Chapter 24: Chapter 24
Kakashi collapses, holding his eye socket and trying to focus through the pain.
A scarred, grinning face looks down at him with triumph.
"Long time no see, Kakashi." The man greets jovially. "I'd hate to cut this short, but I have a date with Destiny."
Space itself seems to warp and twist around his eye, but Kakashi manages to see the pattern.
The same as the strange Sharingan form he saw in the mirror.
"O-Obito?" Kakashi reaches out, almost desperately.
The same hair, the same face. That same, stupid grin.
Tsunade's delicate hand wraps around the now-empty socket.
"Cover us, Gai!"
"Understood!"
Obito vanishes without a trace, narrowly avoiding swarming gold dust and globs of lava.
"All of you keep back." Gai orders everyone in the conference room.
"Typical Konoha runts!" Onoki gloats smugly. "One of your best crippled and your Hokage pregnant! You didn't come prepared for this problem that came from your village!"
Gai's Chakra explodes from his body. His skin turns red and his irides vanish.
Onoki quickly shuts his mouth, feeling the magnitude of Gai's power.
"I am more than enough to protect both my Hokage and my best friend." Gai states boldly. "And if someone like that man can swoop into a meeting full of Kage and take but one thing, I expect you all to take the power of the Akatsuki more seriously."
"This is indeed troubling." Mifune comments idly. "Tsunade-dono's proposition of a ceasefire between the nations is given credit."
"If that's what he is capable of on his own, imagine that magnified with the power of all of the Bijuu." Mei wipes lava from her lip, looking disconcerted.
"It took only two members to invade Sunagakure and capture the Ichibi. One to disable me and the other to steal the Jinchuuriki." Rasa reveals unpleasantly. "Uchiha Naruto made that one flee when he interfered in the recovery mission, but it was still too late. Now it appears he has another valuable tool in the form of the copy-nin's Sharingan."
Kakashi stays silent through the deliberation.
Naruto was right. He hadn't stood a ghost of a chance.
He isn't stupid. Kakashi knows that Obito may very well be beyond redemption, but still. Kakashi had hesitated to strike back, just to see if Obito could be spoken to, for just one piece of closure that might settle his heart. But he let his heart get in the way of his head and paid the price.
"Yes, well. I can't ignore merit where it's due." Onoki comments begrudgingly. "Perhaps the Akatsuki isn't just some motley crew of mercenaries."
"You hired them without knowing what they're capable of?!" Ay slams his fist on the table.
"Don't you lecture me on wisdom, idiot boy! You're the one who lost the Nibi to Konoha when you attacked them? And why did you do that? Perhaps wanted to slingshot your pathetic village into the spotlight again! Look how that turned out!"
"Calm yourselves, Kage. It is evident that the threat of the Akatsuki is truly significant. As the representative of the smaller nations and Tetsu no Kuni, I propose moving forward with the ceasefire and sharing what intelligence we can to ensure the safety of our peoples. This doesn't appear to be outright war, but a combined effort would do well to mitigate damages to our nations." Mifine suggests calmly.
The Kage reluctantly take their seats, save for Tsunade who is tending to Kakashi's injury, and Gai who insists on staying guarded for them.
"Tsunade-dono, please explain what you know of the Akatsuki's plans when you have tended to Kakashi-dono's injury." Mifune continues respectfully.
Kakashi, still kneeling, looks up at Tsunade painfully with his working eye.
"Will they listen to the truth?" He asks with a tight throat.
"It doesn't matter if they believe it, because what the Akatsuki's doing still affects everyone." Tsunade keeps Kakashi's head cradled in her arms, green Chakra working overtime to heal as best as she can. The blood flow is slowing down but her hands and Kakashi's mask are drenched.
"As absurd as your claims may sound, I assure you on behalf of the smaller nations that I will take them seriously." Mifune assures wisely.
Tsunade sighs. "What a mess."
