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The Fall of the Dogs of War	By : dolphina23 Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 927 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 23
- 24
- 25
A/N: So, I�ve
been working on quite a few things lately, and still have a commissioned piece
to flesh out and finish, but I wanted to get closer to the end on this one. So,
here you go. Enjoy.

Chapter�� 23
It�s a Mad World . . . And We Be All Spinners In
It

�� Sasuke
curled back to cover the pillow near his arms. At least, he assumed it was a pillow.
Naruto had a bad habit of stretching out in strange ways while sleeping.
Blinking his eyes open slowly, he caught a whiff of something strange and
wrinkled his nose. Turning his head, he could see a paper sack with grease
leaking out of the bottom on the nightstand. He fought the urge to scowl, knowing
full well that Naruto had only been trying to get him to eat before the
training started up again.
�� The
pounding in his head that had woken him had mysteriously subsided. He reached
over to take the sack but trained his eyes on the clock out of habit. His eyes
widened and the pounding returned, only from outside his skull. The door to
their home sounded as if it was ready to spring back from the force of the
assault. They had reinforced the building with seals, locks and barriers and that
meant no one they didn�t want to enter could. All the same, it didn�t stop Sasuke
from becoming uneasy. �� Something
just wasn�t right. Sasuke wasn�t stupid. He didn�t think Danzou, as
hard-driving and overbearing as he was, would send a ninja out because he was
late. So, then . . . Sasuke threw back the covers and slid into the closest
pair of pants he could find. He raced down the hall and to the door on light
feet but paused before undoing the locks and the catch. Opening the door, his
breath caught at the sight of Kakashi on the other side. He didn�t have the
usual lazy stance and gaze.
�� The Hokage
requests your presence at her office, Sasuke. Follow me.�
�� Sasuke�s
eyes narrowed as he gathered his shoes and walked out after Kakashi, not even
bothering with a shirt. His heart beat madly in his chest, though he was almost
certain Kakashi�s hearing wasn�t good enough to pick up on it.
�� Why?�
Sasuke asked as they took to the rooftops to save time. �What�s happened?�
�� I�m sure
she�ll fill us both in when we get there,� Kakashi replied, his voice low and
calm.
�� His hands
were tightening into tense fists, something Sasuke had no trouble seeing.
�� If it�s
about Naruto, I want to know now, Kakashi.�
�� Kakashi
stopped in mid-air and twisted to land facing him on one roof while Sasuke
stood on the one below.
�� What makes
you think this is about Naruto?�
�� Kakashi�s
eyes were serious slits and for the first time Sasuke noticed that the
Sharingan had been left bare. Kakashi�s uniform was different as well. While he
did not wear the arm guards and mask, the rest was that of the ANBU Sasuke knew
he used to be. Tilting his head, Sasuke could just see the dog mask at the back
of Kakashi�s right hip. Instead of feeling impressed, Sasuke�s anxiety took
hold in a frightening grip, one with claws. ��
�� What�s
going on?� he asked again.
�� Kakashi
swiveled his gaze to either side of the street they stood above. There was an
imperceptible shake of the head and Kakashi turned to leap onto another roof.
Sasuke had no choice but to follow behind him and hope that Tsunade was going to
clear this all up. Once they�d reached the office, Sasuke met up with Yamato,
also dressed in ANBU gear complete with mask and Shikamaru.
�� He glared
between them all before settling quiet, empty eyes on Tsunade.
�� What the
hell is this?� he asked nonchalantly. He was covering the growing unease as
best he could, the only way he knew that worked.
�� Tsunade
checked to see that the door had been secured by Shizune, who inconspicuously settled
herself in the back near the corner.
�� Sasuke,�
she started then paused. It wasn�t going to be easy convincing the boy. Naruto
had been much better at drawing the young man out into the world again. She
needed to know, first, if this would drive him back behind the walls.
�� Naruto is
gone.� She said it as plainly and as gently as possible. Sasuke continued to
stare at her.
�� So?� he
challenged. �What does that have to do with me? If he�s on a mission or has
something else to do in order to complete the test, why involve me?�
�� Sasuke
resisted the urge to bite at his lip and instead continued to glare. Tsunade
pierced him with her gaze and managed to hold it while she slapped the desk
with her hands.
