*Gulps* Ok! Here's my first fanfic....Nothing else to say... I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

----- Fires Rekindling -----

Prelude

Something wasn't right. Naruto had been running through the forest on the edge of the Fire country for the past hour, searching for the man who would receive the scroll he was carrying. Only problem: there wasn't any such man. His senses desperately trying to pick up any sign of human life, Naruto continued his search, growing more frustrated and nervous by the minute.

"The hell" he hissed.

It was strange enough to be sent off on a mission by himself, especially in the few weeks that Danzou had taken the role of Hokage (not that Naruto would ever recognize him as such). But to have no one around so that he could even finish his mission? That was very unusual. And to be meeting in such a remote location? Even more unusual. Yep. Something was definitely not right.

Landing on the top of one of the trees, Naruto surveyed the area. The sun was just setting, bathing the forest in rays of gold and orange. But what piqued Naruto's interest was the small signs of movement in the trees around him. That, and the oppressive feeling of dread that had suddenly washed over his body. It seemed that he had been followed, and whoever his pursuers were, they were good. Knowing that there was no avoiding it, Naruto waited for the imminent attack.

There were more of them than he expected. And all ANBU, no less.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" shouted the cat-masked leader. "You are hereby placed under arrest and are to come with us."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Under what charges?"

"That will be discussed later. Now come with us, these are the Hokage's orders."

And that's when it all came together. The fake mission, the remote forest, the dozen or so ANBU agents, Danzou's habit of calling him "Jinchurriki"… Finally, Naruto understood.

"I'm sorry" he growled. "I take orders from the real Hokage, not from some creepy old guy."

At a nod from the captain, the ANBU began to spread out, preparing for an attack. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice in this, Jinchurriki" he sneered.

"Guess not" replied Naruto. He grinned, and began to form a hand seal…

Chapter 1

Leaping swiftly from tree branch to tree branch, Sasuke, along with his team, Hawk, made his way to the Fire country, and then to Konoha. At last, after about 4 months of planning and waiting, they could make their move against Konoha and its corrupt leaders. Sasuke clenched his fists at his sides at the mere thought of that terrible betrayal: the order of the Uchiha clan massacre. An order made by the so-called elders and their puppet Hokage.

'And now that old man Danzou is the Hokage. Perfect.'

At the moment, however, he and his team were merely gathering information. As convenient as it was for Danzou to be the new Hokage, it did change the plan somewhat. There was no knowing, after all, what changes had been made to Konoha's security under the war-mongering old man.

As they were approaching the Heaven and Earth bridge, everyone in Team Hawk suddenly stopped. They stared in surprise at the scene before them.

It was a scene of complete destruction. Trees were uprooted and were laying around like kindling. Great fissures tore up the earth in some places, and in the middle of it all, a large crater of some sort. Despite their shock, it was apparent to the team that the damage had been done some time ago.

"Juugo, what happened here?" asked Sasuke. His larger teammate was studying a small bird on his finger.

"They say it was a battle. A battle between monsters" he answered. "One of them sounds like Orochimaru. The other…" he paused. "Some sort of demon. Like a fox, they say, with a terrible chakra, that brought down trees and --" Juggo suddenly looked up.

"And what?" asked an always-impatient Karin, her arms folded.

"The bridge" said Juggo softly. "They say that the Heaven and Earth bridge was completely destroyed."

"Eh? Really?" asked Suigetsu, looking up from rearranging the sword on his back.

"It doesn't matter anyway" said Sasuke shortly. "Let's go."

But he couldn't shake off the feeling that he knew exactly who that demon was, and when the battle had happened. It had been over a year ago already, when Team 7 had tried to "rescue" him from Orochimaru.

