Embraced by Crimson

Chapter 8: No Rest for the Wicked

Naruto woke to the sound of beeping.

His eyes opened slowly, still heavy with the last vestiges of sleep. His whole body felt like lead and when he did finally manage to get a glimpse of his location he was greeted with white everywhere. The brightness made his eyes throb and he blinked back the glare of the light to try and take stock of where he was.

Wait... eyes.

He still had both and, from the twinges of pain he could feel in his fingers, he still had a right arm. If he was no longer injured then that meant either someone had pulled off a miracle and healed him or the fox's words to him in his subconscious were referring to this. Regardless, the very fact that he was in what felt like a bed and surrounded by white likely meant he was in the hospital. The beeping of a machine to his right only further reinforced this conclusion.

Immediately, the jonin tried to sit up, "Urghh..." A grunt fell out of his mouth as pain laced up his right arm and left a vicious tingling aftermath throughout his whole body. That he'd even reacted to the pain with sound meant the injury wasn't nearly as well healed as he'd initially thought - he'd been trained to have a very high pain tolerance.

"Uzumaki-san." A voice interrupted his thoughts. Instincts flared in the blonde in response and he summoned chakra, hands already whirling through seals. It was only when he noticed the unmoving figure of an ANBU in the corner that Naruto resisted the urge to launch a jutsu. He realised he'd been startled - he never startled.

"How long?" Naruto forced out, because more than anything he needed to know how long he'd been out of commission and - by proxy - how many days the village had been missing his strength.

"fourty-eight hours," The ANBU member responded neutrally, his Cat mask gleaming, "Thirteen of which you were in surgery with Tsunade-sama."

"The invasion?" Naruto gritted his teeth as he thought about how much he'd missed.

"A total victory for Konoha. Orochimaru and Oto retreated. Suna surrendered unconditionally." The man paused, "Casualties were better than anticipated." Naruto forced himself out of the bed as the man spoke, looking around the room for something to wear. Upon noticing his efforts, the ANBU member gestured at a folded pair of pants and shirt on a chair in the corner of the room.

"Who'd we lose?" Naruto questioned cautiously, afraid of the answer. As he spoke he grabbed the clothing - a standard Konoha jonin garb consisting of navy pants and navy long-sleeved shirt - and briskly changed.

"thirty-four genin, eighty-seven chunin and twenty-one jonin." Cat listed off quickly. Naruto blinked; that was better than expected. Predictions had placed expected losses at anywhere upwards of three-hundred total ninja, which actually wasn't too bad in and of itself. After all, if Konoha hadn't been aware of the invasion they'd have likely lost in the thousands.

The number of genin lost was likewise relatively low and Naruto could guess that those that did die were as a result of misinformation or arrogance. Genin being assigned missions out of their depth was the most common cause for casualties and disobeying orders was next on the list. Regardless, thirty-four wasn't a bad number and the blonde felt a sense of relief that in his absence the people he'd been in charge of hadn't suffered.

"Who's in charge?" Naruto asked simply - because he refused to ignore the elephant in the room that was the Sandaime's death. The quicker they spoke about it the faster he could be distracted from the fact that the person he'd devoted much of his life to serving had died in front of his own eyes.

"Jiraiya-sama, The Council and the Jonin Commander are coordinating the village recovery." Cat explained uneasily. It was clear to the Uzumaki that not even the ANBU in front of him fully understood what was going on in the village right now. After all, the death of a man who'd ruled their village for most of it's lifetime wasn't something easily dealt with.

Naruto, to his credit, merely nodded, "Makes sense." He muttered under his breath, "Anything else I should know?" It was more a question of whether there were any standing orders for him once he woke. Cat however merely shook his head and so Naruto moved to exit the room, satisfied with the information he'd gathered.

When the ANBU moved to follow him though, Naruto experienced a healthy dose of suspicion. He stopped moving immediately and turned to look at the ANBU with a confused gaze.

"Sir?" Cat hesitated, deferring to proper decorum when his unofficial superior began to stare at him.

"Why are you following me?" Naruto demanded. He could understand a single ANBU being spared to watch over his recovery but there was no logical explanation for the man to continue guarding him now. It was a waste of resources.

"My squad's orders are the protection of Naruto Uzumaki until told otherwise." Cat replied carefully. If Naruto wasn't suspicious before he certainly was now. There was absolutely no reason to waste an entire squad on the protection of a single jonin, regardless of that jonin's importance. Not even Shikaku would have a squad devoted to him if he were injured - the aftermath of the invasion would be draining enough on Konoha's manpower.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "...What's going on?" His voice was tinged with worry.