�� She rose
halfway out of her chair and barked out at him. �Stop that! You know very well
that�s not what I�m talking about! He�s gone after Madara in order to keep him� from bringing the
fight here.�
�� She settled
back into the chair and watched Sasuke carefully. His back had gone rigid but
there wasn�t any other reaction save his head tipping downward. The fact that
his hair no longer covered them, something new that she had noticed the moment he�d
entered, wasn�t helping him. She sat back and clasped her hands in front of her,
forming a steeple.
�� Do you
want to know who is responsible for his leaving?�
�� Sasuke
frowned and grunted under his breath. But Tsunade held out. When Sasuke could
no longer bear the silence, especially considering what danger Naruto had
gotten himself into, he broke.
�� What? So
it�s Danzou, right? But you�re not worried about it or else you wouldn�t be so
calm. Are we going to get him back or do everything myself? Again?� he
muttered, keeping his voice tight.
�� He didn�t
want to appear overeager or worried. It was Naruto that could see that, and
only Naruto that deserved it.
�� Relax,
Sasuke. Tsunade has a job for us and then we will all head out after Naruto.�
�� Sasuke
stopped breathing for a moment and pursed his lips. They were waiting? Naruto
would be going after someone as powerful and deranged as Madara without any support?
�
�� I�ll only
ask for you to hear me out first, and then you can give your argument,� Tsunade
started off. Sasuke forced himself to relax and nod, feeling his fisted hands
beginning to tremble.
�� I have a
mission for all of you. Should you succeed in the next few hours, you won�t be
that far behind Naruto according to the reports of when he was last sighted in
the village.�
�� Sasuke
glanced over at Kakashi, who nodded. He felt a hand on his back and turned to
gaze at Shikamaru steadily.
�� Naruto
would want us to secure the village first. If we leave now, it will only make
him feel guilty and angry at himself,� Shikamaru told him monotonously.
�� Sasuke
could see that he wouldn�t meet his eyes. He hoped it was because Shikamaru had
spied on one of their bouts of lovemaking and not because he knew something
about this entire affair that Sasuke didn�t.
�� What do
you want us to do?� Sasuke asked softly, biting his treacherous tongue. �� He wanted to scream. More than that, he
wanted to run, to get closer to where Naruto was. Sasuke knew that he could
take care of himself, far from the boy many years ago who couldn�t handle being
confronted by a Jounin level ninja or someone as bent as Gaara of the Sand had
been. He just wanted to be near, to help him silence Madara once and for all.
�� I want you
to confront Danzou with the information that we�ve gleaned from a ninja who was
found very near death this morning. Apparently, he was injured in an argument
with a fellow ROOT ANBU member. Though the injury was critical and the time he
spent buried in the dirt didn�t help his condition, we were able to stabilize
him.� Tsunade let the import of what she
was divulging sink in. Shikamaru, though surprised, recovered quickly. Yamato
and Kakashi had already shared their views and fears about Danzou with her
before, so she wasn�t surprised to see anger and determination blazing in their
eyes. Sasuke, however, sometimes so hard to read, glared as if he carried all
the tailed beasts and their progeny within him.
�� So, this
ninja who was injured by a comrade and left for dead . . . what did he tell you?� he asked.
�� Tsunade
turned her full attention on him, secure about how every other person in the
room would react.
�� He said
that his teammate was to relate information on Naruto�s whereabouts and his
fighting skills along with the modified guard assignments to Madara. They�ve
formed a partnership, though Danzou will likely use the excuse that it is a
ruse. But it�s blatantly apparent that Naruto was to overhear the conversation.
He told me that he and his comrade could both feel him there though he�d been
cloaked from sight.�
�� Tsunade
kept her focus on Sasuke. He frowned and his shoulders stiffened as she related
the details.
�� So, Danzou
is trying to get Naruto out of the way? Not that I�m defending that asshole,
but why send him out to Madara? Or is that ninja supposed to kill him before he
even gets close?�
�� Sasuke�s
voice was even and low, as if he couldn�t care less what was going on. Tsunade
could see his hands tightening and releasing the tension he felt though.
�� Danzou
truly does care for this village. And his ways would not have been passed over
for a more peaceful interaction with our allies and less war had this been
another time. But it isn�t. I believe he intends to use Naruto as bait to lure
Madara out of his fortified hideout and away from the remainder of the Akatsuki
members. It may be his way of thinking that he will have a better chance at
assassinating him then,� she explained.
