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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
- 63
- 64
- 65
Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to Destiny, SunaoTsuji, melissen, Lonelylulaby (for all five times, good to know that you are enjoying catching up), satterb, disembodiedvoiceofthedying, sadie237 and SidonieStarr for reviewing after chapter 63 was posted. Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me.
Feedback keeps me writing – reviews are particularly motivating.
There is a forum thread if you wish to discuss something or have a query.
http://www2.adult-fanfiction.org/forum/index.php/topic/21106-the-world-of-mannah-pierce/

Leader
Part 7: Vendetta
64: Uchiha-sama

Sasuke licked his lips. Given that his audience was only the big litter and Naruto, it was ridiculous to be nervous.
Even the choice of venue had bothered him; his office was too small and a meeting room seemed too impersonal. In the end he had decided on the kitchen and explained to the other members of the crew that they needed privacy.
Eleven pairs of eyes, ten blue and one amber, were studying him; waiting.
“This is a clan matter,” he began and judged their reaction. Some were puzzled, others curious. Naruto’s gaze promised unfaltering support. “Once this meeting is over, what we discuss here must only be mentioned in my office in private conversation with me.”
There were nods and the occasional, “Yes, Papa.”

He took a deep breath and continued. “Izuna-sama believes he has a legitimate claim on the clan leadership. He was never declared dead. He believes that he is still Uchiha-sama and that I should have stepped aside.
“In truth, we both have a claim on the clan leadership and, perhaps, if Izuna-sama and I had seen Uchiha following the same path, I would have been willing to step aside into the role of heir.”

There were murmurs of shock and denial. Sasuke held up a hand.
“However, we do not. Izuna-sama’s Uchiha would not be our Uchiha. I have no intention of yielding the clan leadership to him.
“Unfortunately, that does not mean that Izuna-sama is content with the status quo.” He looked to Naruto, who nodded. “We believe that he intends to challenge for the leadership, which, as you know, would mean that the future of Uchiha would be determine by a single knife fight.”
“You would beat him, Papa,” Yasushi declared.
Sasuke smiled. “Thank you, Ya-chan, but we are closely matched and fifty-fifty are not very attractive odds.”
“What happens if someone else challenges him?” Kuuya asked.
“In a non-leadership challenge his bodyguard would fight in his place,” Naruto answered for him. “Sumaru-san would kill the challenger. I believe that Sumaru-san could defeat any other fighter; certainly me and most probably Kisame-san.”
“So this is why you are staying away from Tarrasade,” Hikaru observed.
“Yes, this is why I am avoiding being with Izuna-sama in the Tarrasade system,” Sasuke confirmed.

Haru was frowning. “Why didn’t he challenge before? You and he were in Tarrasade together for divs.”
Sasuke had hoped not to go into that. “We aren’t sure, Ha-chan. He was recovering his strength and, at first, he did not know that he had not been declared dead. Maybe he, like me, hoped that we shared a vision of Uchiha’s future and that there was a nonviolent solution.”
Haru was not convinced. “The Oak being attacked is unlikely to have been a coincidence.”
Sasuke held up a hand. “We are not going there. It is unacceptable to speculate. At all times, we will act as if Izuna-sama is honourable, even if we believe him to be mistaken. Our behaviour will be beyond reproach.”
They chorused, “Yes, Papa.”

He moved on. “Shika-san, acting on a lead from Parrad-san, has discovered a possible way forward. What do you know about our clan charter? Ho-chan?”
Hoshi did not hesitate. “The clan charter was written by Izuna Uchiha and his sons and has been amended hundreds of times over the centuries since Uchiha was founded. While charter itself is short and straightforward, the amendments have made it long and complex.”
“Exactly. Thank you, Ho-chan,” Sasuke acknowledged. “It is within the complexity of those amendments that Shika-san has found something. We have realised that one does not have to be a full-blood Uchiha to challenge for the leadership. You have to have been recognised as an Uchiha at birth in the official naming ceremony, you have to be fourteen standards in age and you have to be sworn to Uchiha.”
There was a silence that Hikaru broke. “Not Ry-chan.”
“No, not Ry-chan,” Sasuke confirmed.
“Papa already told me that it didn’t include me,” Ryuu added.
Hikaru scowled at him.
“Papa said not to tell you.”
Sasuke wondered if he would need to interfere but Hikaru nodded and touched Ryuu on the shoulder in apology.