As they looked out at the destroyed remains of the bridge, Sasuke remembered overhearing a conversation between Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"Chakra. He destroyed that with pure chakra" whispered Kabuto. "Are you sure we should have left him alive? That weakened state he was in when he arrived here --"

"No" interrupted Orochimaru. "I'm curious as to how this will all play out. It seems I have underestimated the Jinchuuriki. And besides…" there was a brief pause. "If he had released those tails again, I don't know if I could have killed him…"

The wind howled through the canyon, blowing past the silent Team Hawk, and its calm, cool leader. Sasuke frowned down at the remains of the bridge, strewn about on the canyon floor. 'Naruto'…

**********

"What the hell do you mean, it doesn't exist?!" shouted an enraged Sakura. The pink-haired medical nin was glaring at her teammate Sai, who was smiling.

"It means exactly what you said" he said brightly. "The entrance to the hideout doesn't exist in this plane. I guess you could say that it, and the entire hideout, is invisible."

Sakura snarled. "If you're screwing with us -- "

"Sakura, please calm down" said Yamato, holding his arm in front of Sakura. She obeyed her superior grudgingly, and settled on scowling at Sai instead.

"I've heard of techniques that can do this" Yamato continued. "It involves messing with inter-dimensional space, am I right?" Sai nodded. Behind him, a quiet Kakashi looked up.

"Techniques like that are extremely difficult. Danzou must be taking a lot of precautions" he stated quietly. "If that's the case, then this is very likely the place that we're looking for."

"I assure you, it is" said a still-smiling Sai. "After all, I've seen his new … project there myself." There was a long pause as the entire team looked at the Root member. They were remembering what they had learned only a few hours before, back in Konoha.

"I know where Naruto is" said Sai, happy and blunt as always. "Now do you want to follow me?"

"You could have told us that in the first place!" Sakura hissed. Being worried and overworked for months was taking an obvious strain on her emotions. "We could have gathered other ninjas weeks ago! We could be rescuing him right now! Not following you around just to see where it is!" Her voice got louder and louder as she ranted at Sai, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "Ever since Naruto went missing, we've been desperately looking for something, anything, that could lead us to him. We know it was Danzou! Ever since he led that coup against Tsunade-sama things have gone wrong. All this security, breaking alliances, and then Naruto missing! You know how Danzou always saw him. A demon! Just some monster to be used…" Her voice trailed of as tears formed at the corners of her eyes.

"Sakura" said Sai quietly. She looked up in surprise at the sound of sincerity in his voice – a rare thing indeed. "Naruto's been gone for months now. If I had just told you right away, what would have happened?"

"I see." murmured Kakashi. "It seems you were right, Sai. I had no idea Danzou would go this far. And right in front of Konoha, no less."

"Acting rashly, without studying the hideout first, we would have staged a rescue mission to somewhere that we didn't know at all." murmured Yamato.

"See?" said Sai, smiling once more. "You would have only gone to your deaths. You have no idea what's going on in there. And until recently, neither did I." For a moment, Sai looked thoughtful. Then he looked at Kakashi.

"We should rest here for now" he said. "I'll show the entrance to you tomorrow, before heading in myself."

As he unrolled his sleeping mat, Kakashi thought he heard something, but then he noticed Sakura. Her hands were shaking as she held them out to the small fire. Kakashi sighed.

'Poor thing…'

In the trees far above them, a lone figure stood, watching. He had heard everything, and his Sharingan eyes were now fixed on Sai, waiting for him to make his move.

**********

Just as the first signs of dawn began to light up the sky, Sai was already walking silently away from his sleeping companions. Suppressing his chakra as much as he could, he leapt up into the trees, moving through them quickly, making almost no sound as he leapt from branch to branch.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a kunai whizzed right by his head, embedding itself into the tree beside him. Without missing a beat, Sai dived off the tree branch, landing on the forest floor below. Four figures landed right after him, forming a circle, surrounding him.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun!" said Sai brightly, "It's been a while --"

"You work for Danzou, correct?" interrupted Sasuke. "You're in Root?" Sai's smile faded, and he looked levelly at Sasuke.

"Yes. Found a sudden interest in Danzou have you?" His smile returned, as bright as ever. "Don't tell me you're running to gain power from him too -- "

He was interrupted by an ice-cold kunai at his throat and an even colder glare from the Uchiha.

"What's in the hideout?" Sasuke asked. Everyone stood motionless. Silent and watchful, they carefully studied Sai, looking for any hint of a lie, or worse, an attack. All they saw, however, was a smile.

