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Chapter 360:

Throughout the ferocious engagement, Samui understood that if they

ever wanted to bring Naruto to Kumogakure, it could never be by force.

He clearly had more raw power than she did and deduced only Yugito-

sama, Bee-sama, possibly Darui-taicho, and the Raikage could forcibly

take Naruto.

In a complete one-eighty, Naruto suddenly rushes to them in grave

worry, summoning three clones without the red chakra shroud as he

calls, "are you guys okay?" Each of the clones were uneasy and

anxious as they asked them, "Ma-chan, how's your leg? Can you

walk?" Or, "Sa-chan, are you injured anywhere? Here, let me clear

some of that." Or, "who are you?"

"His name is Atsui," Samui answered, allowing Naruto to clean some of

the spurts of blood on her cheek with his sleeve. Atsui was nearly

growling as a clone picks up Mabui princess-style, holding her close

with dear concern. Samui tells Naruto, "he's my brother. He came to

see me and watch the exams."

"Oh," Naruto happily hums, turning to a queasy-looking Atsui. "Sweet!

Your sister's said so many nice things about you, it's great to finally

meet you."

"We should continue moving," Samui notes.

Naruto nods and his clones use a protective formation around the

group as Naruto apologizes for the invasion. The blond leads them to

the nearest civilian shelter, however, surrounding the shelter are

several ambush points set up by the hostiles, and Samui, Atsui, and

the clones have to fight many puppets and shinobi to get through.

Once they were safe, Naruto quickly goes back to clear out the enemy

as fast as they can.

Most of the clones are counting the amount of time passing for their

boss is fighting a monster single-handedly and at base level. All the

clones throughout the entire battlefield know that the longer this

invasion goes on, the worse it'll be for their boss.

—

"I should've learned more ninjutsu," Naruto painfully groans, grasping

his sore chest.

Gaara is already in his second transformation, beating Naruto bloody in

the forest. Except for his knees and feet, the red-haired jinchūriki was

covered in body-enlarging sand with blue lines-like tattoos up and

down his form with the face of a snarling raccoon-dog. With his light

brown tail waving behind him, Gaara was bigger, stronger, and worst

yet, his mania was emboldened with amazing power.

Bleeding from his forehead, mouth, and forearms, stopping the sand

shurikens hurt him more than anything else. Naruto still refused to use

Kurama's chakra, and as of yet, can't use Sage mode but he could still

use his knuckle-blade and Rasengan. Down on one knee, breathing

heavily, he frantically thinks of how to prolong this fight past the

endpoint of the invasion. He's already used all of his exploding tags,

shuriken, and kunai, but he needs his clones could dispel so he can be

free to use sage mode.

"You!" Gaara yells, suddenly landing in front of him before sending

another volley of tree-drilling sand shurikens. Naruto managed to cut

through two shurikens before one smashes into his gut, dazing him

immediately, and another drills into his shoulder, causing his Rasengan

to dissipate. Naruto lands painfully hard on a large tree branch as

Gaara continues yelling, "you, who is strong! You, who has

companions! You, who has ambition! You, who is like me! Once I kill

you, I'll be the one to have destroyed all of that. Only then can I

survive! Only then can I feel alive!"

Naruto's entire body is throbbing in pain but several trees away, he can

see a bit of Temari's hair and groggily thinks, 'she's caught in the

middle.' Naruto can't think very well over the pain, but he knows she

only has two paths, the one where Gaara wins or the one where

Naruto does, 'and only the one where I win can give her a friend and

her brother back.' No amount of pain and hurt could ever allow him to

forget he has people to protect and a world to unite. Standing up like

the slow beat of a steadily powering drum, Naruto asks the redhead,

"you want to feel alive?"

Gaara watches from his high perch as Naruto struggles to put both his

feet under him, but when he does, Gaara sees nothing but

determination in his angry blue eyes. Pointing a finger at the sinfully

mistaken jinchūriki, Naruto intensely returns, "you're never more alive

than when you're protecting someone you love. You think loving

someone and being loved is weakness, then give me everything you

got! Because some stupid ass reason like that, IS NEVER GONNA

BEAT SOMEONE LIKE ME!"

Naruto summons Rasengan to his right hand quicker than he's ever

done before and leaps directly at an oncoming Gaara, where their

attacks clash violently in mid-air.

—

Orochimaru didn't believe in fighting fair. Not only was fairness an

illusion used to control, but it also took the pure joy out of fighting to the

death. Only the strongest survive and he fought as a true shinobi

should, using the best techniques to exploit any and all weaknesses.

As such, he didn't allow his former sensei to summon Enma as he

gleefully attacked with his nearly indestructible sword. The thrill of

battle excited his heavily augmented body as nothing else can and

Orochimaru enjoyed swiping to maneuver his opponent and stabbing

any opening with tremendous speed, accuracy, and technique.

However, Hiruzen is a master of masters and is formidable enough to

defend against Orochimaru's rapid sword strikes with his decades of

battle experience and arm guards. It wouldn't be as fun for the Snake-

nin if he defeated his sensei easily. The seasoned ninjas combated one

another like a well-choreographed dance, sure in their movements and

never taken by surprise as strike after strike tries to land a critical blow.

Their strikes sound crisp to Rasa as he observes from many yards

away, admiring Hiruzen's combat prowess even in his old age. A small

smile spreads Rasa's lips as he observes Hiruzen's strategy like an

intricate game of Go and isn't surprised when the rotating old man

kicks Orochimaru in the gut before repelling him away with a great

force of chakra to avoid getting his leg cut off. A grunting Orochimaru

lands elegantly on his feet several yards away, allowing Hiruzen

enough time to summon Enma. Arms still crossed, Rasa wonders if

he'll need to intervene now.

With Enma in his staff form, Hiruzen explains to them, "Konoha isn't

just an organization you can take over. The village is its people, born

and raised every year to live, fight, and protect their home, to their

death if need be. Even if we're not related by blood, those from a

village like ours are my most precious family and I will protect them

with my life."

Stabbing his sword of Kusanagi through the shingle tile of the roof,

Orochimaru smiles as he replies, "I wonder if all Konoha shinobi feel

the same, sensei." With five blurry-fast hand seals, the legendary

sennin calls, "Kuchiyose no jutsu, Edo Tensei."

Chapter 361:

Orochimaru uses Edo Tensei technique to call forth out of the rumbling

ground the caskets of the First and Second Hogake. Enma's staff form

extends at lightning speed, slicing through the air as it targets

Orochimaru's head, only to be stopped by Rasa's gold sand.

Orochimaru smiles as he begins raising the third casket when the

forgotten kunai embedded into the cracked shingle that was thrown by

Naruto's clone earlier pops from a clear white cloud into a clone of

Naruto.

Desperately fast, the clone throws three kunais with exploding tags at

the off guard Orochimaru, who's forced to stop the technique and leap

away as the three kunai puncture the wood caskets with three quick

taps before exploding mightily. The bodies and caskets where

destroyed to pieces as Naruto then lands beside Hiruzen ready to fight.

Orochimaru glares at Naruto, fists up and ready to defy him, and

mirthlessly growls, "you."

—

Mei watched from her perch as Haku fought off Sand-nin attacking their

group with non-lethal ice or senbon strikes. From Mei's high vantage

point, Haku is escorting what appears to be a construction crew, a

woman, and a teenager as they made their way to the nearest shelter.