"Uchiha Madara created a theoretical plan to capture the entire world in a Genjutsu called Mugen Tsukuyomi. The plan is based on the legend of the Juubi, from which all Bijuu were divided from. The legend says that a wielder of the Rinnegan can summon the husk of the Juubi from its prison and seal the Bijuu inside of it. Capturing all of them leads to the rebirth of this demonic god, at which point the Rinnegan wielder can seal it inside of themselves for unfathomable power. Mugen Tsukuyomi is supposedly a Genjutsu that will reflect off of the moon and capture all living things in it, trapping them in an eternal dream where everyone has a catered world of happiness."
"And he died before he could bring this plan to fruition?" Mifune asks stoically, not passing judgement on the claims.
"Madara did figure out how to awaken the Rinnegan, but ran out of time. He gave his eyes to an Uzumaki child, and groomed another young Uchiha to guide the child to completing the plan. That Uchiha was Obito. Madara lived a short while after entrusting Obito with the plan, just long enough to teach Uchiha Naruto how to use his powers. Obito was responsible for the Kyuubi attack on Konoha, he was an accomplice in the Uchiha Massacre, and also mastered a prototype version of Mugen Tsukuyomi to control the Yondaime Mizukage and lead Kirigakure to civil war."
"And you haven't killed Madara's spawn knowing this?!" Onoko snarls.
"I trust Naruto with my life and the lives of every citizen of Konoha. Naruto is my candidate to replace me as Hokage." Tsunade reveals without a shred of hesitation.
"I would like to attest to Uchiha Naruto's character." Mei intrudes mildly. "He was the one who stopped Yagura's rampage through Kirigakure, if not for him then we may very well still be in civil war or destroyed entirely. Instead of capturing the Sanbi, he killed it in order to buy time against the Akatsuki. These do not seem to be the actions of someone working towards Madara's goal."
"Naruto could very well have prevented the Ichibi from being sealed, had it not been for Obito's interference." Rasa adds.
"Regardless of the historical accuracy, the collection of all the Bijuu still poses geopolitical catastrophic consequences. With that much power under one banner, nothing will be able to stand in the way of the Akatsuki from this goal or any other viable goal. For the sanctity of freedom and choice, I propose the nations undergo the ceasefire and share intel on this organization."
"And what do we hope to gain from this?" Ay clenches his fists over the wooden table.
"How about your nation not turning into a battleground for the strongest Shinobi of the era?" Tsunade sneers at him. "Reputation can be built back. The lives of every last man, woman and child can't. You think your village is in dire straights now? What if Obito turns up looking for the Hachibi with Naruto hot on his tail?"
Ay reluctantly backs down.
"Due to the conflicting nature of field missions, a ceasefire will not be proposed between standard Shinobi operations. Actions taken directly against each other and the smaller nations however, is prohibited. Any intel amassed on members and movements of the Akatsuki will be shared, however. All those in favour?"
Tsunade, Mei and Rasa raise their hands instantly, understanding the gravity of the issue.
Ay follows with no small amount of displeasure, but possibly his wisest public decision in years.
And with an equal sneer, Onoki lastly, does the same.
Naruto barges into each and every office in the Hokage tower and freezes everyone in the room with Houken.
The veritable legion of ANBU follow behind closely and arrest every last person.
"Inoichi, Ibiki. Go through their heads and find out which ones are innocent of this discriminatory behaviour. We punish only those who are guilty."
"Understood." They nod determinedly.
"Have the Senju been secured?" Chouza asks, acting as the groups' muscle.
"Karin is protecting them, so no worries there." Naruto assures. "I'll get the nastier ones myself. Make sure everyone is ready for processing when I get back."
There is some chaos in the streets of Konoha as people are dragged out of their homes. Mission assistants, current and old, sometimes kicking and screaming and demanding for explanations.
"It's nothing personal, Asuma." Shikaku explains dully, having caught Asuma and a large number of Sarutobi in his shadow Jutsu.
"What the hell is going on?!" Asuma demands.