"A weapon."

"Guards?"

"No."

"Then who's in there?"

"Only 15 of us, working on the development of the weapon."

"And what is this weapon?"

"I couldn't say…" The pressure from the kunai at his throat increased when Sai said nothing further.

"Tell me."

"How about I show you?" Sai whispered. The Uchiha's eyes narrowed in suspicion. It wasn't like a shinobi to give away the location of a powerful weapon. Not that it mattered, with an Uchiha demanding information. Still, Sasuke was unsure.

"I can't say anything else," continued the Root shinobi. "But really, I must go. Follow me if you'd like, I won't stop you." And with surprising speed that shocked everyone in Hawk, Sai made a strange hand sign and disappeared, only to reappear a moment later several yards away from the group. Sasuke recovered first, and looked at his hands. 'Ink?'

"I see," he said softly. "You can teleport, but with a very strange technique. I'm surprised." For the upteenth time, Sai smiled…. And took off at top speed toward the hideout. Sasuke smirked.

"Follow him."

**********

As the sun's rays began to light up the sky in dazzling shades of pink and yellow, Sasuke and his team finally arrived at Sai's destination.

Karin stopped dead, looking around in confusion.

"I can feel his chakra, and several others, but…"

"Where'd he go?" asked a shocked Suigetsu. "He just disappeared, didn't he?"

"Relax, he just went through this door, right in front of us" Sasuke stated calmly. He pointed at a small smear of ink, slowly dripping down what at first looked like thin air, about 4 feet off the ground.

"Confident, isn't he?" remarked Suigetsu. "It's probably a trap, you know."

"No, I don't think so" said Sasuke quietly. "He wasn't lying about the number of ninjas earlier. I think he's challenging us."

Karin snorted. "What, does he really believe that we can't handle 4 Konoha platoons? The freaking idiot. Let's just go." And without any further discussion, she led the way into the hideout, pushing the invisible "door" open.

As the team stepped inside, they were surprised to find that it seemed to be underground, similar to one of Orochimaru's hideouts. No windows, no nice floors. Just like a hollowed out cave with torches lining the walls for light. There was nothing to do but go forward, down the hallway right in front of them. Quietly, stealthily, Team Hawk made their way into the heart of the hideout. When they finally reached a fork, they paused, looking at the three different ways to go. Karin spoke first.

"The hallway straight ahead and the hallway to our right have people's chakra very nearby" she murmured. "Sai's chakra is coming from the right… looks like he's headed this way. Someone's with him. Do we take them out?" Sasuke seemed to consider for a moment.

"No. We wait." And with that, he turned around facing the way that they had just come, motioning to Suigetsu as he did so.

"Take out the torches on this side, I'll take them out on the other. We need darkness."

And with that, the two shinobi moved with surprising speed; Suigetsu using water, and Sasuke using a fire-suppressant technique. Within seconds, the hallway was completely dark, only barely illuminated by the torches lining the walls of the branching hallways in front of the team.

Just at that moment, two pairs of footsteps along with low voices, were heard coming down the hallway to their right.

Sasuke nodded to his team, and as one, they leapt silently into the dark hallway; lying close to the floor, or standing pressed against the walls. They waited, hardly breathing in the dark, damp air, for only moments before the two Root ninjas appeared.

"…is getting more and more difficult to control, as you will see later. We now have to take much longer to draw it out," the masked ninja next to Sai stated. "And so I don't need to remind you again of how important it is that you're here, reporting, at every stage of the process. It's becoming very unpredictable now -- " The ninja paused, frowning at the dark hallway.

"Oh? Now the torches are burning out," Sai said, grinning. "If this weapon is so important, the facility needs to kept in better order."

"Mind your tongue" snapped the other ninja. "And quit with the fake smiles. You're in enough trouble as it is. Be grateful that Danzou favors you so much."

"Yes, senpai" Sai murmured.

The two shinobi turned to the right, down another hallway. Just before getting out of easy earshot, however, Sai paused, and spoke in a voice much louder than necessary.