Kuuya grinned, reminding Sasuke of Naruto at his most feral. “Izuna-sama’s fifty-fifty chance of being Uchiha-sama just became zero.”
“Once we’re fourteen,” Haru pointed out. “They remain fifty-fifty up to that time. Does Izuna-sama appreciate the situation, Papa?”
“Not yet. We don’t want to give him half a standard to come up with some way of forcing a challenge. At the moment he is complacent. He is only considering you and Hi-chan and no adolescent purebred without a symbiote would have a chance of defeating him.”

Sasuke paused and inhaled slowly; it was time to hint at what was to come. “I am not assuming that all of you will be swearing to Uchiha. Some of you may choose to swear to me. Some of you may decide not to swear to me or Uchiha.”
There was silence. Judging by their expressions, none of them had ever considered not swearing to Uchiha.
“I shall be speaking to each of you one-to-one over the next few days.” He stood up and everyone stood with him. “I am going to my office now. Your Oto-san will stay here, with you. You can talk about what I have told you for up to twenty minutes. After that, what I said at the start applies. There will be no speaking about this matter other than in my office with me present.”

He made himself leave. It was only a short walk to his office. He shut the door behind him, sank into the chair at his desk and stared at the new portrait that Konohamaru had taken.
It was less formal than usual. He and Naruto were sitting on a two-seater couch. Takara was on his lap and Teruko was on Naruto’s. Tsuneo sat between them. On the floor sat Hoshi, Hikaru and Haru. Kazuki perched on one arm of the couch and Yuki on the other. Behind the couch stood Ryuu with Kuuya and Keizo to his left and Yasushi and Yoshimi to his right. The five of them were standing tall with their arms folded.
The display frame was tall rather than wide; Konohamaru had needed something to make the composition taller. He had added the Uchiha crest, the one that was on the wall behind Sasuke’s desk, above Ryuu’s head.
It was one of Sasuke’s favourite pictures; he was so proud of their two litters.

He went to the alcove and put the kettle to boil. Naruto would be encouraging them to discuss the plan. What they needed to understand was that it was Izuna’s perceptions that mattered. He had to be utterly convinced that becoming leader would lead to his death.
Any of the kits would be able to kill Izuna without drawing breath. Itachi had begun training them as soon as they could understand his instructions. As well as their hybrid aptitudes, they were in peak condition, had finely honed skills and an amazing level of control.
He tried to put himself in Izuna’s place. Yuki looked cute and harmless. Keizo did not have fangs. Yoshimi and Yasushi, along with Keizo, were berserkers. Sasuke was not sure if that would make them more or less terrifying but he could imagine Izuna thinking that he could take advantage of any lack of control.
Then there was Kazuki. Kazuki was the smallest but the most lethal. No one who had seen him move at top speed could have any illusions of getting in more than one blow.
Sasuke shivered. A fighter as skilled as Izuna would always get in that one strike. He might even risk everything and throw his knife. He was sure that Naruto and Itachi had thought of that, but he made a note to mention it.

That brought him to Kuuya. Sasuke studied his image in the portrait. He was heavier set than Naruto and his fur still had the distinct red tone that had been present when he was born. He showed no sign of any triggered behaviours. Most importantly for Uchiha, he had real leadership potential; perhaps as much as Inari or Five.
Yes, if Shika’s plan went awry, if Izuna was too arrogant to believe that a youngster, even a hybrid, could kill him, Kuuya would do just fine as Uchiha-sama.

His door announcer sounded. It was earlier than Sasuke had anticipated; perhaps the children had wanted to think more than they needed to talk.
He walked over to his desk to open the door. As he expected, it was Kuuya; Sasuke had asked Naruto to send him.
“Papa,” he acknowledged with a small bow.
“Kuu-chan. Tea?” Sasuke asked, gesturing towards the low chairs.
“Yes, please,” Kuuya replied but came over and stood beside him until the tea was ready, so that he could carry the tray to the table.

