Author: Good day, minna-san! I'm back again (yep, in an instant after publishing my last chapter for my recent story) for another round of story-telling. Before anything else, I want to warn those who are currently reading this to turn their heads back and push your browser's back button. Please make sure you have read 'Changing Motives' before proceeding to this one.

I don't have too much to say... There.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

And so the story begins...

The Irony of being a Ninja

Chapter 1 – Unlikely Souls

It wasn't a mistake. It was Konoha.

The Hidden Village in the Leaves was silently drifting through the night.

But there was something that was too erratic that particular moment.

Blood.

A silver-haired man stood in front of a clearing, looking at the place that he unfortunately saw.

It was an ANBU predisposition to lose emotions when in the middle of a mission, yet for the moment he was having one. An ANBU should be perceptive of everything around, and the faltering self-awareness was one grievous crime against the ANBU conduct. The ANBU was trained with all attention on the mission and everything else that didn't matter would be forgotten as if it had just been a total trash. They were emotionless ninja that would only do everything just for the sake of the mission, trying to execute jobs with pure efficiency and effectiveness. In ANBU matters, being able to cover up emotions was one of the most particular requirements. And all other rules would root out from there.

He gripped his stomach, trying to stop out the flow of blood from the wound he took from his recent mission. The pain was back again, and it was taking toll of his concentration just to stand. But for the moment, all of those things didn't come into his priorities. And even being the great ninja that he prided as himself, the man couldn't move his feet and perform the final part of his mission. No, the scroll to the Hokage would come later, and his large wound would even come sooner and later than the former.

Perhaps, being unable to perform a mission by an ANBU was one of the gravest sins that one could make. For the ANBU squads to the Hokage, it was better to die than not to be able to finish a mission. As known of the masked ninjas, missions would always go first, and the soon completion of tasks was the most substantial action that could be done by them. It was ingrained in their minds; their lives were worth risking for the completion of tasks served to the Hokage and to Konoha. They knew the fact that they were supposed to be tools for the success of every mission. They were powerful, and so they were being spent into the battlefield, being expected to finish the orders given to them.

It was the life on ANBU – a ninja deprived of their own emotions to be able to perform actions without hesitation. It was harsh, but as long as the safety of Konoha is kept, it would be worth it.

But there would always be the time that one's emotion would overpower the mind.

The silver-haired man suddenly knelt on the ground, disbelief clouding in his thoughts. He felt sickened when his eyes caught the surroundings. He felt that his stomach wanted to vomit out all of its content, his organs regurgitating wildly inside his system. He held his throat as if he was being choked, but also trying to stop himself from throwing up. It was a weird feeling that he was being nauseated by some unusual sight. Without any more encouragement to hold himself up, the ANBU gagged his stomach out.

What happened here? He asked himself, looking at the pool of blood forming beneath three bodies that was mutilated beyond physical recognition. He coughed and then wiped the remnant of his contents. Even at his weakened form, his senses weren't failing him – he knew that it had to be blood that he smelled from afar. There was a lot of blood that was drenched into the place, and he was dismayed that it had happened in Konoha.

Why weren't there any ninja around?

His body felt ailing as his composure finally faltered upon the view laid in front of his eye – the single visible orb that showed the distress he felt. His ninja instinct betrayed him, as his mind and his body failed synchronously beyond their normal reaction. He was paralyzed in his spot; his mental composition ran erratic of the proper actions to do. He continued to shake in shock while still kneeling on the ground.

I'm an ANBU, dammit! He yelled in his mind, trying to reprimand himself because of the failure he was trying to make out from himself. He would never let something fail under him, and it would be total humiliation once that happened. There were some losses when someone lost, and he wouldn't take the chance for some people to suffer those consequences. He had those kinds of failures in the past – creating more would mean his total insanity. And he wasn't just any normal ANBU to be seen around, and he always mentally noted to exemplify his deeds into the same cap of how he'd been known. He was an ANBU captain and he needed to do everything to ensure the achievement of his tasks – be it his mission or not. For now, he preferred to regain his composure and stand up.

Swaying as he stood up from the ground, the ANBU decided that he would discover what hell happened there.

He heard a very faint blood-curling cry of a child from afar.

---

More dead bodies started to clog the ANBU's eyes, as he went deeper into that particular Konoha district. There was a trail of death that was spread throughout the place, covering the surrounding with the unusual aura of demise and destruction. The horridness that was materialized through the death of many people was overshadowing the peaceful night. The atmosphere of desolation was the most depressive one and it was the thing that was bogging him.

