I really don't know why this chapter was so hard to write. The beginning burst out of me like it was nothing but then I just got so stuck...Anyway, i really hope you guys can forgive me for the wait. I literally changed this chapter like four times because I was super unhappy with it. This is the best I could do. But anyway, good news: THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE LAST ONE.
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Itachi woke with a start, running a hand through his hair when he continued to hear the doorbell assaulted mercilessly. It really only meant one person was at the door. He swung his leg over the bed, grabbing a pair of sweat pants from the side of the bed. Itachi glanced over, seeing Sasuke slowly pull the blanket over his head, muttering something under his breath. Itachi smiled lightly, going downstairs so he could potentially beat Kyuubi to death with a shoe for waking him.

He walked down his stairs slowly, hating the red head more and more by the second as he still continued to ring the doorbell. Why Kyuubi didn't just call, was beyond him. He opened the door, seeing the worried red head glancing back at Naruto, who was bundled up in a large coat, seemingly hiding his body. Sasuke had explained that Naruto had been Orochimaru primary target for luring him. Itachi felt sick thinking that someone as sweet as Naruto would be used as bait. He was glad the snake was dead. Even if Madara hadn't been the one to do it, Orochimaru would have ended up dead, one way or another.

"Good morning, beautiful." Itachi wasted no time bending down, grabbing the closest shoe, and hitting Kyuubi repeatedly with it. "OW!' He continued to hit the red head until he felt completely satisfied. Naruto was just standing behind the red head, awkwardly, avoiding the Uchiha's gaze. Itachi frowned. "I thought we were friends, Itachi, you can't be mean to me!"

"You woke me up, on my day off, no less." Itachi said, leaning into the doorway. "You're lucky I don't rip your arms off."

"You weren't answering your phone! I hit you with at least eight texts." Kyuubi retorted, still rubbing the sore spots on his head and arms.

Itachi rolled his eyes "Ever heard of calling?"

Kyuubi was scowling, not holding much anger in his glare. "Whatever, Naruto wants to talk to Sasuke, so I decided while they have one on one time, I'd treat you to coffee, your highness."

As if summoned, Itachi heard Sasuke's lighter steps coming down the stairs. "Itachi, who is it?" He was rubbing his eyes sleepily. "If it's Madara tell him to fuck off."

"Sasuke?" The raven perked up, looking over Itachi's head and spying Naruto and Kyuubi on the other side of the door. He felt his heart pick up a few beats, but kept his face calm.

"Naruto…" They both stared awkward at each other, shifting their weights. Both Kyuubi and Itachi could feel it, and the red head pushed his way past Itachi, heading into the spacious living room.

"Hurry up and go get dressed." Kyuubi called, flopping himself down on Itachi's couch.

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "I'm driving."

"What?"

"No complaining, you woke me up. And you drive like shit." Itachi headed up the stairs, Naruto had settled down next to Kyuubi but Sasuke was still stuck in the middle of the stairs, still staring at the door. Itachi sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Come with me for a minute." Sasuke nodded. When they were back in Itachi's room, he shut the door, watching Sasuke sit back down on the bed. "I think you should tell him the truth."

Sasuke grabbed one of Itachi's pillows, pressing his face into it. "Yeah, not like I could hide it anymore." His voice was muffled. He looked up from the corner of the pillow case, eyes on Itachi. "Are you really okay with him knowing?"

Itachi rummaged through his closet, grabbing a black shirt and some jeans. "What else can you say, honestly?" He started dressing. "After what he's been through, he deserves the truth more than anyone."

"I never wanted this to happen." Sasuke said, his voice was quiet.

Itachi paused, arms locked up in his shirt. He lowered his arms, the fabric coming with it. He looked at Sasuke's profile; the raven avoiding his eye contact. The Uchiha sighed, pulling the shirt over his head. He walked over to Sasuke, grabbing the smaller raven's head with his hands, fingers gently weaving into his locks. "I know, Sasuke. I know. I wouldn't wish this on my greatest enemy." Sasuke tried to turn away but Itachi's grip was too firm. "It's going to be okay, now. I promise. Naruto will forgive you."

"He shouldn't."

Itachi shook his head. "Sasuke, if Naruto is willing to forgive you, then you should at least forgive yourself." The raven hugged the pillow tighter. "Right now, Naruto is very fragile, Sasuke. He needs you more than ever. Please be gentle to him."