"I'm afraid I have no explanation to offer you." Cat responded, his tone as resigned as Naruto's was confused. It was clear that the man had no knowledge of why he'd been assigned to guard Naruto and was just as suspicious of the orders as the blonde was.

Naruto didn't respond to the statement and instead exited the room, Cat keeping pace slightly behind him. This entire situation felt off.

At the same time,

Under Konoha

Jiraiya looked through the intimidating bars of the ANBU dungeons grimly. The building as a whole was rather dark and dreary but these rooms were something of an exception. Rather than the damp, dilapidated rooms of the lower levels the room he was looking at was fairly comfortable considering it's purpose. Two beds could be seen lined up in a corner while a couch was situated in the center, bookshelves containing fictional novels and historical scrolls off to the side. Another door could be seen close to the bars Jiraiya was looking through, it's purpose being to offer a semblance of privacy for the imprisoned when using the toilet or shower.

All in all, the cell looked more like a low-budget hotel than a prison. There was, of course, a reason for this; the two individuals being held in the room were important politically both to Konoha and to their own village. It wouldn't do for Konoha to kill the children of their deceased Kazekage, no matter the justification of the invasion. After all, they were important bargaining chips and, as callous as it may be, status symbols - their capture emphasised the total victory Konoha had experienced while Suna desperately needed them back in order to save some face.

Not that Konoha would be easily swayed into parting with their new hostages. Even ignoring the Pandora's Box that was the Jinchuriki - currently locked away in a separate sealed and tightly guarded room - the other two, Temari and Kankuro, represented the future of their village. Their strength and heritage meant they were destined for great things. There was no reason to simply release potential future enemy leaders simply out of kindness. Konoha might be known as the softest of the Big Five but they weren't foolish.

And the very idea that Konoha was somehow nicer than the other villages was almost laughable to Jiraiya. As the spymaster of the village the man knew of many dark acts his home had undertaken - too many, enough to keep him up at night. He was also sure that the evils of the world infected Konoha to the core too; there was likely countless acts of horror and depravity Konoha had committed that not even he knew about. The only thing that could be said about Jiraiya's village was that it was more effective at hiding their dark deeds than others.

"So?" Jiraiya directed to the man standing beside him.

"It's likely Suna values them only militarily." Ibiki, the head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force, explained calmly. Neither of the Konoha-nin were worried about the two Suna ninja hearing them; not only were the two sleeping but the cells were sealed so that sound could only come out, not go in, "From what I've gathered it seems the siblings aren't particularly well-received in their village. The youngest, the Jinchuriki, is feared and hated while the oldest, the girl, is pitied and avoided as a result of her relationship to the Jinchuriki. The middle child is mostly ignored as a disappointment, unable to live up to the legacy of their famous puppeteers."

Jiraiya frowned, "You think Suna won't fold if we demand serious compensation?" The children being non-factors in negotiations would be a significant setback.

"I wouldn't say that," Ibiki corrected, "It's more a matter of how we approach it. Appealing to their importance politically or any sort of sentimental reasons probably won't work." Ibiki's voice was gruff as he spoke, "Unless we emphasize their loss of power they won't bite."

"Hmm," Jiraiya considered the man's words, "There may be ways to strengthen that position." Jiraiya remarked lightly. Offering to stabilise their Jinchuriki - both in terms of his seal and mentally - would go a long way to showing Suna what they stood to lose. An unstable demon-container in enemy hands might be seen as a positive. After all, if the boy went crazy Konoha would deal with the brunt of it. But if Konoha controlled him...

Ibiki raised an eyebrow at the white-haired man, "The Council are already aware of these developments... do I need to know?" He questioned curiously; because if Jiraiya had thought of something this fast then surely The Council and Shikaku would have too and as far as Ibiki was concerned, everything was fair-game to him as the head interrogator but it didn't hurt to ask.

"Nah," Jiraiya shook his head, "We'll leave what I'm thinking for the new Hokage to decide on."

Within minutes of leaving the hospital Naruto found himself in the Hokage Tower. Throughout the spiraling halls and countless rooms of the building ninja could be seen bustling around with all sorts of documents. The blonde knew from experience that most would be related to missions but he was also sure there'd been a sizable increase in paperwork as a result of the invasion. Reconstruction and internal affairs would take up the attention of many of the Chunin paper-pushers, for sure.

Ultimately however, Naruto ignored the flurry of activity around him and walked quickly through the building toward the main office. He'd assumed upon leaving the hospital that those in charge of the village would be gathered there and, if the ninja occupying the area were any indication, he'd guessed correctly. As he approached the room his presence drew stares from the passing ninja. Many were surprised to see him already up and about and many more were in awe of him; word of his actions in the invasion fighting against the First Hokage had spread throughout the village and he was being seen in a new light.