He had finally regained his self-control, now not being easily affected by the dead he found in his way, although he inwardly cringed for not being able to do something. They were already dead, and that was the ultimate condition for an ANBU to stop. In death there would be no chance, in death there would be no more life.

Blood continued flow through the canopy of buildings, the stillness of time creating an unfathomable void of darkened emotions and misery. In that time, death reigned over the whole place, its wretchedness continued to smite every life that tried to struggle upon the moment. In that instance, that night in Konoha would stage one of the most gruel deaths that happened in the village. The cold air of the night only whispered of merciless winds. The ANBU knew that the wrongness of the situation was too much subduing. There had something to be done – and he would be the one doing that.

He continued to jump through the rooftops, scanning the area for presence of the enemies and still-living people below in the roads or perhaps even the building. He was using the Sharingan to detect some signs of life and movements, but he could not keep it up as long as he wanted to – he was still suffering from exhaustion from his mission and he wanted to save as much energy as he could for the confrontation that was going to happen if he luckily bumped into the people who caused the trouble. To alleviate that, he would only open the Sharingan for five seconds, scanning the place with a 75⁰ head turn from left to right, to make his inspection quick and efficient.

After five minutes, he was still unsuccessful in finding any living presence from the people below and the enemies who did the massacre.

The silver-haired ANBU winced in about the increasing pain brought about by his continuous jumps through the roofs and the continuous use of chakra through the Sharingan to scan the most disturbing scenery in his life. He was actually moving blind through the place, unsure of what to look for or what to do. It was so staggering that he couldn't tell himself of the first real thing he would do. Of course, the still awake part of his ninja senses was telling him to hastily discover who did the act, but the ANBU knew better at the moment. He could only smell blood, and there was too much blood in the area. He could literally sniff the area to find out that it was bathed in blood, aside from the lingering aura of fear that came from the victims – or what was left of them.

What am I doing? Why was he there?

There was too much blood in the place, and it would be obvious that he be hard-pressed in tracking the perpetrator. Not unless he had a better nose to do such act.

His left hand quickly descended to his kunai pouch, getting the pointed and sharp weapon and twirling it expertly on his fingers. After the small show with the weapon and gripping it with subtle concentration, he slowly moved it nearer to his right hand. He let the pointed part of the kunai to strike his right thumb, the metal instantly puncturing the skin of his finger. He repressed the urge to groan in pain, since he had tolerated it too many times in his life. A simple pinprick on the finger was one of the least dangerous types of injury one can obtain – it was the most pointless wound that one could die to. Pushing off the thought about the minor cut, the man channeled his chakra as he made some hand seals. Finishing it with some milliseconds, he slammed his right hand to the ground announcing the name of the jutsu he used.

"Summoning jutsu!" A cloud of smoke appeared at the point where the hand met the ground. After the smoke disappeared, it revealed a small pug wearing some type of blue identification cloth, a Konoha forehead protector tied on its head.

"Kakashi!" The small dog almost growled to his summoner. "You just summoned me five hours ago! What's the rush in summoning me again? And––" The dog stopped speaking when he finally smelled the scent permeating inside his nose, some bewilderment forming and being written on his face. The surprise was still clouding in his features. "I guess it's an emergency."

"Pakkun," Kakashi called out the name of the ninja dog. "I need your help in this."

"There's too much death that happened here." The dog shared his observation, twisting his head around and looking at lifeless houses and streets. He moved his head back to Kakashi, finally realizing another piece of surveillance material. "You're hurt."

"I got it from the last mission." The ANBU replied promptly.

"What happened here?" Pakkun asked.

"I don't know yet, Pakkun." The ninja answered. "I was on my way back to the Hokage Tower when I sensed something different from this district." He explained, the natural coldness and emotionless tone of an ANBU faltering. "It was then I found out that a massacre is happening here."

"Is happening," Pakkun repeated, trying to clear the words.

"Yes. I kept on hearing some screams before I summoned you." The ANBU explained. "I need you to help me find the one who is causing this."

The summoned dog processed the words that he heard, before nodding to his master, saying, "I will." Pakkun started sniffing the air, the smell of a hundred types of blood saturating his nose to confusion. He ignored it, trying to sort out the freshest scent of blood among all the others. Being the intelligent summon as he was, Pakkun knew that if the killing was still in the process, then there was a higher chance of tracking the suspect thought the newness of the human blood odor in the air. The enemy would always be around where the newest kills were happening.

