A/N: Hello! This is my first try at Naruto fan fiction. This will be primarily a yaoi story, basically a revision of events leading up to and during part two. There will be a lot of canon. It starts off with a bit of Sasuke/Naruto but I will not keep it that way, at least not in the sense that Sasuke and Naruto are romantically involved. There will be a few pairings going on, or at least hinted to.

Warning!

This first chapter has graphic content.

Chapter 1

It was after the fiasco of the previous chunin exam that Naruto had decided to get to the bottom of what was going on with Sasuke. Naruto and Jiraiya had recently returned to the Hidden Leaf with Tsunade, Shizune, and Tonton in tow. Sasuke was becoming more and more volatile with each passing day since coming in contact with his brother, Itachi. Naruto didn't like that no matter what he said or did, Sasuke wouldn't change his attitude and just grew more spiteful towards the blonde. No one would answer Naruto's questions. They always dismissed them or just pegged it on his hunger for revenge against Itachi. Naruto knew something was up. It was beyond Itachi.

After sneaking around and keeping an eye on Sasuke, Naruto knew enough of what was going on. One of the legendary sannin, Orochimaru, marked Sasuke and promised him power. Naruto may not have been the smartest person in the Hidden Leaf, but he knew it was only a matter of time that he left in search of Orochimaru. No amount of talking to Sasuke was making a difference. The raven haired boy was as stubborn as they come, which is why Naruto had a plan set just in case, though he knew no one would approve of his plan.

Naruto took to watching the only path that led out of the village every night as Sasuke's mood got worse and worse. He was hidden up in a tree with a handful of letters stuffed in his orange jacket. He had carefully written them when he firmly decided on going though this plan should Sasuke ever decide to leave. He was only up in the tree for about an hour when he caught sight of raven hair walking down the path. This was it.

Before he could move, however, Naruto caught sight of Sakura chasing after Sasuke. So she was watching him too, huh? Naruto watched as the girl pathetically begged Sasuke to stay, and as expected, Sasuke wasn't going to listen to her and swiftly knocked her out and set her limp form on a nearby bench before continuing down the path.

Naruto clenched his fight, finding his resolve once more. He silently summoned a shadow clone and handed the letters to him. "You know what to do," was all he whispered as the clone silently sped towards its destination.

He jumped out of the tree, landing just behind Sasuke. "So, you decided to show up, too," the raven haired boy said, not bothering to face Naruto, but he had stopped walking.

"I know what you plan on doing, Sasuke. I may not know every detail, but I've managed to overhear enough. Sasuke, are you sure you're making the right choice by going to Orochimaru?"

Sasuke turned around to gauge the blonde. He had expected Naruto to yell at him and be irrational, but instead he was calm. Sasuke leveled his gaze on Naruto's intense blue eyes. "Orochimaru is powerful, one of the legendary sannin. You've been training under Jiraiya and look how far you've come. I feel like this is my only chance and nothing you say or do will keep me here, Naruto. Sakura begged me to stay but obviously that didn't work, now did it?"

Naruto smirked, placing a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He was half surprised when Sasuke didn't shrink away from the contact. "I'm not going to beg you to stay. I know how stubborn you are. I was wondering if you would let me join you."

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction before he narrowed them, his face showing how skeptical he was. "Why would you want to come with me? You'll most likely lose any chance at becoming Hokage and become a criminal. What game are you playing, Naruto?"

Naruto's smirk only grew, his blue eyes twinkling with mirth. "I'm not playing any sort of game. I want to go with you. You're like a brother to me, Sasuke. I want to help you. Besides, you and I both know that we push each other to get stronger. I also think Orochimaru might have information regarding the group of missing nin who are after me."

Sasuke regarded Naruto for a moment, cold black eyes searching his face before briefly flitting over to Sakura's prone form behind Naruto. Sasuke sighed, and then inclined his head, hoping he wouldn't regret allowing Naruto to tag along. Naruto beamed at him and they continued down the path that led out of the village.

