Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Leader	By : mannahpierce Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 2163 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: This story has some of Masashi Kishimoto's characters from Naruto in a universe of my own devising. I do not own Naruto. I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to disembodiedvoiceofthedying, lonelylulaby, richon, liby318, SidonieStarr, GreenEyedCat, sadie237, Dawn and melissen for reviewing after chapter 9 was posted. Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me. Feedback keeps me writing.

Leader
Part 1: The pod
10: Progress

Shikamaru opened the next video for Neji, Kiba, Gaara, Lee and Naruto to view. It was the twenty-sixth.
Gaara had liked Naruto’s suggestion of recruiting a team of hybrids to look after the twins. He had asked for a secure link to Temari’s private office to discuss it. Apparently she was in favour of the idea, provided Shikamaru could provide background checks that would satisfy her chief of security.
Sasuke had mumbled something about her being willing to try anything.

They had set up a real-time light speed link for Gaara to discuss the Naruto’s suggestion with Yagura. Once they had his approval, Naruto had corresponded with Fukasaku and Shima about finding suitable candidates.
Most of the people Fukasaku or Shima approached chose to record a short vid to be sent to the Oak.
They had over sixty, which had caught Shikamaru’s interest. Maybe they could solve one of Uchiha’s long-term problems as well as finding carers for Karura and Yashamaru.

Number twenty-six was yet another dog-human hybrid who had been bought as a pup by a family as a companion for their children and then ‘let go’ when the children reached adolescence.
He seemed nice; too nice for the twins.
“Category three,” Neji suggested.
They all agreed; category three was the group that had potential but were unsuitable for the particular role under consideration.
Next was a category one, an older dog hybrid who had raised two children from birth to adulthood; definitely a prospect if he had enough standards left.
Naruto growled. “How could that family just dismiss him like that? No home, no pension, no gratitude?”
There were two more category threes and then someone a bit different; a scarred wolf hybrid who had been discarded by a security company because they did not want to pay for a prosthetic leg.
“Can’t see raising children is much different than training cubs and I’ve done a lot of that in my time. Life here’s not bad but it’s a bit boring. Cubs need to be able to look after themselves. I can teach them that.” She grinned, which sent shivers down Shikamaru’s spine. “Who knows, someone might attack them and I’d get the chance to pull his guts out and strangle him with them.”
“Might be very suitable,” Kiba observed.
Gaara looked at him in horror. “Kiba!”
“Category two,” Naruto suggested and the others, even Gaara, agreed.
Shikamaru added the wolf hybrid’s details to the list and initiated the first level of a background check.
“Let’s take a break,” Kiba proposed before Shikamaru could bring up the next vid. “I’ll get us some refreshments from the galley.”

Shikamaru guessed that Kiba wanted a quick cuddle with Choza; they usually spent the afternoons together. He slipped into Kiba’s vacated place next to Naruto.
“It makes you think,” he began.
“It makes me angry,” Naruto confessed. Then he processed what Shikamaru had said. “Shi-chan?”
“Sixty plus here on a single pass. How many more do you think there are out there?” Shikamaru asked. “Perhaps the HDL should think about setting up an agency.”
Naruto’s whiskers drooped. “Why should people pay agency rates when they buy hybrids and throw them away when they don’t need them anymore?”
Shikamaru smiled. “You and the HDL will make buying, owning and selling hybrids unacceptable to most families. It’s already going that way. I can show you the trend lines. People will still want hybrids to look after their children, particularly dog-human hybrids. An agency could fill the gap while making sure that the hybrids were paid a decent wage.”
“If you say so,” Naruto conceded doubtfully.
“I’ll run some models,” he promised and was rewarded by one of Naruto’s breathtaking smiles.
“You always say that. Last time we ended up with Jirenkai, Songen, Sublevel C and the Tube.”
“Which are good things,” Shikamaru suggested.
“Which are very good things,” Naruto confirmed.

Once they had viewed the other thirty-two videos they had sixteen people in categories one and two. Shikamaru decided to also run background checks for the twenty-eight allocated to category three; it might save time later. Then he went to find Sasuke.

He used the door from the corridor and pressed the announcer; he did not think Sasuke would like it if he used Neji’s door.
Sasuke was using the new database interface that he and Neji had created, which was nice.
“Shika,” he acknowledged. Then he shut down the programme rather than pausing it, which suggested he was in the mood to listen.
Shikamaru sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk. “The foetuses we rescued from Pein.”
“The foetuses you rescued from Pein,” Sasuke reminded him.