�� Kakashi
grunted and sniffed sarcastically. Tsunade glared at him and he went silent.
Sasuke knew what she was going to say next and though he�d wanted it for so
long, he didn�t think he could do it when it meant losing valuable time to find
Naruto.
�� I want you
all to take him into custody. Do whatever is necessary and should it become vital
to use lethal force to save one of you, then that is regrettable but allowed,�
she finished.
�� Sasuke
waited until he was sure there wasn�t any more information on Naruto�s heading
and turned to leave the room. Kakashi put a hand on his arm to stop him.
�� I�ll
lead,� he murmured next to Sasuke�s ear in that deep baritone of his. �
�� Sasuke
gritted his teeth but knew that he would have no choice but to give in.
�� Fine. But you all should know that Danzou�s quarters are
vastly protected. The training fields, or his office in the main ROOT facility,
would be a better place to try to corner him,� Sasuke relayed.
�� Shikamaru
nodded. Sasuke could see that his mind was already working toward a strategy of
attack. Yamato and Kakashi beckoned for them all to move and they headed off to
gather near the barracks that Sasuke had trained at the previous day. Sasuke waited
to see what Shikamaru had come up with and was surprised with the plan.
�� I want
Sasuke to go in first, just as he is. He was supposed to be training today
anyway. He could arrive and begin to workout. Knowing how he is, Danzou won�t
suspect anything until he calls him in to speak to him. That�s when the rest
will emerge through the opening Sasuke will make in the wall.�
�� He turned
to direct his next words at Sasuke then.
�� You�ll
need to use the Sharingan to hold him under the illusion that the two of you
are staring or talking or whatever, at least until you get the wall down.�
�� Sasuke frowned.
�� Why don�t
I just use the Amaterasu or another technique like it
if I�m getting that close?�
�� Because Amaterasu would kill him,
Sasuke. We are to take him alive if possible. This is a necessary part of
our world still,� Kakashi explained. It made Sasuke feel foolish that he was
too preoccupied with getting the job done so they could move on after Naruto to
have been paying proper attention.
�� Right,�
Yamato said. �We�ll come in through the walls and try to distract or capture
him. Use whatever techniques you think will help. But if he refuses to come
quietly, we�ll up the power, got it?� he addressed everyone, even Kakashi.
�� But before
they could all start off, Sasuke had one more thing he needed to know. It was something
that would surely jeopardize the success of their mission if he was lied to, so
he turned the Sharingan on when he faced Kakashi.
�� What about
the other ROOT members?� he asked. �How do we know Danzou doesn�t have one or
two of them in Tsunade�s office and they now know we are coming, or at least
what we are planning? How do we know the information about Naruto is still secure with just us?� he queried.
�� Kakashi
glanced at Shikamaru and then at Sasuke.
�� I�ll take
it, Kakashi,� Shikamaru offered before he could explain. Shikamaru rubbed at
the back of his head and sighed.�
�� Listen
Sasuke, there�s no reason for you to want to trust anyone here. But think about
it like this. You care a lot about Naruto, who is a friend of mine and as good
as a son to that one,� he began. He pointed at Kakashi and Sasuke couldn�t help
but catch his gaze. Unfortunately, there wasn�t anything he could read from it.
�� Shikamaru
kept talking and Sasuke found himself listening, really listening.
�� He�s
special, that Naruto. There isn�t anyone here who doesn�t agree even if they
felt differently before. So don�t worry about how this will pan out. And as for
any ninja in Tsunade�s employ, I�m a prodigy and a genius, remember? I found
them all weeks ago when she asked me to. There haven�t been any new
appointments since, though she would have liked to see you on her guard,�
Shikamaru finished quietly, his voice hiding a lilt of pride.
�� Sasuke
found it strange as they weren�t all that close but perhaps it was because he was
just someone the other boy knew. In any case, he wasn�t going to worry about
it. They had a mission and after that they could go find his stupid lover.
�� So, I�m
just going to keep him talking and open a hole, right?� Sasuke said in way of
reply. Shikamaru smile and nodded in understanding.��
�� Fine then,
let�s do this,� Kakashi let out as he secured himself to a tree and used a cloaking
technique to seemingly melt into it.

