Ninetails 42

Naruto knew something was wrong the moment he and Sokyoku returned to the beach. Nothing dangerous, but there was something odd about the Chunnin watching him.

"Hey!" he called up to the perch, drawing said ninja's attention. "Anything happen while I was gone?"

"H-huh? No, nothing at all," the chunin said with an uneasy smile.

Naruto looked unconvinced.

"I may not have your hearing, My Lord," Sokyoku remarked. "But I take it that your watcher is a poor liar?"

Naruto didn't answer as his ears raised.

The chunnin groaned, knowing there was no hiding this. "Okay, okay, I'll talk. Just...please don't do anything rash?" he requested.

Naruto sat on his hunches, giving the chunnin an expectant look.

He hesitated another few seconds before answering. "We don't have any details yet, but .....Sasuke Uchiha escaped."

All at once, the air grew heavy, the trees and sands swirling as Naruto's chakra swirled around aggressively and chaotically.

"The Bastard got out, huh?" Naruto muttered darkly.

His ears rose and eyes closed, his senses stretching across the land.

Then his eyes opened with a start.

"My Lord?" Sokyoku questioned.

"You ....okay?" the chunnin called down carefully.

"Yeah, yeah, just something...unexpected," Naruto said with a head shake. "I can't sense him from here. Bastard is probably still trying to get to Orochimaru."

The chunnin remained tense.

"You can relax. I might have to pay Orochimaru a visit, but not today," Naruto said with a frown. "I'll let Konoha deal with this for now, unless he's stupid enough to come close enough for me to sense him."

The chunnin sighed in relief.

"....What, did you think I was going to go tear up the countryside again to look for him?" Naruto asked flatly.

"....Maybe?" the chunnin answered with a head tilt.

Naruto grunted.

"My Lord, would you like me to go search for this traitor?" Sokyoku offered.

"Not yet, no. Head east and see if you can find anything weird over there," Naruto remarked.

"As you will," Sokyoku said with a bow of the head, flying off.

"East?" the chunnin called down questioningly.

"Supposedly, there's a sea monster over there, and it might not be the octopus," Naruto mused before yawning. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm taking a nap."

Timeskip

The trip back to Konoha was a blur for Sakura. Ironically, her mind was consumed with thoughts of Sasuke, just as she had been before. But there was nothing affectionate or hopeful about her thoughts now.

Up until this, she had tried to bury all her thoughts on Sasuke, to not dwell on him more than needed. She hoped, with him imprisoned, she could stay like that for a time and just try to make a new peace with how things were, while trying to find a new way forward.

But of course, life often doesn't go the way one wishes. Sasuke was out, and Kami only knew how or where he was headed. Naruto no doubt already knew, and it was only a matter of time until he took matters into his own hands. Or tails, rather.

Naturally, Sakura had run ahead of her team to get to the Hokage's office. "Lady Hokage!"

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork, but was not the least bit surprised by the sudden and loud intrusion. "Sakura Haruno," she greeted calmly. "I take it you heard the news."

"Yes, and I'm sorry for barging in like this, but I was hoping you might be able to tell me more by the time I got here," Sakrua admitted, rambling a bit.

Tsuande took her in carefully, noticing the slightly worn-out expression on her face. "Sasuke Uchiha escaped the prison with help. We're still unclear as to who. However, you can rest easy. Kakashi Hatake was dispatched with a team to track him down," Tsuande informed.

Sakura sighed in relief and dropped her head. "Kakashi-sensai? Good. With any luck, Naruto won't feel the need to get involved."

"He might get his chance," Tsuande informed to Sakura's confusion. "Sasuke's trail leads west."

"West?" Sasuke said with a furrowed brow. "Why would he....?"

"We're not sure of his intent, but if he heads south, I'm sure Naruto will move to intercept him," Tsuande mused. "Maybe there is another destination or route in mind. Or  he might not be aware that Naruto moved south."

Sakura blinked as she thought about that. "Right, if he thinks Naruto is still here, he'd probably head away to get out of Naruto's hearing range and cross another border."

Tsuande nodded. "In any case, if he heads south, I'm sure Naruto will intercept him."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Still, thank you for humoring and answering me, Lady Hokage."

