Chapter 7

Sunagakure no Sato, Wind Country - three days after the conclusion of the Akatsuki Invasion of Suna.

It would be three days before Naruto regained consciousness. "Oh, my head." His headache was soon gone as he felt the effects of the Mystic Palm jutsu. He recognized that touch in an instant. "Hinata."

"Yes, love. It's me."

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He found himself stretched out on the couch inside the Kazekage's office. Hinata was by his side, looking just as worn out as he was. The Emperor rose to a seated position. "How long was I out?"

"Almost three days. It's early evening," Hinata replied. "You should take it easy, Naruto. You're still exhausted."

"I know. My reserves are at least half-full, so I should be okay. What's been happening?"

Hinata sat down next to him. "After the battle, I sent back word to the West that we had won. Ryuji and Haruka had ordered all Pekara Merchants in the area to deliver food and aid to Suna. The Pekara Merchant House has been busy around the clock."

"Remind me to send a 'thank-you' note to the Shinzens," Naruto replied. "Anything else?"

"Gaara's placed all of Suna under martial law," Kurama said as she entered the office, followed by Gaara, Shikamaru and the Sand Siblings. "Glad to see you're awake, kit. Hinata has been by your side for the past couple of days."

"I noticed," Naruto replied. "The others? The Jinchuuriki?"

"All are alive and accounted for," Shikamaru replied. "Obito is under heavy guard around the clock. Congratulations, Namikaze. You have won a great victory."

Naruto shook his head. "No. We all did. I can't take the credit. We all fought long and hard, and against a powerful enemy." He stood up. Hinata had his Kage-style hat in his hands. He graciously accepted it and placed the hat over his head.

Gaara stepped up and extended his hand. "Lord Namikaze. Congratulations."

Naruto shook it. "Same to you, Lord Kazekage." He looked at his clothes. "Is there a place where I can clean myself up? I can't go out looking like this in front of my people."

"Temari, show the Emperor our guest quarters," he said.

"Of course, Gaara." To Naruto, she said, "Follow me."

Inside a the guest bedroom, Naruto, naked from the waist up, sat on the edge of the bed, fresh and clean from the shower while Hinata conducted an impromptu physical on her husband. Hinata knew every part of Naruto's body both figuratively and literally, which is why she had became his unofficial physician. Bykaugan activated, Hinata checked Naruto's body for any and all internal injuries.

Naruto's body had a myriad of cuts, scrapes and bruises. Even though Kurama was no longer his tenant, he still had the healing factor, a parting gift from the Nine-Tails, which came in pretty handy, and still proved to be useful even now. Despite being the Emperor of the West, he was a hands-on type of ruler, which earned him the respect and admiration of his council, his subordinates and subjects. The battle with Itachi and Obito had taken a lot out of him, and he would not be ready to travel for a couple of days, which meant that he would have to wait until his chakra reserves were back to full capacity.

Shikamaru Nara and Temari were going over the reports following the battle. "Half of Suna is wrecked from the battle, but it's nothing that we can't overcome," Temari said.

"Casualties?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru looked over the reports. "Zero dead, over a thousand wounded from the Imperial Forces. Zero dead from Suna, about five hundred wounded. The hospital here was full to capacity, so Matsuri ended up using those buildings which survived the battle as triage centers for the extra wounded. The Suna and Imperial medics are working in 12-hour shifts to make sure that the injured are treated and taken care of."

"Medical supplies?" Naruto asked, wincing slightly as Hinata poked a sore spot on his arm.

"Not a problem, seeing as we have a nice little surplus on reserve," Hinata replied as Naruto winced slightly. "Did that hurt?"

"A little, but I've been through worse," Naruto said. To Shikamaru, he asked, "How you and your teammates holding up?"

"Bit troublesome, but we'll live, Chief," the shadow user replied.

"I've read the reports on the battle, and I am glad to say that all that training under Okajima has paid off," Naruto said. "Both your team and Cell Nine have gone beyond the call of duty, and you both will be recognized for your actions in not only saving Suna, but also stopping the Akatsuki and more importantly, thwarting a fourth Shinobi War."

"Thanks," Shikamaru deadpanned.

"The both of you are dismissed," Hinata said. Once Shikamaru and Temari were gone, Hinata deactivated her Bykaugan and continued to inspect her husband, stopping to retrieve a small canister of healing salve and rubbing it all over the various bruises. "Your injuries could have been a whole lot worse," she said.

"Given who were my opponents were, I'm not surprised," Naruto replied. "I faced down two Uchiha. One's dead, and the other will be executed once we return home." He turned his head in order to look at his wife. "I thought that medics were to stay away from the battle."

"I'm not like any medic-nin," Hinata replied. "I am the Empress Consort of the Western Empire. But most important of all, I am your wife, and I fight by your side."

"Seeing as how you can seal my chakra with your Gentle Fist, as well as causing untold levels of pain on my body, I know better not to disagree with you," Naruto deadpanned.

Hinata smiled. "Smart move," she said, pecking him on the nose. "There. Done." She closed the jar of salve and placed it back inside her pouch. "Nothing broken, thankfully."

Naruto nodded as he finished getting dressed. The knock on the door came as Naruto finished dressing up in his battle uniform - the mesh shirt, black pants and ninja sandals. The black flak vest was partially covered by the black haori with the red flame pattern on the tail ends, the Four Symbols Seal on his back in red. Whenever he was leading into battle, his hair was styled in spikes, similar as to how his father would usually wear it, rather than being combed back. He wore no hitai-ate, but reached for his kage-style hat instead.

