzo was keeping some of Orochimaru’s
experiments alive through life support. People who were already brain dead, but still alive enough
to be sacrificed. And then there was the ninja who attacked us, Naruto. The jounin that supposedly
got away.”

“It’s… it’s not right.” Naruto said. “You can’t just choose one life over another.”

“I did what I had to do.” Sasuke said. “What I thought I had to. Just for the important ones. Just for
the ones that I needed. That we needed.”

“Who else is alive then?” Naruto demanded.

The rest of the Platoon came in and they stood ready to reveal their identities.

Sakura’s face turned white. “I’ve been studying plants with the Shodaime.”

Hashirama let out a large laugh, clipping his golden mask to his belt. “I couldn’t believe how
quickly you were picking up on the Mokuton’s particularities. Of course, now that the secret’s out
your training can really begin.”

“Go easy on her, brother.” Tobirama said. He had detached only part of his mask, so that what
remained of the Silver was shaped like his faceguard. “We do not know what happened since the
invasion.”

“Better get this over with.” Navy said. As he removed his mask, it was mostly his expression that
gave away his identity.

Naruto stared. “You resurrected Zabuza. And then trusted him to take care of us?”

“He’s under loyalty seals and it was the easiest way to get Haku to join us.” Sasuke said.

“He’s Blue?” Naruto smiled. “Awesome.”

“Where is Haku?” Zabuza asked.

“Still in the village, to help the Uchiha residents.” Sasuke said. “You’ll get to contact him soon.”

Green pulled off his mask as well. “I doubt you’ve heard of me…”
 Sakura’s jaw dropped. “You’re Might Duy. Known as the strongest taijutsu specialist the village
has ever known.”

“I was mostly known as the Eternal Genin, actually, and Gai has far surpassed me. But I like your
enthusiasm! I am proud to have helped train such strong people in the prime of their youth.”

“So who else is here?” Sakura asked, incredulously. “The Third Kazekage? Hanzo? Danzo?”

Red went to Sakura and undid her mask. “I really wanted to tell you.” She said. “But I was happy I
could keep you safe.”

“Aunt Mebae?” Sakura’s eyes teared up.

“She would have been amongst the first I resurrected.” Sasuke said. “But it took me a while to find
her body.”

Orange and Pink stepped to Naruto.

Naruto swallowed. “You can’t be.” There were tears in his eyes. Hope was a dangerous thing. But
sometimes it was justified.

“We’re sorry we had to hide our identities.” Orange said. ”It was so hard when every day we
wanted to tell you how proud we are of you.”

Naruto’s eyes were wide. He was trembling. “Are you…are you my parents?”

“Well yeah.” The orange mask was dropped to reveal Kushina’s characteristic red hair. “How do
you think I knew who your real father was? You know, you are so much like me that it’s scary. I
love you so much, Naruto.”

The Pink mask was next and revealed Minato’s blond hair and blue eyes. “But you’ve gotten my
looks. Sorry about that. I always preferred your mother’s…”

Naruto tackled them in a hug, bawling like a toddler.

Sasuke had much more to tell them and there was a lot more work to be done. But he would let
them have this moment. This is what it had all been for.

Chapter End Notes

Next chapter in 3 weeks: Thursday evening (CET) April 21st, 'Two years later'.
I'm taking a bit more time here, so that hopefully the final 3 chapters and the epilogue
can all be posted in weekly installments. I've added a lot of threads (and reminded
myself of them) over the course of the last few months as I've been posting, and I want
to make sure they're all tied off neatly. And I'd rather take a bit more time now at the
natural break point, than put more time between updates in the middle of the
concluding chapters.
Edit: Even though I'm close, I didn't make it in time. I still need to put finishing
touches on the chapter. New update time: Sunday April 24th.

For the people interested in these things, most of the escape was daydreamed over the
song Born to be Bone from Gitaroo man. That is to say, whenever that song came up
on my playlist for the treadmill, I kept trying to visualise how it could go, and I got to
think about the scene for several years before I got to write it (And make the motion as
if I'm smashing through the ground beneath myself at the exact right moment for the
music to swell. Such fun).

Congrats on the reviewers who figured out the Uchiha Platoon were resurrected
people. The intro of chapter 9 has Sasuke mentioning how his experimentation has
resulted in the ability to add perfect disguises. The mask was a double bluff. Kakashi
was so satisfied seeing under the mask, that he did not question enough whether the
faces he got to see were real. (He should have looked underneath the underneath) Also,
if their personalities were off, try to keep in mind that they were under Sasuke's
command and specifically trying to be unrecognisable enough they wouldn't be
discovered easily. This is also why Minato, while fighting the Hokage, has to rely on
his speed instead of his teleportation (which is how he actually got throught he
barrier).

Also kudos for who realised Sasuke dismissing the threat of Danzo so often implied
that Danzo had already been taken care of. Danzo has been a meat puppet for three
months and limited to carrying out Sasuke's orders. Which boiled down to: 'less shady
shit, but keep Sarutobi busy and guessing', with enough micromanagement so that
Danzo wasn't slipping anything by him.

What else? It's not that Ino and Kiba don't care about Team 7. It's just that they're not
quite at the level of defying the Sandaime for them. Give it time. There are three more
Uchiha bodyguards whose identity haven't been revealed. Honestly, that's not to build
further expense but because their identities wouldn't mean anything to Naruto and
Sakura. Violet, Purple and Black will get unmasked next chapter for completion.

Thanks so much for sticking with me and this story, and for all the kind words you've
left. I appreciate you so much for reading and I'm so happy you get to enjoy it with
me.
 Two years later
Chapter Summary

The Akatsuki think they can get Gaara. They think wrong.

Chapter Notes

With apologies for the delay! I'm still not 100% satisfied, but the major issues I had
have been fixed. Hope you enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Five more chambers.” Songoku said.

Sasuke visualised the best place to add them and then moved the earth out of the way. He should
probably ask what kind of rooms were needed, but that would involve speaking. Sasuke would
rather spend his energy on the jutsu.

“We had to accept another starving village into our hide-out. We were trying to make do with the
current barracks, but they needed more space for themselves. They don’t believe Konoha is still
around and it is causing distress with our own people.”

Sasuke winced. Because he knew what was coming next. “No.”

“You have to talk to them. Everything will fall apart if you don’t. Please. You’re the ninth Hokage
and…”

Sasuke’s glare shut the boy up. He was the leader of the Uchiha Platoon. He refused to call
himself anything else. It had been Naruto’s dream to become Hokage, not his.

“You need to keep up their spirits.”

“Do not ask impossible things of me. You can talk to them on my behalf. Like you have been.”

“They want to hear from you.”

“Then they’ll have to live with being disappointed. They should be used to it by now.”

Songoku sighed. “There was one more matter I wanted to discuss.”

“Can it wait?”

“You always want me to wait until a better time. But then you only talk to me when we’re moving
the base. So no, it can’t wait. I’m going to need a private office to work on a sealing project.”

“Which one?”
Songoku’s silence answered that easily enough.”

Sasuke’s head was pounding. “I forbid it. The price is too great. As I’ve told you many times
before.”

“I have an idea on how to circumvent the cost.”

“That’s impossible. The Yondaime proved it was impossible.”

“The Yondaime was never as desperate as we are now. From desperation to revelation.”

Sasuke hung his head. If that was true, if there was a way to go back in time without having to pay
the price… “You’re sure?”

“It can’t hurt to try.”

And Sasuke could feel a hope blossoming that he had not felt since Naruto’s death. Perhaps, just
perhaps, the world was not completely at an end. “I’ll speak with the ninja. If you write the speech
for me.”

~*~

It was a busy evening. After all the villagers had finished the day’s chores, they wanted a drink
before they went home to dinner. Jiraiya could smell the mix of hundreds of home-cooked meals
that were being prepared over the village, deceptively inviting.

He did not like coming to this village, so close to the border of the Land of Rivers. There were too
many orphaned by the wars Konoha had participated in. If he paid too much attention to the faces,
he always started wondering whether they were the kids of someone he had killed. There was too
much blood on his hands.

The tavern was not packed yet. He would leave before it got much busier, before anyone had a
chance to blame him for taking up space a local would have liked to use. There was a small stage
set up in the back where three women were playing music. Jiraiya thought it sounded catchy, but
the women were not much to look at. Short hair and dressed too modestly.

Jiraiya took off his backpack and sat down at the bar. “Two glasses of sake.”

The bartender nodded to him and poured the glasses.

“I thought you wouldn’t show up.” His contact said, slipping in the seat next to him. “I’ve been
waiting for ages.” The girl accepted the sake and downed it quickly, signalling for another glass.

“I came as soon as I could. It’s getting harder and harder to get information out of Konoha.”

Jiraiya was supposed to be a master of spycraft. He had left hints in the area that he was a spy
disgruntled about his village’s administration. Just as he had hoped, he was drafted to be a double
agent. He dropped useless info about Konoha in order to fish for news. He was loyal to Konoha
and if that meant leaking some secrets for the greater good, then he would.

Except, the information he dropped was used in the most peculiar ways. He shared some trade
routes thinking they would be attacked. Konoha posted undercover security, but instead of bandits
they only found more traders in each village they visited. It was their most profitable journey to
date.
He shared some of Konoha’s information on the Hidden Mist’s dictator kage and it was used to
overthrow him and install a benevolent woman who had agreed to several trade agreements with
Konoha since her inauguration.

He had offered up more and more valuable information over the previous months. He would think
he was being played, except he got equally valuable information in return.

Though most villages pretended that they still held the reins on their jinchuuriki, Jiraiya heard
differently. Gaara had become kage of the Village hidden in the Sand, decidedly free of anyone’s
control. Killer B was still supporting his brother officially, but was out of his village more often
than he was in it. The others had disappeared into thin air, much like Naruto had.

Though this girl, Karin, suggested they were all safe.

She pushed up her glasses and leaned a little closer. “Do you have them?”

“Yes, woman.” Jiraiya sighed. He took the scroll from his belt and put it on the bar. His hand kept
resting on top of it. “But I keep wondering why the mission roster for B and C ranks would interest
you.”

“I’m just naturally curious.”

“See, that’s not what I’m thinking.” Jiraiya said. “Because I can see no use to this other than
preying on Konoha’s youngest ninja. Which is not something I can condone. What are you going
to do with this information?”

“That’s on a need-to-know basis.” Karin said. “Don’t you want to know the latest news from the
Jinchuuriki? I even have something new on Akatsuki.”

“I’d love to hear it. But I need to talk to your leader.”

“We’ve been over this.” She rolled her eyes. “You deal with me, or you don’t deal with us at all.”

Jiraiya sighed. He downed another sake and then stood up. “That’s that then.”

He could no longer do this. Not when none of her information had led him closer to his godson.
Not when he had no idea who might be getting this information.

“Stay for another drink.”

“No, I think I’m done.”

“I can’t let you leave until you hand over that scroll.” Karin said, grabbing his wrist.

“What are you going to do?” He reached for a kunai.

The whole bar went silent. All eyes were turned on him and suddenly he could see the illusion
slipping away. Each of the villagers was armed and ready to strike. He had been outnumbered from
the start.

He glanced at the barkeep who had his finger at a lever near the bar. Whatever it would trigger, it
would be bad news for the sannin. He went through his techniques quickly in his mind. He knew a
few frog escape techniques. His muscles were already tensing, getting ready to drop something and
run away.

“You’re impossible, Jiraiya.”

Jiraiya’s breath hitched. “Tsunade?”

She was standing in the door opening behind the bar. “Stop harassing the poor girl and sit down.”

Jiraiya slowly put away his weapon. “What are you doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious by now?” She went behind the bar to pick up two bottles of sake and put them on
the counter. She picked a new glass for herself and refilled Jiraiya’s. “You used to be quicker than
this.”

“This is your operation.”

“Okay, you’re really lagging.” Tsunade downed a glass and poured another. “I don’t control shit.
I’m just along for the ride.”

Jiraiya sat himself back down, hands in his face. “Team 7.”

“Really, was that so hard? I thought it would be obvious by now. I mean, you realise Karin is an
Uzumaki right? That she used to belong to Orochimaru?”

“She’s what?” He turned to look. Her red hair was distinctive, sure, but Uzumaki had way bigger
chakra pools. “She doesn’t feel like one.”

Tsunade sighed at his scepticism. “You fool. She’s learned to mask her signature. Aren’t you
supposed to be a spymaster? Who did you think was responsible for cleaning up the countries?”

“The world is a big place, hime.” Jiraiya said. “All of the countries have little organisations
springing up with their own names and members. It seemed like a coincidence, sure, but how the
hell was I supposed to know Team 7 was responsible for one of them?”

She shook her head. “All of them, stupid. I spent a month training Sakura and got to know her
through and through. What did you do training Naruto? Did you even recognise his seal work on
the dam?”

Jiraiya spit out the drink he was halfway to swallowing. “That was his array?”

A few months ago, a mass alert had gone out because of a faulty dam. They were fearing a flood
and thousands of lives would have been lost. But by the time ninja arrived to help evacuate, the
dam had been fixed. It had also been reinforced by the most beautiful piece of sealing that Jiraiya
had ever seen. He had thought it had the look of Naruto’s work, but in the end assumed a monk had
done it. One of the isolationists who spent their whole lives studying just one subject. Not a
teenager that had overtaken Jiraiya’s skills in just one month.

“Do you know how much money I lost betting on you? I was sure you’d figure it out once we
started adding the Uchiha fan to all our correspondence, but no. You just complimented us on our
new signature.”

Jiraiya took out an old scroll and looked dumb-founded at the group’s symbol. It was nothing like
the Uchiha fan, but now that she had pointed it out, it absolutely was the Uchiha fan.

“I want to talk with them.”

“You mentioned. The answer is no.”

“Hime, you don’t understand. He’s my godson and he betrayed Konoha. He needs to come back.”
“He doesn’t need to do shit.” She said, finishing the first bottle and moving on to the second. “I am
a Konoha ninja too, you must remember. And defending Konoha took everyone I loved away from
me. My brother. My husband. It was Konoha that failed Orochimaru and let him get corrupted.
Konoha failed me, and it failed Naruto. Neither of us owe it anything.”

“You were supposed to be Hokage.” Jiraiya said. “Sarutobi is getting sick and he wants you back
to replace him.”

“There was a time that I would have gone, even if I would have complained every step along the
way. But not anymore.”

“I don’t understand. Why did you choose them over Konoha?” Jiraiya asked.

“Sasuke approached me a little over two years ago. I was getting drunk and gambling away my
days. And he talked to me. And he gave me something.”

“He bought you off?”

“He gave me a gift.” Tsunade said. “You know what it is.”

Jiraiya did know. He had been thinking about it every day since Tsunade had helped Team 7
escape. There was only one logical conclusion. “Dan.”

She nodded. “He did not expect anything from me. But he told me that Dan only lasted for as long
as Sasuke was safe. That he would always resurrect Dan if he was able and that my help keeping
him safe would help with that.”

“You betrayed Konoha to be with Dan.”

Tsunade shook her head. “I was not convinced, but I went to a town near Konoha and kept my ear
to the ground when I wasn’t spending time with my husband. It was a small step, but it helped to
take it slow. I heard it when they improved the village. And Sasuke visited often to tell me about
the future and why he was fighting. And then he asked me to come to Konoha, because he wanted
me to meet Sakura. And she sold me. I gave them a chance because of Dan. But I sided with them
over Konoha because of her. I chose my student over my teacher.”

“What’s so special about her?”

She stared ahead, smiling. “If you haven’t seen it yet, I don’t think I can describe it to you.
Idealistic to a fault, except they actually achieve most of the goals they set themselves. Being near
them… it feels like you’re in the middle of a storm and you’re panicking because they’re upturning
everything, only to realise nobody cared about the shoddy shed they’ve destroyed and they’re just
too happy their crops are finally getting watered.”

“Is it so strange to be wary of the storm? You heard what sensei said. We know nothing of the
future Sasuke is from.”

“He has told me all I need to know.”

“And you believe him? He could be manipulating all of us.”

“He’s a master manipulator.” Tsunade said. “And everything is the better for it.”

“So you just… you’ve just been living with Dan for the last two years?”
“No. He moved on a few months ago.” Tsunade said. “The resurrection doesn’t last forever.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s okay. This time I had the time to say goodbye. When we realised he was leaving, we took our
time and made our peace with it. It’s helped. And now it’s over.”

“And yet you’re still with them.”

“They do good work. And they ask for so little in return.” Tsunade motioned for the scroll. “Leave
it with us.”

Jiraiya stood. “Why does Sasuke need the mission roster? Is he going to abduct more of Konoha’s
ninja?”

“Don’t be so dramatic. They just want to know where their friends are in case they’re needed to
help stop the destruction of the world.”

“The… the what now?”

~*~

Naruto whistled. “That’s some mighty good work, Garudo-kun.”

“You really think so?” The boy beamed, lifting the hammer of the roof and rubbing the back of his
head. “I’m just following your instructions.”

“It’s looking better than I could do it when I was just starting out. You have a knack for it.”

The house was coming together splendidly. At this rate, the village would be ready to be left to
their own devices in just a few weeks.

“It’s these nails. I didn’t know it could be this easy to hammer wood together. I don’t know what
we’ll do without them once you’re gone.”

“Not to worry. We’re teaching the smith how to make them. You’ll be happily building houses for
as long as you’d like. Now we just need to…”

“Naruto!” Sasuke called for from a few houses over. “It’s time!”

“Already?” Naruto ruffled the boy’s hair and went off.

“Another mission?” Garudo asked.

“Something a bit bigger, most probably. Do you have the seal to call help in emergencies?”

Garudo nodded.

“Good! Keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll be back soon. Hopefully. And otherwise it was
very nice working together.”

“What does that mean?”

Naruto just smiled wide as he flashed a peace sign and made his way to Sasuke. “We’re sure?”

“My clone confirmed it. They attacked Suna and left Kankuro poisoned.”
“How much time do we have?”

“If it’s anything like last time, they’ll need until sundown to reach the cave where they’ll attempt
the extraction.”

“Okay, so about an hour if we want to intercept them.” Naruto pushed his hand to the ground and
let black ink spill into a large shape around him. There were a few people turning heads to watch,
which was probably the point. Naruto claimed he needed it for long-distance travel, especially if he
was not travelling alone, even though Sasuke had seen him pull it off plenty of times in an
emergency. But Sasuke noticed Naruto’s glee when people stared at him impressed and it made
him reluctant to say anything about it.

It was also part of their campaign to make the village accept a fixed teleportation seal. Only those
keyed into the seal would be able to use, but then it would allow them to come and go freely to a
ninja village. For a village in the middle of nowhere, that was a big deal.

Naruto and Sasuke travelled half-way across the world. Sasuke staggered slightly from the change
in temperature and humidity.

“How have you still not gotten used to that?”

Sasuke shot him a look. “You’re messing with the very fabric of space and time. Some
disorientation is to be expected.”

Even if it did feel like coming home. Sasuke liked helping the different villages and going on their
freelance missions, but there was something about the sight of Uzushio’s tall walls covered in seals
that made him feel it was where he belonged. Might just be the people inside of it.

The entire island had been infused with Sasuke’s chakra, each wall and building bearing his
signature. Each tree and piece of greenery bore Sakura’s, tinges of pink surrounding leaves and
blades of grass. And then there were the seals bringing it all together, each one uniquely Naruto
both in how they felt and how they acted.

The only thing that would have made it all better was if they could have made all this back in
Konoha. Sasuke had never meant to get them banned from their home village and he was still
trying to find avenues to revoke their banishment. It was the least he could do.

He had been expecting a period of distance between him and his teammates after he had told them
the truth. Instead, they had taken it surprisingly well. They had not been angry being on the run,
only angry at the Sandaime for his treatment of Sasuke. They had not been angry about the lies,
just curious about what the future had been.

And though they had been weary of the cost of the resurrections, there could be no doubt they
enjoyed the results. A part of Sasuke had been worried that his teammates would choose their
family over Sasuke and he felt guilty about that. Especially when Naruto and Sakura included
Sasuke in everything. Naruto had always been fine talking with Pink and Orange, but he wanted
Sasuke beside him now that he was talking to Minato and Kushina.