Naruto's shadow clone had managed to deliver most of the letters so far, having left two of the three on the Hokage's desk, one addressed to Tsunade and the other for Jiraiya. Now he was making his way to drop off his remaining letter at Kakashi's place.

The clone perched himself on the roof, next to the window he was sure was Kakashi's apartment. He slowly slid back the window and slipped inside, finding himself in Kakashi's bedroom. The clone looked around, missing the fact that the bed was empty despite it being in the middle of the night. He found a good spot to place the letter and was about to form the seal to release himself when a form stepped out of the shadows of the room and into the stream of moonlight.

"I had a feeling you were up to something, Naruto."

The clone froze, eyes wide as they locked onto the form of Kakashi, who was still fully dressed. Kakashi clearly had been anticipating Naruto's arrival.

Kakashi sighed, his lone visible eye penetrating. "I don't need to read that letter to know what you're doing. You're also about as stubborn as Sasuke. I only hope you understand the situation you will be in now."

"Kakashi-sensei... I don't know why, but I have this feeling like I need to stay with Sasuke. Orochimaru is a bad man, but I don't think he will hurt either of us, and he might even have information regarding the Akatsuki. This is a perfect opportunity for me to grow stronger and protect everyone I care about. Have faith in me," the clone said, determination etched into his features.

Kakashi regarded the boy for a moment. "I won't stop them from chasing after you two. I also wish to tell you something that might come in handy, since I doubt you've figured it out yet."

The clone furrowed his brow. "Kakashi-sensei, I'm a clone. How will the real me know what you tell me?"

Kakashi's eye crinkled in a way that showed he was smiling. "Just as I thought, you don't know. When a shadow clone is released, it shares the information and experiences with the original. So when you release yourself, everything I tell you now will be given to the original Naruto's memory bank. Make sense?"

The clone seemed to contemplate what Kakashi said, and then the look that appeared on his face amused Kakashi. Naruto understood and possibly had ideas based off this information.

Kakashi placed a hand atop Naruto's head affectionately. "If you can, keep in contact with Tsunade, Jiraiya, and myself. Stay safe, Naruto."

The clone beamed at Kakashi before releasing himself, disappearing in a puff of smoke. The jounin hoped that he made the right decision just then, or this could turn into a bigger problem than it would have been. Kakashi sighed and then made his way, lazily, to the Hokage Tower, as he made no promises to his student about delaying his own actions.

Off in the forest surrounding the village, Naruto let out a small gasp. Sasuke gave him a sidelong glance. "What is it, Naruto?" The blonde didn't answer, mostly because he didn't know what to say and nothing was wrong. Naruto merely shook his head, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Two and a half years later...

Kabuto tried to remain indifferent as he walked down one of the many dimly lit hallways of their current base of operations, the only sounds were of his footsteps on the stone floor and the very distracting moaning coming from one of the rooms to which was his destination. The man rubbed his temples in annoyance, trying to remind himself that soon Orochimaru could take Sasuke's body and dispose of the blonde brat to which was currently the source of the moaning that was echoing down the hall. Sasuke and his companion, Naruto, went at it like rabbits during mating season too often. What bothered him the most is that Sasuke knew, and rather enjoyed the fact that his actions drove Kabuto insane.

Kabuto stood before the door that belonged to Sasuke and Naruto's room, trying to compose himself so as to not give Sasuke the satisfaction of knowing all too plainly that the brats were annoying. He was about to open the door when he heard "Idiot! I told you not to bite me there," followed by a playful whine from Naruto. "Aww, c'mon. I know you like it, Sasuke. Your thing twitches when I bite your nipples." There was a pause and then the moaning resumed. Kabuto pushed up his glasses and fixed his features into a stoic mask before barging into the room.

