Ojos Asi [[private -- nyrax]]

Sasuke thought it over. Shino was mostly right, Naruto did have that kind of courage and dedication to win that even Sasuke had been shocked by more than once. It had been Naruto that had stopped Gaara and saved Sakura's life back during the chunnin exams, and Sakura was quick to give him credit. Before then, Sasuke never even considering Naruto's power because he wasn't... upfront about his strength. But seeing it that day made Sasuke realize that Naruto was perhaps his biggest competition.

Now it hardly seemed to matter. Funny how the most important thing to you as a kid meant nothing as an adult. "Someone else?" Sasuke asked Kiba, giving him a inquisitive look. "You plan on hiding her in one room and having Akiko in the other or something?" Although he knew that wasn't what Kiba meant, it certainly sounded like he was hinting at something along that idea. Normally when I guy said 'That guys an asshole, she needs a new boyfriend.' He's usually talking about himself.

"Maybe brainwashing was a bad way to put it, but her inability to be around him speaks to a general lack of confidence. And Naruto is high strong, loud; pretty much everything Hinata isn't. But... Naruto wants to become Hokage, and I really hate to say it, but I'd want someone like Hinata to be behind him REALLY getting things done. He's good at the fighting and the protection party, but not at the diplomacy and everything else that Hokage requires." Then, Sasuke realized something. "Actually... Tsunade might be grooming Sakura to become to next Hokage."

Kiba just raised an eyebrow and grinned at Sasuke's comment. "Come now, you know that we Inuzuka have one mate for life. I have my mate and I am perfectly happy with her the way that she is" Kiba said as he crossed his arms and looked at Sasuke. He knew that Sasuke was only kidding around, but no point in not pointing out something that Sasuke might not be entirely familiar with.

Shino gave a nod. "I agree that she needs more confidence, she greatly needs to give herself more credit. She's come up with several Hyuuga techniques on her own but refrains from showing them off because she's worried that no one will appreciate them" Shino admitted as he looked towards Sasuke. He heard Sasuke's last comment and raised a curious eyebrow. "Do you really believe that?" he asked curiously.

"Dogs aren't all that loyal." Sasuke added, glancing to Kiba. "Wolves mate for life, unless of course one dies, but dogs are the more promiscuous of their breed, a step down from wolves, because humans breed them to do tasks."

Hinata invented jutsu. "Again, it's a self esteem issue. I'm sure I could trick Naruto into doing something with her. It might just take me a while to figure out a way to keep her from passing out. Sharingan has the ability to keep someone conscious, but keeping her standing would train my chakra rapidly, and Sakura is not suited to be transferring her chakra to me right now."

Sasuke couldn't help but not. "Yes. Sakura has been trained to do everything that Tsunade does, and that is why that what was once called Team 7 has already been renamed the next three Sannin, because each of us were trained by the original. Orochimaru and Jiriyah are both dead. Tsunade is the only one left and is the current Hokage. Sakura runs the hospital at night because that's when Tsunade is asleep and can't do it on her own. There has been multiple crisis's during the night that Sakura has been responsible for, not Tsunade, even if they weren't medical. No one's supposed to know that Sakura is also fit to make decisions in Tsunade's place if the Hokage is ever to fall in battle or be rendered unable to run Konoha, as a safety measure."

"Yeah well, I like to think that humans tend to be more loyal than dogs do. I'm only half dog, my human side won't let me be with anyone else but Akiko now, and I am just fine with that" Kiba said with a smile. He was loyal to Akiko, and he was never going to betray her like Kano had done to Tsume. Kiba had too much baggage to repeat that crime.

Shino gave a nod once again as Sasuke mentioned what might be necessary in order to get Hinata to stay conscious around Naruto. It would definitely take a great deal of effort. "Well if you ever come up with a full proof method you'll have to let me know"

As Sasuke went on to speak about Sakura, Shino had to admit that he was a little surprised. "I must say that this is all information that I wasn't aware of" he said as he looked right at Sasuke. "Would the rest of the village truly accept Sakura's decisions if something was to happen to Tsunade?" he asked curiously. He didn't mean it to belittle Sakura, but he wasn't sure how the other clans would feel about such a decision.

