AN: DON'T WORRY! This is NOT my answer to Perfect Lionheart's Missing Hokage challenge! I've seen way to many of those and I hate sticking to guidelines and cliches in writing. (If you've read my other fic Namikaze Sasuke you hopefully know that already.) As far as I can tell, no one's done this type of fic with this combination of characters yet and it looked interesting and fun to write and plots started floating around in my head. Hope you enjoy it!

For those of you re-reading this, not much has changed except Danzou's motives.

Chapter 1
Bonds

"You prevented me from hitting your heart at the last second, but that was pointless." Sasuke's taunt rang in Naruto's ears. "I've impaled your right lung." Sasuke pulled his arm out of Naruto's body. "You cannot use your right arm now. It is even difficult to breathe. You cannot make seals or use that jutsu." Now Naruto was only standing because Sasuke was holding him up by the throat. Sasuke thought of the Mangekyou Sharingan he would obtain when he killed Naruto. "It's finished." He brought his other hand up to Naruto's throat to choke him to death.

Before his hand reached Naruto's throat, Naruto caught the hand and threw Sasuke away from him. Miraculously he was still standing. Red chakra, more thick and powerful than Orochimaru's, seeped out of Naruto and Sasuke wanted it. With this power I can surly defeat my brother, Mangekyou Sharingan or not. "Naruto, what is this red chakra and where did you get such power and how can I get it?"

Naruto laughed. "You know, you're the only person who has ever wanted that power. Since you want it so much I'll tell you what it is. It's the power of the nine-tailed fox. So do you want it now?" he sarcastically asked.

"Yes," said Sasuke in a heartbeat. "I don't care who's power it is as long as I can kill my brother with it. Now give it to me!"

Naruto started laughing. He could not believe what he was hearing. "You're the first person who hasn't been afraid of this power. Everyone else ignores me because I have it and all you want is for me to give it to you." He laughed again.

"Who would ignore you because of it?You should be the strongest ninja of all. Now let me have it!" Even though the only thing Sasuke cared about was the power he could have, he wondered who wanted Naruto dead for having the power of the nine-tailed fox.

Now Naruto laughed even harder. "The nine-tailed fox was sealed into me the day I was born. There's no way to take it out of me. If there were, I would have given it to you the second you said you wanted it. It's done nothing more than give me the most retched existence possible."

"What?" Sasuke didn't know a lot about Naruto apart from the missions they went on together and from what he had seen, Naruto didn't have a very bad life except that he didn't have any parents. "How could you have a bad life? You were always smiling and laughing and you never suffered any pain!"

"Pain!" Naruto's face was now filled with a pain and anguish that could only come about by experiencing long years of suffering. "I've felt more pain then you ever have! How would you feel if every day of your life people ignored your existence? How would you feel if almost nobody cared about you and the few people who did care about you didn't show it because they couldn't? And the only way to protect yourself from the loneliness was to pretend that the way they treat you doesn't matter. And the entire time you don't know why you are treated this way and when you do find out, you are amazed you aren't dead yet and sometimes wish you were because it would be easier than enduring the loneliness that they thrust upon you. How would you feel?" After his last outburst, Naruto sat on the water and wrapped his arms around himself. He was silently crying out all the years of emotions he had hidden from everyone.

Sasuke knew the pain in Naruto's face when he first started talking. Every time he thought of the massacre of his clan he felt a shadow of it go across his face. But that was all his pain was in comparison to Naruto's, a shadow. He's right. We truly are brothers. We both have gone through the same loss and felt the same loneliness. The only difference between us is when and why we lost our families and how much loneliness and anger we have gone through because of it. But if we truly are brothers, why hasn't he tried to get revenge on the people who harmed him. For him it would be so easy and he has all the power he needs. He decided to answer Naruto's question. "If I had gone through all of that, I would have taken revenge on the people who caused my loneliness. That's what I would have done if I were you."

Naruto looked up at him, his cheeks wet from crying. "I'm already doing that. I'm taking my revenge on them."

Sasuke looked at him with bewilderment. "You are? The last thing I see is someone who wants to make the people who made him feel pain suffer in the same way he did."

Naruto shook his head. "That's one way to take revenge and I'm not taking it in that way. That would be too easy and nobody would change the way they thought or acted. Besides, I wouldn't get anything out of it either, just the knowledge that they deserved what they got and I would ultimately prove that I am exactly what they said I was; the nine-tailed fox in human form who wants death and destruction and nothing else.

