The Revenge

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2 Revelations


Sasuke and the others stared in shock at the spot where Naruto had vanished. What was he doing!? WHY?!?

Suigetsu was the first to react. Discarding his zambato, he dove into the water after the crazy blond. A short while later, he resurfaced and dragged the unconscious idiot onto the rocks.

Sasuke, the first to reach him, snatched Naruto from him and gently lay him on his back. Checking for breathing and a pulse, he began to try to force the water out of the baka's lungs. A large amount of sea water spewed from the blond's lips and he began to cough. Sasuke sat back, relieved, and watched as Naruto sat up coughing out more of the briny stuff.

"Baka. What is wrong with you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto ignored the question and concentrated on breathing. Maybe trying to drown himself wasn't the best idea, but with the kyuubi always able to heal his wounds, it was the best way he could think of to kill himself. Naruto let out a ragged cough, refusing to look at the raven. Nothing would ever be right again. Drawing his knees to his chest, he buried his face. Maybe if he sat here long enough, Sasuke would leave him alone. If he couldn't bring Sasuke back, there was nothing left; without his best friend, Naruto had no purpose in life. Forget the other friends he had made; Sasuke was the only one important to him. Sasuke was his life. The emptiness engulfing his soul grew larger. He felt so alone. Heh, he'd always been alone; why was now so different? Naruto gathered his courage and stood up, ignoring the five people around him. Glancing longingly once more at the ocean, the blond ninja turned and made his way back towards the treeline.

Sasuke watched in concern and confusion as Naruto walked away without a word. He felt something in his chest tighten, and without pausing to think on it, jumped to his feet and raced after the blond. After all these years of being chased by the dobe, he wasn't about to let him go. No, if anyone walked away, it would be him. Catching up to Naruto, he grabbed his shoulder and spun the other boy to face him.

"The Naruto I knew never quit. That's what I always admired about you. Your determination." Using his other hand, Sasuke gripped the boy's chin and forced his head up in order to look into those blue eyes. What he saw almost made him take a step back, but he held his ground. Those beautiful orbs were lifeless, as though Naruto were already dead. 'This is wrong; Naruto is the liveliest person I know. I couldn't have killed his spirit, by refusing to return, could I? Am I the one responsible...?' Sasuke thought. His mind blanked temporarily. With no thought other than returning the life to those eyes, he pulled the unresisting blond into an embrace. "Dobe, what am I going to do with you?" he murmurred into wet blond hair, rocking slightly.


The other former members of Hebi stared at the scene before them. Never would they have believed that something could break through their leader's icy exterior. First, the tears as he announced their change in purpose; now hugging another guy? What was going on? Who was this person?

Madara had watched the scene unfold, from the moment the jinchuuriki had first made his presence known until now. Maybe collecting the nine-tail wasn't the best answer right now. If he was close to Sasuke, and joined the Uchiha in his battle against Konoha, they would be unstopable. The village would fall! He smirked behind his mask. It seems things just got simpler.


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Kakashi called a halt at mid-morning, due to the heavy rain. All scent had been washed away hours ago, and now they could hardly see more than ten feet in front of them. What if Naruto had holed up to wait out the storm, and they passed him? If the blond made it back to Konoha without them, then Tsunade would have to send a team to retrieve THEM! If Naruto had continued in the same direction, however, sooner or later they would cross his path, once the rain let up.

The seven ninja set up camp under the boughs of a huge evergreen, where the ground was still relatively dry. Preparing a small fire, Sakura and Hinata agreed to make a warm meal of sorts. It was better they do it than let one of their male teammates, whose cooking skills were atrocious. (A/N: Not knocking guys' ability to cook: most of the males in my family are fantastic at it.) After eating, they set the watches and everyone settled down to rest.

By evening, the rains had stopped, and Kakashi insisted they continue their journey. He summoned his nin-dogs, and they, along with Kiba and Akamaru, took the lead, trying to pick up Naruto's scent again. Soon after dawn the next morning, they had it and the chase was on. According to the dogs, the young blond was by himself and only a few hours ahead of them. Kakashi released his summons since they were now on Naruto's trail.

Hinata activated her byakuugan to see if she could locate him, but he was too distant.

Sakura and Kiba had similar thoughts: 'When I get my hands on that blond baka, I'm going to kill him for making us worry!'

The rest of the nins hid their thoughts behind emotionless masks.

As the sun was sinking into the trees to the west, the group exited the forest and gazed at the sight in front of them. Rocky coastline and crashing waves met their eyes. For miles in either direction, not a soul could be seen. Had they somehow lost the trail? Where was Naruto?