A clone of Naruto lands beside Mei, looking at the three teams of Suna

shinobi she subdued and tied up on the floor.

He couldn't help but ask, "did you do this?"

"It seemed as if you wanted to spare the Suna shinobi," Mei responded

leaping to the next building to follow Haku. After Naruto makes a few

clones to take the Suna-nin to the detention center Jiraiya had set up,

he follows after her. Naruto then spies Haku and Tazuna as she

remarks, "saving Suna shinobi is actually a smart play."

"Shit, I better help-"

"Haku is more than capable of taking care of this," Mei interjects as

Naruto looks on. "And I'm here in case he needs me." Naruto looks

extremely concerned, prompting Mei to ask, "are you worried?"

Though he has confidence Haku will be alright, Naruto is very worried

about Tazuna, Tsunami, Inari and the small crew that came with them

from Wave. Naruto had been supplying them with dozens of clones to

help expedite the restoration of his old apartment. He told them to take

the day off and even had Karin pay Haku a retainer to be their security;

and getting Haku to accept the ryō was a struggle. Before Naruto

leaves to assist Haku, he asks Mei, "will you help? Not just with Haku

but with keeping villagers safe and not killing Suna shinobi?"

"Of course," Mei answers. "Before you go, I've seen a chakra shroud

similar to yours. Are you by chance a jinchūriki?"

With widened eyes, he excitedly responds, "you have?" Though eager

to ask who, a voice that sounds like Kurenai stops him from asking

thereby confirming he's also a jinchūriki, which is top secret

information. The mental red-tape forces him to think about what he

wants to say and what he should say but also what he wants to know

from her. This is still the woman who wants to take Haku back, so

Naruto is weary as he asks, "how did you feel about that person?"

"I've come to know two actually," Mei says as they both hop to the next

rooftop. With a shuriken, Naruto snipes an unsuspecting Sand-nin

using a puppet against Haku thirty yards away as she explains, "one is

currently responsible for much of the bloodshed in my country while the

other was a man I thought I could marry. He was tall and handsome,

but sadly he didn't seem to appreciate my attention and didn't return

my affection. However, I will say he's a kind and stoic man."

Naruto can't be certain she's telling the truth, but he also doesn't like

how much energy it takes to unravel the truth from her words and

decides to trust her just enough. "We should definitely talk some more

later. I don't when just yet; after all of this obviously."

"How will all this end I wonder," Mei purrs.

"Easy," Naruto remarks. "Suna and Konoha will be even closer than

before."

Looking stunningly surprised, she asks, "even after all this? They're

invading you as we speak. Many would find any alliance after this to be

overly naive."

"Nah," Naruto waves her off, preparing to join Haku. "It'll be fine.

Friends can argue and still be friends afterward."

Smiling, Mei replies, "I like you." Naruto nearly slips as he turns to look

at her. She finishes, "in my country, those that have faith in the Fourth

Sun, believe in securing their home and their family. I look forward to

building a working relationship with you, Naruto."

—

Slapping his hands together, Naruto's clone calls, "cover me Ji-chan!"

He didn't want to waste even a modicum of time, not with opponents

like Orochimaru and the Kazekage close enough to dispel him.

Focusing on that familiar feeling from deep within his core as Hiruzen

steps defensively ahead of him, the blond genin calls on as much of

Kurama's chakra as he can handle.

When the enemy leaders feel the insane amount of power radiating in

hot waves from Naruto, they sprint to stop him, shooting kunai and

shuriken at the blond and multiplying it with jutsu before lighting them

aflame. But Hiruzen and Enma block or deflect everything until the

they're on them. The elder shinobi deflects Orochimaru's sword while

simultaneously extending Enma to block him and uses a series of kicks

on Rasa. Orochimaru slithers to the side to impale Naruto with his

serpent sword, only to be stopped inches away from Naruto's heart by

Hiruzen's aged hand. It cut into his flesh, making the Sandaime bleed

but he held firm until Enma can counter, punching Rasa away while

simultaneously extending the staff to Orochimaru's gut and launching

him dozens of yards away.

"Such gall, Uzumaki, to lie to a Kage," Rasa's thunderous voice

accuses, ready to resume attacking. "Did you not say you wouldn't use

your beast's power?"

Pausing a moment to answer back, Naruto reminds the Sand leader, "I

said I wouldn't use it against Gaara." Feeling Kurama's immense

strength flow and coil throughout his network, he adds, "I didn't say

anything about you guys." Two tails quickly bubble and form from the

base of his spine, flowing freely. There must've been fewer clones in

the field because a third tail begins to take shape, all the while, Hiruzen

floods the battlefield with, "Suiton: Suiryu-dan!" The water dragon

missile attempts to cut both Orochimaru and Rasa while flooding the

first quarter of the rectangular barrier.

Chapter 362:

Orochimaru uses his own, "Katon: Karyuu Edan," to incinerate Hiruzen

and Naruto with a stream of napalm as Rasa uses, "Doton: Doryuu

Heki," to create a thick tall wall of mud for them to stand on. Naruto

shoots out a giant red hand made of chakra, smashing through the

great wall before disappearing and fighting against Temari's father. The

Kage and Naruto fight it out hand-to-hand and at high speed but as

Naruto has chakra that can act independently of his own movements

and three tails, the blond's split-second attacks are much harder to

deal with.

Ignoring the tingling in his wounded hand, Hiruzen focuses his attacks

on Orochimaru. Though he's worried about Naruto, he knows it's

ultimately a clone, and even if he were dispelled as long as his young

friend lived, being outnumbered wouldn't be the worst thing. Hiruzen

felt it would be a fitting end even, following a death not too dissimilar to

his sensei. Fighting with Naruto encourages Hiruzen to not only fight

Orochimaru for the future, but stop him once and for all.

—

While Jiraiya was surrounded by enemies evading and attacking as

they try to bring the legendary sage down with puppets and genjutsu,

Naruto's clones became overwhelmed with wounded shinobi. All

around the village Konoha shinobi defended as best they could to save

the civilians, and in an effort to keep his promise, the grand majority of

Naruto's clones were curing any injured they came across with his

Fūinjutsu healing tags, or transporting them to the hospital, or

defending civilian shelters and bunkers, or healing and detaining Suna

shinobi. And Naruto lost scores of clones because of it.

A fourth of Kurama-enhanced clones remained specifically for combat,

and many of Konoha's Jōnin allowed the clones to take the lead,

engaging the enemy and their relentless puppets regardless of

mismatch. Any other day, the element of surprise might've made all the

difference for Suna and Sound, but they didn't count on a shinobi that

can make hundreds of very powerful clones and his legendary

Godfather in sage mode fighting back. From Hiashi, Genma, Guy,

Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai in the arena, to Ebisu, Shikaku, Inoichi,

and Chōza taking control of the streets, and Ibiki, Anko, and Raidō

leading the charge at the infested wall, they all fight back to protect

their precious home.

The enemy seem nearly defeated, running away more often than not

when far off into the distance, a large dome of vibrating sound hits the

village like the force of a powerful tidal wave. An ear-piercing scream

from a mountain-sized Shukaku alerted everyone in the village that the

powerful One-tail beast has entered the fray. Aside from the familiar

terror of a tailed beast so near their village, it also gave the remaining

Sound and Suna ninjas a boost in confidence, encouraging them fight

that much harder to win.