Sasuke clearly ignored Kabuto's intrusion, much to the apparent dismay of Naruto who tried to shy away from Sasuke, but the raven would have none of it as he kept pounding into the blonde beneath him with slow and deliberate thrusts which elicited reluctant moans from Naruto.

"S-stop, Sasuke. K-Ka-Kabuto is watching..."

Sasuke looked over his shoulder, his black eyes boring into Kabuto. Kabuto didn't miss the clear amusement in those dark depths. "I don't think you truly wish me to stop, Naruto. Your mouth says stop, but your body, particularly your ass and cock, tell me otherwise," he practically purred, making a show of stroking Naruto's leaking manhood, all the while staring at Kabuto.

Kabuto resisted the urge to roll his eyes and tried his best to ignore the strong smell of sex in the air. He cleared his throat, preparing to get down to the reason he was here in the first place. "If I could have your attention for a brief moment, you two," he said in a bored tone. Sasuke rolled his eyes before ceasing his thrusting, but remaining embedded within the blonde. Seeing as that was about as how good this situation was going to get, Kabuto continued. "Lord Orochimaru and I are going to go pay an old friend a visit. So while we're gone, Lord Orochimaru wants you both to remain inside this place and resume training. That's all I needed to inform you of. Do continue."

Sasuke had already resumed pounding into the blonde beneath him before Kabuto had even finished speaking. The smug smirk on the raven brat's face irked Kabuto. Feigning nonchalance, Kabuto left the room, the door clicking shut behind him. He clenched his jaw out of annoyance as he swiftly walked down the hallway, the sounds of sex echoing all around him.

"Insolent brats."

Naruto and Sasuke were practicing their taijutsu skills, adding in their chakra control and manipulation skills for offense and defense, when they heard three sets of footsteps, one set more than they expected. This gained Naruto's attention, which in return opened him up for an attack from Sasuke. Naruto refocused his attention on Sasuke and immediately seized the oncoming blow, twisting Sasuke's arm. Sasuke was forced to turn around so Naruto was pinning his arm behind his back.

"I was distracted and yet I'm still faster than you, Sasuke," said Naruto, a cheeky grin spreading across his face under the mask he wore that came up over his nose.

Sasuke grit his teeth as he twisted around, forcing Naruto to let go and assume a different stance to counter what ever the raven was about to send his way now. Sadly for the blonde, even though he blocked the kick to the gut from Sasuke, the chakra behind the attack forced him back into a pillar within the large room, his shoulder colliding with the hard stone. Naruto let out a hiss of pain, clutching his shoulder as he slid down to the floor.

Sasuke sauntered over to Naruto and leaned down so he was hovering over the blonde, a crooked smirk upon his lips. "You may be faster than me, but I'm stronger, Naruto." Sasuke would have said more but his words died upon his tongue as Naruto, with a smooth movement faster than Sasuke could make out without his Sharingan active, pressed his fingers to the seal tattooed upon the shoulder he was clutching seemingly in pain and drew a tanto, holding it against Sasuke's neck.

Impossibly blue eyes danced mischievously. "Dead," was the simple proclamation from the blonde. There was a pause as they remained like that, the room deadly silent as they regarded each other.

Sasuke's smirk had disappeared, replaced with a false frown. "I thought we agreed to no weapons. Such a cheater," the raven purred, watching as Naruto noticed the tip of Sasuke's sword pressed into his side.

There was a round of slow clapping from the entrance of the room they were currently in. Naruto and Sasuke immediately lowered their weapons, and Sasuke helped Naruto up. Naruto pressed the tip of the tanto against the seal on his left shoulder, and waited for the seal to reactivate to allow him to sheath the blade within the seal once again. Sasuke did the same, though he hadn't gone to the extremes of dealing with that kind of sealing technique as Naruto had.

"Such a brilliant display of deception, Sasuke and Naruto. You both have come such a long way," came the slick, almost condescending voice of Orochimaru. "Wouldn't you agree, Kabuto?"

