Sweet Sacrifice

Tsunade had not been having a good week, let alone a good day. The conference was just a bunch of posturing and an excuse to have a pissing contest if you asked her. In other words, it was a complete waste of her time and energy, especially when she just knew that damned paperwork was probably the size of small mountains instead of the large hills they had been when she left. To make matters worse, she had won big in the lottery, not once, but twice, on the four day long trip back to Konoha and she had caught that stupid, perverted teammate of hers spying on her in one of the hotsprings. And the medic-nin had been so sure she would have to see the pervert for another week or so when he would come to give her an updated report of the information from his network.



It was definitely not her week and she had the worst feeling that all the bad feelings she was experiencing were centered on Naruto. She loved the blond brat, but he gave her the worst headache with the way trouble seemed to follow him everywhere. It didn't help that sometimes she felt very guilty when she looked at Naruto. Really, Jiraiya and herself had practically abandoned him after his birth and the death of Minato and Kushina. Because Tsunade knew that if Kushina was alive that she would have stayed with Naruto, having faith in Minato's seal, therefore she had to have died that night as well. Tsunade had no idea how wrong she was.



Of course Kushina would have faith in Minato's seal and in his sealing ability. The two had been very good friends even if their marriage had been arranged by the Council. Minato might not have loved Kushina, but he had cared for her as a friend. After all, its not like he could love, not being what and who he was. No one knew that though, and she never understood why her handsome male friend didn't love or find her the least bit attractive like she thought he should. This was probably why she abandoned her newly-born son so easily and thought him a monster, a demon. A shallow-minded, prejudiced, and jealous bitch never would have been able to truly love someone like Minato or should have been able to give birth to someone like Naruto. So with that one act of abandonment she proved that she was not really capable of anything past superficial love and that she held no true love for the man she married or the child she had given birth to. Spite was truly a dangerous thing as many would come to know, because who really could have guessed the events that would unfold or the secrets that would be revealed.



So with no idea of the problems that she was about to face Tsunade walked through the gates of Konoha with a feeling of dread. The first thing she noted was that the villagers seemed happier than usual, almost as if they were celebrating something. Tsunade wasn't the only one in her entourage to notice either. Shikamaru, Neji, Shizune, Jiraiya, and Kakashi were among those who also noticed and all of them felt a wave of dread wash over them as if they were about to receive very bad news. It would be very, very bad news, for Konoha at least, because though they didn't know it, they would lose more than just Naruto.



It didn't take long for Tsunade or the others of her entourage who had noticed the villagers peculiar behavior to arrive at Tsunade's office. All of them were feeling a bit uneasy because they had yet to be greeted by Naruto who had a habit of seeing them when they returned from missions. That thought had alarm bells going off in some of their minds and a few were beginning to connect the dots with a rising sense of panic. All of Naruto's friends had been gone from the Village for at least the last week and Naruto was off he active duty roster until Tsunade deemed it time to put him back on. So Naruto should have been at the gates or waiting for them at the Tower doors, but he hadn't been and the villagers were in a celebratory mood which didn't bode well for anyone.



As Tsunade sat down in her chair a scroll caught her attention. She wasn't sure why it had whenit looked nothing out the ordinary. Regardless, she had the urge to open up the scroll so she followed her instincts and did so. As she read the scroll the other shinobi in the office watched as the blood drained from her face leaving her pale and shaken. Obviously the scroll held some bad news. When she turned sad but furious amber eyes to them they knew it was worse than they feared.



"The Council," Tsunade spit out, sarcastic venom dripping from her words, "in their all-knowing wisdom practically gave Naruto away to Suna a week ago. He belongs to Suna and specifically to their Kazekage, who now holds responsibility over him. A Kazekage who is renown for his bloodlust and his ruthlessness on the battlefield and off it. Naruto will be sold off to the highest bidder in Suna to be used as breeding stock, for marriage, as possible leverage, as a weapon, or even as a slave. The Council didn't specify how Naruto was to be used, only that he never return to Konoha to be a citizen or to live here permanently."



