The Windmill Turns Both Ways

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Naruto followed the Wind Daimyo and his guard awkwardly. He glanced uneasily at the samurai surrounding the two of them, all clearly as tense as he felt. He sympathized with them, in a way. He would definitely hate his job if he had to hang around the Daimyo all the time.

"So..." Yamaguchi started.

Naruto looked aside at him but didn't respond. He'd hoped Yamaguchi was done trying to carry on a conversation. But the man wasn't deterred by his silence.

"The Five Kage sent you here because they assumed Uchiha Madara would attempt to steal your Tailed Beast. It's odd that Madara actually succeeded in capturing you, but left the Tailed Beast intact. Isn't it? What exactly did he want with you?"

Naruto felt a pang of anxiety. He wasn't ready for these questions just yet. Especially from this particular person. But he couldn't refuse to answer outright.

"I don't know," he mumbled. "He wanted to, but he said he couldn't get it from me."

"Oh? Was there anything else you two talked about?"

Naruto shrugged vaguely.

"And I hear you had a run-in with Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto tensed, and a strange mixture of sadness, anger and apprehension welled up in his gut. What was Yamaguchi searching for?

"Yeah," he forced out after a long pause.

"You know..." Yamaguchi said, so quietly he could have almost been talking to himself. "They've all secretly convinced themselves that Madara used genjutsu on you, and nothing else happened. It wouldn't require much to keep them believing that. If, on the other hand, it's thought you may have learned about any of Konoha's darker secrets... the reason behind Uchiha Sasuke's defection, for example... you might find yourself so restrained that you never stand a chance of returning to your time."

Naruto's head snapped up, and he glared at the Wind Daimyo. "Aren't you the one making it so I can't even leave my room without people following me? And what do you know about Sasuke, anyway?"

"People expect a certain kind of behavior from me. And I'm not claiming to know anything about Uchiha Sasuke. But I understand a lot about how hidden villages work. Considering how slow Konoha has been to send hunters or even officially acknowledge his status as a missing-nin, there is certainly more to his situation than meets the eye. He even assassinated an elder on Konoha's village council, and they haven't arrested him yet? Clearly there is something."

"He did what?" Naruto said numbly.

"My point is, if you didn't really know it was true, do you think they'd tell you it was? If you firmly believed it was a lie made up by Madara, do you think they would correct you?"

"Yes," Naruto said, stating it strongly to try to wipe the smirk off Yamaguchi's face. "They're done trying to hide things from me. They wouldn't do that."

"It wouldn't be hiding, merely allowing you to carry on with a false belief. Are you sure you aren't the least bit curious?"

"I don't like you," Naruto announced. "I don't care if you are the Wind Daimyo."

"Good, you're finally being smart." Yamaguchi gestured mockingly toward an open archway that led to a sparsely furnished sitting room. They'd finally reached the end of the hall. Naruto went in ahead.

Sai, Sakura, and Neji were sitting around a low square table with teacups, but they didn't seem to be socializing. They all looked preoccupied with their own thoughts. But when Naruto and his escorts walked in, they all looked up quickly.