Chapter 19

Sunagakure no Sato

Namikaze Household

The pale fingers of dawn peered in from the window, bathing the entire room in it's illuminating radiance. There was no ringing of alarm this morning, nor had there been any need of one. Both the house's residents had prior engagements to tend to, ones that had been made weeks beforehand for that matter. Feeling the soft brush of lips on his neck, Naruto smiled, lightly stroking his slumbering wife's lovely hair.

"Last night was amazing."

Looking down, surprised to see her awake so early, loving azure eyes stared into sleepy teals for a moment too long, taking his time to appreciate the beauty he had been adrift from for the past few weeks. Naruto flicked a lock of hair tickling her eyelash, "It was, wasn't it…?" he murmured softly. Temari said nothing in reply, opting to smile dreamily and snuggle her face on his chest instead. She was already quite aware that the two of them had a rather lively 'bedroom' life, but the events of last night had shattered the boundaries of it's realms quite literally.

"How many times was it, six right…?" her voice was low, she seemed almost shy to ask it out loud. Smiling, Naruto placed a loving peck on top of her head.

"Seven."

Her finger traced his chest line before rotating in concentric circles, teeth gnawing away nervously at her lip, "Do you think, you know…?" she blushed, unable to say or even look at him anymore from sheer embarrassment . Words didn't need to be spoken for Naruto to catch her drift, he smiled, "I think so, yes. But we'll keep trying just to be sure." he whispered knavishly. She giggled, bonking his chest playfully when she realized just what it was he was insinuating, "Pervert." she mumbled.

Naruto rose an amused eyebrow hearing her soft mumble, "I am serious, you know."

His palm cupped her cheek, making her face up to him for a deep kiss. She broke it off before things got heated up, frowning with a gasp, "I'm still sore." she pouted.

He flipped her over, earning a squeal of delight from his princess before his head mysteriously vanished into the blanket. "I can help you with that." he said. Her face ranged from being confused, to one of horrified realization a second too late. He had already found his spot by then;

She moaned loudly, "Ah!"

Throwing her face aside, cheeks flushed, Temari grabbed the sheets tightly within her fists as her resolve to keep him off of her kept crumbling into oblivion. Her arms reached into her blanket, cradling his head between her legs.

"More…!"

Needless to say, breakfast was not served to the couple that morning.

Tsunade walked up to the door after hearing a knock. It honestly felt quite weird to receive a guest for a place she was staying as a guest herself. But it made her happy too, a small part of her wished she could do this everyday - wake up in the morning without a hangover, knowing there was a family waiting for her in the house.

It made her feel cherished.

Opening the door, she was a bit startled seeing exactly who it was, "Kazekage-dono." she greeted, nodding politely. Her greeting was returned with a polite nod of his own, "Hokage-dono." he stated monotonously.

"May I?"

The buxom blonde Kage blushed and moved aside with a start, "Of course, where are my manners."

Closing the door behind her, she followed Gaara to the living room all the while noting his little actions. He was tending to photo frames and flower vases as he trudged, as if he had done this chore a thousand times. It made her take note of how familiar he seemed to this estate, a pang of envy sliced her heart at that, "Naruto and Temari…" she drawled, wondering just how it was she would make him excuse the couple for not being present to receive them.

Her cheeks flamed a dark tinge of pink, remembering quite vividly the moans that had reverberated in her room - a floor down from the master bedroom - and what reason there must have been for such voices.

"I know."

"Oh."

Her flush increased twofold for what she was about to ask, "Is this, you know, uh, a common occurrence…?"

Gaara rose an eyebrow, bemused, and started gathering the kettle to make some coffee. He nodded, "Yes. Those two go at it like rabbits once a vacation pops up every now and then. I made the mistake of staying the night once, it was winter as I recall, and I'd rather not be scarred any more than my life has already done for me."

By the time he had finished his blunt reminiscence of memories, Tsunade was flushing like a volcano. It seemed the man did have rather keen words for such things, "Uh, right." she coughed uncomfortably.