"I know where," Pakkun spoke.

"Lead me." Kakashi said.

They were moving at a fast pace, trying to outrun time itself before it was too late. Pakkun continued sniffing though the air, updating his summoner about the movement pattern of the enemy. The ANBU felt weaker as he continued to discover more dead bodies from both the civilian and ninja sector. He felt his rage filling up as more of the area was being revealed, his blood boiling to unimaginative heights proportionate to his anger. Before another fight was to ensue once he reached the perpetrators, Kakashi swore that the infiltrators would die a very slow and painful death he would perform in his own way, a one that would put shame into ones being utilized by those in the Assassination and Interrogation Unit of Konoha. Those who defile his precious village would only deserve a horrible death.

Pakkun stopped dead in his track, which prompted the ANBU to stop as well.

"Pakkun, where are they?" Kakashi asked, a kunai ready in his hand.

The summon didn't answer.

"There's only one." Pakkun finally talked, his voice laced with terror. "I thought they were in a group, that's why I located only one location. But…" The dog's speech trailed off. "You need to ask help, Kakashi."

"We've come too far, Pakkun. And he'll have the time to escape if we leave him." Kakashi answered, amused to find his summon panic. "You ask Hokage-sama about this, if this situation is indeed dire."

"But––" Pakkun was to protest, when Kakashi talked again.

"Pakkun, get to your feet before it's too late." Kakashi's voice was full of authority and it brought Pakkun into an uncomfortable feeling. Without anymore hesitation, Pakkun jumped out of Kakashi's way, going towards the direction of the Hokage-tower.

With a sigh, Kakashi continued on his way to the place Pakkun directed. As he went on his way, he couldn't contain the amusement he had from seeing the expression from his summon. It was a rare sight that his favorite nin-dog cautioned him to indirectly retreat, since he knew that Pakkun always trusted his capabilities. If Pakkun was making sure that he would need to stay safe, then there was something really dangerous about what was happening. He was injured, and that maybe one reason for Pakkun's worry. But he would prove his survivability on this one – he wouldn't let his ANBU title to be stained by a failure. Not on his own village.

Another wail of terror attracted the attention of Kakashi. He suddenly felt the urge to hasten his movement at that time; he knew that he was near the perpetrator, making himself prepared as seconds passed. The defilement of Konoha would end that evening. Those who smite the innocent and the weak only deserved death. He would bring justice to the people who died. He would––

He stopped jumping when a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

"What happened here?" Kakashi asked, his captainship in ANBU quickly domineering his actions to the other ninja. "I want a full assessment. Also tell me where the other ANBUs are assigned to handle this matter."

"Inu-san?" The voice of the ninja under a porcelain mask sounded startled upon seeing the ANBU captain. His body tensed, simply being clogged in his thoughts about the proper words to say. "What are you doing here?"

Kakashi was clearly taken aback when the other ANBU answered. What did he just say? He asked his mind, confusion forming at the back of his brain. Would there be any reason for him not to be there? He was an ANBU that was just responding on emergency – surely the only viable reason for him to be there – but it was an immediate priority for him to take action. He was in Konoha, and there wasn't simply any massacre to be happening inside the village without attracting the attention of any other ninja.

The thin string of ambiguity finally snapped in Kakashi's head.

"You knew about this?" Kakashi's hummed dangerously. He could feel his own rage seethed from his body, the feeling of betrayal kindling the hazardous wick of violence embedded deep inside his system. What is really going on out here?

"Inu-taichou, you shouldn't be here. You must get out. Now." The ANBU quickly said, meandering his sentence not to answer Inu's question.

"Tell it to me." Kakashi still said calmly, even though he was furiously angry inside. "Or it will be a direct disobedience to the Hokage's will."

"You don't know anything, Inu-taichou." The ANBU said, his voice now pleading. "You must get out of––" The ANBU stopped speaking when his body suddenly fell dead in front of him. It triggered the silver-haired ninja to shift into a defensive position, his eyes shooting into different directions to identify the source of the attack. He looked peripherally at the dead ANBU, looking at the kunai that was embedded at the back of his head. A quick and efficient death.