"A fool proof method could be something simple, really." Sasuke said, looking up at the sun. "Maybe I'm just over thinking it. I know Naruto and you both know Hinata. It takes a village to get an idiot to realize someone likes him, right?" He couldn't help but smirk a little. As good as naruto was for sighting, he was a complete dumbass when it came to just about everything else.

Sasuke held up a fist. "They will accept Sakura's will or I will beat acceptance out of them. I think that the majority of the village respects her, despite her decision to be with me. But Sakura stands much to lose if Konoha falls, more specifically, our son. She loves Shai, despite not being there with us all the time." He wasn't sure if they would accept Sakura, but he felt the need to add. "Naruto would follow her, as would Kakashi. I'm sure that their acceptance of her will would lighten any hard feelings the villagers may harbor."

"There's no question to how well she is liked, I just wasn't sure how much ground she had gained with the various clans. You of all people know how messy politics can get in Konoha," Shino admitted as he looked right at Sasuke. "Although, if Naruto and Kakashi support her than I suppose that would definitely allow her to gain some sort of leverage..........and as far as I'm aware the Aburame clan would no oppose her"

"I have no idea what my mom would do, or how the council would react to it. Knowing them they'd want to throw a fit, only to be quiet once they realized who all supported her" Kiba chimed in.

Sasuke wasn't sure how to answer that question with any real certainty. "Sakura is an Uchiha now, so, as far as the village is concerned, an Uchiha by marriage would lead Konoha if something were to happen to Tsunade. I can't really imagine the majority of the shinobi clans being okay with that, and I'd imagine there would be opposition, but I also know that if it was Tsunade's will for it to happen until a new Hokage was found and came to power, they would not fight it. Normally the village would appoint a temporary Hokage in a situation like this, but... Tsunade is not a foolish woman. I know that she wouldn't want those inside the village to be fighting over the next Hokage. She'd want things to progress forward with someone that she knows is capable of protecting the village, and, when the time is right, a new one would be chosen. The decision would be thought out and reasonable; not rash and sudden if something was to happen to her. Although I do not respect her with her title when I address her, as most people do, I do admire her in my own way." he shrugged his shoulders.

The only time Sasuke ever showed respect for Tsunade was after Youki had impaled him, thinking that he was Sakura. It was more depending on the situation, and since Sasuke lost his parents, all respect for those above him in the social or ranking hierarchy fell to pieces. he just learned the hard lesson that respect was earned, not given. Although he did respect those such as Kakashi and Tsunade, he did not address them as Sensei or Lady Hokage. It was never how he saw himself in his relationship to them: in his youth and now. He saw himself as an equal to Kakashi, and a mutual friend of Tsunade through Sakura, despite the fact that she had in fact trained his wife.

Shino listened curiously as Sasuke went on with his explanation. "I guess I just always assumed that Kakashi or Naruto would take charge if anything happened. I would follow Kakashi's lead, I have seen him in battle and he is a good leader" Shino admitted as he thought back to the time when his team had worked with Kakashi. It was an enlightening and powerful experience, watching the trained Jounin fighting off so many foes at once. "But, whoever Tsunade picked I would follow as long as they were truly helping the village" he said to himself.

Kiba suddenly narrowed his eyes, as if something had just come to mind. "Hey Sasuke.........who else knows that Sakura might be next in line to be Hokage should something happen?" he asked with a touch of concern in his voice.

"Kakashi is a good leader." Sasuke said sternly. "He was one of the few shinobi that I didn't want to see again. I always found it ironic that whenever I saw Naruto or Sakura that he wasn't there. I always got the feeling that he'd kill me if we saw one another again, for running away and leaving Naruto at the edge of Konoha and Oto." He honestly believed that Kakashi would try to kill him when he returned to Konoha as well. Kakashi was the hardest person to win back the trust of, and even now, Sasuke was sure he barely had half of what he previously held.

Sasuke shook his head at Kiba. "Just us. I suppose that Ino most likely knows that as well. A few people in ANBU, but Tsunade doesn't trust the majority of them, so I doubt that she'd tell anyone she doesn't trust."

Shino gave a nod at Sasuke's words. "Kakashi has always been perceptive and fair though, and I'm sure that he noticed that you truly changed when it came to your feelings and motivations. Just like we all have" the Aburame said as he glanced over at Kiba who just gave a nod in return to show his agreement with the statement.