Hinata turned to the door. "Come in."

The door opened and in walked a battered Fu. "Chief. Lady Hinata."

"What is it, Fu?" Naruto asked, turning around.

"I received word from the Pekara outpost at the Wind-Fire border. Konoha shinobi are on the way here," Fu reported.

Naruto looked at Hinata, whose expression mirrored that of his own. "They must have heard about the Akatsuki invading and want to try and get back on Gaara's good side," Naruto surmised. "Too bad the battle's over." Turning back to Fu, he asked, "How many are coming?"

"At least two hundred Jounin. We managed to identify some of them who are coming. Both of your former senseis and cells have been identified. The others are Asuma Sarutobi, Maito Gai, and Yamato. The Godaime and Jiraiya are leading the mission personally. We put their time of arrival at least four days from now."

That caused Naruto to pause. Once again, the Emperor looked at his wife. "Looks like playtime is officially over," Naruto said.

Hinata nodded. "I agree. It's time to reveal ourselves to our former village," she said. "No more hiding." To Fu she said, "You're dismissed."

Fu nodded and returned to the Imperial Consulate in the village.

Four days later...

The city gates had been blown off, the city walls had cracks, crevasses and holes. Bodies of Zetsu clones littered the area surrounding the city gates as Tsunade and the Konoha envoy approached the gates. The Konoha ninja identified the Suna ninja by their style of flak vests. Squads of Suna Jounin and Imperial troops were hard at work rounding up the bodies and burning them in several giant pyres. The Konoha envoy passed several of them as they approached the gates. Pekara Merchants led their caravans into and out of the city, dropping off food and aid.

What surprised Tsunade and the others was as they approached the city walls, they noticed the number of tents located on one side of the city gates, the Imperial Forces having made camp, since Suna was too small for the Imperial Forces to contain. They could hear the laughter and the music coming from the camp, as the Imperial soldiers recounted their heroic feats of not only themselves, but of their Emperor, the Empress Consort, the Kazekage, and of the Suna ninja, of which the Imperial Forces have grown to respect.

Tsunade frowned. From what Jiraiya had told her, it took them nearly a week to reach the West by boat, and half that time by airship. And yet, here were Imperial shinobi in and around Suna. Jiraiya's expression matched that of his former teammate as he looked at the number of Imperial shinobi and samurai. The spy network reported that with the number of White Zetsu Clones combined with the Six Paths of Pain and the remaining members of the Akatsuki participating in this battle, Suna's chances of coming out of this alive were nil.

"The number of Imperial forces here could me one thing," Jiraiya said as they approached the gates. "Either the Emperor or someone on his side is highly-skilled in time-space ninjitsu."

Tsunade nodded. "It seems that way," she said.

With the deaths of Koharu and Honmura, their power and influence had returned to Tsunade. The two elders had always supported the civilian side of the council, and with the both of them gone, the influence civilian side of the council once had was now all but crippled.

"I don't care about these...people," Sasuke snarled, dressed in his ANBU uniform, chokuto slung behind his back. "Itachi is here, and I don't care who stands in my way. I want Itachi's head on a stake."

Had Sasuke and the others were paying attention, they would have noticed a burning pyre that was being tended to by the Imperial troops. Had Sasuke been paying attention, they would have seen the bodies of Kazuku, Konan, Nagato (as his body was recovered from Amegakure) the Six Paths, Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha being fed to the flames.

Asuma Sarutobi approached the gates of the village with apprehension. The reason being was that his former students were working with the Suna guards at the gate, signing in the Pekara caravans as they entered the village. The Ino-Shika-Cho looked just as worn out and battered from the war, but alert and ready for anything.

Naruto had summoned both their team and Cell Gai into a private meeting, warning them of Konoha's impending arrival earlier that day, and told them that Konoha would soon be arriving on Suna's doorstep and of his and Hinata's plans to reveal themselves to their former village. He also told them that if they did not wish to see the impending fight, then they can remain inside the Kazekage tower until the matter is concluded. Cell Nine chose to remain inside, as Neji, Tenten and Rock Lee refused to have any further dealings with Gai. That and both Neji and Rock Lee were still wounded and since the triage centers were full to capacity, Gaara allowed the both of them to recover inside his home.

For Asuma, it had been two years since the last time he had seen his former cell. He believed in Konoha, and that in order for Konoha to be recognized as the strongest of the shinobi villages, then sacrifices must be made. That was why he had supported the banishment of Uzumaki, and the C.R.A. But Konoha's actions had the opposite effect, as it barely held on as one of the five strongest villages.

Ino saw the approaching Konoha shinobi. "Hold it! State your business..." She trailed off when he saw Asuma. "Oh. It's you, Captain Sarutobi."

Asuma winced. His former cell had never forgave him. Still hasn't from the look of things.

"What are you doing here?" Ino demanded. "Last time I checked, Suna and Konoha are on bad terms, regarding that incident," she said, glaring daggers at Sasuke. "You're not welcome here in Suna. Go home."

Tsunade frowned at the blatant disrespect her former student was showing. "We came out of good faith. We came to see Gaara and see if he needs help in repelling the Akatsuki."

"There's no need for that, Lady Hokage," Temari replied as she appeared, looking just as haggard as the Ino-Shika-Cho. "The battle is over. Has been for the past two days."

Tsunade blinked. "So...Suna?"

"Suna still stands," the wind mistress replied. "If it wasn't for the Emperor and his Imperial Forces, we would have been overrun. Sorry you came this way, Senju, but Konoha is still not welcome here, Take your ninja and go."