Their Hokage's words and what they meant frightened them all and made them angry. Their friend or student depending on the person, who they really hadn't spent any time with lately they all thought with guilt, had been given to the Kage of another village, who regardless of being the Kage of an ally village was not, under any circumstances, going to give Naruto back. The Council of Konoha had made sure there were no loopholes and any that might have been exploited had probably been taken care of by the Kazekage if Naruto had arrived in Suna one week ago. There was no hope of gaining their blond back.



Only three people in the room really understood the full magnitude of what Naruto being gone actually meant. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi had never told Naruto of his heritage for various personal reasons that were barely even justifiable to themselves. And now they might never be able to tell him because there was absolutely no chance the Kazekage would allow it. Naruto was now a citizen of Suna and their lack of foresight was the cause. It should have been very suspicious that all of the people who might have supported Naruto in the slightest or gotten a message to Tsunade or Jiraiya were out of the Villade at the same time as Tsunade had to leave Konoha on business. Hindsight always was an unpleasant view and this was no different. The Yondaime's legacy was lost to Konoha and soon so would many of their allies. After all, how smart is it to toss away the one wjo made all the alliances possible?



It took another week before the full scope of the damage caused by 'giving' Naruto away became apparent. The first sign was Nami closing off the Great Naruto Bridge to anyone from Hi no Kuni and the breaking off of the trade agreement. Then came the withdrawl of Tsuki no Kuni and Yuki no Kuni from their alliances with Konoha and by extension Hi no Kuni. Taxes were raised in Cha no Kuni and Ume no Kuni on all imported and exported goods to and from Hi no Kuni. To say the Fire Daimyo was displeased was an understatement, especially when he was given information from a source he wouldn't name as to why so many were withdrawing support from Hi no Kuni. To say the Fire Daimyo was appalled at what he learned of the treatment of the now Sabaku no Naruto was an understatement.



Of course that source of information he would not name was none other than the newly adopted Sabaku no Arashi who took great delight in helping his new brother Gaara get revenge for Naruto, Arashi's brother and Gaara's mate. It had been all to easy for the stealthy Jinchuuriki to sneak into Konoha and steal all the appropriate documents about Naruto that were sealed away by the Sandaime and had never been looked at by anyone else. If they had been then perhaps Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Tsunade might have been a bit more attentive when Naruto needed it and Ibiki, Iruka, Kurenai, and Anko would have more forcefully bullied the Sandaime into letting them watch over Naruto earlier.



The Daimyo had been none too happy about what he had read of the actions of the people of Konoha: of the injuries Naruto had suffered, the beatings, the mobs, the assassination attempts, or any of the general treatment they seemed to deem appropriate for the one they saw as a 'demon.' Never had the Daimyo been so ashamed and he said as much to Tsunade when he personally made the trip to Konoha and showed her the documents. What made it all the more worse was that they had done this to Minato's son. The people of Konoha had disrespected his friend Minato, Minato's wishes, and Minato's son. His friend was probably rolling in his grave over all of this injustice, made even more so for those who knew Minato's secret.



The Daimyo barely took any solace in the pure horror that shone brightly in Tsunade's eyes as she read the copies of the files he had been given. Even if that look in her eyes meant she hadn't known it was damning in a way because it meant she had never looked. And the Daimyo knew damned well that even if he had not known his friend Minato's son had survived Tsunade, Jiraiya, Sarutobi, and Kakashi certainly had. Sarutobi had obviously done his best, but he was a man getting on in years who had been thrust back in a demanding position that he had retired from only to be surrounded by enemies on all sides. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi had practically abandoned and ignored both Sarutobi and Naruto and left them to fend for themselves. And look where they had ended up, Sarutobi was dead from trying in vain to kill Orochimaru and Naruto was given to another country who was practically on the verge of withdrawing from their alliance and asking for a non-aggression pact. The only good thing about Naruto leaving is that he had found happiness in Suna with his husband and mate Gaara, who was the Godaime Kazekage, with Arashi, who was his brother, and with his new siblings Temari and Kankuro.