A thick tension settled between the two, while Gaara focused on preparing his morning beverage, Tsunade sat there with absolutely no idea what to say. Relations between her and him were scarcely political at best, hostile at worst. She'd rather prefer it if it wasn't the latter, "You want some…?" he asked.

Tsunade forced out a strained smile, "Yes." he nodded without gazing back, going back to adding some freshly ground beans in the pot. "You come here often?" she queried curiously, a small attempt at initiating a conversation.

He nodded, "Yes, they have rather nice coffee."

Tsunade sweat dropped, "Yeah, right." she muttered, a bit peeved at his unusually curt answers. He didn't seem particularly invested in the conversation, neither was she willing to push her boundaries with their already strained relationship.

Gaara pulled off the kettle and came in the living room with two costly looking black emblazoned cups, filling them both gracefully before seating himself in front of her. He settled into the couch, crossing a leg over his thigh while bringing his cup to his lips for a sip - those intimidating eyes of his boring holes in her face weren't lost to the usually chirpy Senju.

She settled back herself, mirroring his seating style but closed her eyes shut in order to avoid his subtle glare. Sipping a little of the served beverage herself, she moaned in delight, "This is good coffee!"

"Hokage-dono."

His cold voice made her stop, and she eyed him warily. Both settled down their steaming mugs in unison, the situation now turning serious, "I do not particularly like your stay here at my sister's house - for reasons I'd rather not say."

She said nothing, inwardly relieved for his rather blunt and frigid attitude to any human being in general, as opposed to his sister's rather lively yet undecipherable diplomatic charm. Both were poles apart in personalities, at least to her, "But..." he stopped for a moment while his eyes flickered in uncertainty, as if pondering over to search for the right words, "...since Naruto sees you as a mother of sorts, his trust is all I need. I welcome you here - not as the Hokage -but as Naruto's endeared guest."

Tsunade rested her elbow on the armrest, nestling her cheek in her palm with a tender smile. "You are rather mature in choosing words, especially given your age I must say Kazekage-dono." she complimented him which the red haired boy took with a grain of salt. It was true though, indirectly pointing to her that she was welcome in his village only due to her proximity with his friend and not as the Hokage meant that he would rather have not invited the Leaf at all, than have their large numbers run around his village while his men were kept busy keeping eyes on them.

"Did you wish to converse with me on something particular?"

"I did."

She nodded and once more pulled the cup to her lips, "What will the Leaf do, now that Naruto's existence has been revealed to the world?"

Humming, Tsunade rested the cup on her table, contently crossing her fingers to hide her lips, "Whatever I say next, I say as an ambassador to the Leaf. I want to make this point crystal clear before saying anything, no offense."

"None taken."

"Very well then." sighing, Tsunade pondered over her situation for a moment before nodding, "You did not just reveal his existence yesterday, rather you revealed his heritage to the world. The names Namikaze and Uzumaki in general hold some weight in the eyes of the world, especially the ones who do know their histories rather well." she surmised, earning a slight frown from him.

"I do not understand."

Laughing shamelessly, she shook her head. "I would be surprised if you did." she chortled, his frown deepened into a full blown scowl. "The Uzumaki's were wiped off by the joint efforts of Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure. Namikaze Minato wiped off legions of Iwa and Kumo's forces in the Third Great Ninja War, now most might not be aware of this for various reasons, but the Tsuchikage did not surrender to the Sandaime Hokage to end the War."

Her recital took a pause with a sharp intake of breath, Gaara's face of confusion was all she needed to know that he wasn't that well versed in history as a veteran might have been. "Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki laid his arms down to Minato Namikaze, not the present Hokage. When he saw a thousand of his best ninja's corpses lying in front of his eyes for the second time, Iwagakure had never faced such humiliation before then and with the Fourth's intimely demise, they thought it would never come to pass again. My predecessor was rather non indulgent when it came to Naruto's heritage being known for reasons you can see, even I wasn't aware of their identities for sure before yesterday if that says something to you." she recited her history lesson, one that Gaara absorbed in with the thirst of a sponge.

