After Pain
Chapter 2: For a Friend
Chapter 3: Anbu
Chapter 4: The Hidden Leaf Jounin
Chapter 5: A Worthy Opponent
Chapter 6: Kakashi Hatake
Chapter 8: The Right Moment
Chapter 9: The Quiet Before the Storm
Chapter 10: A Man of Many Shadows
Chapter 11: A Leaf on the Wind
Chapter 12: The Konoha 11
Chapter 13: Epilogue
Chapter 8: The Right Moment
Shikamaru led them down the final flight of stairs and pointed down the hall. There were several cells down here, but only two were being used and they had been chosen as far apart from each other as possible. They didn't want the prisoners to communicate with each other. The three cloud ninja still sat in the same cell he had pointed to while on the other side were three prisoners from the village itself. Disappeared people: shinobi that had been captured unlawfully under the pretense of needing to fight Sasuke.
"There they are!" one of the Jounin with him exclaimed. "He was right, it's the three cloud ninja."
"Yes," one of the other Jounin said. "Just like he said. He had it memorized despite supposedly never having been down here. He knew the place very, very well."
Shikamaru was surprised. He had not expected this. Not quite this... he listened as the suspicious member of the Jounin council stacked evidence against him. Could the man not see the obvious fact that these cells were being guarded by Anbu, even when his friend reminded him of it?
"Yes, but we can't act hastily," the suspicious one insisted. "We're only two people, representatives of the Jounin Council. We can't just jump to conclusio-""
Shikamaru could not help interrupting with a snort.
"There must be an inquiry," the suspicious man went on. "And I think he should stay where we can see him until that ti-"
"Oh, come on!" the other Jounin said. "This is Shikaku Nara's kid-"
"If we become corrupt in our investigations then we're in no place to judge the Hokage."
"Yes, but that's not the point, I-"
"No," the suspicious man said loudly. "The kid's exact knowledge of this place is suspicious."
The second man sighed deeply. "His jutsu-"
"Please! A jutsu that no one else has ever heard of and we're basing accusing the Hokage on it. The Jounin Council really is in a shambles.
Shikamaru did not put up a fight as they led him into a prison cell even as more of the Jounin got past the guards and spilled in to the secret prison. They were already arguing. He had to admit, he hadn't expected this. There was nothing comfortable to sit on here. He was very tired. Shikamaru lowered himself to the ground and stretched out on the floor. The ceiling was nowhere near as relaxing to stare at as clouds, but it would have to do.
...
Sasuke looked down at the inexperienced Anbu. As a child he had always imagined that all of the Anbu were, like his brother, chosen from among the most talented jounin. This one couldn't possibly be a jounin, though, and even as a chunin... perhaps he had just gotten a lot stronger? Or maybe the image that the Anbu liked to portray - the fear that they wanted to create - just made them seem more powerful than they actually were. That made sense. If the Anbu were really as strong as he thought they were as a child then there wouldn't be so many Rogue Ninja running around and causing havoc everywhere. Kind of like what he was doing now.
He took a deep breath and stepped over the unconscious body. He didn't want to fight these insignificant little soldiers. These Anbu might very well be manipulated just like his brother. He had no time for them. He wanted Danzo. But it seemed that the new Hokage really was a coward. It had been half a day since he'd allowed himself to be sighted nearby, hours since he had crushed that first unit of Anbu, and still the Hokage was hiding in the village behind all his protections.
Sasuke had to restrain Suygetsu from killing the last of the Anbu. "We need him to go back and send a message to Danzo," he reminded his teammate.
"Why take all this trouble and waste all this time?" Suygetusu insisted. "We could just break into the Leaf Village and kill him there."
Sasuke ignored him and pulled the sputtering Anbu from his grasp.
"Tell your coward Hokage that he can't hide anymore. Tell everyone in your village that their Hokage is hiding behind them, putting their lives in danger, because he's too scared to face Sasuke Uchiha!"
"Isn't it your village too?" Suygetsu asked in his annoying tone. He thought he was being smart. Something angry burned inside Sasuke. Something he couldn't really explain. No, it was something he didn't want to explain. He didn't need to.
"Don't want to kill your old friends?"
"Not before every single one of them understands what they did to Itachi and knows that he was better than any of them could ever be."
There was an awkward silence, but it did not last for long. Finally, after hours of waiting, Danzo showed up with two Anbu bodyguards. They weren't wearing masks, but Sasuke could tell by their cold, soulless expressions that they belonged to that crooked organization.
Danzo completely ignored Sasuke and addressed the clone that he thought to be Kakashi. "So you really have joined your student, Kakashi?"
It made Sasuke angrier than it should have to be ignored like this. As if the man underestimated his skill. Well, he would show him. Just to prove his skill he would carry out Kakashi's plan flawlessly, make Danzo fall into the trap and suffer before killing him. Kakashi wouldn't mind that that little detail had been altered. And even if he did... it wasn't like Sasuke cared. but first, he had to stop him talking to Naruto's clone or else the entire thing would fall apart. Naruto's clone had kept surprisingly calm so far, but Sasuke knew it wouldn't last long.
"You are deluded, Kakashi Hatake," Danzo continued, "Just like your father."
Perhaps that might have meant something to Kakashi, but it didn't seem to mean anything to Naruto's clone. "You're the deluded one, Danzo," he said calmly in Kakashi's voice. "To think you could become Hokage after all you did."
"After all I did for the villa-"
"There's no one here to lie to," Naruto's clone interrupted. Sasuke noticed that Danzo was eyeing the headband that supposedly covered the Sharingan with a lot of interest. Could he tell, already, that this was not Kakashi and that there was no Sharingan under that cloth?
"I am your enemy," he said, before Naruto could say anything stupid. "Turn around and face me, you coward. Face me and answer for your crimes."