"Wait." Sasuke stepped forward. "Where is Itachi? Was he here?" he demanded.

"He was," Temari replied. "The Emperor was fighting him."

Without another word, Sasuke stormed forward, ignoring the calls from Tsunade and the others. Sighing, Tsunade turned to Temari. "Can you take us to the Kazekage so we can get a report on what has happened here?"

Temari sighed. "Fine. Just don't alienate the Imperial troops here."

Asuma gave one longing look at his former cell, who was back at work with signing in Pekara merchants, ignoring him completely. His actions in the past regarding Ino and the restoration act had all but destroyed the relationship he once had with them as their sensei.

Kurenai placed one reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Asuma. They made their choice," she said in a soothing tone.

Asuma sighed. "I know. Damn it," he cursed as he followed Kurenai into the village.

Imperial forces patrolled the streets with Suna Shinobi as Tsunade and the others made their way towards the Kazekage tower. Carts filled with dead Zetsu clones were being hauled off to be incinerated by disposal units. "What the hell happened here?" Kakashi asked.

"It started with Sasori and Deidara attempting to kidnap Gaara," Temari began. "But the Emperor and his wife were here on an inspection tour of the Imperial Consulate, and they helped in killing both Akatsuki members. It was then revealed as Deidara laid dying by the Empress Consort's hands that the Akatsuki planned on invading Suna to gain a foothold. One hundred thousand Zetzu clones, created by the Akatsuki as their main attack force, plus their remaining members against Suna's shinobi forces, with four battalions and three special forces units of the Imperial Defense Forces, with the Emperor and Empress Consort leading them alongside my brother. Our combined numbers were eighty thousand to their 100,000."

"One hundred thousand? That's nuts!" Kiba exclaimed. "You guys were outnumbered 2-to-1!"

Temari smiled. "True, but the Emperor and his wife has fought against twice that number when they was uniting the West. I heard that he could bring about victory from defeat. Those rumors turned out to be very true. Those 100,000 clones turned out to be a major disadvantage when in close quarters."

"It's not entirely impossible for a smaller force to defeat a much larger force," Shino noted. "Minato Namikaze decimated Iwa's ninja force by himself in the last Shinobi War."

'And his son just blew his kill record out of the water,' Temari thought. She had heard rumors of the Hirashin in action from Iwa ninja. Seeing it in action, on the other hand, was a completely different story. It was beautiful, but at the same time, very deadly.

"How did the Emperor manage to marshal such a force in such a small amount of time?" Jiraiya asked.

"The Emperor is a master of time-space jutsu," Temari replied, thus confirming both of the Sannin. "To be able to transport four battalions of shinobi and samurai from one continent to another has to be hell on one's chakra reserves."

Reaching the town square, the area was clear of the Zetsu clones. On the opposite end of the square, Tsunade saw him. The Emperor of the Western Empire. The man radiated authority, and was dressed in all black – black flak vest, pants and sandals. The sleeveless haori was also black, but had a red flame pattern on the tail ends and a second symbol which Tsunade could not see clearly. His face was concealed by the black kage-style hat he wore on his head.

The Godaime Hokage nudged Jiraiya. "Is that him?"

Jiraiya nodded. "That's him, all right. The Emperor of the Unified West. Looks like he's heading elsewhere." He summoned Yamato. The Mokouton-wielding ANBU commander was at Jiraiya's side in an instant. "Sir?"

"Follow the Emperor," Jiraiya ordered. "Report anything out of the ordinary to myself or Tsunade."

Yamato nodded and departed from the group. Tsunade gave the order to the others to help out in any way they could while she and Jiraiya went inside to talk to Gaara and the Sand Siblings.

With Yamato...

The Imperial Consulate was a walled compound two blocks away from the Kazekage Tower. As with the rest of Suna, the compound was damaged in the fighting, but was still livable. The Imperial Representative was Hikaru Shainto, Roh Shainto's uncle and an accomplished shinobi. When the invasion came, he fought alongside his Emperor and Empress Consort, and was wounded during the fight between Hidan and Kazuku. Before Hidan could perform his ritual, it was Sadako Asahina who had made the save as she incinerated the bloodthirsty Jashinist priest-ninja, reducing him to ash.

The Imperial Consulate was also the place where the Jinchuuriki were resting up following the battle of the Sand. The Jinchuuriki - Yugito Nii, Killer Bee, Utakata, Roshi, Han and Fu - had fought valiantly in the battle which lasted for four hours. Even A had gotten in on the action, fighting at his brother's side.

Yamato watched from a safe distance as the Emperor entered the Imperial Consulate, the gates were guarded by Imperial Guards. Yamato saw that the building next door to the complex was not guarded, which was perfect enough for him to sneak in. The building itself was three stories tall, but tall enough for him to look over the compound walls. Yamato took notice of a gaping hole in the wall which would give him a perfect view of the inside of the consulate's courtyard.

The building itself was unguarded, allowing Yamato easy access. Yamato made his way to the third floor and found the jagged hole overlooking the consulate. What he saw surprised him.

'Jiraiya and the Godaime had suspected that the Empire had taken the Jinchuuriki,' he thought. 'Look like they were right. I see Killer Bee, Yugito, Utakata, Fu and those two from Iwa...but no Uzumaki. And who is the redheaded woman with them?'

He watched as the Emperor emerged from the consulate. Almost immediately, the Jinchuuriki and the redheaded woman stood before the Emperor and went down on one knee.