"You know how it is." Shikaku shrugs. "There's something big going on and we had to move hard and fast. You've got nothin' to worry about if you've done nothing wrong."
In the street, another group moves slowly towards T&I.
"Sorry about this, kids." Yamato says apologetically to a number of Hyuuga. "We can't take any chances."
"Of course, Yamato-san." Neji smiles, slightly unnerved but still confident. "I have nothing to hide."
"Where are we being taken?" Hinata asks meekly.
"Just to someone who can give you a quick peek into your mind. You'll be let go as soon as it's done." Yamato promises.
"Don't worry, Hinata-chan." Hizashi comforts quickly. "Trust in yourself, you've done nothing wrong so we'll be let go. We'll be able to stay with each other, won't we, Yamato-san?"
"You have my word." Yamato assures again.
Hinata's stressful tension slowly deflates.
Homura and Koharu are sharing tea when the door to their little ceremony is blasted away by invisible force.
"Naruto?! What are you doing?!" Homura splutters indignantly.
Naruto says nothing, only picking them up with his gravitational power and throwing them out onto the street.
Spectators in the street look on in shock.
"When Tsunade hears about this-!"
Naruto whips out a folder.
They freeze in place, and not because of his Jutsu.
"Look familiar?" The veins on his forehead and hands bulge out as his hatred rakes across the village. "This is your death sentence!"
"You can't get away with this, Uchiha mongrel!" Homura snarls, passive political calmness vanishing.
"Ohoho!" Naruto mockingly gives a fake laugh as his anger spikes even more. "What can't I get away with that you haven't? You're about to find out how it feels to be on the receiving end of someone manipulating the system to protect their interests! Konoha, the Uchiha and the Senju are going to be safe from you vile animals!"
"And what will you do?" Koharu spits venomously. "Kill all of us? Justify our choices?"
"Oh no, not all of you. Just the ones who were in on this. Unlike you, I'm not so much of a monster to kill Konoha's innocent. Did you ever think about the pain those children went through, just so you might sleep a little better at night? So that your weakling spawn might rise to the top of a pile of innocent bodies?!"
"Then you're a fool. If you can't find the will to kill all of us, then more will rise to fight the inhuman creatures you are!"
"Then you will stand as an example to those who turn their blades against Konoha and the Uchiha!"
One week has passed since Naruto had thrown Konoha into chaos. Many Shinobi were working overtime to cover what Clan members had been doing for missions, and Naruto had been using Clones to do all of the office duties that were previously filled by said Clan members.
Questions are being thrown around. Has Naruto gone mad with power? The more sensible ones declared in defense of him that he could want for nothing when he takes whatever he wants anyway, given how powerful he is. Nobody could realistically stop him if he went rampant, so he had to have a reason for the abrupt abduction of so many people. Friends and families were notified that the people in quarantine are being treated fairly and well.
Tsunade arrives at the gates with a slumped Kakashi and a concerned Gai.
A squad of ANBU appear before her.
"What's wrong? Naruto hasn't done anything crazy, has he?"
"Naruto-sama requests your presence immediately. This is something that cannot wait."
Tsunade is surprised by the tone of the ANBU.
"He has waited until you arrived to pass judgement on the traitors."
"Traitors?" Tsunade is mystified. "What the hell has happened since I've been gone? Kakashi, Gai. I'm sorry, but come with me."
"Understood." They chorus with unease.
The streets are eerily empty. They walk as briskly as they could to the tower, with Tsunade not feeling comfortable running just yet with her steadily increasing stomach size. The quiet is more than a little unsettling, the usual bustle replaced by the natural sounds of tree leaves being blown around by the wind.
Once they arrive at the tower, Karin is waiting at the front with the three other remaining Senju.
Before Tsunade can open her mouth, Karin is already speaking frantically.
"You know that thing Naruto looked into about the Uchiha and Senju?" Karin bites her lips momentarily.
Her blood runs cold.
