The Revenge

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Chap.8 Welcome and Unwelcome Words xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Danzou was stunned speechless; his mind was blank and mouth agape. After five full minutes of looking like a total moron, he snapped back to himself. 'NO!!! It can't be true! The bitch is lying to try to keep the kyuubi from being hurt, or worse!' Glancing around to ensure he was unobserved, he hurried away from the gates in search of the Third's teammates.


(flashback-third person POV)

The mass of villagers at the gates were being forcably restrained by a large group of the village's shinobi population, using both physical strength and a multitude of jutsu to control the lot. The appearance of the Hokage only seemed to increase the crowd's anger.

"Don't listen to her; she's under the demon's spell!" shouted a random villager.

"Death to the kyuubi!"

"You cannot protect that monster any longer, Hokage-sama!"

"The demon is going to pay for this latest insult!"

More statements of the same ilk followed. Tsunade had just about had enough. The final straw was "The Yondaime's murderer has been free long enough; now he'll pay for his crimes!" Powering her fist with chakra, she punched the ground, creating a massive crater in front of the gates, effectively seperating the villagers from the gates, and herself. Her voice roared over the mob like thunder, silencing all.

Tsunade stood straight and smirked. "Now, if I have everyone's attention, I'll tell you why I'm here. First, everyone is to calm down; Naruto's wearing of the Yondaime's coat is a compliment, not an insult. Uzumaki Naruto has every right to wear the Yondaime's coat; he is the Yondaime's heir, his only son. Sixteen years ago, on October 10th, three things occurred. One, the kyuubi no kitsune attacked our village. Two, the demon was sealed inside a newborn baby. Three, Namikaze Naruto was born. He is who Yondaime chose to seal the demon fox into; his own son rather than one of yours. The fox took many of your loved ones that night, but it also took away both of that boy's parents. Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime of this village, wanted his son to be seen as a hero, but you have denied him that right! Naruto was given his mother's maiden name to protect him from his father's enemies, but it didn't protect him from YOU! He has always shown this village his loyalty, and loves it despite how you have treated him. Naruto is no more the demon fox than a bottle is the sake. Naruto has proven himself to be one of the strongest, most loyal shinobi in the history of Konohagakure. As such, I now wish to proclaim that he is my chosen successor. Namikaze Naruto WILL be Konoha's Rokudaime!"

Naruto and his friends had entered the gates just as Tsunade made her final statement. He froze in his tracks. Kakashi and Yamato stopped one pace behind the blond, gaping at the scene in front of them. Neither knew what to make of it. Sasuke, disguised as Sakura, wanted to squeal like a fangirl, but kept himself outwardly composed. Inside, he was doing an excellent fangirl impersonation, eyes shooting hearts at the young blond shinobi. Finally, his dobe would get the recognition he deserved.

Ichiraku Teuchi had closed his stand and followed the mob at a distance to see what they had planned. Now standing off to the side where he had a good view of the gates, yet was seperated slightly from the rest of the crowd, he could clearly see his favorite customer enter. At the Hokage's announcement, he began to clap. He for one had often envisioned the boy in his father's stead, standing tall, protecting the village from harm. Now it seemed it would be a true vision, and he was happy for the boy.

Before long, the ninja surrounding the villagers joined the ramen owner in showing their appreciation of the Hokage's choice. One by one, numerous villagers started to clap; those who weren't excited by the news wandered back to their homes and shops, dejection and guilt written on their faces.

"Baa-chan?"

Tsunade turned around to see her favorite ninja standing just inside the gates, tears leaking from his eyes. She held her arms open, and he ran to her, clinging for all he was worth. The Hokage tightened her arms around the boy, letting him vent his emotions. Before long, hiccups and sniffles replaced the sobs, and she pulled back a bit so she could look Naruto in the eyes. "Congratulations, gaki. You will be my successor; your goal has almost been realized. We'll have to start training you to take over, so I can enjoy my retirement while I'm still young enough to do so." She smirked at him, giving him a wink, and turned to present him to the villagers.

(end flashback)


Koharu and Homura were sitting in the council chamber, discussing the lax attitude and disrespect of today's younger generation, when the door opened. Danzou slowly walked into the chamber, scowling as he took in the two already there. Without preamble, he got right to the point. "Tsunade has openly declared Uzumaki as her successor, but that's not the worst of it. Apparently, our 'beloved' Yondaime had a secret life. He was married, and the woman bore him a son the night of the fox's attack; Uzumaki is the Yondaime's son." He sneered at them, noticing the shocked faces of the two. "We'll have to make our move much sooner than expected. This will leave Uzumaki vulnerable to manipulation. He'll have to depend on us to learn how to be Hokage."

