Chapter Twenty-One

Despite the fact that the second portion of the Chuunin Exams were in progress, it did not take long for the hokage to arrange an emergency meeting. After all, it wasn't like the clan heads were involved in the exams at this point, and the civilians were not required to be involved at all.

"Alright everyone, we're here because I have been informed that Sasuke Uchiha here attempted to desert the village while under the influence of an external threat." Sarutobi started when everyone was seated and attentive.

"What?" Tsume asked.

"Perhaps Kakashi can better explain the situation to us." Sarutobi continued, gesturing to the jounin.

Kakashi stood in the room before the clan heads and hokage, with a restrained Sasuke beside him. The restraints were there to keep him silent as well as immobile, at least for now. To the other side of the room was Naruto, Sakura, and Haku watching and on standby if they needed to chip in. Kakashi himself tried to look as presentable as possible, but he stood like his legs were being held up by sheer force of will alone.

"Alright, to fully understand the situation I will be required to give some backstory." Kakashi began, speaking like he was suppressing some pain. "As we have learned, Naruto has gained abilities that are tied directly into the gods, or at least gods we were originally unaware of. Those gods have taken an interest in him, but sadly he was not the only one they took an interest in. And not all of them were cooperative. One of these gods is a man named Loki, who we have been told will trigger the end of the world." He paused for a moment to stare at his former student. "And Loki took an interest in Sasuke."

"What exactly does this 'interest' entail?" Shibi inquired.

"Sakura, you want to explain what you saw?" Kakashi asked, turning to the pinkette.

Sakura nervously stepped forward, then cleared her throat. "One day I was heading over to Sasuke's house to try and cheer him up. Remind him that he was still part of Team 7 even if he was suspended. When I got there I overheard him talking to someone that he called his parents."

The clan heads were surprised to hear this. While normally they would refute this claim, they all had seen Naruto's ability to summon dead spirits, so there had to be some validity to the story.

"I obviously cannot confirm who they were, but they did convince Sasuke that they were his parents. They said that they had ended up in some kind of bad place in the afterlife. Not exactly Hell, but close enough. They said that most souls that go there work for Loki, agents in his own army of the apocalypse. According to them, Loki is making an army out of vengeful souls that want to destroy the gods and Earth then rebuild it in their image with themselves as new gods."

'Oh crap, it's like the Uchiha coup on a much larger scale.' Sarutobi thought with a mental grimace.

"Sasuke's parents asked him to do something for them to make their goal easier to accomplish, and he agreed with no problem." Sakura continued, looking rather disappointed at the moment. "They gave him a book detailing records of relics that the gods have left in our world over the eons, and told him if he collected them all he could become a god's equal and help them get the end of the world started. Sasuke agreed with no problem, told that Loki would come to help him get out of Konoha while we were distracted with the Chuunin Exams."

Kakashi came forward and took out the book he had confiscated from Sasuke's apartment. "This is the book they gave him." He then handed it to the Sandaime for inspection. "It supposedly details everything Loki had wanted Sasuke to know."

'Good thing Danzou's not here. He'd literally salivate at the idea of finding relics that could turn a mortal into a god.' Chouza thought, glancing to the warhawk's empty seat in the room.

"We weren't completely sure when Loki was going to come for Sasuke, I only knew that it would be during the Chuunin Exams." Sakura added.

Shikaku nodded. "Strategically speaking a logical plan. A good portion of our forces and security would be focused on the exams, so the odds of fleeing the village unnoticed would be statistically higher than normal."

"We chose to monitor Sasuke during this time." Kakashi said, facing Sarutobi. "My students and I are aware of the legal risks we were taking in doing so, but as you can see we had legit reason to prepare for the worst."

"Noted, and whether or not your actions are unwarranted has yet to be established." The hokage replied, gesturing for them to continue.

"I approached Sasuke to see how he was handling not being in the exams, probing for any indication on whether or not he was serious about joining with Loki. His responses were highly along the lines of confession and rather... let's call them 'pompous' for now. I decided to subdue Sasuke and relocate him, and that was when Loki appeared. I attempted to fight off the god and... if you don't already know, I ended up personally acquainted with our protective walls."

Kakashi paused to flex his sore body. "The fact that I'm not in a hospital right now for that collision is nothing short of a miracle."

Naruto stepped forward. "For some reason Sasuke chose to ambush me, and Loki wasn't there. If I had to guess, he was getting in some last minute kicks before leaving. Fortunately the Anbu showed up and caught him, and here we are now."

"So the problem's solved then?" Tsume asked.

"No, not at all. Loki is still out there. I doubt he's gone this far just to give up that easily. He's going to try and break Sasuke out. We need to be ready to stop that."

"Sasuke Uchiha, do you have anything to say in your defense?" Sarutobi asked.

Kakashi deactivated the seal keeping the last Uchiha mute, and he did not look happy in the slightest. "You made a big mistake in preventing me from leaving. Had you just let me leave and get what I want, you would have been left in peace for however long it takes till Ragnarok begins. But now, Loki and I will leave this village in ruins. Unless you agree to let me go right now."

