A Kages Duty

I don't own

Chapter 8

Headband

. . . .

A flash of green spandex . . .

. . . .

The brightest pair of teeth a person could ever possess . . .

. . . .

The greatest haircut known to man . . .

. . . .

He appeared with a bloodied Iwa headband held firmly in his hand.

"Hokage-sama" Lee began, out of breath, sweat covered and out of breath, he must have traveled a long distance.

"What is the meaning of this?" Tsuchikage said in insult to the intrusion, even Mifune was disturbed by the disruption, even more so by what made the disruption, whatever it was?

"Sir Assassination" Lee said in between gasps of air.

-

"Lee explain yourself" Naruto said in perhaps the harshest tone he ever had addressed Lee in.

He gasped for air for the next five or so seconds, the silence was deafening, he gathered himself together and bowed in respect to his superior and the other kages present.

"Sir there was an incident, assassination sir, from one of the other villages" now Naruto was concerned, Gaara sat up and listened intently, the other kages shifted slightly at the mention of a possibility of their participation in an assassination.

"Who is the victim" Naruto said, his eyes cringed in worry.

He saw all the signs of an important person being involved here, they sent the fastest messenger that Konoha has available, interrupting a meeting of the highest importance, this was worring indeed.

Lee paused, worrying for the reaction of his friend and his leader, he was preparing himself to restrain Naruto if necessary.

He approached Naruto closer, bent over to tell him straight to him face.

He whispered the deceased name.

He handed him the bloodied headband.

Whispered his apologies.

Naruto was still, silent and still, he didn't move, Lee placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him in some way.

He brushed it off quickly, he wanted to do something, the headband in his hand revealing the accused, his mind was working well enough to know that it couldn't have been Iwa, why would they leave a headband, or could have been.

Naruto looked down at his hands, he was shaking.

He felt Neji and Shikamaru move to his sides, Lee still remaining behind him, they moved to comfort him or restrain him, he didn't know.

Naruto slowly pulled a hand to his cheeks, to see if he was crying, he couldn't tell, his face was numb, his body shook with sadness, he didn't feel any tears, he wasn't crying.

He went to his feet, his knees felt weak, horribly so, he left slowly, he didn't look up, he wouldn't dare to.

He heard Mifune shout something, towards him he bet, he ignored it though.

He looked down at the headband, the dark blue cloth was now a stained, ugly scarlet, the blood of one of his loved ones covering the symbol of Iwa.

He was near the door, so close, he ignored the looks of worry that the Mizukage shot at him, Gaara looked at him with a face mixed with concern and surprise.

He told himself not to look up, but he did.

He saw the Tsuchikage look at him with suspicion, and he detected a hint of happiness of him leaving.

Then his imagination pulled him to the next level, he saw an image of the Tsuchikage holding a picture of Tsunade, pointing to it and handing it to some evil minion.

He then pictured him, the Tsuchikage, handing the man the headband, as a symbol of strength.

Then finally, the Tsuchikage laughing in victory; hearing the news of the successful mission.

-

Naruto was about to move, about to hurt, to kill.

But a suddenly, a figure emerged from nowhere, his spiral mask twisted to his right hidden eye, his short jet black hair stood still as he looked down at the surprised and shocked kages.

"Good morning" he said with as much charm as he could muster.

"Akatsuki" the Raikage yelled as he smashed his foot to the ground, his body lifted and pounced towards the rouge member, he pulled back his arm back and shot his arm off with an unmatched speed that only a kage could possess.

"This is no ordinary Akatsuki" Naruto said with murder in his eyes.

"Uchiha" Naruto spoke clearly as he could, the name bringing as much hate as it brought sorrow.

"Madara Uchiha".

-

The man stood his ground as the Raikage's fist past by quicker than expected and as effective as a simple breeze.

The Raikage pasted the masked man in a split second, his fist impacted the back wall and physics made their laws known as the wall shattered and crumpled underneath the strength of an enraged Raikage.