Sasuke sometimes wondered if they had fully processed the news. Naruto would sometimes crack a
joke about Sasuke being decades older than his teammates, and both Naruto and Sakura would
then have a moment of unease before moving on. It was as if their brains could not look at the
teenage Sasuke’s body and imagine him as an adult. Or perhaps they just chose to ignore it.

Their rhythm was much the same as it had been in Konoha. They did what had to be done, and they
did it with unprecedented efficiency, speed and comprehensiveness.

Naruto and Sasuke moved quickly, which drew eyes from the other poor souls that had gathered in
this ancient village. About half the people had been recruited and the other half had been drawn
back to the village once Naruto had resurrected it, like the very presence had beckoned them to
come back home.

The kage tower rose up like a beacon, looking much like the structure in Konoha that Naruto had
always wanted to rule. On another side was the large hospital they had created with Tsunade and
Sakura’s specifications, for all the medical procedures that could not be done in the field. Tsunade
had refused to be employed in it, yet had ended up spending most of her week badgering the
students and making sure they were taking their medical education seriously. And the final
structure amongst the big three was the academy, hosting dozens of civilians who had no intention
of leaving their families for a ninja education. The teleportation seals of Uzushio provided them
with an opportunity they had long thought lost to them.

And right in the middle of it, a new Uchiha manor.

Sasuke had suggested an underground base so that it could be expanded as needed while staying
tactically hidden. Sakura had instead built them a living palace from wood. Each time they entered,
it was a surprise what the lay-out would be. She changed sizes and room count on her mood. Today
seemed to be an especially vibrant day.

Many of the outside walls of the building had opened up, letting the place intertwine with their
large garden. Cherry blossoms trees surrounded the building, branches swaying in the wind as if
they were ready to punish any unlawful intruder.

Sakura was tending the garden between them.

“We’re home!”

She smiled. “I wasn’t expecting you yet.”

“Akatsuki’s making their move. We’re going to Suna.”

Sakura nodded. “Right.” She made a hand seal and the trees started receding. The gem on her
forehead glowed fiercer as it withdrew all the chakra she had stored in them.

“Where’s the armoury today?”

“Third door from the right.” Sakura let the plants do their job, pulling her armour and equipment
from the house for her. Several flowers bloomed and turned into seeds within seconds, stored in a
small bag for Sakura to carry with her.

Sasuke jumped over vines and bushes and made his way to their weapons. The chakra steel went
on his back, of course, while the rest were delegated to his eight weapon pouches. He checked that
they were all filled to capacity, before loading out.

Naruto was in the middle of their home, a small sanctuary that anchored the protective seals of the
whole village. Arranged in a circle, there were five keystones of elemental chakra, all connected
and feeding each other. Sakura’s plants provided fresh nature chakra for the system. Sasuke did not
understand how it was any better than a regular chakra battery, but Naruto insisted the balance
improved quality.

The previous Naruto had never bothered, calling the elemental differences a hassle that was far
more effort than it was worth. This Naruto had realised it was an area of study that would allow
him to surpass his predecessor. And even if the effects were small, they stacked up and had
become significant over time.

Naruto withdrew inks that had absorbed the elemental chakra, building his arsenal. He had his
brushes and scrolls.

Gold was outside with Sakura, helping her guide her concentrate her plants in seeds. The First
Hokage was careful in his actions, knowing that there would be trouble if anyone figured out his
identity. They had been keeping the resurrections under wraps as much as they could.

“Remember to release with yin energy.” Minato said.

“Yes dad.” Naruto rolled his eyes, continuing his preparations. “We’ve practiced this. I’m ready.”

“Do you have the back-up ink?” Kushina asked.

“In my scrolls.”

“And the back-up for the back-up?”

“Hidden in my sandal.”

“And the back-up for the back-up for the back-up?”

Naruto sighed. “It’s going to be alright, mom.”

Sasuke could see the reluctance on their faces. They would much prefer to join along on this
mission. But it was not yet their time. Not until Akatsuki escalated.

“The end is approaching.” Silver said. The Nidaime had joined Sasuke in the armoury.

“The end is what we’re trying desperately to avoid.”

Tobirama shook his head. “What will you do with the village when Madara is defeated?”

“That will be up to Naruto. He’s our Uzukage after all.”

“He relies on you to make the decisions. You will need replacements for my brother and me.”

“We can discuss your return to the afterlife after Madara is defeated.” Sasuke said. “You promised
your cooperation.”

“I promised to undo the mistakes of the past, which should not have haunted you into the present.
Resurrection was never supposed to last this long. We’ve already lost Dan and Sakumo, and I’ve
been feeling the link to this world weakening for me as well. I’m only holding on because I need to
finish what we started in our crusade against Madara. If you defeat his forces and prevent his
return, Hashirama and I will have completed our unfinished business. Our souls will move on. You
keep putting off this conversation, but we are running out of time.”

Sasuke considered it. “We don’t have anyone with your expertise, but we have people with your
talents. We’ll find replacements.”

“Give me a list. We might only have a few weeks after today and I will want to train them to the
best of my abilities. And now I ask again. What will you do with the village after Madara is
defeated?”
Sasuke shrugged. “We will thrive.”

“And then what? When Harashima and Madara created Konoha, it was not enough to make a
village that would serve a single generation. We wanted something that would last.”

“Uzushio will last.” Sasuke said. “We have Naruto and he’s already made friends with the genin
teams of all the major villages. We have civilians on our side from all over the country. We shall be
allies with them all.”

“Until the three of you are no longer around to maintain these new friendships. Until a war breaks
out.”

“The time of caution is over.”

“Caution is what let this age of ninja villages thrive. You should take more lessons from the
Sandaime.”

Sasuke frowned. “The Sandaime that would rather kidnap and kill me than risk me upsetting his
house of cards?”

“Do not speak as if you had given him no reason to be suspicious of you and your intentions. It is
not so easy to sit on the Hokage chair.”

“Not easy, no. But that’s no excuse for his incompetence.”

“Careful.” Tobirama glared. “He’s still my student. And I am proud of all that he’s accomplished.”

“He has not advanced the village further one bit.”

“That is uncharitable. He has taken steps forward.”

“The road to progress requires leaping.”

“No. The road is an uphill slope and the Sandaime has managed to not only avoid slipping
backwards, but to advance further than ever before. And he respects the past enough to be wary of
unfounded promises.”

“Are you saying our promise to thrive is unfounded? Have you not seen all we’ve done? Have you
not yourself personally gone over the plans to make Uzushio even better?”

“I’m saying that Konoha nearly fell apart because clan alliances were stronger than village loyalty.
And I fear village loyalties will be stronger than mere friendship. You do not understand how
tenuous the existence of the village was not so long ago. How close everything came to falling
apart.”

“You are burdened by the past.” Sasuke said. “We need someone like Naruto, whose optimism and
idealism goes beyond survival.”

“You scorn the past, yet you have surrounded yourself with echoes of its heroes.”

“I use all the tools available to me.”

“And in doing so you have neglected the new generation. There are nine other Konoha prodigies,
and you have tutored only one. And that merely for political favour.”

“They would not have been as capable as you.”

“And yet we could only help in the ways we were raised to do, with our mindset from the past that
you call outdated. If you want to move forward, you need to stop relying on a technique that keeps
reaching backwards. There’s a reason I called the resurrection technique forbidden after I invented
it.”

“I’m keeping it a secret. I’m only using it for the important people. Just for us.”

“And how long will that work? Sasuke, I hope that you will achieve the future you’re dreaming of.
You gave up a whole timeline for this.” Tobirama said. “It is your obligation to make the sacrifice
count.”

“Don’t talk of me about sacrifice.” Sasuke glared. “You have no right.”

Tobirama stared. “I found the technique. I sealed it away with full knowledge of its dangers.”

“If you had any mercy, you would’ve destroyed it and kept me from the temptation.” Sasuke said.

“You could’ve destroyed it, yet you saved it. Just like me you realised there would be
circumstances where the price would be worth it.”

Sasuke sighed.

“And if I had been in your place, I would have done the same thing.”

Sasuke very much doubted it. Naruto and Sakura were rounding up. “We have to go.”

“Think about what I’ve said.”

Sasuke nodded.

People were gathering to welcome them back, only to startle at how quickly they were gearing up
to leave. For all of Tobirama’s talk, Sasuke saw more faces of real people than of the resurrected
dead. The Jinchuuriki they had liberated, the villagers that had nowhere else to go, the visitors
from Konoha’s Uchiha district.

But they were in a hurry and so Sasuke only had eyes for one of them. The grey-haired jounin did
not need instruction as he stepped next to them and easily slotted beside them.

The seal activated and they were greeted with air that was just as hot, with none of the humidity.
Wind’s dessert was widely known and they had visited often enough to be familiar.

“Thank god.” Temari said. She tackled Naruto in a hug. “Kankuro’s getting worse and I have no
idea where they took Gaara. He’s the only one who can tell us.”

“Lead the way.”

The Hospital was busy. Many people had burn wounds from Deidara’s explosions. Others were
deathly ill from Sasori’s poison. An old woman was waiting for them there. “You contacted them.”
She sneered. Her glare focussed on Kakashi more than anyone else. “The White Fang?”

“His son.” Kakashi said. “Just along for the ride. It’s Sakura who’s going to be helping here.”

“You foolish child. You do not remember the conflicts we had with Konoha.”

“I do. But this is Uzushio, not Konoha. In Gaara’s absence, it’s my choice to make.” Temari said.
“They’re going to help us.”
“And what will the other villages think, with us resorting to missing ninja?”

“You must be Chiyo.” Sakura said. “I’ve heard stories about you. If you’re here, you must have
already tried to fix the poison. Did you create an antidote?”

She stuck up her face. “It’s a complicated poison. None but the great Tsunade would be able to
find a cure.”

“So that’s a no.” She cracked her knuckles. “You’re in the way of me and my patient. Tsunade-
shisho might not be here, but she’s told me I’ve long since surpassed her. I’ll need to ask you to
move.”

Chiyo stood stubbornly tall. It was only Temari’s gesturing that finally made her step aside. “He’s
in there.”

The hospital room was private but not secluded. A nurse was just leaving at a pace just above
normal, seemingly in a hurry to get something else for her patient. And it was clear from the state
of him that it was needed. He was deathly pale and his eyes were closed, a trembling breath
escaping him with irregularity.

Sakura hurried to Kankuro’s side. She ran her hands over his body, while moving the other
necessities in place. His chart hovered before her face. “You’ve only prepared ventilation while
analysing the poison?”

“There’s little else we could do until the analysis comes in.” Chiyo said. “It’s a poison we’ve never
seen before and we do not know how to treat it.” She looked at the strange floating chart in front of
her. “Is that a chakra string? Isn’t that too distracting while you’re reading the diagnostic jutsu?”

“Please.” Sakura had her strings move a workbench in place, grabbed a bowl of water and hovered
it under a sink where she let her strings fill it with water. She settled it on the workbench and then
took the water in hand with strengthening chakra. She weaved a genjutsu to numb the pain, before
pushing the orb of water through Kankuro’s skin. Moving it through his body to absorb the poison
and then extracting it through his mouth was child’s play.

Kankuro’s vitals started to stabilise.

Chiyo’s eyes widened. “How did you…”

Temari grasped her brother’s hand tightly. “Is he out of danger?”

“He’ll live, but he’ll still need the antidote for the trace amounts to avoid months of rehabilitation.”
She placed the dirty water back in the bowl and then continued running her hands over Kabuto’s
body, repairing as much of the damage as she could.

Naruto grabbed an empty scroll and drew a seal. He placed the bowl on top of it and the elements
started to write itself out.

Sakura eyed the list. “Ah, this would be tricky to find. Many ingredients that hide the presence of
the other.” She made a few mental calculations, before using her string to grab paper and write
down a list of plants and instructions. She threw the paper to Chiyo. “Make the antidote from this.”

“You’re not making it yourself?” Chiyo was dumb-founded. It was one thing to analyse the poison
and find an antidote. It was another to gift that antidote to a rival village.

Chiyo was not aware how much Team 7 had already gifted Suna over the last two years. The
antidote to a poison was nothing.

Sakura retreated her hands. “He’s ready.”

“We’re only here for a few more minutes.” Sasuke said. He walked over to Kankuro’s head and
lifted up Kankuro’s eyelids. He was mostly unconscious, but that would not matter. If Sakura
thought he could handle it, he could. Sasuke’s eyes turned red as he infiltrated the boy’s mind.

There was sand all around Sasuke, swirling up in anger and confusion. Sasuke felt the panic tearing
into his skin. “We need to find Gaara. We need to safe him.”

The sand hesitated, and then subsided. Sasuke was no longer in featureless dessert, but surrounded
by bodies and Suna ninja. It was the place where Sasori had ambushed Kankuro. And even though
Kankuro fell to poison, he had still been able to see where the Akatsuki had been headed. Kankuro
knew where it was, so now Sasuke did too.

Thank you.

Sasuke opened his eyes and turned to a window. “Let’s go.”

“Wait.” Chiyo said. “If you’re really intending to fight Sasori, you’re going to need my help. I
taught him everything he knows.

“You’ll only get in the way.” Sasuke said.

“You should know there’s nothing you should fear more than a ninja that has survived to old age.”
She seemed ready to prove her worth, widening her stance and starting to form chakra wires from
her fingertips. “Don’t discount me because of my wrinkles.”

“We don’t have time for this.” Sasuke said.

Naruto gave a confident smile. “Don’t discount us for our youth either. We’ll find Gaara and bring
him back for you.” He grabbed his teammates and disappeared.

For a short-range teleport like that, Sasuke needed no more than a second to find his bearings
again. The oasis just outside of Suna held one of Naruto’s teleporting seals. It was shaky, drawn by
Gaara instead of Naruto himself, but it was more than stable enough to travel.

They had a clear journey through the dessert. They were faster, not having to carry an unconscious
jinchuuriki with them. At this rate they would be catching up with Deidara and Sasori before they
even reached the cave. And even if that calculation was off, they knew the extraction would take
three days and that it still had not started yet. They had the time. Akatsuki’s attack had relied on the
world being caught off guard. And it had not been.

Still, there was some surprise when they saw robes of black and red halfway to their destination.
Even more so when they saw that they were not faced with Sasori and Deidara, but Itachi and
Kisame. The two were waiting for them.

“You must be the ones making our lives so difficult.” The shark said. “I didn’t think we needed to
be here, but the boss was right. You’re trying to stop another capture.”

Sasuke looked at his brother. Itachi was betraying no emotion on his face, annoyingly stoic as
always. They had been supposed to meet a month earlier, but Itachi had not shown up. Right now,
it was irrelevant. Sasuke had a target to pursue. These forces were not anticipated, but they were
not insurmountable either. Sasuke had briefed his friends with the basic rundown of the Akatsuki
and they had made general plans for all of them.

Kakashi and Sakura were already moving away, getting ready to travel around them.

“No you don’t.” Kisame had his sword out and was preparing to stop their advance. Naruto was
immediately in front of him, kicking him with such unexpected strength that Kisame was pushed to
the side. It left a clear path for Kakashi and Sakura to go on.

Especially when Sasuke moved between them and his brother. “Hello, Aniki. Do we really have to
fight?”

“You’re standing in the way of our mission, Sasuke.” Itachi said. His eyes turned red.

“Gaara is a precious person to us. We will not allow Akatsuki to take him.”

Kisame had recovered, jumping back to swing at Naruto with his sword. But Naruto had his kunai
and his seal-enforced strength. Sasuke was not worried.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. “And Fuu? Han? Utakata?”

Sasuke shrugged. “Guess all the Jinchuuriki are precious to us. There are some war criminals we
can spare if you’re intent on adding kidnapping to your Bingo book records, or are you dead-set on
innocent children for your victims?”

“So it was you and your friends after all. Just as we were about to strike, these people completely
disappeared.”

“Listen, Itachi, you can stop working for them. All of this is going to end soon. You can stop
pretending. We can live together like I promised.”

“I think not. I have a new reason to side with Akatsuki. There is more going on than you can be
aware of.”

“Just because someone pretending to be Madara is leading you, doesn’t mean you have to listen to
him.”

Itachi shook his head. “Obito has already told us his real identity. And I have spoken to the real
deal.”

“You’ve revived him?” Sasuke took a deep breath. That… that was not planned. “You shouldn’t
believe his lies.”

“He knows what you did.” Itachi said. “He knows everything. You’re not my brother.”

“I’m still Sasuke.”

“No. No person who could do what you did has a right to call himself my brother.”

Sasuke straightened. “You need to understand something, Itachi. Where I came from, you were as
dead as the Uchiha clan you massacred. I spent less than a decade as your little brother, less than a
decade hating you for destroying the clan. That is nothing compared to three decades with a new
family that was deserving of my devotion. I have some affection for you, but you are largely
irrelevant to me.”

“I see…” Itachi got in a fighting stance.

Sasuke could already feel the tendrils of genjutsu advancing over the field and trying to attack his
mind. It was second nature to deflect the attacks. Itachi had seemed a lot more formidable when
Sasuke did not have three times the experience as a ninja that Itachi did. “It’s not too late to back-
off.”

“I once told you to hate me. So that I would die by your hand. It was the only redemption I could
imagine for my sins. And that has not changed. The only change of my plans is that you shall need
to be redeemed first.”

“The only change?” Sasuke started laying down tendrils of his own. Sakura would have been
embarrassed by the display, but Sasuke had never quite achieved the mastery she had. “So Madara
claimed he could bring back the younger Sasuke.”

“It’s more than a claim. He’s shown me the seal that will achieve it.”

Sasuke doubted something like that could seriously be done as described. Then again, seals were
more Naruto’s forte.

“Memory seal!” Naruto shouted between heavy punches.

Ah. “You’re planning to bring him back, by making me forget.”

“You may not be my Sasuke, but if we cut enough excess away then my Sasuke will be all that is
left.”

“Then I don’t suppose I’ll convince you differently. I’ll just have to knock you out until after all
the fighting’s done. After Madara’s gone, I don’t think you’ll be able to achieve it by yourself.”

“Bold words. I remember our last encounter. Even when I was weakened you needed your
teammates to even the field.”

“That was two years ago.” Sasuke smirked. “More power than my body could deal with.”

“And now?”

“More power than you can deal with.” Sasuke let the Sharingan fully awaken. Playtime was over.
Time to teach his brother a lesson.

~*~

“Why haven’t you exploded yet!” Deidara complained while sending more clay figurines through
the air.

“You’re slower than Sasuke described.” Kakashi said, his eye transporting another explosive to his
pocket dimension. “And he said you were a slug.”

“I’ll show you!” He picked up a large amount of clay in his hands. That was Kakashi’s chance. His
Chidori was forming as he charged, making a move straight for Deidara’s chest.

Deidara was pulled out of the way just in time. There was little grace in the manoeuvre, letting
Deidara fall face first into the dirt.

“Careful, grandpa!” Deidara yelled out, righting himself again.

Sasori hardly had time to respond. He had to dodge another one of Sakura’s overpowered fists,
destroying part of the rocky ground under them.
“Give back Gaara.” Sakura said, a dozen kunai and shuriken surrounding her and swirling around
to keep on the pressure. Between her direct attacks, her genjutsu assaults and her chakra strings
trying to take away Sasori’s control of his own puppet, the missing ninja was kept plenty busy.

Deidara spit out his clay, smaller than he would have liked because of the interruption. He was
about to deploy it, when he had to abandon his attack to dodge a literal dragon made of lightning.
“Who the fuck are these people? Why haven’t Itachi and Kisame joined us?”

“Does it look like I know?!” Sasori released poisonous gasses around him, only to be met with a
chakra mist too dense to penetrate.

In the distance a huge sphere of water lined the desert. Itachi and Kisame were busy enough with
their own fight.

~*~

Water was Kisame’s element. Sasuke had warned about that. Nobody had ever been able to
outswim him. But Naruto was the new Toad Sage. He had reclaimed the land of Whirlpools. He
had a legacy forged from Uzumaki storms. He had every bit a right to claim advantage in the
water.