"Money cannot buy the honor which you all have earned through your actions during this conflict," Yamato had heard the Emperor say to the Jinchuuriki and the mystery redhead. "Your actions here in the past several days will forever be remembered, as you have brought much credit upon yourselves and on the Unified Western Empire. As Emperor of the Imperial Nation, I declare you all national treasures of the Empire."

"SIR!" Kurama and the Jinchuuriki barked out in unison.

Having seen enough, Yamato silently left the scene, unaware that he had tripped a hidden seal alerting the Emperor to his presence. In the consulate, Naruto merely smiled.

With Kurenai and Cell Nine...

When Kiba and Shino had told Kurenai about their visit to Kimon, Kurenai was especially concerned about the description of the Empress Consort. So when they passed a triage center, curiosity had gotten the better of the trio and they walked inside. Several rows of cots were lined up throughout the room, each of them containing either an injured shinobi or samurai as Suna medic-nins, Imperial medic-nins and combat surgeons worked to make sure that they were comfortable. The former cell identified Martsuri instantly, as she was talking with several other Suna medics.

And Kurenai saw her.

It had been six years, but she recognized her former pupil in an instant. Her hair was cut short, but it was in a much different style than she wore as a genin under her command. Kiba saw that she had filled out in all the right places and was trying his hardest not to gawk (or drool) at his one-time crush. Kurenai saw that she was a medic-nin, and her attire had backed that claim; a black shinobi shozoku with a fishnet undershirt, black jounin flak vest. A satchel of medical supplies was strapped to the small of her back along with a pair of curved knives. Kurenai deduced that they were not from the East, but despite the exotic look to them, they were very deadly.

She was talking with several Imperial medics, an air of authority around her. Kurenai felt happy, but at the same time betrayed when Hinata had ran off with Naruto when the banishment orders had came down from the Godaime. In the East, she was a wanted ninja, an A-ranked missing nin in the Bingo Book. But she was an Imperial Medic Ninja, and under the protection of the Unified Western Empire.

"Need help with anything?" a passing combat medic asked. "Are you injured?"

Kurenai quickly responded. "Um...no. Actually, I was wondering if I could speak with that woman over there," she said, pointing to Hinata.

"Sure," the combat medic replied before walking over to Hinata and whispering in her ear. Kurenai watched as Hinata turned and faced her. Hinata did not look the least bit shocked upon seeing her former sensei and teammates again. Thanking the combat medic, Hinata walked over to her former cell. With a flick of her head, she gestured that she wanted to speak with them outside.

Hinata led her former sensei and her former cell out into the Suna night. Stopping once they were outside, Hinata turned and faced Kurenai and the two men (and Akamaru).

"Isn't this something," Hinata said. "Cell Eight, together again."

"Hinata..." Kurenai began, not knowing whether to either be disappointed or proud of her former student. "...you look good."

"Real good," Kiba seconded.

"You can drop the act, Kurenai," Hinata said, folding her arms across her chest.

Kurenai frowned. This reunion had just went south quick. "That's Kurenai-sensei to you, Hinata," she snapped.

"No, because seeing as how you denounced me when I left Konoha with Naruto, I don't see you as my sensei anymore," Hinata rebuked. "What I want to know is this...why did you denounce me?"

Kurenai sighed. She turned away, as she could not look Hinata in the face. "Hinata...what you did to me that day...what you did to all of us...I saw it as a betrayal. Even after I warned you about Uzumaki, that he was nothing but a fox in human skin, you still ran off, abandoned the village when he was banished. When I found out what you did...I saw it as a betrayal." She turned back to face her former student. "So, yes...yes, I denounced you."

"Judging by your tone, you still stand by your decision," Hinata noted. She did not sound surprised. "Did you support the Godaime's decree that Naruto should be banished?"

"I did," Kurenai replied firmly. "We all did. We still believe in that the Godaime and the council did the right thing, Hinata."

"Not everyone, Yuuhi," Hinata said. "My father and my sister...the Ino-Shika-Cho and their children...my cousin and his teammates...they honored the Yondaime's request, something that you, Asuma and the others should have done."

Kurenai's eyes narrowed. Just how much did Hinata know? Realization then crept across her face as she said, "It was you, wasn't it? You talked the Emperor into allowing the clans asylum."

The former heiress nodded before turning to both Kiba and Shino. "I can tell that the both of you think that my husband is a demon in human flesh," she continued. "But he is not."

"You married him?!" Kiba exclaimed. "You married the demon, Hinata? How could you?!"

"Why not?" Hinata replied. "You of all people know I've always admired him back when we were genin. We've been married for three years now. Naruto is not the Nine-Tails in human form. He is the Jinchuuriki - the prison, warden and cell. The cup, but not the water. I met the fox personally and I can honestly say that she is very polite for a bijuu."

Kurenai blinked. 'She? The fox is female?'

"Did you ever wondered why I decided to run when Tsunade banished him?" Hinata asked. "No? I guess I'll come clean and tell you. The clan elders planned on branding me with that damned seal, so my father sent me away with Naruto for my own safety. It was his own way of saying sorry for being such an asshole to me for the past couple of years, as well as protecting me. Out of all the clans in the Leaf, only my father, and the Ino-Shika-Cho honored the Yondaime's final request, and did not see Naruto as a demon."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kiba demanded.

"Everything," Hinata replied. "When Naruto was banished, Tsunade also reversed Sarutobi's law, as I was there that day. Naruto had to be out of Konoha by the end of the day, and out of Fire Country by the end of the week. But she didn't say anthing about his parents, didn't she?"