Madara looked back with a sigh, the Raikage was one of his least favorite kages, so emotional, so quick to move and yet so slow to think, Madara had heard of the stubborn Naruto and his fiery head, looking at the mans still form and hard look, he had changed over the years, or at least from his last update on the man.

"My brother" the Raikage yelled as he emerged from the smoke of splintered wood and shattered stone.

"Give him to me" he shouted "Now" even louder than the last.

"You will listen to me" Madara said with a voice that sounded accustomed to giving orders and a look on his face that showed he had seen more power foes then him listen to the orders he barked.

The Tsuchikage moved from his seat and pushed past his protectors, he gave an elderly cough and ignored a small screech in his hips.

"Calm down Raikage" he said with a disgusted look on his face, to act so, so brass, to be so impulsive in a situation like this, it simply disgusted him.

"It wouldn't hurt to listen to him" he followed as he stared down the familiar foe, hidden by his orange mask.

"For now Tsuchikage for now" Naruto spoke through clenched teeth, not glaring at the intruder, but at the Tsuchikage, with murder and revenge set heavily in his once calm eyes.

"What are you here for" the Mizukage said, pushing past her guards as she glared at the unnamed intruder.

"My grand plan" he said with a chuckle "My plan to end it all beauty" he said with an approving eye as he stared at the Mizukage's figure.

"Uchiha Madara" Naruto spoke as his gaze finally left the Tsuchikage's short body.

"What are you doing here" he said, not intimidated in one bit, completely confident in the abilities of his self and his underlings.

"I can't believe your still alive . . . Uchiha Madara, unbelievable" the Tsuchikage said in disbelief, then a thought came to mind "Why is someone of your caliber" he paused, confident in addressing the legend for who he was and for who he is "Going about this in such a roundabout manner" he said as both Mifune and Mei nodded in agreement.

"As powerful as you are, you should be able to execute any plan without a hitch" he said, confident in his statement, he had seen him when he was far, far younger, he remembers the stories, the deaths that he had caused.

The Uchiha chuckled lightly, he felt his wound . . . the wound his accursed rival granted him in a fight of skills that he, was unfortunately was the weaker of the two.

"The wound inflicted by the Shodai Hokage" he said feeling the wound that tore him from his once legendary skill, how low he has fallen, it was quite amusing now "Were to great" not that amusing now that he thinks about it.

"I am now a mere shell of my former self" he said as his hands rose his head falling to look at his once powerful hands and what he could do in his younger years.

"So this is your plan" the Iwa guard said with a huff "To return yourself to your former strength" she said with a glare.

Madara almost voiced a chuckle, quite unprofessional at a time like this.

"You could say that" he said with pondering "But that's not it at all" he said as he began to take a seat on the small ledge he stood near.

"Just what is it you are plotting" Mifune said with a snare "Just what sort of plan is this Madara".

"Not just any plan" he said with a hidden smirk.

"The Moon Eye plan" he said with a sigh of relaxation, finally off his weary legs.

"A grand name for a grand plan indeed" he said with a yawn, the Raikage gave an animalistic growl at the signs of bordom.

"Show respect dammit, I am so far from killing you, and now look at you sitting and yawning in front of the honorable kages and myself" he said with a growl.

"You do not give respect Raikage, you earn respect" he said with that hidden smirk that although unseen, made rage boil underneath his skin.

"I am going to take my time . . . I am going to say this once and only once so listen hard" he said as he stretched his legs and cleared his throat.

"Everything will become one with me".

"It will be a perfect union".

"I will be complete".

-

The room was silent, not a voice was spoken, not a sound was heard.

The oldest man in the room was the first to be taken back by the statement, 'the perfect union' 'become one' what does he want, what does this mean?

"What does this all mean" Naruto said, still seated, eyes focused on Madara's masked face.

He coughed and cleared his throat one last time.

"An ancient stone tablet . . . has been pasted down . . . through the Uchiha clan generations" he gave out a small unprofessional chuckle "Even as we speak it remains beneath Konoha".

-

"Carved upon this ancient tablet are the secrets of the Rikudo sage" he said as the room filled with knowing gasps and confused looks.