Sly smiles broke out on all three faces as they set to work.


xxxxxxxxxx


Sasuke, as Sakura, had gone to visit Ino. Over the years, she had been responsible for organizing several parties, and now he wanted her to set one up for Naruto. Obviously, Sasuke couldn't talk to the Konoha Twelve himself, and no one would think twice if it was Ino asking.

Ino was surprised to see her friend enter the flower shop; Sakura was supposed to be working nights. "Hey, Forehead! Why aren't you sleeping? Don't you have to work tonight? Or did you just miss my beautiful face and stunning personality?" She struck a pose and winked at the pinkette.

"Hn. As if. It's me, Ino. Sasuke. Have you heard? Tsunade chose Naruto to be the next Hokage. I want to throw him a party, and I want you to get everything ready, and let everyone know. How soon do you think you can do it?" Sasuke was hoping she could pull it off by the weekend; that gave her four days. "I don't want the Dobe to find out, though, so don't tell that big-mouth Inuzuka until the last minute, alright? Just make sure all Naruto's friends can make it. I'll tell Kakashi and he can let Tsunade and Iruka know. Got to go; let me know when the arrangements are made." Without so much as a farewell, he quickly exited the shop, disappearing into the crowded street.

Ino stared at the door for a moment, stunned. Sasuke was asking her to do him a favor!? "KYAAAAAHHHH!!! Take that, forehead!" She quickly pulled out pen and paper, and began to make lists.


xxxxxxxxxx


(three days later)


Kakashi and Naruto were wandering through the village, talking about the Yondaime and his jutsu. Once Naruto had come to terms with being the man's son, he had wanted to know everything there was to know. They were interrupted by a group of girls who fought to be the first to ask him on a date. While the girls were distracted with their arguing, Kakashi grabbed the blond and poofed to the Hokage Tower. "I think you'll be safe here; rarely do civilians come here unless it's to request a mission," Kakashi said, eye curving into an upside-down 'u'. He stuck his hands in his pockets, and went off to find Iruka in the mission room.

Naruto looked around, wondering what he should do now. He didn't want to hang out at the Uchiha compound, and he wanted to stay far away from his new fangirls. Naruto still had a hard time believing that his dream was coming true. What made it more surreal was the change in the majority of the villagers. They seemed to go out of their way to be nice to him. Suddenly, he was welcome in all the shops and restaurants in town, and the owners waited on him personally. Vendors on the street offered him samples of what they were selling. People who had never acknowledged his existance before now came up to him, talking as if they had been best friends for years. It was a little unnerving. He almost wished they were still ignoring him, since he couldn't have a conversation with his friends without someone he didn't know butting in. Maybe he should ask Baa-chan for a mission, to get him away from here for a bit. Smiling at his stroke of brilliance, he headed to the Hokage's office.


xxxxxxxxxx


"....have to see reason. There's no way he can be Hokage. It's too dangerous! Not only that; the vessel is only a genin."

Naruto heard the sneer in the woman's voice as she spoke. So. Someone didn't think he was qualified to be the village leader? He had his hand on the doorknob, about to burst in like always, when he heard the speaker. He stepped back, thinking. If Tsunade was in a meeting with the village Elders, it might be better to wait to talk to her. He turned, and was half way to the stairs when he heard the office door bang open. The young blond ducked into an empty room and waited for the visitors to pass. Yup, it was those old farts, with their scowling, wrinkled old faces. He stayed in the room until he could no longer sense them, then ran to see Tsunade.

"Oi, Baa-chan! Ya busy?" Naruto glanced at the stacks of paper pushed against the wall, awaiting the Godaime's signature. He smirked as he stopped in front of her desk.

Tsunade glared at him. "What do you want, gaki? Make it quick; I have work to do." She watched as the boy seemed to deflate.

Hunching his shoulders, and looking anywhere but at her, Naruto sighed. "I'm bored. Do you have any missions that need doing? Maybe a low C-rank? Something to get me away from here for a few days?" He sighed again. "I'm tired of getting chased by stupid girls; I don't know how Sasuke managed, all those years ago. It's not just them either. All the villagers seem to have gone crazy or something; they won't leave me alone," he whined.

Tsunade hadn't changed position or expression. Still angry with the council, the reason for their visit then barged into her office. She didn't want to take her anger out on the young man, but at the moment he was behaving like a small child. "Maybe I made a mistake; maybe you're not mature enough for the position of Hokage."