None of the adults there looked amused or threatened by his proclamation.

"And what exactly are you going to do if we refuse?" Inoichi asked. "In case you haven't noticed, you're in no position or condition to make demands of us boy."

Sasuke scoffed. "I don't have to do anything for now. Loki will come for me, and he'll surely make you pay for this."

"What can you tell us about this Loki character?" Chouza asked the members of Team Seven.

"Is he like that Frey god who made himself known not that long ago?" Inoichi added.

"Loki is a trickster god who I'm told is more deceiver than fighter." Kakashi spoke up. "We were not given details on specifics, but in terms we're more familiar with, Loki is like a member of the Kurama clan."

"Should I be insulted or flattered?" Unkai, representative of the small clan, asked.

Shikaku sighed exasperated and rolled his eyes. "So we're dealing with a god that can surprise us in virtually anyway possible, and the only thing you do know for certain is that he wants to use Sasuke?"

Kakashi was hesitant to reply for a bit. "I hate to admit it, but yes."

"Troublesome."

"He's supposed to be tied up in a cave that's not even in this freaking dimension. I've seen it with my own eyes. I have no idea how he's up and about in the first place." Naruto added.

"I spoke too soon." Shikaku added.

A few looked to Sasuke as if expecting him to provide an answer, but the young avenger refused to comment.

"Well what are we supposed to do? Prepare against an enemy who we know virtually nothing about? Or can we ask one of these gods to help us?" Hiashi asked.

"The gods are convinced that Loki's still locked up. They won't help us unless they see for themselves he's directly involved." Sakura told them all.

"And I can't make a god appear just by asking them to come by." Naruto added.

"Well fuck, what are we supposed to do? Trap this guy? We have a hard enough time dealing with the Uzumaki when he pulls his pranks and you want us to outsmart the literal god of pranks?" Tsume barked.

"We have something he wants, and we know he can be contained." Haku spoke up. "We have the bait, and we know these gods can be hurt, so the trap shouldn't be that hard."

Sarutobi glanced at Sasuke. "Think quick people, how do you trap a god?"

In the Forest of Death Gai's students were making their way through the Forest of Death.

"Neji where are we going?" Tenten asked as she and Lee were following their other teammate, jumping through the trees.

"I saw something on the edge of my vision. I want to get a better look."

Tenten and Lee shared a look between them. Neji was acting pretty weird. For one thing, he didn't insist on carrying the scroll that Anko had given them for the test. He actually let Lee have it, and Neji barely ever gave Lee any form of credibility. And while the Forest of Death was big, Tenten and Lee were pretty sure it wasn't so big that Neji couldn't see all of it within his range. Not unless he had been exaggerating or outright lying about the strength of his byakugan all this time, which frankly was quite believable.

"Shouldn't we be focusing on getting the necessary scroll?" Lee asked.

Neji snorted. "Such a simple task is hardly worth prioritizing right now."

"You don't even know which one we need." Lee point out.

"It doesn't matter." He replied.

Tenten got closer to her bushy eyebrow teammate. "If his eyes can see other scrolls odds are he already knows which ones we have and need. So while he is kind of being an ass, he is right that we don't have to waste time looking for a target right now."

After jumping through four more trees Neji stopped and went to the ground. Confused, Tenten and Lee joined him, seeing him smile while he looked ahead, with no byakugan on. "What's going on? Did you see what you were looking for?"

"Oh yes, I saw it loud and clear." He replied, in a tone they did not find reassuring.

"What do you mean Sasuke isn't here?"

"I'm sorry Orochimaru-sama, but apparently he was not permitted to participate in these exams."

At the moment Kabuto was separate from his teammates, not that he was truly concerned about them in the first place, to talk with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. And needless to say the snake Sannin was not too happy with what he was hearing.

"How could you not have been aware of this?" Orochimaru asked.

"In my defense Orochimaru-sama, what reason would I have had prior to today to know otherwise? We were both so certain that Konoha would want to show off the Uchiha in these exams that neither one of us bothered to confirm his attendance. I have no more information on the matter than you do."

Fuming, Orochimaru dropped out of the tree they were standing in and found a tiger that lived in the forest. Moving fast and catching the tiger by surprise, he pulled out the kusanagi sword and decapitated the animal, fuming loudly then taking some deep breaths.

"Feel better?" Kabuto asked, jumping down and landing beside his master.

"If I didn't your head would already be cleaved from your shoulders as well." Orochimaru replied, still frustrated but sounding like he just relieved himself of some stress. "Tell me, how do we adjust our plans given this new situation?"

"The one advantage we still have is no one knows we're here. But while you could locate Sasuke and give him your mark, you will lose the element of surprise needed to further test his acceptance of the seal. By then someone in Konoha will be able to make attempts to suppress it and they will be on the lookout for you."

Orochimaru frowned. "Give me an answer I can use."

Kabuto paused to think it over. "At this moment, the best opportunity for you that remains is during the moment that you unleash the initial attack on Konoha like you planned. In the confusion of fighting both Suna's forces as well as your own, there will be little time to focus as much on what happens to Sasuke. You will be able to give him your mark and ideally encourage him to use the power it provides with a follow-up battle."