They had made some progress deciding the fate of the foetuses over the last six standards. Uchiha had kept the eighteen individuals whose genetic profiles indicated that they would tolerate the symbiote. Shikamaru had gone forward with his original plan and ensured that the other forty-two found suitable families.
“We are looking for three people to look after the twins. Based on what we have seen today, we could fill those positions five times over,” Shikamaru observed.
Sasuke saw the connection immediately. “As long as we can be sure that none of those we recruit is a threat or, worse, a plant.”
“We went through all this with Kamatari,” Shikamaru reminded him. “We won’t recruit anyone who does not check out. Also, there is a difference between individuals presented to us, like Ranmaru, and people we select from a substantial population.”
There was a short silence. Shikamaru resisted the urge to speak first.
“It would be much better if all eighteen were raised within Uchiha,” Sasuke acknowledged. “Three litters of six. Maybe at three standard intervals. There could be a team of carers but different key people for each litter.”
“You’ve been thinking about it,” Shikamaru accused.
“Yes,” Sasuke admitted. “I am worried about Kiba. The triplets already need him less than they did. I had imagined that there would be more babies but no one else seems in a rush to breed. He would jump at the chance of another litter to raise.” He smiled with his eyes. “We could use hybrids to build a family for them, so Naruto doesn’t insist on adopting all eighteen of them.”
“He doesn’t know about them yet,” Shikamaru checked.
“Of course not. We would have been nagged about it constantly.” Sasuke considered. “Let me think about it. We’ll meet again tomorrow.”

Shikamaru recognised a dismissal when he heard one. He went out into the corridor and through the next door into the office.
Neji was reviewing the application videos; probably deciding what questions each candidate should be asked. Shikamaru smiled a greeting but went directly to his end of the room rather than disturbing him. He put in his earpieces and activated the interface he had built for his new desk.
The automated programme had retrieved as fresh packet from the data stream. He undid it and found a single message: Uchiha, from Tarrasade; for Sasuke; from Shizune.
He flagged it urgent and sent it to Sasuke.

Sasuke made himself a pot of tea after Shikamaru left. Going through the familiar actions helped him think.
The plan had a number of merits. Kiba would be happy with more babies to look after. Sumaru would be encouraged by the possibility of more warriors following his revised Way of the Knife. Naruto would be pleased that they were giving discarded hybrids a future.
And it was likely that the foetuses would grow into people who chose to be elite Uchiha fighters, which would be excellent.

He walked back to his desk to see the urgent alert light winking at him.
The message was from Shizune. He studied the contents carefully. The results were unequivocal; the genetic material in the stored samples was consistent with the profile Rin had sent her.

Sasuke sat back. Uchiha-san was Izuna Uchiha. Knowing felt very different to expecting. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
What if he recovered?
What if he didn’t?
It would be easier if he didn’t. An apartment could be built for him in the household. People could be recruited to care for him. It would be sad, even tragic, but it would be easy.

Instead Sasuke imagined him recovering. He would meet Izuna Uchiha; his hero. They could rebuild Uchiha together.
He pulled himself together and sent the comparison data to Rin and to Shika for a second and third opinion.
Then he went to find Naruto.

It turned out to be one of Iruka’s ‘peer teaching’ afternoons, which Sasuke imagined would be more challenging than usual with Karura and Yashamaru visiting.
It appeared to be going smoothly. Naruto had found a vantage point and monitoring the situation; Sasuke knew he would be using his ears and his nose as much or more than his eyes.
Naruto gave him the look and the whisker-twitch that asked what was wrong.
Sasuke sat on the table next to him. He had decided just to tell him. “Uchiha-san is Izuna Uchiha.”
Naruto was not surprised. They sat together in silence, watching their children. Then Naruto turned to him, looked at him with those incredible blue eyes and spoke.
“You are the centre of my world.”
Sasuke remembered; as if he could ever forget. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me,” he replied. “You and the children light my life.”
Naruto smiled and Sasuke basked in the golden warmth of their love.

Haru had agreed to Hoshi’s suggestion that he lead an activity for Takara and Karura. In return, she would have Sumiko.
He had discussed it with Ran the previous evening. Ran had suggested that he take advantage of their competitiveness so he had set them twenty small mathematical puzzles of increasing difficulty. Demonstrating that they could solve the puzzle to Haru gained three counters but asking Haru for help lost two. Along the centre of the table were objects that Hoshi had assured him they would want. Each had a price tag in counters. None cost less than forty counters.
He had a wager with Hoshi that they wouldn’t work out that they would end up with more counters by co-operating.
Takara had scowled at him when he had explained the rules. “You’re mean,” she accused.
Karura said nothing. She had finished the first puzzle and demanded her first three counters by the time Takara realised that she was behind and stopped complaining.

Haru settled back in his chair with nothing to do but check results, watch out for cheating and think.

Papa came in. Haru sat straighter and rehearsed in his head how to describe the activity to make it sound like a useful educational experience rather than a way of using Takara and Karura’s dislike of each other to give him as easy a time as possible.
Only Papa did not walk around talking to people like he usually did. Instead he went and sat close to To-chan, who was at one of his usual lookouts.
Haru could not drag his eyes away from them. They were so... ...together. Then they said something to each other and To-chan smiled.
He wanted a future like that. He wanted a future like that with Ran.

Karura’s voice pulled him back to the present. “Lee and Uncle Gaara are together like that.”
“Yes,” he agreed, although he considered what Lee-san and Gaara-san shared to be a pale shadow of what existed between Papa and To-chan.
“Mother doesn’t have anyone.”
“Maybe she will find someone,” Haru suggested.
“No,” Karura told him. “She is the Kage. The Kage cannot afford to love anyone.”
Haru wondered if that also applied to her children; it would explain a lot.
“Uncle Kankuro loves lots of people. They are all women. We have to call each one Auntie and act like she is the only one.”
Haru decided not to comment.
“Do I have to give you two counters if Takara helps me?” Karura asked.
Takara’s head came up like Kazuki’s when he realised that Choza-san was preparing his favourite food.
“No,” Haru admitted. He sighed; he would be scrubbing Hoshi and Yuki’s bathroom for the next six days.