"It wasn't just a conspiracy, it was true! ALL of it! They groomed Itachi from the start to destroy the Uchiha Clan and they whittled away the Senju until it was just you guys left!"
Tsunade feels ill and woozy.
"Nawaki... all along? My parents- Naori-baasama?"
Behind Karin, Takehito rubs instantly at his eyes.
"Naruto hasn't acted?" Tsunade chokes out.
"No, he was waiting for you."
"Then he has more patience than I do." Tsunade storms up to the tower.
She nearly breaks the hinges off the office door when she barges in. Naruto is waiting, overlooking the village. The sky is a muted orange as the sun prepares to set. The rest of the group follows nervously.
"I'll warn you now, it's worse than you thought." Naruto waves loosely to a massive stack of files, folders and scrolls. "We've only just finished the final interrogations. I've made a... compressed report for you to go through."
Tsunade sits down in the chair that had been Naruto's place for weeks now. The 'compressed' report is still far longer than she's comfortable with, but she does read through it with growing anxiety.
The temporary Hokage turns around and immediately sees something not visible to most.
"Kakashi, your Sharingan?"
Kakashi places a hand over the empty socket protected by his headband.
"You were right about me... I was too weak, I couldn't do anything. Obito took it back."
"You are not weak, Obito is just a different kind of beast. Come here."
The mystified Kakashi walks towards him only to get wrapped in a hug.
"I'm sorry." Naruto apologises deeply. "I just- I wanted to do what I thought was right. I never wanted you to get caught up in our mess."
Kakashi is unused to this overt emotion from his surrogate little brother and doesn't really know what to think, but hugs back anyway.
"Don't be, Naruto. I should've listened and understood you were trying your best. I made an ass of myself instead. Let's just put this behind us and do what we do best."
"Let's." Naruto agrees, pulling back but placing his hand over Kakashi's empty eye socket.
"What are you doing?" Kakashi thinks Naruto is just fretting. "Tsunade-sama already did her best."
"Her best isn't Uchiha Naruto's best."
Tsunade would probably take offense to that if she weren't engrossed in the report.
His hand begins to glow with bright white Chakra.
"You wanna keep your scar?" He asks candidly.
"I think I'd forget what I'd look like if I didn't have it." Kakashi replies in confusion.
"This is gonna hurt." Naruto warns unapologetically. "Inochiryoku Saisei(Lifeforce Rebirth)."
Kakashi fades from consciousness before even realising what's happening.
"Naruto! What did you do?" Gai catches Kakashi before he falls to the floor.
"Don't worry, Naru did the same thing to get rid of my scars and fix my eyes." Karin comforts. "You gave him his normal eye back?"
"Yes, although it might take him some getting used to. He's not going to get the Sharingan back, I'm destroying Obito's eyes as soon as I kill him."
Gai peeks under the headband and sure enough, there's a very real eye hiding under the scarred lid.
"Incredible..." Gai is amazed. "You can regenerate a body?"
"At the cost of a lot of Chakra. He's lucky it's only an eye and not an arm. I don't think I have the skill for that just yet. And believe me when I say that using that Jutsu isn't easy." Naruto reveals, Rinnegan flickering back into the Sharingan for just a moment before returning back.
"He'll be fine in a few days. I was." Karin comments.
"Kakashi isn't an Uzumaki, my love. But he'll be back on his feet in no time."
Gai shakes his head. Naruto really makes all the insane things he can do sound easy, despite claims to the contrary.
"Can you take him home? Shizune is gonna be pissed at me for knocking him out like this so I don't wanna be anywhere near her."
"Ah yes, Shizune is a force in motion when she is upset."
"Ignore the rumours going around about this by the way. Tsunade and I will probably make an announcement about everything that's going on."
"As you say!" Gai hefts Kakashi up and piggy-backs him ridiculously before speeding out the door, screaming something about doing hundreds of pushups if he doesn't get Kakashi back without harm.
Tsunade looks paler and paler as she slogs through the report.
"He even had plans for you?"