"Crimes?" Danzo laughed, still not looking at Sasuke in the eye. Was he really that much of a coward? Sasuke made a sudden move, relying on his Taijutsu which, while still frustratingly not up to par with Rock Lee's was leagues ahead of anything Danzo could preform. He caught him off guard with a blow to the chest and caught sight of the bandage-covered part of his face.
Something was glowing beneath the bandage. Something very familiar. Sasuke's blood ran cold with it. He turned to look at Kakashi's face, before remembering that it was not really Kakashi. But he knew what that had been. There was no need to check.
His muscles tensed and he went in for another strike, but the two bodyguards intervened this time. Sasuke flicked them aside like the little pests that they were and moved on. Naruto covered for him by engaging the other two and giving the first signal. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. It was right, fighting with Naruto like this. Just like it had been in the old days. They knew what to do to complement each other's moves in battle, both spurred forward by their own separate motivations, their desire to win the fight making them work in sync.
With the periphery of his vision Sasuke noted his new team, team Taka, moving stealthily into position, visible only to his Sharingan. He kept Rock Lee in his mind and made a swipe with a kunai, The bandages ripped and fell slowly around Danzo's face. They revealed what Sasuke already knew to be there.
"Whose sharingan did you steal, thief?" he spat. He tried not to get angry, but it was impossible. Staring back at him was the eye of one his clan, his family, and it was staring at him from the face of the man who had condemned them to death.
"I would ask your new ally the same question," Danzo said. "But he isn't really Kakashi, now is he?"
Danzo spoke too slowly, and clearly liked to hear his own voice. While he said that phrase their second trap was already falling into place. Jugo and Suygetsu had eliminated Danzo's two lackies and, before Danzo could react, Naruto's clone had disappeared.
...
Naruto inhaled sharply beside him. "It's time," he hissed.
Kakashi and Naruto leaped into action and, before the Anbu could react, they were already in the mouth of the tunnel. But the Anbu were behind them and Kakashi could not allow them to send word back to Danzo or anyone else in the leaf village. Still wearing the disguise and keeping his sharingan eye hidden Kakashi engaged the Anbu. He was pleased to see that Naruto complemented his movements effortlessly. His student might not be the cleverest of Shinobi, but he was a quick thinker in battle, using his skills and jutsu to great effect.
It did not take them long to defeat and capture the few Anbu guards. Kakashi took a leaf from Naruto's book and decided to use his own jutsu effectively and take a little risk.
"Kamui!" he said, sending the Anbu guards to that other dimension. His hand went up to adjust a headband that was not there and connected with a wig instead. The disguise. Of course. He shook all other thoughts and memories out of his mind, tried to anyway, and turned to go down the tunnel.
"Watch out, there will certainly be traps."
"I hope so," Naruto said, in a tone very unbefitting his old farmer disguise. "Do you know how long it's been since we've been on a real mission, Kakashi sensei?"
"Shhhh...." Kakashi hissed. "This has all been part of one big mission, don't forget that!"
"Do you think we timed it right?" Naruto asked, sounding worried. Kakashi wasn't worried about Sasuke, but Sakura might be in a lot of trouble right now if they hadn't.
...
"We have to go help her!" Hinata's voice was barely audible over the sound of crashing rocks. Sakura was strong, but she was alone. Alone and facing several highly skilled Anbu. The only reason she was still alive was because they were trying to capture her not kill her.
"Wait," Shino said. "We can't just jump in unless we're sure-"
"We're sure, Shino," Kiba said impatiently. "Now let's-"
"Wait until it's the right time," Shino said. "We can't unnecessarily put our families in jeopardy in the village. Kakashi sensei and Naruto will be there soon."
So they waited and waited, watching Sakura get more and more surrounded. Shino began to feel uncomfortable, especially watching Tenten fight Sakura with what seemed to be all her heart. Seconds passed and yet there was no sign of either Naruto or Kakashi. Could they be in trouble too?
"Let's go Shino," Hinata pleaded. "I can see her Chakra, it's draining fast, she's been fighting for a very long time..."
"The right time is now, Shino..." Kiba's voice was unnaturally cool. That was what decided Shino.
"Ok," he gave in. "According to plan. You circle around and take that one out on Sakura's right side and I'll take the one on her left. Hinata, you stay hidden and watch for your opening. We don't want to risk all our-"
But Kiba was already in the middle of his fang over fang jutsu. Shino sighed and held out his hands, inching closer to his target.
...
"Stop getting in my way!" Tenten yelled at the Anbu in frustration, hoping against hope that he would continue to get in her way so she had an excuse not to hurt Sakura. A sudden explosion of sound and fur came in from Sakura's right, but it was not Kakashi sensei or Naruto. What on earth were they thinking, letting Sakura walk into this trap on her own?
Kiba's arrival, and then Shino's distracted the Anbu a little and got rid of a couple of them, but that would not be enough. This was a team of highly skilled Anbu. Jounin level, perhaps. They would not be defeated this easily.
Tenten focused her weapons assaults on Kiba, giving Sakura a short break. This made him angry and he put his full fighting force into facing her for a few moments before Shino took over and started giving him instructions. She wasn't sure how he was doing it, exactly, but Kiba's behavior became a lot more controlled and his attacks precise and he focused back on the Anbu.
But it was no use. Tenten threw weapon after weapon, aiming them expertly so that they hurt and grazed and brushed and cut her friends but didn't seriously injure them. Soon, even with Shino and Kiba helping she would have to reveal herself, would have to come out in the open. She was surprised that the second unit of Anbu had not yet arrived to help capture Sakura. When they did Tenten would have to give up on her plan of becoming a spy inside the Anbu organization and help her friend escape.
She threw a big flashy weapon: a double-sided kunai with explosives, in the direction of an oncoming knife from Sakura, aiming perfectly so that they collided just far enough away from Sakura to be harmless, but close enough to look dangerous. Her Anbu leader said something in praise and Tenten nodded as if she was proud of herself.
