Before Naruto had the chance to say anything, Gaara spoke.

"Sit down, we have things to discuss." Naruto exchanged puzzled looks with Sasuke, but sat down next to his teammates nonetheless. Kenta, the long haired one, and Hiro, the one that had been silent this whole time, sat directly across from them.

A suffocating silence overtook the room until Kakashi, being the mature adult he was, decided to voice what he assumed his team was thinking. "So...are we gonna sit here and admire this lovely elephant in the room or are you going to tell us what's going on?"

Gaara opened his mouth, probably to yell at Kakashi for being rude, but the elderly Uchiha cut him off.

"The will of fire burns brightly in this one," he said. His voice was a tad warmer that it was before and his eyes twinkled with amusement. "Your arrival was timed perfectly. We are almost done with the preparations and then-"

Hiro quietly cleared his throat. The elderly man's eyes flickered to him for a moment before returning to Team 7 with a smile that was very un-Uchiha-like. "Right, my apologies. My name is Uchiha Hitomu, I was the head of one of the branch families. However, as of now, I am the only surviving head left."

Naruto let out an audible gasp. "Did the Akatsuki..."

"Kill them along with many others to make an example?" Hitomu asked rhetorically, "Yes, they did. And almost all major clans have sworn their allegiance to them except for us and the Hyuuga." Hitomu paused for a dramatic silence after, letting his words sink in.

"Their leader, Pein, has left us alone for the most part. But they come to us every week to demand our allegiance. We refuse every time, of course, but it's only a matter of time before they start using physical force. We are like caged dogs to them. If we try to leave, we are killed, but we will die eventually if we stay."

"Why don't you fight back?" Sakura asked,

"They've cut our numbers in half. And if we go out in public to seek aid from the Hyuuga, they will know, and command our fellow shinobi kill us on the spot." Kenta explained, "The Uchiha are powerful, yes, but they have eyes and ears everywhere, and they outnumber us about six to one."

Sakura furrowed her brows, "They would turn on you just like that?" The idea was appalling to her. How could people turn against their own so easily?

"People can do all sorts of things when they are afraid, child." Hitomu replied. Then he continued with his explanation, "To say the least, we are planning another coup. You've come just in time because it will take place three days from now. Kenta and Hiro will fill you in on the details,"

Hitomu nodded at Kenta and Hiro, and the two of them stood up and walked towards the exit of the room, stepping over their genjutsu-ed teammate still on the floor. Gaara motioned for Team 7 to follow.

They followed the two Uchiha back to the main courtyard. This time Sasuke noticed that, although the clan members walking about appeared to be doing chores, they were actually training. He noticed the extra weights hidden in the clothing someone was washing, and the chakra pulses the children playing Marco-Polo were sending out.

They were really serious about this.

Kenta and Hiro led them to the main branch's house and opened the door, letting Team 7 and Gaara enter before they locked the door behind them. Sasuke raked his eyes across the establishment of his childhood, it hadn't changed at all since the day he was kicked out, and he wondered if his bedroom also remained untouched.

"Hey...Kenta right? Where's Sasuke's brother, Itachi dattebayo?" Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek as he stared at Naruto. Kenta and Hiro both stopped in their tracks, and Hiro turned to face the group with an expressionless face. However, to Sasuke, there was an obvious anger hidden under his chilly exterior. And he wished he could physically make everyone forget what Naruto had just asked.

"Do not ever speak of that traitor in our presence." Was Hiro's laconic reply. Making Naruto stare at him questioningly as he bit back a second question.

Sasuke silently let out a breath he didn't notice he was holding as the two Uchiha turned and advance further down the long hallway. He would have to explain to Naruto later, but there was now a new, startling thought in his mind.

Since Fugaku was swimming with the fishes, and Itachi was MIA for the time being, didn't that make him the Uchiha clan head? Well, as long as nobody brought it up he would be fine.

"Oh, by the way," Kenta began as he pushed open the door to what Sasuke recognized as the drawing room, "Now that you're here, Sasuke," Sasuke prayed that Kami's sense of humor wasn't as cruel as this. "I'm assuming that you'll be staying in this house."

The ex-Uchiha let out another silent breath, and nodded curtly in response, "They'll all be staying with me as well." He stated.

"I will inform Hitomu-sama of this arrangement later." Kenta replied. Then he nodded to Hiro, who pulled a linen cloth off of a board that was packed with diagrams.

The two Uchiha stood silently as they let the Suna nins take in the immaculate writing and pictures on the board.

"Any questions?" Kenta asked.

Sakura was about to speak up, but a yelp escaped her lips instead as she felt something brush against her foot.

All eyes darted to her as she jumped, but then they lowered to the wooden scorpion crawling at her feet. Hiro's eyes widened and he rushed over to the wooden animal, crushing it under his fist until it was a pile of unrecognizable splinters.

The foreign contraption was destroyed as soon as it was discovered, but Sasuke's heart rate picked up nonetheless. That was Akasuna no Sasori's work; no doubt about it. The damage had already been done.

The Akatsuki knew of the coup.

Oh SNAP