—

Naruto has never fought a Kage before and the Kazekage has so

many different elemental jutsus, his experience tends to trick Naruto's

battle strategy, landing several clean punches and kicks. It's as if Rasa

can see Naruto's pattern before he does it and Naruto takes a repeated

punches or kicks before Hiruzen interrupts with his extendable staff.

Naruto resumes his assault, slicing along with swirling kicks, and

though confident in his speed and power, the best he can manage is

hitting Rasa's sand with a large Rasengen, shredding away some of

the Kage's armor.

The four only pause to witness Shukaku erupt out of the forest floor as

tall as a mountain and screaming in the delight of freedom. Clones

everywhere automatically fear for their boss. Hiruzen can barely feel

the real Naruto fighting Shukaku from his vantage point, but he can still

feel him and knows the boy is at least still alive.

"Back Naruto up," the elder commands his bodyguards outside the

barrier. Hiruzen ignores the pain traveling up his arm as Orochimaru

uses the moment to explain why Konoha's Hokage will die today. This

reinvigorates Hiruzen to keep how significant his injury is and end this

as fast as he can.

"The jutsu exchanges ends now," Hiruzen informs his adversaries.

"From here on, it's going to be a blood-drenched free-for-all," and to

the three-tailed Naruto, he specifically tells him, "destroy the barrier."

—

Leaning against a tree for support, the real Naruto is bloody and

exhausted. Fighting Shukaku with his Fūton chakra blades, Rasen-

shuriken, and his Rasengan is apparently not enough to bring him

down, making him chuckle. He's trained so hard with Naru-nii for so

long and has reached a level of power he never thought he'd have in

only seven months after graduating. And yet, Naruto can't help but feel

like a failure for not learning more elemental chakras, techniques, and

strategies, instead of relying on Rasengan, speed, and taijutsu.

He feels sand begin to enclose his entire body and he hasn't an ounce

of strength or idea on how to stop it. He can barely form his Fūton

chakra at the end of his chakra knuckle-blade and only when his eyes

are about to be covered does he see Temari racing toward him. She's

far away and he isn't sure she can get to him in time, but as the sand

obscures his vision, and then tightens like being submerged meters

underwater, he feels a strong force punch, slice, and kick. Enough of

the sand is ripped off of him for Rock Lee to hoist him out of the sand-

coffin and away to safety.

After landing on a nearby branch, Rock Lee tells a coughing Naruto,

"don't worry, Naruto-kun. The Leaf's proud green beast is here!" He

turns to the mountain-sized monster, voicing, "you did great. Just leave

the rest to me!"

Laying back against a tree, Naruto looks past Lee to the monster

raccoon-dog, and internally asks Kurama, 'is he still not talk with you?'

'Why should I have to speak to him!' Kurama stubbornly returns. 'That

mangy dog should be grovelling at my feet. And while we're at it, you

should just forget about your stupid promise and use my power before

you die!'

Though annoyed Kurama and Shukaku are being so stubborn about

talking, Naruto's too hurt to care, chuckling as he asks, 'you worried

about me?'

'Shut up,' Kurama indignantly calling retorting.

'I don't go back on my word, Kurama,' Naruto painfully wheezes. 'You

should know that better than anyone.'

'…the most stubborn… can't believe how cursed I am,' Kurama is so

disgruntled, he yells back, 'die for all I care!'

Naruto chuckles as Kurama pouts and throws a fit. Before Lee leaps

away, he grabs the boy's bandaged forearm and tells him, "thanks for

the assist, Lee. I owe you." Standing up, he takes a deep breath before

admitting, "but he's my opponent. I have to be the one to beat him."

"I can understand your passionate feelings," Lee remarks, keeping his

attention on the great beast beginning to move toward them. He adds,

"but this isn't the time to be headstrong."

Naruto's body would completely agree if not for the feeling of his clones

disappear in vast numbers. Despite the enemy still in the village, all of

the clones were expressly ordered to disperse by Jiraiya. He hadn't

even given the nearest clone a chance to reply before grabbing him by

the collar and yelling to him, "your number one job now is to stop

Shukaku. We'll take care of the rest. Now go!"

Chapter 363:

Among all the clones in the village, one was in his room at Iruka's

calmly gathering and molding natural energy, so along with a heap of

memories streaming into his memory bank, Naruto rapidly gains an

overwhelming flow of tremendous strength. Even Rock Lee suddenly

looks at his stronger and healthier appearance. Everything reaches his

senses and Naruto only feels one clone left fighting alongside Ji-chan

with a lot of Kurama's power. Naruto smiles as he feels all of nature

and the energy around him before telling Lee to get clear of him and

watch his back.

Dragging his thumb over some of his blood, Naruto makes five hand

signs before smacking his palm on the tree branch and shouting,

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

—

Jiraiya and his platoon of summoned warrior toads were happily

beating back the resurgence of spirited Suna and Sound nin. Though

injured, though weaponless, the enemy army fought that much harder

at the sight of Shukaku. Still, in Sage mode, Jiraiya smiles as he

senses everything going on in the battlefield. They kept the majority of

the army behind the walls and the other squadrons inside of the village

were nearly all taken care of by the strongest of Konoha's forces.

"Listen up, my little tadpoles," Jiraiya trumpets as he dodges and

counters four attackers with ease. "Open your beady little eyes and

take a good look who you're fighting! It's the Legendary Sennin, the

Great Toad Sage, the undeniably handsome, Jiraiya!"

Morino Ibiki could only smile as he faced off against the remaining

Chūnin forces. Though he didn't doubt this was Jiraiya's typical nature,

it was also beneficial moral added to their own Chūnin corps.

Additionally, Ibiki didn't like when Jiraiya ordered all of Naruto's clones

to dispel, especially not that they have to deal with Shukaku next, but

he felt the battle turn in their favor when everyone witnessed the great

summon Gamabunta erupting out of the forest in front of the One-tail.

He smiles wider when he sees the yellow dot of hair on the head of the

boss toad.

—

Staring at the surprising blond on top of a giant toad, with his arms

crossed and his white coat flapping in the strong gust, Gaara is further

angered by his inability to kill this boy and yells, "who! Who are your

protecting so I can destroy them!"

With something akin to sympathy on Naruto's face, he honestly

answers, "you."

Gaara doesn't understand why his heart aches to hear that, or why this

boy tries so hard and that actually scares him. That face, that sincerity,

this feeling of ache in his chest. Memories of a smiling Yashamaru

plague his mind making Gaara yell in pain-filled anger before attacking

Naruto again.

—

Naruto slams another excessively large Rasengan against the demon

barrier while Hiruzen continues to defend his blond genin and fight off

the enemy leaders with a failing left arm. The earth-shattering impact

vibrates the entire structure, fading from strong purple to clear and

back, nearly destroying it. Rasa and Orochimaru then note when more

elite Jōnin show up outside of the barrier; Asuma, Kakashi, Guy,

Kurenai—with Karin—and Genma.

When those Konoha shinobi arrive outside of the barrier, that's how

Orochimaru knows most of their forces are defeated. Moments later, a

bleeding and beaten Kabuto lands as near to the barrier as he dares

and yells to his master, "our forces are down or retreated-" With a deep

slash across his chest, Kabuto is suddenly attacked by three Konoha

shinobi and has to leap away to avoid being captured. Despite

Gamabunta and Shukaku's destructive fight, the invasion is all but lost,

and an enraged Orochimaru orders a fleeing Kabuto to take their

remaining troops and retreat. Orochimaru then commands the small

snake he had slipped into Rasa's clothing to bite him with a terrible

venom in order to secure his escape.