"What are you guys thinking?" she called. "Why mark yourselves as rogue Shinobi just for Kakashi's sake - just because he's sour about not becoming Hokage!" This was the latest line in the official Anbu rumor mill. She tried to make it sound earnest, ridiculous as it was. "Sakura, come on, why are you doing this?"
"Please, Tenten!" Sakura yelled, a laugh in her voice. "you spring a trap on me and then ask me why I'm doing this? I came here to talk - to recieve an official mission - not to be captured!"
Tenten threw another kunai. It grazed Sakura's cheek and Tenten hadn't even been trying. Sakura was strong, but not fast enough. Maybe it was all the training with Lee and Neji that made Tenten see her movements as slow.
"And you will get a mission," Tenten said. "Right after you see the Hokage. But it's not like he can come here and meet you himself!"
It was a good argument. Sakura was silent for a while as she focused on dodging Akamaru and Kiba's entangled forms. She punched the Anbu chasing Kiba, felling him in one swoop, but his partner surprised her and knocked the wind out of her.
"Come on Sakura, you're smarter than this!" Tenten said, sounding a little lame. Sakura was really getting slow now. She got hit again on her left shoulder, putting one of her mighty arms out of commission for a while at least. They would wear her down soon enough. And still Kakashi and Naruto weren't here.
Suddenly, it hit Tenten. Instead of having to pretend to hurt her friends until they were worn down, instead of watching as the Anbu defeated and took them in, she could give them an opportunity and at the same time ensure that she would hear secrets that were hidden even from the majortiy of the Anbu. She threw a chain of paper bombs to give herself time to think and then, before she could turn back she suddenly widened her eyes dramatically and retreated a few steps as if shocked.
"No!" she said. "I understand what you're doing now. Sakura how can you?"
Sakura looked confused and so did the Anbu. Shino, at least, was still moving. Good. Tenten fell back some more and threw herself before her Anbu squad leader - right in the path of a rebounding knife. "I figured out their plan. We have to hurry back - I must report..."
Tenten trailed off. The Kunai should have hit by now, but she couldn't feel a thing. She looked down and saw it, saw the blood leaking so quickly through to her clothes. Some people, including Shinobi, panicked at the sight of blood and would not understand that the wound was not fatal. She had not timed it to be fatal. But there was a lot of blood. Suddenly the pain hit her and she shuddered in earnest.
"I..." she said, trying hard, despite the pain, to sound like someone in urgent need of speaking. To sound like she had real, important information. "...must report... Kakashi... I get it now..."
Her world started to spin and the voices of those around her became too loud and completely incomprehensible. She recognized a new voice, though, encouraging Kiba and Shino to take advantage of the opening Tenten had created and giving them gentle orders. But it was still not Kakashi sensei. Where was he? Why was Hinata here? How...
...
Hinata jumped into action before she could think. Tenten had completely distracted the Anbu with her screaming urgently about some plan and then getting hit with a Kunai. The gentle first took care of the majority of the Anbu that came at her and Shino and Kiba took care of the rest. Sakura punched the ground and raised a barrier of dirt to cover their escape.
As they retreated into the trees, practically dragging each other along, Hinata saw two important things. First, the Anbu had recognized her as not only a Hyuga, but the clan leader's daughter. The second thing was that a messenger had come and was urging the Anbu unit to retreat for some reason. She heard Danzo's name and Sasuke's, but that sounded like more of the pointless rumors and then they were too far away to see or hear and, thankfully, the Anbu did not give chase.
The wind whipped her face as they sped through the woods. It dawned on Hinata, for the first time in several hours, that if their plans back at the village did not go well she had just become a rogue ninja. There was so much freedom in that word, rogue. Freedom she could not feel right now with four of her friends so tired and injured. And what was the point of freedom now if she hadn't even been able to put flowers on her mother's grave yesterday?
She sighed and called out to them to shift direction so as to avoid an Anbu unit that was headed in the other direction. She could not help wondering if she had acted at the right time. Perhaps she had waited too long. Tenten was gravely injured. But her chakra signal had not been as weak as Hinata would expect.
"To the right, Shino," she called gently. "More Anbu."
...
Perhaps he shouldn't have wandered this close to the village, but Rock Lee was glad that he did when he found Sasuke and his teammates. They were all at the brink of death, but yet Sasuke was in an even bigger fit of rage than when Lee had fought him. He was trying to get to his feet, swaying, and falling back. He was spitting mad. Lee did not think he had ever seen anyone as angry as this before in his life.
"I will not allow them to get away!" Sasuke yelled. "Help me up, Karin!"
He looked over at the red haired girl and Lee followed his gaze. She was unconscious.
"Jugo!"
This one was not unconscious, but he was gravely injured.
"You are in no shape to go after anyone," Lee said. "You must rest and heal."
"This is none of your business!" Sasuke said.
Lee bent over the unconscious girl and checked for a pulse. Good. he looked back up at his old comrade. Sasuke was dangerous now. He could bring a lot of trouble to Lee's village. And yet... the three of them clearly needed help. Was it wrong to save the lives of evil people? Was it wrong to think of saving their lives only because Sasuke, his old friend, was among them? Lee shook his head. This kind of overthinking was for Neji. He knew what he had to do.
"Come on," Lee said, helping Sasuke up. "I'll get you somewhere safe so you can rest."
Sasuke pushed him away and struggled forward for a few steps before collapsing again.
"The Anbu will be back soon." Lee said. "As soon as they get Danzo home safely they will no doubt come back with reinforcements to finish you."
"I'll finish them!" Sasuke yelled. "The only reason Danzo isn't dead is because he surprised me with his Jutsu! He stole... that disgusting..."
Lee was not sure if it was anger or tiredness that made Sasuke unable to explain, but he took the opportunity to help him up again and this time Sasuke made no objection. the friends that Lee had ordered to stay hidden came out of the trees and helped Sasuke's other two friends up. Lee wondered if that rude friend with the sword had left them or if he had died.