"Convenient, isn't it? Looking through the side door at the weapon in action? That's where we just were, right? It brings us much closer than up at the observation booth."

"Which is where we're headed right now" the other shinobi said shortly. "Now let's hurry, we're about to start."

They continued down the hallway, leaving Sasuke and his team alone.

Suigetsu gritted his teeth. "He's messing with us, isn't he? That bastard really is overconfident."

"Don't worry" said Sasuke, obviously annoyed at Sai's behavior as well. "You have my permission to kill him."

Karin ran a hand through her hair distractedly as she emerged from the dark hallway. "Let's just get this over with you guys. I've already had my share of dark, damp places – Wait, what the hell is that?" She suddenly grew rigid and looked down the hallway to their right. What she felt disturbed her. The chakra was too sinister, and too similar to a previous encounter that had almost killed her and her entire team. For the first time since then, she had a rush of foreboding.

"Karin, what is it?" Sasuke's voice brought her back with a start.

Frowning, she answered. "It feels like a – a Jinchurriki, like the 8-tails, but…"

There was no need for Karin to explain further, however. Suddenly, the level of that sinister chakra raised dramatically, so that it was easily picked up by the other team members.

"What the f --" stammered Suigetsu, but he was cut off by Sasuke, who had suddenly taken off at full speed toward the source of the – for him – all too familiar chakra. Nervously, his team members followed.

They ran down the dark hallway, their nerves on end as the chakra's strength increased. As they neared a heavy iron door at the end of the hallway, it seemed as though the chakra was permeating everything, giving the very air an eerie sort of red glow. Sasuke reached the door first, and peered through a small window at its center… He didn't like what he saw. He didn't like it one bit.

'Fuck'

**********

Juugo, the ever-quiet member of Sasuke's team, watched his leader carefully. The nature and strength of the red chakra was overwhelming, and Juugo feared he would react to it with a sinister chakra of his own. The very sight of Sasuke calmed him, however. At the moment, the Uchiha's face was bathed in that red glow, but what intrigued Juugo was the look on his face. To most people, Sasuke looked calm and impassive, but to Juugo, he was clearly very upset. His body was tense, and his eyes, in their Sharingan mode, held an emotion that Juugo had never seen before.

"Sasuke, what --?"

"Naruto" he hissed. It was as through his team was no longer there.

Juggo frowned, and peered into the window beside Sasuke.

It was horrifying. In the center of a large room was a young man, with a mess of blond hair. He was chained at the wrists; the chains, pulling his arms away from his sides, were attached to two large posts on either side of him, effectively holding him in place. His shirt was torn and ruined, and he looked beaten and completely exhausted.

There was no doubt that he was a Jinchurriki. A strange cloak of that red chakra covered his thin and scarred body, forming behind him into a single tail. A single tail, Juugo noticed, that was quickly being joined by a second. The Jinchurriki began to struggle, pulling at the chains, his tails whipping about furiously. The door seemed soundproof, but still, Juugo could hear faint shouting from inside. Whoever he was, the man clearly did not want his power to be released.

"They're forcing it out of him"

Juugo jumped and turned around. Karin stood behind him and was staring, transfixed, at the sight before her through the window.

"This must be the weapon. They're trying to harness and control the demon inside that guy" she murmured.

"It won't work" said Sasuke quietly, his eyes never leaving the struggling figure inside. "That's the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki."

Karin stared at him. "What? Are you serious -- " Just then, the third tail formed.

A wave of chakra slammed into the door, cracking the window, and driving everyone back. Inside the room, Sasuke could see Naruto beginning to put strain on the chains holding him. Fangs bared, dripping with blood and saliva, he was snarling, struggling with all his might to pull down the posts. The red chakra whipped about wildly as Naruto's anger increased, and a fourth tail began to slowly emerge.

Unnoticed by Sasuke, Karin was shaking uncontrollably, trying to shield herself from the overpowering chakra that reeked of the need to kill. She was clearly upset, because she chose Suigetsu as a shield.