Something about Arashi though brought up memories that the Daimyo could not quite grasp. He could almost swear he had heard Minato say something about silver eyes and hair the color of moonlight. Perhaps he was mistaken, it had been a long time ago, before Minato had been forced to marry Kushina, before Minato had been forced to sacrifice his beloved son, before Minato had lost hope.



Naruto could scarcely have been happier. He had a wonderful mate who completed him, his beloved brother now lived in Suna, he had more siblings in the forms of Kankuro and Temari, and his brother Arashi and his mate Gaara got along with each other extremely well. Both the red-haired Jinchuuriki and white-haired Jinchuuriki were like best friends, as close as brothers even. Arashi had shared his memories with Gaara as he had done with Naruto and now they had the same familial connection that did not in any way infringe upon the mating bond between Naruto and Gaara.



Arashi had been gone for three days informing all of Naruto's friends and allies outside of Konoha just exactly what had happened. The seer had taken great pleasure in telling the new Godaime Mizukage, Zabuza, just what Konoha had done and had given the now immortal swordsman and his Jinchuuriki mate, Haku, copies of the stolen files on Naruto.



The original files were given to Gaara who gave them back to Arashi for safe keeping because the red head became far too angry when reading what his mate had been through even though he had seen it first hand through memories. It angered the red head to know how badly his mate and his white-haired brother had been treated and that no one had truly helped them besides their tenants. It brought back memories better off buried and forgotten.



Gaara sat quietly at his kitchen table in contemplation as he silently watched Arashi and Naruto make breakfast while bantering with Temari and Kankuro. All five of them lived in the rather large comound and that was unlikely to change. The compound itself was brighter and more lively somehow with the presence of Naruto and Arashi as well as safer. The blond and the seer had both set up all the seals in the compound and keyed all five of them into the master seal. It still amazed Gaara to know that he would never be alone, truly alone again. He could feel the warm presence of Naruto in his mind along with Arashi's and it made him warm inside to know his presence both in mind and in body made them happier as well.



However, at the moment Gaara was taking in Arashi's appearance. The white-haired seer dressed almost exactly the same as Naruto, though now Gaara knew the equipment each carried on them was quite different. Arashi had a rather large amount of implements that could be used to make predictions and knew how to use them all accurately and correctly. Naruto had told Gaara that Arashi was never wrong when it came to predictions he made. It had surprised Gaara the first time he had seen Arashi's tarot deck, or bones, or pendant but he was already used to them. Their physical appearances differed as well. While Naruto's hair was like starlight, Arashi's was like moonlight. Where Naruto was golden skinned, Arashi's skin was as moon-kissed as Gaara's own. Arashi was also about five feet and ten inches, making him taller than Naruto and shorter than Gaara.