They made their way slowly back to his home village, but Lee decided that he would not allow them into the village itself. His dojo would have to do as the place of their recovery. Sasuke was clutching at his eyes with his free hand, muttering something about vengeance. It was always vengeance with him.
Lee was looking around cautiously so he was the first to notice the puddle of water that was actually moving along with them. He froze, his body tense. Was this some kind of genjutsu?
"It's just Suygetsu."
...
Sakura's healing jutsu was really amazing. When they were far enough away from the village and out of range of the Anbu they stopped to rest. Sakura sat quietly for a few minutes, resting, trying to control her breathing, and then she got up and healed their injuries one by one. Hinata found out just how tired she was when Sakura began working on her injuries and the pain started melting away. She sighed. She felt that she should be paying more attention to what was happening around them to make sure they weren't being followed, but it felt so good to just rest.
"It's ok," Sakura said in her calming healer manner. "We can afford a few minutes of rest in order to get our strength back. Rest those eyes now... we'll need them soon enough."
Hinata nodded and sighed, closing her eyes, but she found she was too tense to keep them closed. "I don't think they'll be back too soon... the Anbu I mean. They seemed to be rushing somewhere in a hurry. Something must be happening."
Sakura grinned down at her. "That'll be Sasuke or Kakashi sensei and Naruto."
"Why didn't Kakashi and Naruto come to help you, Sakura," Shino said. "We were led to believe that you knew it was a trap... at least Tenten tried to warn you..."
"If she had tried any harder the Anbu would have suspected her," Sakura said. "We knew it was a trap and Kakashi Sensei made a plan to take advantage of it. The Anbu were supposed to get distracted and called back sooner than this, but it all worked out."
"Yeah, right," Kiba said. "Look Kakashi sensei might be smart, but it was a really stupid idea for you to walk into that trap alone."
Sakura shook her head looking over Akamaru quickly. "I'm not really good with healing animals, but he seems alright."
"Don't change the subject!" Kiba said angrily. "If we hadn't come your supposed plan would have had you dead."
"Look," Sakura said. "I'm not a baby. I chose to become a Ninja all those years ago, not so I could avoid danger. We had a plan and I had a means of calling Kakashi Sensei if I thought I needed to, but I... I thought I could last a little longer."
"Please," Kiba snorted.
Sakura frowned and looked around. "Get Kakashi sensei!" she called into the woods.
A small dog strolled out of the trees towards them. He was wearing a lead village headband. This must be one of Kakashi sensei's hounds.
"They're already on their way."
...
Ino tried to keep hold of herself as they waited for everyone to file in. The Jounin council had been meeting for hours - arguing about Shikamaru and the cloud ninja. The only reason they had stopped was because of Danzo's hurried arrival in the village. He was severely injured and what seemed like half the healers in the village had been called to see to him in his home. But apparently he was still strong enough to give orders, because he had ordered the meeting of the Jounin council to close and had suspended Shikaku's position until such a time as "his son's suspicious activities could be accounted for."
She found herself pacing again and forced herself to stop. Choji was eating faster than she'd ever seen him eat before. As if they were going to a battle. Maybe they were. What if Danzo decided to do something to Shikamaru?
Finally, the last stragglers made their way into the large room and the Byakugan users began checking the area for spies and spying equipment. Minutes later Hiyashi's stiff nod told them that it was safe to speak. Everyone waited with more than the usual amount of patience for Shikaku to speak, as if they were making a point, insisting that he was their commander.
"Before we go on we have to report on the situation," Shikaku said. "The two members of the Jounin council that took Shikamaru to confirm the whereabouts of those three cloud ninja have been taken."
A murmur traveled slowly across the room, growing in strength.
"The first one, the man that did not agree with placing Shikamaru under arrest, left in anger and, afraid of how things might go at the Jounin council, he sent a message to me by secret means before rejoining the council. However, he never made it there. His message simply informed me of where my son is being held and said he would support me in the Jounin council no matter what action I was going to take. He has not been seen since. The second man, as you probably know, came to the Jounin council and informed us that he suspected Shikamaru was behind the imprisonment of the three cloud ninja. He stayed at the meeting for a while and then went home to rest. He did not make it home. We have begun a search for him, but we all know that we may never find him..."
"They can't do that!" Ino burst out.
"I agree," Hiyashi said. "The youth have the right of it. I see now that I have been too cautious, too respectful of the niceties and formalities of village life when Danzo himself has been doing away with everything that makes this village great. As you know the first man, the one who was not happy with young Shikamaru's imprisonment, is a Hyuga. I have a responsibility to protect him and I say we attack Danzo openly now."
Kiba's mother growled. "You mean all out war?"
"Danzo has already declared it a war by putting an end to the Jounin council... as if he can do that!"
"Just a minute," Shikaku said. "I feel it is important that we share all the news before making our decision."
"What more is there?" Ino's dad said. He had arrived back from the Jounin council a little earlier, but not enough for something more to have happened.
"Tenten was also brought back to the village with serious injuries. She was taken to the Anbu headquarters rather than the hospital."
Kiba's mother stood up. "This is ridiculous. Half our children are out of the village and the other half are being secreted away by the Anbu. It has to end now!"
"I have one more piece of news," Shikaku said. "The small team we sent a few days ago to follow up on Anko Mitarashi's news has returned. They have successfully killed Kabuto and stopped him from preforming the reanimation Jutsu. However, Anko is at the brink of death in the hospital now and Yamato is still missing."
"Inoichi," Hiyashi Hyuga said. "Have you spoken to them yet."
"One of the ninja in that team is a Hyuga," Choji's dad spoke up.
"Which does not, unfortunately, make him automatically trustworthy. Especially when he's claiming to have done away with such a slippery opponent so quickly."