"Only those with powers" he said gesturing towards his eyes "Powers of the eye".

"Only they can read them" Madara spoke with a pause in his long speech.

"More can be decoded when read under a series of different levels of Sharingan, but that's for another time" he said continuing until he was interrupted by the old kage.

"The Rikudo sage is a mere fairy-tale" the Tsuchikage said with an elderly stare "A simple story told to children" he finished with a frown.

"He really did exist" he said basing a fact really "And he did leave behind his tablet".

The Raikage's muscles flexed with anger, all this talking, and what, what progress has been made, he palmed his feet, felt he was about to move until.

"Keep to the subject, whether this sage existed or not makes no difference to me, this plan of his is without a doubt real, so continue before my fellow kage goes off the deep end" Naruto said gesturing to the Raikage's enraged look about his face, his clenched teeth and closed fists.

Madara smiled at the demon container, he was beginning to like him even more so.

"Thank you Hokage" he said as he rolled his shoulders, readying himself to reveal his grand plans.

"Do any of you know why he became a legend" he said pausing as some nodded and some didn't.

"And how he came to be worshipped as a god by shinobi everywhere" he said.

"This is why I speak of the Sage Hokage, this is the connection between my plan and the great Rikudo Sage" he said in a story telling voice.

Mei stood up "Uchiha Madara" he looked her way, his head titled slightly "You have the Mangekyo Sharingan and there was someone in the Akatsuki with the Rinnegan" she spoke slowly.

"Pein" Naruto said, informing Mei of the Rinnegan holder.

"The one with the Rinnegan . . . his name was . . . is . . . Pein" he said the name that brought so many memories, so many memories.

Mei looked worried towards the new Hokage, she looked back towards the Uchiha she spoke quietly "You know everything don't you" she said, about this great Sage that everyone had heard of.

"Tell us then" the Tsuchikage demanded.

Madara looked at the Tsuchikage with a rather amused look about his masked face, such a man to order him around, it was quite comical.

He began slowly "He once saved the world" he looked at Gaara, then Naruto "From a monster . . ."

"A monster" Gaara said, confused at such a generic term.

"Kazekage, Hokage, this monster was sealed within you two" he said amused with the sounds of gasps within the room.

"Yes . . . It is a fusion of all the tailed beasts . . . and possesses the strongest chakra ever" he said not at all surprised at the sound of absolute silence.

It was true, when he found this out he was probably even more shocked then all of the other present.

"This monster".

"The ten tailed beast, the Jubi".

-

Gaara looked shocked, Naruto's anger was replaced momentarily with surprise, the demon sealed within the young blonde roared with anger at the mention of that dreaded name, the ten tailed, a being stronger then the Kyuubi, unbelievable.

Temari, probably the most out spoken person among the people present spoke her mind, her voice was shaky and uncertain "There is a beast, with more tails then the Kyuubi" she said confused at the statement.

"I just told you, didn't I" he said in an almost teasing voice.

"It is a fusion of all nine of the beasts" Madara spoke again.

"But how" Naruto said, stomach burning at the mere mention of the name.

"The nine tailed beasts are nothing more than a division of the almighty Jubi's chakra" he said looking around at the confused faces surrounding him.

"And the Rikudo Sage, he was the one to do it, the one that divided Jubi" Madara said without a tone of respect.

"I don't like where this is heading" Kankuro said, whispering to his sister.

He spoke up, for Madara and everyone to hear "So is that why Akatsuki is been gathering the tailed beasts" he said hoping to bring out the plans that the Akatsuki had prepared over the years.

Madara was ready, for it all to be known.

"In order to protect the world from the Jubi, the Rikudo Sage developed a new jutsu" Madara spoke through his hollow mask.

"The jutsu is still in use today, as the host seal system" for what seemed like the fiftieth time today, several members present gasped at the name of the jutsu.

"Yes the Rikudo Sage . . . was the Jubi's container" he said.

"He sealed the Jubi within his own body, in order to control it" Madara spoke, clear and smooth like, the thought so astounding and so selfless, the mere thought of self sacrifice was truly astounding to the people here.