"The way I'm taking revenge is a lot harder than that and I might never get it. But even if I don't get it, I'll get a lot out more of it; the people who ignored me will notice me and the people who do like me will be able to show it. Ultimately, I'll prove to them that their initial take on me was wrong. That instead of me being the back-stabbing, good-for-nothing person they thought I would become, they'll all acknowledge me for being a good, strong shinobi who is loyal to their village. The only way that I can see them doing that though, is by being so good and strong and loyal that they can't help but acknowledge me as that. That's why I want to be Hokage. It's my revenge on the village for ignoring me all these years." When Naruto finished, he had a fierce look of determination on his face that said he would do what he just said or die trying.

Sasuke was impressed. He had always known that revenge was a dark road and rarely gave the avenger any peace in the end, but as it was the only way he knew, he would follow it wherever it led, whether that be in Konoha or to Orochimaru. Naruto was an avenger as well, but his road was neither dark nor was his end unknown. His way was full of light and to whatever end he came, he would have fulfillment. If he knew any way for me to have revenge on Itachi without having to walk the dark path Itachi laid out for me, I would gladly take it. His next thought was unexpected. I never thought I would be asking the person I considered not even worthy to fight seriously how to fulfill my ambition. How ironic. "Naruto, if you know so much about how to get revenge without going over the edge..." here Sasuke faltered. "If you know so much, will you tell me how to get my revenge with out going over the edge?"

Naruto looked surprised. "What? You want me to tell you how to get revenge? I thought you were the avenger, not me."

"Naruto, somehow you figured out a better way to get revenge than I ever could. I want revenge, but I don't want the kind that will leave me unfulfilled when I finally get it. Will you..." I hope he knows how difficult this is for me! "Will you help me get revenge the same way you are getting revenge?"

Naruto paused. "Yeah. I'll help you." The red chakra was almost gone and there was now the beginning of the familiar grin on his face. "I'll help you once we get off this river and onto dry land. The fox used my chakra reserves to heal my lung and I can't stay up on the water any longer."

Sasuke snorted and picked Naruto up. Naruto's last comment had broken the last bits of the ice that were left over from their fight and brought them back to the old relationship they had as members of Team 7. He put Naruto on his back and walked up the cliffs to the Nation of Fire side of the Valley of the End.

Half an hour later, Sasuke and Naruto were comfortably leaning against two trees with a fire in between them. It would be hard to guess they had been in a fight to the death with each other less than an hour before.

"So," Naruto started, "You said you wanted me to help you get revenge the same why I'm getting revenge. What do you mean by that?"

"Well," Sasuke looked away from Naruto into the past. What he had to tell him next was going to be painful. "After he killed everyone in my family, Itachi told me that I wasn't even worth killing. He said that if I wanted to kill him, I would have to live a miserable life and hate him, I would have to survive through the ugliness of life and live an unsightly life. And then he said that the only way he would think I was worthy to come before him was if I had his eyes." By now, tears were silently falling down Sasuke's face. He turned to Naruto. "Do you think you can find a way to get revenge on him without going down the path he laid out for me?"

Naruto thought for a moment and then said, "Wait, what? You're brother kills everyone in his own family except for you and tells you how to get revenge on him. You then commit yourself to following what he said to get your revenge on him. Why are you following the advice of an enemy, especially when that advice deals with how you should ultimately kill them. If I were you and I wanted to get revenge on him, I would probably do the opposite of what he said. Get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah." Sasuke tried to see what his brother had said to him in light of the advice Naruto had given him. "I guess what that means is that I shouldn't live with killing him as my sole goal in life and instead let the past be the past and live life with hope for a better future for myself and my clan. It's not that I shouldn't kill him if we meet up again, it's that I shouldn't kill him in exchange for all that I could do and be apart from that. Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Yeah, only you said it so much better than I did." Naruto got up and stretched. "Well, seeing as you're coming back to Konoha we'd better get going. Baa-chan made it seem as if Sound kidnapped you or something instead of you willingly going with them so you should be fine."

"We're not going yet." Sasuke had been debating something ever since he had acknowledged Naruto as a brother and he had finally made a decision.

"Why not? There's no reason to stay here." Naruto was puzzled.

Sasuke took a deep breath. "When you told me how much pain you had experienced I realized you were right. We are brothers. The only people we can truly understand and be understood by is each other." Here he paused. "Which is why I want you to be my brother not just because of that but by name and blood."

"Huh?" Naruto looked at him in astonishment. "What do you mean by that?"

"The Uchiha have a special jutsu that allows them to pass their defining traits, namely the sharingan and the affinity to fire jutsu, on to other people. From that point on, they are considered members of the Uchiha clan. Obviously it's only used on people who the Uchiha can completely trust, usually more than their own family. I trust you that much because you are the only person who didn't fear me enough to keep me from making the wrong decision. So do you want to be my brother?"