Inoichi nodded. "I'll talk to them right after we meet. For now, though, let's assume they are telling the truth. If that is the case then Kabuto's ally - that masked Akatsuki will not be pleased. We need to be ready for another attack on the village..."
"I will mount a guard." Hiyashi said.
"But Danzo-"
"Let him try and stop me from protecting my clan's village."
Shikaku nodded. "The messages that we sent to the other villages, even if they do arrive without being intercepted, will be slow to get us any response. We have to act quickly. This is why I suggest that we begin by eliminating those Anbu we've identified as easy targets. Their positions on the periphery of the village will make it much easier to make it look like an attack by Sasuke or the Akatsuki or anyone... even Kakashi."
A young chunin laughed. "Two can play at this fear game!" he said.
"Yes," Shikaku said. "We have been unsuccessful at stopping his rumors so we might as well make use of them. The positions of those Anbu teams will also provide us excellent places from which to watch the village borders and, if needed, to attack from the outside when we make further moves inside the village."
"And to get in and out," Hiyashi said. "We can no longer allow Danzo to isolate us and keep us trapped in here. If we were in contact with the outside we wouldn't need to wait days to confirm the lie about the alliance of the five great nations."
"Aren't we going to save Shikamaru?" Ino said.
"For now," his father said. "Any attempt we make will be expected and might very well fail. We'll simply keep an eye on him from the outside and wait for the right moment."
Ino wondered if it would ever be the right moment. Would she spend her entire life waiting for the right moment to do one thing or another? She clenched her fists. She was going to be on the team that watched out for Shikamaru herself.
He took a deep breath and stepped over the unconscious body. He didn't want to fight these insignificant little soldiers. These Anbu might very well be manipulated just like his brother. He had no time for them. He wanted Danzo. But it seemed that the new Hokage really was a coward. It had been half a day since he'd allowed himself to be sighted nearby, hours since he had crushed that first unit of Anbu, and still the Hokage was hiding in the village behind all his protections.
Sasuke had to restrain Suygetsu from killing the last of the Anbu. "We need him to go back and send a message to Danzo," he reminded his teammate.
"Why take all this trouble and waste all this time?" Suygetusu insisted. "We could just break into the Leaf Village and kill him there."
Sasuke ignored him and pulled the sputtering Anbu from his grasp.
"Tell your coward Hokage that he can't hide anymore. Tell everyone in your village that their Hokage is hiding behind them, putting their lives in danger, because he's too scared to face Sasuke Uchiha!"
"Isn't it your village too?" Suygetsu asked in his annoying tone. He thought he was being smart. Something angry burned inside Sasuke. Something he couldn't really explain. No, it was something he didn't want to explain. He didn't need to.
"Don't want to kill your old friends?"
"Not before every single one of them understands what they did to Itachi and knows that he was better than any of them could ever be."
There was an awkward silence, but it did not last for long. Finally, after hours of waiting, Danzo showed up with two Anbu bodyguards. They weren't wearing masks, but Sasuke could tell by their cold, soulless expressions that they belonged to that crooked organization.
Danzo completely ignored Sasuke and addressed the clone that he thought to be Kakashi. "So you really have joined your student, Kakashi?"
It made Sasuke angrier than it should have to be ignored like this. As if the man underestimated his skill. Well, he would show him. Just to prove his skill he would carry out Kakashi's plan flawlessly, make Danzo fall into the trap and suffer before killing him. Kakashi wouldn't mind that that little detail had been altered. And even if he did... it wasn't like Sasuke cared. but first, he had to stop him talking to Naruto's clone or else the entire thing would fall apart. Naruto's clone had kept surprisingly calm so far, but Sasuke knew it wouldn't last long.
"You are deluded, Kakashi Hatake," Danzo continued, "Just like your father."
Perhaps that might have meant something to Kakashi, but it didn't seem to mean anything to Naruto's clone. "You're the deluded one, Danzo," he said calmly in Kakashi's voice. "To think you could become Hokage after all you did."
"After all I did for the villa-"
"There's no one here to lie to," Naruto's clone interrupted. Sasuke noticed that Danzo was eyeing the headband that supposedly covered the Sharingan with a lot of interest. Could he tell, already, that this was not Kakashi and that there was no Sharingan under that cloth?
"I am your enemy," he said, before Naruto could say anything stupid. "Turn around and face me, you coward. Face me and answer for your crimes."
"Crimes?" Danzo laughed, still not looking at Sasuke in the eye. Was he really that much of a coward? Sasuke made a sudden move, relying on his Taijutsu which, while still frustratingly not up to par with Rock Lee's was leagues ahead of anything Danzo could preform. He caught him off guard with a blow to the chest and caught sight of the bandage-covered part of his face.
Something was glowing beneath the bandage. Something very familiar. Sasuke's blood ran cold with it. He turned to look at Kakashi's face, before remembering that it was not really Kakashi. But he knew what that had been. There was no need to check.
His muscles tensed and he went in for another strike, but the two bodyguards intervened this time. Sasuke flicked them aside like the little pests that they were and moved on. Naruto covered for him by engaging the other two and giving the first signal. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. It was right, fighting with Naruto like this. Just like it had been in the old days. They knew what to do to complement each other's moves in battle, both spurred forward by their own separate motivations, their desire to win the fight making them work in sync.
With the periphery of his vision Sasuke noted his new team, team Taka, moving stealthily into position, visible only to his Sharingan. He kept Rock Lee in his mind and made a swipe with a kunai, The bandages ripped and fell slowly around Danzo's face. They revealed what Sasuke already knew to be there.
"Whose sharingan did you steal, thief?" he spat. He tried not to get angry, but it was impossible. Staring back at him was the eye of one his clan, his family, and it was staring at him from the face of the man who had condemned them to death.
"I would ask your new ally the same question," Danzo said. "But he isn't really Kakashi, now is he?"
