â   Sasuke wasnât entirely sure heâd call what happened to Konoha a tragedy, but many people still speculated over the Uchihaâs questionable loyalty even after his time spent imprisoned, his cooperation, and duties to the village. The man wasnât there at the time of itâs happening but heâd heard about it numerous times from various people. Heâd been questioned over it several times by Ibiki just to be sure he was telling the truth when he said he knew nothing about it and quite frankly didnât care about Akatsukiâs motives. They were a stepping stone, not an end game for him.
The truth was, his loyalty was to Naruto and - to a lesser degree - a few otherâs. As he continued to slowly climb out of that darkness and relearn what it was like to be human his general care for the wellbeing of others once again surfaced. Heâd never have the wealthy heart that some people had but he no longer wished the whole of a village to suffer. Even if the blissful ignorance crawled under his skin.
       âNot his jurisdiction,â was the reply. Although Sasuke was certain that if Naruto was allowed to overlook the entirety of the country, he would. What would that be like? A Daimyo that wasnât completely useless. âBut weâve been contracted to deal with it anyway, so youâll be seeing him either way.â
Yahikoâs stare didnât go unnoticed, but the Uchiha said nothing. Rather, he pulled out a kunai and walked up to the other man, crouched down, and cut the rope. In the distance he could already hear shouting over his actions before the other shinobi tried to assure them all was well. Accusations that they were working together; that theyâd betray the village and in turn the country all over again. None which seemed to disturb the man.
       Sasuke brushed off the apology stating it wasnât necessary and offered a hand for him to get to his feet. âThey donât,â a notable statement. Not we, not I, but they.
The ropes fell away and Yahiko rubbed the reddened bands they had left around his wrists.
âIt sounds like these people donât trust you much either,â he observed, taking Sasukeâs hand and rising to his feet. He didnât know much about the Uchiha, but he had heard the rumors, and Konan had filled him in on what she had learned through Akatsuki. The boyâs brother had been employed by them, Yahiko had heard, but that was the extent of his information. Itachi, from Konanâs report, had been notably reticent, too, even among a group of asocial rogue ninja.
âI guess it will always be hard for civilians to trust shinobi,â Yahiko added, dusting the dried leaves and dirt from his robes - simple and grey, with its characteristic high collar, but lacking the blood-stained clouds that had terrorized the world over the last decade. âThe rural parts of my country are no different. Death follows us everywhere we go.â
He glanced toward the crowd, now restrained - but not entirely placated - by the Konoha shinobi.
âSpeaking of which, will your team be investigating that girlâs death, too?â He gestured with his thumb toward the house, with the cloud of flies buzzing around its door. âIâll do what I can to help, even if I havenât earned your trust yet. I donât want the Land of Fire thinking that those of the Rain just go around stirring up trouble.â