Kisame was fast, but Naruto’s wind let him be faster. Naruto’s tails protected him from all sides.
The seals scribbled around his neck let him breathe. Right now it was just a matter of endurance.
And that was a battle Naruto would never lose.

He pulled on more of Kuruma’s chakra. Kisame was known as the tailed beast without tails, as
Sasuke had said. It was impressive, but paled in comparison to the real thing. Naruto would win the
fight of endurance. But he had no intention to make it last that long.

His tails started working together, creating spheres of chakra. Naruto wondered how many Tailed
Beasts Balls it would take to finish the shark.

~*~

Itachi was craftier than Sasuke remembered. His older brother was outclassed in all areas, but he
was still fighting. Even as burns covered more and more of his body from the flames he took too
long to extinguish. Even as his eyelids started to fall from the exertion of their genjutsu skirmish.
Even as the cuts accumulated on his body.

Itachi was an expert of slipping away from the critical blows and getting back into the fight. His
crows served as distractions in his most desperate times.

In the end, it took but one misstep. Sasuke had weakened the sand and Itachi had not noticed all of
the vulnerable places to step on. He had sunk half an inch down and had lost his balance. He did
not have the time to completely dodge the explosive tag that went off next to him.

And in the confusion, Sasuke had a good shot at the back of Itachi’s head. The Uchiha was
knocked out and that was it.

The water sphere exploded in a splattering of rain. Kisame fell to the ground, one of his arms
blown off and the sword removed far from his body. On the ground Naruto was waiting for his
falling body, a full-sized rasengan held up above him. When Kisame landed on top of the
technique, little of the shark man remained.

Sasuke carried Itachi over. Naruto went to work at once, placing binding seals over the Uchiha’s
body. “That took longer than I thought it would.”

“We were hoping for two more weeks of training.” Sasuke said. “They would have made all the
difference.”

“Now we actually had to put in effort.” Naruto pouted. “Think we’ll get to save the others?”

Sasuke’s sensing was diminished at the great range. But he could make out the highlights. “No.
It’ll be over before we get there.”

~*~

Sasori was the world’s greatest puppeteer. No matter how much Sakura had practiced, she did not
reach his mastery of chakra strings. But she had other strengths. Her mist was too dense for normal
chakra strings to penetrate. Her genjutsu pushed and distracted to sabotage the enemy’s control.

No, Sakura did not have Sasori’s skill. She was not able to control a hundred puppets. But she was
able to control fifty. Fifty of Sasori’s own puppets turning against their own. What Sasori had
intended as a diversion became just another battle around them.

The only advantage he had left was his traps. And while Sasori was the world’s greatest puppeteer,
Sakura had trained against Naruto, the world’s greatest prankster. There was no surprise Sasori
could throw at her that she had not already defeated in greater form.

Sasori was getting overwhelmed. Sakura’s genjutsu almost landed. And that was the last straw.
When she let the wood rise up from the earth it was such a surprise that Sasori did not get out of
the way fast enough. His body immobile, there was nothing he could do as Sakura punched the
artificial heart out of him.

She chose fifty of the most intact puppets remaining and swarmed Deidara off-handedly. Her heart
was not really into Kakashi’s fight, which he would soon win with or without her help anyway.
Gaara was still unconscious and though she had managed to keep him safe during the fight, it
worried her that he had not wakened.

She diagnosed the cocktail mix that the enemy had administered him. It was a small wonder Gaara
was still alive, even with his status as a Jinchuriki. Sakura tried not to let the lightning in the
background distract her too much as she purged Gaara’s system from the foreign chemicals.

“How’s he doing?” Naruto asked, moving to Gaara’s head to check his vitals for himself.

Sasuke slid easily next to her as he figured out what she was doing and started to assist in the
cleansing. She loved having team members that could teleport right next to her.

“He’ll live. Think this will be it for now?”

“Akatsuki won’t take this lying down.” Sasuke said. I’m surprised there aren’t more members here
already.”

Sakura extended her range as far as she dared, with dozens of puppets and Gaara’s health equally
vying for her attention. If they were near, it was not close enough for her to detect.

“Naruto…” Gaara said, reaching out. “You came.”

“I promised I would, dummy.”

“Little help here?!” Kakashi yelled out.

Sasuke waved him off. “We all got rid of our targets by ourselves. Keep up, old man.”

“He has enough explosive power to blow up the whole of Wind!”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. The techniques they had available to them could do much worse. He still
drew his sword and calculated. Sakura’s puppets were cornering Deidara. Kakashi was taking
advantage of their greater number by continuingly pressing the attack. Deidara used small
explosives to keep the area around himself clear from attacks.

There. Sasuke used his shunshin to crouch in Deidara’s blind spot and then shot out a sword of
lightning through his chest. He amped up the electricity for good measure and then sheathed his
sword again. “This is what you get for reading Icha Icha while we were training.”

Kakashi brushed dirt off his uniform. “Maa, it’s no use keeping up with the three of you anyway.”

“We should head back.” Sasuke said. “There’s no telling where Akatsuki will strike next. Help me
with the bodies.”

Deidara had his hand clutched around something. It was a ring. And it was blinking. Okay, they’d
have less time than Sasuke had hoped.

“Naruto, evacuate them!”

Naruto did not question it, simply pushing his chakra into the ground to create a seal under Gaara
and Itachi. It sent them both away and then collapsed on itself, leaving no trace.

They got into fighting position, all four of them with their backs against each other.

“It seems Tobi’s gotten himself into quite a dangerous situation!” The new Akatsuki had
seemingly arrived out of nowhere. Tobi’s orange mask hid his features, but they all knew who he
was.

“Long time no see, Obito.” Kakashi said. “You’re looking good for a dead guy.”

Obito tilted his head, considering. When he spoke again, it was more serious. “So Itachi’s
delusions were correct after all. Time travel. That’s cheating.”

“As I remember, you were never really one for the rules anyway.” Kakashi raised his kunai.

“Figures.” Obito laughed. “You know who I am and you’re still going to fight me? I guess killing
Rin wasn’t enough for you, was it?”

“She begged me to do it.” Kakashi said. “There is more to the story than you know. You’re being
manipulated.”

“I’m finally seeing the truth.” Obito snarled. “And I’ll show all of you.”

“He’s not alone.” Sasuke warned, indicating shadows on the side of a nearby cliff. Zetsu was there
watching. “And two more are on their way. They’ll flank us if we don’t meet them.”

“Zetsu’s mine.” Sakura said.

“And I’m the one who should fight Obito.” Kakashi said.
“You sure?” Sasuke asked. “We always planned to take him down together.”

“I’ve trained for this. Prepared for this fight more than any other. I can do it.”

“I’ll make you eat those words.” Obito said. “And don’t think I’ll let any of you leave either.
I’ll…”

Kakashi was right in his face and it took all of Obito’s attention to dodge the punch coming for his
face. “I know your moves, Obito. I’m not going to let you outfight me just because you had
performance-enhancing surgery.”

Sasuke and Naruto drew back. It would have been better to take Akatsuki on together, but if they
were all gathering then Sasuke was not going to waste the opportunity.

~*~

“Hold still.” Tsunade said.

Gaara fussed anyway. “They were under attack. I need to go back to them.”

“You’re in no state to fight. Let me finish healing you and then we’ll see where we go from there.”

“Why aren’t you panicking?”

“Because they sent Itachi here, knowing that we would protect him. And keep him subdued. They
had this task for us instead of asking for our back-up. They will be fine. I know they can do it,
because I know exactly what they are capable of.”

~*~

“Seriously? That’s how you do it?” Naruto sighed. “I’ve been trying to recreate your seal for
months and you’re just using a chakra drain to fix up the holes in the design. That’s so ugly!”

“Shut up!” Hidan yelled back, his body turning white. “You were an annoying opponent, but it is
time you become a sacrifice for Jashin!”

Naruto simply pushed his hand to the ground, spreading a seal around him. Hidan’s skin returned
to its normal colour.

“What did you do?”

“Broken the link.” Naruto shrugged. “It’s really quite simple with even a rudimentary
understanding of warding theory.” He wiped away the blood on his arm. The wound had already
healed. “You were faster with that scythe than I figured. I’ll have to start taking this seriously.”

“Bring it on, asshole! I’ll just have to crush you before I sacrifice you! Let’s see you draw a seal
with broken hands!”

~*~

Sasuke made the hand seals and blew the bullet of wind towards the lightning heart, before sending
a dragon of water to the fire one. It had been a while since someone had made him flex all of his
elemental affinities like this.

“You’re starting to annoy me.”

“Only starting to? I’m insulted.” Sasuke shot out his kunai on ninja wire, enveloping Kakuzu’s
aspect of wind and pulling taut. The heart perished. “Just three more hearts to go. Getting scared
yet?”

“I’ll have to tell Hidan not to completely trash your friend. I’ll have his heart as well as yours at the
end of this fight.”

“You’ll have nothing.” The mirth disappeared from Sasuke’s face. “Don’t threaten Naruto.”

“Have I touched a nerve?”

Sasuke responded by charging his ninja wire with electricity and electrocuting the earth heart.

Hidan roared in anger.

“Just two more.”

~*~

Sakura dropped another few seeds into the ground and then supercharged them with her chakra.
They rushed Zetsu’s body and it was only at the last second that a collection of trees saved him
from being impaled.

“Your abilities would be much better suited in our organisation.” Black Zetsu said. “Have you
never considered what we might be able to offer you?”

Sakura pushed her plants through Zetsu’s shield and kept him immobile, running forward with her
fists at the ready. “Sasuke warned me you’d try genjutsu.”

“What I do is not genjutsu.” Black Zetsu snarled.

“Call it what you will. I’m better at it. Perhaps you should join our group instead.” And Sakura
could see the moment of doubt cross his face as the suggestion landed. It was just for the tiniest of
seconds before Zetsu regained control of his senses.

“You’ll die for this.”

“You first.”

~*~

Kakashi’s kunai passed right through Obito. And then the rest of Kakashi did. He turned in the air,
blocking the counterattack. The permeance was a lot easier to deal with when it did not come as a
surprise.

“You have no right to get in my way. Not after what you’ve done. You left me and you killed Rin.”

“We thought you were dead.” Kakashi said. “Do you think we would not have come if we had
known Madara had you?”

Obito’s fire tried to singe Kakashi’s body, but Kakashi dodged out of the way in time. “The real
Kakashi would never have betrayed me. This world can’t be real if Rin’s not in it. If it has a
Kakashi that breaks his promises.”

“I talked to her.”
“I’m sure you did. Before you betrayed her.”

“You’re not the only one who knows how to resurrect people.”

That stopped Obito in his tracks. “That’s impossible…” He said.

“It was nearly impossible to find her DNA, but not completely. And then to find a sacrifice we
could live with killing. Do you want to know what she had to say about your organisation?”

Obito shook his head, eyes wet from tears that refused to fully form. “She’s still dead at your hand.
You can’t take that back.”

“She forgave me. Gave me a hard time for feeling so guilty about it. We can bring her here so she
can talk to you too.”

In the distance they could see a blinding light shoot up into the sky. Kakashi’s mediocre chakra
sense confirmed that one of the approaching Akatsuki had been neutralised. The other seemed in a
rough shape as well.

“Talk to Rin?”

“With Rin and Sensei. The only time he isn’t with us and Rin is when he wants to spend time alone
with Kushina and his son. It’s not too late to stop what you’re doing. It’s not too late to be a team
with us again.”

An explosion sounded far away, and with that the other Akatsuki seemed taken care of. Sakura was
pushing Zetsu more and more into a corner, whittling down his defences. The battle here was over.

Obito realised that too. Without speaking, he threw a full spread of exploding kunai and then
flashed away. He stopped at Zetsu’s side just long enough to grab him and then another sunshin hid
him away from sight. Kakashi’s mediocre chakra sense could not catch up quickly enough to
prevent them teleporting away.

He righted himself when Naruto and Sasuke came back. “Obito got away.”

“And he took Zetsu.” Sakura said. “I was really hoping to take him out.”

“It would have been great if you had.” Sasuke said. “But nonetheless, Akatsuki is considerably
weakened. They lost six of their members today, if not seven. We did not think it would happen in
one day, but it is time.”

His team members nodded. This was what they had been preparing for.

“We kill Madara, cut off his methods of resurrection, and then argue the universe into not making
him immortal.” Sakura said.

“With you as our special weapon.” Naruto smiled at her. “Are you ready?”

“We don’t have much of a choice, now do we?”

“No.” Sasuke said. “They started this by kidnapping Gaara. Tonight, we end it.”

~*~

The bells of Uzushio rang and all its residents started to gather. Many wore the Uchiha Platoon
cloaks that Sasuke had fashioned for the reincarnated ninja. The rest had their own style of dress.
Karin had taken to a lovely range of kimono, drawing inspiration from the Uzumaki ancestors. The
older Jinchuuriki had strengthened what they had been wearing when they had taken refuge in the
village, while the younger had started wearing the same Uchiha armour that Team 7 wore.

They had confined Itachi to a specific chair, next to Sasuke. The seals on it would keep him tied up
until long past the battle’s end. “This is madness.”

“The Village of Rain can be sieged like any other. Pain knows this and it is why he has insisted on
such secrecy.”

“He has kept it secret so that the hidden villages will not band together to attack. He has no fear
from one single team.”

“And I suppose that is his mistake.”

Black reported in. “I’ve contacted everyone in Konoha. They’re mobilising.”

“That’s good.” Sasuke said. “Prepare for the fight.”

“Should I keep wearing my mask?”

“It’s up to you.”

Black nodded, before taking it off. His black eyes and hair always reminded Sasuke of an Uchiha.
“The Jinchuriki prefer me without my mask.”

“You’re one of the few platoon members they’ve been able to unmask, Sai.”

Two more Uchiha platoon members appeared behind Sasuke. “The preparations are complete.”
Purple said. “We are ready to move on your signal.”

Sasuke nodded. “We will move when Naruto has finished. Sai, leave us for a moment.”

Sai gave a bow and then disappeared.

Then Violet went to Itachi. She lowered herself to his level and put her hand on her arm. “You’ve
grown into a handsome man.”

“Kaa-san?” Itachi’s breath hitched. “How are you here?”

Purple moved beside her. “Sasuke revived us. He needed our help and we gave it.”

Itachi struggled in his bonds, but they were too secure. “I had to do it. Konoha was at stake. You
were going to throw it all away.”

“We know.” Mikoto said. She cupped his hand. “We never should have put you in that position.”

“We were deceived as well.” Fugaku said. “Danzo supplied us with false information and stoked
the flames of our anger. At the end we were not thinking clearly.”

“But I killed you.”

“And we forgive you.” Mikoto said. “My beautiful son. You have suffered so long for a sin we
placed on your shoulders.”

“You must know what he has done.” Itachi said. “Did you forgive him as well?”
“You are both our sons. And that will never change. But with what he’s done, he is going to need
you. You can’t hide yourself away any longer. The survival of the Uchiha depend on you now.”

“I’m ready, teme.” Naruto’s clone said, before popping.

“We can finish the reunion later.” Sasuke said. “Right now, we have an organisation to kill.”

~*~

The village of Rain was isolated. That was its strength and also its weakness. For months Sasuke
and his platoon had covertly been diverting their supplies. Traders were bribed to avoid the village.
Farmers had accidents ruin their crops with their only recourse to move away from the village. Bit
by bit the pressure had been building.

And in return, people had been leaving. Pain did not easily allow his villagers to leave, but with a
decrease in food he had had little choice. He had been making concessions assuming it was all
temporary. Of course, it was not.

They teleported just outside of the rain’s influence. Clones of Naruto had spread around the
raincloud in the sky. There were hundreds of him, pressing his hands to the ground. Each clone had
been given a few gallons of ink. And it all went into the earth. It spread and made shapes and
became the largest seal the nations had ever seen.

The instruction was simple, but necessary. And Naruto guaranteed that it was unbreakable.

Then Sasuke stepped into the rain. Followed by Naruto and Sakura. Followed by eight more
Jinchuriki and dozens of Uchiha platoon members.

The response was immediate. The earth started to rumble until it cracked open in front of them.
White Zetsu poured out and charged at them.

Fine then.

Team 7 charged forward while the rest fanned out. Sasuke had his sword drawn and pierced the
first enemy straight on. The electrical discharge around him fried a dozen more. Naruto’s rasengan
was flying left and right. Sakura’s kunai cut the throat of clones all around her.

Their progress slowed as thousands of the White Zetsu formed a blockade between them and the
Village of Rain.

Sakura wasted no time, jumping forward and striking the earth with her fist. An earth jutsu let her
amplify the effect, creating a crater that was ten feet lower at its middle point and at least a hundred
feet across. Sasuke was already inhaling as he jumped beside her, joining hands with Naruto.

The wooden dragon sprouted from the earth with three throats and entombed them, just its mouths
open and spraying their fire everywhere, clearing the crater. And it was not just mouths and necks
being formed, as the fully body of the dragon emerged from the ground and leapt forward. The fire
cleared a path wherever Sakura directed it.

By the time Sakura undid the wood, there was little resistance standing in their way.

There was an explosion behind them and Naruto turned to look.

“The platoon does the clean-up.” Sasuke reminded them, pressing ever forward. “We’re
vanguard.”
Naruto nodded, leaving the Zetsu behind as he followed. The village of Rain was coming ever
closer.

The papers surrounding them was not a surprise and another bout of fire kept them at bay. The
paper recovered quickly and Sasuke cursed how annoying it was to keep the heat up in the rain.
The paper was growing too thick and threatened to stop them in their tracks.

Roshi came to the rescue, throwing up a balls of lava all around them to create a path. Konan had
to retreat to the side and that was their chance.

Pain’s bodies were more of a blockade, but Sasuke knew their secret. Naruto exploded in clones to
keep the paths busy as the rest of the team pressed forward towards Pain’s real body. They just
needed to shut that down to nullify his threat.

Naruto left explosions in his wake and so they pressed on.

Naruto’s toad summon crashed through the walls. A manifestation of slug let Sakura search the
whole village in minutes. And then a Snake with team 7 on its head cleared the way to the tower
Akatsuki had stationed itself.

It was all going according to their plans.

Until they reached the tower.

Pain was there in his machine, Obito and Zetsu on either side as predicted. But in front of them was
the greater threat. A man who should not be alive yet.

“Madara.” Sasuke said.

Naruto and Sakura tensed, creeping closer to Sasuke.

“You have an affinity to ruining my plans.” Madara said. He held his hand out and examined it.
“Now a binding field to make teleportation impossible? Must be the Uzumaki’s work.”

“I try.” Naruto said.

“A field this size would have to be tied to your will. Which means it will fail as soon as I have
beaten you.”

“You’re welcome to try. We won’t make it easy.”

“Yes. Because of time travel. I thought the Hokage had sealed away the scroll ages ago.”

“We found it.” Sasuke said. “We didn’t have a choice but to use it.”

“There’s always a choice.” Madara said. “That’s the point, isn’t it? You destroy a world that really
is, for a future that you hope you could have. You destroy one boy with the hope that you will do
better with your new youth. If only. And you are willing to sacrifice your own future. The future of
your clan.”

“I gave up too much to get here.” Sasuke said. “I will not let myself fail.”

“I know the sentiment. I do.” Madara said.

Sasuke scoffed. “No. Everything I do, I do for others. The clan banished you and you fought our
Hokage for it. The Hokage beat you and you stubbornly clung to a life that no longer was meant
 for you. And even now, already dead, you’re trying to come back and destroy what we built in your
absence.”

“You forget, Sasuke, that I had brothers once. You forget I had a clan and I had dreams. You speak
as if you know me. You are a child and you know nothing of my loss. All those years to get to
know your enemy, and you never found out. I only had my clan until the Senju wiped us all out. I
was the only survivor. Me and my son.”

Sasuke’s vision narrowed. There was no way. “You created Konoha with a united Uchiha clan.”

“I made peace with a clan that would have destroyed us. But I only did that the second time around.
Or third, depending how you look at it.” Madara said. “Didn’t you know that I was the one who
invented the time travel technique?”

Madara had an evil smirk on his face. “I know the price you had to pay to be here, because I’ve
paid it too.”

