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
- 73
- 74
- 75
Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to Sade, KatSaama, SunaoTsuji, Procrastination_is_key, satterb, Moonmoore and melissen for reviewing after chapter 73 was posted.
Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me. Feedback keeps me writing.

Author’s note
It looks like the malware issue may be coming and going (hopefully mostly going) for some time. I post chapters at the same time on FF.net. The line spacing there is not how I want it and if there are adult scenes they have been removed but this chapter and many others are essentially the same. You can search under Mannah Pierce or Leader FF version.

Leader
Part 8: Clan
74: Walk

Sasuke took a number of deep breaths to quell the adrenalin rush. After the better part of a standard waiting, it felt so good to be taking action.
They were about to walk the station. The only people missing were Izuna and Sumaru. If they did not arrive soon, Izuna-sama or not, Sasuke would send Gai and Kisame to get them.
Shikamaru and Neji were staying in the household, along with Kiba, Konan, Hana and the children, the rest of whom had arrived by shuttle from the Elm during the morning. Everyone else would walk, either from the docks or from the Uchiha compound.
“Update,” he murmured, even though Neji had only spoken to him a few minutes before.
“This is Neji. Everyone is ready. There is no need for anxiety, Sasuke-sama. The clock will not start running until you leave the household.”
Naruto was looking at him; he had heard Sasuke’s side of the exchange. He twitched his whiskers and Sasuke gave a small nod in return.

Footsteps; Izuna and Sumaru rounded the corner. Izuna looked good in the less formal version of the uniform. Sasuke found himself wishing that things had been different; that he and Izuna had been able to find some common ground.
To his regret, it was not to be.

They formed up. Kisame and Itachi had point. Behind them were Haku and Moegi. Sasuke was next, flanked by Naruto and Kuuya. They were followed by Izuna and Sumaru and then Kamatari, Choza and Gai.
He asked for a channel to Kakashi and then drew his knife.
“Uchiha walks. In the cold of space...”
There was the sound of a dozen knives leaving their scabbards. Thirteen blades pointed upwards. “...you find the heat of suns. We walk.”

Kazuki was on Haru’s right and Hoshi on his left. Beside Hoshi was Yuki. In front of them were Yoshimi, Yasushi and Ran. Behind them were Hikaru, Ryuu and Keizo. They would be in the middle, because that was where spacers placed their cats.
Before them in the marching order were Tatsuji, Hamaki and Konohamaru with Kabuto. After them were Terai, Fu and Inari with Orochimaru.
Orochimaru had yelled about being allowed to speak to Papa, but Kakashi-san had threatened to gag him and he had shut up.

Haru wished he could see more; he may have grown a handbreadth over the last standard but he was still shorter than everyone but Ryuka.
Then people stopped shuffling about and came to attention. Haru followed suit. Something was about to happen.

Kakashi-san’s head appeared above the others; he must have stepped up on a box or something. There was silence. Haru heard the sound of a knife being drawn and then saw the flash of Kakashi-san’s blade.
“Uchiha walks! In the cold of space...”
Thirty-five other blades were thrust upwards. “...you find the heat of suns. We walk!”

Haru concentrated on matching his pace to those around him. Occasionally, as they would pass the mouth of a corridor and he would glimpse an Uchiha allied crew, sometimes more than one, waiting to follow them. Others were already at the Killing Square.
The Maple had brought in six, the Elm four and many more had arrived independently. The latest count had shown forty-eight in the Tarrasade system.
Then there were the USF squads that were placed at strategic points; there were enough of them to subdue a riot.
This time Shi-chan had planned for every eventuality.

Shikamaru and Neji had set up one of the meeting rooms in the household. They were surrounded by projected images and interfaces. Shikamaru even had three microphones that were hardwired in; one to the station gunners, one to the harbourmaster’s office and the other to station security.
It was hard to put out of his head what had happened when Uchiha had walked the station for Deidara’s execution.
“You all right?” Neji asked.
Shikamaru nodded. He checked the radio channels. This time there had been no talk of tradition. Each member of Uchiha out there was wearing an earpiece and a tracker. There were flyers deployed along the entire route. In addition, he was in contact with every USF squad leader and each captain of an allied crew.
He wasn’t taking any chances.