These events were never documented for him to read on, these were the things only veterans who were present to witness these sights must have known. Even in such deep musings Gaara had to wonder, how much did Naruto know?

Knowing him, possibly a lot.

"I swear he does these things to annoy me." his mutter befuddled Tsunade to no ends but he dismissed it with a subtle wave of his hand.

"What does this have to do with the present?"

She smiled at his naivety, "With his father's name, his mother's royal blood and the amount of influence his presence alone would hold in the Leaf - there is not a chance in hell that our council won't try to get their claws on him, one way or the other."

Gaara knitted his eyebrows in annoyance, "He was banished from the Leaf, and placed for execution on first sight. How could they demand his return?"

"That is where you are wrong, Gaara."

Gaara looked at her, eyes confused. "Whatever do you mean?"

"He was exiled, not banished. The Leaf regarded him as a threat that was too vulnerable if left alone back then. But seeing how the Fourth's seal still holds strong…"

Eyes widening, Gaara clenched his knuckles tight, "He will no longer be perceived a threat, thereby enabling the Leaf village call for his return." he finished contritely, earning a satisfied nod from Tsunade.

This was the primary reason he hated this accursed position with a passion, well that and paperwork, but this certainly came first. Political maneuvers, backstabbing bastards, mute betrayals - he would rather crush enemies into oblivion with his trusty sand than duck his head into these acids any day, all week long.

"I swear, that idiot is more trouble than he is worth."

Tsunade's melodic laughs hadn't annoyed anyone so much until that point in time.

"What the hell happened to you?!"

"Oh, for the last time!"

"Where did that old stubborn buffoon I've know for so long hide himself? How could you act so mellow in front of that bastard?!"

"Kurotsuchi, calm down." huffing, the kunoichi backed off with a fierce scowl. Her grandfather, the Tsuchikage, pinched his nose in exasperation.

Inhaling a sharp breath, "I was not acting mellow for anyone, that was just how the situation demanded me to act. This is why I keep shouting that you are nowhere near ready to be a jonin yet, young lady!" Ōnoki yelled, frustrated.

Pink eyes rolled back, bewildered, "Then please do enlighten me as to what you were doing being so touchy-feely with that bastard Namikaze?! Have you forgotten -" stepping forth, Ōnoki did the last thing the residents of his room had ever dreamed of.

SLAP!

She held her stinging cheek in shock, recoiling from the pure fury in his eyes, "I forget nothing!" he hissed, catching her shoulders in such a tight grip that it forced out an involuntary wince from the girl. Her rosy orbs turned misty, not from the pain itself but from the deep rage that emanated deep within her own heart. Ōnoki's eyes softened for a moment, he hovered up in the air to make an eye-to-eye level conversation with her.

"Kurotsuchi, look at me."

She didn't, instead choosing to look away with a bitten lip. He forced her gaze to him with his hand, wiping her unshed tears with his thumbs. Seeing her like this up close, it allowed him to bask his heart in fond nostalgia, "You are still so charismatic, just like your mother." he whispered remorsefully.

His comment made her will waver ever so slightly, but she dared not cry. It was unbecoming for a kunoichi in her eyes, "Naruto Namikaze is not a Leaf shinobi, you must remember that."

She looked at him with such hatred, Kitsuchi had half a mind to restrain her lest she lashed out at him. A sharp look from his father stopped him dead in his tracks, he stepped back with a lowered head in submission. Looking at her again, Ōnoki squeezed her cheeks tenderly, "What happened back then was done by Minato Namikaze, not by his son."

"But-"

"But nothing!" Ōnoki cut her off, miffed, "Even then, in midst of his mass slaughter, he was acting as any shinobi loyal to their village should have. As much as I loathe the very existence of that man…" he spat venomously, flashes of buried memories coming forth like raging tides in his mind, "….I respect him for his loyalty too."

Pink eyes went wide, disbelief etched all over face. Seeing her sudden disarray, Ōnoki smiled, "He gave up his life on the off chance that his village might be spared from a certain calamity, he sacrificed the lives of his whole family that night. His son was made a living vessel for the lord of demons, the same entity his village loathed like you loath him." his calm explanation made her lips curl thin.