Kabuto clenched his jaw before agreeing with Orochimaru. Sasuke smirked, knowing full well that Kabuto hated him and Naruto. The raven's gaze locked onto the eyes of the new kid standing slightly behind Orochimaru and Kabuto. As Sasuke was sizing the newcomer up, he noticed something akin to fear flickered within those emotionless eyes and the boy stumbled back. Sasuke grinned wolfishly, liking the effect he had on the guy.

Meanwhile Naruto was watching the exchange between Sasuke and the new guy, his brow furrowed as a sign that he was frowning. The blonde placed a hand on Sasuke's arm, gaining the raven's attention. He shook his head slightly before tugging his mask down to reveal his face. Naruto gave a warm smile to the new guy. "Hello, I'm Naruto," he said kindly, gesturing towards the raven beside him. "This is Sasuke. Who might you be?"

"Oh, I almost forgot. This is Sai, our newest recruit so to speak. He's come to me on the behalf of Danzo, who wishes to work with me on something oh so special," said Orochimaru, a dark glint in his eyes. The snake sannin never trusted the jinchuriki so he rarely divulged his plans, he preferred the boy to work for that sort of information. He knew all too well that Naruto wasn't here simply on behalf of Sasuke. "By the way, Sasuke, Naruto, your old team has really become rather pathetic. Though that kunoichi finally seems to be of use rather than a sniveling little brat. Tsunade is no doubt teaching her."

Naruto's eyes widened a fraction before he schooled his features into a more impassive expression. "Was Sai with them?" The response he received was a curt incline of the sannin's head. "I see. When did you come in contact with them? I thought you guys were going to see a friend."

"Seems they've killed at least one of the Akatsuki. One which we've been using."

At that, Sasuke stiffened, his eyes narrowing on the sannin.

"Relax, boy. Itachi is still alive. They killed Sasori, possibly Deidara as well. They somehow got information about our rendezvous point. Though I suppose they did us a favor in the end," said Orochimaru, his long tongue flicking out as he gazed back towards Sai. The new guy seemed nonplussed by this action, which was odd to Naruto. The blonde always found it creepy when the snake sannin did that.

"Kabuto, would you show Sai to his room? Come Sasuke, Naruto. I wish to work on some new jutsu with you both."

Sasuke and Naruto quickly followed Orochimaru down a hallway adjacent from where Kabuto led Sai. The trip was silent for a moment, besides the sound of footsteps on the hard stone floor, until Sasuke leaned in close, his lips ghosting along the flesh of Naruto's ear. "I don't like that guy, he seems a bit off to me," the raven whispered.

Naruto hummed a response, sounding indifferent. Sai did seem off, but the blonde wouldn't judge him for now. What worried Naruto was the fact that Sai was found with Team 7 and he was torn between feeling relief and discomfort. The team was close and would undoubtedly chase after Sai if the guy betrayed them, that is if they were still alive. He hoped they were alright, but he also hoped that they wouldn't come here. There was also a chance that Sai's presence was a trap, that he was leading Team 7 to their location, but Orochimaru would've long since killed Sai if he had suspected such, though the sannin rarely did logical things and preferred to toy with his prey.

Naruto balled his hands into fists at his sides and worried his bottom lip between his teeth. He had an odd feeling at the pit of his stomach. He had his suspicions of what might happen, and the name Danzo didn't help. Naruto knew some things about that old man, considering he found information about him not too long ago in the data stores Orochimaru has.

As Sai was led down the hall by Kabuto, he mentally went over what his mission was and began to calculate a plan of execution that would be best for such a job. Sasuke was indeed a threat and should be eliminated, for more than the reason that he would be Orochimaru's next vessel, that much Sai could agree with. What began to bother him was the blonde guy with him. Sai's second target, or at least that should be his second target. He was expecting a troublesome brat like what was described to him within the bingo book, but the Naruto he saw moments before wasn't a threat. Not a single alarm was raised within him when he briefly locked eyes with the blonde. Not like what happened with Sasuke. Sai was sure Naruto was a pure heart, even if he was a missing nin.