Where they'd once seen him simply as a shinobi worthy of respect he was rapidly shifting into something greater; a legend. Konoha had had it's fair share of famous ninja over the years but in recent times few particularly notorious names had cropped up. With the loss of Orochimaru and then Itachi the village only really had the Sandaime, his two remaining students and the Copy-Nin Kakashi as household names. Those who either stood on the cusp of S-rank or firmly within it were once in a generation exceptions and, from his heroics in the invasion, Naruto had been established as one of them. The first of a new generation.

When he finally entered the office he was greeted with the sight of the two elders and Shikaku seated at a large table, talking lowly to one another, as several chunin helpers carried documents around them. At his entrance the three looked up in mild surprise, though with the older two it was difficult to tell from their masked expressions.

It was Shikaku who broke the silence, "Naruto." He greeted casually.

"Nara-san." Naruto returned respectfully.

Homura remained silent but Koharu let disgruntled looks flash across her face as she butted in, "Hmph! Uzumaki," She drawled, "You're up and about rather quickly." The woman was staring intensely at the jonin's right arm as she spoke, clearly trying to tell if he was still injured.

"I'm ready to serve, Utatane-san." Naruto deliberately folded his right hand behind his back as he bowed slightly, trying to broadcast his relatively good health.

"That's good," Shikaku grumbled, "Because we'll be needing you for a certain something." The gleam in his eyes made Naruto feel distinctly uncomfortable.

At the same time,

Jonin Lounge/Gathering Station

Kakashi sat in the Jonin Lounge quietly, looking up from his pornographic novel to occasionally take in the sight of the countless bustling ninja moving around him. From the outside the Elite Jonin looked the epitome of calm but internally his mind was moving at a rapid pace; he hadn't seen so many jonin recalled to Konoha since the Third Shinobi War.

And it made no sense, because if anything Konoha should be even more scarce of powerful ninja than usual due to the huge demand for missions in the aftermath of the invasion. Instead, he was witnessing the largest gathering of ninja he'd seen in years. He wouldn't quite say he was worried yet but he was certainly curious; just what were The Council and Shikaku up to?

"Kakashi." Asuma's voice pierced the copy-nin's thoughts. The wind-user was approaching where Kakashi was sitting on a couch slowly, Gai and Kurenai following lightly behind him.

Kakashi folded his book at the man's approach, "Yo."

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" The frustration in the Sarutobi's voice was clear to all.

"Nope," Kakashi hummed as he smiled lightly, "No clue."

Kurenai butted in here, "Surely you do? You're an Elite Jonin." She cast a suspicious glance his way.

"Ah, but you see, I'm nothing more than a grunt these days." Kakashi explained happily, "Little Naruto-chan has taken over most of my active duties. They usually just point me at something and tell me to deal with it at this point."

It was an interesting confession for the other jonin to hear; when Kakashi had left ANBU the man had taken up a leading role in the village, being one of the Sandaime's inner circle. The copy-nin had been loaded with so much responsibility and work that some thought he might crack under the pressure. Kakashi, being who he was, never looked the slightest bit bothered. That even with his stellar track record and genius in the shinobi arts Kakashi had still been phased out for Naruto was telling. It meant that either Kakashi had lost some of the Sandaime's trust - which just couldn't be true - or that Naruto was being groomed - and all the jonin knew exactly what for.

"Kakashi, my rival, you have let Naruto's youth overpower you." Gai announced loudly, "Don't worry! We'll spar to return you to glory."

Kakashi completely ignored the man, "It is interesting though," At their confused glances he elaborated, "This many jonin in the village now? If I wasn't such an optimistic man I'd say the higher-ups were planning something."

Asuma snorted at that.

"Because they are!" Anko's arrival forced the four jonin teachers to look toward her.

"Anko." They chorused politely.

"Kakashi, Asuma, Gai," Anko listed off tonelessly, "Nai-chan!" She squealed as she hugged the genjutsu-user passionately.

"Anko," Kurenai questioned as she carefully extracted herself from the other woman's arms, "What do you mean?"

"Word on the street is the prisoners are being moved." Anko grinned at this.

"What? Why?" Kurenai's shock was palpable.

Anko winked, "Ibiki didn't tell me much but apparently we're going to start negotiations with the sand-rats."

"But why would..." Asuma trailed off into silence as he noticed a figure standing at the front of the jonin lounge. It wasn't that he was trying to draw attention in any way, but everyone in the room knew who he was - and what his presence meant. The cold visage of Bird, the ANBU Commander, was not something the normal troops would often see, even for jonin.