They sat opposite each other.
“How did the discussion with your Oto-san go?” Sasuke asked.
Kuuya considered before answering. “Well. We understand it is about perception rather than reality. Kei-chan, Yo-chan, Ya-chan and I are going train to be the deterrent. Ka-chan, Yu-chan, Ry-chan and To-chan are going to be the team training us.”
Sasuke was impressed. “So you are content to swear to Uchiha?” he checked, pouring the tea.
Kuuya looked at him with Naruto’s eyes. “Of course. I never doubted that for a moment.” He paused; his whiskers twitched. Then he continued. “Until today, I always assumed I would be serving a full-blood Uchiha and I was fine with that. I still am. I hope to serve you, Papa, until the day I die.”
Sasuke froze. It was hard enough to accept that Naruto would leave him without thinking about the kits. He pulled himself together. “Thank you, Kuuya-kun. I am honoured.” He made the decision. “If it comes to it, Kuu-chan, you are my first choice to make the challenge.”
Kuuya opened his mouth to object but closed it before speaking.
Sasuke was pleased. It showed that Kuuya was thinking things through. “It would be hard, Kuuya-kun. The challenge would have to be made before Izuna-sama could leave the square. You would have to contain your emotions and remain in control. If the others were there, you would have to take action before one of them could do something rash.”

Kuuya did not answer immediately, which was good. Sasuke waited. Finally solemn blue eyes fixed his gaze.
“I would be Uchiha-sama,” he whispered.
“Yes,” Sasuke confirmed.
“Not a purebred Uchiha?”
Sasuke nodded.
“A hybrid?”
“You are Uchiha.” Sasuke leaned forward, extended a hand and touched the crest above his son’s heart.
Kuuya blinked back tears. “Thank you, Papa. It will never happen, we will not allow it, but thank you.”

As Sasuke sipped his tea, he wondered what to say next. He had just decided to begin discussing the minkies and what they should do with them, when the door announcer sounded.
It was Hoshi and Hikaru.
“We were wondering if we could talk with you and Kuu-chan,” Hoshi explained.
He invited them in, sat them down and poured tea.
“Hi-chan and I stayed in the kitchen after To-chan and the others had left,” Hoshi began. “It was still within the twenty minute limit you set, Papa,” she assured him.
He nodded.
“We have a suggestion,” Hikaru continued. He looked to Hoshi, who gave him an encouraging smile. “We think you should recognise Kuu-chan as heir when he turns fourteen and swears to Uchiha.”

It had never occurred to him. Not even Shika had suggested it.
“Izuna-sama will understand that,” Hoshi explained. “He may dispute that Kuu-chan and the others have the right to challenge for the leadership but if Kuu-chan had already been recognised as heir the situation would be absolutely clear.”
“And we are fine with it,” Hikaru added. “We know that you would not have chosen to pick one of us out like that, but now the situation is different.”
“It’s about what is best for Uchiha,” Hoshi insisted. She took a deep breath. “Even without the threat Izuna-sama poses, at this time Kuu-chan is undisputedly the best choice as heir.”
“Yes,” Hikaru emphasised. He sat straighter and squared his shoulders. “We would be honoured to serve him as Uchiha-sama.”
“Yes,” Hoshi agreed. Although we hope it doesn’t happen,” she clarified.

Sasuke studied them. He wondered whose idea it had been. He guessed Hoshi. If it had been Hikaru he would have come alone. Hoshi understood that Hikaru might be upset or alienated by Kuuya becoming heir. She had therefore recruited him first.
“Papa?” Hoshi hinted.
He realised he had left Kuuya wondering if he was going to accept Hoshi and Hikaru’s recommendation. He pulled himself together.
“I had just told Kuu-chan that I wanted him to challenge Izuna-sama if the need arose. As Hi-chan suggested, I am not comfortable with the thought of elevating one of you above the others. However, given the circumstances, formalising the situation by declaring Kuu-chan heir is an excellent idea.”
He was rewarded with a blush from Kuuya and genuine smiles from Hoshi and Hikaru.
“Please remember that such matters are only to be discussed in here with me,” he reminded them. I shall tell your brothers and your Oto-san.”

Hoshi and Hikaru offered to leave, as they had interrupted his time with Kuuya. Instead the four of them discussed the minky problem. Over a thousand minkies had deserted the Akatsuki and surrendered to Uchiha during the vendetta, adding to the thirty youngsters that Itachi and Kiba had used to rescue the unborn kits fourteen standards ago.
Pip and Cot, who had done so much to persuade their fellow minkies to defect, were in stasis with the others. They had insisted, and Kiba had backed them up, that minkies would not be happy living their lives independently. They needed a leader to follow and tasks to do, otherwise they would squabble and make themselves miserable.
“I think the approach Hi-chan used to when salvaging Shika-san’s level would work best,” Hoshi suggested. “We have a meeting of those with relevant expertise and anyone who wishes to be involved. We then see what emerges.”
“Maybe you could start the process, Ho-chan,” Sasuke suggested. He remembered his dealings with the minkies on Jewel and their liking for fish. “My instincts tell me that the solution may include the planet, so I would invite Konohamaru-san.”