Neji’s eyes were fixed on the display showing the progress of the two groups. Shikamaru saw him open Kakashi’s channel.
“This is Neji. Can you speed up a little, Kakashi-san? If not, I can ask Sasuke-sama to slow down.”
“This is Kakashi. Speeding up. All is good.”

Shikamaru watched the two groups of dots headed towards the Killing Square. He thought for a moment and then turned Sasuke’s tracker blue and Izuna’s red.
He switched his attention to the images being transmitted by the flyers on the ceiling above the Killing Square. The challenge had been how to maintain some control of the situation when the square itself was a no-go area to the USF and other non-spacers.
His answer had been to use the allied crews. They had responded magnificently and were now doing exactly as he had requested, forming cordons so that Uchiha would have unhampered access from the corridors to the central killing zone.
Content that everyone was doing as he had asked, he launched his facial recognition programme; intent on scanning the crowd for potential enemies.

By the time they entered the square, Madara had grudgingly admitted to being impressed. The crew walked well and the sheer number of other crews wearing the Uchiha symbol was unexpected.
He had never bothered much with Sasuke Uchiha’s idea of affiliated and allied crews; an individual was either sworn to Uchiha or he was not. In person they proved to be a motley lot but they were here, wearing the Uchiha symbol with pride and obviously loyal to their leader.
Not that they were all people; the closer they got to their destination, the more hybrids he saw. Standing at the line marking the boundary of the killing zone was a huge dog-human hybrid.
“Captain Bull,” Sasuke acknowledged.
The massive brute gave a deep bark and a tiny companion beside him bowed. “Uchiha-sama.”

It was sinking in that, fox hybrid heir or not, this would have never been an occasion to challenge.

Once standing among the crew within the killing zone, he scanned the crowd for familiar faces. Not every spacer lining the boundary wore the Uchiha symbol.
He spotted Kimimaro and relaxed slightly. It was working out as planned.

The rest of the crew was entering the square from the other side, led by Kakashi. Madara watched, tense, as they spread out.
They had Kabuto, as expected. He craned his neck while trying to look as if he was not. Yes, they had an Orochimaru.
It would be a clone. It would either have a mindnet, whereupon Sasuke would know that killing it was merely a show, or not, whereupon he might believe he had the original.

Those arriving took up their positions. Both prisoners were chained and each was guarded by two elite fighters. Madara watched as they were each forced to their knees.
Then, briefly, he made eye contact with Orochimaru.

Madara’s gut twisted. His head was still telling him that it had to be a clone while his body reacted to seeing the man he had known so well for so long.
How had Uchiha captured him? When had Orochimaru become so careless?

Then reality dawned. Orochimaru wanted to live forever. If he had not already offered up Madara’s true identity, he would.

He forced himself to be calm. They did not know. There was no fresh hatred in the eyes of those around him. Sumaru was not staying especially close. There was no indication that they intended to announce his identity, drag him to the centre of the square and execute him.
He had a choice to make; either he slipped away or he stood his ground and risked being unmasked.

The facial recognition programme required a face-front image, either taken directly or cobbled together. Given the density of the crowd and the position of the flyers, Shikamaru had begun wondering if it was going to work.
Then, suddenly, six profiles were projected at the side of the room.

He had set the filters so that it would discard anyone recognised as aligned or allied to Uchiha. Others were being added to the list at a position that reflected the risk they represented.
Top at the moment was a white-haired, purple-eyed male named Suigetsu; a known associate of Kabuto.
As Shikamaru watched, a new profile was introduced at position two. It was Kurotsuchi; the woman who had briefly seized power in the Warren and then vanished rather than face the residents’ wrath. Her presence opened new lines of thought that Shikamaru could not focus on at this time; he re-routed them into deeper layers of his mind.
“Kurotsuchi is a prominent member of the Anti Hybrid Brigade,” Neji observed. “The AHB would much prefer to see Izuna-sama rather than Sasuke-sama leading Uchiha. They may have anticipated a leadership challenge.”