Sai inwardly sighed. The reaction Sasuke roused from him earlier must have clouded his judgment. He had a mission and he could not fail. Even if Naruto had seemed to try to comfort and reassure him before, it was lost on the ANBU. Naruto clearly was no longer loyal to the Leaf and that made him a threat.

"Ah, here we are. This will be your room, hm... Sai, was it?"

Sai stared at the bespectacled man blankly before entering the room that he was led to. He looked around, sizing up the place. The room was good enough, he supposed. It didn't matter.

"Hm," the older man mused. "Not the talkative type, huh? No matter, besides I need to lock you in here for a while. Can't have you snooping around. I'm sure you understand, don't you?"

Sai regarded the bespectacled man with a bored expression, waiting for him to get the hint. Said man rolled his eyes before leaving the room, closing and locking the door as he went. Sai stood there, listening to the sound of footsteps fade away. Once he was sure Kabuto wasn't around anymore, Sai pulled out a scroll and began to summon his bingo book.

Holding the small black book in his hand he began to thumb through the pages until he found what he was looking for. He stopped when two familiar faces stared back at him. Sasuke hadn't changed much, if anything he looked more cold and intimidating. Naruto, however, changed drastically. Staring at the picture before him and the description underneath, putting both people together in his mind. If it wasn't for the blonde hair, impossibly blue eyes, and marks on his cheeks that resembled whiskers, Sai would have mistaken the boy he met moments ago for someone else. No surprise that at least the information he was given on one of his targets wasn't accurate. Neither boy has made contact with anyone since they left the Leaf almost three years ago. He expected a boisterous individual, headstrong and stupid; not the calm, reserved, empathetic boy he met. Something struck Sai wrong, but it wasn't his place to go against a mission. Such was engrained into him since he was a young boy.

Sai was brought out of his internal musings when he heard someone unlocking and opening the door. He caught sight of the envelope he had given Orochimaru and Kabuto earlier lying on his bed. Perhaps the idiot with glasses forgot it, so he turned back to the desk and began to make it look like he was painting. Such was his mistake when he was then pinned down against the desk, his least favorite kunoichi with monstrous strength was blabbering on about betrayal. Sai soon found himself ensnared in wood, facing Sakura and Team 7's current leader, Yamato. Seems he's failed his mission. Danzo won't be happy.

"Where are they, Sai?" inquired Sakura. Such surprised him, he figured she would first ask about his mission, but then again... This ugly girl had a one track mind.

"Who?" he said, knowing it would upset her.

"You idiot! Sasuke and Naruto. Where are they?"

"Hm," he mused. "I don't know. What I do know is that they are here. In fact I'd be inclined to help you find them if you would free me."

Sakura gnashed her teeth and raised her fist, preparing to punch the life out of Sai. Yamato quickly grabbed her wrist, causing Sakura to look at Yamato with heated confusion. Yamato did that weird thing with his eyes that left people feeling uncomfortable and afraid of the seemingly gentle man. Sakura immediately shrank away from him. The action almost made Sai want to bark a genuine laugh. Almost.

"Sakura, calm down. I don't think Sai is lying. Orochimaru is a cautious man, even if he isn't logical. It's unlikely Sai would know much given the amount of time he's been in his company, or even in this base," said Yamato, clearly the only level headed one here.

Sai molded his features into his signature fake smile. "That is correct. Free me of this wood jutsu and I'll aid you in finding your long lost companions. My beasts will make quick work of it."

Yamato freed Sai of his binds, causing Sakura to begin protesting. Again, Yamato did the eye intimidation maneuver and she immediately ceased her incessant babbling. Sai swiftly stood and went to the desk, grabbing a blank scroll, ink and brush. With his fake smile still on his face, he turned to Sakura and Yamato. "Alright, I'll start sending out my beasts. Let's split up," and with that he left the room quickly.