Naruto was at a loss, even he didn't know if he could do that, the Kyuubi was forced upon him, sure his father had sacrificed himself, but to choose to live a life that he lived, that Gaara lived, even Naruto doubted he would choose to seal an even more powerful demon in his gut.

"Having saved the world from the Jubi the Sage was worshipped as a god" Madara said.

His voice soon to a turn "But the Jubi's chakra was so great that the seal would break the second the Rikudo Sage died and it would once again wreak havoc upon the land" he paused.

"Knowing that on his death bed the Sage used the last of his strength to divide the Jubi's chakra and spread them across the land" he paused once more, the information soaking in.

"Then the Jubi's empty body was sealed away and sent to the sky where no one could ever reach it" Madara paused once again.

"There it became the Moon" Naruto looked around the room, clearly blindsided by the information, he saw that Temari looked away when Madara revealed the origins of the moon, out of awe, shock or disbelief he did not know.

"The scale is too huge . . . far too huge for any one man to do that" the Raikage's bodyguard said pushing away the look of disbelief off his face.

Madara looked down at the boy, he sniffed at him.

"Having become one with the Jubi . . . the Rikudo Sage was already more than human" he said simply.

Mifune spoke up, completely unafraid with the presence of a S-rank shinobi.

"I understand now" he said quickly, Madara looked at the old commando.

"That you want to gather the beasts in order to gain their inhuman power" he said but was confused.

"But . . . what will you do with that power Uchiha" Mifune said with an accusing finger.

And so he finally revealed it, his plans, the plans to change all of man kind.

"I will revive the Jubi" step one.

"I will then become it's host" step two.

"And with it's power, I will be able to strengthen my eyes to a higher level unknown since the days of the Rikudo Sage" step three.

"And finally I will be able to cast a certain jutsu" he said finishing his diabolical plan.

The Tsuchikage looked insulted at the thought, a jutsu powered by the strength of ten tails of pure chakra.

"A certain jutsu?" he looked confused at this.

"What is it . . . what are you planning to do" he demanded once more.

Madara looked down at the short man, upset again at the tone this man spoke to him in.

"It is the most powerful illusion ever" he said leaving it to the imagination of who was present.

"The ability to project my eye onto the moon."

"Mugen Tsukiyomi."

-

"Then I will be able to cast an illusion over everyone on earth" silence surrounded the room.

"I will control everyone with my illusion and the world will become one" the silence continues.

"A world without ill will or strife" silence "Everything will be one in me" not a sound was made, Madara's voice echoed within the large room, which within that moment seemed so small.

"Everything will be united".

"That is my plan . . . that is my Moon's eye plan"

-

The Raikage's rage could no longer be held down anymore, he slammed his fists down to the desk, which surprisingly held its own.

"You must be kidding" he shouted "I wont hand the world over to you" he continued to shout.

Gaara hands unfolded, he lifted himself to his feet and spoke as smoothly as he could, but the thought of what this man wanted to commit, this man wanted full control, he wanted order in it's purest form.

"Peace under the illusion is not true peace" he said as he thought each word out before speaking, to at the very least convince this man against his plans.

"It's only meaningful if the real world manages to accomplish it" he said explaining the best and only way for the world to achieve peace.

Mei stood up looking directly at the Akatsuki leader.

"And what does that hold for us" she said glaring at the man "There is no hopes or dreams it's just an escape" she pleaded.

Tsuchikage stood, making really no difference in terms of stature.

"Make the world one" he said quietly remembering what the old war hawk said "Danzo spoke of something similar" but he pushed these thoughts away "In your case, it sounds more like you want to make the world yours" he accused.

Madara found this to be quite a funny accusation for some reason, the Tsuchikage snared at this, Madara replied quickly with a quick laugh.

"Hahahaha . . . and what have you five kages been able to accomplish" he didn't wait for a reply, he was nearly out of steam with this ignorant bunch.

"You must understand . . . there is no hope".

-

"Hope is nothing more than resignation . . . that is, what is, not real" he said in a voice filled with wisdom and understanding, unfortunately this tone was voicing the end of all humanity.