Chapter End Notes

Next update: Thursday April 28th: The Future that never was. Let's find out about that
price Sasuke had to pay. Which Sasuke refuses to think about so badly, that we'll be in
a different POV for it.

Let's face it, Akatsuki was roughly on equal footing with canon Team 7. They're not
much of a challenge for this version of the team.
 The future that once was
Chapter Summary

Songoku doesn't have an easy life. Not only does he have to manage an underground
base with minimal resources, but he's also responsible for creating an impossibly
complicated time travel jutsu with only the barest hints of help from the Nidaime's
scroll.

Chapter Notes

This chapter may be divisive. I apologise in advance.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“You travelled through time?” Sasuke asked, his mind spinning. “That can’t be.”

“I’ve kept it well hidden." Madara said. "I wouldn’t speak of it even now, except you have used the
technique as well. You do not understand me as well as you think you do. The past is not as you
know it. Hashirama was an unstoppable force and he had no peer. Nobody who even got close.
When I refused to make peace, he overwhelmed the Uchiha and defeated us. While he distracted me
and my son, my entire clan was executed.”

“The Shodaime wouldn’t do that.” Sakura insisted.

“He said the elders had decided it behind his back. He begged my forgiveness, but I had seen the
truth of him. It might not have been his decision to act as distraction, but he had let himself be
manipulated into doing it. He was naïve and his optimistic stupidity was not enough to lead. So I
manipulated him in turn. I claimed I had seen the light and that in my defeat, I would submit to the
Senju.”

That sounded like the Madara Sasuke knew. “Just like now, you were waiting to take your
revenge.”

“I didn’t know what shape or form it would take yet. My son and I were waiting. I had named him
after my father, Tajima, and we bided our time. We trained and we became stronger. The Senju
elders sent us on suicide missions and we overcame every challenge that was thrown our way. We
survived and we accomplished impossible things in the name of the Senju who had forcefully
adopted us. And then Uzumaki Mito married Hashirama, bringing with her centuries of sealing
expertise. While she was distrustful of me, not all of the Uzumaki were so difficult to convince.”

“You conned them into making the time travel seal for you?” Naruto asked.

“At first I just wanted to learn to make seals.” Madara said. “Traps that would be used as
instruments of my revenge. And then one drunken night I heard an Uzumaki tell of a legend. One of
their own founders who had travelled back in time to bring back the sealing arts for them. And I
became inspired to do the same thing. I worked tirelessly on the seal. I would go back in time and
bring back sealing to the Uchiha. I would save the clan. Of course, it meant going back to a time
before Tajima was born. And the time travel’s imposed infertility would mean my son would never
be born. My revenge was important to me, but it would not come free.”

“And what did Tajima think of this?” Naruto asked.

“He was beginning to lose our Uchiha roots. Every day that passed he was thinking less of revenge
and he was accepting the massacre. I couldn’t accept that. Not when there was a way to reverse
it.”

“And so you paid the price.” Sasuke looked at him. He had not thought his opinion of the man
could have been lowered anymore than it already had.

“You know better than most what sacrifice must be made to perform the forbidden jutsu. I wonder,
do your friends even realise what you have done? What a monster you are?”

“We know about the technique.” Sakura said.

Madara scoffed. “And you still support him? When I finally in my frustration told the clan elders
how much I had given up for the clan to survive, they banished me to show their gratitude. I
understand their reaction better than yours. And you call yourselves the good guys.”

Sasuke did not want to hear it. Because Naruto and Sakura knew, but they did not realise what it
meant. They could not have, or it would have taken them more than a few weeks to forgive him.
Sasuke had spent more than two years burying it deep inside of his mind where he would not have
to think about it. Where he did not have to confront the reality of what he had done. So he would
not have to dwell on the future that once was.

He took his sword and brandished it. “Not another word.”

“Come now, Sasuke. You can’t run from your past forever.”

~*~

A small sound startled Songoku awake. He had drifted off again. He would say he was pulling too
many late nights, but it was hard to tell the passage of time underground. At least the candles on his
desk allowed him to make an estimate. The rest of the base only had a species of luminescent plant
to create light for them. But that was the advantage of being the only hope of the village.

He stared at the array again, spread in front of him. He still needed a pattern for the element in the
upper right quadrant. It was supposed to feel like rediscovered love, but nothing was coming to
mind. Maybe it was burn-out. The time travel seal consisted out of 144 individual pieces, of which
142 had been completed in one long marathon of seal creation. It would have taken at least twice as
long without the blueprints to the seal that the Nidaime had discovered for them. But even with
instructions and hits, it felt like an endless labour. Songoku needed sleep, or rest, but he knew they
had time for neither.

With each passing day the chance of Madara or his allies finding their base increased. If this project
was stopped before completion, it would have been for nothing. Judging by the candles on his
desk, he had already slept for a few hours. That was an indulgence he had not had in weeks. No, he
just needed more inspiration. He needed the library.

Songoku extinguished the candles and started moving through the encampment. He kept his hand
on the wall as he went, sensing any anomalies. Though several guards were keeping watch at the
perimeter, his parents had always taught him to be thorough. Guards could be predictable and
enemies might sneak through. He should never drop his guard.

It let him sense that his genin team wanted to see him. It was only a small detour even if the path
was not straightforward. He had to take several stairways, both up and down. It was meant to halt
attackers while the innocent civilians were being evacuated. Not that there were a lot of innocent
civilians left.

“Talk to me.” Songoku said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“We’ll need to do another run soon.” Daisuke said. “We’re running low on basic supplies.”

The thirty-three-year-old man had not even taken his eyes off the parchment in front of him. He
had always been more comfortable with numbers and solvable problems than he had been with a
kunai. Under any other circumstances, Daisuke would never have agreed to the basic training to
get promoted to genin rank. But he had, and the entire base would fall apart without him.

Songoku nodded. “How long can we last without?”

“We have a week of rations if we stretch. No more.”

“Masayuki, how much time would you need for a gathering operation?”

The girl’s eyes glazed over as she went over the numbers. Songoku was still unnerved when he
saw the undead skin on the twelve-year-old. She had only been a few years older than Songoku
when she had died, but in her resurrected state she had remained frozen, now even a few weeks
younger than Songoku.

“I have fourteen available ninja.”

“Last time you still had seventeen.”

“And we are lucky to still have fourteen. Most of them have no living family left, nothing to bind
them to the living world. The Pure Lands is calling them and it is only a matter of time.”

Songoku sighed. “Supplement your team with the living. Whoever you need. We’ll need to go big
and then move the base again. There’s no other way.”

Masayuki nodded. She had graduated as a genin at only nine years old, specialising in the
resurrection technique. It was said that in her prime, she had been able to keep hundreds of
resurrected ninja going at the same time. Even now, she pulled twice the numbers even their
Hokage could.

“What about your project, sensei?” Yoshinori asked.

“It’s nearing completion.” Songoku said.

“How much longer?”

“I don’t know. It could be hours. It could be weeks.”

Yoshinori pouted. It was not fair how much he was able to abuse the cuteness of his six-year-old
face. “Everyone’s asking about it. Why won’t you let me see?”

“Because it’s your job to keep people from asking questions, not to actually answer them. Is there
any danger we need to be aware of?”
“The civilians are reaching their limit. They are sick of waiting and there is only so much I can do.
Do you think Uchiha-sama can talk to them again? Let them know we’re working towards a
solution?”

“They’ll have to settle with me.” Songoku said. “Schedule something for tomorrow.”

“There’s one request that can’t wait. One of our Academy students. He’s threatened to drop out of
the program if he doesn’t get to talk with either you or Uchiha-sama.”

“I’ll drop in today. Is that all?”

The three of them nodded. They looked exhausted.

“It will all be worth it.” Songoku said. “I’m heading to the library next.”

The path was no easier, but eventually he got to the room that held all the books and scrolls they
had managed to salvage.

“More reading, Songoku?”

“You know me. Anything new?”

Maen rose out of his seat, feeling around for a ledger. Ever since the Nara had been blinded, it had
been harder for him to attend his duties. But the old man was not one of Konoha’s ninja for
nothing. He had adapted. Shadows started dancing over the document in front of him. “No,
nothing. But there’s a shipment that has not been checked yet. I’ll ask someone to go through it.”

“Thank you.”

Songoku went for the fiction automatically.

His work had forced him to learn to read with speed. Within a minute the book was finished. Some
story about a ninja who had become great and had found that the love of his life had been right
under his nose all along. He picked up the next book. He had read them all before multiple times.
It would be better to get more books, new books. Seals were art and art needed inspiration. But this
would have to do.

He sighed when nothing gave him the flash of insight he needed. This had happened before. It had
happened often. Once again he felt the temptation to skip this seal and save it for later. But no. He
had been taught by a sealing master and he knew in his very bones that it would be wrong. The
144th part of the seal would be at its strongest if it was made after the 143 rd had already finished.
Not to mention that he had already tried skipping several times in the creation of his magnum opus.
Each time he had been left frustrated and forced to scrap whatever progress he had made on the
latter seals when the previous ones were revealed to him.

As tempting as it was to skip ahead, there was no room for error here. No matter how clear a
picture he had of the 144th sign, the sign for sacrifice. It was one of the first signs he had
completed in his head, even before the first structures had been inked in his room. It was a feeling
he had in abundance, sacrificing his time to this project, sacrificing his energy for the remaining
population of Konoha, sacrificing this world they lived in for a chance that Sasuke could make a
better one.

But not yet. Even so close to the end, he had to stick to the order.

Which left him only one choice. He would have to speak to the Hokage. He sincerely hoped
Sasuke was having a good day.

He gathered up his courage and made his way to the central chamber. Though most chambers were
cut straight from the earth and had at most some cloth for privacy, this room had been fitted with
an actual door made of wood. It was locked. “Uchiha-sama?”

There was no response.

Okay, not a good day then.

He would go to the Academy first and see if some time would improve the Hokage’s mood. It
surprised Songoku how good it felt to stretch his legs. He had been spending too much time behind
his desk and too little time moving through the base.

He made his way to the chamber they had dubbed the Academy. It made it feel more official than
what they were really doing. In actuality, it was just a six-month crash-coarse for civilians to learn
to use their chakra. There was currently a genin giving a lecture to the four children and two adults
that were present.

The genin bowed as soon as he saw Songoku.

He waved it off. “I heard somebody had requested to see me?”

“That was me.” A boy said. He could be no more than eight years old. He bowed respectfully. “Is
there a private room?”

Songoku nodded and beckoned him to follow. There was an office space just two doors down. It
was permanently occupied with three ninja who were chronically overworked. As soon as Songoku
entered, he sent them to get lunch. As Songoku had expected, they had not even eaten breakfast yet
and were in desperate need to be forced to take a break.

“We have about ten minutes.”

“I can be quick.” The boy fidgeted with his fingers. Much as he was trying to follow his lessons, he
could not control his emotions yet. “My name is Okino Madoka. You rescued me two months ago.
My parents… they didn’t make it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Has your assigned guardian been treating you well?”

“They have.” Madoka nodded. “But I still want my father back. You can do it, right? Perform the
resurrection technique?”

Ah. So that was what the request was about. “It’s not so simple.”

“He was a baker. And a really good one. I know that the kitchen is short-staffed. He could work
for you. He could make himself useful.” There were tears in his eyes. “Please. He wasn’t… he
wasn’t supposed to leave me by myself. When mom died, he promised he’d never leave me. And I
know that no matter where he is now, he’s still trying to keep that promise. He just needs some
help.”

“Madoka, we’re not gods. We can’t do this without sacrificing a human life in turn.”

“But you have so many resurrected people around here! And I know that you get new ones
sometimes! Why not tou-san!?”
Songokue swallowed. He had not had enough sleep to deal with this. “It’s not just that. We don’t
have his DNA.”

“Y-yes you do.” Madoka reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small bundle of bandages.

Songoku felt like he was about to be sick. “What’s that?”

“I knew that you would need it. When dad died, I knew that you could bring him back as long as I
took a piece of him with me.”

Songoku let his hand glow blue as he hovered it over the bundle. He did not want to see what was
inside but he had to know.

“You’ve been carrying around your father’s finger.”

“I had to keep it safe. You’ll bring him back, right? You’ll do it for me?”

Songoku had a list. They had the DNA of dozens of strong ninja that could be summoned if only
they had the living bodies to sacrifice for the resurrection technique. But Madara’s forces consisted
generally out of clones and resurrected dead. It had been a long time since they had captured
anyone from the enemy forces. If they did, a baker was not important enough to trump all their
other potentials. “I can’t do that.”

“But…”

“I’ll store his DNA.” Songoku said. He pulled out a special storage scroll and unrolled it. “Place it
on there. And that will buy you time. Finish learning how to use chakra. Learn to use the
resurrection technique from your sensei. And then if you find a living body to sacrifice amongst
our enemies, I won’t be able to keep you from picking who it gets used on.”

Madoka’s lip was quivering. “I want him now. What if he forgets me?”

“As long as there’s someone in the living world who will resurrect him, his soul is waiting. It
won’t move on to the pure lands. He won’t forget you. Okay?”

The boy needed several moments. “Okay.”

Songoku sealed up the DNA sample and gave the scroll to Madoka. “Work hard. There’s nothing
more important than hope to keep us going.”

“They say that you’re working on something that will save us all. Is that true?”

“What I’m working on is classified.” Songoku said. “I don’t want to make any promises unless I
know I can keep them. Now get back to your teacher and continue your lessons.”

The boy nodded, leaving the office space.

It had become so easy over the past year to imply he was working on their salvation. To provide
the hope they needed to keep going, without giving up any of the details. Songoku knew not all of
them would like it. Not all of them were aware yet of how truly desperate the situation had
become.

It was time to try the Hokage’s quarters again.

“Uchiha-sama?”
No response again.

Songoku knocked on the door. When there was still no response, he knocked with more force.

There was a long suffering sigh. “Is it important?”

“Yes.”

There was a longer delay. Songoku could hear Sasuke standing up and making his way to the door.
With a few movements he unlocked it and then pushed it open.

The room was as much a mess as he had grown to expect. There was a pile of rations in the corner,
half-eaten. Sasuke tended to only unlock the room once a week, which was why Songoku had
taken to bringing in a week’s worth of food each time. With the current state of their food stores,
Sasuke would have to live on the left-overs he already had. Plates were scattered around the room,
next to half-written notes.

“How far are you with your project?” Sasuke asked. His eyes were sunken and unfocussed.

“Progress is slow but steady. It will soon be ready.”

“You have been saying this for months.”

“Yes, but this time I’m not bluffing. I’m on the second-to-last element.”

“And the cost? You’ve managed to find another way?”

“I won’t be sure until it’s finished, but it seems to be holding up so far.” Songoku said. It was the
only reason he was being allowed to work on the seal. “How is the security of the base?”

“I can sense Madara’s scouts drawing closer. We will have to move again within a week. You
should warn the people.”

“We need to go out for supplies even sooner. I’ll schedule the expedition in two days. We’ll do the
move after and let everyone know when it will be happening.” Songoku said. Sasuke still acted
like informing people was a job that would take days, instead of minutes. “Can you manage to
move everything without collapsing half of the chambers?”

Sasuke looked through the papers on his desk.

“Hokage-sama?”

Sasuke held up a single finger. He finally found the note he was looking for. He studied it before
he could answer. “Probably.”

Songoku sighed. “I’ll have them move the most important things into the central chamber just in
case.”

“Hn.” Sasuke put the note down again. “Was there anything else?”

“I’m stuck again. I need to talk with you.”

Sasuke sat down in his chair with the measured grace of a bag of flour dropped onto a cart. “You
came to me. So it has to be about your parents.”

“Rediscovered love.” Songoku said. “And with it being about love…”

“Naruto and Sakura only make sense.” Sasuke said.

Their absence hurt again just by hearing their names. Of the twelve years since he had been born,
Songoku had spent more time under the ground than in their care. Their faces were a blur and no
matter how easily he could remember the seals and the theory and the weight of them, it was
harder to remember the little things.

It was hard to believe that there had been a time when he had spent his days playing, coming home
to freshly made ramen. A time where his greatest worry had been whether the Hyuuga boy in his
class actually had a crush on him or whether he was just imagining it. A time where he still read
books for joy, cuddled up against his mother, instead of for duty in a scavenged library.

He remembered going to the Academy only some of the time, because his parents had higher
standards and better teaching methods. He had not been born a genius like his sister, but he had
been smart and capable in his own right. He had absorbed all that his mother had taught him and
mimicked all his father had. He had been a chuunin without a headband, all the privileges of being
a ninja without any of the responsibilities.

But then everything had collapsed and he had been forced to grow up almost overnight. War took
Naruto and Sakura from him and he had been left without any parents. A part of him knew that
Sasuke was supposed to take their place and that part resented his Hokage.

Sasuke sighed. “If we start talking, I will not be responsive for some time after. I must finish my
current attempt of persuasion first.”

“Can I assist?”

“I would not have asked it if you were not already here.” Sasuke said. “But it would be useful.
Check the circle for me.” Sasuke’s bones creaked as he turned and placed his hand on the wall. A
section on the other side of the room opened up.

Songoku nodded, moving into the second chamber. The seal was not nearly as intricate or big as
the one he was working on, but his father’s masterpiece was no laughing matter. Naruto had
figured out how to talk to the universe itself, arguing against reality for not making sense. The seal
was functional as drawn, but Sasuke had been careless with a few details. Songoku took his brush
and made the corrections. It would strengthen the connection.

“Ah, I see.” Sasuke said, examining one of the nodes. “More indignation than anger.”

“Exactly.” Songoku said. “It’s an easy mistake to make.”

“I’ll memorise it better for next time. Is it ready to go?”

“Almost.” Songoku touched the new ink with a finger, letting the chakra merge with what Sasuke
had already made. Just as expected, Sasuke had dropped the whole thing down with the finesse of a
man that was used to getting through doors with fires and explosions. “Are you prepared?”

“As well as I can be.” Sasuke said.

Once Songoku was done, he pushed the rest of his chakra into the seal, activating it. The world as
they knew it fell away, walls turning black as shadows darkened.

Songoku shivered. It was never an easy place to be, packed between this world and the next. In
front of a being with hardly any shape. He was already getting light-headed, far less oxygen in the
air than anyone could be comfortable with.
“Speak.” It said and it felt to Songoku like it was watching and saw the very bareness of their
souls.

“I come to speak of second chances.” Sasuke said. “Indra and Ashura were given more chances to
exist. Their spirits keep remaking themselves in the hope that one day they may find unity. But it is
not enough that you bring them back. You give them new bodies and new minds. Because nature
does not allow living things a true second chance. After life there is only death and rebirth.”

Songoku had never seen such animation in Sasuke. Where he had been dead on his feet before,
now he stood tall and strong. There was a fire in his eyes that made Songoku convinced he
believed the words he spoke. When these moments of vibrance were so rare, it was hard to
remember Sasuke was an expert actor who could play any role.

“Madara has defiled this natural law. Madara has been defeated in his own time by his own Ashura,
the First Hokage. He was defeated in my time, by the new Indra and Ashura both. And then after
his rebirth, he burdened his reincarnation with the elder knowledge that had failed him in his
earlier lifetimes. And predictably, it led to another death. So yet again he came back and stole
another young mind from learning.

“Where Indra and Ashura are meant to find unity, Madara only sows chaos. He has taken
everything from us. I do not argue that it is unfair, because life surely is unfair. I argue that it is
unnatural what he has done. By denying this fundamental truth, that all things must die, by ending
others’ lives long before their time, he has disrespected the way things are and are supposed to be.”

And Songoku saw something in the Hokage that he had not seen before. He saw how Naruto and
Sakura would have been drawn to this force of nature. He saw a glimmer of the man as he had once
been. And it was glorious.

“Madara has spit on the fabric of the universe by wasting these new chances. He has cheated and
manipulated and has no more place here.”

Sasuke nodded his head.

The presence in front of them was silent.

Songoku knew better than to speak, even as the pressure of the room would have made it
impossible.

“Denied.”

And then the world fell away. Sasuke dropped to his knees on an empty room where the seal had
stood, all fight out of him as the strings that had been holding him up were cut. Songoku gave him
a hand and helped him back to the office, even closing the earth behind them.