Various other people were suggested; Hoshi brought out a small notebook and made a list. Sasuke was intrigued that she chose to use paper and pencil rather than a tablet.
Then he fixed times to meet with Hoshi and Hikaru one-to-one, had a final few words with Kuuya and went to find Naruto.

He was in his office catching up on HDF correspondence; he smiled and abandoned what he was doing. “How did it go with Kuu-chan?”
Sasuke leaned on the edge of the desk. “Even better than I expected.”
Naruto’s whiskers gave a querying twitch.
“Ho-chan and Hi-chan suggested that I formally recognise Kuu-chan as heir when he turns fourteen.”
Naruto’s eyes and mouth were circular with surprise.

Sasuke suppressed a smile and waited patiently for Naruto’s mind to start working again.
“As part of the strategy to cope with Izuna Uchiha,” he managed finally.
“No, because Kuu-chan is the best choice and if Hi-chan and Ho-chan are fine with the idea there is no reason not to do it.”
“But the heir is your choice for who will follow you as clan leader,” Naruto pointed out.
“I know that, dobe.”
“But he’s a hybrid.”
“He’s my son, Naruto. He is Uchiha.”
“Are you sure? What about Kakashi? And Asuma? To them the clan leader is...” Naruto gestured towards Sasuke. “...someone who looks like you.”
Naruto’s whiskers were drooping. Normally that alone would have made Sasuke reconsider. Not this time; he was certain that making Kuuya heir was the correct decision.
“Even if the crew accepts it, those outside won’t,” Naruto argued. “You’ll be handing Izuna a huge advantage when there isn’t any need. It will be enough for him to know that one of the kits will challenge if he becomes leader.”
“And then what?” Sasuke demanded. “He steps aside for one of his purebred siblings? Good enough to put his life on the line, good enough to win, but not good enough to lead?”
“You need to be realistic,” Naruto insisted. “Most purebreds don’t think hybrids are people.”
Sasuke could not believe what he was hearing. “So if I put this to a vote at a meeting, you would vote against it?”
“Sasuke,” Naruto pleaded.
Disappointment was giving way to anger. “Answer me! Would you vote against Kuuya being made heir?”
There was a moment of silence and then Naruto answered, “Yes, I would vote against it.”

It was as if the dream they shared, the life they had built, had slipped through his fingers. Sasuke felt as if his heart had broken.
“I do not know you,” he whispered. “Where is my Naruto?”
Naruto was stricken; there was no mistaking how much Sasuke had hurt him. Part of Sasuke wanted to take it back, to gather Naruto to him and hold him, but there was too much anger and too much pain.
He walked away from Naruto’s expression of shock and betrayal, out through the door, along one corridor after another. He did not know where he was going; somewhere he did not have to think or feel.

He ended up in Kakashi’s office, only Kakashi was far away hunting Kabuto. There, at the back of the cubbyhole inside the desk, where he had known it would be, was a bottle of whisky.
Once it was half empty, he could no longer think or feel.

He could hear voices but they were indistinct and far away.
“Do you think he drank the whole bottle? Wow. I’ve never known him to drink more than a few shots.”
“Thank the Lady he has nanobots. Be useful, Konohamaru-kun. Hand me that hypospray.”
“Are you sure, Iruka-san? Maybe we should get a medico.”
“Yes, I am sure, and no, we are not involving anyone else.” There was pressure against his neck and a slight sting. “You are not to mention this to anyone. Do you understand me, Kono-kun?”
“Yes, Iruka-san.” Konohamaru sounded uncertain. “Is this what happens when he argues with Naruto?”
“No, this is what happens when he and Naruto manage to hurt each other and Kakashi is not about to talk some sense into him. Maybe you should make yourself scarce, Kono-kun. He probably would not like the idea of you seeing him like this.”