Naruto's jaw dropped. He stared at the older blonde, unable to believe his ears. She would take it back!? Choose someone else as her successor!? If she wanted mature, he'd give her mature. Snapping to attention, he said, "Permission to speak, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade hid her surprise at the formal tone, and nodded.

Staring straight ahead, Naruto continued. "I respectfully request a mission that will take me out of the village for at least a week. It will give the villagers time to settle down, and myself time, also. May I please have such a mission?"

Having already been informed of Naruto's surprise party, the Godaime made a great show at looking through mission scrolls for something suitable. At last, she sat back with a sorrowful face. Keeping in the same tone as Naruto, she said, "I'm sorry, Namikaze-san. All I have are S-ranked ANBU missions, and several D-ranks. Since you're not ANBU, those are out. None of the D-ranked ones will take any longer than a day at max. I'm afraid for the time being, you are out of luck. Check back in a couple of days; maybe something will come up. Dismissed." Tsunade grabbed a stack of papers off the floor and began to peruse the one on top.

Naruto was hurt; she hadn't even mentioned his change in attitude. It was like she didn't care. It had taken alot for him to swallow his pride and hide behind another mask, and she didn't even notice! He left the office door open, too dejected to bother closing it. Once outside the building, Naruto headed to the only place for solitude. Upon landing on the top of the Fourth's head, he let the tears flow.

Back in her office, Tsunade stared thoughtfully after the teen. Maybe she had been too hard on him, but he needed to know that as a shinobi, he couldn't act like a child. Besides, there was no way she was going to send him away on a mission, and make him miss his own party. That would be evil. Then again.... No! Ino for one would kill her! Not to mention the Uchiha! She let out a tired sigh, and read another report. If only she hadn't given up drinking while on the job! Heheh, there's still the party....!


xxxxxxxxxx


Madara had returned to Konoha, only to discover Tsunade had named her successor: Naruto. The Uchiha had also heard that undermining the Elders were proceeding according to plan. He decided that he couldn't take the chance on going up against the jinchuuriki as Hokage, and would make his move just prior to the official ceremony. The Elders would be easy to get rid of, and the Hokage would be too upset over the boy's death to fight effectively. In the midst of the chaos, he would level this place! Chuckling darkly, the oldest living Uchiha went to his room and locked the door. He must contact Kisame and get the ball rolling, but that could wait until tomorrow. Turning off the light, he crawled into bed, instantly falling asleep.


xxxxxxxxxxx


After Naruto had taken off with Kakashi, Sasuke henged into Sakura once more and went to see Ino. They had spend a good portion of the afternoon going over party matters; the food would be catered by Ichiraku (who else?), the Hokage had agreed to suspend missions for Naruto's friends until afterwards, and everyone had been notified of the time and place. Sakura would be given the night off to attend. They decided that Tsunade's office was large enough to hold everybody, and she had been tearing through stacks of files, trying to clear the room. Eight o'clock seemed like the best time to start the party; all were to be there no later than 7:30pm. Tsunade would then send for Team Kakashi, saying an important mission had just come up. Naruto was sure to take the bait. After making sure the plans for the party were complete, Sasuke went home to prepare dinner.

Sasuke had waited until an hour past dinner time to go in search of his blond. The boy had left that afternoon with their former sensei, Kakashi, and had yet to come home. Maybe he's at Ichiraku's, or even Iruka's. When getting a good meal, Naruto had a tendency to lose track of time. Throwing a hooded cloak over his shoulders, Sasuke set out to find his dobe.

His first stop was the ramen bar; the owner said he hadn't seen the blond all day. Next, he tried Iruka's. Iruka invited the young man inside where, lounging on the couch reading an Icha Icha novel, was the infamous (to Team 7) perverted Copy-nin, Hatake Kakashi. Sasuke wasted no time on idle chit-chat. "Kakashi, where's Naruto?"

The jounin raised an eyebrow as he turned towards the raven. "Hmm?"

Letting out an exasperated snort, Sasuke clarified. "Naruto didn't come home for dinner. Ichiraku-san says he hasn't been there all day. The dobe left the house with you, so where is he?"

Kakashi sat up, tucking his book into his pocket. "I helped him escape some fangirls by taking him to the Hokage Tower. Have you checked there?"

He got his answer by the abrupt departure of the Uchiha.