Papa did come over and talk to them. By that time Takara and Karura were taking it in turns to pay Haru and then help the other. This meant they were collecting four counters each for every two puzzles.
Haru stood to one side while Takara described their strategy to Papa and Karura explained that they should both end up with over forty counters.
Papa waited until they had started on the puzzles again before resting a hand on Haru’s shoulder. “Well done,” he whispered.

Sasuke was impressed by Haru’s activity, which had pushed Takara and Karura into deciding to work together. He described the ins and outs of it to Naruto when he had finished visiting each group.
“Mind you, I am surprised that Iruka-sensei was willing to risk putting Takara, Karura and Haru together,” he observed.
“Hoshi chooses who goes in which group,” Naruto told him.
“Hoshi?” Sasuke queried.
“Hoshi,” Naruto confirmed.
His eyes went to where his oldest daughter was sitting with Sumiko. They were making a present for Shikamaru. He thought of the diagrams and grids he had seen; evidence of how Hoshi had cajoled Su-chan into thinking about what Shika might like rather than assuming he would be pleased with something yellow that suited a little girl of seven.
Maybe Hoshi was even better at leading than she was at music. It was a thought he realised he had been avoiding. He had always told himself that Hoshi was more advanced socially than her brothers because she was female.
“They score over one fifth higher when she leads their simulated missions,” Naruto told him.
“I thought Itachi kept Kakashi-sensei informed about their progress,” Sasuke observed.
“He does,” Naruto confirmed.
Sasuke though back over his conversations with Kakashi about the children. He had mentioned Hikaru’s leadership potential. And Kuuya’s. Maybe he thought that Hoshi’s was too obvious to mention.
Or perhaps it was something else; old Uchiha had insisted that women were all about rearing children and running households.
“I’ll check with Kakashi-sensei that he has noticed,” Sasuke promised.
Naruto’s whiskers twitched. “You do that.” He looked about. “This is all going very smoothly. I am sure that Iruka-sensei can cope with them alone. We could visit Uchiha-san. You could take your biwa.”
Sasuke wondered what they should call him. Izuna-sama?
The daily reports had suggested progress. He was doing more for himself. He had played beigoma with Itachi.
It would be good to see the improvements for himself.

.

It was going well. It had felt wonderful to wake and feel clean: no itching, flaking skin; no bush of hair; no claws that made it difficult to walk and impossible to use his fingers. The rooms, the furnishings, his clothes, the way he was treated; it was all very satisfying.
They called him Uchiha-san. It would do for now.

Sasuke Uchiha had returned bringing a stringed instrument like those some of the geishas played.
The music was beautiful.
Sasuke Uchiha was beautiful; he was reminded of his brother. For a brief moment he contemplated changing the plan.

He listened to one piece of music, another and then a third. Then he pretended to sleep, because that would make Sasuke Uchiha go away taking the fox hybrid with him.

Sasuke Uchiha should have killed him. Fugaku Uchiha would have. He would not have even checked who was in the pod before destroying it. So would most of the other men who had led Uchiha over the centuries.
He knew because he had checked. Every fifty standards he rose from his coffin, sifted through the information collected while he was in stasis and decided whether this was the time.
It never had been.
Once the first few centuries had passed it was easy to wait another and then another. His resources grew. Akatsuki, the scheme he had rejected in favour of this one, had developed in interesting ways in Orochimaru’s hands.

Orochimaru; it was difficult to think of him without becoming angry. Anger was unwise. Sasuke Uchiha had a Hyuga and an empath. Apparently Hyugas could read behaviour and no one was sure what empaths could do.
There were cameras; they were too responsive for it to be otherwise.

As his co-conspirator, Orochimaru was meant to trigger an unscheduled waking if something interesting happened to Uchiha. The massacre of all the clan members but one certainly qualified as interesting.
That was the problem with mindprinted clones. They were unpredictable and untrustworthy.
He imagined trusting himself and laughed.
Unexplained laughter was fine; anger was not.

He still believed it would have been easier when Sasuke Uchiha was younger: before the fox hybrid; before the children; before the elder brother had reappeared; before he was surrounded by people loyal to him.
On the other hand, Uchiha’s reputation was out of the gutter and on the way up. There was the typed-seven genius and the Hyuga who was Uchiha.
And maybe some of the Uchiha children could be useful.

Once the real Orochimaru had come out of stasis, he had not hesitated to send the signal. To compensate for his clone’s wilful behaviour, there had been the gift of more detailed information about Sasuke Uchiha and his crew; buttons for him to press and levers for him to use.
Then there was the endgame they had concocted.
He would get Uchiha. Orochimaru would keep Akatsuki and get his little hybrids back.

.
- 9
- 10
- 11
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Leader