Uchiha Naruto: The Sage

Chapter 21

As a king could be, Naruto sat comfortably with his right hand resting on his head - he had his right hand under his chin. His eyes were fixed on a single point. There was nothing much on his mind. The past days had been... unique. Never had he thought he would soon find himself questioning his ideals or lifestyle. At least he had not spent much time thinking about it. It would not be pleasant for his goals should he do anything that could delay his plans.

Zetsu was standing right in front of him with a look that could be defined as happy. Naruto did not bother to ask why his companion seemed to be happy. He kept his expression as it was, always. He had no interests in indulging Zetsu about what had made his day. But he could guess that it had to do with what he had watched in Suna. Fireworks were surely ignited at the village.

He had been lacking action recently. All that has been done, was talk and train. Nothing much more interesting. He was now no longer worried about his condition. He had already set everything should anything happen to his body. He wished that he could get some action. It would be good for him to get some fresh air out of the village. A new scenery was always good. The project in Oto was nearly complete, he had to see it soon with his own eyes.

It was no better seeing it from Zetsu's recordings. He wanted to see it soon with his own eyes. He would have to do the same with Uzushiogakure. He had not set a foot in the ancient village of the Uzumaki clan. He would have to soon visit the place and see it with his own eyes. But a place like that would make him go through an ordeal he would rather not deal with at this time. Still, for Uzumaki, he would someday visit the land of whirlpools.

''How did it go?'' Naruto finally questioned looking straight at his companion. He still held his calm look when he asked the question.

''There were a number of deaths in the village. Deidara had threatened to blow some parts of the village if Suna did not hand over their Kazekage. Surprisingly, the villagers refused to allow Gaara to be taken. They were able to deal with his explosions. In the end, he managed to get away, barely, since he was being overwhelmed. Gaara had dealt some serious trouble though. He did not last long before losing unconsciousness due to blood loss and severe pain. He had his right leg crushed and right hand cut off,'' Zetsu explained slowly so Naruto could not miss a thing. It was not that Naruto would have missed anything if he had spoken at a faster pace.

''I assume you dealt with him after that,'' Naruto stated. Zetsu could not have left Deidara to wake up and continue with his life. He had to have finished him while he was still down. Of course, that was something Zetsu could do, not him.

''Yes, I took his head to Guren so she could have his bounty,'' Zetsu stated. The money was needed for the running of the village. He knew that. Naruto may not have much use for money, but for someone like Guren, money was needed to run Oto.

''Excellent,'' Naruto said. ''And what of Gaara?''

''He is fine; he only fought with Deidara while his top shinobi fought with Sasori. A messenger should be arriving at Konoha soon to look for help. Sasori poisoned a few of Suna shinobi who were fighting with him. But they were prepared for him due to the Intel you supplied. In the end, they managed to kill him.''

''Everything seems to have worked well,'' Naruto stated.

Zetsu nodded. ''The battle was surprisingly worth watching. Even Gaara seemed to have gotten a lot stronger than before. His control over sand is impressive. His defense has gotten better. I don't think it can be bypassed easily by speed anymore.''

''That is pleasing,'' he did not look pleased the slightest. ''Sunagakure is still standing after the attack. Obito will probably be seething at the failure. But it matters not.''