Sakura leaned against the desk, sighing. "Was it necessary to free him?" Sakura turned and began to look at what ever was on the desk, trying to figure out exactly what Sai was up to.

"Don't worry, Sakura. I can track him down easily enough should he try to deceive us again," said Yamato, walking towards the door but stopped when he saw an envelope on the bed, similar to the one he saw earlier. He picked it up and began glancing at its contents, brow furrowing as he did.

"Yamato... I don't think Sai came here with the intention of truly betraying the Leaf on behalf of Danzo. Look," said Sakura, holding up a small book. Yamato looked at it and was now staring at Sasuke and Naruto's picture. A bingo book.

They both stared at each other for a moment, and then seemingly on the same train of thought, they both dashed out of the room, hot on Sai's trail.

Sakura and Yamato were running down a long hallway when they came to another hallway connecting to the one they were in. They paused, waiting for Yamato to pin down Sai using the tracking seed. Suddenly they heard a loud explosion and Sakura's heart sank. No! Sakura took off in the direction of the explosion, not waiting for Yamato. After making a right turn down a different hallway, she saw light at the end of the hallway which must be where the explosion originated.

Picking up her pace, Sakura readied herself to unleash hell on Sai if he was still alive. Her anger intensified as the guy came into view, unscathed. Sakura grit her teeth, channeling chakra into her fists as she broke out of the hallway and into the crater.

"Sai, I will not let you hurt Sasuke!" Sakura shouted, about to land a blow on the unflinching robot. However, before she could make contact, a blur of red and orange came before her and a hand grabbed her fist, effectively nullifying her advances. There was a pressure on her right fist, not enough to hurt, but more as a warning. She vaguely registered another hand on her left wrist doing the same.

Sakura was in shock, she couldn't even bring herself to give the person who stopped her a piece of her mind. Her mint green eyes took in the man before her, trying to figure out just who the hell stopped her. He was slightly taller than her, wearing black sandals and black pants that came down just bellow the knees, a black skin tight shirt with only one sleeve that covered the entirety of his right arm and hand, sans the index and middle fingers, the neck of which was covering the lower half of his face. An oxblood vest with a high collar, zipped up halfway, with the Uzumaki clan's symbol on the back in orange, over which was burnt orange fabric resting at his hips, belted off with a thick rope tied at the front in an intricate knot. Sakura's eyes lingered on the tattooed seals on the exposed left arm, the bright orange fingernails, before looking up into those blue eyes. She felt like she knew this person. It might have been more obvious to her if the man's blonde hair was spiky like it used to be, but he now wore his long hair up in a high ponytail resting at the crown of his head, bangs threatening to obscure his eyesight, long pieces framing his face.

The man before her wasn't... Couldn't be... "Naruto?"

Blue eyes lit up and danced with playfulness. "I'm a bit hurt that you don't wish you protect me, too, Sakura."

"Stop fooling around, Naruto. You should have let Sakura kill Sai," came the bored tone of Sasuke causing Sakura to look up at him. Sasuke was dressed similarly to Naruto but in hues of gray and blue. She couldn't stop herself from ogling at him, her old fangirl self bubbling up within.

Yamato finally showed up, looking slightly irritated at Sakura's carelessness. He quickly took in the situation and was immediately on the offensive.

"Who are you? Where's Kakashi?"

Yamato's attention was brought to the blonde who was still had his grip on Sakura's arms. His brow furrowed in confusion over the peculiar question. "I'm Yamato, filling in for Kakashi. He was injured in a battle against two Akatsuki members," he said, unsure why he was supplying such information. Yamato watched as the blonde's pupils elongated. The first warning sign, but his eyes didn't bleed red. Still, Yamato readied himself to deal with the nine-tails properly.

"Did they attack the Leaf?"

"No... They attacked the Sand. They got Gaara."