"I only ask because I'm worried about Akira. If he's close with someone in ANBU that knows that fact, he might consider going after Sakura before making a move against Tsunade," Kiba said in a concerned tone. Kiba and Sasuke had both nearly lose their wives before, and Kiba didn't want Sasuke to go through that again.

Kakashi was fair enough... Well, he was a fair sensei, but he wasn't exactly forgiving. He had always been insistent that he'd never lose a member of his team to death, and Sasuke had almost taken both Naruto and Sakura's life with his rebellion and running off. But, all the same, Sasuke was alive and Kakashi spoke to him, so that was definitely something.

"Tsunade doesn't trust Akira. Who the hell would trust a man who sold his daughter to a man like Youki? But Tsunade has nothing to do with any politics that have to do with Youki, almost as if he's a sore subject for her. For whatever reason, she just seems to prefer to avoid him. I know that she won't risk Sakura's life. Since Jirayah's death, she's been much more catious about how she deals with the shinobi that she's partial to.

Kiba gave a small nod. "Alright, I guess that we don't have anything to worry about. I was just worried that Akira might have a source close to Tsunade that might know about Sakura. If he doesn't, than I guess there's no need to worry" he admitted as he leaned up against Sasuke's house. Akira was going to cause some trouble at some point, and Kiba didn't want anyone else to die because of someone else's greed. Youki had plenty to go around.

Sasuke thought about what Kiba told him, and made a note to check into it later. "I suppose you have a point." He admitted. Truthfully, he had only met Akira once when he returned to the village, and the man insisted that Sasuke be put to death. He was also the one who selected those in ANBU to escort him, and had him blind folded in order to ensure that he would not be able to use sharingan on anyone. Come to think of it, Akira was also the one who made it so Naruto and Sakura were banned from being there when the judgement to kill him or allow him to stay was made. Tsunade was the only one with the authority to override his decision, but only under the condition that the two of them stayed quiet. It was difficult for Naruto to do, but he managed it.

So, Sasuke had to sit there, listening in darkness to the arguments made around him, and everyone completely ignoring his will (not that he had been allowed to speak). Eventually though, against Akira's verdict and countless demands for the Uchiha to be executed, Konoha let him live, under house arrest with constant supervision for the first three months. Then, it slowly tampered off once he got involved with Sakura (who was one of the five shinobi that regularly watched over him, who, ironically, was a jonnin for the least amount of time). Sasuke just assumed that Tsunade knew that he was less likely to act out if Naruto and Sakure were around him, so she made sure that rather than constant upper level shinobi he didn't know, those who watched him at least had some experience with him. Kakashi watched him the majority of the time, usually during the day, but very rarely spoke to him, if at all. Akira also took to the habit of tailing him, but Sasuke just pretended not to notice, even though he was not under the orders to follow him.

"I remember Akira." He finally said. "He was the one that fought the hardest to have me executed, and handled all the security measures for when I returned."

"It's just something that I think might be a good idea. If Akira really is planning something that means that he'll have followers and spies in places that we won't suspect. Maybe you can have Karin look into it the next time she's with them," Kiba suggested as he looked towards Sasuke. "They want to use her power to follow their prime targets right? So if she gets asked to find Sakura, it means that they probably know about her and her position," Kiba suggested. He wasn't sure if it was right or not, but it was at least worth asking Karin to look into it.

Shino glanced up as Sasuke said that Akira was one of the men that was working hardest to have Sasuke executed. "That right there is enough to draw additional concern to him. If he wanted you dead back then, he'll definitely want you dead now. You might not be on the best terms with Tsunade, but you'll be loyal to her rather than someone like him"

"Most likely, Akira sees you as a loose end that needs to be removed"

"I'll watch out for Sakura, and I'll tell her to be careful." If Akira was to make a move, he'd do it now. He'd do it while she was pregnant to stop another Uchiha from coming into the world.