Akamaru barked at Kiba, who at first seemed shocked, then angry. "Hey! Naruto was here, but he wasn't alone! Akamaru says the Uchiha and that masked dude, as well as three others were here with him. Are we going after them!?" Kiba was itching for the chance to punch the Uchiha for all the pain he'd caused, and he wouldn't mind another shot at the masked nin, either.

"...!" from the rest of the team.

'Sasuke, what do you have to do with the Akatsuki?' Kakashi mused. This was not good. They had to find Naruto and fast before the kyuubi could be extracted. The Hokage would kill them all, literally, if anything happened to the young blond. He wondered, not for the first time, why Tsunade and Jiraiya held Naruto in such high regard. The younger blond insulted them and argued with them at every turn. They, in turn, treated the boy almost as if he were a bratty younger sibling. In Tsunade's case, Kakashi could see she saw him as a surrogate for the little brother she had lost so long ago. Jiraiya was a mystery, however. He acted as though Naruto was a troublesome pain that he had to endure. If he didn't know better, he'd say Jiraiya saw Naruto as a replacement for his former student, the Yondaime. As if struck by a lightning bolt, Kakashi understood. The Yondaime would never choose some random infant in which to seal the kyuubi; he used his own son! The silver haired jounin remembered that his sensei's wife was pregnant at the time of the demon's attack. But the Third said that both mother and child had died in the attack...Why!? How could he do that to Naruto!? Sarutobi had seemed to genuinely care for the boy. Why didn't he let someone adopt Naruto, or tell everyone who the child was? Why let him grow up in torment and hatred? How could HE have been so blind? So stupid to not have seen the similarities? Look past the whisker marks, and Naruto was an exact image of the Yondaime! Guilt swept through Kakashi as he remembered his own treatment of the blond; he had ignored him and his training because of what he held inside. Once they found Naruto, Kakashi vowed to spend the rest of his days trying to make up for his behavior.

Dizziness swept over him and he abruptly sat on the hard ground as another thought struck him. Did Sasuke know about Naruto's parents? That was another reason to get to the blond quickly. If the Uchiha were to tell Naruto, who knew how he'd react? Kakashi called the others to gather around. "Kiba, how long ago did they leave this place?" Hearing they were only an hour behind, he said, "Okay, everyone! Let's go! Kiba, you and Akamaru take point. We need to reach them as soon as possible!"

They ran back to the trees, hot on the trail of their missing teammate. Nothing was going to stop them now.


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Sasuke had ended up carrying Naruto on his back, as the blond had collapsed due to exposure and exhaustion, both mental and physical. Sasuke noted that the other boy wasn't as heavy as he looked, and the six made excellent time. They were heading back to the cave where Madara had told Sasuke the truth. There, they would perfect their plans for the downfall of the Leaf Village.

Upon arrival, Sasuke laid Naruto on the pallet he had woken up on. He brushed a stray strand of hair away from the whiskered face, gazing at the face of his best friend. He had only seen the blond this vulnerable once: after their fight at the Valley of the End. Why was he all alone? How did he get in this condition? Was he a missing nin? No, his hitai-ate was unmarred. So where were the rest of his team? Madara had said others were with Naruto when they had last met. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice Karin walk up behind him until she put her hand on his shoulder.

Sasuke spun around, slashing out with a kunai. Karin jumped back with a scowl on her face. "Damn, Sasuke-kun! What's your problem? I was only going to ask if you were ok!" she screeched. 'Shit! He's more high-strung now than he was before he killed his brother. What's up with that!?' Muttering to herself, she went to sit near Juugo and Suigetsu, who were both staring at the raven with contemplative looks on their faces. Madara was busy getting a meal together and ignoring the five young people.

Sasuke returned to his silent observation of the blond. He had so many questions; the kyuubi should be healing Naruto, not letting him get into such a state. Was there something wrong with the demon also? How could that be? He was a being made entirely of chakra; chakra couldn't fall ill, could it? Sasuke wanted Naruto to wake up and talk to him. He settled himself beside the blond, watching him and waiting for Naruto to awaken. It would be a long night.

The other people in the room ate the food Madara fixed, silently gazing at the two on the pallet. All were wondering about the connection between the two, each for their own reasons. Madara was thinking how to use the kyuubi-vessel in his plans. Karin wondered why Sasuke, who never showed anyone any affection, changed that for this boy. Juugo was thinking that maybe this person was strong like Sasuke, another person who could control his curse; he hoped that was the case. Suigetsu smirked; to him, it seemed that Karin and every other female was out of the running where dating Sasuke was concerned. None bothered to voice their thoughts, nor bothered the raven with petty questions. He would explain himself when, and if, he felt like it.

After eating, they made themselves comfortable for the night. Who knew what the morning would bring?


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Akamaru lost the scent at a rocky outcropping. There was no discernable opening into the rock. Hinata's byakuugan was unable to penetrate to see if there was a cave behind it. Kakashi and Yamato discussed matters and decided to wait till sunrise to search the area more thoroughly. They set up camp a short way from the rock, and Yamato took the first watch.