"No need. I've stood where you are in many ways, ignoring the bijuu on the beach," Tsuande quibbed with a smirk, getting a chuckle from Sakura. "Now, I trust you didn't just abandon your team and they're on the way?"

"Yes. We completed our mission. We also had a run-in with some bandits, but I should probably let Anko-sensai explain that."

Tsuande raised an eyebrow. "Would that have anything to do with that sword on your back?"

Sakura blinked. "I...completely forgot I hadn't put this back in a scroll," she realized slowly. "Umm, kind of? It's a bit of a story? I found it in a shipwreck on Naruto's beach."

"Perhaps we should wait for your team," Tsuande said, glancing at the door with a scowl. "....If Anko took a dango detour, I'm demoting her to D-rank missions for a week."

Sakura wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.

Meanwhile

Kakashi narrowed his eye as he stood over what had been the burnt remains of a campsite.

"This place is a fake," Tsume Inuzuka noted with a scowl. "No one actually camped here."

"No, they didn't," Kakashi agreed. It had been set up to look like some traveler had just forgotten to put out their fire properly. "But they did stop here, briefly," Kakashi said as he crouched down and brushed aside some ash to reveal some symbols barely visible on the scorched ground.

"They stopped to break the seals on the brat's chakra," Tsume muttered. "That explains how his scent got spread out. Must have made some clones to take different paths."

Kakashi nodded silently. Even as they spoke, his summons and the nin-dogs Tsume brought were helping the others follow the scent.

"The question is, did he head north to brave Rain's civil war or south, further into the Land of Rivers?" Tsume mused.

"I'm more concerned about who is helping him," Kakashi said under his breath. "From the prison to here, we found no scent or sighting of another party, but he clearly was aided. Even now, none of these trails show signs of another party."

Tsume hummed in agreement. Very few ninja were good enough to hide their trails from skilled jonin, especially ones versed in tracking. "Could it be Itachi Uchiha?"

"Maybe," Kakashi answered as he stood up and glanced north. "If not him, then I imagine his associates are involved."

"Kakashi!" Pakun yelled as the dog raced back to the clearing.

"Pakun, what did you find?" Kakash asked grimly.

"All the trails hit a dead end, except one heading south," Pakun explained quickly.

"You're positive?" Kakashi stressed.

"Trust me, after last time, I know that brat's trail anywhere," Pakun assured.

"Good, then lead the way," Kakashi instructed before he made a clone. "I'll leave him behind to tell the others when they get back."

"Right," Tsume said as she headed after Pakun with Kakashi. "You think that brat is just taking a safe, long route to Orochimaru, or is this something else?"

"Sasuke isn't one to take the safe route unless he's forced to," Kakashi answered back grimly. "That said, I don't think he's stupid enough to intentionally go near Naruto now."

"You say that," Tsume said dubiously, but left it otherwise unspoken.

Kakashi didn't disagree. What was Sasuke trying to do? Or worse yet, what was he being led into?

Meanwhile

"This is as far as I take you. You're on your own."

Sasuke frowned as he sat against the base of the tree, looking at his "savior" dubiously. "Why?" he asked pointedly.

"Have you ever considered that maybe you shouldn't try to find fault with a gift?"

Sasuke glared. "Your cloak. He was wearing one too."

"Ahh, right, you two did meet recently," the man said, tapping his head in thought. "It's a favor, for your brother."

"What?!" Sasuke all but demanded, practically snarling as he lurched to his feet. "Why would-GAH!"

The man tilted his head as Sasuke fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder. "The technique I used to unseal your chakra is not a pleasant one. You already pushed it when you made those clones like I asked. It'll be a week or two before you're at your full, and you shouldn't be too eager to try that curse seal either."

Sasuke seethed at his own helplessness. "Just tell me....why? Who even are you?"

"Oh, me? I'm Tobi. Just the most helpful member of the Akatsuki," he answered with an all-too cheerful tone. "As for why, well....you want to know a secret about the Mangekyou Sharingan?"

"The Mangekyou?" Sasuke repeated. "How would you...?"

"It's powerful, yes, amazingly so. But it has a very nasty downside!" Tobi said, moving his hands animatedly. "After using it so much, the user will eventually go blind!"

"What...?" Sasuke said with a frown. That was... actually very useful if true.