"What about that demon?" Kiba retorted.

Hinata meanly smiled. "Naruto is not a no-named orphan like most of the village think."

"Hinata...you're on dangerous ground," Kurenai warned.

"Ever notice how Jinchuuriki are related to people in positions of power?" Hinata continued. "Gaara's father was the previous Kazekage. Killer Bee's brother was the former Raikage. Naruto is no different. Tsunade and the council, in their so-called 'infinite wisdom,' banished the son of the Yellow Flash and his wife, the Red Death."

"Hinata!" Kurenai shouted. "That is a SS-class secret! They can't know about that!"

"Well it's a good thing that I'm not under Konoha's authority now, isn't it?" Hinata retorted. "Yes, Naruto is the legitimate son of Minato Namikaze and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, who was the Jinchuuriki to the Nine-Tails at the time. Tsunade and Jiraiya tried to destroy all proof of his existence, but my husband is not known as the unpredictable ninja for nothing. The proof was hidden inside the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing, which was easy for him to steal a second time."

Kurenai, on the other hand, was fuming. She couldn't touch Hinata, as she was not under Konoha's command. The second was that she was an unknown. People change in six years, and judging by the flak vest she wore, Hinata was an experienced Jounin and a highly-skilled medic-nin. And she had spent time in the West...

If only Kurenai knew...

"But the story gets even more interesting," Hinata continued. "Not only Naruto was banished on trumped-up charges, but Tsunade and Jiraiya spearheaded the entire thing. Betrayed by his own godparents. But there's more. Naruto's father was Jiraiya's star student in the sealing arts. Kushina was a surrogate daughter to Tsunade. Naruto has connections to the Senju clan through Hashirama's wife, Mito Uzumaki, who was the first Jinchuuriki to the Nine-Tails."

It was Shino who connected the dots, as he studied Konoha's history. "Mito Uzumaki married Hashirama Senju in order to bring the families closer into an alliance. Tsunade Senju is her granddaughter. From what Tsunade had confirmed, Kushina Uzumaki is her niece..." His eyes widened as what he was about to say died on his lips.

Hinata finished it for him. "Yes, Shino. Tsunade banished her great-nephew."

"Enough!" Kurenai shouted, now furious over the fact that Hinata had broken several of Konoha's darkest secrets. "Enough, Hinata!"

"Or what, Kurenai?" Hinata shot back, not backing down from her former sensei.

"You're still in the Bingo Book for deserting Konoha," the genjutsu mistress replied, preparing to strike. "And you broken the laws regarding Uzumaki's lineage! I wanted to try and reconcile with you, but you leave me no choice!"

"Shinra...TENSEI!"

CRUNCH.

Kiba looked around. "What the hell was that?!" Kiba half-shouted, looking around.

"More than likely, the Uchiha pissing off the Emperor," Hinata replied casually. "And he is not as forgiving as most people think."

Kurenai's eyes went wide like dinner plates. "That stupid boy!" she shouted, her problems with Hinata forgotten. "Kiba! Shino! On me! We got to stop Sasuke!"

As Cell Eight bolted off to stop Sasuke from igniting a war between the Empire and the Leaf, Hinata merely smiled. 'So...it begins,' she thought.

With Kakashi, Asuma and Gai...

While Kurenai had a reunion of her own, Kakashi decided to check out the town. Asuma and Gai - having given up on trying to find his former students - decided to tag along. Sasuke had ran on ahead in order to confront the Emperor, and given the fact that the Emperor and his wife were highly-skilled warriors who could kill his former student in more ways than he could out, Sasuke could end up bringing a war onto Konoha's doorstep.

While looking for Sasuke, they entered a section of Suna in which the presence of Imperial troops was more heavy than what they usually see. It soon became clear why to the trio of Jounin. Before long, they were stopped by three Imperial shinobi. Kakashi saw that they were high Jounin level, which could mean trouble for them.

"Whoa, whoa. Stop right there," the senior Imperial Jounin said as several more shinobi kept their distance, but was more than ready to swarm the trio just in case. "This is a restricted area, you can't pass here."

"We're from Konohagakure," Asuma replied, using diplomacy. "We're here to offer any form of assistance if needed."

"Thanks for the offer," the Imperial Jounin replied, "but we got everything covered here."

"You're guarding something..." Asuma said. "Or rather...someone."

"You're smarter than you look," the Imperial Jounin replied. "We got a survivor from the Akatsuki - the leader himself - under guard. Given as to what he can do, the Chief and his wife aren't taking any chances. Guy's a SS-class threat."

That caught the Konoha trio's attention. The Empire had captured the head of the Akatsuki? Just how powerful is the Emperor, as he was able to do what Konoha and the rest of the Elemental Countries had failed to do, which was destroy the Akatsuki.

"I take it he didn't surrender willingly," Kakashi said.

"Nope. One of the Chief's senior advisers had the honor of taking him down," the Imperial Jounin said. "The Lady had the honor of killing the mad bomber from Iwa earlier, while the Chief took out that one member with the real freaky red eyes. Now that I think about it, the Akatsuki head's eye was the same as the other guy's."

Now that caught the trio's attention. The leader of the Akatsuki had the Sharingan?

Feeling a sense of dread in his gut, Kakashi asked the question that was on his mind. "What is the leader's name?" he asked.

The Imperial Jounin turned to one of his comrades. "Hey, Ko! What's that guy's name? The one that Lady Kurama captured?" he asked.

