AND BACK AGAIN [ NARUTO ]

[ 10 ] tsunade's deal

The room lapsed into silence, devoid of even the usual shuffle of feet. Naruto looked on at the past Hokage incredulously, involuntarily clenching his fists. Hadn't he already tried to explain it to her? This situation was no joke, yes, but just because something was going wrong didn't mean she should automatically blame another Hidden Village. He couldn't recall a time when Hiruzen did that, in all the years he knew him.

"It's not Kumo," Naruto said firmly, meeting Tsunade-baachan's hard eyes.

Then all heads swiveled to him.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and tilted her head a bit, studying Naruto intently. "Why are you defending them, Naruto?"

It was a genuine question. She wanted to know what could possibly be going through his mind, why he was even involved in such a technical conversation. Usually he got inevitably pulled into a situation, let the rest of them figure it out, and after they'd deduced who the bad guy was, recklessly attacked.

Naruto looked around him, at the faces of his younger comrades, and realized he couldn't get into his real reasoning. That involved the Fourth Great Ninja War, a few villain backstories, and a whole bunch of other things and people he couldn't mention. For once, it was clear to him that he should keep his mouth shut.

"I. . .can't say." He held Tsunade's gaze, a feat even some Kage couldn't accomplish. "I just know, ya know? It's a. . .a feeling in my gut." He pounded his chest for extra effect, puffing it out.

Tsunade dropped her infamous, intense stare and sighed. "Naruto. . .I know it's your nature to see the best in everyone. And sometimes that's a good thing -- your talk-no jutsu has saved you countless times." There was a hint of humor laced throughout her voice, but she wasn't quite smiling. "But you need to ignore it this time, trust me. Kumogakure has been more active than ever right now, and now we're experiencing attacks? With no background, no bad history? It's too much of a coincidence."

"The Akatsuki," Naruto suddenly blurted. Images of the Hyuuga's scratched headband flashed through his head, and he knew now that it wasn't just from dirty fighting. No stray branch or twig could inflict such a deep mark on the metal they wore on their foreheads, and if one was close enough to land such a serious blow to the head, the victim would be dead within a few seconds. It couldn't be a mistake.

Now, Naruto pulled the damaged hitai-ate from his worn pocket, holding it up for the Hokage to see. "The Akatsuki surfaced right around this time, I remember. They were after. . ." he stopped, remembering he and his younger self weren't quite on the same page.

I wouldn't, Kurama muttered from inside his mindscape. That could really mess some things up.

"Ah. . .they were after something," Naruto said instead, giving a subtle jab of his thumb into his stomach for the wiser in the room.

Tsunade hesitated, and those behind Naruto leaned forward for better looks, straining to see the headband Naruto held.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, taking it from him and examining it.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling a bit nervously. "Yeah, I found it when I was in Sage Mode, up in the air with Haruhi. Well, actually, he handed it to me before he exploded, but––"

"Hold the messenger bird," Jiraiya interrupted, finally standing. "Did you just say Sage Mode?"

"I still haven't had a chance to finish my report," Kakashi muttered hopelessly.

"Oh, yeah!" Naruto turned to the Toad Sage, momentarily forgetting that this wasn't his master. At least, not anymore. "I mastered it, Ero-sennin! I went to Mount Myoboku and sped through the training like––"