“You wanted to know about your parents.” Sasuke said.

“Do you need something to drink first? To eat?”

“No, I want this over with.” Sasuke said.

The boy looked at his Hokage. And it felt like he knew just what to ask. “Tell me about the first
time you saw me.”

Sasuke nodded easily. “Naruto, Sakura and I had been anticipating your birth. Naruto had his
clones running around Konoha, the original always at Sakura’s side for anything she might need.
You were his heir and that was to be felt. Sakura ignored many orders to relax, spending more time
in the hospital than home. Her colleagues tried to urge her to take it easy with her pregnancy and
she would rightly call them out for thinking she was not actively lowering her stress levels with
chakra, that she would ever put any risk on you with her extensive knowledge of biology. When
Sakura’s water broke, she calmly went into the delivery ward. She handed your sister to me and
then we saw you come into the world.”

Songoku tried to imagine it. Tried to reflect on Naruto and Sakura first seeing their child. He
thought back to his seal to find any inspiration, but it was lacking. Something about it felt off.

He looked at the man in front of him. “What did you think when I was born?”

“The three of us were overjoyed. We…”

“Not in the plural.” Songoku said. “What did you think, Hokage-sama?”

Sasuke looked confused, but answered anyway. “I thought… I thought you had all the best parts of
both of them, even barely out of the womb. I thought you would make them happy.”

“And what would it make you?”

Sasuke frowned. “You were asking about your parents.”

“Humour me.”

Sasuke took a deep breath. He had to think about it, like he had never fully thought about the
question. “You were so small as a baby, but I could sense Naruto’s determination and Sakura’s
intelligence in you. I thought you would make me proud.”

“And did I make you proud?”

Sasuke waved it away. “We’re getting off-track.”

Except they were not. Because Songoku could feel it. Rediscovered love. Not for his parents,
whom Songoku had never stopped loving. But for Sasuke. The man who had been supposed to be
there for Songoku, but had abandoned him when Songoku had most needed him. He had forgotten
how his parents used to say that Sasuke showed his affection in different ways.

Sasuke had never coddled Songoku. He had treated Songoku with respect and had trained him
assuming Songoku would be able to handle it. And Songoku had forgotten how much he used to
love Sasuke for that. How close they had felt the first time Songoku had been able to breathe fire.

And it wasn’t just the inspiration for the 143 rd part of the seal. Songoku could see the finished
product in his mind, clear as day. He had expected to need a few days to find the pattern, but no. It
was a modified Uchiha fan, because of course it was.

And even the final part of the seal, different than he had imagined it thus far, slightly altered by the
exact shape of the 143rd. It was so sharp in his head that he would not even have to put it to paper.
The seal was done.

“I have it. The creation is complete.”

Sasuke stilled. “You said you needed one more after this. That you needed more time.”

“It appears I do not.”

“And does your solution hold? Can we truly bypass the Nidaime’s proof?”

“No.” Songoku said.

Part of Sasuke seemed relieved at that. “Then you are not done. You have more work ahead of
you.”

Songoku shook his head. “It is complete, Sasuke.”

“No.”

Songoku stared the man down. “Yes. We’ll use it like this.”

Sasuke’s anger exploded. “You said you would get around it. You looked me in the eye day after
day and told me you were finding another way.”

“I lied.” The boy said. “But you knew that already. You knew it was false hope. A comfortable lie
is always better than a devastating truth. You’re the one who taught me that.”

Sasuke froze. “I cannot do it.”

“You can and you will. Which you also know already. You did not want me to work on this
because you knew the temptation would be too great once you had the seal in front of you. Well,
it’s right here now. Are you really telling me you can resist using it?”

“They would never forgive me.”

“But they would be alive. Mom and dad would be back, Sasuke.”

Sasuke’s breath caught. Just the possibility of seeing them again was able to topple him. “I’ll need
to think about it.”

“No…” The boy shook his head. “You have already decided. You just need to admit it. You never
loved me enough for it to be a problem.”

“What?”

“It is no secret. I know I remind you of them. But I’m not them. And you can’t love anyone but
them.”

Songoku had taken a long time to accept it. And it had made him resent Sasuke. And today he had
realised that behind all that resentment, it actually did not matter. Maybe Sasuke did not love
Songoku, but Songoku loved him.

Sasuke cupped the boy’s face in his hand. “You have Sakura’s beauty. You have Naruto’s will. It
hurts so very much to look at you. And that was my failing.”

“Now you’ll get another chance.”

Sasuke had to fight back tears. That was strange. The man had never cried in front of Songoku. “I
might not have been named your father, but you are my blood. I had responsibilities to you.”

Except, not precisely. Songoku’s parents had always delighted in saying how they had created a
solution with perfect symmetry. Wagashi with her blonde hair had Naruto as a biological father and
was adopted by Sasuke. Songoku with his pink hair had Sasuke as a biological father and was
adopted by Naruto. That way everything would be fair and balanced.
Sasuke had no official responsibilities to Songoku. That had been the whole point. It was the one
reason Songoku had been able to tolerate Sasuke’s failure after Wagashi and Naruto had died. If
Sasuke really felt he had had a responsibility, that would be worse.

“Until the war started, I was happy.” Songoku said. “I did not mind how much attention you put on
my sister. Because dad was there for me. When I could not develop my Sharingan, he was there to
tell me it would not matter if I never got them. Mom was there to make sure I stayed healthy and
on track. Uncle Sasuke was there to tell me stories about the Uchiha heroes that came before and
how they used their Sharingan or lack thereof. That’s all I ever needed from you.”

“Until they died. When I should have become more.”

“You were in mourning.”

“I was your godfather. It should not have been as hard as it was.”

“I know you tried.” The boy said. “But it’s over now. This has to be done.”

“I don’t want to kill you.” A tear rolled over Sasuke’s cheek.

“It has to be your biological son. No other sacrifice will work. The Nidaime proved it.”

“Did you at least get around the procedure? Can you shorten it?”

“No.”

Sasuke clenched his fist. “You said you’d get around it completely… I could sacrifice anyone else
but you…”

Songoku had no time for Sasuke’s reluctance. They had the key to a better world, to victory.
Madara was not supposed to find them for some days yet, but there was a risk that he would be
early. There was a risk of losing everything that they had worked for.

“What are you feeling?” Songoku asked.

Sasuke swallowed. “I don’t know.”

“Peel it away. Like you taught us.”

“So much guilt.”

“Guilt is not useful right now.” Songoku said. “Let only the information remain.”

Sasuke nodded. He forcibly calmed himself one emotion at the time. “Grieve. Sadness. Relief.
Guilt about that relief.”

“Peel it all away.” Songoku said. “Can you do it now?”

Sasuke shook his head. “My body won’t move.”

Sasuke was being difficult. But that was okay. Songoku had experience with getting Sasuke to do
his part. “Just pretend.” The boy smiled. “Like in a genjutsu lesson. This is not the real world.”

Sasuke took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Yearning burned inside of him. “This is not the
real world.”
“Naruto and Sakura are in the real world. Don’t you want to see them again?”

“More than anything.” Sasuke admitted.

“Then follow me.” Songoku said, steeling his resolve.

The ritual itself would be terrible. He took the scroll from his room and brought it to the central
chamber. It was but a work of the moment to set the walking corpses around the base to direct
themselves away. The few living souls remaining would be warned just as easily to stay clear from
them. To close their ears and hope for more.

He inked the final components and the seal started humming in the air. It was beautiful, like a
shark’s pearly white teeth or the purring of a tiger. The final element of sacrifice, with all the
intricacies of whom Songoku was doing this for. He had worked for so long because he felt like he
had failed his parents by letting them die. He wanted to do right by them.

But in the end he was doing this for Sasuke too. For the broken man that had sired him and given
him up, just like Naruto had sired Songoku’s sister and let Sasuke become her father. All these
years of trying to take her place and make Sasuke love him. But that was never meant to be.
Songoku had his own talents and his own way of helping a man he loved more than he had
remembered.

At least he went out with a bang. Not many had performed the feat Songoku had. That was
something to be proud of, in his final moments.

“Sensei.” Yoshinori had slipped past the undead guards. Because of course he had. He looked to
Songoku and Sasuke, weary to finally see the Uchiha Platoon leader. “What’s happening?”

“I’m saving us all.”

Yoshinori looked to the seal. It had to be above his skill level to understand it all, but he was also
smart. He understood some of it. “This is what you’ve been working on?”

“It’s not going to be pretty. You can’t be here.”

The boy looked frightened. “You can’t do this alone. I’ll stay here.”

“No.” Songoku smiled. “You’re going to go to the dormitories and take a nice long rest. You’ve
earned it.” He hugged Yoshinori tightly. “By the time you wake up, this nightmare will be over.”

Yoshinori nodded slowly. “What do I tell the others?”

“That everything will be fine in the morning.” Songoku gave one more hug. “Goodbye, Yoshi.
Thanks for everything.”

“Goodbye, sensei.”

Sasuke shook his head once Yoshinori had left. “There’s no guarantee it will work.”

“It will.” Songoku said. He had spent enough time on the seal to know that it would. This was not
like a variation of the explosive seal that needed extensive testing before it could be deployed. This
was master level work, and it was going to do what it needed to do.

“What if it doesn’t?”

“It will.” Songoku said. “You need to tie me up now.”

 Sasuke still hesitated, even so close to the goal. Songoku had been longing to see such affection in
Sasuke for years. Part of him wanted Sasuke to refuse. To contradict all Songoku knew of the man
and say that he did love Songoku too much to go through with this. Even as he knew such fantasies
were the whimsy of children.

One more push then. So that Songoku could bring back his parents.

“Once the ritual starts, I’ll lose my resolve.” Songoku said. “And then it will be too late to go back.
Are you so weak that you will not do whatever it takes to bring Sakura and Naruto back? Do you
not love them enough to want to see them once more alive in front of you?”

“I would do anything.”

“Then stop being so useless. None of us can work with you like this. Just one ritual and you’ll
return back in time to when you were my age. Are you not the fearsome leader of the Uchiha
platoon?”

“Yes.”

“Are you not the Architect? Are you not the Legendary Ninth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the
Leaves? Defeater of Madara Uchiha twice over?”

“I am.” Sasuke said and the emotions of his face were slowly retreating.

“Then prove to me that I come from strong blood. If I must die today, let it be in honour. Respect
that I choose this and promise me you will not stop.”

Sasuke took a deep breath. And when he looked again, he was once again a younger man. The
weaknesses had been hidden away and he showed the face of a professional ninja. No emotions to
hinder him in what had to be done. “I promise.”

And so there were chains and ninja wire holding Songoku in place, suspended above the seal
where his blood would activate it. He was an Uzumaki, but the Ancient gods counted his blood as
Uchiha anyway.

Even under the ground they felt it when the sun started setting outside by the way that the seal
crackled with power of the dark. It was time to begin.

Songoku tried his hardest not to scream. He had chosen this fate and all the pain associated with it.
He had known that sunset till sunrise was a long time intellectually, but it was different when he
had to live through it.

He could not help but struggle and scream and beg for death to come sooner. And all this time
Sasuke stood ahead of him, stoic, as his son died.

Songoku finally, after the seal had exploded with strength, choked in his own blood hoping it
would all be worth it.

Chapter End Notes

Final chapter is Thursday next week, May 5th. A new Path. After that there's only a
short epilogue remaining.
I'm not going to say too much, except that once I realised that I would have a chapter
set in Sasuke's future that never was, I knew that I would want the intro of that chapter
to be of the present, as contrast with all the other chapters where the intro is of
Sasuke's future that he left behind.
 A new path
Chapter Summary

Team 7 tries to save the world

Chapter Notes

There's fanart of the fireball during the Naruto/Sasuke date! Which I completely forgot
to post earlier. Much, much thanks to tausmagicalwindmill for drawing this.

Final chapter time. Let's do this =D

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“He’s so little.” Naruto looked at him in wonder. “Can I hold him?”

“Of course.” Sakura said. “You’re his dad.”

Sasuke sat with their little girl on his lap. It was so easy to lose track of time while he was
focussing on her. They had kept each other distracted during her mother’s labour. It was so easy to
get lost in her bright blue eyes. Naruto’s eyes.

“Is he sleeping already?” Naruto smiled, running his hands in amazement over the pink hair on
the boy’s scalp. “He really takes after me! Or is something wrong? Sakura, please don’t tell me I
broke him already.”

Sakura chuckled, before bringing her hand to the small child. “He’s fine. He just needs to get used
to breathing on his own. And he will need his dinner in about twenty minutes.”

“And how’s our princess?” Sasuke asked, bringing their firstborn to the expert.

“Still fine, Sasuke. You don’t need to have her checked every few seconds. She’s tough, like all the
Uchiha before her. But I bet she’s dying to meet her little brother.”

Naruto beamed, bringing the boy close to his big sister. “He’s going to be loud and annoy you a
lot. Don’t be fooled. He might pull some pranks, but he just wants the world to laugh, just like his
dad. He might not figure everything out at once, but through hard work, he will take the world by
storm. He won’t have to be a ninja. He’ll get to be something so much better. This is Uzumaki
Songoku and we’d die before we let anything happen to him. Believe it!”

~*~

“You can’t have created the time travel technique.” Sasuke said. “It’s ancient. It’s always existed.”

“That was the lie that was told to cover up its creation.” Madara said. “Who would willingly claim
to have invented such a horrible technique? Much better for the Nidaime to say he discovered it
somewhere. That his only contribution was to prove it was impossible to perform the technique
without its sacrifices.”

“Tobirama… he stole it from you?”

“It took me years to create.” Madara said. “But I was motivated. I had been looking for a way to
take revenge, and I found a way to undo the unjustice instead. All for the good of the Uchiha. I
sacrificed my child and suddenly I was Hashirama’s match. An adult versus a child and I could
keep up. I could win. I could have crushed the Senju had it not been for Tobirama.”

“What did he do?” Naruto asked.

“Isn’t he on your side? Hasn’t he told you?”

“He hasn’t said anything.”

“I can make a guess.” Sasuke said. “Summon him.”

Madara frowned, extending his hand. “Oh, I see. A nullification field that keeps anyone from
teleporting while they’re in it. But it doesn’t prevent anyone outside from teleporting in.”

“That wasn’t the plan.” Naruto said.

“We’ll get to the battle.” Sasuke said. “But first we deserve answers. Summon him.”

Naruto nodded. He put his hand on the ground and created the teleportation seal. Everyone was
waiting, so it was a small matter of retrieving just Tobirama.

The Nidaime was wearing his silver mask. He had a kunai brandished. “Where are the others?”

“We should not deprive Sasuke from a conversation that he has neglected to have for an entire
lifetime.” Madara said.

“Is it true that Madara created the time travel technique?” Sasuke asked.

The Nidaime frowned. “What would that change? What does it matter to what we have to do?”

“Answer me.”

“Yes.” Tobirama diverted his gaze. “I got it from him.”

“When would you have had the chance?” Naruto asked. “I don’t understand.”

“I think I do.” Sakura said. “Tobirama-sama, you never had any children. Are you infertile?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Naruto shook his head.

The Nidaime sighed. “I did tell you, Sasuke, that I would have done the same in your shoes.”

“You used the technique yourself.” Sasuke said.

“So the three time travellers are all in the same room.” Madara said. “How interesting. Are you
finally willing to say what happened? Or will you stay your tongue still?”

“I do not speak of the future that never happened.” Tobirama said. “That’s the one kindness I’ve
allowed myself. Not to have to think about what I’ve done and what I had to sacrifice to do it.”

“You lack dedication.” Madara said. “Always have. You didn’t even recreate the technique, did
you? You copied my version.”

“You made it easy for me. You called yourself a prophet and kept a copy of the seal design in your
clan library for future generations. You never even considered an enemy might get to it.”

“And you did that so much better.” Madara said. “Leaving behind just enough notes for your
successors to recreate the technique if they had the heart for it.”

“I learned from your mistake.”

“And in doing so never gave me the chance to learn from my own. I would have made the Uchiha
great. I had memorised Senju strongholds and weak points. I would have crushed the Senju. From
what you’re telling me, I did just that in my second time around. In my third, I was forced to settle.”

“We had in common that we’d seen a future where our clans were destroyed.” Tobirama said. “No
matter how angry I got, that’s what went through my mind when you made peace with Hashirama.
I thought that similarity would be enough.”

“So did I.” Madara said. “I was barely keeping up with Hashirama, but I was lost when you came
back from a future and you were just as strong as we were. It took the death of my brother to realise
that the Senju would win if I did not put a stop to it. And so I agreed to form Konoha, willing to
give peace a try.”

“Until you defected anyway.” Tobirama said.

“The Uchiha I had sacrificed everything for rejected me. They did not realise how ancient my soul
was and what a mistake it was to let me go.”

“Their mistake was banishing you instead of executing you.” Sasuke said. “Then they wouldn’t
have had to suffer extinction by your hand.

Madara sighed. “Is there no chance of reconciliation between us? Must you be yet another Uchiha
to reject me?”

“Is that what you were hoping for with all this talk? That I might feel sorry for you or lose my
respect for my allies? You forget that I come from a future where you destroyed everything. I have
more in common now with the Nidaime that I had before.”

Tobirama let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“I also know of your plans.” Sasuke said. “They will all fail.”

“I plan for peace, you foolish boy. An end to war and conflict until there never needs to be another
who sacrifices his own child for a better chance of the future.”

“You’ve never cared about peace. You want to survive passed your time and you want the rest of
the world to kneel. And if they will not yield, you will kill them. There shall be no negotiations
with you.”

“For someone who calls me a monster, your very first impulse is to put me to death. I’m
disappointed.”

“I do not care of your opinion of me.” Sasuke said. “It will soon be moot anyway. Naruto, summon
the rest of them.”
With a poof of smoke, the room filled. The Shodaime and the Nidaime stood with Sasuke, the
yondaime and Kushina with Kakashi, Tsunade and Haku with Sakura, Jiraiya and Yahiko with
Naruto.

The final battle was to begin.

~*~

“Madara has grown more powerful since I fought him last.” The Shodaime said, only his state of
undead keeping him from panting.

“Keep the pressure on him, brother.”

The two of them dashed in and out of range, attacking and falling back before Madara could truly
retaliate. Sasuke had his fire jutsu which he used to attack from a distance and block Madara’s
retreating path. Not that the other Uchiha was much bothered by the prospect, returning fire with
the same intensity.

Sasuke was still unnerved by the earlier discussion, by the memories that Madara had forced him
to surface. But this was something Sasuke knew how to do. This was something he was born for,
and that he had spend decades practicing. No matter what, Madara would be allowed to survive.

~*~

“You’re fast.” Minato said. “But your sensei’s still faster.”

Obito dodged the wind-charged kunai sent his way, before having to jump high to avoid Kushina’s
chains. “It’s been many years since I’ve considered you my sensei.”

“Can’t you see how brainwashed you are?” Kushina asked. “You used to care about nothing more
than Konoha!”

Obito had to use his chakra to avoid more kunai. The replacement technique that he wanted to use,
the Sharingan dimension manipulation that had become second nature, both had been blocked. But
that did not mean he was going to easily give in. “I used to believe in the propaganda. I would have
done anything for Rin. But Kakashi killed her.”

Kakashi’s Chidori was charged and headed straight for Obito. Kakashi had to use his fastest speed.
It was the only way he could make himself a threat against someone of Obito’s calibre.

Obito almost did not dodge it in time. There were marks of electricity seared into his skin. And
then there were golden chains catching him and seals binding him in place.

“Kakashi did what he had to do.” Minato said.

“Not Kakashi. Whoever this man is in front of me, he’s not Kakashi. Kakashi would never kill his
teammates. He would never turn his Chidori on me.”

“I’ve been feeling like an imposter for a long time.” Kakashi said. “It took me a very long time to
stop grieving Rin and you. I’ve finally found you again and you’re an imposter too. Because the
Obito I knew would never turn against Konoha.”

Obito glared at him.

“We’re both imposters. But we don’t have to be. Let’s talk. Finally. And find the people we used to
be, together.”