The snake sannin glared. "Wait a month? Are you sure there's no other way?"

"None that I can think of. At least this way you retain your anonymity and I can do some more proper spying on the young Uchiha. Hopefully a better opportunity will arise before then."

Orochimaru sighed. "Very well. But if the time comes and this doesn't work again, we'll see just how effective your healing factor works Kabuto."

The snake sannin left, leaving Kabuto to have no choice but to return to his teammates. 'Like I'm going to let it come to that.'

Limited on options, the hokage had Sasuke moved to one of the holding cells used for prisoners before they were properly relocated. Anbu were alerted and guards were posted on high alert. Outside the cell itself was Kakashi and Haku in case Loki somehow got through, and inside the cell with Sasuke was Naruto and Sakura, in case Loki somehow could get in there directly. Kakashi had been given a chair and he was sure glad to have it.

Sasuke was chained to a wall, tethered by one chain with handcuffs preventing him from doing hand signs, and some seals around his eyes. Sure he couldn't do much with his sharingan, but it was standard and they didn't want to take any chances that Loki could somehow 'improve' them on the spot. Naruto had his angel armor active and sword drawn, ready to call on any einherjar he wanted if he had to. The only reason he hadn't already was because Kakashi said it would be best to keep them in reserve in case Loki was unaware of just who Naruto had the ability to summon. Any surprise they could have would only benefit them.

"It's pathetic how you think you've stopped me." Sasuke stated, trying to sound tough. In his current state there was little reason to reactivate the silencing seal. "Do you really think my parents or Loki would go to all this effort just to give up that easily?"

"Actually, yes." Naruto said, surprising both Sasuke and Sakura. "The way I see it, why would someone who valued you do all this Sasuke? He could have come to you at anytime, yet he waited for a time when we were supposed to be distracted. He could have just taken you out of here when he did show up, but he let you stay around to fight me. He could have showed up when the Anbu did, but he let you be captured."

Naruto paused, putting a hand on his chin and looking upward in thought. "Now that I've said that out loud, it makes much more sense to me. You sit there telling us how special you are Sasuke, how you deserve to be a god. And yet the god giving you the chance is being so sloppy about it."

Sakura blinked. "He's right. Kakashi-sensei said Loki was able to hit him clear across the village with no effort at all. If Loki really was that strong, then why would he make so much effort to avoid our attention? Why would he be afraid of fighting any of us?"

"He was not afraid!" Sasuke protested.

"His actions said otherwise. He wanted to avoid any attention, he didn't want to fight anyone." Naruto corrected.

"And the weird thing is he came so close to getting away with it." Sakura added. "He only failed because he let you go off to fight Naruto like that Sasuke-kun. And because I saw your parents speak to you."

Naruto blinked and looked like he was trying to figure something out, but this was ignored.

"So what? I know where the relics are and what they can do. I won't be kept here forever. Loki will break me out of here and then I'll get started on my quest to become a god. And then I'll give my clan the justice and power we rightfully deserve." Sasuke remarked.

"Sasuke-kun your clan wants to destroy the world. What's the point of being a god if there's no world left?" Sakura pleaded.

"I bet you wouldn't be arguing with me if your father was in hell and asked you to get him out of it."

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto spoke up before the pinkette could. "You said you saw his parents when you got to his house, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, just as I got there I could hear them from outside."

"Don't you think it's a little too perfect that you could?" Naruto asked. "Not only did his parent's ghosts not arrive until you were there, but they talked loud and clear enough for someone outside to hear it? Especially about something that Sasuke was supposed to keep to himself?"

Sakura's eyes widened, and even Sasuke looked somewhat curious about where the whiskered blonde was going with this. "What do you mean Naruto?"

"What if you were supposed to hear that? What if Loki wanted a witness?" Naruto asked, then his own eyes widened and he silently gasped. "Oh shit!"

"What? What is it?" Sakura asked, concerned.

"It makes so much sense. Loki sets up Sasuke with a goal he can't resist, and makes sure you're there to know it's happening. You alert us, and we do what we can to stop Sasuke from leaving. We prepare as much as we can, and here we are, with Sasuke trapped and us waiting for Loki to come and finish the job."

"What's your point?" Sasuke asked.

"What if us being here, right here right now, was Loki's plan the entire time?"

There was a period of silence in the cell.

"But... but why? What does it accomplish?" Sakura asked.

"Dad was right, he's a much better prankster than me." Naruto sighed. "If I were Loki, there's one reason I would make two groups of people go at each other like this. To distract them from my real target."

"Real target?" Sakura and Sasuke repeated. "What real target?"

"Are you ready to leave this place, my apprentice?" Loki asked, looking at a genin.

"Yes, I am ready to take control of this wretched world and put the Uzumaki in his place."

"Then let's go boy, before they figure out that you're gone."

Loki then turned into a large wolf, and the white-eyed boy accompanying him climbed on top before they ran away from Konoha as fast as they could. The only thing they left behind were two still bodies.