Slowly the world came back into focus. His cheek was in a pool of droll and yet his mouth was completely dry. His eyes felt as if they were filled with sand.
He tried sitting up only to have his head flop first one way and then the next. The sudden movement made him nauseous.
“Sasuke!”
He leaned back in the chair, which, thankfully, had a headrest. “Yes, Iruka-sensei,” he managed.
“Good.”
A face looked close and there was another sting to his neck. “Ow,” he complained. Then, brutally, his surroundings, including Iruka, came into sharp focus. He groaned.
“Naruto will not tell me what happened,” Iruka told him. “He says that it is a clan matter.”
“It is,” Sasuke confirmed.
Iruka held up his hand and pointed to the ring on his duty finger. “Having this makes me clan. Talk.”
Sasuke hesitated, not knowing where to start.
“Sasuke, you talk or I swear I will stick my knife somewhere you will not like.”

So he explained. It was not in the best order and his words seemed too ordinary to describe what had happened. When he had finished, Iruka leaned across the desk and activated the intercom.
“This is Iruka, Naruto-san, I expect you in Kakashi’s office within five minutes.”
“What if he won’t come?” Sasuke heard himself ask.
Iruka gave him a look.

A few minutes later the announcer sounded and Iruka opened the door from the desk. Naruto was too pale and Sasuke belatedly wondered how long it had been. His eyes went to the chronometer in the corner of the room; it had been morning and now it was late evening.
He had missed two meals, four meetings and, worst, the triplets’ bedtime.
“Sit down, Naru-kun,” Iruka instructed.
Naruto obeyed. Sasuke saw his gaze go from the empty whisky bottle to the depleted hyposprays.
“Neither of you are to speak until I give you permission,” Iruka warned. “Sasuke, when you said you intended to declare Kuuya heir, Naruto imagined Kuu-chan being thrust into the limelight, a focus for anti-hybrid sentiment, reviled and insulted.”
Sasuke opened his mouth to object and then shut it again. He had never considered that possibility.
“Naruto,” Iruka continued, “when you said that you did not support the idea of Kuuya becoming heir, Sasuke thought that you were saying that Kuu-chan was not worthy because he was a hybrid.”
“I would never...” Naruto began, only to be cut off by Iruka’s raised finger.
“Having established the basis of the misunderstanding, the other issue the two of you need to discuss is Sasu-kun’s overreaction.” He picked up the whisky bottle and the hyposprays. “My advice is that the two of you take the rest of this evening to yourselves.”

Then he was gone and they were alone. Sasuke still felt strange. He did not know if it was the whisky, the anti-alcohol treatment, the wake-up shot or whatever had possessed him this morning.
“I am sorry about what I said,” he began. “I wish I had not. If I could turn back time, I would.”
Naruto made eye contact and Sasuke realised he had been avoiding doing so. “I should have done a better job of explaining why I was fine with Kuu-chan challenging Izuna Uchiha and ending up as Uchiha-sama but not with him being heir.”
He stood up and came closer. Sasuke did not risk moving his head but he did reach out a hand.
Naruto grasped it. “And I should have stopped you leaving my office, or run after you, or at least gone looking for you.”
“I had hurt you,” Sasuke acknowledged.

He was suddenly moving and felt sick. He shut his eyes and forced a smile; Kisame had once told him that smiling stopped you throwing up.
“That grimace doesn’t qualify as a smile,” Naruto told him as they came to a halt. “I don’t think it’ll work. Warn me if you are going to puke.”
Naruto was sitting down. Sasuke was in his lap, wrapped in his long arms with his head resting on Naruto’s shoulder. “Have we stopped moving?” he asked.
“For now,” Naruto promised him.

Sasuke risked opening his eyes. They were sitting in one of the two comfortable chairs Kakashi had in one corner of his office. Having established their location, he closed them again.
Naruto kissed his forehead. “Tell me what’s wrong. Just say what comes into your head.”
“Our babies are growing up,” Sasuke heard himself say. Did he mean that? Or did he mean that every day that passed was a day less that he and Naruto would be together?
There were small, comforting foxy noises from Naruto.
“Izuna is determined to be clan leader. He would ruin everything we have built together,” he added. “He cannot be trusted with the people we love.”
“What else, teme?” Naruto asked.
“Pein,” he admitted, which surprised him. “Our babies were in the hands of a monster that could do that.”
The arms around him tightened. “They are safe now.”

Sasuke was on the edge of arguing that Orochimaru and Lady knew how many of his prints were still out there but decided not to. Instead he relaxed into Naruto’s embrace.
“Love you, dobe. So sorry.”
“Love you, teme. Forgiven.”
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Leader