The one named Ko replied, "It's...Uchiha. His name is Obito Uchiha."

Kakashi's eye went wide as he looked like had been given the Thousand Years of Death. Even Asuma and Gai was concerned. Obito - who had thought to had died in the last Shinobi War - was the head of the Akatsuki?

'No...it can't be! Obito's dead!' Kakashi's mind screamed.

"What are his crimes?" Asuma asked, pushing down his emotions.

"Crimes against the Imperial Nation and her allies," the Imperial Jounin said, "and crimes against the Emperor of the Western Empire. Both carry an instant death sentence."

"What crimes against the Emperor?" Asuma asked.

"The murder of his parents," the Imperial Jounin replied.

"We need to confirm that Obito Uchiha is indeed the head of the Akatsuki so we can file it in our reports to the Hokage and the Konoha Council," Asuma said. "Can you take us to him?"

"We can," the Imperial Jounin replied, "But this is your first and only warning: if you try to aid and abet the Uchiha in any shape, form or fashion, you three will be leaving Suna in a box."

The Konoha trio nodded and they were led - under heavy guard - to where Obito was being held.

&^%

The building in which housed the fallen Uchiha belonged to a Suna merchant who had evacuated the village along with the rest of the Suna civilians. A one-story storage shed, it was now an impromptu jail cell which held one of the most dangerous man in the Elemental Countries. Outside the house, a squad of Imperial shinobi - members of Zabuza's Demon Brigade - stood guard, weapons drawn, watching the Konoha Shinobi like a hawk.

Inside the single room, were four more shinobi, also of the Demon Brigade. And seated in the center of the room, was the former teammate of Kakashi Hatake, the now-former leader of the Akatsuki, Obito Uchiha.

The broken man was seated in a chair, the Rinnegan which he had stolen from Nagato before invading Konoha was removed from his left eye, albeit forcibly at the hands of Kurama. Chakra-suppression cuffs were on his hands and even his legs. A series of seals were on his back, which had sealed off his chakra, drained him of his strength and rendered his Sharingan unusable. Overkill, yes, but the Emperor was not one to take any chances.

Obito was alone with his thoughts, his remaining eye closed when he heard someone call out his name.

"Obito? Obito is that you?"

"Now there is a voice I haven't heard in years," Obito said as opened his eye. Kakashi, Asuma and Gai stood before him. "Kakashi Hatake. Asuma Sarutobi. Maito Gai."

"So it's true," Gai said. "We all thought you were dead."

"Reports of my death were exaggerated, to say the least," Obito replied. "Of course, that brat of an Emperor will soon rectify that little matter soon."

"Obito...why?" Kakashi asked. "Why are you the leader of the Akatsuki? Why didn't you come back home? How did you survive with half of your body being crushed?"

"I survived because of one man who was thought to have died," Obito replied. "I survived because of Madara Uchiha."

"Madara?" Asuma repeated. "He should have died years ago. He's even older than Onoki."

"Since I have a death sentence on my head, I might as well tell you the story," Obito said calmly. And he told them of how Madara survived all these years using Hashirama Senju's DNA and had awakened the Rinnegan, of which he had implanted into Nagato without him knowing, and replaced his eyes with a spare Sharingan. He told them that through the Demonic Outer Path Statue - which had kept him alive for all this time, that he created a living clone of the First Hokage - of which was now destroyed by the Emperor having sent his forces to level his hideout, and that the

Emperor had resealed the Demonic Statue and banished it from this plane.

"I acted at his behest," Obito concluded. "And I did it willingly, per to his final wishes."

"Why?" Kakashi demanded, while Gai muttered something about 'un-youthful.'

"I wanted to return to Konoha at first," Obito said. "But Madara said that would be impossible, as I owed him my life. The crushed parts of my body were reconstructed with Hashirama's cells. While I was recovering and learning how to use my new limbs, I found out through Zetsu that both you and Rin were being attacked by Mist shinobi. I came to the site...and watched as you shoved a Chidori into Rin's chest."

Kakashi winced.

"You killed Rin," Obito deadpanned. "And I killed the Kiri shinobi when they tried to take her body. It was then, I realized that what Madara was telling me was indeed true. Our reality is indeed worthless and it should be destroyed. In its place would be a new reality. One where there would be no war, no pain and no suffering. Madara told me about the Moon Eye Plan. By retrieving the bijuu and merging them with the Demonic Statue, the Ten-Tailed Beast would be revived, with myself as its Jinchuuriki. I would use the power of the Ten-Tails to reflect the Magenkyou onto the moon and place the world under an Infinite Tsukyomi. That fool Nagato truly believed that we were making a weapon powerful enough to force the Elemental Countries to make peace."

"You tried to make the world in your own image," Asuma said. "By robbing it of its free will."

"Call it what you want, Sarutobi," Obito snapped. "All I wanted was to end this world of lies. Sacrifices had been made...my clan, which I helped Itachi to destroy...Sensei and his wife...I still had the utmost respect for Minato, but he was so honorable to the end, even when I unleashed the Nine-Tails upon Konoha, as he sealed it inside his son."

Asuma's eyes went wide. "It was you...you caused the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha. All those people...the Yondaime and his wife...my mother...dead because of you..." He was itching to kill the traitor himself.

"But now...it's over," Obito said, shoulders slumping. "Madara will forever weep in the afterlife knowing that his plans will not take place. The Emperor of the West has retrieved the remaining Jinchuuriki and offered them asylum within his Empire. To be beaten by a little brat..."