Shikamaru scanned the crowd for people wearing AHB colours. He could not see anyone, which was hardly surprising given the strong hybrid presence and the preponderance of HDL blue.
If Kurotsuchi had begun the day wearing any token declaring her allegiance, she had bowed to her survival instincts and removed it.

Everyone was in position. The prisoners were on their knees. Sasuke stepped forward to address the crowd.
“Shit!” Neji exclaimed.
Shikamaru stared at him; shocked. Neji never used bad language.
Neji pointed at the list. Shikamaru looked. A new profile had appeared at the top; Kimimaro. Neji was already opening a channel to Kakashi.
“This is Neji. Be aware, we have identified Kimimaro in the crowd. I repeat, we have identified Kimimaro.” He cut the link. “Can Naruto defeat him?”
Shikamaru’s heart was pounding. They had been thinking so much about Izuna that they had not considered the possibility that anyone else would challenge Sasuke.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.

Haru could see more after they had spread out and taken up their positions. The prisoners were on their knees. Papa had stepped forward. The crowd had fallen silent.
“I am Sasuke Uchiha,” he began.
There was a huge, spine-tingling roar of approval. Haru had not expected it. He did not think Papa had expected it. He doubted that even Shi-chan had expected it.

It was a life-changing moment. Haru now understood, deep down, that Uchiha was not only those inside the boundary but many of those in the crowd beyond and in all the other allied crews. Papa had offered thousands of ordinary crews the ways and the means to make themselves exceptional. He had believed in them and over two hundred of them had responded by becoming extraordinary.
They had become part of the new Uchiha.

Papa raised his hand and the crowd fell silent.
“We, Uchiha, declared a vendetta against the Akatsuki, Our reasons are published and known. Three men were named. Pein is dead. This man...” He pointed to Orochimaru. “...poisoned him.”
Haru knew why Papa was mentioning it. Poison was not a spacer’s weapon. Poison was underhanded and dishonourable.
“This is Kabuto. This is Orochimaru. They were not delivered to us. We, the core of Uchiha working with the allied crews, captured them. Good people, loyal crews, were lost doing so.
“We honour them. We sing their song.”

It was unexpected. Surely if a song had been planned they would have practiced it? Haru looked about and saw carefully disguised surprise on many of the others’ faces.
Then Papa sang and it wasn’t one of the old Uchiha anthems. It was not about honour or duty or even about sacrifice. His choice was the lullaby* that he had sung to Haru and his siblings since before they could understand the words.

Goodnight,

goodnight

to friends in space

and those on ships

that interlace

with suns and moons

across the seas

of light that rim

our galaxies.

Goodnight,

goodnight

to all who fly

and those who seek

worlds in the sky

from those united

under red and blue

a long and peaceful

calm to you.

There was a moment of utter silence as the last note died away. Then the chanting started with “Sasuke Uchiha!” and “Uchiha-sama!” before it became a single word repeated again and again: “Uchiha! Uchiha! Uchiha!”

Haru wondered if it would ever stop but when Papa drew his blade and held it up, angling it to catch the light. The silence was swift and deep.
“Today the vendetta ends,” he declared.

Papa moved towards Kabuto and, before Haru could appreciate what was happening, there was blood spurting. It splattered across the floor and coalesced into pools.
It was a much brighter red than Haru had expected and there were more spurts, each weaker than the one before.
Kabuto died.

There was a soft thud as Papa let go and the body fell to the floor. Then Papa moved towards Orochimaru, who had started talking.
“Be reasonable, Uchiha-sama. You are blaming me for the acts of my clones. They were not me.”
Papa took a fistful of black hair and exposed the long, white neck but he chose to respond. “You are responsible for their actions.”
He raised the knife.
Then Orochimaru shouted. “I can destroy Izuna Uchiha.”

Madara did not understand why they followed Sasuke Uchiha. He had sung them a lullaby and yet they had responded as if it were a battle cry
However, he had to admit that the atmosphere was electric. All eyes were fixed on Sasuke; even Sumaru’s.