The young raven knew better than to enter by normal means. Leaping to the rooftops, he raced to the tower and entered through the window of the Godaime's office. He wasn't too surprised when Tsunade continued with her work, only saying a gruff, "What do you want, Uchiha? Can't you see I'm working?"

Sasuke smirked from his place on the windowsill, but answered soon enough. "I'm looking for the Dobe. Have you seen him today?"

Tsunade dropped her pen and spun to face the raven-haired teen. "You mean he hasn't come home yet? But it's been hours since he left here. Have you checked with Iruka, or even Kakashi? How about Ichiraku's?" She started to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach with each shake of the raven's head. "None of them have seen him!? Damn! Damnit all to hell!" The buxom blonde stood and began to pace her office.

The Uchiha watched her make two circuits of the room before he spoke. "Hokage-sama, what happened? By your words and actions, I'd say that he did come see you, correct?"

The face that turned to him was one of grief. The woman appeared ready to cry. "I'm afraid I've upset him. Naruto showed up, asking for a mission that would take him out of the village for a few days; I told him no. That's not all of it. The village Elders were here just before he came in. I was still angry, and I took it out on him, calling him immature and saying I might have made a mistake in naming him my replacement. I've never seen anyone look as crushed as he did. If something happens to the gaki, I'll never forgive myself." Tears were now coursing down her cheeks as understanding dawned in the raven's dark orbs.

"The Yondaime's head! I'm sure he went there, if he was as upset as you say!" Sasuke darted out the window, with the Hokage right on his heels.

Shizune chose that moment to enter the office. Seeing the room empty, she set the results of her experiments in the center of Tsunade's desk. If, or when, the Uchiha returned to Konohagakure, they had a cure for the curse mark. Anko was proof of that. Smiling in self-satisfaction, she walked back out, shutting the door quietly.


xxxxxxxxxx


A chill wind was blowing on top of Hokage Mountain. Tsunade shivered as she looked around, trying to spot light-colored hair in the light of the full moon. Naruto was no where to be found on the Yondaime's head.

Sasuke had activated his Sharingan in hopes of picking up a chakra trail. It seemed the dobe had been there earlier, but there was no trace of where he had gone afterwards. What they needed was someone with exceptional tracking skills; Karin was the likeliest candidate, but Sasuke didn't want to be exposed to the obsessive fangirl more than he had to be. That left dogs. Sasuke didn't really like Kiba and knew the feeling was mutual, so that left Kakashi and his nin-dogs. The two took off for Iruka's, knowing that was where the jounin could be found. They just hoped they wouldn't be interrupting.

Iruka answered the door, wearing a pair of sweat pants with his hair hanging around his face. He stepped back, allowing them to enter, then closed the door securely. "What can I do for you, Hokage-sama?"

"Cut the formalities, Iruka. We have to talk to Kakashi; get his lazy ass in here," Tsunade snarled.

"Maa, maa. What's all the fuss, Tsunade-sama? Sasuke? Did you find Naruto?"

Sasuke lunged at the silver-haired man, only to be restrained by Tsunade. She looked the older nin square in the eye and said, "Kakashi, we need to borrow one of your dogs. Naruto has gone missing."

Without another word, the jounin performed Kuchiyose no Jutsu, summoning Pakkun.

"What's up, boss? It's kinda late, and I need my beauty sleep."

"Naruto is missing, Pakkun. I need you to track him for us. He was last at..." He turned an inquiring eye on the two visitors.

"On top of the Yondaime's head," Sasuke ground out. "Do you think you can find him?" He glared at the little dog, awaiting his response.

Pakkun sniff haughtily. "Of course I can! What kind of mutt do you think I am?"

Leaving Iruka to fret alone in his house, the three plus the dog raced to the monument. Pakkun easily picked up the scent and took off, the others hard on his heels. Leading them in a winding pattern through the village, they eventually reached the Uchiha district.

Sasuke stopped and stared. "No way!" he breathed. He opened the front door of his home, and followed the little dog straight to his room. Inside, they found their wayward blond, curled up in bed, fast asleep.

Closing the door again, the four searchers walked to the livingroom where Pakkun said goodnight, and poofed away. They were all thankful that nothing had happened to the dobe, and Tsunade and Kakashi left soon after.

Sasuke went back to his room, changed into a pair of sleep pants and slid into bed next to the blond. Pulling the sleeping boy close, he murmured, "Tomorrow, you're going to explain, Dobe. I thought I'd lost you." Giving a kiss to Naruto's forehead, he settled down to sleep.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A/N: Thanks to those who have reviewed!