Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Starting Over... ❯ Interrogation ( Chapter 2 )

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2

 

There were voices talking around him as he came to, but they didn't seem to be speaking to him. Sasuke could feel chakra in the thick chains binding his wrists and ankles, so he didn't bother to try to move. He was in a darkened room, and he was chained to the chair he sat on and there was only one door and there were no windows.

 

“Ibiki-san!” Called a masked member of the ANBU, “he's awake, sir.”

 

Morino Ibiki stepped through the door, looking more intimidating than ever, the brutal scars on his face seemed to stand out more in the half dark room. “So, Uchiha Sasuke, feeling better? You've been unconscious for three days.”

 

Sasuke made no reply, which prompted Ibiki to smirk.

 

“Usually traitors come back to us in pieces, but then, I told Danzou he was an idiot for sending his own hunter after you.”

 

“Hn. That boy, Sai.” It was a statement, not a question and Ibiki nodded.

 

“If you knew, why is he still alive?”

 

“He wasn't a threat to me or my revenge.”

 

“Meaning he wasn't strong enough to fight you?”

 

Sasuke shrugged. “The more pets Orochimaru collected, the less I had to deal with him.”

 

Ibiki smirked and arched one eyebrow expectantly at that, but Sasuke only scowled silently at the huge man until he changed the subject. “Speaking of Orochimaru, Kabuto confirmed to Team Seven that you killed him- how?”

 

“He looked right at the Sharingan during his soul transfer technique, and his will wasn't strong enough to keep me out of his mind.”

“I see, so his jutsu became yours and now you have his powers.”

 

Sasuke nodded.

 

“Now that your brother is dead too, what were you planning to do next?”

 

“I hadn't planned doing anything.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“We both know I would be dead already if they hadn't interfered.”

 

Ibiki was silent as he left the room. “Tell Tsunade-sama that she can see the prisoner now.”

 

The next time the door opened, it was indeed the Hokage who stood in the doorway. Sasuke looked down, uncertain how to react to her.

 

“I don't need to tell you that there are two people in this village who want you reinstated right now as a full ninja with all rights, privileges and responsibilities. Now that you're here it's too late to be angry that you aren't dead yet, Sasuke. Part of you knows that. So, can you learn from what's happened and start over or are you still so selfish that you will cause Naruto and Sakura even more pain?”

 

He glared at her. “Start over? How Hokage-sama? What kind of a life is there for a ninja without honor?”

 

“You may not believe this, but everyone in our village wanted you to be the one to kill your brother- what most of us fail to understand is why you were so determined to do it while you were still so young.”

 

“Naruto asked me that too.”

 

“And what did you say?”

 

“I had to fight Itachi before I became too much like him.”

 

Tsunade surprised him when she smiled sadly. “That's what I thought you would say, but I don't think you are anything like your brother. You have acted with too much honor and not enough cruelty for too long. Twice, you have attacked Naruto but ultimately you didn't strike a deathblow. You killed Orochimaru and instead of replacing him, you disbanded his whole organization and freed all of his prisoners. Sound Village will be sending you greetings in the form of its best assassins for the rest of your life in return for that treachery. At least two members of the Akatsuki have died by your hand, so you know you have their attention as well. You certainly have a knack for picking enemies though, Sasuke.”

 

“Even if I could keep going, nothing I do will ever restore my honor to what it was, you know that, Lady Tsunade.”

 

“Perhaps not, but at least if you are alive you can still rebuild your clan. I have found a way to free you from the cursed seal- it will be ready tomorrow. That is good timing, because you are requiring more and more frequent doses of chakra to keep the poison at bay. Even with your chakra sealed, and the seal dormant, this combination of artificial substances within your body is still lethal.”

 

“What about Juugo?”

 

“I think his powers are actually tied into a previously unknown bloodline limit, making it harder to prevent his transformations. Luckily he isn't poisoned so I have more time to study our options with him. In the mean time, he seems to be settling in rather well, and he is almost as worried about you as Naruto and Sakura.”

 

“But what did the council say?”

 

“Honestly that was our toughest obstacle. They are never easy to deal with, but tradition and honor clashed yet again, and for once, honor won. You are lucky that you came from such a large and powerful clan- the entire council owed a favor or two to at least one of your clansmen. In return for sparing your life, the slate is assumed cleared of their debts of honor to your family. You'll still need to watch yourself and everything you do for the rest of your life, but I know you already know that...”

 

“What are their terms?”

 

“After the removal of your cursed seal, you will be forgiven the death penalty- but I wasn't able to talk them out of the whip. After your corporal punishment, you will be under house arrest while your body heals naturally. As a ninja who has killed two S class criminals you are already too powerful to leave as a Genin indefinitely; even they agreed it would be a waste of your talents if you are left alive. So, any time you are chosen for a mission regardless of rank, you will be accompanied by Naruto.”

 

“Hn,” he said. “But aren't you just doing this for Naruto and Sakura, wouldn't it be easier just to leave me rotting in a cell somewhere?”

 

“A friend of mine once went rogue too you know, and I always wondered what might have happened if I had ever believed in him the way that Jiraiya once did. Regardless, I don't sense the same evil in you that I knew was corrupting Orochimaru.”

 

He snorted, but something in her quiet voice made him look at her. There was a deep sadness in her eyes- the same loneliness he'd known since his family had been killed, and curiosity got the better of him. “What's happened? I can't believe you'd get so sentimental about this.”