Sasuke threw down the pillow. "Do you think I'll be mean to him?"

"Honestly, I don't know. If you're anything like me, you'll try to wall yourself up and you'll be emotionally distant. Naruto came here, for you, for a reason. You both had to live through that ordeal, and it's going to be together that you'll begin to start healing." Itachi paused, grabbing a jacket off the chair by his bed. "He's hurting, Sasuke. You can see it."

Sasuke looked down at the floor. "I know…"

Itachi sighed, yet again, shaking his head slightly. "Get dressed and go down there." Sasuke nodded, standing up.

The Uchiha closed the door behind him, heading back towards the living room, where Kyuubi was holding Naruto close. He was whispering something to him, the blond just nodding his head. He kissed Kyuubi on the cheek, pulling him in for a hug. Itachi smiled sadly, knowing that Kyuubi was only trying his best to help his brother and that he didn't exactly know how. He nuzzled into the blond hair, sighing softly as he held Naruto. "It's gunna be okay."

"You ready to go, Kyuu?" The red head looked up from the couch, disentangling himself from Naruto. Itachi could hear Sasuke's footsteps coming up behind him. Kyuubi tossed a passing glance at his brother before turning back to Itachi.

"Will you buy me food?"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "Yes. Now come on." The door closed softly behind them.

Sasuke looked awkwardly towards the living room before he walked off the last stair, heading further into the room. He was rubbing the top of his arm, not fully able to look at the blond. It wasn't that Sasuke was grossed out by what they had to do, but he just felt like their relationship had taken a too intimate turn far too soon. Going from friends to forced lovers wasn't exactly an easy transition. Naruto was looking at him; Sasuke could feel the big, blue eyes staring at him. He bit down on his bottom lip, settling down on the other end of the couch.

"I'm sorry." Sasuke began, finally bringing himself to look at the blond.

Naruto laughed. "Why are you sorry? It's not like you wanted that to happen. You don't have to ask for my forgiveness, Sasuke. You don't need it."

Sasuke rung his hands together, shaking his head. "Then why don't I feel like you should forgive me…"

"Because you feel guilty." Naruto said simply. "Don't you think I feel the same way?"

Sasuke turned his head, an exasperated, sympathetic look gracing his features. "Why would you feel guilty? You didn't do anything!"

"I know that. But it still doesn't mean I can control it." Naruto's eyes moved away from Sasuke's, looking down at the floor. "When Orochimaru said you were coming, all I could think was how it was my fault that you were going to be involved in what was happening. It didn't matter that it was our fathers, or whatever. It's just guilt. It's not rational; it comes up from the bottom of your heart and suffocates you."

Sasuke nodded, feeling his numbness slowly fading as he moved closer to the blond on the couch. He reached for Naruto's hand, slowly moving his fingers over it. "So, how are you?"

Naruto took a deep breath in. "Do you want me to tell you the truth?"

"Yes."

"I don't know." Naruto bit down on his bottom lip. "I…I honestly don't know how I've been feeling these past couple days. I've been lying awake in my room, just staring at the ceiling, trying not to cry over what happened; trying to bite back my anger. Tears and screaming won't solve anything. I mean…They're dead." The blond looked up at Sasuke. "But, it's not just…The rape that's bothering me. I mean, I watched my brother practically beat someone to death. Madara shot two people, mercilessly. It's so much…All at once. I don't even think I've processed what happened."

Sasuke was silent, considering what Naruto said. He had been feeling mostly numb; sometimes grateful to be alive and with Itachi, but mostly numb. He knew that he shouldn't be as cold as he was. He hadn't gotten the worst of it. Sure, Orochimaru had slapped him around and threaten to kill him, sure Orochimaru had drugged him and then forced him to have sex with Naruto, but those were things that he and Naruto shared together. He didn't know what other horrifying things they did to Naruto before he arrived. They could have done tame things, considering that he didn't know what else had happened to the blond.

"Do you want to talk about what happened…Before I came?"

Naruto was silent. "The better question, Sasuke, is will you be able to take what you hear?"

Sasuke bit down on his lip, hard. "I won't freak out."

"Maybe not, but you'll feel worse."