~*~

Zetsu had difficulty avoiding the deathly punches thrown his way. He had had trouble keeping up
with Sakura when he was still able to teleport, not to mention when Tsunade joined her to work in
tandem. One by one, the buildings Zetsu was dashing behind for cover were toppled, turned to
rubble in front of his very eyes.

And when he was not avoiding punshes that would obliterate him, he was dodging senbon that
were accurate enough to leave him paralyzed with a single hit. Perhaps Zetsu would have been able
to put up more of a fight if his collection of white Zetsu was not outside of the Hidden Rain Village
right that second keeping the collected power of eight Jinchuriki at bay.

Even the trees that were sprouting up to keep him safe were overwhelmed by Sakura’s forests.
Zetsu was being cornered and it was only a matter of time. The cage made of ice was a surprise,
but now wholly unexpected considering the chilly undercurrent of Haku’s chakra.

“You’re healers.” Zetsu tried. “Didn’t you take an oath to do no harm?”

“That’s doctors you’re thinking of.” Sakura said. “We’re field medics.”

The execution was efficient.

~*~

Pain did not want to listen. And even in a body that looked close to death, he was able to move
faster than he had any right to. “They killed you. Our ways weren’t working.”

“No!” Yahiko shouted, doing his best to keep up. “They were so terrified that our ways would
work, that they had to resort to such drastic measures to stop us! We were close!”

“You never wanted this!” Jiraiya shouted, barely holding on to the toad that he was seated on.
“You wanted to stop the criminals, not become one!”

“And we’ve shown that it can work!” Naruto did not need a toad to get up to these ludicrous
speeds, just some help from Kuruma. He was manifesting two tails already, and he liked to think
the threatening aura strengthened his case. “Uzushio is doing what Rain couldn’t! We don’t have
to fight! We can join forces instead!”

“You can’t break the cycle of violence! Nobody can! It’s impossible!” Pain started gathering his
strength for a larger attack. He had six paths to choose from. It was not going to be easy to get the
better of him.

“The impossible is our specialty!”

~*~

Madara used a large sweep to make the First and Second pull back and then brought his hands
together for hand signs. Sasuke dashed in with a chakra-enforced boost of speed, sword in front of
him and forcing Madara to block with his own sword.

It was a dangerous dance, matching swords with the original master of the Uchiha kenjutsu. Just
one slip-up could be the end of him. Madara pushed his sword back and Sasuke swept it to the side
in a block that left his other side exposed for Madara to grab with his hand. Whatever Madara had
been planning was foiled when Tobirama suddenly appeared in Madara’s blind-spot and attacked.
Madara was barely able to block in time and with his attention suitably distracted, Sasuke could
pull his arm back and retreat.

Apparently they had given the Shodaime enough time to gather his chakra. Wooden sprouts came
out of the ground and tried to grapple Madara’s ankles. The Uchiha stepped around them, flipping
away with practiced ease. As the wood grew and chased him, Madara’s eyes spun and the
protective shielding of Susanoo gathered around him.

Sasuke let his eyes spin red into Mongekyuu, summoning his own Susanoo and letting its giant
sword clash against Madara’s.

“It is not too late to stop this.” Madara said. “You’re an Uchiha like me. Together we can make our
clan great again.”

“You haven’t cared about our clan in a very long time.” Sasuke said. “And neither have I. Because
you sent Itachi and Obito to kill everyone and I have needed to learn to live without them. You
haven’t cared about anyone other than yourself since your first death. How much of yourself did
you have to destroy in order to kill your son?”

Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura both appeared next to Sasuke at about the same time just out of range
of Susanoo’s armour.

“Pain was a pain in the ass.” Naruto said. “But he listened in the end.”

“So did Obito.” Kakashi said.

“Funny. There wasn’t enough left of Zetsu to listen.” Sakura said.

“It’s time to finish this then.” Sasuke said. “Just like we’ve practiced.” He let his lightning chakra
run over Susanoo’s sword. It crackled against Madara’s sword and created a feedback loop. The
energy kept increasing until both techniques broke away in a confusing crackle. Sasuke’s sight was
blurry, but Madara was no longer protected.

Sakura emptied her entire bag of seeds and joined the First in manipulating them. Giant trees
sprouted and grew towards Madara with more speed than either of them could move. Madara ran
back to avoid getting trapped, even as Naruto and the Second flashed into his range for quick
attacks and retreating before the Uchiha could counter.

Sasuke took a deep breath as he made the hand signs and created a Chidori on his palms. Kakashi
was beside him and doing the same. They joined their palms together, the sound becoming
deafening as The Greater Chidori mixed their chakra eagerly and expanded beyond its normal size.

And then they moved like lightning. The whole world fell away. They were a blur. And even so,
Sasuke was already weaving his next technique. The final one.

The Nidaime charged together with a dozen Naruto clones, holding dangerous rasengan that could
prove just as fatal. The trees were branching and spreading, leaving Madara no escape but against
the ball of lightning hurtling his way.

And still Madara was too fast, dodging past the Chidori itself and landing his sword in Sasuke’s
chest. That would have hurt if Sasuke had not been expecting it, blocking the pain receptors in his
chest. Sasuke had signalled Naruto to leave a clone in Madara’s blind spot and tossed his own
sword to the clone.
Naruto was not an expert swordsman, but he was more than good enough to attack Madara from
behind and skewer him.

Madara was fast, but even he had his limits. Even he could not turn around instantly. The revived
Uchiha swung around to face the clone, and Sasuke pushed a spare sword in Madara’s body, just to
be sure. Madara tried to attack, but Sasuke had already jumped back to the rest of his team.

Sakura effortlessly pulled Madara’s sword out, her green hands healing Sasuke’s heart and lungs in
the same motion.

“You foolish, foolish boy.” Madara said, with a trail of blood coming out of his mouth. “This
changes nothing.”

“I know.” Sasuke said. He coughed blood and spat it away. Those were the last remnants of his
injuries. Madara wasn’t so lucky. “You’ll still try to come back.”

“I will succeed.” Madara whispered, the life leaving his eyes.

“No.” Sasuke said, pushing his hand to the ground. “I will not let you.” From his fingers sprung a
seal that spread over the ground, encompassing Madara and the rest of his team.

And then nothing happened.

Sasuke looked to Naruto.

“It’s not wrong.” Naruto said. “We’re supposed to be drawn in.”

“What’s going on?” Sakura asked.

“Give me a minute.” Naruto studied the seal for a few moments more, and then put his own hands
on the ground. The seal was expanded with five long layers of diagnosis and strengthening.

“Does this mean there’s another enemy to fight?” Sakura asked. “Another person who might revive
him?”

“No.” Naruto read the results carefully. “Whatever Madara did to the universe, it’s not instant. It’s
building up energy.”

“How much longer?” Sasuke asked.

“More than a minute, less than an hour.” Naruto said. “We’ll be fine as long as we stay here on top
of the seal.”

Around them the village of rain was disserted. In the distance, there were still massive attacks
against the White Zetsu, though it seemed Uzushio had already won that battle too. There was
nothing that would be pushing them away from that spot.

And then a massive chakra signature approached them and Sasuke had to sigh. “No.”

“We’re not letting anything happen to you again.” Naruto said, facing the new threat.

The Sandaime did not look any worse than he had two years earlier. He was wearing his battle
armour, his ape summon in his arms in the form of his staff. He stood still, taking a long hard look
at all the ninja in front of him. “So you’ve left me too, Jiraiya?”

Jiraiya sighed. “One of the Akatsuki’s members was my previous student. I had an obligation.”
“What are you doing here?” Sasuke asked.

“Half of Konoha’s chuunin are suddenly mobilised to act as your back-up soldiers and you thought
I wouldn’t realise? It was obvious what you were coming here to do.”

“And so you’ve come to stop me.” Sasuke said.

The Sandaime sighed. “It seems that ship has sailed considering all the other Hokage seem to have
sided with you. Was I truly so wrong?”

“No, not wrong.” Hiroshima said. “We had a dream of a village where the clans could coexist in
peace. And you fulfilled our dream.”

“And yet you still sided with Sasuke.” Sarutobi said. “No matter what he’s done.”

“He is the way to the new dreams.” Tobirama said. “And he gave us the chance to end the
lingering nightmare of our time.”

Sarutobi looked at the corpse of Madara. “So Madara really was going to end the world.”

“He still might.” Sasuke said. “We’re not finished.”

Sarutobi slowly lowered his staff. With a few pats he dismissed the summon. “I was worried about
the effects of your departure, you know. My first plan was to get Naruto and Sakura to talk me
through your operation while you were imprisoned. But then when they left with you, I was
expecting the village to fall apart. I had assumed you had been making yourself essential in the
functioning of Konoha. Imagine my surprise that you had not only fixed problems, that not only
were they staying fixed, but that even after your departure more problems were solving
themselves.”

“Just because we left, doesn’t mean we stopped caring about the citizens.” Naruto said. “About our
friends.”

“How did you do it? I had all the leaders of the Uchiha district followed constantly.”

“We had converted enough of ROOT that they could act as our in-betweens. They left messages.”

“Of course.” Sarutobi rubbed his brow. “Danzo’s work again. It’s always Danzo, even after his
death.”

“So how much longer do we have to improve the world before you stop seeing us as the enemy?”
Naruto asked.

“It won’t be up to me. I’m retiring.” The Sandaime said. “This is my last battle. I was too old when
I took the hat after Minato, and I’m far too old now.”

“You’ve served your village well.” Tobirama said. “I’m proud of you.”

“Who’s next?” Jiraiya asked.

“It would’ve been Tsunade, except the elders withdrew their support when they heard she had
sided with Sasuke. Same with Kakashi.”

“I wouldn’t have accepted it.” Kakashi said.

“Yes you would’ve.” Sarutobi said. “Complaining all the way to the ceremony. And so it will have
to be Jiraiya.”

Jiraiya waved his hands in refusal. “I’m too busy with my novels. And I sided with Sasuke too, in
the end!”

“Which I will pardon you from. I’m pardoning all of you.”

“Just like that?” Sakura asked.

“Naruto, you’ll be able to come home.” Sarutobi said. “You can prove yourself to the elders and
become Hokage after Jiraiya. They’ll accept it.”

“Perhaps.” Naruto said. “But I’m already a kage, Jiji. Konoha’s too late.”

“Naruto.” Sasuke put his hand on Naruto’s arm. “You know it isn’t the same. This is what you’ve
been dreaming of. You’re supposed to become Hokage.”

“No. The three of us are supposed to be together, and I’ve long stopped caring about where we do
that. Uzushio is perfect.”

“Is there no return for you?” Sarutobi pleaded.

“I didn’t say that. Uzushio and Konoha used to be the greatest allies. I’m hoping to become allies
again. And while the Konoha elders might not accept a teenager in the seat of the Hokage chair,
they’ll have no choice but to accept one as the leader of the world’s strongest ninja village.”

“I hope so.”

“I know so.” Naruto said. “I’m done asking for respect. We’ve earned our place and anyone who
disagrees can go to hell.”

“More Konoha ninja are coming.” Kakashi said.

“I’ll give them the order to stand down.” Sarutobi said. “After the reputation you’ve built over the
last two years, they won’t accept the order unless it comes from me personally.”

“Perhaps after the battle we can finally have that tea you promised.” Naruto smiled. “Kage to
kage.”

“I’d like that.” Sarutobi inclined his head. “Uzukage-sama.”

Naruto could feel the seal under him moving. “It’s time. We’re going to be pulled in.”

Sasuke put his hands on the ground again. The energy had built up and it was nearing its highest
point. Yet there was still a resistance and Sasuke pushed through it. As suspected, he was limited in
how many people he could bring with him. Other than Madara who they were basically piggy-
back riding, Sasuke could only take two more. The choice was obvious. The light around them fell
away and their friends and resurrected allies were replaced with three shadowy figures standing in a
void behind a black structure. Sasuke expected them to stay that way, but the shadows slowly
retreated.

“What’s going to happen?” Naruto asked. “You didn’t describe it like this.”

Sakura swallowed, before grasping both Naruto and Sasuke’s hands. “We’ll face it together.”

The Sage of six paths was the first to become visible, his rinnegan eyes looking at them from
behind a raised table. Next were the boys on either side, Indra and Ashura. They had never been so
clear to Sasuke. Never before had their judgement been so important.

Sasuke had only been in this space once before since he had gone back in time, to demand his
expertise in ninjutsu be recognised. That had been quick and with a relatively minor complaint. It
was no wonder that only this time he was reminded of all the times in his previous life that he
implored the universe to reverse Madara’s immortality. He felt something in the air that made him
almost feel like he had never travelled back at all.

“You just need to admit it. You never loved me.”

Sasuke breathed through it. The guilt was not useful. He pushed it aside until only the information
remained. He had something important to achieve here.

Madara breathed his last breath, and then his body disappeared into shadows. Shadows that moved
their way to the tribunal where they reformed. Madara stood among them now.

“We are here to object.” Sasuke said, pointing to Madara. “To him.”

“What right do you have to speak?” Ashura asked.

“I am your reincarnation.” Naruto said. “As Sasuke is Indra’s. We have a say in this matter.”

“You are still in the living world.” Indra said. “The living do not matter in decisions like these.”

“Yet Madara was alive when he convinced you to add him to this tribunal.” Sasuke said. “To allow
him a reincarnation like Indra and Ashura.”

“We have given our judgement already.” The Sage said. He raised his hands and the shadowy mass
of Madara was separated from the rest. He got his own seat, like a witness stand, separate from the
Sage and his children. “But it is not yet final. The living may speak.”

Madara finished forming, a scowl on his face.

“The judgement in question is the inclusion of Madara on this council.” The Sage said. “And I
have a feeling this matter has been discussed many times before. Yet I have no recollection of the
arguments. Your timeline, Sasuke?”

“Yes. How can you tell?”

“Echoes. You must have sought us out many times if your audiences survived the time travel.”

“More times than I remember.”

“Let us see if you fair better this time.” The Sage said.

“Why was he admitted?” Sakura asked.

“He has made a compelling case.” The Sage answered. “As long as there is chakra in this world,
there needs be a tribunal to make it work. I took my mother’s place so chakra would continue to
exist. Indra joined me so that the judgements would be fair. And Azura so that the judgements
would be kind. And now Madara will join us, so that the judgements will be effective.”

Sasuke stood straight. “Madara’s only purpose to join you is so that his spirit will come back and
try to destroy the world again.
“No.” Madara said. “You do not understand my goal. You do not understand me. I have lived two
lives to the full. I have delayed my death and reversed it. I am a constant in this universe. This
council did not need to be convinced of my place on it because I had already earned it. I am as
much a part of the universe as gravity.”

“If you were truly a constant, you wouldn’t need a reincarnation in the living word like Indra and
Ashura.” Sasuke said. “You could join like the sage.”

“I was a success, boy.” Madara said. “Of all reincarnations, I lasted the longest. That is worth
preserving into the fabric of the universe and repeating for all eternity.”

“You were no success.” Sasuke challenged. “You fought with your Ashura. You made a fragile
peace that you broke. And then you spent the rest of your years trying to destroy his legacy. You
were reincarnated to make peace and you failed.”

“Did you succeed?” The Sage of six paths asked.

Sasuke stood tall. “In the end.” He smiled at his teammates. “We don’t have a mere truce. We’re
each other’s soul mates.”

“And what pushed you together?” Madara asked. “You were forced to travel back in time and
make nice because you had an adversary worth fighting. You needed an outside force to bind you.”

“Indeed.” The Sage said. “All the reincarnations failed, but Madara got close, and his presence
made yours succeed.”

“No.” Sasuke said. “It was Madara’s machinations that broke my bond with Naruto in the original
timeline. He made it that I lost my clan and would choose hate over love. He is the reason it took
us so long to find each other. Madara is not the reason that we crossed the bridge while other
reincarnations failed. That honour belongs to another.”

“Who?”

“Sakura.” Sasuke said. “While you are right that the cycle of reincarnations has failed and that it
needs a third, we are in complete disagreement about including Madara. That third should be
Sakura.”

“Ludicrous.” Madara said. “She is but a child.”

“She is what binds our souls together.” Sasuke said. “Naruto and I are fire and wind, forever
blazing until there is nothing left. But she is the calming water to temper our flames. She is the
earth that grounds us. She completes us.”

Sakura’s face was red, but she nodded. “My life changed the moment I met them. It was so easy to
be swept up in their energy. But I learned how to keep up and I learned how to balance them. If you
want future reincarnations to succeed, I can do it. I can keep them up. And I know I will do a better
job than he can.”

“I’ve heard enough.” The sage said. “We have agreed that something must change and a fourth seat
added. We shall vote on who shall hold it.”

“I must object.” Madara said.

“You are not part of the council yet. And the guarantee of your admittance can still be overturned.
We shall vote. Indra?”
“Madara is the strongest of my reincarnations. Sasuke could only take him down with the help of
dozens of others. I do not care for the rest. He was a success and I vote for him.”

“Ashura?”

“I like Sasuke more than Madara. And I like Naruto. If Sakura helped my reincarnation get strong
without losing the bond with his soul brother, then she gets my vote.”

The Sage sighed. “It is up to me again to break the tie. I find this a difficult decision. I know
nothing of this girl and she is a new soul. Tell me, Sasuke, do you vouch for her?”

“Yes.”

“Completely?”

“I trust her with my life, my soul, and everything that I am, was, and ever will be.”

“I can sense the truth of those words. The powerful memories and emotions underlying them. I am
inclined to rule in favour of such strong feelings.”

“Sage.” Madara said. “Sasuke already said that he could not form his bonds because of my
interference. What good is a bond that will only blossom without strife? If the slightest threat will
break their strands of fate? How many generations before another Madara comes to fight against
mortality and interfere with the next reincarnations? And if it is destined to happen anyway, then
why not this Madara?”

“You do seem to be inevitable.” The Sage said. “What is your answer, Sasuke?”

“If the world inevitably leads to him, then we shall merely have to change the world.”

“And how do you suggest to do that?”

“With whatever it takes.” Sasuke said. “Whatever that is required of us.”

“Your words are but wind.” Madara said. “If you truly wish to challenge me, be specific. What is it
that destroyed the world the last time? What are you changing to keep it from happening again?”

“We’re removing you.” Sasuke said.

“I am but the wielder of a weapon and it is in the nature of humanity to use what is set before us.
As they say, humans can resist everything but temptation. The very time travel technique you used
is deemed an abomination by anyone who first sets eyes on it. And yet it existed, and so you
succumbed to its lure. What other temptation exists that was so evil? Tell us what specific weapon
was responsible.”

Sasuke hesitated.

“Answer.” The sage said.

“The Edo Tensei.”

“Ah.” Madara smirked. “The resurrection technique. One of my plans does involve it.”

“What will you do with it?” Ashura asked.

Madara shrugged. “Declare its existence. That should be enough.”

“He’s going to urge villages to make invincible armies.” Sasuke said. “He’s going to encourage
them to sacrifice genin to bring back jounin. He’s going to make civilians riot.”

“Is that what the other villages said? That I goaded them on? No, none of that will be needed. I will
simply spread the knowledge of how it can be performed. I will spread the knowledge that it exists
and that will be enough.”

“What is your intention?” Indra asked.

“To make the villages crumble. They were a mistake and cannot withstand the pressure of truth.
We shall go back to a time of clans and civilians. It is long since past the time that we go back to
the age that worked.”

“Except that you create a land of zombies, where no human survives.”

Madara scoffed. “No ninja, perhaps.”

“No humans.” Sasuke said. “Because when ninja start fighting, it’s the civilians that get hurt.”

“Were you able to see the entirety of the planet? I know that the young Uzumaki can teleport, but
you haven’t mastered that skill, have you? I appreciate the confidence, but even I wouldn’t be able
to kill every human.”

“You killed enough.”

“And you killed the rest by traveling back in time.” Madara said. “In fact, you may be responsible
for more deaths than I am. You chose to erase them from existence. I merely refused to keep a
secret.”

“You destroyed the world!” Sasuke said.

“That remains to be seen. What is your plan to keep the Edo Tensin contained? You do have a plan
to destroy that weapon, don’t you? Or is your main complaint about the destruction of the world
that it came at my hand instead of somebody else’s?”

Sasuke frowned. “I’ll keep it a secret.”