"Yep! And then all those amazing powers are just gone!" Tobi confirmed with a nod. "Buuuut, there are ways around it!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the man. "I take it that it's nothing easy or pleasant?"

"It's kind of silly, really!" Tobi said, clapping his hands together. "You have to steal someone else's Mangekyou Sharingan."

Sasuke's eyes went wide at that. His mind truly went numb as he processed what that implied.

"See? Silly. You'd think you'd just use up those eyes too, but apparently, you get an Eternal Mangekyou with it," Tobi answered with a shrug. "But yeah, you can't exactly develop your own mangekyou sharingan in prison."

So, that was why his brother left him alive. That's why he told him to hate him, to see power, and gain his own mangekyou! Just because he wanted to harvest his eyes one day! Sasuke gritted his teeth. 

"Careful. You might chip a tooth doing that," Tobi cautioned idly.

"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled in frustration, slamming his fist on the ground.

"Hey now, that's not very nice! After all....," Tobi paused, his tone shifting into something more serious. "I didn't have to tell you any of that."

Sasuke paused, looking at him warily.

Tobi crouched down until he was at Sasuke's level. "Look, your brother and I? The rest of us? We're not friends. We're just people who work together. And your brother? His usefulness has an expiration date. It's a few years at least, but still. So, either he gets your eyes, or we lose a loose end and gain a new potential recruit."

"Why would I work for you freaks?" Sasuke asked with a scowl.

"As opposed to Orochimaru?" Tobi countered flatly.

Sasuke didn't retort to that, knowing he had a point and refusing to acknowledge it.

"Just something to keep in mind. Besides, if you don't already know, our interests involve dealing with that blond friend of yours," Tobi reminded as he leaned in. "And wouldn't you like a chance at outdoing that overgrown fox?"

Sasuke didn't answer.

Tobi leaped back to his feet. "Just think about it, okay?" he said, his tone chipper and pleasant again as he tossed out a map to Sasuke. "Here you go. So you know where you are. Bye now!"

With that, that man vanished into a strange spiraling vortex that formed at his eye.

Sasuke looked down at the map but didn't touch it as he studied it. "....How did we get all the way here....?" he asked dubiously.

Regardless, he got to his feet and started walking.

Meanwhile

The days had passed with a painful amount of uneventfulness for Sakura. No news came about Sasuke for a while, and when it did, it wasn't good.

"He got away, huh?" Shikamaru said with a sigh as he leaned against the railing. "Troublesome."

"Naruto hasn't tried to go after him. Yet. So, that's good," Sakura said as she sat on the edge. "I just don't get how he vanished like that, though?"

Shikamaru nodded absently. "Tracking is bread and butter of the Inuzuka clan, and Kakashi-sensei is no slouch. Someone led them on a wild goose chase."

Sakura snorted at the word goose, getting a look from Shikamaru. "Nothing. But you're right. I don't know if I'm being kept out of the loop since, you know, I'm a genin still, but something does feel off about this."

"He didn't get to Orochimaru as far as we know," Shikamaru mused. "But yeah, everyone is looking for him now. And I don't think he can avoid Naruto and everyone else forever."

Sakura nodded absently.

"....I hate to pry and all, but you really hate him now, huh?" Shikamaru asked with a sympathetic frown. 

Sakura didn't look up, the shadow of her hair covering his eyes. "I loved him. Or the idea of him. And if Naruto had come back himself, maybe I still would have. But...."

"I get it. Naruto died. It really kind of changes things a bit, almost losing one of our old classmates. He came back, but...." Shikamaru trailed off as he looked down. "He's still Naruto, but he's not the same. I feel like he's aged a few more years every time I see him." 

Sakura nodded slowly before looking up with a weak smile. "Sorry, I made that kind of depressing."

"You're fine," Shikamaru waved off. "So....any word on that new sword of yours?"

"Is Ino still calling it a paddle-sword?" Sakura asked flatly.

"Her, among others."

Both turned around and looked up to see Kakashi sitting on the roof. "Kakashi sensei?" Both of them greeted with surprise.

"Yo!" he greeted with a peace sign. "Is there a reason we're meeting at Naruto's old apartment?"

"Naruto asked Ino to look after his old plants, and I offered to do it today," Sakura reminded before glancing away. "And, well, the landlord hasn't had the guts to clear out and rent the place to anyone."