It was silent between them. Sasuke knew Naruto had a very valid point. Would he be able to stand it? The knowledge of Naruto's suffering, alone? His stomach churned just from the thought. He had to look away, swallowing the emotional flood of self-loathing and hatred that battled to consume him. He knew it was not his fault. It wasn't really any of their faults; what had happened had all been Orochimaru. He may have tried to say otherwise, but Sasuke knew, deep down, that there was no way this could have been prevented. Orochimaru was sick in the head and like a bad dog, he needed to be put down.

Sasuke wished, however, that he had been able to prevent it.

Naruto closed his eyes, laying his head back on the couch. He shook his head. "No, not now. I'm not going to tell you."

Sasuke opened his mouth to protest but closed it quickly. He recognized the fact that Naruto wouldn't let up on the issue. They both knew it would tear Sasuke apart. And whether Naruto would reveal what had happened later, when they were both more emotional stable, didn't matter. Naruto didn't hide it because he was ashamed or horrified that it happened, but to protect Sasuke's psyche. The raven sighed, nodded his head. "I understand."

"Maybe one day, Sasuke." Naruto said. He looked serene, with his head back and his eyes still closed. He smiled, very lightly. "One day I'll even be able to tell my parents what happened. But today is just not that day."

Sasuke squeezed Naruto's hand, feeling himself shake as his muscles contracted and tried to send every emotion to Naruto, to let him know that he was feeling, that he was angry, sad, confused, sick to his stomach with how many feelings washed and ate at him in a single day. Naruto opened his hand, slipping his fingers through Sasuke's, and letting their hands curl into each other's.

"I feel like I should tell you that I'm sorry." Naruto said, opening his eyes and looking over at Sasuke. The raven raised an eyebrow.

"For what?"

"Because I liked it."

Sasuke's face contorted with confusion, his brows furrowing. "What?"

"When I was with you then, inside of you, I felt good. I knew it was wrong on every single level and I know being intimate with you like that again will never happen." Naruto let a breath out through his nose. "But even still, I enjoyed that moment with you; I've never felt more bonded to a person before… But in that moment, I felt you in your most vulnerable state, and you shared it with me selflessly because you were afraid you'd hurt me more. It means a lot, even in its own fucked up way."

Sasuke was speechless, his mouth hanging slightly open. He laughed, a deep timbered chuckle in the back of his throat as he shook his head. "You must be stupid."

Naruto smiled back at him. "I could be, yeah."

"It means more to me now that I know you were able to enjoy it. I didn't want to hurt you anymore than they had…I don't know, maybe it was selfless. I just wanted to make sure if we were suffering in the situation, we could at least enjoy ourselves, together. In our own moments of…Us, I guess." Sasuke let go of Naruto's hand, pulling it into his lap. "But…It still remains, I wish I could have seen the signs. Did something more; I never wanted you to get hurt, Naruto. Never. If I had known what would have happened to you, I would have pushed you away. I'd n-"

"Shut up, Sasuke." Naruto was shaking his head. "We could both say that, tha-that we wish this never happened and that we could have done something. But the truth is, we couldn't DO anything. It went from whatever to life-threatening in seconds."

Sasuke huffed, but nodded anyway. "I know, I know you're more than right, but I just can't keep thinking it."

"Sasuke, this wasn't our fault."

Sasuke bit the inside of his lip. "You may not say that after what I'm about to tell you."
-

Itachi sipped his coffee thoughtfully, watching as Kyuubi pushed food around on his plate. He seemingly lost his appetite half-way through after he spilled a giant puddle of ketchup on his food. The red head put his fork down, looking out the window.

"Are you alright, Kyuubi?"

The red head let out a hard puff of breath through his nose, shoulders and posture both sagging as he did so. He turned back to Itachi, eyes expressively blue, bright with the emotion welling up behind them. "Honestly, I couldn't tell you. I feel like some kind of hero, but then I also feel like I'm a villain."

"Madara probably hasn't lost any sleep over this…Incident." Itachi placed his words carefully, watching Kyuubi's face as he did so. The last thing he wanted was to hurt his friend by insinuating something. "Realistically, something had to be done. Maybe it was better this way."