"The reports stated that Sarutobi was only appearing at the orphanage to check up and see how manageable I would enough, it was only because of my Uzumaki genes that they were concerned about me. Basically a Senju by principle. Said it'd be difficult to act with Kakashi over my shoulder a lot of the time he was in the village, and that my skills were advancing too quickly. They hoped that I'd end up getting put with a shitty Sensei until you threw a spanner in the works by putting me with Kakashi."
"What, Asuma?" Tsunade's lips tilt in disgust.
"No actually, Asuma is completely innocent in all of this. Sandaime kept him in the dark, the only thing he's guilty of is being a terrible teacher. They hoped I'd get inducted into ROOT so they could quietly cull me with some Aburame plant that has flesh-eating insects that can go through a body like a hot knife through butter."
"'Weak leadership'?" Tsunade assesses the report in regards to herself.
"He put you in charge because he thought you'd be no good at it. You were reluctant to take the position in the first place and the goal was to help people lose faith in Senju leadership. Again, it became difficult when you handled the attempted Hyuuga kidnapping."
"We are putting a stop to this. Release everyone who's innocent. We need to have a discussion about what to do."
Naruto leans against the window. "Karin, please take these three into the conference room. This isn't something young ears should hear."
Karin takes Fujita and his parents away without missing a beat.
The Uchiha goes through his own thoughts on the mess.
"I'd initially thought exile might be a good idea, but scrapped it. The vast majority of them, while loyal to Konoha, still know too much about Konoha's inner processes and contingencies. If those secrets fell into enemy hands, we'd be in for a bad time."
"Loyal to Konoha? If they were loyal, none of this shit would be happening!" Tsunade screams viciously.
"Despite their plans, they did serve Konoha effectively when we disregard what they've done to the Uchiha and Senju. Mild nepotism isn't exactly uncommon. It's what else they've done to secure power in our control system that's the real crime. Very deliberate discrimination against more than just us, and then adding on the Uchiha and Senju being bureaucratically genocided. You can see in my report that they were forming contingencies, even against the Hyuuga just in case they ended up with their own 'Madara or Hashirama'."
"And what's stopping us from just outright executing them?" Tsunade doesn't see any possible way they could let this go with a slap on the wrist at most.
"Public perception." Naruto identifies the potential problem. "But it swings both ways. On one hand, summary execution of traitors would send a ripple across the village that we're not to be fucked with, especially not from the inside. But on the other hand, we don't really want people thinking that this is mutual nepotism to protect eachother exclusively and that genocide is always an option for us to keep them in check and constantly in fear, it could lead to a mass exodus from Konoha if the Clan's start thinking that they're at risk for being a little ambitious and wanting to move up the chain from their own merit."
"And what do you suggest?"
"A consultation with the Clans to gauge what their thoughts are first, and then telling the press everything. It'll spread across the village like wildfire, we'll have people banging on the doors to give us their thoughts on what they think we should do. Even if we choose to appear merciful, the court of public opinion may not be so kind to them."
"What do you want, Naruto? Not as Hokage, but for the Uchiha Clan?"
"I want to slaughter every last one of those pigs myself." Naruto admits darkly. "I want them to run in fear like the Uchiha did from Itachi. I want to scorch them until they are nothing but dust and ashes. But I can't put what I want in front of what the village needs, and Konoha needs to be united for a greater threat than what's happening in its walls. We may lose manpower if we get what I want."
"I will admit to you, Naruto. If I didn't have you here right now, I would've done exactly what you wanted to do. You've stayed my hand for now, but if it comes to what you want... you'll have my express permission to cut loose."
Naruto nods unblinkingly.
"We're organising this meeting, right now. Emergency powers."
Three days later.
The underground containment prison used in interrogations had to be extended to accommodate the influx of captives, and Neji is quite tired of having been down here for over a week. Everyone is getting testy, and some were moved to different cell blocks after their interrogations were complete. The entirety of the former 'branch' of the Hyuuga were in one, along with some Sarutobi.