"Such a nuisance for an ANBU," a cold voice suddenly rattled the place, startling Kakashi from his observance of the dead ANBU. He was not too far from the silver-haired man's location, just a rooftop away from him. Even at the short distance, Kakashi couldn't make out anything from the man, now that his Sharingan was rendered non-usable for the moment. He was sure for one thing – the other ninja was too young.

Suddenly, the man pulled a wire entangled in his hand, simultaneously heaving a body into the rooftop as well. The man tired in the wire yelped in pain, as the tightening wire dug through his skin, blood spurting out from the wounds. Making another pull, the newcomer sent his prisoner crashing through the roof tiles. At the second painful action done to him, the person finally exhausted the final pocket of his energy, finally stopping him from his unsuccessful struggles and attempts to escape. He even didn't have enough strength to escape. The ninja went nearer to the body, suddenly stomping his foot to the head of his prisoner. Satisfied with the silence the latter only have, the ninja smirked behind his porcelain mask, the gleaming moonlight putting too much stress on the paintings done on the ANBU mask.

"To end this…" The newcomer ANBU spoke, unsheathing a tantou that hung on his back. The blade reflected the moonlight as well; the lustrous coldness accompanied the melancholy of the night. It seemed that the night finally revealed its true nature; the peaceful aura it possessed merely a façade to mask the truth. The night was indeed an evil in itself, a fraudulent phenomenon that had trapped too much people who went unguarded though its merciless shroud. The night finally broke into its true horror, in revelation of its true temperament. Just as ninjas' deceived one another to win, the night was a grand illusion that betrayed anyone as well. Darkness could hide almost everything. Night wasn't really as peaceful as many thought it was.

The moon stared from above, watching how the night concealed the whole event. With its cold light that basked Konoha, it was like a guide to anyone into their own failure and death. It stared blankly at the sight, just continuing in shining light in the view. The cold sustenance was enough to numb some emotions, and could even spoil the rage to kill in deadly heights.

The tantou sliced the body, blood and gore flying around in randomness.

Kakashi felt he couldn't do anything.

Another thrust was made into the body.

And another.

Another.

"Stop it," Kakashi said, disbelief clouding his mind. It was too late for him to realize that the murderer was positive in making sure that none would stay alive. "Stop it…" his words came louder. You're an ANBU… "Stop it!" He shouted. You're an ANBU; what are you doing?! "Stop it!" He yelled again, finally stopping the murderous ANBU in his deed.

Blood dripped from the tantou. The perpetrator ANBU stood straightly and looked towards the silver-haired ninja's direction.

Kakashi could only stare at the silvery-ash hair that was similar to his own, dancing with the winds that howled due to the multitudes of death the littered the place. He could see himself…

"You're an ANBU, and you must understand the meaning of an order." The man said, voice perfectly leveled and composed. "You are like me."

Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise as his memory of being an ANBU flooded his mind. Watching as the man whose hair was almost the same hue as he was; Kakashi could completely see himself as the man - a heartless, emotionless figure that sought only the safety of his kage. He could see himself perform the act of mutilation, which he had done too many times before. He was also like him. He would do anything to pursue the mission.

He was ANBU. How many times had he done that?

"Yes. You will always kill anyone else."

Kakashi felt sickened.

He was a murderer too.

"You will kill those who are standing on your way."

The innocent lives he had to kill. Those were too many.

"Don't deny the reality." The other ANBU spoke. "You will kill the guiltless. You will even kill children if you have to." Kakashi winced at the reality.

He was a hypocrite.

He felt something in his back, and the world faded into black.

It was one dream Kakashi wanted to remove from his system. It was one nightmare that bothered him to no end. It was the same vision that appeared in his sleep, with him ending up in waking with deep sweat, panting hard to catch his breath he seemed to have lost in along chase. With a kunai in hand to protect himself upon waking up, he would suddenly realize that he was still in his apartment, the last fragment of the vision fading back into the deep recesses of his memory. It was that dream again. And again was such a very tiring word. Forever would misfit at the moment. At those periods of realization that he just woke up from a dream, Kakashi would just leave his eyes open, trying not to fall into another trance of sleepiness. He'd want to evade having another dream. He let his eyes waft into the clock on the bed side table and making a mental note of it.

In similar experiences, he would know that it was already late. Whenever he had that dream, he would often stir into wakefulness at 09:00AM or as late as noon. He didn't know why that dream would always appear randomly at some night, and it made him stay awake for the rest of the night until dawn arrived. But he would often lose to that dream, letting it control the rest of his mind – it was a thorough mental genjutsu without him even trying to escape. There was no point to extricate; Kakashi had long pointed it to himself. Unlike genjutsu, there wasn't a simple way to dispel it. Either he wake up or let the dream to consume his mind. At least it would always end eventually.