But what really kept catching Gaara's attention was Arashi's markings. They were around his eyes and almost exactly like Gaara's except they were more exotically shaped, probably because of the difference of thier tenants. However, Arashi also had two solid black streaks, one on each cheek, running down his face. Those streaks and the white present in his hair are rather telling of his heritage if one cares to look. After all, having Jiraiya for a father was rather rare regardeless of how perverted the man was and seemed. Actually, the only one who could legitimately claim to be the Gama Sennin's offspring was Arashi. Too bad the Gama Sennin had no idea and the white-haired Jinchuuriki had never had the inclination to meet his infamous porn-writing father.



~~~~~



It had been over a month since the process of practically crippling Konoha had begun and Gaara was perplexed. Gaara wasn't a tactile by nature, his childhood had seen to that. But he had no problem touching, sharing physical contact, with his family. A family that consisted of Naruto, Arashi, Temari, and Kankuro. So he had thought nothing of placing a hand on Arashi's shoulder to get his attention but he hadn't expected the flash of surprise to go across Arashi's eyes. The red head would have brushed it off as a typical Jinchuuriki reaction, he reacted that way sometimes as well, however, his instincts said otherwise.



So, Gaara did the logical thing and went to talk to his mate about what he had observed, because Gaara really didn't like the thought of something hurting his silver-haired brother. When the Kazekage brought the subject up with his blond he noticed the warm but concerned smile he received.



"For Arashi to let you touch him means he truly, completely trusts you, which is really rather rare. Kuronue was asleep inside Arashi until he was about four when Arashi forcibly awoke him. Some of the people of the villagers in the warrior village Arashi was born in were trying..." Naruto stopped for a moment with a pained expression. "I have been through beatings, being spit upon, and a number of other unpleasant things, but the villagers never tried to rape me and almost succeed."



Gaara looked at his mate in shock. No wonder Arashi seemed to shut down and becoming stoic in front of people he didn't know. It would also explain why Arashi was so protective of their little family, why he demanded that they all train together, and why he made them train so hard. He didn't want any of them to suffer as he had at such a young age. Not that Gaara would begrudge his knowledgable brother anything. The training they were all receiving was having very positive, noticable results depsite how hellish it was. It also showed just how powerful Arashi was despite his age and how much they had been seemingly letting themselves slack off. Or perhaps, it was that they just had not had the right sensei to guide them.



The red head took his distraught mate into his arms and soothingly ran his fingers through silvery-blond hair. If anything, the vague story of why Arashi was so stoic around most people deepened Gaara's belief that many humans were more monsterous than Jinchuuriki were. They called Jinchuuriki monsters, freaks, abominations, demons, they had heard them all and more, but no Jinchuuriki would abuse a child, much less rape one. It was irrelevant that they had not succeeded in raping Arashi, most likely Kuronue interferred to stop it as none of the elder Guardians liked rape in any form, because it had still left scars on Arashi's soul. Gaara was taken out of his thoughts when Naruto began to speak again.



"Arashi saved me from that fate once when I was younger. He had left his village because he would no longer tolerate his treatment there. His mother, if you can call the filthy traitorous whore that, was sent out to seduce and be impregnated by Jiraiya. They wanted a strong sire to produce a strong vessel. And with Jiraiya's habits it wasn't that hard, after he had been drugged and drunk out of his mind. We would talk to each other over our link all the time because we were lonely. Talking made us less lonely. He must have heard or felt my panic over the link because one moment I was so scared and the next I was being held by someone abd the smell of blood surrounded us. I felt so warm inside; someone had protected me and was comforting me of their own free will. I knew without looking that Arashi was the one who had saved me. He gave me his true name that day, which told me I was one of his precious people."



"What happened to the one who tried?" Gaara asked with icy rage flowing through his veins. He knew that Arashi had taken care of it. Naruto, Arashi, and himself were all very practical by nature, meaning in other words that they were ruthless and did not give mercy to the unworthy. Anyone who deliberately tried to hurt Gaara's family was unworthy.



Naruto lightly huffed in amusement into his mate's chest. "Arashi ripped the man's dick off and let him die of blood loss after he drove the man's own kunai through his hands so that the man couldn't move, in case he had enough strength the go for help. We stayed there and watched him die. Kyuubi and Kuronue were satisfied with the way Arashi administered justice."



"And what did you mean by Arashi's true name?"