Rasa immediately drops to one knee and grips his ankle from where

two dots of blood can be seen after the snake slithers out of his

shinguard. "Orochimaru! You! Kuh…" The man immediately drops face-

first on the shingles. Aside from the poison rapidly coursing through his

veins, rage compels the Kage to turn his stiffening neck and promise

Orochimaru, "you had better hope this kills me… for I will never rest…

until I end your life!"

Rasa passes out, his face writhing in agony even unconscious.

Sweating profusely, Hiruzen looks over his fellow Kage and demands

to know, "what have you done to him?"

"You don't look so good, sensei," Orochiaru jests before turning to the

Kazekage and confessing, "he won't die for at least a month but if you

come after me, I will kill him now."

Looking at the unconscious Kage that betrayed him and his village,

Hiruzen asks Orochimaru, "why would you believe we'd ever care what

happens to him? His circumstances is the product of his own

misplaced judgment."

"And you know all about consequences of bad judgment don't you,"

Orochimaru smiles, mocking his old teacher over the Uchiha massacre

and showing him mercy in the past. Smiling at Hiruzen's rising ire,

Orochimaru admits, "I may be your fallen student, but I do know you,

and I'd be very much surprised if you kill your misguided ally simply in

exchange for capturing me." The sound of Naruto finally destroying the

barrier assembles the exhausted Sound Four to their master's side.

Naruto takes one look at the slender girl with long red hair and

wondered if she might be a descendant of the Uzumaki clan or

Uzushiogakure. He rushes to her in less than a second and grabs her

forearm, managing to mark her before intentionally dispelling with her

weakly punch.

Glaring at his former student with sheer anger and a hint of

disappointment, Hiruzen ordered his forces to, "stand down. Let him

leave." Orochimaru smiles cockily as Hiruzen growls, "run, Orochimaru.

Run as if your life depended on it, because after today, it surely will."

The Sound ninja then leap out of view and Hiruzen orders no one in

particular, "follow them out of the country but keep your distance. If the

Kazekage's life is truly on the line, I'd rather not take the chance…

even if he doesn't deserve it."

Despite the poison coursing his veins and dizziness, Hiruzen pushes

on and orders the gathering of shinobi around him, "I want all Suna and

Sound ninja detained and interrogated. Bring the Iryō Butai to care for

Kazekage… and me. Secure him in our strongest containment unit with

guards stationed in and out of his room. Temari and Kankurō are to be

taken as hostages to a hospitable prison cell and guarded round the

clock-"

Chapter 364:

The feel a mild earthquake when Gamabunta lands in front of Shukaku

and Hiruzen orders, "Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Guy, back Naruto up.

Take anyone you need." Kurenai and Karin are the first to shunshin

away. Hiruzen and the remainder of his soldiers watch from a distance

as the large toad summon and Shukaku battle in the forests outside

their village, Sand against Water and Wind. Moments later, Shukaku

screams before he's reduced to disintegrating dust and Gamabunta

explodes out of existence, pushing out immense clouds of white

smoke.

NARUTO

An exhausted, aching, de-saged Naruto is helping an equally

exhausted and bleeding Gaara to his feet. The pair are hobbling back

to the village through the ruined forest, one silently contemplating his

loss and sense of self, the other is happy to have gotten through the

other's painful defenses. It hurt to breathe as much to walk, but Naruto

loved the feeling of triumph uplifting him. He still wasn't sure if anyone

from Konoha or Suna died, but he did his best, and now he was ready

for a well-deserved rest.

Sasuke suddenly lands in front of them and draws a sword he didn't

have before and immediately demands Naruto to, "tell me what you

know about my brother!" Frustrated and roughed up himself, Sasuke is

ten paces away and close enough to attack.

Exhausted with one arm healing from a break and the other supporting

Gaara, Naruto is in no condition to fight. Not that he wouldn't power up

with Kurama's chakra, but that would take more time than Sasuke

would allow and the avenger was fiercely motivated. Naruto doesn't

doubt he could easily clear the distance in less than a second.

"He has… eyes like mine," Gaara slowly notes.

"Naruto," Sasuke yells. "Start talking!"

With a long resigning sigh, Naruto explains, "what you know… about

your brother… isn't the whole truth. There's a lot you don't know."

"What? What stuff? How do you know? Who told you!"

"Calm down," Naruto returns. "I get this is the only thing that matters to

you… as much as I hate that… but I said I'd help… and that's exactly

what I'm going to do."

Snarling, Sasuke takes a few steps forward, pointing his sword at

Naruto's neck as he demands to know, "is this some sick game to you?

Making me wait? Making me beg?" Taking another few steps, he's

nearly on them as he yells, "do you even know anything?"

Naruto is already asking Kurama for some chakra as he tries to

reason, "Sasuke-"

"If the next words out of your mouth isn't proof you're not lying," Sasuke

begins to interject. "I'm going to beat it out of you and kill him for good

measure." Naruto can feel Gaara try to stand on his own to defend

himself.

"Always with the killing, I swear," Naruto groans. With some more

energy and frustration, Naruto nearly yells, "listen, I don't know what

kind of proof I can offer you but I know Itachi's a genius-level shinobi,

master of the Sharingan, and loves you and this village very much-"

"Lies," Sasuke yells. "You're fucking lying! He doesn't love me! He

doesn't love anyone but himself and I won't hear otherwise!" Naruto

and Gaara see it in his eyes, Sasuke is a paragon his emotions and is

primed to attack. Though they try to defend themselves with sand or

evasion, they know it won't be enough, but Sasuke's sword only cuts

halfway through Temari's fan as she leaps in to defend them. She tries

to kick him as well, but Sasuke slips the strike and aims his kunai at

Temari's abdomen. Before it can land bloody home, sand explodes

between them, sending the furious Uchiha several yards back.

Though heaving and sweating profusely, Gaara glares at Sasuke as he

proclaims, "attack my sister again… and I will kill you."

Temari is so shocked to hear her malevolent little brother call her his

sister, and not a 'Sack of Meat,' she loses concentration for a

moment… all the time Sasuke needs to attack again. With his one

good arm, Naruto uses his Fūton covered knuckle blade to cut through

Sasuke's sword as he stands in defense of Temari.

"You'd protect the enemy," Sasuke declares in disbelief.

"They're not enemies, you idiot," Naruto yells, sweating and panting

heavily. "Calm the fuck down and think for a minute. How do you want

to learn what I know? By pissing me off and attacking my friends? Or

taking a fucking breath and meeting me tomorrow to talk? Because I

swear to Kami, if you keep this shit up, I'm just going to help your

brother without you." Naruto is dead tired but glares at Sasuke

nevertheless as he demands to know, "so what's it going to be?"

It doesn't take Sasuke more than a moment to think about his options

and stands down. He promises Naruto, "if I ever find out you lied to me

about any of this-"

No longer caring about Sasuke's threat, Naruto collapses on his back,

wanting nothing more than to rest. "Yeah, yeah," he groans, looking up

at the blurry sky as he adds, "let's just wait… for a med-unit." Tilting his

head he notes Temari setting her brother down. "I'm glad… you're

okay… Temari-chan."