"Hey! What're you…" Suigetsu trailed off at the stricken look on Karin's face, and decided that, for the moment, he didn't mind.

Still, Sasuke was unmoving. He could only watch, as Naruto began to lose consciousness and allowed the Kyuubi further control. The room seemed to tremble at the force of the Kyuubi's chakra. As the fear in Naruto's eyes changed to fury, the chains began to break. And for the briefest moment, Sasuke felt a rush of fear.

*********

Juugo let out a breath that he didn't even realize he was holding as the Kyuubi's chakra slowly began to dissipate. Apparently, the strange room that the Jinchurriki was imprisoned in had some sort of emergency response system. Just as the fourth tail began to form, causing the chains to break, the room began to seal away the demon's chakra. It wasn't easy to watch. The Jinchurriki was obviously in great pain, and in a terribly weak state. As the last of the red cloak disappeared, he slumped forward, his body held up by the chains – chains that had somehow repaired themselves, Juugo noted.

Just then, a door from the other side of the room opened, revealing a cloaked, masked shinobi entering the room slowly. He paused in front of the chained man and ran his hands up and down the chains holding him, checking for any signs of damage. Calmly, he next moved to one of the pillars, and began to press something, suddenly tightening the chains holding the Jinchuuriki. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, carefully noting this. And noting also that, despite the numerous injuries covering Naruto, the masked ninja was ignoring him completely.

Sasuke blinked as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Juugo looking at him with some concern. Frowning, Sasuke looked down to see that his hands were balled into fists, and that he was trembling. He swallowed, trying to relax, wondering how the hell he had allowed himself to get so upset in the first place. Sasuke didn't have long to wonder. His head snapped up at the sound of a very hard punch.

"Filthy monster" the masked ninja hissed. Although the Jinchuuriki was barely conscious, it was still extremely satisfying to give him some extra punishment. 'Payback,' the ninja called it. And as long as those chains kept the monster fully in place, he could swallow his fear and give the Kyuubi vessel what he thought he deserved. Feeling more confident, the ninja grinned and punched the vessel again. And again. He was laughing now and, grabbing the Jinchuuriki's head, kneed him once, in the stomach.

Feeling satisfied, the masked shinobi straightened up, and decided to punch the vessel one more time, just for the rush he got. He pulled his fist back, shifted his body weight, and then –

"Wha?!"

Sasuke's katana skewered him perfectly, giving the masked ninja only just enough time to realize he'd been stabbed before sending chidori through the blade. The unknown ninja's life ended with a flash of light and the crackling of lightning.

Sasuke looked down at Naruto. Chained and bleeding, he appeared to be unconscious. Sasuke was surprised, then, when his old teammate looked up. Dark, onyx eyes were pinned by the force of light, cerulean ones. Naruto held his gaze for only a moment, before dropping his head, giving in at last to the darkness that overwhelmed him.

Blinking in surprise, Sasuke looked down at the still form of Naruto. He could've sworn he heard Naruto whisper something, something that sounded like, "Sasuke…"

There was no time to ponder, however. Sasuke realized that they had little time. As his teammates entered the chamber, he walked to the pole that the masked nin had messed with earlier and pulled the lever to release the chains holding Naruto. As though in slow motion, Naruto fell forward as the chains dissipated. Before hitting the hard floor, however, Sasuke was suddenly beneath him, catching Naruto on his back.

Shifting slightly to accommodate for the weight, the Uchiha stood and nodded shortly to his teammates. As one unit, they made a break for the hallway.

Running down the dark corridor, Karin strained to feel the close presence of any pursuers, but was surprised, and slightly worried, to find that there were none. Unknown to her, or any of Team Hawk, a smiling Sai was at the observation booth that overlooked the room that had once held Naruto. Various Root shinobi were laying, unconscious, around him – most with odd snakes made of ink around their necks.

"Take care of him, Uchiha" Sai murmured. "Gods only know, he needs it."

Just as he spoke, a burst of electricity and a crash signaled Team Hawk's successful escape, with Naruto safely among them.

**********

This will be continued, probably as a two or three shot. I hope you liked it! Reviews would be awesome!