Danzo spoke too slowly, and clearly liked to hear his own voice. While he said that phrase their second trap was already falling into place. Jugo and Suygetsu had eliminated Danzo's two lackies and, before Danzo could react, Naruto's clone had disappeared.
...
Naruto inhaled sharply beside him. "It's time," he hissed.
Kakashi and Naruto leaped into action and, before the Anbu could react, they were already in the mouth of the tunnel. But the Anbu were behind them and Kakashi could not allow them to send word back to Danzo or anyone else in the leaf village. Still wearing the disguise and keeping his sharingan eye hidden Kakashi engaged the Anbu. He was pleased to see that Naruto complemented his movements effortlessly. His student might not be the cleverest of Shinobi, but he was a quick thinker in battle, using his skills and jutsu to great effect.
It did not take them long to defeat and capture the few Anbu guards. Kakashi took a leaf from Naruto's book and decided to use his own jutsu effectively and take a little risk.
"Kamui!" he said, sending the Anbu guards to that other dimension. His hand went up to adjust a headband that was not there and connected with a wig instead. The disguise. Of course. He shook all other thoughts and memories out of his mind, tried to anyway, and turned to go down the tunnel.
"Watch out, there will certainly be traps."
"I hope so," Naruto said, in a tone very unbefitting his old farmer disguise. "Do you know how long it's been since we've been on a real mission, Kakashi sensei?"
"Shhhh...." Kakashi hissed. "This has all been part of one big mission, don't forget that!"
"Do you think we timed it right?" Naruto asked, sounding worried. Kakashi wasn't worried about Sasuke, but Sakura might be in a lot of trouble right now if they hadn't.
...
"We have to go help her!" Hinata's voice was barely audible over the sound of crashing rocks. Sakura was strong, but she was alone. Alone and facing several highly skilled Anbu. The only reason she was still alive was because they were trying to capture her not kill her.
"Wait," Shino said. "We can't just jump in unless we're sure-"
"We're sure, Shino," Kiba said impatiently. "Now let's-"
"Wait until it's the right time," Shino said. "We can't unnecessarily put our families in jeopardy in the village. Kakashi sensei and Naruto will be there soon."
So they waited and waited, watching Sakura get more and more surrounded. Shino began to feel uncomfortable, especially watching Tenten fight Sakura with what seemed to be all her heart. Seconds passed and yet there was no sign of either Naruto or Kakashi. Could they be in trouble too?
"Let's go Shino," Hinata pleaded. "I can see her Chakra, it's draining fast, she's been fighting for a very long time..."
"The right time is now, Shino..." Kiba's voice was unnaturally cool. That was what decided Shino.
"Ok," he gave in. "According to plan. You circle around and take that one out on Sakura's right side and I'll take the one on her left. Hinata, you stay hidden and watch for your opening. We don't want to risk all our-"
But Kiba was already in the middle of his fang over fang jutsu. Shino sighed and held out his hands, inching closer to his target.
...
"Stop getting in my way!" Tenten yelled at the Anbu in frustration, hoping against hope that he would continue to get in her way so she had an excuse not to hurt Sakura. A sudden explosion of sound and fur came in from Sakura's right, but it was not Kakashi sensei or Naruto. What on earth were they thinking, letting Sakura walk into this trap on her own?
Kiba's arrival, and then Shino's distracted the Anbu a little and got rid of a couple of them, but that would not be enough. This was a team of highly skilled Anbu. Jounin level, perhaps. They would not be defeated this easily.
Tenten focused her weapons assaults on Kiba, giving Sakura a short break. This made him angry and he put his full fighting force into facing her for a few moments before Shino took over and started giving him instructions. She wasn't sure how he was doing it, exactly, but Kiba's behavior became a lot more controlled and his attacks precise and he focused back on the Anbu.
But it was no use. Tenten threw weapon after weapon, aiming them expertly so that they hurt and grazed and brushed and cut her friends but didn't seriously injure them. Soon, even with Shino and Kiba helping she would have to reveal herself, would have to come out in the open. She was surprised that the second unit of Anbu had not yet arrived to help capture Sakura. When they did Tenten would have to give up on her plan of becoming a spy inside the Anbu organization and help her friend escape.
She threw a big flashy weapon: a double-sided kunai with explosives, in the direction of an oncoming knife from Sakura, aiming perfectly so that they collided just far enough away from Sakura to be harmless, but close enough to look dangerous. Her Anbu leader said something in praise and Tenten nodded as if she was proud of herself.
"What are you guys thinking?" she called. "Why mark yourselves as rogue Shinobi just for Kakashi's sake - just because he's sour about not becoming Hokage!" This was the latest line in the official Anbu rumor mill. She tried to make it sound earnest, ridiculous as it was. "Sakura, come on, why are you doing this?"
"Please, Tenten!" Sakura yelled, a laugh in her voice. "you spring a trap on me and then ask me why I'm doing this? I came here to talk - to recieve an official mission - not to be captured!"
Tenten threw another kunai. It grazed Sakura's cheek and Tenten hadn't even been trying. Sakura was strong, but not fast enough. Maybe it was all the training with Lee and Neji that made Tenten see her movements as slow.
"And you will get a mission," Tenten said. "Right after you see the Hokage. But it's not like he can come here and meet you himself!"
It was a good argument. Sakura was silent for a while as she focused on dodging Akamaru and Kiba's entangled forms. She punched the Anbu chasing Kiba, felling him in one swoop, but his partner surprised her and knocked the wind out of her.
"Come on Sakura, you're smarter than this!" Tenten said, sounding a little lame. Sakura was really getting slow now. She got hit again on her left shoulder, putting one of her mighty arms out of commission for a while at least. They would wear her down soon enough. And still Kakashi and Naruto weren't here.
Suddenly, it hit Tenten. Instead of having to pretend to hurt her friends until they were worn down, instead of watching as the Anbu defeated and took them in, she could give them an opportunity and at the same time ensure that she would hear secrets that were hidden even from the majortiy of the Anbu. She threw a chain of paper bombs to give herself time to think and then, before she could turn back she suddenly widened her eyes dramatically and retreated a few steps as if shocked.