Remembering how they treated their own jinchuriki, she couldn't deny the steel required to achieve such feet, "But he did all that for the Leaf, take that headband away from him and there would never have been a Yellow Flash. Your grudge shouldn't be with Namikaze, it should stay with the Leaf." seeing her slumping shoulders, Ōnoki knew she was conceding to the truth.

Just like she should.

A Kage never rallied on useless emotions, welfare of his village and shinobi always came first and foremost. She had to learn this if she ever wanted to inherit his seat in the coming future, as he had hoped she would, "An alliance with the man who has inherited that infamous potential will double our military might, may even increase it exponentially. You must look at everything rationally child, there is everything to gain here and nothing to lose."

It was rare for Kitsuchi to see his father act so gentle but he figured it was what made these little moments even more endearing. But to actually see such drastic effect on his hotheaded daughter, was something else of itself. Sighing, it seemed as if Ōnoki had sapped out all energy from his granddaughter, "Fine." she muttered, defeated. Seeing her acting in such stark contrast to her under laying emotions;

Ōnoki had never been so proud.

Envisioning things was something humans did by birth, even so, Sakura had never envisioned a hidden village smack bang in the middle of a desert to be so lively. Walking through the main shopping districts, every person was covered head to toe in linen clothes so as to shade themselves from the scorching heat.

The business was on full throttle, prices were sky high due to the heavy number of foreign guests exchanging currencies with them. The stands were, much to her surprise, filled with many items she hadn't thought feasible in such an arid terrain - fruits, freshly cut vegetables, cold drinks, restaurants of all shapes and sizes, you name it and it was here.

She had been rather flabbergasted to see the last person on earth gracing her doorstep, trying to wake her up for an early morning walk, "What's the matter with you, Kakashi-sensei?"

Eye smiling, he ruffled his kunoichi's hair playfully. She slapped his hand away and began working on fixing it up once again, "The morning seems rather peppy for a walk, won't you agree?"

Nodding, Sakura had to concede with the scarecrow on the point. Though it still didn't quite answer her question, "But why-"

Feeling a small nudge on her feet, Sakura looked down to see a ball bouncing near her sandals. Sure enough, a moment later numerous kids came running out of a corner to retrieve said object. The kunoichi smiled and tossed the ball up in her arms with a flick of her toes, "Here you go!" she handed it out to them.

The rather small flock of children grinned, nearly taking it from her when a voice called from beside them, "What are you doing here, Haruka?!"

Looking aside, both Leaf ninjas saw a decently aged man come and greet a little girl in the middle of all children, "I'm playing!"

Her chipper tone actually made smiles break out all around the streets, Kakashi could see that they were rather caring when it came to children her age. Though, his slant eyebrow raised when he saw the icy glares being leveled at them both, "Let's go Haruka." the man caught her arm and lead her away, the girl looked back with a melancholy gaze.

"But my ball!" she cried. It made the man halt his steps for a moment, only for him to eye the ball in a stunned Sakura's hand as if it had turned into garbage merely from her touch alone right before he twisted his head back to the little girl with a warm smile.

"Don't worry, I'll buy you a new one. That one is dirty now." his comment shook Sakura to the core. His implication wasn't lost to her in the slightest, she had never been on the receiving end of such a venomous comment before, every adult back home usually adored her due to her parent's heavy respect and influence.

As soon as the kids had left, Kakashi looked around them in concern. It seemed as if someone had pulled an imaginary trigger of sorts, where all the chirpy looking people had morphed and were now staring down at them in utter disdain.

Nothing was physical or even verbal, though their disgusted side glances weren't lost to either of the two. "Kakashi-sensei…" she whispered.

Nodding, "Yeah." Kakashi affirmed.

Trudging past the hostile streets, it wasn't long before incoherent whispers became audible statements right behind their backs.

"~Scum…"

"~Trash…"

"~Bitch…"

"~Freak…"

Tears stung her emerald eyes, Sakura turned around with a start to see everyone tending to their businesses as if nothing was wrong. Thinking it was only her latent paranoia screaming for no reason other than a subtle lack of sleep, she looked aside to see her teacher too looking back with a peculiar glint in his eyes. "Hmm, strange…" the jonin murmured, rubbing his chin pensively.