"Of course! Wasn't I the one who said we were brother's in the first place?"

"Yeah. Come over here and bare your right bicep. This is going to take a while."

Naruto went over to Sasuke and rolled up his sleeve. As he moved, Sasuke could see the fist shaped scar he had caused with his chidori. It hurt him to know that whenever someone asked Naruto how he got it, he would have to point to Sasuke and say, "He did it."

Once Naruto was sitting next to him, Sasuke cut his own finger and wrote the kanji for Uchiha on Naruto's bicep with his blood. He went though a long string of hand seals before channeling chakra into the blood and into Naruto's body.

Naruto yelped as he felt the chakra go through him and leave his chakra coils burning in its wake. "What did you do to me? Sasuke? Sasuke!" He reached down to catch Sasuke who had collapsed on the ground. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I will be. It's just chakra depletion." Sasuke grunted and took a look at Naruto's arm. "It worked."

"How do you know?"

"The blood disappeared into your body and I'm suffering from chakra depletion like I should be..." Sasuke grunted out the words and passed out.

Kakashi raced through the forest following his dogs. I hope I'm not too late. He shuddered at the thought of what his two students could do to each other if he was. After a while, Pakkun stopped him.

"There are two Naruto scents," he said. Kakashi arched his visible eyebrow. "One is going to the Valley of the End and one is coming towards us. Which one do you want me to follow?"

However the fight turned out, he was well enough to walk back. He survived. Kakashi sighed in relief. "The one coming towards us." Pakkun nodded and altered his course.

After a few minuets, Kakashi saw Naruto slowly walking through the forest. He sighed in relief when he saw that Naruto had Sasuke on his back. Kakashi ran to them and saw that Naruto was almost to the point of passing out. "Are you okay?" he asked when he reached them. Naruto nodded and Kakashi made a kage bushin to take an unconscious Sasuke from him. "Did you bring him back by force or..."

"No," Naruto interrupted, "he chose to come back. I just showed him that he isn't..." Naruto passed out and Kakashi carried him and Sasuke back to Konoha.

Shizune ran as fast as she dared to the waiting room. "Tsunade-sama!" Tsunade, Shikaku, Shikamaru and Temari looked up at her expectantly. "Kakashi's back and he brought Naruto and Sasuke with him."

"He did?" Tsunade looked at her as if she didn't believe her.

"Yes, and aside for severe chakra depletion, they're fine. Oh, and Hyuuga Neji is going to make it too."

"Congratulations, Shikamaru." Tsunade turned to him with pride in her eyes. "You completed your mission without any fatalities. Well done."

Shikamaru looked her in the eye and said, "Thank you, Hokage-sama," before walking down the hall to see his friends and teammates.

"Shizune," Tsunade said to her apprentice. "Prepare hospital rooms for Naruto and Sasuke. I'll be by to make sure there is absolutely nothing wrong with them."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." Shizune left while Tsunade went to talk to Kakashi.

Danzou gritted his teeth in frustration. The Sasuke retrieval mission was not supposed to turn out this way! When the Kyuubi's chakra had first been felt, he had hoped that Uzumaki had almost irreparably hurt the Uchiha. It would make a great opportunity for the banishment of Uzumaki. Unfortunately, not only had Uzumaki and the Uchiha come back relatively unharmed, but Kakashi said that Uzumaki had told him that the Uchiha had chosen to come back willingly. If the Uchiha confirmed that this was actually the case, there would be no chance of Uzumaki's banishment ever going through.

"Danzou-sama!" One of his undercover Ne operatives bowed to him. "Here are the reports you requested."

Danzou took the papers and looked through them. They were Tsunade's medical reports on Uzumaki and Uchiha. According to them, both boys were in states of chakra depletion and would stay that way for some time; Uzumaki would be conscious in a matter of hours; Uchiha in a matter of days. Danzou noted that Uzumaki had taken a chidori to the right lung and had somehow survived it; he suspected that the demon was responsible for that. It was also stated that his chakra coils had somehow been burned. The report said that it had probably been caused by an excess of the Kyuubi's chakra. Danzou mentally thanked Tsunade for giving him something to work with. The Uchiha was just a normal case of chakra exhaustion once you got past how long it would take for him to recover from it. How long it will take him to recover from it... "Crane!"

"Hai, Danzou-sama," said the operative as he looked up at his master.

"Make sure that the only guards of the Uchiha's room are from Ne and that one of them is a genjutsu specialist. And tell our memory retriever in T&I to be on alert for me as well as our seal expert. When you go by the hospital, tell Mouse to prepare for a chakra transfer. You may go."