He let his eyes scan the ceiling; the nothingness of the wooden feature was able to give him slight comfort. The emptiness cleared his mind of his present predicament, his brain relaxing as his thoughts were flushed from his system. The stress his thoughts were giving brought a grave headache, and it was already intolerable to wake up from a nightmare. He sighed; it seemed it would be another long day even though he woke up late.

Pushing himself from the bed, Kakashi sat wearily, slight weakness overcoming his body to continue moving. Well, it was the paradox of sleeping – having less time to sleep made a person feel weak, oversleeping had the same effect as well. He yawned as he stretched his extremities into some relaxing pull. He stared idly in front, pushing of the last remnants of sleep in his system. Deciding that being on bed wouldn't help him from finally waking up, Kakashi half-heartedly left the bed and quickly went into a wooden dresser on one side of the room.

---

Within twenty minutes, Kakashi was already dressed in his standard Konoha jounin uniform, his mask still stably attached to his face. He walked casually through the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, a non-discernable behavior masking the entirety of his figure. He stared uninterested at the road to his destination, but making sure that his eyes were noting everything in peripheral. There were always some threats whenever he was in a certain place and he would always make sure that his attention was always at its peak even though he was in his own village.

Better be safe than sorry.

With a hunched shoulders and a lazy look from his eyes, Kakashi thought that he needed distraction for the moment – the dream he had last night was still bogging him. The nightmare – he preferred to call it an invasive dream – always screwed up his attentiveness that ultimately led to the slight demise of his own efficiency. It was a like a recurrent problem that bothered him because of his inability to solve it. It would always infiltrate his mind in a very imperceptibly irritating manner that it seemed he needed to literally scratch his mind off just to get rid of it.

Of how the dream returned into his nights – he didn't know.

But he had the idea.

Finally, his right hand reached the vest pocket where his most precious item was located, his hand feeling itchy to touch the article with new vigor. Releasing the item from its haven, Kakashi smirked discretely, noting that his addiction would be preoccupying his eyes and hands as well. He hoped that the magnitude of the intensely-powerful plot and the ever-compelling lovely and interesting characters of the book that he loved could take his mind off his mental matters.

He started to read and, to his surprise, it only brought him to dwell deeper in his mind.

Damn distractions.

He was on his way to the Hokage Tower, on the telling of the present Godaime Hokage for him to be there. He didn't have any concrete ideas of why he was being called in presence, but he knew it had to be related to the escalating matter of Iwagakure success in capturing Takigakure almost one month ago. The event had destroyed the unstable stillness of peace in the ninja world, an upheaval of opposing arguments rising over from different elemental countries.

Yet no one dared to oppose the action Iwagakure had done.

In a manner of time that only spanned a week, Iwagakure was able to overcome Takigakure, which first declared war with its neighboring village Kusagakure, in the south. When the Taki ninja force was besieging the weakened village of Kusa, the Tsuchikage decided that it was the best time for Iwa to attack, taking advantage of an open-to-an-attack Taki. No one really knew what happened and how the invasion of Iwa occurred, but Konoha could only get some information on some ninjas it sent at the time the former did its attack. Because the Hokage had finally decided to address Kusa and Konoha's alliance into a higher echelon, mutual defense was suddenly initiated, thereby sending Konoha's own ninjas to help defend Kusa. As a contingency plan, the Hokage also sent some of its ninjas into the heart of Kusagakure itself, in order to dispose the head to kill the body.

This ninja group that was sent to attack Taki itself returned with another mission failed, since Iwa ninjas began pouring inside the village when some unfortunate events began. Upon their return to Konoha, they could only say that Iwagakure ninjas were very strong beyond reasonable doubt.

"Kakashi-senpai," a voice attracted Kakashi from his reading-musing. He slowly raised his head away from the book, looking at the tree branch on his right.

"Tenzo," Kakashi called out the name of his contemporary in a perfectly leveled voice. "What brings you?"

"Tsunade-sama demands your presence immediately." Tenzo answered. "It's unusual for her to use us for this kind of message." He said, trying to put some amount of sarcasm in his statement. He noticed that Kakashi seemed not to get it. "Anyway, you need to go in there as much as possible, senpai. She seems anxious."