In the middle of the night, during Sakura's watch, they were attacked by a small band of rogue ninja. These men were all high-chuunin to low-jounin in strength, and were easily dispatched. Sakura took out two all by herself; her anxiety over her missing teammate fueled her anger, and she sent them flying through several trees with chakra-infused punches. Yamato had to restrain her using his wood element technique until she calmed down, once the enemy had been taken care of. Kakashi took the remainder of her watch and his own, which was the final one before dawn.

After a quick meal the next morning, Shino sent his kikaichuu to search for a way into the rock from the previous night. By mid-morning, all had returned. There was definitely a cave behind it; now, all they had to do was get past that rock. Sakura gathered chakra into her fist and prepared to smash it, as she had during the Gaara-retrieval mission. Everyone moved away, but prepared themselves for quick entry once the way was opened.

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Naruto awoke slowly. He felt warm and comfortable. Blinking sleepily, he looked to his left where the warmth seemed to be concentrated. A pale face framed by ebony locks appeared in his view. A tear silently slid down his cheek. 'Sasuke.' Was he still asleep and dreaming? Slowly he reached out and touched a warm cheek. It really was the Uchiha! More tears fell as his lips curved up in a genuine smile.

Sasuke jerked awake at the touch. Listless blue eyes were staring at him from less than a foot away. 'Naruto,' his mind supplied. "Are you feeling better now, Dobe?" he asked quietly.

A frown swiftly made a home on Naruto's face. "Who are you calling a dobe, bastard?" he demanded.

Sasuke smiled, an honest-to-God real smile. That was the Naruto he knew and loved. 'Love?!........' "Hn." The smile remained; he was happy to have his friend back to normal. "Keep your voice down; there's other people sleeping here." A serious look crossed his face. "We need to talk. Let's go to the back of the cave so we can have some privacy."

They quietly rose and stepped past the other bodies. Once they were far enough away, they sat and Sasuke began to tell Naruto everything he had found out, about Itachi and Konoha, and the Uchiha clan's plans for rebellion. Naruto didn't interrupt once. It was too awful! Why didn't anyone else know this!? How could they keep something like this from Sasuke!? When Sasuke finished his tale, he began to question Naruto. By the end of their discussion, the others were awake but kept their distance from the two. Sasuke ended by asking Naruto to join with them in taking down Konoha.

Naruto was quiet for a long time. He loved the village, though not all the villagers. He was born there; his friends were there. What would happen to Iruka, and Tsunade-baachan? They loved the village, too. He wanted to talk with them before he committed to Sasuke's plan. From what Sasuke had told him, it sounded like it was all the council's fault. It was also the council who hated him, and were trying to put restrictions on his movements. Many of the villagers also deserved some payback for all the grief they had given him.

Sasuke saw a mischievous glint enter those not-so-long-ago empty eyes. He remembered that look from their academy days; he almost felt sorry for whoever that look was for. He waited patiently for Naruto's answer, and just as the blond opened his mouth to reply, there was a tremendous crash. Light and dust filled the room. Staring towards the source, his mouth opened and he said, "Sakura."


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Everyone was sitting outside the cave, warily staring at each other. A small-scale war had been narrowly averted thanks to Naruto. Naruto, sitting at Sasuke's side, was explaining everything to the Konoha ninja. He glanced at Sasuke occasionally for confirmation of the facts, making sure he got it right. He ended by saying, gazing in Sasuke's eyes all the while, "I have to see Tsunade-baachan about this. As far as I can tell, from what you told me, Itachi loved the village and didn't want anything to happen to it. It also seems that the truly guilty people who should be punished are all those old farts on the council, Danzou and the elders. Madara, who exactly gave the orders to kill the Uchihas?" Naruto turned to address the eldest among them.

The strange man in the orange mask looked at each of those gathered. "The ones who gave the orders were Danzou, Koharu and Homura of the council. Sarutobi had tried to find another solution to the Uchihas' discontent, but in the end he sided with the council. They took an innocent boy and made him their scapegoat. Itachi ripped out his heart following those orders, but he knew it had to be done to avert a civil war. I agree with the kyuubi. The council is who we need to bring down. Who's with us?"

Saying the Konoha nins were stunned would be the understatement of the century. Who could have imagined the extent of the corruption in their seemingly peaceful village? The eight from the Leaf moved into the trees to talk things over. Some were more vocal than others, but in the end, they agreed with Naruto and Madara. Now, they had to come up with a plan to bring Sasuke's group into Konoha without anyone getting hurt, or locked up with Ibiki for interrogation. When they thought they had reached a workable strategy, they presented it to the others. Smiles spread all around.