Kyuubi leaned forward, looking around at the other diners as he did so. He grabbed Itachi's arm and pulled him closer. The Uchiha nearly dropped his coffee cup from the force. "Itachi, I nearly beat someone to death with a fucking bat. Do you think that's better than letting them be prosecuted by, oh I don't know, the law?"

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Kyuubi, would you rather know that they're dead and they can't hurt you or would you rather have them sitting in a jail cell with a chance to plot? The reason why Madara doesn't play around is because his enemies aren't stupid. Just because they would have been in prison doesn't mean we wouldn't have been affected by them."

Kyuubi released Itachi's arm, settling back into the booth. "I just…" The red head ran a hand through his hair. Itachi could feel the distress pouring from his friend, but he didn't know how to comfort him. What could he say that Kyuubi hadn't already told himself? "I'm not like Madara."

Itachi didn't mean to, but he laughed in spite of himself. "I could have told you that."

Kyuubi frowned. "I mean, like, I'm not hard like Madara is. This isn't shit I deal with a lot. Fuck, you know me, I run from my fucking problems." Itachi nodded. "So this…This isn't something I can think about lightly. This is the first time I've been genuinely engaged in my own problem solving. When I saw it…" Kyuubi trailed off, his fists clenching on the plastic table top, his eyes darkening as he got lost in his own thoughts. "It felt good beating that guy's head in."

"Kyuubi, if I had been there, I would have been in the exact same position as you. I would have felt the exact same feelings and I would have wanted to kill them. They had it coming." Itachi scowled. "They were playing with fire; Madara takes family more seriously than anything else in the world. If they were smarter, they would have seen it coming."

"Well, yeah, of course, Sasuke is your b-"

Itachi's phone started to ring and the Uchiha sighed, grabbing it out of his pocket. He looked at the caller ID and immediately his eyes widened. "I need to take this, sorry." The Uchiha got up quickly, nearly fumbling to answer the call. Kyuubi raised an eyebrow at Itachi's suddenness but just shrugged it off.

Kyuubi sipped at his coffee for a while, not really knowing what else to do. He hadn't slept much since the incident, as everyone called it, but he knew what it was. It was a very violent murder; one that he had partook in. It had felt satisfying on a lot of levels. They had hurt his little brother and it disgusted him to think that people like that could exist in this world. What was the point of hurting people like that? What was there to gain? Kyuubi shook his head of those thoughts when Itachi returned, slapping someone money down on the table. The red head looked up at the distressed yet quiet stare Itachi was giving his car. "Are you alright?"

"We need to go. Now." Itachi didn't even look at Kyuubi as he said this and the red head rose from his seat, following the Uchiha out of the small diner. The wait staff watched with confusion but said nothing as they exited the building.

Itachi slid into the driver's seat, closing the door softly behind him. He stared out the wind shield, with a blank expression on his face. While stoicism was a common enough trait in the Uchiha clan, Kyuubi felt his heart racing with a surge of panic as he sat with Itachi in complete silence. "Itachi, you need to tell me what's going on. Who was that?"

"I can't believe he was right."

"What?" Kyuubi's face showed his concern as he reached over to lay a comforting hand on Itachi's shoulder. Itachi pulled away, shaking his head. The red head knew these signs all too well, Itachi was about to have a panic attack, similar to the ones he got when they lived together, after Izuna's death. Kyuubi took a deep breath grabbing Itachi's face and forcing the Uchiha to look at him. "Tell me, now. Don't wall up, you'll only cause yourself problems if you do that."

Itachi breathed through his nose, steeling himself. "My father was right about Sasuke. He is my brother and I thought it was just his paranoid bullshit…But he was fucking right for a chance. And I can't even tell him I'm sorry for not believing him."

Kyuubi nodded his head thoughtfully. "Okay, it's okay, Itachi. I mean keeping that information from Fugaku was probably your smartest move anyway. I mean think about what Fugaku would have done with that kind of information, just caused more problems for you and Madara anyway. And he would just played the blame game with Sasuke about…well, you know, your mother."

Itachi looked over at the red head, scoffing slightly as he shook his head. "That's not why I'm about to freak out, Kyuubi. Do you really think I'd wall myself up over that?"

The Uzumaki pulse of Kyuubi's blood made his eyebrow twitch at the hidden lining of the rhetorical question. He was pretty much calling the red head stupid and he hated that more than most things. Kyuubi knew not to take that bait though. "Alright, all knowing genius. Then what IS the problem then?"