"No!" she said. "I understand what you're doing now. Sakura how can you?"
Sakura looked confused and so did the Anbu. Shino, at least, was still moving. Good. Tenten fell back some more and threw herself before her Anbu squad leader - right in the path of a rebounding knife. "I figured out their plan. We have to hurry back - I must report..."
Tenten trailed off. The Kunai should have hit by now, but she couldn't feel a thing. She looked down and saw it, saw the blood leaking so quickly through to her clothes. Some people, including Shinobi, panicked at the sight of blood and would not understand that the wound was not fatal. She had not timed it to be fatal. But there was a lot of blood. Suddenly the pain hit her and she shuddered in earnest.
"I..." she said, trying hard, despite the pain, to sound like someone in urgent need of speaking. To sound like she had real, important information. "...must report... Kakashi... I get it now..."
Her world started to spin and the voices of those around her became too loud and completely incomprehensible. She recognized a new voice, though, encouraging Kiba and Shino to take advantage of the opening Tenten had created and giving them gentle orders. But it was still not Kakashi sensei. Where was he? Why was Hinata here? How...
...
Hinata jumped into action before she could think. Tenten had completely distracted the Anbu with her screaming urgently about some plan and then getting hit with a Kunai. The gentle first took care of the majority of the Anbu that came at her and Shino and Kiba took care of the rest. Sakura punched the ground and raised a barrier of dirt to cover their escape.
As they retreated into the trees, practically dragging each other along, Hinata saw two important things. First, the Anbu had recognized her as not only a Hyuga, but the clan leader's daughter. The second thing was that a messenger had come and was urging the Anbu unit to retreat for some reason. She heard Danzo's name and Sasuke's, but that sounded like more of the pointless rumors and then they were too far away to see or hear and, thankfully, the Anbu did not give chase.
The wind whipped her face as they sped through the woods. It dawned on Hinata, for the first time in several hours, that if their plans back at the village did not go well she had just become a rogue ninja. There was so much freedom in that word, rogue. Freedom she could not feel right now with four of her friends so tired and injured. And what was the point of freedom now if she hadn't even been able to put flowers on her mother's grave yesterday?
She sighed and called out to them to shift direction so as to avoid an Anbu unit that was headed in the other direction. She could not help wondering if she had acted at the right time. Perhaps she had waited too long. Tenten was gravely injured. But her chakra signal had not been as weak as Hinata would expect.
"To the right, Shino," she called gently. "More Anbu."
...
Perhaps he shouldn't have wandered this close to the village, but Rock Lee was glad that he did when he found Sasuke and his teammates. They were all at the brink of death, but yet Sasuke was in an even bigger fit of rage than when Lee had fought him. He was trying to get to his feet, swaying, and falling back. He was spitting mad. Lee did not think he had ever seen anyone as angry as this before in his life.
"I will not allow them to get away!" Sasuke yelled. "Help me up, Karin!"
He looked over at the red haired girl and Lee followed his gaze. She was unconscious.
"Jugo!"
This one was not unconscious, but he was gravely injured.
"You are in no shape to go after anyone," Lee said. "You must rest and heal."
"This is none of your business!" Sasuke said.
Lee bent over the unconscious girl and checked for a pulse. Good. he looked back up at his old comrade. Sasuke was dangerous now. He could bring a lot of trouble to Lee's village. And yet... the three of them clearly needed help. Was it wrong to save the lives of evil people? Was it wrong to think of saving their lives only because Sasuke, his old friend, was among them? Lee shook his head. This kind of overthinking was for Neji. He knew what he had to do.
"Come on," Lee said, helping Sasuke up. "I'll get you somewhere safe so you can rest."
Sasuke pushed him away and struggled forward for a few steps before collapsing again.
"The Anbu will be back soon." Lee said. "As soon as they get Danzo home safely they will no doubt come back with reinforcements to finish you."
"I'll finish them!" Sasuke yelled. "The only reason Danzo isn't dead is because he surprised me with his Jutsu! He stole... that disgusting..."
Lee was not sure if it was anger or tiredness that made Sasuke unable to explain, but he took the opportunity to help him up again and this time Sasuke made no objection. the friends that Lee had ordered to stay hidden came out of the trees and helped Sasuke's other two friends up. Lee wondered if that rude friend with the sword had left them or if he had died.
They made their way slowly back to his home village, but Lee decided that he would not allow them into the village itself. His dojo would have to do as the place of their recovery. Sasuke was clutching at his eyes with his free hand, muttering something about vengeance. It was always vengeance with him.
Lee was looking around cautiously so he was the first to notice the puddle of water that was actually moving along with them. He froze, his body tense. Was this some kind of genjutsu?
"It's just Suygetsu."
...
Sakura's healing jutsu was really amazing. When they were far enough away from the village and out of range of the Anbu they stopped to rest. Sakura sat quietly for a few minutes, resting, trying to control her breathing, and then she got up and healed their injuries one by one. Hinata found out just how tired she was when Sakura began working on her injuries and the pain started melting away. She sighed. She felt that she should be paying more attention to what was happening around them to make sure they weren't being followed, but it felt so good to just rest.
"It's ok," Sakura said in her calming healer manner. "We can afford a few minutes of rest in order to get our strength back. Rest those eyes now... we'll need them soon enough."
Hinata nodded and sighed, closing her eyes, but she found she was too tense to keep them closed. "I don't think they'll be back too soon... the Anbu I mean. They seemed to be rushing somewhere in a hurry. Something must be happening."
Sakura grinned down at her. "That'll be Sasuke or Kakashi sensei and Naruto."
"Why didn't Kakashi and Naruto come to help you, Sakura," Shino said. "We were led to believe that you knew it was a trap... at least Tenten tried to warn you..."