Their saving grace comes by as a fight is nearly ready to break out.
"You're all free to go." Yamato calls out to everyone in the block.
"Finally." Asuma spits, with his nephew Konohamaru sitting meekly beside him. "What the hell are we even here for, anyway?
Neji feels that Asuma might have something against this 'Yamato', but passes it off as being moody from the difficult week. He's not exactly pleased himself, it was hardly a nice holiday.
"Tsunade-sama and Naruto-sama will be making an announcement shortly. I'll keep it brief, you're gonna want to listen to the broadcast yourself. We found a massive amount of conspiring traitors linked to your Clan's in Konoha's hierarchy. We're keeping them down here until Tsunade-sama decides what to do with them. People like you who've been proven innocent are free to go."
"Traitors in the Sarutobi? That's ridiculous. We've served this village loyally for nearly a century!"
Yamato looks him dead in the eyes, and Neji can feel the warning there.
"Then hope it stays that way, because you're going to have to save a lot of face after what your father did."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. C'mon, Konohamaru. Let's go home."
Neji has a sense of dark foreboding.
As they're escorted out, the bright lights of the entrance are nearly overwhelming. But Hinata sighs with relief, so he supposes he can put up with being a little disoriented.
"Fresh air, at last." His father stretches out happily.
"Can we go back to the compound?" Hinata asks Neji quietly.
"Of course, but I want to look around and find out why we were locked up in the first place."
Asuma is storming out after them with Konohamaru in-tow. Neji observes closely, feeling things aren't quite right. There are too many people around, especially if they haven't been told the captives were getting released today.
And he is proven right when as soon as Asuma and Konohamaru step outside, they're pelted with rocks from every angle possible.
"Get out of here, Sarutobi scum!"
Jeers and screams howl loudly at any Sarutobi coming out of the facility. The Hyuuga delta away quickly, seeing that they're not the targets.
"What in the world?!" Neji runs up to whack some of the rocks away to protect Konohamaru.
"Asuma!" Kurenai-sensei lands in front of him. "You need to get out of here, quickly! I'll explain everything!"
"I'm gonna beat them to a pulp!" Asuma threatens madly.
"No! Not now, I mean it! You need to do everything you can to prove that you're not like your father! Take Konohamaru and go home!"
Neji speeds through the streets, generally being ignored with a few weary looks.
His first finding is a series of newspapers.
SHOCKING DISCOVERY!
SARUTOBI, SHIMURA AND HYUUGA
FRIENDS OR FOES?!
UCHIHA AND SENJU SLAUGHTERED
ON SANDAIME'S ORDERS?
TRAITORS SENTENCED TO EXECUTION!
"Oh my God..." Neji breathes.
Uchiha Naruto's bloodthirst is felt by all around him. He stands atop the gate to Konoha with an hourglass.
The traitors are assembled beneath him at the gate, forced out by ANBU and Jounin with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
"You have one hour to flee as fast as you can." Naruto calls out superiorly.
One former Jounin spits out a rock Jutsu at him.
It is squashed to the ground with invisible force, along with said Jounin. His eyes burst open in a bloody shower and his body shreds under the weight of increased gravity.
"Run." Naruto orders malevolently.
They run.
And after one hour, they don't last long.
Oto no Kuni, Hidden Base.
Obito stumbles out of the vat with shaky legs.
His Sharingan glint with vicious success. His newly regenerated flesh is red and raw for now, and the scars on his face have vanished.
"You're alive." Kabuto comments dully. "Oh good."
Obito grins wildly, eyes whirling.
Border of Hi no Kuni and Yu no Kuni.
Sasuke looks up at the fortress that is the Uchiha Hideout.
"Can't believe that this has been here this whole time." Yugao looks enraptured by the castle.
"It is certainly well-hidden." Shino adds.
Sasuke only has his mind on one thing right now.
"Kept you waiting, have I, Itachi?"
Weekly Power Status
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