"Hai, Danzou-sama." The operative shunshined away.

Danzou looked at the reports in his hand and grinned. Uzumaki idolized the Sandaime and the Yondaime and believed in their ways. Before, it hadn't been a problem as Uzumaki had been ignored and was a half-rate ninja. Now he was gaining influence and was far too stubborn in his thinking to change. Danzou needed to get Uzumaki out of Konoha. He might not be an active shinobi, but the saying 'deception is the lifeblood of a ninja' still described the way he lived.

Tsunade sighed. It had been a long day, but the paperwork for it was almost done. She reached for a sake bottle and threw it against the wall when she discovered it was empty. "Shizune, I'm out of sake!"

The door to her office opened, but it was not her apprentice. Instead it was Danzou, Homura, and Koharu. She scowled in annoyance at them and they scowled back at her. "What are you doing here?" she asked them in most politically neutral voice.

"We just thought," began Homura, "that you would like to know the new declaration we agreed upon."

The Godaime narrowed her eyes at this. "Why would you want to let me know what you've passed. Your declarations don't concern me."

Koharu spoke this time. "This one does. Or at least it concerns a certain genin under your control."

"And who would that be?" Please let it not be Naruto.

"Uzumaki, the nine-tails container." There was a carefully groomed neutrality in Danzou's voice.

Damn it. "How does it concern him?" The neutrality was even heavier in Tsunade's voice.

Danzou spoke again. "By unanimous agreement we banished him from Konoha."

"What?" Tsunade banged her fist on her desk, breaking it it two. "Why did you?" The bastards just had to all agree.

"He was a danger to the people of Konoha." Homura was trying to talk rationally. "In your report, you stated that he had an excess of the nine-tails chakra that burned his coils. We have no idea how that has affected his control and if it compromises his control of the nine-tail's chakra, we definitely don't want him to be near the village."

"Along with that," continued Koharu, "a memory scan was conducted of the Uchiha. In it we saw that he thrust a chidori through Uzumaki in a last ditch effort to save himself from the fox's rampage."

"Well done."Tsunade's voice dripped with sarcasm. They had to come up with all the evidence they needed. "You've succeeded in banishing one of the most promising ninjas Konoha has ever produced. What other strings are attached to that order"

"An order to all," Danzou stressed that word as he looked at her pointedly, "Konoha shinobi that they are not to teach him anything. He will be leaving in five days."

"Is that all?" Tsunade's arm was shaking.

"Yes." The three advisers spoke at the same time.

"Well then I suggest you leave and I will inform Naruto in the morning." They all bowed to her and left. Tsunade broke the glass in her window with her fist and sat down in her chair to cry.

"Good. You're awake." Sasuke woke up to someone saying that only to find that the same person was holding a kunai to his neck. He froze in fear.

"As long as you agree to do what I want you to you don't need to fear me. If you don't agree, then you should. My name is Danzou and I've just finished passing the order for Uzumaki's banishment. I was able to pass it based on your testimony which I falsified. Oh, yes, I know what really happened, but if you were to tell other people it would be a problem for me.

"So, I'll propose a deal. You tell what really happened at the Valley of the End and I cripple your chakra network beyond repair. You will never be a shinobi again and your only value will be in the offspring you'll bear. Or you can tell my version of what happened and continue being a shinobi. It's your choice." With that Danzou stopped talking and waited for an answer.

It did not take long for Sasuke to come up with one. On the one hand, he could take Naruto's revenge away and keep his way of life. On the other, he could let Naruto have his revenge and become nothing more than breeding stock for the village. As long as I'm a shinobi, I can help Naruto achieve his goal. If I'm not one, I can never help him. I'll do it, even if it kills me to kick him out of his home, I won't let myself be put in a position where I can't help him. "I'll tell your version," he said to Danzo,u trying to keep the tears at bay.

"Good. I'll come by in the morning to tell you what that is." Danzou pulled the kunai away from Sasuke's throat and left the building.

Once he was sure Danzou was gone, Sasuke burst into tears. I just as good as killed him. Even though it was for good reasons I completely destroyed his dream. Is it my fate to lose everyone I ever loved and cared about? When he wiped his eyes and he noticed blood on his hands. Sasuke looked into the mirror to see where the blood came from and watched in horror as his eyes transformed into the dreaded Mangekyou Sharingan.

AN: Hopefully this isn't too cliche. I know a lot of people have done this storyline before. The next chapter is where it deviants even more from what generally happens in these stories so hopefully you'll like it better then. Thanks for reading!