"I'm not okay Naruto," she returns, looking over her brother's wounds.

"I don't know anything right now."

"Temari," Gaara weakly groans. "I'm… sorry."

Temari has to clear her eye of moisture as she smiles to her baby

brother and assures him, "it's okay, Gaara. It's okay."

It wasn't long until Kurenai, Karin, Kakashi, and Sakura arrive with Ino

and secure the scene. As Sakura is healing Naruto, he was resting with

a smile on his face, promising himself to train harder and smarter for

the real enemies that feel moments away from appearing.

Chapter 365: Nine Wives

NARUTO

A groggy Naruto regains consciousness long enough to recognize the

disinfectant smells of a hospital and opens his clear blue eyes to the

blinding brightness of a white room in strong daylight. Looking out the

window to his left, he can tell it's morning and beautiful. Heavily

wrapped in white bandages and feeling chronic aches all over, he

naturally thought back to the invasion. Fighting Gaara and Shukaku

mostly in base level near to the point of severe chakra exhaustion was

not an engagement he wanted to repeat anytime soon. Simply recalling

the fight gave him phantom pains.

Naruto is checking his restricted mobility when he notices two flowers

in a vase on the bedside table—one red rose and the other a daffodil—

along with a Fūinjutsu scroll, a balloon in the shape of a frog, a cup of

noodles, and several get-well cards from his friends and family. Giddy

at the small shrine of well-wishes, he smiles happily at the thought of

being loved. He may have cried if not for a nurse suddenly walking in,

and to Naruto's great surprise, she looks pleased to see him awake.

The bandaged blond doesn't recognize her nor does he understand

why any hospital staff would be glad to see him, but she cheerfully

saunters over relaying, "Uzumaki-kun, it's good to see you're finally

awake."

As she checks the monitors whilst writing on her clipboard, Naruto

nervously asks, "how long have I been out?"

"Three days," she replies with amazement. "I have to alert your healer,

but before I go, I just want to say, thank you."

Looking at her suspiciously, Naruto cautiously asks, "for what?"

"You saved a lot of lives that day," the brunette nurse answers. "I just…

I feel a little safer knowing you're protecting us." Feeling as if she's said

too much, she blushes before leaving a stunned Naruto in his room

alone.

"Whaaa the fuck," Naruto slowly gasps.

The flabbergasted blond didn't have a lot of time to ponder such blatant

positive feedback before his healer enters with a different, older nurse.

Naruto spots many younger nurses huddled by the door before it

closes. The rudeness of the older doctor and the nurse is an attitude

he's much more accustomed with and he relaxes a little. Additionally,

the doctor didn't mind telling Naruto how appalled he was by the

Fūinjutsu tags he used to heal others. The older man instructed Naruto

to stop training for a month and he'll eventually return to normal. Naruto

knew it wouldn't take more than a could days to return to full strength

but he didn't argue.

Less than twenty minutes later, a giant toad the height of the hospital

lands outside of Naruto's windows, rattling the entire building and

grounds. Sliding the glass to the side, Naruto sticks his head out just in

time to be hit in the face with folded red, black, and orange clothes.

"Get dressed," the exuberant Jiraiya calls uproariously from atop his

armored blue and red toad. "We've been summoned!"

Rolling his humored eyes at his Godfather's outrageous antics, Naruto

quickly dresses in his orange and black clothes over the medical

bandages and takes a few extra minutes to enjoy modeling the cloak

Ma finished for him in front of the mirror. The collarless cloak looked

similar to his father's white Kage cloak only red with black flames and

the name UZUMAKI written down the back with his clan's emblem on

the left arm. Shining stars for eyes, Naruto squealed with joy.

Though Naruto didn't know it, walking from the third floor to the front

entrance of the hospital gave him a sample of what the rest of the

village is like. Three days after the invasion and there are still many

wounded soldiers and civilians in the hospital as patients or waiting

loved ones; many of whom take note of him as he passes. They point,

whisper, and openly stare at him, and Naruto finds receiving so much

attention without the vitriol in their eyes odd. It makes him keep his

head low and walk faster.

Meeting Jiraiya in the front, the white-haired elder escorts the heavily

bandaged boy down Main Street toward the Hokage's Tower. Many of

the shops are still in business as most of the buildings hadn't been

damaged. There is a lot of fire damage, however, and in the distance,

Naruto can see a section of the wall is rapidly being repaired under

heavy security. Additionally, the streets are bustling with civilians and

Chūnin patrols, all of whom stare at Naruto as he passes. A few even

wave at him, which again, makes Naruto feel very odd under the

attention. Fortunately, Jiraiya easily demands his entire attention by

explaining how they're on their way to see the Hokage.

Noticing his distracted Godson, Jiraiya asks, "nervous?"

Though he shakes his head, Naruto has no idea how Ji-chan will react.

On the one hand, he'll be happy just knowing he's alive and well. That

was the primary goal for the day, after all. But on the other hand, they

kept Ji-chan out of the wager he made with the Kazekage. Naruto

wanted to tell him, but neither Naru-nii nor Jiraiya could answer if Rasa

would accept the wager if he learned Hiruzen knew of the invasion as

well. It's possible Ji-chan and Rasa's deaths was the price for peace in

Naru-nii's time, but Naruto didn't want that to be the case in this time-

line. The round-a-bout thinking left him confused and without a

satisfying choice.

Turning to his Godfather, Naruto asks, "do you think he'll be mad? I

mean, he's alive, right? He can't be too mad once he knows; once I tell

him everything."

Humming loudly, Jiraiya takes a moment before asking a question of

his own. "Do you know why I went along with the plan?"

Quirking a blond brow, Naruto asks, "so Suna and Konoha understand

each other better. To prove to the Kazekage that we're really allies.

Taking him on and beating some sense into him."

"You're not wrong," Jiraiya comments. "But that's only one side of it.

There's more to it than that."

"Like what?"

"Come on now," Jiraiya grouses. "You're the head of your clan, you

know. You're going to have to start using that brain of yours if you're

going to be a leader of men."

"Yeah, but you're asking me if I know what you're thinking," Naruto

contests. "I'm not a Yamanaka. I can't read minds here."

Nodding, the old sage replies, "point," before explaining, "I agreed to

this plan because what happened in the other timeline is an event I

feared would happen one day. Just as well I agreed too, because if I

hadn't, I knew the fault would fall on you."

"But it does," Naruto replies, looking at the village he helped defend.

Recalling many of his clones' memories, he adds, "I remember

everyone I saved but I can't be sure if I missed one. If I did… they died

because of me."

Chapter 366:

Slapping a strong yet comforting palm on Naruto's injured shoulder,

Jiraiya sincerely explains, "the decision to die for your country is a

personal conviction you can't take from any shinobi. More importantly,

when you're at a bar and you see a fine lady you want to bring to your

room, you can't be afraid of rejection."

Crunching his face at a loss, Naruto asks, "what?"

"Shinobi die," Jiraiya flatly answers. "Every leader knows at some

point, men under their command will die. Some just don't make it

home; that's reality." Before his wager with Rasa, Naruto never thought

about death or risking the lives of other people. Being Hokage simply

meant defending the village from attacks and complaining about

paperwork. Now, however, Naruto often wonders what it really means

to be a good leader. Jiraiya underscores his thoughts by continuing,

"nevertheless, a leader must still carry out their mission; no matter the

loss. This plan—this mission—was technically not yours to undertake.