"I've been fucking Sasuke."

"Wait, what?!" Kyuubi's eyes widen considerably, a wave of confusion hitting him so hard that he felt disoriented. "But he's your brother, why would you do that?"

Itachi made a disgusted face. "Because I didn't fucking know, you insensitive asshole."

"How could you not know? Madara said you did!"

Itachi felt his back stiffen, ice causing the muscles and bones to become rigid and straight as he took in Kyuubi's admittance. Madara knew? How could he know? A red flag came up in Itachi's head and things started to piece themselves together slowly. "Oh my God…"

"He lied to me…" Kyuubi muttered. "Holy shit."

Itachi started his car, pulling it into reverse and whipping out of the small parking lot. His knuckles were white the wheel, anger tinting his vision red.
-

"What the fuck are we doing here?" Kyuubi felt a cold sweat on the back of his neck. It was the building he and Madara had went to the night they saved Naruto and Sasuke. The place of illicit pleasure and activities. It made his skin crawl just looking at the run down building. "Hey, Itachi!" The Uchiha ignored him as he walked up to the door, knock hard against the metal door. The slider opened, revealing the eyes of a man. He gave Itachi the once over before the door creaked open, spilling with harmonious music and laughter. The red head ran after the Uchiha, frowning as he passed through the door frame. Itachi was not in a good frame of mind. He had clammed up, saying nothing. Kyuubi grabbed onto the Uchiha's arm, pulling him backwards and stopping him from his blind meandering. "What the fuck are you doing? Shouldn't we, I don't know, be raiding your uncle's office and demanding answers?"

Itachi shook his head, not looking Kyuubi in the face. "I want to know what Danzo knows. Sasuke was here…He has to know…"

The red head swallowed, letting go of Itachi's arm. He knew when Itachi was in one of these moods, there was no stopping him. He raised his arms in defeat, falling in line behind Itachi. He wouldn't be winning this battle.

They walked towards the backroom, moving the cushy curtains out of their way, past the eyes of hungry older men, and the softness of boys. Kyuubi shivered at the thought but kept his eyes glued to Itachi's back, refusing to think of anything but their current goal. The entire situation disgusted him but there wasn't much he could do to change it. It was beyond their control. And it was fucked.

"Um, are you here to see Danzo?" Kyuubi and Itachi turned towards a boy, barely older than sixteen, who approached them. He looked nervous, staring down at the floor instead of meeting their eyes. "He's not in his office." He finally looked at them, big green eyes shining with an indescribable emotion. "He's….He's below." He tilted his head towards the door Itachi had entered upon his first encounter here. It was the place where Sasuke had been kept. He rushed towards the door, not caring that Kyuubi seem to want to linger with the kid. The red head caught up before the door closed in his face.

Both of them jolted at the sounds of muffled screams and sobs. Kyuubi latched himself to Itachi's arm, fingers shaking and digging into the fabric of Itachi's jacket as they descended farther into what looked like a make-shift torture chamber. Bodies of broken men and boys lined the walls, eyes glassy with unshed tears. Some of them moaned, heads lulling from side to side, looking up with at them with vacant expression; they didn't even seem to register that they were humans. Kyuubi felt sick to his stomach as they continued forward. The screaming of one person got louder and louder, mixing in with sobbing and choked cries. Itachi stopped in front of a door, eyes widening as he saw Danzo's back through the small glass porthole. He was standing over someone who was chained to the floor, arms behind their back and suspended from the ceilings. He made a motion and the screams were unmistakable; Danzo was torturing someone in there. "I'M SO SORRY." He kept crying out but Danzo kept repeatedly hitting him. Kyuubi watched for only a moment before turning away.

"That's…That's the guy who helped us!" He cried grabbing onto Itachi's arm. "Danzo is hurting him, Itachi. We need to do something."

Snapping out of his shock and disgust, the Uchiha nodded. He opened the door; Danzo didn't even seem to notice the sound, grabbing the man by the face and squeezing with all of his might. "I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING! AND YOU REPAY ME BY GOING BEHIND MY BACK?!" Itachi recognized Sai's face, even though it was far more bruised and bloody than when they first met. He let out a whimper sob. "I LOVED YOU!"