“Like the Nidaime did? Orochimaru found the technique again to share with me. There is no way
to avoid it coming out. No way to keep someone in the future from recreating it. All it would take
is someone with the eager wish to bring his loved ones back to life. No matter how perfect you
think you can make the world, there will always be those who’ll have to grieve.”

Sasuke’s mind was racing.

Madara’s argument was that there were two paths ahead for the universe. Either they would elect
Sakura, and eventually some other party would come along and make the resurrection technique
public, or they could elect Madara and hurry it along. If the world was destined to be reforged by
Edo Tensin’s fire, why not get it over with?

Sasuke had prepared a lot of arguments over the years, but he had never thought he would need to
find a way to bury the knowledge of a technique so deeply that it would never be resurfaced again.

“Sakura, is there a genjutsu powerful enough that it could keep anyone else from ever learning
about this technique?”
“No.” Madara said.

Sakura considered it. “Such a technique would have to be reflected off the moon. It would require a
powerful anchor on earth and it would require someone to maintain the genjutsu. But you want it
persist after our deaths too, so not someone. Something. I could create a plant to cast the genjutsu,
fashioned after the god tree.”

“Speculation.” Madara dismissed.

“No. I can do it. It would take me five years to build the precise layers and combine everything, but
I can do it. I can see the scaffolding of the technique I would have to build.”

Sasuke nodded. “Naruto, could you create a seal to lock the knowledge away from those who don’t
already know it?”

“A seal to cover the entire continent?”

“The whole world, preferably?”

“Oof. Uhm, it would have to be drawn onto the planet core. But yeah, I can do it. It’s going to be
large and complicated, and I’ll need a few dozen earth elemental jutsu specialists, but if I’m
drawing something that deep in the earth, I’d have more than enough room.”

“That’s how we’ll do it then.” Sasuke said. “We will keep the knowledge contained. We’ll keep
the future from happening.”

Madara looked more amused than agitated. “Fair Indra, how do you feel about your reincarnation
hoarding the knowledge for himself? Kind Ashura, do you really think your reincarnation will be
able to refrain from saving more and more people from death? The Edo Tensin is a temptation and
its use is inevitable. And therefore, its spread is as well.”

“We won’t use it anymore.” Naruto said.

“Will you send the resurrected back to their graves?” Madara asked.

Naruto winced.

“You have made such liberal use of the technique. And you showcase precisely how inevitable its
use is.”

“I am inclined to agree.” The Sage said. “Which makes our ruling obvious.”

“No!” Naruto shouted. “We’ll seal away more than just the knowledge for outsiders! We’ll make
sure nobody on earth knows how the technique can be performed! Even us!”

“You do not have the power.” The sage said. “When the Nidaime invented the technique, a gate
was opened. It cannot be closed by anything in the living world.”

“Then you close it!” Naruto shouted.

“Even if that would cost the lives of your parents?” The sage asked.

Naruto froze. Sasuke looked away.

Sakura gently took Naruto’s hand. “Naruto, your parents are already dead.”
“They’re not… they’re right outside, waiting for us. I don’t want to lose them again!”

“Remember what Minato told you? Each day you’ve gotten is a gift. But it’s time to let go now.”

Naruto shook his head. “What about your aunt?”

“I’ll miss her. I’ll miss all of our new family. But Madara is right about one thing. The temptation
is too great.”

Naruto nodded slowly.

Sakura turned to Sasuke. “Right?”

It was so strange to imagine a future where death could not be reversed. Where it would no longer
be possible to recruit between history’s greatest to bolster his reserves. But if it was a future where
Madara or someone like him would never unleash the untold anguish upon the world, surely it had
to be worth it. “The technique must perish.”

“No.” Madara gestured wildly. “You cannot live without it.”

“We will manage.” Sasuke said. “With this one exception, we’ve been doing pretty well ignoring
the burdens of our past.”

“Destroy it.” Sakura said.

Naruto nodded. “Close the gate.”

“I’m surprised you would be willing to go so far.” The sage said. “I see the passion in your hearts.
Except, I do not have the power to close the gate either.”

“That’s bullshit.” Naruto said.

“We stand outside of the world. The living are the ones who shape the world and we merely see to
its consistency. We can no more undo the creation of a technique than we can undo the birth of a
child.”

“I’m living.” Sasuke said. “Then let me undo it.”

“You’re even less able.”

“I am the Architect. I have created enough techniques to know how the universe works. Now let
me destroy this one technique that would end us all.”

“There is no way.” The Sage said.

And to Sasuke that was unacceptable. “If the gate cannot be closed, then let it be guarded.”

“Guarded?” The Sage considered this. “Yes. That’s possible. All the resurrected would move on to
the Pure Lands, and the guard would manually refuse each attempt to bring a soul back to the
living. It would require a soul that would dedicate itself fully to the gate. For eternity, it would
have to stand guard and keep any summoned soul from leaving the Pure Lands. It would never be
able to pass on. It would never be able to communicate with the land of the living, or the land of
the dead.”

An eternity of servitude.
“You just need to admit it. You never loved me.”

Sasuke tried to reign in the emotion, but it kept getting stronger. It was like he was back in his
original timeline, feeling the weight of his experience as if completely fresh. It was not useful.
Sasuke needed only the information to remain.

Then again, he had a choice to make and a little guilt would help him make it.

“So to destroy the technique, I would have to sacrifice myself.” Sasuke said. “That’s a small price
to pay.”

“Sasuke, no!” Sakura yelled.

“Can he even do that?” Indra asked. “He carries my soul.”

“He was born with your soul, but it has long since changed enough to be separate.” The Sage said.
“I can allow this.”

Sasuke turned to his teammates. It would be the last time he would ever see them. How much they
had grown in the last two years. How much more he would have liked to see. “This is something
that has to be done.”

Naruto looked about ready to punch him. “You don’t get to sacrifice yourself for us. How many
times to we have to tell you that? We started this together. If there’s something that needs doing,
we’re finishing it together.”

“There’s so much left for you to do.” Sasuke said. “You have such bright futures ahead.”

“Our future isn’t bright if the flame is missing.” Sakura said. “Dammit, Sasuke. You said you
wouldn’t do this.”

“I didn’t know there would be something so important.” He turned to the Sage. “If I sacrifice
myself, will you let Sakura be the third soul and send Madara to the afterlife?”

“I will.” The Sage said. “Will you sacrifice yourself?”

“Yes.”

“No!” Sakura and Naruto yelled.

“It is the only way.” Sasuke said, sadly smiling at his teammates.

“Then I’m joining you.” Naruto said.

“So am I.” Sakura nodded.

“No.” Sasuke shook his head. “Only one soul is needed.”

“But three would work as well.” Naruto said. He turned to the sage. “Right?”

“If it’s your wish, then I will turn all three of you into guards.”

“No!” Sasuke shouted. “Didn’t you hear him? You’d have to spend eternity away from the land of
the living and the dead! You wouldn’t be able to speak to your families. You wouldn’t have
anyone!”
“We’d have you.” Sakura said. “And in the end, that’s all that matters.”

“I won’t allow it.” Sasuke insisted. “I won’t let you do this.”

“We’ll do it if you do.” Naruto said. “If it’s such a horrible fate that you won’t submit us to it, then
figure out something else. Because we’re not letting you do it alone!”

Sasuke’s mind was racing. There were no other options. Either they accepted this fate as eternal
gatekeepers, or they would doom the world to destruction. He would have to hurt his soulmates, or
let their son’s sacrifice be for naught. Sasuke could deal with an eternity of penance in solitude.
But Naruto and Sakura were supposed to be saved. All the mistakes were supposed to be fixed.
That’s what Sasuke had used the time travel technique for.

“You just need to admit it. You never loved me.”

It was almost like Sasuke could feel Songoku in front of him. Like he could feel the chakra around
them.

“Hey dad.”

And now Sasuke was hallucinating the voice as well.

“Who’s that?” Naruto asked.

“You can see him?” Sasuke’s eyes widened.

Songoku was barely visible, more shadow than man. He looked around himself with red eyes. He
had a Sharingan now, like he had always wanted. “I’m really here.”

“And he’s not alone.” A voice sounded from a second figure.

It was impossible. It could not be. But there they were. Four figures that were more shadow than
colour. But that Sasuke would recognise anywhere.

“How?” Sasuke cried.

The Sage smirked. “Echoes.”

“Hey Sasuke.” Naruto said in all his adult Hokage glory. The lines on his forehead showed his age.
“You look like a little baby.”

Sasuke’s eyes filled with tears. He tried to move towards them, but his feet were grounded.
“You’re just jealous, dobe.”

Sakura smiled, her long pink hair floating behind her. “I was gone for a few years and you retreated
to an underground bunker with no light and no social interactions like a teenage emo. You’re such
a drama queen.”

Songoku and Wagashi were next to them. Wagashi held herself with Uchiha pride, and Songoku
was smiling, leaning against his sister’s body with more ease than he had shown in years.

“I didn’t know what to do without you.” Sasuke said.

“You fell apart when our children needed you most.” Naruto said. “I’d say you’d warned us, but
this isn’t what I’d been expecting.”
“I tried.” Sasuke cried. “I tried doing my duty, but there was no more colour in the world without
you.”

“We know. And we know it was Songoku’s choice to send you back. To sacrifice himself. I’m still
angry.” Naruto said. “You said you didn’t love Songoku.”

Sasuke swallowed, tears to his eyes.

“You still gave us many good years.” Songoku said. “I do not regret the time we had.”

Naruto shook his head. “You’ve never been able to figure out your emotions without us around.
You’re a real mess, teme.”

“But even if we’re angry, we’re also proud.” Sakura said. “With all that you’ve been doing with the
chance Songoku has given you. You found us again and you made the world work.”

“I wish we had more time to talk.” Naruto said. “But we are here for a reason.”

“Right.” Sakura addressed her younger self. “Watch out for him. He gets a bit murder-stabby slash
genocidal if he isn’t kept in check.”

“We’ve noticed.” Younger Sakura bowed respectfully. “We’ll keep him good.”

“If anyone can, it’s you.” Older Sakura said. “I think you’ll have many wonderful years ahead of
you. Be wise and kind, but never forget to think about yourself as well.”

Younger Sakura nodded.

“Yo, mini me.” Older Naruto said. “You’re completely awesome and I’m proud how much you’ve
been able to accomplish.”

Younger Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “Thanks.”

“Small tip though, there’s more to life than just training. You need to start writing porn.”

“Don’t corrupt him.” Sasuke blanched.

“Yeah yeah, you always thought it was a waste of time. But it’s something fun that I was good at.
Mini me didn’t get a chance to study under Jiraiya.” Older Naruto continued. “And I know
Jiraiya’s books are cheesy. But give them a try. You’ll enjoy yourself reading them. And you’ll
discover yourself when you try to write the grossest smut that’s ever graced the earth.”

“Dad!” Songoku covered his face. “Shouldn’t you be giving some kage advice?”

“Nah, squirt’s got that covered. Anything you wanted to add?”

Songoku nodded. “You don’t know me, but I love you both so much. And I’m happy I was able to
make this happen.” He turned to Sasuke. “You made it worth it. Thank you.”

“I need to apologise.” Wagashi said, her face red. “I couldn’t keep you safe, Naruto.”

“You’re barely a teenager.” Young Naruto said. “I think it was my job to keep you safe.”

“It was.” Older Naruto said. He gave Wagashi a small shove. “My biggest regret was that I
couldn’t save you from the attack that killed me.”
“Are you all done?” Madara scoffed. “As lovely as this reunion is, is there an actual point to all
this?”

“Of course there is.” Older Naruto said. “Like I said, we’re here for a reason.”

“And that is?”

“Because we count as sacrificed souls.” The older Naruto said with a big smile. “We can guard the
gate.”

“Preposterous.” Madara scowled. “You’re not real souls!”

“You don’t exist in this world.” The Sage agreed. “You were supposed to fade.”

“Which is its own poetry.” Older Naruto said. “A resurrection technique that will not work even
though it should, because the opened gate is guarded by people from a world that should have
existed even though it does not.

The Sage considered for a few moments and then nodded. “Very well.”

Sasuke looked at them. “I need more time with them.”

“Our ruling is finished.” The Sage said. “This counsel will dissolve.”

“We’re not going anywhere.” Older Sakura said. “The connection’s been made and we’ll be right
here.”

“We’ll be here forever.” Songoku said. “Keeping the world safe.”

“And we’ll be watching.” Naruto added, looking at Sasuke. “Don’t give us anything else to get
angry about.”

“Anchored in our duties.” Wagashi said. “I’m the youngest Uchiha, and I’ll keep the oldest from
carrying out his plan.”

Madara’s spirit started to fade. “No, Sage. I am not yet finished with my work.”

“You have done enough.” The Sage said.

“It’s not fair.”

“Do not talk to me of what is fair.” Sasuke glared at him. “We are sacrificing four of the best souls
that ever was to get rid of you. Your brothers are waiting for you and they have been denied an
explanation from you for far too long. In the living world, the Uchiha clan will never forgive you
for all that you’ve done. You’d better pray the dead are more lenient.”

In Madara’s place appeared a single petal from a Cherry blossom tree. The seat was now reserved
for another soul. After it finished its stay on earth.

“I’ll never speak with you again.” Sasuke’s eyes were wet with tears.

“Come now.” Older Naruto chuckled. “Just because it’s impossible for us to commune with the
living or dead, doesn’t mean we won’t figure out a way to do it anyway.”

Older Sakura had her game face on. “We have eternity to figure out a way. We’ll see you again,
Sasuke.”
One by one the figures disappeared and the light crept back in. The last thing Sasuke saw was his
old team, smiling. Sasuke reached for them, but they were out of reach. Saved from erasure, but
Sasuke would have to wait a long time to see them again. If ever. He went to his knees as soon as
the technique ended.

“Are you okay?” Naruto asked, his hand on Sasuke’s shoulder.

“I will be.” Sasuke said, wiping away the tears. “Can you summon everyone here?”

Naruto shook his head. “Nobody else was prepared to be summoned. I’d have to undo the seal
under us and travel to Uzushio to get them. Do I have the time?”

“What’s going on?” Minato asked. “I feel lighter.”

“No, Naruto.” Sasuke shook his head. “I can feel my grasp on the Edo Tensei failing. You have no
more than a few minutes.”

Naruto looked around him, hesitating.

“Naruto?” Kushina reached out to him. “Did you do it? Did you defeat him?”

“Go.” Sakura said. “You won’t get another chance to talk to your parents. I’ve got this.”

“But your aunt…”

“She’s too far away.” Sakura swallowed through her grief. She addressed the group around her.
“Everyone! You’ve been amazing to work with. And I’m going to miss you all so much.”

Minato and Kushina were handling a crying Naruto a little distance away. The first and second
hokage had decided to spend their last moments talking to Sarutobi.

“You’ve grown close to Minato and Kushina as well.” Sasuke said. “Why stay with me?”

“Because Naruto would never leave your side unless I’m here. Because he needs all the time he can
with his parents, while mine are still waiting in Konoha. Because no matter how much you insist to
sacrifice for us, you need help too. Take your pick.”

Sasuke pushed his face into Sakura’s shoulder, letting out sobbing gasps. It was over. They had
won. They had done all they had set out to do.

It had been such a long struggle. And it was finished.

“I’m glad.” Sakura said. “Now that Akatsuki’s gone, we can finally announce our presence without
worrying about the missing ninja getting on our case. How long do you think it’ll take the world to
accept us once they hear how many Jinchuriki we have?”

Sasuke chuckled. “Days?”

“Pessimist.”

Sasuke shook his head.

“Naruto’s been the Uzukage for just us for so long now. It’s time to introduce him to the world.”

That was right. It had been such a long struggle. But the future was theirs to shape now. The great
obstacle had been removed. There were no more limits on what they could achieve. The
 possibilities were endless and their potential matched only by the gods themselves. They had kept
the world from being destroyed, but there were still problems all around. Poverty, inequality and
pain. They had to set out to create a peace that would last forever.

With Madara gone, the real work saving the world could finally begin.

The End

Chapter End Notes

Next week, Thursday May 12th I'll post the short epilogue that takes place about 25
years later, and with that this journey will have come to completion.
Please, please, please let me know in the comments if there's anything you want to
have included in the epilogue. I'm tying up as much loose ends as I can, and still doing
a lot of the writing for this unfinished epilogue.

After 8 and a half years, I can finally share this ending with you. This is the story I
wanted to tell and thank you all for sticking through with me to read it. It was
important for me to have the final battle take place in arguments and using words,
because I feel like that made more sense for a time travel story where the protagonist
has been overpowered since day 1. Even though I understand usually it's meant
metaphorically when it's announced that characters will be convincing the universe to
side with them.

Again, thank you all for reading until the end. It's been brutal and exhausting keeping
up this update schedule, but every comment and kudo has made this journey worth it.
 Epilogue
Chapter Notes

The very last chapter. Please enjoy and once more, thank you for joining me so far <3

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Naruto finished the seal with disgust.

“Do you need a minute?” Sakura asked.

Naruto nodded, numbly. “This is the ugliest thing I’ve ever done.”

“It’s war.” Sasuke said. “We’ve all done things we’re not proud of.”

“But this is… seals weren’t made to do this.” Naruto wiped away his tears. “Maybe it won’t work.
Maybe it’s so wrong that it won’t do what it has to.”

Sasuke looked over the design. Naruto’s unwillingness shone through with every pattern, with
every component. But it fit what it had to do. It was functional.

A few months earlier, Sasuke had created and used a ninjutsu that created a hailstorm. He
manipulated water across several miles to form chunks of ice the size of someone’s head and
manipulated electricity to add thunder to the mix. And then he had unleashed the storm onto a
village. The village had not survived.

That was supposed to be the end of it. That show of strength should have been enough to stop the
war. Instead they had concluded they needed to train ninja with more mobility. And surely Sasuke
would not perform this technique on every village because of the collateral damage.

And so Sakura had stepped in. She had used her vast medical knowledge to create a special variety
of tree. When it bloomed it spread a spore that infested the heart. She had planted her trees around
a city when the moon was at its highest point. By dawn, every denizen of the city had died. Sakura
had administered an antidote to her troops and they had taken over the city, disposing of the bodies
and taking over all of the resources. No more collateral damage.

And she was feared now. But still the fear was not enough. Because they were led by their Hokage
Naruto and the enemy was under the mistaken notion that Naruto was any less dangerous than
them.

This seal proved them wrong.

“How big are you making it?” Sasuke asked.

“As big as it needs to be to prove a point.” Naruto said. He took out a large container of ink and
stored it in the seal. Now all he had to do was point in the direction that it was to spread. “Big
enough that they’ll finally listen to my calls for peace.”

“They’ll have no choice but to listen.” Sasuke said.

Naruto sighed. “This isn’t what seals were made to do. I hate how this is necessary.”

“We’ll do better after the war is finished.” Sakura said. “We’ll use our gifts better.”

“Like what?” Sasuke asked.

Naruto appreciated the excuse to look away from the monstrosity he had created. “I’ll make a seal
that stores happiness. For when we need a little extra.”

“That sounds nice.” Sakura said. “Then I’ll create a tree that is makes a panacea.”

“After the war.” Naruto smiled. “We’ll never have to use chakra for fighting again.”

“It might not be better.” Sakura said. “We don’t know what will anything will be like.”

“It can’t be any worse than this.” Naruto said. “We’re fighting a war none of us want to
participate in. We are in the absolute worst position. I don’t care what happens next. It can only
get better.”

~*~

It was a nice day outside. The sun was shining, but it was cloudy enough that the heat had frequent
breaks and refused to become overbearing. It was dry in Konoha, as it always was compared to
Uzushio’s humidity where it was always possible to smell the ocean no matter the location.

Not to mention the food stands that were preparing for the upcoming festival, already filling the air
with fragrances of what was to come.

All in all, Boruto was happy Jun-sensei had decided to give her lesson outside today. He always
had a little bit more trouble concentrating outside of the confines of her tidy office, but Jun always
made up for it by showing instead of telling. The amount of iron they imported into the Uchiha
district was just a number, until Boruto stood next to the warehouse and could see it.