Kakashi cringed with the description. Anxious? He thought, trying to sort out the possible outcomes when the name 'Tsunade' was joined together with the word 'anxious'. An anxious Tsunade was never a good host to the people who irritated her more than necessary. Being late was one of the things that made her vexed more than basic. In short, he was doomed.

With a quick nod, Kakashi suddenly 'poof'-ed out of existence, a cloud of smoke covering the spot where he was. Tenzo only observed his senpai vanished, and then went into some other direction.

"Kakashi," amber-colored eyes quickly darted towards the silver-haired ninja's direction. "You're late."

Kakashi felt an inward urge to smirk under his mask. He also felt some suppressed killing intent hovering around the office.

Tsunade sighed – she needed to deal with another retard. "I assume you know why we're having this 'small talk', Kakashi." She scowled at him, really displeased about the fact that it was becoming harder and harder for her to deal with the daily stresses imposed to the life of a kage. Her eyes didn't leave Kakashi.

"It's about Takigakure, I suppose." Kakashi replied with a dim tone. "Or is there something else?"

"Both, actually," Tsunade answered, putting her elbows on her table and interlacing her fingers together. "It has been annoying fact of the day that Takigakure had finally decided something that shocked the elemental countries." She maintained with such seriousness that quickly brought Kakashi in a soldier mode. "I can still even feel the confusion the Fire Daimyo in his letter." The Hokage touched a folded piece of paper just beside a thick stack.

"It's been a month since Takigakure's defeat." Kakashi started to speak. "I'm sure they haven't been faring well after being trounced under their own dreams of conquering another ninja village." The silver-haired man eye-smiled, instantly clearing himself of the seriousness he carried. "So what did they do this time?"

"They accepted Iwagakure's idea of territorial subjugation. "

The smile that was only evident though Kakashi's eye faltered. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Tsunade replied sincerely.

"But that's impossible," Kakashi almost raised his voice, but was able to suppress it on time. He really wasn't the type of person who would burst upon hearing something grave, massive or weird, but there would still be moments that one's composure would be compromised. Hell, what the Hokage said was something that had never happened since the foundation of the first ninja village in the elemental countries. It was something that had never been predicted before!

"It is possible, unfortunately." The Hokage insisted. "Our spies revealed that Shibuki had accepted it as to prevent his village into crumbling into pieces. He had no other choice, actually, since Iwagakure is almost literally choking Takigakure into its death. It's a tough decision to make, Kakashi, since it would also involve the unrest from the other villages and countries." Tsunade said, looking deeply into the jounin's single visible eye. She looked drenched in tiredness; Kakashi saw when she flashed her eyes on him.

"I knew the man," He spoke. "I knew him since it was once our mission to escort him back to Takigakure." He scratched his single visible eyebrow, sorting out the proper words for him to say. "I must admit; he was a coward back then; fears everything that is moving." He sighed. "But I know he'd changed. You told me once that the relations with Taki were actually doing well. I know Taki would change because of him."

"That was weeks before there was the total isolation of Takigakure from the rest of the ninja world," Tsunade cleared. "And it seemed that there was more than something we must consider."

"And what would that be, Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi sounded interested. If there was something to be added into an already huge problem, then it got to be something bigger.

"It's something already implicated through the mere fact that Takigakure has accepted Iwagakure's 'treaty'." Tsunade started. She stood up from her chair, moving away from the table and going nearer to the window. She watched silently at Konoha for a while – the peaceful and tranquil imagery catching her attention briefly –, thinking of the imaginative futures flashing in her mind. "The word has already spread throughout the Great Ninja Countries, and I think everyone from those countries would have the same reaction as I do." Tsunade looked at Kakashi, scanning the face even though under the mask.

Kakashi remained silent. He was slightly irritated that the Hokage wasn't making a straight message to him.

"Unfortunately, Takigakure is the most powerful, only ninja village in the Waterfall Country." She said, pointing at the map that was recently hung inside the office. "And Iwagakure has deliberately treated Takigakure as the only legitimate village in the Waterfall Country."

As Kakashi processed the information, he could only gasp in realization. Hiding it quickly under his stoic and nonchalant features, the silver-haired jounin spoke. "That is outrageous."