"We're done here," Asuma said to the Imperial Jounin who had escorted the three of them here. "I hope you die slowly, Uchiha," he snarled as he and the other two turned on their heels and began to walk to the door.

"Hatake."

Kakashi stopped in mid-step. He turned around.

"Come closer," Obito said. "There's something else you need to know."

Wary, Kakashi walked back to Obito, who motioned for him to come even closer so that he could whisper into Kakashi's ear. Kakashi complied, and Obito told him the final piece of information he had. Something which had rocked even Kakashi to the core.

With that, Obito went silent. He would remain silent until the Emperor himself executed him.

Upon being escorted out of Obito's impromptu cell, Kakashi had been whispering to himself, "It can't be...impossible..."

"What is it?" Asuma demanded. "What did Obito tell you?"

"He...he told me the identity of the Emperor," Kakashi confirmed. "The Emperor is..."

"Shinra...TENSEI!"

CRUNCH.

Asuma, Gai and Kakashi turned to the direction of the explosion. "What the hell?" Asuma wondered as they sped towards the source of the explosion.

On the way, they ran into Kurenai and Cell Eight. Kurenai said one thing which had them on edge. "We have to stop Sasuke! He's fighting the Emperor now!"

Asuma nodded and they rushed off to stop the Uchiha from getting himself killed. As they ran to stop Sasuke, Obito's final words rang in Kakashi's mind.

"The Emperor is Minato-sensei's son – the student who you had forsaken. The Emperor is Naruto Uzumaki."

With Tsunade, Sakura and Jiraiya...

Flanked by Kankurou and Temari, the Kazekage of Suna looked at his Konoha counterpart with great disdain. Both Sakura Haruno and Jiraiya were flanking the Godaime Hokage. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "Last time I checked, we terminated the alliance with Konoha."

"We came to offer any assistance in any way," Tsunade explained. "But from the look of things, you already have everything under control."

Gaara nodded. "The battle has been over for nearly a week. The Akatsuki has been completely destroyed. Its leader has been captured by the Empire and will be executed for his crimes. The Elemental Countries can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the Akatsuki is no more."

"Can we have a report on the battle?" Jiraiya asked.

"One has been sent to the Fire Damiyo," Kankuro said. "You should be getting a copy from him in a matter of days."

"You just did not show up because you wanted to join in on the battle," Gaara said. "What do you want?"

"To speak with the Emperor, and try to smooth over some of the lies he has heard," Sakura said. "Some of which were spread by you and your village."

Tsunade shot her pupil a nasty glare. "Look...we came here to help out, to try and repair our alliance," she explained. "It's clear that even without the Empire backing you, that Suna is on the fast track to usurping the Leaf as being the strongest of the villages, while Kazahana's shinobi village will knock us off as one of the five main villages."

"So you want to try and get back on my good side, is that it?" Gaara asked, just as Yamato entered the room. While Yamato spoke with the two Sannin and Sakura, a Suna jounin appeared via shunshin and whispered into Gaara's own ear. While Gaara looked amused, Sakura and the two Sannin looked very angry.

"When were you going to tell us that the Empire had retrieved the Jinchuuriki and used them to fight in this war?" Tsunade demanded.

"Wasn't my place to say it," Gaara replied. "The Emperor convinced them to fight in this was against the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki were looking for the power of the Jinchuuriki, and the Emperor gave it to them...although they were on the receiving end of it."

"If the rest of those demons were here," Sakura began, "then Uzumaki was here as well."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. In the far corner, the gourd which carried Gaara's reserve sand shook slightly, right before the cork popped out. "Senju, please get your student under control, or else the next words out of my mouth will be 'Sand Coffin.'"

Tsunade threw a glare to Sakura which told her to shut up.

Gaara continued. "Yes, Uzumaki is here, but he is in the employ of the Western Empire, and thus, out of your jurisdiction. However, I would be more concerned about the leader of the Akatsuki which the Empire has captured. In fact, the Emperor has been privy to the identity of the Akatsuki chief for quite a while now." He leaned back in his chair. "Tell me...does the name Obito Uchiha ring any bells?"

That got a reaction from Tsunade, but from more importantly, Jiraiya. "Obito was Minato's student. We all thought that he had died in the last Shinobi War. I thought that..."

"...that Nagato was the head of the Akatsuki?" Gaara said. "Far from it. The Empire's information network is very thorough, even more so than yours. However, I would be more concerned about Konoha's golden boy picking a fight with the Emperor."

Realization crept across the Sannin's faces, just as...

"Shinra...TENSEI!"

CRUNCH.

"Damn that Uchiha!" Tsunade shouted, turning on her heels and bolting out of the room, Jiraiya and Sakura following her.

Behind his desk, Gaara merely smiled. "This is going to be one hell of a family reunion," he mused.

Minutes earlier, at the Imperial Consulate...

Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze looked at Kurama and the assembled Jinchuuriki that knelt before him. He could not be any more prouder of not only his forces, but of the Jinchuuriki and the role they played in the destruction of the Akatsuki.

"Money cannot buy the honor which you all have earned here through your actions during this conflict," Naruto began, once again masking his voice. He also knew that Yamato was watching, as he had triggered the seals he had placed inside the neighboring building. "Your actions here in the past several days will forever be remembered, as you have brought much credit upon yourselves and on the Unified Western Empire. As Emperor of the Imperial Nation, I declare you all national treasures of the Empire."

"SIR!" Kurama and the Jinchuuriki barked out in unison.