As the chattering around the room quickly ceased Kakashi narrowed his eyes in suspicion. For the Commander to be controlling this meeting implied there would be some sort of large scale engagement. The Council would only defer to a militaristic head like this to address the troops in the instance of conflict or something similar...

When there was complete silence the man began to speak, "All combat personnel please remain. Any other departments are to report to their Heads. Do not speak a word of this anyone outside this room." And with that the man stepped backwards, clearly removing himself from the position of authority.

"What?" Naruto demanded, "Could you repeat that?"

Koharu sneered, "It's very simple Uzumaki - we're going to be taking control of the Land of Rivers." The new respectful use of his family name was not lost on Naruto, they were trying to be polite to him, for what reason he wasn't quite sure.

"How?" Naruto was more bemused than anything, finding the entire idea ridiculous.

After all, the Land of Rivers hadn't been permanently claimed by any Hidden Village since their inception. Nestled between Konoha and Suna, nations that constantly switched from being allied to being enemies, no one had dared to try and encroach on the country - for fear of international reprisal. Of course, both nations boldly used it as training grounds for many of their ninja all the time but that was as far as they ever went. The balance of the Elemental Nations was a precarious one; Naruto was sure that an attempt to claim the Land of Rivers would upset it.

This wasn't even mentioning the fury that Konoha would face from the smaller nations. It would be seen as a threat to their existence that a nation similar to theirs was so easily consumed by one of the Big Five. Amegakure in particular would find even more of a reason to hate Konoha, being bordered to both the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers. Considering the destruction Konoha had caused to the Land of Rain in the previous wars it would be of no surprise if they reacted negatively, though nothing had been heard out of that village since Naruto's escape as an ANBU.

"With the conclusion of the invasion we're in a unique position of power on the western front," Shikaku grumbled, "Suna is the weakest they've ever been while Amegakure has closed off it's doors to anyone." Shikaku gave a pointed look at the blonde, willing him to understand.

And understand Naruto did; with Suna weak and Iwa unable to get access through the Land of Rain, Konoha was free to take the Land of Rivers for the Land of Fire completely unopposed. It was too good of an opportunity to miss.

"This could start the next Great War." Naruto breathed deeply.

"Please don't presume to lecture us, Uzumaki. We're the ones who lived through them." Koharu bit out, frustrated with the blonde's attitude.

Homura sighed, "The Sandaime's death has consequences that extend far beyond our borders. It's more than the death of a Hokage," Homura's voice grew tight, "It's a sign of weakness and people will be looking to exploit it."

"Are you," Naruto paused to control his temper, "Are you saying you want to invade a country as a symbol of power?"

"Yes." Shikaku didn't bother to deny the claim. "It's also quite a nice country." Naruto resisted the urge to snort at the man's blase attitude.

"What do you want me for then?" Naruto resigned himself to the machinations of the three in front of him.

"You'll be the commander of the operation." Homura stated calmly.

Naruto almost groaned out loud, almost. Instead he rubbed his forehead in consternation.

"Why?" The legacy of the Yondaime asked slowly.

"Why else?" Koharu began, "Your tales of exploit have spread far and wide, especially your actions in the invasion. Our ninja respect you. Enemy ninja fear you."

"Another Konoha prodigy. The legacy of two Hokage and a Sannin. Time in ANBU and with the regular forces. A Jinchuriki. You are everything the world fears, Uzumaki-san." Homura finished for her.

"If it helps, you didn't do too bad with the genin in the invasion." Shikaku added lazily.

Naruto wasn't sure precisely how to respond to all that.

"Shikaku, take Uzumaki and give him the details. These bones are too weary to hear everything again." Koharu announced suddenly, bored with the direction the conversation had gone.

"Troublesome..." Shikaku moaned, "Come on, brat." The shadow-user stood and beckoned half-heartedly at the blonde to follow him out of the room.

As they left Homura and Koharu watched silently. When they were alone in the room Homura turned to his old teammate.

"Is this truly wise?" He spoke carefully.

Koharu laughed, this time much more kindly than before, "Probably not, no." She grinned, "But then again, if it does work out we'll have ourselves another God of Shinobi for fifty years won't we?"

"It'd be nice to finally retire." Homura agreed with a soft hum.

A/N: There will be so, so, so many mistakes. Sorry in advance.

So the elders + Shikaku are up to something. I'm sure most of you have figured it out. I guess you could consider this their test, per say. Will it work out? Who knows...

Naruto vs Sasuke the manga... ITS HAPPENING

Cheers.