��
�� Sasuke
stared at Danzou�s scarred face feeling revulsion force bile into the back of
his throat. The man was so manipulative that Sasuke wanted to force a blade of
Chidori Nagashi into him and be done with it. He had actually tried to threaten
Sasuke with reprisal from Tsunade and weeks of extra drills should he appear at
the grounds late again. Sasuke sniffed and turned his Sharingan on the moment
he caught Danzou�s eyes in his line of sight. The momentary lapse in his tirade
didn�t seem to clue him in on what was happening as he went off on Sasuke
again.
�� You won�t
be able to survive as a ninja if you cannot respect power for what it is,�
Danzou was saying.
�� Sasuke
wanted to vomit but instead he trained his eyes to the wall and forced Danzou
to back up into it without breaking his speech. Once he�d pinned him, Sasuke
reached back and grasped the handle of his Kusanagi and slashed the wood to the
exterior wall. It fell away around Danzou but Sasuke was confronted with a
sudden problem. Danzou had set up a clone of some sort and was now behind him
with a kunai. Or else he�d had an aide transform into him for the duration of the
training. Whatever it was, Sasuke now had to glance at Kakashi to find out what
he was allowed to do. Kakashi gave him a very small nod after waving one of his
hands in a very tiny signal to wait just a little while. Sasuke smiled.
�� Danzou, we
are here to take you into custody. You are to stand trial for leaking
classified information to enemy forces and needlessly endangering a ninja without
their knowing of it.�
�� You
cowards believe you have any right to dictate to me? You all are far too soft.
If you want me, then you will have to bring me along as a true ninja, in a bag,�
Danzou growled out as he stared Kakashi down. His aura was menacing and
powerful even for a ninja at his advanced age.
�� As he tried
to bring the kunai across Sasuke�s neck, he cringed and wheezed out in pain.
While Danzou�s attention had been on Kakashi, Sasuke had been able to bring his
sword into play without much effort. He�d used it to create a Chidori Nagashi
that had impaled Danzou through the abdomen. But Danzou, as crippled as he was
with only one usable arm, eye and leg, jumped back a few paces and tried to confront
Yamato. Yamato gave a tiny hand signal and shadows thrown by the candle Danzou
had been using to read by came away from the walls.
�� They enveloped
him and still he fought. He set off a hail of kunai by triggering a trap in the
floor with his foot. He raked his eyes up and down the walls but the effort was
useless. His subordinates had all been undermined by Sai and Tsunade working
together. The only two he�d had left as far as Kakashi knew had been the two
that had helped to mislead Naruto. The shadows continued to squeeze into Danzou
as he fought to free himself. His foot slid toward another trap. Shikamaru caught
sight of the movement but Sasuke moved forward before he could use the shadows
to encase his throat and strangle him.
�� He drove his
Kusanagi, the blade he�d acquired from Orochimaru, through Danzou�s chest. Then
he filled the metal with lightning chakra that flared and spread in through the
wound. The spark dove up and down Danzou�s chest, widening the slim gash.
Sasuke pulled the blade out when he could no longer feel the man�s chakra and
could not see his chest rise and fall with his Sharingan.
�� It�s
done,� Kakashi murmured needlessly. Sasuke turned to him, slightly out of
breath.
�� Now can we
go find him?� Sasuke asked.
�� If it had
been under any other circumstance, Kakashi would have said that his face and
the way the words had come out, so exasperated, would have been funny. As it
was, he nodded and they started off in the direction the injured ninja had
given to Tsunade. He�d barely been conscious after having to try to hide his
breathing, and he�d been covered in earth. But the eye that had been left uncovered
had tracked them both. Sasuke sped up to keep in line with the rest of the team
as they hurried on. He hoped he wouldn�t be late enough to either see Naruto
destroy the man he hated most, or else help in that destruction.
��

�� Naruto
breathed out as best he could while searching the area around the ninja he�d
finally caught up with. He hadn�t seemed all that surprised or angry to see him
and that had put Naruto on edge. The trees around them had begun to waver in
the light breeze. All the animals in the area seemed to sense a predator on the
loose. They�d gone quiet. Naruto couldn�t even smell the wildflowers in the
field a few hundred yards away. In his Sage mode, he should have. But time
flowed differently, and perhaps weather as well, when he was on guard.
�� He shook
his head free of the irrational thought and scanned the area again. There had
been a tiny flicker that he�d sensed using the arts the toads had taught him.