Naruto lifted his head up to look Gaara in the eyes. "Its one of those traditions from his birth village that he agrees with and uses. His true name is the personal name that he earned I suppose would be the best way to put it. Arashi is another name he was given. Only the most trusted, in other words family know the true name. I named him Arashi and Sansai as he named me Kamikaze. You would be surprised at how few people actually connect Arashi with the name Sansai even though it is a rather large hint. I suppose they must think it too obvious. But you don't have to worry about thinking Arashi doesn't trust you. I can already tell he is going to give the three of you his true name. You, Temari, and Kankuro are considered family. He just hasn't thought of a way to explain it to you."



Naruto was right. Arashi sat them down and explained the traditions surrounding family that he followed. After that he gave them his true name after telling them not to call him that unless it was just family present. That earned smiles, no matter how slight, from all of them. Karai. That name fit him just as well if not better than Arashi did. But he would not even think of using that name in reference to himself unless he had a mate. And Arashi doubted he would ever find his mate. While it was true that sometimes Jinchuuriki would have to wait decades before their chosen mate was born it was typical to find their mate around, before, or a little while after their majority at age eighteen.



Becoming a Sennin, or Sage, while something almost all, if not all, Jinchuuriki did, had another purpose. Sennin had very finely tuned self-control and were able to keep their urges during their heat under almost complete control. Arashi being practically driven by necessity to become the youngest to ever reach full Sennin status was not a heartening thing in regards to his finding a mate. In fact, such an occurrence as becoming a Sennin three years before his majority indicated that Arashi would most likely be waiting a very, very long time for his mate. Or that their would be quite a lot of difficulties surrounding his mate, of that Arashi had no doubt because his visions regarding his chosen mate were always vague and far between as if something separated them somehow. Arashi could See nothing when it came to his mate.



But thankfully he had Seen quite a bit in regards to his brother Naruto. He had been overjoyed to know that Naruto would find and be claimed by his red-haired mate, Gaara, before their majority. It made Arashi very happy and content to know he had family now, three brothers and one sister to look after. His position as the Guide among the Jinchuuriki had predisposed him to guiding others, to teaching, and being a Seer and Diviner, so to speak. Of course he thought it fitting and a bit ironic that Naruto, the Leader or Savior depending on who you spoke to, was mated to Gaara, the Protector, when Gaara was the Kazekage, the leader, of Sunagakure no Sato. But Fate just loved irony and Life was just full of little ironies.



Naruto wiped the sweat off his brow as he finished to morning training and walked towards the shower in his and Gaara's bathroom. The cool relief of the water was beckoning him onwards. It would be even more enticing if his gorgeous mate was their to share it with him. However, the compound was fairly empty except for Naruto. Gaara was in the Tower in another meeting with the Council of Suna who were bickering over the how well the public wedding ceremony of the Kazekage had went. Arashi in his capacity as a Sennin had been able to officiate the ceremony between Gaara and Naruto. Surprisingly, both the Wind and Fire Daimyo had been in attendance as had many of the nobles of Kaze no Kuni. Many of Naruto's friends and allies outside of Konoha had been in attendance as new allies of Suna and by extension the Wind Daimyo as well, with those allies who couldn't openly show their alliance like Zabuza, the Mizukage, hidden in the background.



Kankuro was away on a mission as an ambassador to Kirigakure no Sato to secure the alliance between both villages. Temari was in the capital of Kaze no Kuni playing politics in the Daimyo's Court. The Sabaku had become an even more feared Clan with the addition of Naruto and Arashi. The Suna Council Elders had practically gone into raptures when they had learned of who exactly Naruto and Arashi were and who they were known as. Two new and powerful Jinchuuriki, one a Sennin and the other a certified Seal Master was nothing to scoff at after all. Suna had indeed benefited from Konoha's folly. There allies had grown significantly in number as had their various connections in several areas and new merchants were now bringing goods for trade into Suna that had never done so before. Suna could also now boast of having three S-class shinobi that had flee on sight orders attached to their Bingo Book profiles and of having at least six very feared and renown S-class shinobi in their ranks. It was ironic that those six shinobi were all from the same Clan even if one was by adoption and the other by marriage. Sasori, Kankuro, Temari, Gaara, Naruto, and Arashi were now large sources of pride for Suna, not that they were letting Konoha know just yet. It was better to let the wounds deepen before rubbing in the salt as it were.



Arashi was off contacting and seeing the members of Akatsuki, or at least the was what Naruto had deduced from what his heart brother had said. The seer had been grumbling about having to put up with the 'bat-shit crazy priest and the mask-wearing moron who both loved hurting themselves too much to be anywhere near healthy.' Naruto wasn't sure he wanted to know what Arashi was getting at with that statement because the blond knew that his brother was as masochistic as himself. They would have to be doing something absolutely crazy like impaling themselves or denying themelves their chosen mate for Arashi to be calling them morons and crazy; Naruto had no idea how right he was. Because really, Arashi was pretty psychotic himself when the right buttons were pushed, Gaara was the same way, and Naruto had no delusions about himself being any different. They had suffered too much as children to come out normal and they had picked the wrong profession if they had ever had the desire to be normal at all.