That was true, but Sasuke was never one to run away in fear. If Akira wanted him dead, he almost dared him to do something about it. It was unlikely that the man would attempt to kill him directly, but it was plausible that he'd attempt to frame him for something in order to get him killed. That... that as a very real possibility, so he was thinking it might be a wise idea to always appear in public places and to always have someone who can verify where he is, especially if it could save his life. Sakura was gone all night when she worked, which left his actions or movements questionable.

"I can't be alone at night." He said suddenly. "If Akira plans to have me framed for something, he'll do it at night when Sakura's at the hospital and there's no way to confirm my movements one way or the other. There's a saying that it's easy to frame a dead man for anything, but it's equally easy to frame a sleeping one." He wasn't sure if Akira would risk something like that, but Sasuke wasn't foolish enough to risk that. "Even if he was looking to ruin Tsunade, he'd understand that he'd have to remove the shinobi that stand in his way first. He'd start targeting the heads of various clans. That puts the three of us at risk, especially if he wants to eliminate the competition and the ideas that form Konoha in order to raise a new generation of fatherless children to blindly follow him."

Kiba gave a nod as Sasuke said that he would make sure to watch out for Sakura and make sure that she was careful. Akira wanted control of the village, and Kiba doubted that there was little he wasn't willing to do in order to make sure that he obtained it. He had brought back Kano after all, which was already enough to get Kiba's blood boiling.

"The three of us at risk.......I suppose that you have a point," Shino said as he brought a hand to his face in thought. After a few moment's silence he looked over towards Sasuke. "If you would like I could arrange to watch over you at night, I can claim that I was continuing my surveillance upon you like Tsunade had me do a few weeks back," he suggested. "Or it could be something as simple as having a few of my bugs following your movements"

Sasuke thought it might be a good idea to have Shino tale him, but he knew from experience that Konoha had ways of withholding testimony or information. "I'm sure that when it comes to me, they;ll find a way to have any alibi made by a friend isolated." He said, not sure if there was anything they could do. But, there was always a chance that Tsunade would take Shino's word for it.

"Considering the fact that I'm training you, they may want to isolate you as a witness, considering our personal affiliations to one another. The politics of Konoha seems to outright reject the idea of innocent until proven guilty, at least when it comes to shinobi like me." And, sadly that was true. It felt as if He was being forced lower and lower,despite being taken off house arrest.

Still, Sasuke wasn't foolish enough to complain. "I think we need to buy our time on this one... If we bind together too soon, they'll know we're up to something, especially now that they have Karin to track. We should be aware of their movements, but not try anything to contradict their plans. Hopefully, Karin can find out what they are ahead of time. And talking to Tsunade wouldn't hurt either..."

"I suppose that you have a point on that one, it's easy for any friend to vouch for his other friend in order to save his life. It'd have to be by someone else than," Shino said curiously. They were in a tangled situation in Konoha. Youki on the outside wanted to destroy them, and greedy men on the inside wanted to take it over from within. No matter where they turned, a knife pressed further into their backs.

"Talking to Tsunade would be best, at the very least she can keep her eye out for what we tell her," Kiba remarked as he looked over towards Sasuke. "We have too few stalwart allies as it is, we need to make sure that she stays on our side. If we report what we know to her she'll be appreciative"

Sasuke's eyes started to move in thought, drifting across the wall on the opposite side of them that was lined with Uchiha fans. The one that drew his focus was one that was crumbled in the center, part of the wall having been destroyed, as if a projectile had been thrown into the fan. "I think..." He began, not looking to either Kiba or Shino as he spoke, "That we should have Youki attack Konoha, one more time."

He then looked at their stunned expressions. "Think about it. If Youki attacks again, Akira will fight against him, and if we were to stage an injury to Tsunade, then his true colors would show." He smirked. "I staged my switch with Sakura at the last minute I had, because I hadn't expected it. If we fake an injury to the Hokage, someone else will need to assume her place. We can have her appoint a stand-in in advance, assuming she agrees. Akira is pompous and he will fight and kill anyone that stands in his way. This will help us figure out what he wants. And, if we lure Youki here, we could spring our own trap to kill him. We just need things to be in our favor."