"Give me the Hachibi and the Kyuubi" he said casually.

"And co-operate with my plan" he continued with this casual tone that infuriated the Tsuchikage and Raikage.

"If not, it shall be war" he said looking away at something that caught his interest for a moment.

. . .

"War?" Gaara said, somewhat in shock, as if that declaration had no meaning, war, how, why?

The declaration went unnoticed by the Raikage, what didn't go unnoticed was the demands that Madara set.

"The Hachibi? . . ."

"What do you mean? You already took Bee . . ."

Hachibi? Why would he want something that he should already have? Does this mean . . .

"We failed to capture the Hachibi" Madara explained "He is the perfect host" he said praising the eight tails "I had expected nothing less of your brother".

The Raikage's face was unmoving was several twitches here and there.

One of the Raikage's bodyguards sighed and shook his head, Naruto heard something of a "I knew it" rumbling among them.

. . .

"That fool" the Raikage yelled the loudest he ever had shouted.

"He used this as an excuse to leave the village and gallivant about" Naruto thought that the Raikage sent his chakra towards his voice box, hearing a man yell this loud was inhuman.

"I wont let him get away with this".

Naruto stared directly at Madara, expecting him to jump within the moment.

"And what of me" Naruto said eyeing the Akatsuki leader out, his guards moving to his sides, Lee to his left, Neji his right and Shikamaru was lazing in the back, eyes strategically closed.

Temari brought out her sealing scroll, readying herself for battle, Mei stretched her arms out, herself readying for a fight, she looked to her side, Temari was looking at Naruto in a way that she was uncomfortable with, a lion in her stomach roared in aggression, a possible contender for Naruto's affection, she was in no mood, especially for a man as rare as Naruto.

"I wont let you take Uzumaki Naruto" Gaara said, not at all ashamed at his announcement "Suna is behind my decisions".

Temari nodded in the background, she wouldn't let him take Naruto, she would doubt her reasons later, her instincts said to protect that man and she will.

"With the power of myself and my country Uzumaki Naruto will be under our protection" she said as she felt the lion in her roar inside.

"I am in no mood for a simple battle that needs to be fought in another time" he said shrugging at the thought.

"And you Raikage" Tsuchikage said looking at the Raikage.

"I have no quarrel with the Hokage, I am after my brother so that I can kill him myself" the Raikage said huffing after one of his several outbursts.

Madara was out of patience, he was nearly through with these common folk.

"I may not have any power myself . . . but I have the power of the beasts that I have gathered" he said.

"You do not stand a chance".

Gaara stood up tired of his attempts of undermining himself and his followers.

"We wont give up" he declared.

"All right then . . .

"Consider this a declaration of war . . . the fourth shinobi war begins now".

-

"The fourth shinobi war" Tsuchikage said in a somewhat surprised tone "You cannot be serious".

And now his patience was over with he had enough, they know his demands and his declaration has been made.

"I'm not a fool to say such a thing in jest" he said looking away.

The Raikage looked at Madara with hate filled eyes, he had caused all this, his brother would be safe if it wasn't for this man, he hated this man.

"Next time we meet it shall be in the battlefield'' he said disappearing into a swirl of space and time.

-

Onoki held his elderly hips in pain, he was getting to old for this junk.

"Oh dear . . . what shall we do now" Onoki asked no one in particular.

Gaara stood to the question, beating Mifune to the punch "We must form a shinobi alliance" he said calmly, less worried without the presence of Madara.

"There is no other way to oppose the power of seven tailed beasts" Gaara looked around.

The Raikage looked reluctant, Mizukage seemed concerned, Naruto remained still and unmoving, this was not good news.

The Mizukage spoke up "I recall that you were against the idea Raikage" she said with a small smirk.

The Raikage reluctance seemed to fade as his hardened face softened somewhat.

"It seems no harm has come across my brother . . . but I refuse to allow Akatsuki to have their ways with us any longer" he said in the calmest voice he had ever presented to the other kages.