But before he knew where it had come from, someone had grabbed his arm from
behind and tossed him up and into the air.
�� A mad cackling
filled his senses and Naruto looked down from where he was being held against .
. . nothing. He frowned in confusion, feeling his chakra draining away slowly.
Madara was the one laughing, not the warped Konoha ninja who had appeared to
kill his comrade for mere fun. That man lay in a heap at Madara�s feet. Naruto
gritted his teeth and began to shout at him.
�� What the
hell is going on, bastard? Untie me so I can beat some sense into you, you sick
fuck!�
�� Naruto knew
better than to hope that an enemy would do such a dull-witted thing. But he needed
a distraction so he could figure out where he was. He knew that he was still in
mid-air, but what he was tied to didn�t make any sense. It was like bringing
back the dead, and not to fight for a short time during an attack as Orochimaru
had done. Truly having someone come back to life, to see and talk to them
again, was impossible. It should also be impossible to float in the air without
some kind of aide.
�� Then he
heard the voice. It came from above, not out of Madara�s wide open mouth below.
�� Is this
the one? Is he the one you wish me to devour?�
�� Madara was
still laughing away as if he�d found the answers to everything man had ever
questioned. He raised his hands and waved them upward, as if he were trying to
get whatever . . . being that held
Naruto to crucify him better. Naruto felt his only hand wrapped in the same
warm energy that covered his right one. He fought and struggled against it the
best he could, whipping his body back and forth and kicking his legs out. But
the entity won and he was now strapped into a void of crushing, suffocating
power that continued to leech his chakra. Soon, the first of his five clones
he�d set up to give him nature energy would have gone to waste. Naruto sucked
in a breath and tried to calm himself enough to think. He raised his head
enough to catch a bit of color and realized the being around him was coalescing
into an actual form.
�� The same
statue he�d ripped apart weeks before, the King of Hell statue that
Pain had used to trap the other tailed beasts, stood over
him and had him wrapped in his earthen hands. Naruto swallowed hard. He didn�t know
how to confront something like that without the Kyuubi, or at least the chance
to use his own chakra. He narrowed his eyes and studied the base and the rest
of the statue but found no way for just his feet to crack any of it enough to
free him. He swallowed again and squeezed his eyes shut. The next voice he
heard startled, dismayed, and elated him.
�� Madara, put him down. Now.�
Kakashi�s voice rang out from the tree line, a barbed threat leaking out of it
at every syllable. Madara turned in that direction, still smiling hysterically.
�� Really? Will you be all then? Are there more?� he asked
amusedly.
�� Naruto
didn�t like the insane nature of his eyes. He could just make them out from his
current height and they sent a shiver up his spine as he watched, unable to do
anything. He gritted his teeth harder until he almost heard them crack. But the
feeling of someone�s hand, though he couldn�t see it, forming lines and whirls
on the back of his own made him jerk a little in the devils� grasp. He knew who
it was and could tell from the surrounding area that his lover and Kakashi
weren�t the only ones nearby. He swallowed again, feeling a little ill at the
chakra exhaustion. He hoped Sasuke would hurry.
�� Madara
stopped smiling and turned his face upward to narrow his eyes at Naruto. He was
frowning and the mad gleam in his eyes had returned. Well, the one eye. The other
was still warped closed from scars that crossed much of his face. Madara stared
at him with the one eye and Naruto shivered again, sweating. He knew . . . he
just knew that Madara had caught sight of him.
�� Sasuke,�
he breathed out and then winced. Sasuke had apparently resorted to using kunai
to try to hack through the rock fingers that held Naruto�s hands firm. Sasuke
didn�t say anything though he drew the word �stay� on the back of Naruto�s wrist.
Naruto couldn�t fathom what he�d meant by it but they�d run out of time.
�� Now,
Sasuke,� Madara sang out, chastising him. �None of that.�
�� Madara
aimed a lightning technique near Naruto�s head and he heard the sharp intake of
breath before Sasuke materialized on the statue, blood blossoming out from a
slash to his shoulder. Naruto breathed in deeply again and began to turn over in
his mind any strategy that might help them all get out alive. He could feel Shikamaru�s
chakra not too far from them and thanked the Gods. They would need him if any
of their ideas had a chance at working.
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The Fall of the Dogs of War