Somehow, Kakashi felt all this to be oddly nostalgic.

"My Lady, I must protest against this decision. You cannot go in without protection-"

The rest of the words were tuned out from her mind, only a few words in between started jumbling up in the vacancies of her mind.

"Lady, cannot go in, without protection…"

Smiling sweetly, "Ao…" she chimed angelically.

"Yes, My Lady-"

"Shut up, or I'll kill you."

"H-Hai…"

Chojuro cleverly decided to stay back lest the shy swordsman be melted into oblivion. He looked at his quivering senior with a pitying look, even though he never meant it, somehow the man had a knack for aggravating one of the most dangerous females in the Elemental Nations without ever attempting to do so.

Seeing her walking into the chambers with her usual lavishness, the gruff looking man by her side grunted in utter annoyance, "What's the meaning of this?"

His loud voice had absolutely no effect on the masked men guarding the door, they shook their heads dutifully.

"No guards are allowed inside, only the Kage's have been permitted to enter."

Ay growled, the vein on his forehead almost on the verge of popping and spewing off blood. "Blasphemy, you do not trust me!" he yelled, absolutely livid at their guts.

Still, the guards stood stone still, "Do you not trust the Sand…?"

The tension in the hallways was impalpable, someone could literally prick the thick atmosphere with a pin. That is, if anyone had the guts to actually go through with it. And even Ay had to admit, these Sand shinobi truly were baked and toughened in scorching heats to stand in front of him without even flinching an inch.

"Do you not trust Lord Namikaze…?"

That did it, Ay slammed his lightning covered fist right by the masked man's face and buried it in the wall behind him. The man still didn't budge an inch, much to his hidden ire, and continued staring on impassively through his mask.

Grunting, Ay relented, "Cee, Darui, stay here…"

"HAI…!"

Ay's shadow loomed ominously over the two ANBU, "You had better wish that master of yours a prayer for this. Had he not have earned my respect back there, your heads would be mush by now for such insubordination…!"

His growl was followed by an ominous bang of the door, marking it's cracked closing. Scooting closer, Chojuro stepped near the slack jawed senior of his as subtly as it was humanly possible, "Those Sand ANBU sure are tough to stand up to the Raikage, ne?! Maybe this alliance just might be possible, won't you say Ao-san." Ao nodded dumbly, having nothing else he could add to his junior's words;

Not even a little comparison to his fond olden days.

Jiraiya sat, eyeing the empty saucer in front of his eyes lifelessly. He dipped a finger on it's rim, circling it on the saucer like a top with a vacant smile marring his face.

"I want a word with you."

Glancing back, Jiraiya rose an inquisitive eyebrow, "Really…?" he inquired.

"Yes."

Shrugging, Jiraiya went back to the task of refilling his saucer from one of the five nearly empty bottles of liquor clattering his table disturbingly.

"You taught the Fourth, correct…?"

"Yeah."

The man by his side smiled wickedly, almost as if he had found his golden treasure without even searching for it, "So, you know all of his techniques too…?"

"Yeah, all except one."

His smile slipped a bit, clearly not expecting this development. "Which one…?"

Jiraiya chuckled, no laughed, as if he wasn't even sane anymore, "His most powerful one, the one he promised to leave only for his son."

"His son." the venom in his voice wasn't lost to Jiraiya. Even though, he couldn't care less if anyone lived or died anymore he had to take note of this. Even though he knew that;

He was finished.

Standing up, he inconsiderately threw some rolls of notes on the table and staggered his way out. Halting his steps for a moment, he glanced back with a knowing smile gracing his lips, "You are no match for him."

His hands tightened on the edge of the table, knuckles whitening and causing the timber in their grip to shake and crack. A wash of hatred flashed all over his face while his eyes bled crimson, three deadly tomoes circling madly in his eyes.

Sasuke Uchiha would have everything, no matter what.