He drifted gradually backwards, taking himself out of Sumaru’s peripheral vision. While Kabuto was being dispatched, he slowly removed his bracelets and dropped into their place the ones that had been around his forearms. When Sasuke moved on to Orochimaru, he removed his earrings and replaced them with clips from his pocket.
As each second came and went he expected Orochimaru to betray him. He was still this side of the boundary when the first words came.
To his immense relief they were irrelevant.

He was across the line. Kimimaro pulled off his hooded cloak, displaying the tags that matched Madara’s bracelets and earclips.
Then he heard it; “I can destroy Izuna Uchiha.”

Time slowed. Madara saw the expression on Sasuke’s face. He either was not listening or did not care.
The knife descended in a graceful arc, slashing the long, pale throat. Madara watched as disbelief gave way to terror and then confusion in Orochimaru’s eyes.
He watched the one person who knew his secret die.

Sumaru was moving towards them with Gai and Choza following. His eyes went to Kimimaro and, to Madara’s surprise, blazed with hatred.
He had not known that Sumaru and Kimimaro had history between them. He glanced sideways at Kimimaro, who was smiling slightly; he wanted Sumaru to challenge him.
“You have duties,” Madara reminded him, annoyed that such a reminder was necessary.
“Yes, Uchiha-sama,” Kimimaro replied. He stared directly at Sumaru and spoke loudly. “Do you want me to challenge the usurper and kill the fox hybrid?”

The words incensed Sumaru. Madara guessed that only Gai’s hand on his arm restrained him.
There was a faint hiss from his earpiece; an incoming communication.
“This is Neji, relaying Sasuke-sama’s orders. Izuna-sama is free to leave. I repeat, Izuna-sama is free to leave.”
The words wiped all expression from Sumaru’s face. He shook Gai’s hand off his arm, turned his back and resumed his position.
Gai and Choza followed his example.
For some reason Madara did not understand, it bothered him.

He could not resist one last look in Sasuke’s direction. Sasuke was looking directly at him. They made eye contact and then Sasuke deliberately turned away.

It hurt; like being rejected by his brother all over again. Madara did what he always did when he felt vulnerable; he released a small measure of the anger he kept contained deep within.
It washed away all other emotions, leaving only ingrained resentment and slow-burning rage.

Sasuke had just finished watching Orochimaru die when Neji spoke.
“This is Neji. Apologies, Sasuke-sama, but this will not wait. Izuna has moved across the boundary. He has Kimimaro with him as bodyguard. There are three likely outcomes. He will leave, he will challenge you for the leadership or Kimimaro will issue a personal challenge to you.”
He stiffened; Naruto was less likely to defeat Kimimaro than he was to win against Izuna.
“Shika says that the best option is for him to leave. May I relay an order from you for everyone to allow it? I would use an open channel so that Izuna would hear.”
Shikamaru and Neji would have discussed the situation while he had been dealing with Kabuto and Orochimaru. There no time to recapitulate the arguments. He moved his left hand, confirming the order.

He allowed Orochimaru’s body to fall to the floor and moved back to the centre of the square while Neji relayed the order.
Sumaru and Kimimaro were face-to-face across the boundary. For a moment Sasuke wondered if Sumaru would obey but he turned away and returned to his place, followed by Gai and Choza.

Izuna was looking directly at him. Sasuke no longer cared what he wanted. Either he would challenge or he would not; Sasuke had a ritual to complete.
He turned away and moved into position. Naruto was to his left, as befitted a lover rather than bodyguard. Kakashi was to his right.
The Voice in his Ear spoke. “This is Shikamaru. Izuna and Kimimaro are leaving.”
Sasuke took a deep breath. It was a good day not to die.

He thrust the bloody knife upwards. “In the cold of space...”
There was the sound of knives being drawn and the flash of blades being raised. Hundreds of voices responded, “...you find the heat of suns.”
Then the chanting began.
“Uchiha! Uchiha! Uchiha! Uchiha!”

Acknowledgement
*Lullaby by Sarah Wilson - from Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Blast Off! Poems About Space. NY: Harper Collins, 1995 – found on the interest at http://inquiryunlimited.org/lit/poetry/space_poems.html#R – apologies to the author for the changes to make it more appropriate
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Leader