So with no one home and time on his hands Naruto went to the library, which was now much, much larger due to Arashi and himself, to do some studying on some medical jutsu Arashi had just recently added. Naruto knew that his friend Haku, who was now happily mated to Zabuza, and Arashi had worked together to create them. Most of them could be used out in the field in an emergency and Naruto was thinking about talking to Gaara about them. Casualties in the field could and probably be cut down greatly id the medics were taught these as well as at least one person in each squad. After all, chakra control was one of the more stressed things taught to all Suna shinobi, probably because the people of the desert were a rather waste not want not kind of people and most of the shinobi arts in Suna practically required them. Efficiency and precision were the key so to speak, especially with wind being the 'war element' and one of the most dangerous.



Arashi almost wished he was home in Suna because he was having a hard time remembering why he was in Ame. Nagato, or Pein as he was insisting on being called, had better have damn good compensation for him having to put up with this even if the Rinnegan wielder had to make Kakuzu cry over the cost. That would serve Hidan right, because no way would he be getting laid if Kakuzu was upset even the slightest, which he undoubtedly would if Pein had to shell out the amount of compensation Arashi was thinking about.



Obito, or Tobi as he was now known, was not helping the headache that was building behind Arashi's eyes either. One of the only reasons the seer put up with Tobi's outrageous behavior is that he understood where it stemmed from. The outcast Uchiha had been a failed experiment in the eyes of his Clan, who had made him the Jinchuuriki of Gobi no Houkou at birth. Too bad they had forgotten that that particular Guardian was a Master of Illusions. Itachi was the successful experiment as the Jinchuuriki of Hachibi no Ryuu, ironic that he was the one to kill the Clan for their crimes. Tobi had been denying himself his chosen mate, Kakashi, for a long time and had no idea the damage he had done the masked, silver-haired shinobi. Arashi was quite sure if Tobi had any idea of how much damage and hurt he had caused Kakashi would have been kidnapped and spirited out of Konoha before his one visible eye could blink. He was equally sure that if Naruto had known the exact source of Kakashi's pain he would be pushing Tobi to go to Kakashi and then would help him kidnap the lonely Copy-nin. Hell, Arashi had half a mind to do so himself, but right now wasn't the time to meddle with things, even if such things would help cripple Konoha.



Informing Itachi of Sasuke's transgressions had been particularly satisfying, especially when Itachi's anger had caused the Mangekyou Sharingan to the surface. Tobi had also had the same reaction when he had heard of what his foolish, selfish nephew had done, especially when told just who's son Naruto was. Their reactions told Arashi all he needed to know in regards to Sasuke being punished. The stupid boy had run straight to a power-hungry, body-stealing pedophile for the promise of power and had practically forsaken his pride in doing so. Yes, Sasuke would pay, and pay dearly, for what he had done to Naruto. Gaara and Arashi would make sure everyon involved payed even if they had to involve others to do so. Sasuke was going to wish he had died when Itachi and Tobi were done with the sorry excuse for an Uchiha, especially when Itachi had the backing and help of his mate, Pein .



The best part of the trip in Arashi's opinion was getting to visit with Sasori, who was happy that his Clan had grown in numbers, and Sasori's mate, Deidara, who was a demolition-enthusiast. Sasori wasn't so happy to hear that Gaara, his nephew, was a Jinchuuriki and he hadn't known, because he could guess rather accurately how hellish Gaara's childhood had been. The three had a lively debate on art and what constitutes as art until it degenerated into a three-way spar using said 'art.' Pein hadn't been too happy with the absolutely destroyed area that had once been training ground fourteen as an irrate Konan had informed them. The origami user had had no compunctions about showing them how much they had invoked her ire. That had the horrific result of additionally destroying the two training grounds on either side of training ground fourteen in the process of defending themselves from Konan's attacks. This ended up bringing Pein's wrath down on all of them because of the horrid, ever-growing paperwork involved in their wanton destruction of three of Ame's training grounds. Well, that was before Itachi dragged his overly-stressed mate off for some well deserved stress relief. Almost nothing better than a really good, no-holds-barred fight.



Now all Arashi needed was a good spar with Kisame using Samehade as a blade instead of a club and then he would head off to create more mischief against Konoha and Oto before reporting back to his brothers, the Kazekage and Naruto.