Naruto's eyes bled red, nails became claws, and red-orange chakra began to bubble around him. His grip tightened on Sakura, who in response screamed. Sai took the opportunity to attack Naruto from behind, but he was stopped by Sasuke, who in a series of swift movements, pinned Sai to a large piece of rubble within the crater using his katana, piercing him through the shoulder. Sasuke then turned his attention to Naruto. He pushed Sakura back with enough force to wrench her arms free from Naruto's grasp, making her collide into Yamato which effectively stopped him from taming the nine-tails' chakra.

Naruto growled as he was spun around. Sasuke cupped his face with both hands, staring deeply into Naruto's eyes. After a moment all traces of the nine-tails' chakra vanished and Naruto was in control once again. Sasuke pressed his forehead against Naruto's, sighing. "Idiot, keep control over your emotions. You know what happens when you don't."

Naruto closed his eyes, a tear escaping as he leaned into Sasuke's touch. He brought up a hand, resting it on Sasuke's. "Sorry," was all he said. For a moment they stood like that, everyone else forgotten.

Yamato stared disbelievingly at them, for a different reason than why Sakura was. Sakura clutched her right hand against her chest, tears brimming her eyes as she stared at Sasuke and Naruto. Jealously welled within her.

Sasuke took notice of Sakura watching him, and a mischievous expression passed through his dark eyes. He tugged down Naruto's mask until his lips were exposed and then leaned into the blonde, pressing his lips firmly against Naruto's. It wasn't long before the blonde fully responded, still having momentarily forgotten about everyone else around them.

There was a clatter of metal hitting a stone surface which brought everyone's attention back to Sai. Sai had managed to pull the sword out of the stone and his flesh, freeing himself. Sasuke watched as he clumsily stood up, clutching his injured shoulder, blood trickling down his arm and onto the ground. Sasuke found himself mildly amused that Sai didn't show that he was in a lot of pain, his face remained impassive, if not bored. Sai leaned back against the stone wall, growing weak from loss of blood.

Sasuke summoned chidori, his right hand crackling with blue energy. "I suppose it's time to finish you off, hn... I forgot your name. Too bad I didn't hit a vital spot in my haste earlier," and with that Sasuke shaped the chidori into a thin blade and shot it out towards Sai, aiming between his eyes. "I'll make you regret threatening Naruto's life."

"No, Sasuke!"

The chidori blade stopped a few inches short of Sai's head. Naruto had grabbed Sasuke's wrist with his left hand, turning slightly to try and make eye contact with Sasuke. However, the raven's eyes were pinned on Sai, watching and waiting for any change in Sai's expression as he began to inch the blade closer to him once again.

"Sasuke, listen to me. He is not our enemy. Sai isn't the person you want to kill. He is a leaf ninja just like you and me. Understand that he was clearly given orders to eliminate us, but we aren't a threat. I cannot allow you to kill Sai, because if we do then the Leaf would think otherwise," said Naruto, speaking lowly to Sasuke, trying to make sure Orochimaru and Kabuto wouldn't overhear if they were near their location. He tightened his grip on Sasuke's wrist when the blade made contact with Sai's forehead, barely piercing the flesh.

Sasuke wavered for a moment, his chidori blade had stopped moving once again. The raven watched as a thin stream of blood trickled from the shallow wound on Sai's face. Sasuke grit his teeth before releasing the jutsu and whirling around on Naruto. He grabbed Naruto by the neck and shoved the blonde roughly against the stone wall. Blue eyes stared up at him with stunned disbelief.

"There is that hero complex. I was wondering when I'd see that again. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Sasuke said, venom practically dripping off his words. "Listen closely, Naruto. The day we left the Leaf was the day we no longer had any ties to that village. We are not leaf nin. The world isn't sunshine and rainbows, Naruto. You seem to forget that we are shinobi, our lives are in danger every moment of every day. Regardless of how you feel, it's clear to me we are classified as enemies to the Leaf. Why do you feel the need to protect someone who only a moment ago would have gladly taken your life?"