Handling big stuff like invasions is very much the prerogative of a

Kage."

Nodding dejectedly, a dispirited Naruto slowly agrees with, "Yeah… I

guess, I really messed up-"

"However," Jiraiya loudly interrupts, cleaning out his ear with a pinkie

finger. "Our Hokage is also the very reason I decided to do this your

way."

Quirking a blond brow, Naruto turns to him and asks, "wait, what?

Weren't you saying how I messed up?"

"Technically, you committed treason," Jiraiya clarifies, adding, "which is

more than just, 'messing up.'"

Flinching terribly high, a bug-eyed Naruto yells, "treason?"

"However," the elder shinobi strongly replies. "As much as I love

sensei, there are facets of his leadership that can't be overlooked. I've

come across scraps of intel over the years that led me to side with you

over him."

"Wait, what intel," Naruto asks. "And I still don't get why."

"Gah, use your brain," Jiraiya retorts, tapping Naruto on the tippy-top of

his blond head. "Think about what it means to be a good leader—in all

ways—and really look at what happened and why." As they approach

Hokage's Tower, Jiraiya reminds his blond ward, "remember, I already

planned for this so let me do all the talking."

INO

Following her pink-haired sister from the hospital through the barren

path of an abandoned district, all Ino wanted to do was look for Naruto

and it grated on her patience as they neared Sasuke's traditional

mansion. The day was gorgeous and she was anticipating the moment

he wakes up and sees her there watching over him. They would be

thrilled at the sight of one another and kiss passionately on his bed.

Realizing how short and precious life is, they would soon start dating

and figure out a way to convince Sakura to join their relationship,

scandalous as that is.

Since the invasion three days prior, Ino hasn't stopped thinking about

Naruto's declaration for polyamory. She's had fantasies about herself,

Naruto, and Sakura all sharing a bed, a house, and each other for the

rest of their lives, however long that may be, and often finds herself

longing for that dream. Walking around Sakura as they did simple D-

Rank missions together would always remind her of what could be. The

more she thought about the lifestyle, the more she realized that she

didn't support polyamory unless it involved them. Following her sister

now, however, worried her.

"Sakura," Ino calls in the empty Uchiha street. "Let's just find Naruto

first then tell Sasuke."

"If you want to look for him, go ahead," Sakura replies, leading them.

With the house is half-a-mile away, she reminds Ino, "I promised

Sasuke I'd tell him when Naruto woke up."

Arms crossed as she shakes her head, she asks, "does it have to be

now? It's not like he can't wait a few hours."

Sighing and growing impatient, Sakura questions, "if Sasuke wants to

talk to him, why can't we all just search together? I don't get what's so

wrong with that."

Growing annoyed by her sister's regard for Sasuke, Ino irately replies,

"and I don't get why you're so eager to tell him Naruto's awake. If he

actually cared about Naruto's well-being, he would've visited."

Sakura tries to respond, "he's my teammate-"

Ino interjects, "who impaled his arm through Naruto's freaking chest!"

"You're never going to let that-"

Ino's eyes widen the same moment Sakura stops talking, both girls

abhorrently realizing how that sentence was going to end. Though

upset and disappointed, Ino doesn't voice her frustration as Sakura

takes a few moments to collect herself. It's as if both girls recognize the

signs of obsession and if they're not cognizant of it, they might slip.

Sakura clears her throat before admitting, "I don't know why this is so

hard." The shamed pinkette looks over to Sasuke's large home Ino has

no doubt Sakura dreamed of living in one day. "Obviously, rules or no,

what Sasuke did was inexcusable. I won't forget it, and in my mind, I

know what it means. But feeling it…"

Cautiously, Ino slowly asks, "do you still love him?"

Sakura whips around, as if offended, repeating, "do I still love someone

who would kill me as easily as an enemy?" The tone told Ino that

Sakura was putting on a front. Her sister was never great with masks

and Ino always loved that about her and Naruto; they can't hide their

emotions easily. It's no surprise when Sakura deflates and sadly

admits, "I'm terrified that I still might- …because if I can't answer such a

simple question, doesn't that mean there's something wrong with me?"

She looked so vulnerable Ino can't help but hug her as she assures

her, "No. It just means it's tough. But you have me and Naruto."

Sakura hugs her back with grateful gratitude, enjoying the warmth and

support. After many moments, she's settled enough to say, "I still want

to tell Sasuke," however, before Ino can object, she asks, "but will you

stay with me, please?"

Smirking happily, Ino sneaks a peck on her lips before answering,

"always."

Hand in hand, the girls walk to the Uchiha compound and eventually

meet Sasuke. As expected he rushes away without so much as a thank

you, strengthening Ino's mission to show Sakura that this version of

Sasuke is no good for her. At the moment, Ino is simply happy to look

for Naruto as the girls visit Karin at the construction site first.

Chapter 367:

NARUTO

Jiraiya and Naruto stand at attention before their Hokage in his

maximum sealed office. Naruto is partly distracted by the glowing blue

seals lining most of the room as he finds them interesting to read on

top of Hiruzen's bandaged and heavily wrapped left arm. They're the

only three in the darkened office when their stern leader begins with a

simple question; no welcome back, no update on current affairs, no

inquiries on his health. Simply straight to the point.

Looking at Naruto, he asks, "how long have you known?"

Naruto hums, "Uuuh-" before his Godfather interjects, "Sensei, if you

would, I request you unseal Black Scroll, registration number: 318106.

I submitted the scroll less than a month ago precisely for this

eventuality."

Eying his former student, Hiruzen retains his hard expression for

several moments, however, Jiraiya never falters under the intense

gaze. The Hokage reaches under his desk with his one good arm, they

hear a gaseous pop, then his old hand lays on the desk a black scroll.

Turning to his Godfather, a curious Naruto asks, "Black Scroll?"

"For highly sensitive information that shouldn't be known until the

appropriate time," Jiraiya quickly explains. "I submitted one to Hokage-

sama because unlike you, I have actual credibility."

Turning to Hiruzen, Naruto wonders out loud, "you wouldn't have

believed me if I told you?"

Breaking decorum, Jiraiya boldly rebukes, "of course he wouldn't.

You're a sixteen-years-old genin fresh out of the academy, not the

superstar protagonist from one of my phenomenal novels. How's the

Hokage supposed to take your word about an invasion by one of our

strongest allies as credible intel?"

Eying his former student oddly, Hiruzen assures Naruto, "if you had

shown me whatever proof you collected, I would have believed you.

Even if their betrayal seemed unlikely, I would've placed my trust in you

and at least listened to any evidence you had."

"Exactly," Jiraiya adds. "As this concerns the safety of the village, our

Hokage would've sent shinobi to interrogate and infiltrate anyone or

location that may be involved." Having known him since he was a child,

Hiruzen recognizes when Jiraiya is blowing smoke but can't

understand the angle as he continues, "I'm sure sensei would've

kidnapped someone from Sand or Sound on your say… as long as you

had proof-"

"Enough," Hiruzen commands, eying Jiraiya's smiling face. The

Hokage breaks open the seal with his chakra before taking a few

moments to read over Jiraiya's words. Hiruzen's eyebrows rise

seconds before he demands to know, "is this true?"