“Have you been keeping up with your Math homework?”

“Of course, Jun-sensei.”

“Then I’d like to see an estimate on how many kunai we can produce with our current inventory.
And a small essay on the logistics involved in transporting those kunai to our smiths. How many
do we have?”

“Six.” Boruto rolled his eyes.

Jun sighed. “It’s seven.”

“No it’s six. Balto-san doesn’t sell Kunai anymore. I do listen.”

One of Jun’s cats walked by, curious what her owner was doing. Hana passed Boruto’s legs with a
friendly bunt before looking up with pleading eyes. Boruto could not help but pick it up for petting.
It looked rather pleased with itself.

“You’re growing up so fast. Just a few years ago I had to repeat my lessons twenty times before
it’d stuck in that head of yours.”

“Well I’m all grown up now and I need to start working seriously towards surpassing my dad.”
“You’re fifteen.” Jun said. “Which is neither grown-up enough to talk like you’re an adult, nor old
enough to have set your place in life. I expect to see your homework finished before next week’s
lesson.”

“Yes, sensei. Am I excused now?”

Jun smiled. “Yes. I wouldn’t want you to be late for your lunch appointment.” She took Hana out
of Boruto’s hands.

“Thanks, sensei. Mom wanted me to ask how Aunty’s hip is doing.”

“She’s walking again and recovery is going well. I keep trying to get her to slow down, but you
know how she is.”

“Yeah.” Boruto chuckled. “She insists on doing everything herself.”

“I should probably join her. She’s at the perfumery ruining your grandmother’s day.”

“I thought they got along now.”

“Oh they were. But then last Christmas happened.”

Boruto winced. Yeah. His grandmother had said some things that had almost brought his mother to
throwing her out. “I didn’t know that had gotten back to her.”

“Come now, Boruto. We both know there’s no hiding anything from her. And that she’ll protect
those under her wing with her life. Now off with you!”

Boruto dashed off. He charged for a sunshin and kept going. He had only been able to use the
technique for a few weeks now and it still felt amazing. It was also fun how exasperated the ANBU
felt whenever he pulled off a few in succession and managed to slip their surveillance. It was not
like they really had something to complain about. They knew perfectly well where he was going.

“Hey oba-san!”

Neji looked annoyed. “You may address her as Honourable clanleader Hyuuga-sama.”

“Hey Honourable-oba-san-sama!” Boruto grinned.

Hinata looked up from her desk with a smile. “Hello Boruto. Is it time already?”

“I’m not ready yet.” Himawari complained. She dipped her brush into more ink and then continued
scribbling quickly. Her blue Uzumaki eyes were filled with stubborn passion.

“We don’t have time, sis.” Boruto checked the time and they were already running late.

“You can finish next week.” Hinata said. “The treaty’s not going anywhere.”

“Yes it is! You’re going to finish it without me.”

“Now how could I do that without my best pupil present?”

Himawari was still hesitant. She was looking for a way to manipulate further concessions. She
looked so much like an Uchiha when she was plotting.

Boruto chuckled. He had better step in or they would never be able to leave. “How about Himawari
takes a copy so she can mail you her thoughts later?”

“That should be acceptable.” Hinata said. “Do you know the seals to create the copy?”

“I do!” Boruto put down his backpack and grabbed his chakra ink. He had only learned it a few
weeks ago, when his dad finally had allowed him to start copying seals from other people instead
of having to create all of his own. It was not even a complicated one, all things considered. Just
three prongs.

Uncle Neji was getting closer. Boruto shot him a quick grin and it made him back up again and
stand rigid.

Hinata chuckled. “You could just admit you’re interested.”

“He’s not even a genin, Hime.”

“And he’s got sealing techniques that our jounin are jealous of.” Hinata noted. “You know that
aunt Chocho was so happy with all the storage seals you made for us.”

“It really wasn’t a bother.” Boruto said. “I had to practice them anyway.”

“Well, it saved my wife a lot of hassle.”

Boruto put the finishing touches on the seal and then let Himawari put her draft treaties on top of it.
It flashed with chakra, before storing up an identical copy of all the treaty information into the
scroll.

“Now let’s go.”

“What’s your hurry anyway?” Himawari asked, reluctantly tidying up.

“Dad promised we’d do something cool today.”

That made Himawari brighten. “What did you hear?”

“That they’ll start without us if we’re late. We just need to get Sarada and then we can go.”

Boruto used a shunshin to get ahead, with Himawari having to make double time to keep pace.
Maybe that would be motivation for her to get the technique down quicker than it had taken her to
learn tree climbing. Boruto and Sarada had eventually resorted to only playing on rooftops to give
her enough of a reason to keep up with them.

The Nara living room was closed off. Boruto landed on the window sill and peaked through the
drapes.

“The bandit speaks with a great booming voice.” Sarada used a henge to increase her size. “You
shall not escape my wrath! Surrender now, or I will gobble up all your toes!”

“What kind of wood is he standing on?” Shikadai asked.

Sarada dropped her henge. “What difference does that make?”

“It has to do with stability.” Shino said. “Why? He wants to see if corrosive attacks will disrupt the
bandit’s footing.”

“Yeah, that!” Shikadai grinned. “Thanks dad.”

Shino nodded.

“Hey sis! We need to go.” Boruto said.

“Thank god.” Shikamaru said. “We can finally finish our Shogi match.”

“Aww, but we’re almost finished!” Shikadai pouted.

“Just a few more minutes, Boruto.” Sarada said.

“No fair!” Himawari called out. “I had to drop what I was doing and that was actual studying!”

“This is studying too!” Sarada protested. “Pops always says it’s good for teaching tactical decision
making!”

“You’ll have to leave it on a cliffhanger.” Boruto said. “We’re leaving.”

Sarada sighed, before pushing her notes in a bundle and stuffing it in her backpack. “I’ll see if I can
finish tomorrow, okay?”

“I’ll have my strategy prepared by then.” Shikadai promised.

They exchanged some unspoken words. Sarada thought she was subtle, but Boruto knew that she
had been getting kunai throwing lessons from Shikadai when they thought nobody was watching
them. Their parents would blow a gasket if they knew she had been working with Kunai without
permission, so Boruto was keeping it a secret. At least until the next time they were angry with
Boruto and a distraction was needed.

He loved his sister, but he was merely human.

They made their way to the transportation house and went for the Uzushio seal. Boruto was pretty
sure he had enough chakra and skill to make an emergency teleportation seal if he really had to.
But using the official seal both preserved his chakra and kept Uzushio’s many alarms from going
off to warn against unauthorised intruders.

They stepped on the seal together and Boruto pushed the bit of chakra into the seal to activate it.

He could feel it scanning their identities and carrying the information away to home. It took a few
seconds before it accepted them and let the seal activate fully.

Boruto stretched as soon as the transport was complete. He liked Konoha, but there was no place
like home.

“Welcome back, kids.” Karen said. She was sitting behind the desk with a huge smile on her face.
“You’re just in time.”

“What do you know?” Himawari asked immediately.

“Just that you should head to the northeast shore.”

“Race you!” Boruto shouted, setting off with a dash.

“No fair!” Himawari yelled, scrambling to catch up.

Boruto could not help but chuckle, taking the time to look behind himself and stick out his tongue.
“Last one there is a rotten egg!”
“Second one there is a doofus.” Sarada said, floating through the air next to Boruto, before she set
off another sunshin and got ahead of him.

Boruto’s feet touched the ground and he immediately pushed off again to get some more distance.
The shunshin was all about concentration and pushing enough chakra into it to make it work no
matter how many flaws there were in your technique. But Boruto had been raised by three
geniuses. There were no flaws. That left him with very little chakra wasted and his large Uzumaki
reservoirs to use to catch up with Sarada. She may have had the better control from her Uchiha
blood, but Boruto had the quantity.

It was hard to say which was better as they arrived at their parents at roughly the same time. Naruto
was pouring over a long scroll, while Sasuke and Sakura were checking some baskets of supplies
with Itachi.

“I won.” She said.

“Nuhuh!” Boruto protested. “You lagged on the final jump!”

Sasuke sighed. “Just call it a tie.”

“We can’t pops! Our honour is on the line here!” Boruto pouted.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Aniki, can you take care of this?”

Itachi nodded. He approached Boruto and Sarada and then stoically stood before them, considering
the matter carefully. “We will have to ask the universe which one of you won.”

“Dad hasn’t taught me the universe tribunal seal yet.” Boruto stage-whispered to his uncle.

“There is no lower court that could possibly rule on this matter of serious concern.”

“You hear that, dad?” Boruto smirked. “You’re going to have to teach me the seal now! Uncle
Itachi says so.”

“Seriously.” Naruto sighed. “We save the world one time by talking to the universe, and now
everyone wants to do it.”

“Twice.” Sasuke said. “Remember last year when the moon was about to crash to earth?”

“That doesn’t count. That was just saving a large amount of people.”

“And there was three years ago.” Sakura added. “When we made the sage add a sixth element to
the ninjutsu affinity wheel to better fight off the demon hordes.”

“That hell mouth closed before it could even open.”

Boruto chuckled. He was half-convinced they were exaggerating, except it was impossible to tell
with them.

“But it’s important!” Sarada said. She gave her best puppy dog eyes. “Please dad?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realise it was important. In that case you can start preparing your
arguments and I’ll get right on drawing it. Oh great Sage of Six Paths, we know that last time we
saw you that we were arguing about the very fabric of reality, but we have an ever greater case for
you today. Which of my children was slightly faster than the other?”
“I think the sage would like some light entertainment.” Sakura said. “Can’t traumatise him by
showing up with life-altering requests every time we see him. Sometimes we should just pop in to
say hi and get a quick judgement on Uzushio races.”

“The sage doesn’t actually exist unless we’ve called a tribunal.” Sasuke said.

“That’s sad! That poor guy.” Naruto said.

“And supports my argument.” Sakura said. “If he doesn’t experience any time passing between our
visits, that means he just sees us making these impossible requests one after another. We should
give him some time to exist without any of that weight.”

“Ooh, could we organise a great Uzusio race and call down the Sage to referee?” Naruto asked
with big eyes. “That would be so awesome!”

“Let’s get passed today, first.” Sakura reminded him. “New impossible projects can wait until after
we’ve eaten and finished our current impossible project.”

Himawari had finally caught up. “They left me behind!” She ran towards Naruto and jumped on
his back to bury her face in his neck.

“Kids, don’t leave your sister behind.” Naruto admonished them. He twisted Himawari so she was
in his arms instead of on her back. “And don’t let them tease you so easily. You know dad’s got
dozens of guards to make sure nothing happens to his little princess, right?”

“Right.” She giggled.

Naruto added a quick whisper in her ear that made her grin, which did not bode well for Boruto and
Sarada. They would have to be careful against revenge for a few days.

“If everybody’s ready, then we should go.” Naruto smiled wide. “As you’ve guessed, we’ve got a
special treat for you today!”

“Been working on it all week.” Sakura said.

“So you’d better behave.” Sasuke added.

“Hai!”

Naruto nodded in satisfaction. “Put your arms on the scroll here, please.”

Boruto did as told. He got dizzy just looking at the seals. Dad had done one of those designs that
was self-referential and looping multiple times through the creation. The kind of seal that made
Boruto realise he was still an amateur, no matter how much like an expert he felt outside of
Uzushio.

Ink spread to his arms and at least that seal Boruto could make out more easily. Something with air
and strengthening another technique. “What’s this anchored to?”

“The henge.” Naruto said. He put his finger to his lips and whispered. “Don’t spoil the surprise for
your sisters.”

Boruto stepped back and kept analysing. If this seal was going to do what he thought it did, then
they were in for something wild.

It took a few minutes to get everyone ready, but then they followed Naruto down the beach into
the water. “We’re going to keep a careful watch the whole time. Don’t stray too far away from us,
try to be more responsible than I would be, and most importantly, have a lot of fun!”

Naruto made the sign for the henge, and then he disappeared.

“Where did dad go?!” Himawari asked.

“Look down.” Boruto said.

An orange koi fish was swimming around quickly. The whiskers really should have given it away.

“Follow us.” Sakura said. She made the sign and she became an eel, swimming quickly around
their legs.

Himawari whooped, before she turned into a clown fish and joined Naruto into the water. Sasuke
became a small shark and started to swim.

“You know.” Itachi said. “It is impossible to tell who won if Naruto won’t call in the universe to
referee. Therefore, you will have to race again.”

Sarada grinned. “We’d have to be the same fish.”

“Salmon?” Boruto asked.

Sarada nodded.

“Have fun.” Itachi made the sign and as a stingray he started swimming away.

Boruto and Sarada made the sign at the same time, suddenly fish in the water and swimming as fast
as their fins would let them.

Boruto could feel how easy it was to stay transformed. The gills were actually working thanks to
the seal and Boruto could breath as easily under water as he had been able to above it. Normally
this would be enough of a surprise, swimming together in a physics-defying way and getting
another story that none of their friends would believe.

But Mom and Pop had been carrying lunch baskets. Which meant there was a specific destination
they were swimming towards.

Boruto and Sarada were convinced they would recognise it when they got close to it, so all they
had to do was swim in the general direction Naruto and the others had shown them.

They had been expecting something impossible, and still they had not been prepared.

At the bottom of the ocean floor, there was a forest.

To be precise, there were large glass planes that had sectioned off a whole biome. Sasuke had been
experimenting with creating glass remotely, but to be able to it under water was insane. Naruto had
some basic seals set up, but the forest was completely their mom’s work. Sakura trees and winding
pathways. It looked almost like a garden, except it reminded Boruto too much of Konoha’s forests.

Their race forgotten, they explored the structure and eventually found a small cave that led to the
inside of the biome. They let their henge drop away and stepped foot in this miniature world under
Uzushio’s sea.

“What do you think of it?” Naruto asked

“It’s beautiful.” Sarada said.

“A good place for our family picknick?”

“It’s perfect.” Boruto said. He walked forward. They weren’t close enough to the surface for the
sun to fully illuminate the space, but some seals on the ceiling amplified the light. Through the
glass he could see fish swimming peacefully by, like they were in the world’s biggest inside-out
aquarium.

“Why didn’t we teleport here?” Sarada asked.

“And save you from the joy of swimming? That’s half the adventure!”

“You’re insane.” Boruto said. “But I love you.”

“It’s all for you, kids.” Naruto said. “Go ask your mom about the trees she’s developed.”

Sakura brightened, quickly guiding them over to the fruit tree trove. Itachi followed with interest.

“They’ll be good emergency food stores.” Sasuke said. “It’s good that we’re making all these back-
up bases if anything ever happens to Uzushio.”

“And they’re also pretty.” Naruto said. “Which is enough. What did you pack us for lunch?”

“I have some sandwiches, and I thought I’d surprise Sakura with grilled dango.”

“That’s very sweet, but I don’t think the air filter seals can handle the smoke.”

“Sounds like you have some fixing to do then.”

Naruto whined. “I just got them working yesterday. It’s your surprise, teme. Don’t you have
something you can do?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “I suppose I can use the air purification jutsu.”

“Cool. You have one of those?”

“I will in five minutes.”

Naruto pecked him on the cheek. “You’re the best.”

Sakura came back, downing a bottle of water. “The kids are climbing the trees and doing their
treasure hunt. We have about fifteen minutes before they realise it’s lunch time and we haven fed
them yet.”

“Working on it.” Sasuke said. He started unloading the ingredients on the helpful wooden table
Sakura had created for him.

“Hey, did the two of you get a chance to read my draft?”

“Yes.” Sasuke said. “It lacked a cohesive plot structure and the characterisation was consistently
off. I’ve added my notes.”

Naruto deflated.

“But the sex scenes were perfection.” Sakura said. “If you let Sasuke change a single sentence, I’m
burning our whole village down.”

Naruto brightened right up.

Sasuke glared at her. “There were serious grammatical errors.”

“Grammatical errors are sexy.” Sakura proposed.

“And the metaphors didn’t make any sense.”

“Sweetheart, just because you don’t understand them, doesn’t mean they don’t make any sense.”

“I am perfectly capable of intellectually emulating allosexual perspective and…”

Naruto chuckled. “I’ll work on your comments, teme. And we’ll leave the spicier scenes like they
are.”

Sasuke huffed. “Fine.”

“Come on, don’t be like that.” Naruto hugged Sasuke from behind. “Do you think you can have a
clone finish lunch for us?”

Sasuke nodded. Naruto pulled the original away to one of the blossoming Cherry Blossom trees.

“Just sit.”

Sasuke looked antsy as he lowered himself against the tree. But he looked more comfortable as
soon as Naruto and Sakura each took one of his sides and leaned against him.

“When was the last time we were able to just sit together and cuddle?” Naruto asked.

“Oh, Naruto.” Sakura smirked. “It’s been hours.”

“Unforgivable.” Naruto said. “I missed you guys.”

“We’ve been together all morning.” Sasuke said, but he could not help but smile.

“Yeah. Running a village, preparing this trip, handling the international alliances. All the while
waiting till we could just sit down together again.”

“Sap.” Sakura teased. “It’ll be nothing compared to next week. I’m running double shifts in the
hospital.”

“I know! It’s going to be awful and I’m going to miss you so much. You promise it’s just for the
one week, right? It’s really an exception?”

“It’s just while I train the replacements. I’m not going to make a habit of it.”

“If the hospital needs you…” Sasuke started.

“No.” Sakura said. “We agreed. It’s not just you who’s gotten a second chance of making this
work. This time around the three of us are going to make it till the end. We’re going to grow old
together and have grandchildren and never forget that family is what is most important.”

Sasuke held their hands and leaned his head back against the tree trunk. He could feel their chakra
next to him. He could feel their hearts beating in sync with his.
 Everything was absolutely perfect.

And it could only get better.

Chapter End Notes

I had a ton of ideas and not all of them managed to make it into the epilogue. If it's not
clear, Itachi is the biological father of Himawari and Sarada in this version of post-
canon. Himawari still has Naruto's eyes, because Naruto's her mom by use of Sexy no
jutsu.

And that's it. The final chapter. It's been an absolute joy sharing this story for you and
also I'm exhausted and in dire need of a break. Weekly updates were very tough to
maintain and I'm happy having a bit less on my plate for a while.

If you enjoyed this story, please consider checking out my other Naruto fanfic: Sundial
in the Shade. It's a retelling of Naruto where the Kyuubi speaks another language
(Latin), most ninja get their powers (including summons) from spirit animals, and
Naruto is smarter and more hard-working. He also is neurodivergent and an oblivious
pansexual.

End Notes

Thank you so much for reading. Please leave a comment if you liked the story, or found
something I didn't get quite right.

Notes on inspiration: I've read a lot of time travel fix-it stories with great enjoyment. The
Chuunin Exams and Time Braid were so inspirational and fun that I couldn’t help but want
to get in on that action. At the time I had not come across any fanfics of Sasuke travelling
back, which I thought was odd because Sasuke is the weakest link in Team 7. Naruto and
Sakura are both eager to work together as a team, for the most part, so if we get a friendly
Sasuke there to iron out the minor differences, the team has the potential to be unstoppable.
So I started writing what I wanted myself. I also knew how frustrating it was to read a story
and find it unfinished. So I did not want to post anything until I had an ending written out
and could commit to posting a complete story. I had no idea it would take as long as it has.
And I think the lack of time travel fanfic that transitions from training into an ending, is
part of the reason it took me so long to find my footing with this. Blackkat’s Backslide and
Reverse were large inspirations for seeing how these stories could be written with a
satisfying end.

I’ll be honest. There are large parts of this story I don’t like. Part of that is that I’ve read it
so many times that it stops surprising me. Part of it is that I’m a better writer now than I
was 8 years ago when I started this story and not all of my earlier choices can be made
better now. But there are just as many parts that make me smile as I read them. That make
me happy and that I so badly wanted to share with the world that I wrote over two hundred
thousands words so those parts would have a home. Here’s hoping on the whole it will be a
 good one.

You can follow me on Tumblr (https://writerben01.tumblr.com/) where I sometimes post

Naruto things. But mostly just random memes I think are funny.

Works inspired by this Danger

one and Deceit by sakuras wife (bkgtiddy)

Please drop by the archive and comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!