Sasuke stared into Naruto's eyes, waiting for an answer. When he didn't get one, he tightened his grip on Naruto's neck, threatening to choke him to death; however, Naruto wasn't fighting back. He merely stared up at Sasuke. The look in the blonde's eyes told Sasuke something much more clearly than words would. Sasuke was an idiot, that he was the foolish one here. Unable to properly speak, Naruto settled for placing a hand on Sasuke's cheek in an affectionate manner, a shaky smile forming upon his lips. After a short delay, Sasuke pulled away from Naruto, releasing his hold upon the blonde's neck and out of reach of his touch as if Naruto's touch burned him. Sasuke quickly turned away from Naruto, but not before he caught a glimpse of the hurt within those blue eyes.

The raven walked over to where his katana lay on the ground near Sai. He picked it up and flicked it several times expertly, ridding the blade of Sai's blood. Just as he was about to sheath it, he heard "You really are an idiot." This remark caused several things to happen at once. Sasuke turned a murderous glare on Sai who was sitting on the ground with a fake smile plastered on his face, Yamato quickly created a thick wood wall between Sasuke and Sai, and finally Naruto, who remained against the wall opposite Sai, threw a three pronged kunai at Sasuke's back which Sasuke sensed and barely dodged causing the kunai to land with a resounding thud into the wood wall.

Sasuke slowly turned his head to stare at the blonde behind him. Naruto had his right arm outstretched and the inside of his left forearm turned outwards revealing the seal there, a position left over from throwing the summoned kunai. Sasuke's now red eyes noted that the blonde had his head tilted down, causing his bangs to hide his eyes, though there was a cocky smirk resting upon Naruto's lips. Naruto knew he'd pay for his actions later, but it didn't matter to him.

"That's enough, boys. Come, we must go," came the drawling tone of Orochimaru's voice causing everyone to avert their gaze to the snake sannin and Kabuto who was standing beside him on the ground above Naruto. Well everyone but Sai as he had wood obstructing his view, not that he cared. Almost immediately Sasuke and Naruto jumped up to join the older pair.

"When did you show up, Orochimaru?" inquired Sasuke in a snide tone.

"Oh, I've been here for quite some time," the snake sannin drawled, flicking his tongue out as he eyed Naruto out of the corner of his eyes. Orochimaru then turned his gaze upon where Sai was, hidden behind the wood wall. "Pity," was the only remark on that. He turned his full attention on Yamato and Sakura. "Remember what we agreed upon. I let you live in exchange for killing off the Akatsuki," and at Sasuke's petulant glare he added, "Ah, except Itachi of course."

"We didn't agree upon anything, Orochimaru," said Yamato as he helped up Sakura who had managed to heal her hand. Naruto had almost broke all of her fingers.

Orochimaru laughed by way of response, and all four of them began to burn away in some sort of teleportation jutsu.

Sakura trained her eyes on Sasuke and Naruto, her heart breaking. "Sasuke, Naruto! Don't do this. Don't leave again. You know Orochimaru is just after Sasuke's body. You're both in danger. Don't go, Sasuke."

"Such is the price I pay for vengeance," was all Sasuke said, as if it was obvious.

At that remark, Naruto looked away with a pained expression upon his features, and Orochimaru's grin grew more sinister. Sakura merely watched, tears streaming down her cheeks as they vanished from sight.

There was a long moment of silence, no one moving. Sai eventually got up and made his way into Yamato and Sakura's line of sight, clutching his shoulder and blood staining parts of his face from a minor wound. Sakura immediately switched into healer mode, much to Sai's surprise. Yamato watched them for a moment and then found himself smiling. After all, they did catch what Naruto said earlier. Even being in Orochimaru and Kabuto's company for the past few years didn't diminish the light that was Naruto. Eventually they were well enough to journey back to the village and consult Lady Tsunade.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. I'll update again soon. Love you~