Looking between the elders in confusion, Naruto asks his Godfather,

"is what true?"

"Every word of it," Jiraiya answers, ignoring Naruto.

Impatient in his curiosity to know what they're talking about, the blond

demands, "will someone please tell me what's going on?"

"I want to be clear here," Hiruzen tells them both. "What you both took

upon yourselves to do—risking the lives of our villagers and armed

forces—behind my back is tantamount to treason. I would be well

within my rights to arrest and imprison you." Naruto swallows what felt

like a rock down his dry throat and he feels stupid for having never

thought of that. Lowering his elderly tone, Hiruzen confesses, "what's

worse is how deeply disappointed I am in you both, who hold a special

place in my heart."

It's the first time Naruto's ever heard those words from his grandfather-

like role model. He didn't even think disappointing his oldest friend was

possible. Even when he stole the Scroll of Seals for Mizuki, Hiruzen

only gave him a stern talking-to about being gullible. While Naruto did

feel he could've revealed everything about Naru-nii to his Hokage

weeks ago, it truly didn't seem significant to him so long as Hiruzen

survived and Gaara became his friend. When Jiraiya agreed with the

plan for the invasion, Naruto assumed telling Hiruzen after the fact

wouldn't be a problem, making him further wonder why his Godfather

agreed to the plan if he knew it would be.

In the everlasting moment of grueling silence, a distressed Naruto is

ready to confess to everything when Hiruzen looks between the black

scroll and the blond genin, then sighs before continuing, "however, I

will not ignore the impossible situation you found yourselves in. I have

a contract with a summon as well, and Enma, the Monkey King, can be

uncompromising when confidentiality is required. Being unable to freely

speak when the Toads insist on privacy is understandable when it

involves prophecies. Knowing future events is dangerous information

the truly powerful would stop at nothing to gain for themselves and I

agree it would be better if others did not know of their ability."

Naruto turns to Jiraiya who only glances and smirks at him before

tilting his chin forward to keep listening. "In addition," Hiruzen

continues. "Prophecies being what they are, I can't be certain I

would've categorized the intelligence as actionable. I would've believed

that you believe it and I may have been wary, however, suddenly

mistrusting a long-time ally, an honorable person, and fellow Kage on

precarious and debatable intel would've been…" Hiruzen pause

seemed odd to Naruto, as if he's struggling in some way.

"Unreasonable," Jiraiya offers.

"Excessive, I think," Hiruzen slowly articulates. Turning to Jiraiya, he

comments, "I imagine it's why you were so motivated to oversee the

security of the village."

With a nod and non-committal shrug, Jiraiya adds, "in addition to the

Kazekage's security. After all, it's not like we wanted to destroy

relations between Suna and Konoha. The opposite, in fact."

With a sigh, Hiruzen nods as he orates, "this is a distasteful situation.

Two people I care about withheld vital intelligence from me, your chief

commander. Even if you felt I would not have believed this prophecy,

it's your duty to prove otherwise. On the other hand, you both not only

saved a multitude of Konoha lives, but Suna lives as well, which will aid

our peace talks moving forward. As I see it, you not only deserve

punishment, you also deserve reward."

"Did…" Naruto pauses a moment, scared of the answer, but ignores

the fear for his stubborn courage as he asks, "did anyone die?"

Turning to Naruto, he answers, "yes." Naruto visibly saddens and

Hiruzen adds nothing more as he looks to the pair of them before

asserting, "you will await my judgment while I reflect on how best to

address your actions. For now, I must meet with Rasa-san and his

council."

"How's your arm," Naruto asks in worry.

Shifting his gaze on his wrapped appendage, Hiruzen only answers, "I

worry less about it every day," before telling them, "you're dismissed."

Chapter 368:

On his way out of Hokage tower, Naruto's mind is reeling from his

memories of the battles, everything Ji-chan said, why Jiraiya supported

the plan, then blamed their knowledge on Old Toad Gamamaru's

prophecy ability. As Naruto and Jiraiya wave back to a few Chūnin,

Naruto asks, "do the toads know you hung the future stuff on them?"

"Of course," his Godfather snickers. "No one can know what you

know."

Setting that worry aside, Naruto asks what he's growing more dire to

know. "How many people do you think died because of me?"

"Not because of you," Jiraiya restates.

Stepping outside the Tower to the bustling street outside, Naruto insists

on knowing, "did they tell you how many-"

"I only know of Sound-nin deaths," Jiraiya interjects. "Listen well my

little leader, you did a fantastic job with those tags. If there are any

Konoha deaths, I'm sure it'll either be because of some unrelated

accident or medical error. Don't stress yourself ragged over it until you

learn more. Afterward, deal with it like the rest of us."

Hoping for a good answer, he asks, "how?"

Staring straight into his godson's clear blue eyes, he answers, "by

training harder than ever so the next time someone needs you, you

won't fail again." It was a hard truth Jiraiya has been talking about that

truly added worry to his life dream of being the best Hokage ever.

At the mention of training, Naruto knows exactly what technique he'll

be learning next. Ever since Naru-nii entered his life, he's been training

hard every day to protect all his special people. If one person died

because he couldn't protect them, he knows he'll have to carry the

heavy burden. It's a reality to his world view that offers a tireless grasp

of responsibility.

The pair walk down several streets eying the villagers shouting out to

the last of the remaining Chūnin Exam business left. To his surprise, he

spots Inari and Konohamaru chasing each other around the market.

Naruto waves to them as they rush over. The group then heads to the

construction site together. With Inari and Konohamaru well ahead of

them, a different curiosity runs to the forefront of his thoughts, Naruto

proceeds to ask, "can you tell me why you went along with the plan

when you knew it was treason, and why we didn't just tell Ji-chan the

whole truth?"

"Don't tell me you didn't like the toads getting credit," Jiraiya proposes.

"They already make prophecies, so it's not much of a stretch to say

they predicted the invasion."

"You know I don't care about credit," Naruto points out. "But you

agreed with the plan when you knew this would happen."

"How you didn't think it was treason only means you got a lot to learn,"

Jiraiya humorously chides, bumping Naruto's shoulder. "But that's

okay. We all start somewhere. And yeah, I knew this would happen and

agreed anyway."

"Yeah, but why? I don't get it."

Scratching his square jaw, Jiraiya tilts his head as he hums in

wondrous pondering. With the boys running off to meet Inari's mother,

Jiraiya finally voices, "mmnnn… maybe, I wouldn't mind telling you… if

you put in a good word for me with Tsunami-san."

"Wait, what-" Turning to the blushing cheeks and perverted glint of his

godfather, Naruto yells, "Oh! No way, you giant pervert! She's too nice

a lady for a loose guy like you!"

Erotic fantasy broken, Jiraiya yells back, "loose!? How dare you speak

to your Godfather that way!"

"Like I can help it when it's the truth!"

The pair continue their animated quarreling all the way to the

construction site. Though Naruto wanted to help out the crew, Karin,

Tsunami, and Tazuna refuse to let him work while he's still injured.

Aside from informing him Sakura and Ino came by, Karin assures him

construction is coming along nicely and he should go home and rest.

Naruto stays a little longer, catching up with everyone before going

home. Upon finding no one at Iruka's, the blond decides to walk to

Kurenai's and finds no one home there either. Deciding to wait, he lays

down on her comfortable couch and goes to sleep.