Had Yamato remained inside his hidey-hole for another fifteen seconds, he would have seen Sasuke Uchiha forced his way inside the Imperial Consulate. The Imperial soldiers inside drew their weapons, but the Emperor ordered them to stay their hand. Not really caring that the Emperor had the Jinchuuriki, Sasuke stormed across the courtyard, Sharingan ablaze.

"Where is he?! Where is he?!" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto looked amused. "You again, Uchiha?"

"Where...is...my brother?!" Sasuke demanded. "I know he was here! They said that he was fighting you!"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "People say plenty of things. I could have either been fighting either your brother, or his walking sushi plate of a partner. Maybe I was fighting the insane Jashinist and his miserly partner. You never know. This is your first and only warning, little man. Leave now or else I will not be held responsible for what happens if you refuse."

"Damn you!" Sasuke shouted as he unsheathed his chokouto. Lighting began to dance along the blade as Sasuke charged.

"Big mistake," Fu muttered as she and the other Jinchuuriki quickly got out of the way.

Naruto's eyes shimmered into the Rinnegan as he raised one hand. "Shinra..."

"This is going to hurt," A muttered to himself.

"...TENSEI!"

Sasuke felt an invisible force lift him off his feet and sent him crashing through the compound wall before landing amongst the debris from the battle and from the remains of the compound wall. Naruto did not give him a chance to recover, as he hopped through the gaping hole in the wall and with an Uppercut From Hell to the jaw, propelled Sasuke into the air. As Sasuke fell back to the ground, Naruto kicked him hard in the chest...

...only to find out that he had kicked a log in two.

'So he's finally learned something,' Naruto thought as Sasuke appeared from behind, chokuto in hand, ready to impale him. Smirking, Naruto executed the Flash Step. Derived from his father's signature Hiraishin, Naruto moved fast enough for him to leave an afterimage, of which Sasuke found out the hard way when his blade slashed through Naruto's afterimage.

Flashing through several handseals, Naruto unleashed his jutsu. "Wind Release...Deadly Tempest!"

Having seen Temari's signature Kamitachi in action, Naruto had created a jutsu using Gaara's fan-wielding sister as his inspiration. The Deadly Tempest was an A-ranked jutsu which blasted the opponent with hurricane-force winds. Depending on which type of element he was using at the time, the Deadly Tempest had several interesting effects. If he combined the jutsu with his Fire affinity, then the person on the receiving end would suffer third-degree burns. The Wind affinity was the opposite. It supercooled the air, making the person not only numb, but it slowly drained their chakra.

Sasuke was hit with the latter. The powerful winds crashed into the Uchiha prince's body, once again lifting him up into the air and sending him into the general direction of Suna's village square, Sasuke cursing the Emperor as he was sent flying. The last Uchiha crashed into the town square, just as Tsunade, Jiraiya, Yamato and Sakura came charging out of the Kazekage Tower, while Kakashi, Asuma and Gai emerged from a side street, following their conversation with Obito Uchiha, and Cell Eight came from around the corner following their confrontation with Hinata.

Naruto calmly walked into the square as Sasuke tried to get back to a vertical base. Meanwhile, the Imperial forces had blocked off the Konoha shinobi's escape route, effectively separating the Sannin, the Jounin and the remnants of Konoha 11 from the majority of the Konoha jounin that were still outside of Suna, creating an impromptu arena.

"Silly little Uchiha who thinks he is a match for me," Naruto mused.

Sasuke coughed up a wad of blood and spit it out. "Shut up!" he snarled. "Where is Itachi?!"

"Itachi...so your brother has a name," Naruto said, one hand going into his pocket. He pulled out the item he knew that would set Sasuke over the edge and tossed it to his former teammate, where it landed at his feet.

Sasuke looked down and his eyes went wide. With a trembling hand, he reached down and picked up the item. An item he recognized instantly, as it had something to do with his brother.

The item in question was Itachi's Akatsuki ring.

"Correction: he had a name," Naruto said.

Sasuke began to tremble as the full totality of what the Emperor was saying had struck him with full force.

"In case you fail to realize, Uchiha," Naruto continued, "your brother is dead. His body, along with what remains of the Akatsuki, is being burned outside of the village walls."

Sasuke looked at the ring. Then back at the Emperor. The Magenkyou began to spin rapidly as the Cursed Seal reactivated, thus breaking through the seals Jiraiya had placed on him years earlier that was designed to nullify the Cursed Seal's influence. Itachi was dead. The Emperor did the one thing that he could not, which was to kill him. His family would be unavenged. He was indeed (albeit he did not know of Obito's existence), the last Uchiha.

Flame-like patterns began to appear on Sasuke as the Cursed Seal began to make him stronger. Black flame patterns began to appear, spreading from Sasuke's shoulder, to one side of his face and down his arm, ending at his hand, which was currently charging a second Chidori.

"Oops," Naruto taunted. "Did I say something wrong?"

"You...YOU BASTARD!" Sasuke bellowed as he charged, the now-freed Cursed Seal giving him a boost in speed. "DIE!"

"Sasuke, no!" Jiraiya and Tsunade shouted.

Instead of using the Flash Step, Naruto spun to the side, the Kage-style hat falling off his head as Sasuke passed him, missing where his head was at just moments earlier, and prepared his own counterattack. One that anyone who knew the Yondaime recognized almost instantly.

"Sasuke! DON'T!" Kakashi shouted, just as Sasuke spun to face the Emperor. "The Emperor is..."

"RASENGAN!"