 

“I-I'm the last of the Sannin. I haven't told anyone- not even Shizune… but Jiraiya is gone too.” Tears formed in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall as she stared at the table in front of her. “He died investigating Akatsuki's leader and now…”

 

“You're afraid my return will inspire Naruto to do something stupid when he finds out.” It was a statement, not a question and it made her laugh bitterly as she brushed away her tears.

 

“Something stupid…” She snorted. “That's amusing sentiment from a missing ninja who went looking for revenge.”

 

Sasuke didn't smile. “I'm not apologizing for leaving. I believed my brother when he said I wasn't even worth killing, so rather than live because of a desire to prove him wrong, I did exactly what he wanted. That was stupid. Akatsuki has always been after Naruto, Jiraiya's sacrifice will be for nothing if Naruto and Kyuubi are captured because they went after revenge.”

 

“I don't quite know why, but I like you, Uchiha.” Tsunade said slowly. “But how do we protect him from an enemy unpredictable enough to take down the Kazikage in one fight? Even in the middle of Konoha, Kisame and Itachi could have killed three of our Jounins in a single afternoon, simply because we had no way weren't prepared…”

 

“They appear to have several lairs here in the Fire Country; Juugo said that animals feel sinister chakra when they are around, so they avoid the locations marked on the map I had when I was brought here.”

 

Tsunade stood up and left the room, when she returned, Ibiki was with her.

 

“I was curious about your map when we found it so I already sent ANBU hunters to thoroughly search the locations you marked but all we found in each one was an old stone lantern- they were all hidden and a perfectly matched set, but nothing useful as a lair,” Ibiki growled.

 

Sasuke smirked. “Lanterns? I am especially curious to visit one of these places now, but I found my brother before we reached the nearest location marked on the map. If those lanterns are all chakra linked, to make them spirit sensitive, then even if they are focused on different lanterns, they could talk telepathy. That would account for both the sinister chakra that makes the animals so wary and their mobility since there would be no traps to disarm or maintain when they enter and leave the area.”

 

“That's crazy!” The masked ANBU who had been watching him since he awakened, slammed both hands down on the table. “Even our hunters didn't think of that-”

 

“Crazy?” Sasuke shrugged. “Perhaps, and it should be a coincidence but I know my brother; he was trying to hide something from the Sharingan. Since lanterns were the only common denominator in each location, then that has to be the key.”

 

“Didn't it occur to you that your information could just be wrong or maybe you are a traitor who has reason to protect the Akatsuki…”

 

Sasuke glared at her, but even as his eyes turned into the Sharingan, someone got between them.

 

“Anko!” Tsunade snapped. “I will see you in my office later!”

 

“I-I'm sorry, Hokage-sama…” The woman under the mask didn't wait for a reply and quickly retreated.

 

With his chakra restraints still in place, the Sharingan was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared, but even so, the silence in the room remained uneasy as both Ibiki and Tsunade stared at him. The Sharingan, had responded to his anger and the stress he was under, but he wasn't really angry with Anko in the first place.

 

He was angry about being here; daydreaming about coming back when he'd known that this would happen. There was no truly safe place for a ninja whose honor was tarnished. Leaf ninjas were known for being more merciful than those of other villages, but even they refused to trust known traitors.

 

He'd sacrificed his own honor for the chance to settle things with his brother- and more than ever he saw that for the mistake it was. The arrogant bastard's last words had left him with only more questions, and a seething hatred for the power of his own bloodline limit... What exactly was left for him to look forward to?

 

“For whatever its worth, I agree with your theory, Sasuke.” Tsunade sighed; it pulled him from his thoughts when she slumped back into her chair. “Juugo seems trustworthy and besides, infusing objects with chakra isn't a new idea, so-”

 

“Lady Tsunade, I deserved that and you know it will get worse…”

 

“When you left the village, Anko was actually one of the people who helped convince me not to send hunters after you. Her anger came from finally realizing that you really are the one who stopped Orochimaru. She still has her cursed seal as well, but even with it forced into dormancy years ago, she has never been able to resist its evil the way you are. That is why she spoke the way she did.”

 

“I don't care about that. But Danzou has already gone behind your back once because of me... What do you think will happen to this village if you bring me back?”

 

“What will happen to you if we don't?” The Hokage countered. “I still can't recommend letting the council kill you, because honestly, I agree with Naruto. It isn't your fault that your brother was a complete sociopath, yet I can't set you free with no allegiances either. But by far, the most dangerous option of all would be putting you in a cell somewhere and locking the door for a few years. Then you would become a monster just like the two traitors you killed, is that what you want?”

 

Sasuke looked away. “Everyone that associates with me will be treated with that disdain- or worse. Is that really what you want for Naruto- you'd really give the village another reason to hate and be afraid of him just to get me to fight for the Leaf again?”

 

“It was Naruto who asked to be teamed with you. As many times as you've hurt him, he has never stopped believing in you, and its clear that you need someone to have that much faith in you right now.”

 

Sasuke snorted. I have faith in me, which was all that had ever mattered before, but…

 

“Take him back to his cell and keep him under a powerful sleep jutsu because he's still poisoned and my medical ninjas will need to check him every few hours. You will be brought to the council tomorrow, Uchiha; either accept the council's terms and rejoin the Leaf or you will die, consider your options carefully.”