"If she had tried any harder the Anbu would have suspected her," Sakura said. "We knew it was a trap and Kakashi Sensei made a plan to take advantage of it. The Anbu were supposed to get distracted and called back sooner than this, but it all worked out."
"Yeah, right," Kiba said. "Look Kakashi sensei might be smart, but it was a really stupid idea for you to walk into that trap alone."
Sakura shook her head looking over Akamaru quickly. "I'm not really good with healing animals, but he seems alright."
"Don't change the subject!" Kiba said angrily. "If we hadn't come your supposed plan would have had you dead."
"Look," Sakura said. "I'm not a baby. I chose to become a Ninja all those years ago, not so I could avoid danger. We had a plan and I had a means of calling Kakashi Sensei if I thought I needed to, but I... I thought I could last a little longer."
"Please," Kiba snorted.
Sakura frowned and looked around. "Get Kakashi sensei!" she called into the woods.
A small dog strolled out of the trees towards them. He was wearing a lead village headband. This must be one of Kakashi sensei's hounds.
"They're already on their way."
...
Ino tried to keep hold of herself as they waited for everyone to file in. The Jounin council had been meeting for hours - arguing about Shikamaru and the cloud ninja. The only reason they had stopped was because of Danzo's hurried arrival in the village. He was severely injured and what seemed like half the healers in the village had been called to see to him in his home. But apparently he was still strong enough to give orders, because he had ordered the meeting of the Jounin council to close and had suspended Shikaku's position until such a time as "his son's suspicious activities could be accounted for."
She found herself pacing again and forced herself to stop. Choji was eating faster than she'd ever seen him eat before. As if they were going to a battle. Maybe they were. What if Danzo decided to do something to Shikamaru?
Finally, the last stragglers made their way into the large room and the Byakugan users began checking the area for spies and spying equipment. Minutes later Hiyashi's stiff nod told them that it was safe to speak. Everyone waited with more than the usual amount of patience for Shikaku to speak, as if they were making a point, insisting that he was their commander.
"Before we go on we have to report on the situation," Shikaku said. "The two members of the Jounin council that took Shikamaru to confirm the whereabouts of those three cloud ninja have been taken."
A murmur traveled slowly across the room, growing in strength.
"The first one, the man that did not agree with placing Shikamaru under arrest, left in anger and, afraid of how things might go at the Jounin council, he sent a message to me by secret means before rejoining the council. However, he never made it there. His message simply informed me of where my son is being held and said he would support me in the Jounin council no matter what action I was going to take. He has not been seen since. The second man, as you probably know, came to the Jounin council and informed us that he suspected Shikamaru was behind the imprisonment of the three cloud ninja. He stayed at the meeting for a while and then went home to rest. He did not make it home. We have begun a search for him, but we all know that we may never find him..."
"They can't do that!" Ino burst out.
"I agree," Hiyashi said. "The youth have the right of it. I see now that I have been too cautious, too respectful of the niceties and formalities of village life when Danzo himself has been doing away with everything that makes this village great. As you know the first man, the one who was not happy with young Shikamaru's imprisonment, is a Hyuga. I have a responsibility to protect him and I say we attack Danzo openly now."
Kiba's mother growled. "You mean all out war?"
"Danzo has already declared it a war by putting an end to the Jounin council... as if he can do that!"
"Just a minute," Shikaku said. "I feel it is important that we share all the news before making our decision."
"What more is there?" Ino's dad said. He had arrived back from the Jounin council a little earlier, but not enough for something more to have happened.
"Tenten was also brought back to the village with serious injuries. She was taken to the Anbu headquarters rather than the hospital."
Kiba's mother stood up. "This is ridiculous. Half our children are out of the village and the other half are being secreted away by the Anbu. It has to end now!"
"I have one more piece of news," Shikaku said. "The small team we sent a few days ago to follow up on Anko Mitarashi's news has returned. They have successfully killed Kabuto and stopped him from preforming the reanimation Jutsu. However, Anko is at the brink of death in the hospital now and Yamato is still missing."
"Inoichi," Hiyashi Hyuga said. "Have you spoken to them yet."
"One of the ninja in that team is a Hyuga," Choji's dad spoke up.
"Which does not, unfortunately, make him automatically trustworthy. Especially when he's claiming to have done away with such a slippery opponent so quickly."
Inoichi nodded. "I'll talk to them right after we meet. For now, though, let's assume they are telling the truth. If that is the case then Kabuto's ally - that masked Akatsuki will not be pleased. We need to be ready for another attack on the village..."
"I will mount a guard." Hiyashi said.
"But Danzo-"
"Let him try and stop me from protecting my clan's village."
Shikaku nodded. "The messages that we sent to the other villages, even if they do arrive without being intercepted, will be slow to get us any response. We have to act quickly. This is why I suggest that we begin by eliminating those Anbu we've identified as easy targets. Their positions on the periphery of the village will make it much easier to make it look like an attack by Sasuke or the Akatsuki or anyone... even Kakashi."
A young chunin laughed. "Two can play at this fear game!" he said.
"Yes," Shikaku said. "We have been unsuccessful at stopping his rumors so we might as well make use of them. The positions of those Anbu teams will also provide us excellent places from which to watch the village borders and, if needed, to attack from the outside when we make further moves inside the village."
"And to get in and out," Hiyashi said. "We can no longer allow Danzo to isolate us and keep us trapped in here. If we were in contact with the outside we wouldn't need to wait days to confirm the lie about the alliance of the five great nations."
"Aren't we going to save Shikamaru?" Ino said.
"For now," his father said. "Any attempt we make will be expected and might very well fail. We'll simply keep an eye on him from the outside and wait for the right moment."
Ino wondered if it would ever be the right moment. Would she spend her entire life waiting for the right moment to do one thing or another? She clenched her fists. She was going to be on the team that watched out for Shikamaru herself.
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