TEMARI

Neither Temari nor her brothers expected to be let out of their guarded

accommodations, however, they were given thirty minutes' notice to

wash and change, and are now on their way to meet their father. For

the past three days, Temari and her brothers have had nothing to do

but think and reflect on all the decisions that lead to being held hostage

in a village that was once their ally. In hindsight, the reasons why they

lost seem so obvious, and many from Suna feel a sense of regret.

Kankurō was very vocal about their mistake in trusting Sound and took

it personally. Gaara kept his thoughts to himself, however, he did nod

or comment occasionally, which was an enormous improvement from

his, generally, homicidal personality. He wasn't suddenly affectionate or

caring toward his siblings, however, they could feel his malice was

gone. It was as if Gaara had faith in hope once again, and slowly but

surely, he's recognizing them as family and not meat-sacks to be

murdered.

While Temari was happy to spend quality time with her youngest

brother, her critical mind has had upwards of eighty hours to think

about everything; from the conception of the invasion to the Chūnin

exams, to meeting Naruto, to being forced by her own family and Kage

to Honey-Trap him, to learning how sweet, brave, and virile he is, to

regretting everything, and throughout it all, she couldn't stop how angry

she felt. While Gaara may not have been in his right mind, her father

should've never agreed to pimp her out. Her village's invasion plan

failed, and on top of that pain, she felt so gravely betrayed, she couldn't

stop exercising to expend the pent up energy.

Upon exiting their comfortable prison, Temari, Kankurō, and Gaara are

escorted by a Jōnin team up many floors until they reach the surface.

They're clearly in the forest around Konoha, however, she can't tell

where. Walking through the path, there are seven large pens with

many of her countrymen inside, all surrounded by a great portion of

Konoha's Chūnin force. Many of their compatriots call for them as they

pass and seem genuinely happy to see the Kazekage's children are

safe. Temari is just happy so many of them survived, a reflection that

spurs memories of Naruto healing the very shinobi that invaded his

home, reigniting her shame and anger.

Chapter 369:

The three don't walk far and are upon a large red tent guarded by

Konoha shinobi shortly. It looks like a carnival tent big enough to fit two

hundred people inside, and upon closer inspection, Temari notes

Fūinjutsu characters etched into the dirt floor all around the tent. It

makes her curious about how well it prevents escape. Inside the tent is

cool and sectioned off with tall screens to create several rooms. They

are taken to one of the larger rooms, and after the guards close the

door behind them, the Sand siblings are greeted by Baki, their village's

council, and their Kazekage. The man with the stern face of her father

was seated in the middle of a round table with an I.V. drip is connected

to his arm, and despite his attempt to appear strong, he looks sickly.

'Poison,' Temari's sharp mind deduces. 'Strong poison.'

She hasn't seen him since they were captured. She only knew that he

was in the hospital but stable. He doesn't stand to greet them as the

councilors did and Temari wonders if he's even able to stand.

Regardless, he points to the three empty chairs in front of him, an

invitation for his children to sit before him. Though the old war dogs

take their seats, Temari does not. She simply glares at her father and

crosses her arms. Gaara and Kankurō stand on either side of her,

though Kankurō voices, "I'm sick of sitting down."

"Why've we been called," Temari begins. Her mind is perceptive

enough to know the three of them would serve no other purpose to the

negotiations besides being hostages. Additionally, it's only been three

days so she's certain they haven't concluded the terms to an accord.

Standing in this room with these men wouldn't make sense unless the

siblings were somehow involved in the settlement, though Temari isn't

sure how.

"He knew," Rasa gravely voices. In a secure location with half of the

Suna Council and his children, the weakened yet active Kazekage

singles out his daughter, eying her staunchly as he demands to know,

"did you tell him?"

Temari snickers in irritated disbelief, realizing this is about culpability as

she angrily retorts, "is that why you've summoned us? To assign fault?"

Rasa specifies, "whether intentional or not, did you tell him?"

Temari takes a strong step forward, angry he would doubt her word

even when all of this was his fault to begin with, and boldly proclaims,

"I didn't tell him!"

"We're only attempting to establish the origin of the leak," councilor

Jōseki evenly states. The clean-shaven old man likes pretending to be

civil, however, he's always treated Gaara as nothing more than a

weapon and Temari has always hated him for it. Analyzing her with cold

hard eyes, Jōseki questions with just enough accusation, "were you

even aware of Uzumaki's sage training?"

With a heavily bandaged arm in a secure sling, Baki steps forward to

voice, "our plan's exposure must've come from Jiraiya. He's an

infiltration specialist of the highest caliber. There isn't much intel he

can't figure out how to access."

Rasa simply asks his Jōnin, "and not report it to his Hokage?" Baki had

no reply as Rasa continues. "No. I fought Hiruzen. He truly did not

know and I can't imagine Jiraiya wouldn't tell him."

"The sages took this gamble together," Jōseki takes the liberty to voice,

finishing, "and the only explanation for Jiraiya keeping this information

from his Hokage—and former sensei—is if Uzumaki informed him; not

the other way around." Eying Temari and Gaara stoically but coldly, he

deduces, "that could only happen by sheer luck or he was told."

Getting more upset by the suspicion and passive accusation, Temari

yells back, "it wasn't me!"

She's done so much in service of her village and family; things she

knows her mother would never approve of if she were still alive.

Temari's heart is hammering in her chest as they sit comfortably in their

chairs of failure and question her loyalty when she's prostituted herself

and betrayed her heart and character for nothing. Temari couldn't help

pointing an accusatory finger at her father as she yells, "you're the

ones who ordered me to be around him; to seduce him-"

"And he seems to have swayed your heart instead," her father

interjects with his powerful voice, despite his sickly appearance.

"He didn't-" but Temari pulls up short when she tries to deny being

swayed. Her heated heart then yells, 'so what?' Even if she liked

Naruto, she didn't do anything wrong and he never pressured her in

any way. In fact, compared to these old hardened men in front of her,

it's impossible to not feel affection and respect for someone as good as

Naruto. With a commanding voice, she asserts, "regardless of my

opinion of him, otou-sama, I would never betray my village or family,

for anyone. I thought I proved that when you asked me to be a whore-"

"Your Kazekage gave you a directive for the success of the village,"

Jōseki commented. "And you failed."

"In case it's escaped your notice, Jōseki, I'd say we all failed," Temari

shoots back at the elder. She was thrilled when Gaara backed her up,

glaring at the man enough to clear his throat and look away. Even

without his gourd of sand, Gaara can still be intimidating.

Father and daughter stare at each other unflinching for several silent

moments until the Kazekage tells his advisers, "Temari is not the one,"

bewildering her. She couldn't tell if his assertion was an olive branch or

another tactic but she feels uneasy when he turns to the table of old

men and asks, "what's our strategy for the Omiai?" Blinking in surprise,

Temari had considered the marriage contract a non-issue, and is again

uneasy when he adds, "the document may have been for the invasion,

however, it's still an officially binding contract."

In consideration of his student, Baki asks, "shouldn't it be canceled,

Kazekage-sama?"

"If they demand we fulfill the terms of the contract, we're not in a

position to refuse," Jōseki communicates to the room, all of whom

murmur and hum. "They could see it as an act of ill-intent and demand

more in other areas we're unwilling to concede."