"I think that's enough." Itachi's voice was cold, almost too stern.

Danzo turned towards them, his uncovered eye showing nothing but malice. "Get out of here. I'm in the middle of training."

"Please, leave…" Sai's voice was small. "You'll just make him more angry."

"SHUT UP! DOGS DO NOT SPEAK." Sai pulled back as Danzo made a move to strike him. Itachi grabbed Danzo's arm, twisting it behind him back and holding it firmly. Even though he was strong enough to leave bruises on someone's face, he was still an old man. Itachi's strong body easily kept the man in place.

"Such a pathetic sight." Itachi commented, eyes narrowing as Danzo attempted to struggle. Kyuubi kneeled down next to Sai, noticing for the first time, the needles sticking out of his flesh. They bled in small droplets as he breathed erratically. "What a big man, having to torture those younger and stronger than you to get off. You're lucky I have questions otherwise, I would kill you."

"Get your filthy hands off of me, Uchiha brat. When your Uncle hears about thi-" Itachi cut Danzo off by slamming his head into the wall; his face darkened, showing nothing but a cold layer of stoicism, aloof and uncaring that he was hurting the old man. He deserved it.

The Uchiha pulled Danzo's face off the wall, using his free arm to hold him by the back of the head. "Now, you will answer my questions, or I will smash your head again. And since you're such a fragile old man, it won't take long before your skull is dust under my fingertips. Understand?" Danzo nodded, blood falling in fat drops from his lip. "Good. Who brought Sasuke here?"

Danzo's eye opened in shock, his lips thinning into a line. "I can't answer that." Itachi wasted no time in smashing Danzo face again, this time with more force. Danzo spit out one of his teeth, laughing. "You're pretty good at this." He stated, "need a job?"

Itachi pulled Danzo's head back, causing his back to painful arch. "Answer my question."

"There are people who are far more scary than you, Uchiha Itachi. And until your figure out who those people are, you will never know who gave me your brother."

"Oh? So you did know, did you?" Itachi looked over to Kyuubi who was skillfully untying the knots around Sai's arms, releasing him from the flexed position. He moaned, writhing on the floor as the red head went to work on the ones around him ankles. "Tell me, Kyuubi. Danzo just admitted he knew about Sasuke. Should we play a penalty game?"

"Games are fun," Kyuubi grabbed the needles from the ground. It was the first thing he had removed from Sai. He stood up, red hair dulled in the meager light so that the paleness of his face was ghostly as he smirked at the old man. "Maybe we should play."

"No, wait." Sai sat up weakly. "I can get you his file and it'll tell you who dropped Sasuke off here. Just no more of this." He got up on his feet, staggering slowly over to Danzo. Itachi let the man go as Sai approached. "This is the last favor I will ever do for you."

"You belong to me, you can't leave. Everything that is you is mine."

Sai pulled back, his fist bursting across Danzo's cheek. He fell into the wall, sliding down lifelessly. He twitched, but didn't move much more than that. Sai turned towards the door. "Follow me." Kyuubi and Itachi obeyed, watching as Sai moved slowly down the corridor. His legs were shaky and his back was covered in large, scarlet welts. Some of them were cracked open steadily dripping with blood. He had to stop only one because of the pain, but he refused Kyuubi's offer of help.

After a painful wait, they arrived at Danzo's office, surprising more than one passerby with Sai's appearance. They had said nothing though, fearful of what would happen if they went to comfort their fellow pet. Sai bent down, sucking air through his teeth as he did so. He refused to let the pain show on his face, letting only the dampness of his hair and the droplets of sweat indicate how much he was struggling.

"Here, Sasuke's file." Sai sat down in Danzo's chair, taking deep breaths. "The identity of the seller has to be inside. We keep records on them for future deals. Or blackmail…"

Itachi opened the manilla folder, eyes scanning quickly over the details.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you." Kyuubi's blue eyes were shining brightly, holding a globe's worth of expression.

Sai smiled gently. "I deserved it. I was the one who tipped off Orochimaru, thinking it would be nice to get back at Sasuke. But I was wrong. I didn't think it would end like this…"

Kyuubi was silent as Itachi tapped a particular section of the paper, his finger hammering down on the name of the man who brought Sasuke in.

It was Madara.