As soon as Sasuke spoke Shino couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He had been better at showing emotion, but even this small action would be enough to show that he wasn't quite ready to agree with Sasuke's point yet. As Sasuke explained himself though, Shino brought a hand to his face in thought before closing his eyes. He pondered the words for several moments. "I believe that I can see the value of it, but you'd have a hard time convincing Tsunade to go with something like that,"

Kiba's expression was much more obvious as he looked towards Sasuke as if he was a crazy man. As Sasuke explained his thinking though, Kiba began to understand the value of a plan. "I see, I think I see what you're going for. And I think it's a good idea, if we're going to fight Youki again at some point it should be on our own terms. I don't think he'd expect for us to lay a trap right here of all places"

Sasuke shook his head. "I wouldn't risk killing him in the village.Shikari killed a member of Akatsuki inside the Nara estate by burying him with bombs in a shallow grade after tearing his body apart. We need a move that Youki will not be able to manipulate his way out of. He knows Konoha too well. We need to isolate him in a place where he won't know well, or we need to take the advantage away from him. I'm not sure what we should do to win it back from him, but I do know that Aaliyah is the perfect way to get it." He grinned a little.

"And I don't plan on convincing Tsunade, Shino. I plan to have YOU convince her. She likes you more than she likes me."

Kiba thought about it for a moment. "Well he knows Konoha too well and I can't really think of any other place that we really have an advantage," he remarked before looking over at Sasuke. "Maybe I'm not thinking correctly, but didn't we make a plan with Suna to try to get them on Youki's side but fake it? Maybe they can lure Youki to Konoha and we can plan........something," Kiba finally said.

He was never really the strategist type.

"Ya know, I'm beginning to wonder if we're actually friends or if you just like me for my connections," Shino said with a small smile. He was joking, and Sasuke would most likely recognize that. "So tell me, do I present it as my idea? Or do I present it as yours and merely speak about how I believe it will work?"

"I think that's what his weakness is, Kiba." Sasuke said, glancing toward him. "Youki thinks that he knows Konoha, that it's this stagnant place that never changes because he himself has refused to change. Think about what we know about him; he clings to the past in a way that's unhealthy and that in and of itself is what has caused all of his heartache; all of his strife. Much like the way I was, he can't see that the past is nothing more than a memory, and the past should never be more to you than the present, more than the future. Akiko told me that Youki only loves Aaliyah because she reminds him of his wife. The one that he lost, the woman that made him as he is now. He's trapped in stagnation, so anything that has changed here will only confuse him. Konoha has changed... I think that with enough change, he would be turned around inside himself, because the world outside of him has grown and he can't."

He smiled at Shino when he spoke, but shook his head. "I think that the alliance with Suna would work to our advantage, but getting them to agree might be hard." He gripped the edge of the porch. "This is our village. Everyone around us sees it as theirs, because they're older, and they have more experience, but the village has long since been inherited by us, and if we don't stand up and try to take it back, then no one will. As much as I think we should tell Tsunade, I also have this feeling that we should keep it to ourselves, that we should just do what we think is right and deal with the consequences as they come. With or without Tsunade, it's mutiny against the village. We'll only be punished if we fail, so we'll have to succeed."

Kiba listened as Sasuke spoke, hearing the wisdom that he spoke of. Kiba had always just viewed Youki as insane, but it went a lot deeper than that didn't it? He had never really thought about how and why Youki refused to change when the world around him did. It was an insight to his greatest enemy, and Kiba valued the new information. "I suppose that you have a point on that one. The Third Hokage isn't here anymore, we are the ones in charge now" he remarked as he folded his arms.

"So we have to guarantee our success or we put in jail for treason.........I suppose it is the more honorable option though isn't it?" Shino asked with a very tiny smile. "I can see the idea in it. Once we tell Tsunade there won't be going back on the plan, especially if she disagrees with it. Perhaps it would be best to hold on for the moment, make a final decision later when it becomes more important"

"Right. He's like a little kid that can't grow up, and that, in and of itself is our advantage. That and I'm sure there are parts of Konoha he's not familiar with, like the Uchiha and Aburame estates. We just need to lure him into a trap." He wasn't sure how they would or could go about that, but it had to be done one way or the other.

He nodded in Shino's direction. "You have a point. I think we should wait on it. Youki has gone underground and he isn't making any moves. Until we hear from him, we should wait. The biggest part of our plan is him and his unpredictability. We need a way to lure and predict him, rather than just the outright plan."