"I'm not surprised," Kakashi said absently. "Well, Sakura, I actually bring good news. That weapon you brought back from the beach? It's all yours."

"It is?" Sakura asked, barely catching a scroll that Kakashi threw at her. "Just like that?"

"It's not volatile or anything. It's as safe as any other legendary weapon might be. We just have to get you trained with it. Assuming you don't want to just keep it as a decoration, of course," Kakashi explained with an eye smile.

"I think Naruto would be absolutely offended if I didn't make use of the strange chakra-sword he let me keep," Sakura said with a wry smile.

"Great, as if you weren't terrifying enough," Shikamaru said. "Well, I'm going to catch some Zs, watch some clouds before I get roped into something else."

They both watched him jump off the roof and rush off, a silence coming over the pair. It was obvious that Shikamaru was giving them space to talk.

"...Is there any more news on Sasuke, sensei?" Sakura asked with a frown.

"No," Kakshi answered grimly. "Someone went to a lot of trouble to keep us from tracking him. According to Jiriaya, it's not Orochimaru. That's about all we know."

Sakura nodded absently. "....I sometimes wish I had paid him a visit, while he was still being held here. Just to confront him, or....." she sighed as she stood up. "I don't know."

Kakashi remained silent as he looked up.

"Kakashi-sensai? Can I ask you something?" Sakura asked absently. "Everyone has heard about how....when Naruto first became the Kyuubi, you just kind of....didn't react."

"You want to know how I handled it so well. A lot of people have asked that," Kakashi remarked. "I've never admitted this before, but the real answer? I didn't."

"Huh?" Sakura looked at him in surprise.

"I watched Naruto for a good few minutes when I first saw him like that, stunned and overwhelmed," Kakashi admitted. "I honestly thought it was just the old Kyuubi for a second, taking Naruto's color scheme as some kind of twisted irony from being trapped inside him. But I watched him set Sasuke down and just sit there in a daze. He looked so….lost. That was about the time it clicked that it might just be Naruto and something had gone very wrong with the seal."

"And Naruto being a bijuu wasn't its own kind of surprise to work through?" Sakura asked with a head tilt.

"Not really," Kakashi said, rubbing the back of his head. "I just saw my student was very tired after completing a very... emotional mission, and wanted to go home. So, that's what I did. I brought him home."

Sakura stared for a moment.

"What?" Kakashi asked, tilting his head.

"You really are the best sensei in some ways," Sakura said with a smile.

"I'm really not. I feel like I was definitely shoddy with you three," Kakashi said with an eye smile. "But I appreciate the sentiment. That said, if you really want to learn how to use that sword? I can help."

"You?" Sakura asked with raised eyebrows. "Sorry, it's just-"

"You've never really seen me use a sword before?" Kakashi finished knowingly. "No. It's not my speciality. But I still have decent skill in it, so I can get you started."

Sakura beamed. "I'd like that, Kakashi-sensai. And...maybe you can teach me some jutsus that won't eat up half my chakra reserves?" she asked sheepishly.

Kakashi chuckled. "I'll see if I can pull something out of my thousand and one options."  

Meanwhile

Sokyoku flew as just an ordinary, not-golden goose. At the bidding of his lord, he had been scouting the lands and seas to the east of where his lord dwelt. Of course, there was one problem.

Sokyoku, despite all his intelligence, did not have a firm grasp of where this "Land of Sea" was supposed to be. Political geography was hardly something he had the chance to study yet.   

"Lord Saiken said it was a set of three large islands past the tip of a peninsula," he said to himself as he flew onward. He had seen nothing unusual: fishermen, a couple of shore settlements, some ships, and small islands. But nothing matched what he was looking for. "Perhaps I should find a map to abscond with. I do hate to resort to thievery, though."

He sighed, a habit he had learned from humans, no doubt. He deeply wished to bring his lord back some news to distract him from Sasuke Uchiha still being at large.

"How fortunate might I be to stumble upon that foolish traitor! Ahh, I happily bring him to Lord Naruto, with a few new burns," Sokyoku said with a squawk of a laugh. "Hm?"

He stopped his flight as his sharp eyes faintly saw something on the southern horizon, across the open sea.

"Smoke?" he murmured to himself as he shifted his flight path. "Now, what could be burning in the middle of the ocean?"