"We form a shinobi alliance, and settle this as quickly as possible" he said quickly.

"Select a search party at once and contact the village so that they can begin a full search at once" he barked at his underlings who nodded and jumped off.

The Mizukage spoke up once more "In order to put a stop to Madara's "Moon" operation . . . we must on no account permit him to obtain the Hachibi or Kyuubi" she said looking once at the Raikage and lastly at Naruto who looked unprovoked at the thought of Madara hunting him down.

"As such it seems more prudent for our shinobi alliance to locate the Hachibi before Madara does, and hide him away from Madara".

Gaara and Mifune agreed.

Choujuro nodded nervously "Y-You have got that right . . . if he were to revive that "Jubi" monster . . .

The Tsuchikage shook his head.

"No . . . the power of the seven tailed beasts that Madara has collected is beyond imagining . . .

He continued to shake his head.

"And he may have some kind of Jutsu or other secret plan up his sleeve that makes use of those demons" Onoki didn't like this, not one bit.

"I doubt he would be so confident otherwise" one of Onoki's larger bodyguards said.

"We know that the Namikaze here shall be apart of the war effort, but what of the Hachibi, we should use him as a vital part of the war effort" the Tsuchikage reason, which to Gaara seemed reasonable, but very risky.

"Unthinkable" Gaara stated.

"Protecting the Hachibi should be vital to our chances at winning the war".

"I suspect the reason Madara has decided to start this war using these seven beasts he has collected is because in his weakened state, and with the few Akatsuki members remaining, it would be too difficult for him to capture the Hachibi and the Kyuubi, even if he succeeded the risks would be too high" Gaara explained.

" . . . He may be thinking of using this war as a way of luring his targets out" Gaara reasoned.

Before the Mizukage would have been with the Kazekage, his reasoning was sound and his facts were facts, but that lion within her stomach growled at the thought of upsetting her man, especially with the thought of another woman prying her way into his strong arms.

She answered unsurely and uncertain, a small wither in her voice.

"Maybe, I am not to sure . . ."

"I agree with the Kazekage" the Raikage said returning to his loud and emotional self.

"Hokage I have no measurements of your powers, but I have heard stories, you are 'efficient' enough to handle yourself" he said adding some emphasis to the word efficient.

"But I will not lay my brother's head before the eyes of my enemies".

"Very well, do you accept Tsuchikage-sama, Hokage-sama that we shall capture and restrain the Hachibi and hold him in a protective environment?" Mei asked the short elder and the young blonde.

"I will share our information on Killer Bee with Iwa, Kiri, Suna and Konoha, I suggest that teams be organized and mobilized immediately" the Raikage barked.

"Once the Hachibi is found, I suggest that you send that information to me" he said in a somewhat threatening voice.

"I am probably the only person my brother will actually listen to" he suggested.

The Raikage settled down as the room went quite quickly.

. . .

"We must know that even if we secure the Hachibi and protect them with the force of our alliance . . . if that alliance is annihilated it will all have been meaningless" he paused.

"That is why I say . . . It would be more advantageous to us if we were to send him into battle from the start, working alongside the alliance's force's".

The Raikage looked reluctant to do what his fellow kage told him.

"Are you sure about that"

Onoki looked at the new voice.

Mifune spoke with raised hands.

"We see here before us is the formation of the first ever shinobi alliance".

"It's power is –

"I am sorry Mifune" Naruto spoke up after his brief period of silence, he had heard enough.

"I the Rokudaime Hokage . . . have heard enough" he said, hand clenching the bloodied headband.

"My forces will stand on high guard . . . any information about the eight tails will be sent to the other kages immediately . . . and Suna, your participation in this alliance will in no way effect our personal alliance" he paused.

Mei the Mizukage was the first to speak up.

"What are you saying".

Naruto looked up.

"Konoha will not be apart of this alliance"

-

1000 Alerts, 850 favs thank you all

Just got on Face book look me up on connor Raki if you wanna discuss stuff or sign up as friends, sounds desperate right but im after beating one of my friends in amounts so any help is appreciated.

that's all folks

Peace/