"Yes, I know, Kakashi." Tsunade commented. "But we can't do anything." She sighed. "Since it is only Takigakure that Iwagakure has asked for the subjugation of the territory, the Tsuchikage indirectly implied that every non-ninja village in Waterfall Country will also be dominated by Iwagakure. And I don't think that Iwa would tolerate the non-ninja villages that will try to object with their plans." She told him.

"But that is as well an indirect incitement of war against a country." Kakashi commented.

"You should know that Waterfall Country is not a very strong one, Kakashi." Tsunade almost glared. "And you must add to the fact that for almost three years already, no ninja village and country have actually made some inter-village relationship with Takigakure." The Hokage groaned. "We cannot ask Takigakure to make some compromises diplomatically or we risk another conflict."

"You mean we can't intervene?"

"No, we can't. And probably no one can." Tsunade answered. "If Iwagakure has no hesitations in subjugating the territorialities of Takigakure – possibly the whole Waterfall Country itself –, then I have the thought that the Earth Country's Daimyo has nothing against Iwa's plan. I also even think that the other countries' daimyos will not even dare question it, although tensions will be high." She actually hissed when she said the last part of her statement, maintaining it when she continued, "Damn, Iwagakure is becoming too powerful." She looked defeated as she thought; The Earth Daimyo's likeness to expand Earth Country is helping no better. Kami, I hope he has nothing to do with this one.

"So we will just actually wait for what is going to happen?" Kakashi sounded annoyed.

"Of course, but we make sure that we are not taking their acts lightly. I have a positive feeling that the other ninja villages will be trying to pressure Iwagakure." The Hokage replied.

"It's not an action." Kakashi hastily responded. "Pressuring another ninja village is just making impression."

"You think so?"

"The Tsuchikage is a stubborn old man, as I know, Tsunade-sama." Kakashi answered. "He lived in the ages when war was the only prevalent solution in arguing and solving things. He has a mindset very differently of the people of the new generation. He is already old, and he couldn't be simply swayed by mere show-off of pressure and disagreement."

"A good point," Tsunade nodded at Kakashi's reason. "But what makes you sure?"

"If he isn't, then Konoha might have already acted one month ago."

Tsunade smirked weakly. As expected, Kakashi would always be able to distinguish something hidden in the underneath. It was vigilance that must also stand up in a ninja character, and Kakashi had always managed to utilize it. Observance of the physical – revealed or obscured – things and the psychological mannerisms of people was one key into digging more information than necessary. And in the ninja world, what was hidden was more important.

"You're right, Kakashi," Tsunade said. "Actually, there is something bothering me since Iwagakure had defeated Takigakure a month ago." She walked nearer to the table, bowed down slightly, and pulled open a drawer found in the lowest part of the table. She took a scroll before closing it, set it on top of the table, and watched the reaction from Kakashi. Seeing none, Tsunade channeled minute amount of chakra into her right finger. "I want you to see this." She put the finger where the chakra pulled, making a slicing movement in her left thumb. Blood poured out from the cut that was almost magically made, and Tsunade wasted no time and blood by smearing it directly on the scroll on top of the table.

The seal covering the scroll glowed briefly, assessing that blood that tainted it. After some seconds, the light died down and a small poof of smoke directly appeared covering the drawn seal. Satisfied with the sight, Tsunade reached out for the scroll and tapped it with chakra-enhanced fingers. After that, the whole scroll burst into smoke.

Behind his mask, Kakashi was having an amused expression, observing the scroll that the Hokage took. He was sure about it – the scroll was protected in a triple-layer protection seals. The first one needed to be released by the blood of the person who owned the scroll. Blood was already very hard to counterfeit, since it was already the proof of the person's identity. Of course, there would always be intelligent people who could do something about it… The next seal was under the first one, now a chakra-recognizing seal. It would release itself upon the channeling of the user's chakra, another indentifying technique. Of course, chakra would be very hard to fake as well.

If he was right, the third seal was actually around the scroll itself. In his own mind, he already theorized that it worked when the first two seals were released, thereby using both blood and chakra to open it. Well, it was the ultimate seal in the system – but he would well too much on the intricacy of the seal work. Well, seal users were very hard to understand in the first place…

The smoke cleared, revealing a thick stack of papers. Tsunade glanced up back at Kakashi. "I've been receiving these… from the Tsuchikage himself."

Kakashi gaped in shock, although still unapparent from his looks.

"I'm trying to hide these from most of the ninja here since I'm still at lost if what are written in these are true," Tsunade felt the need to talk since Kakashi seemed to be going on a silent mode. "I'm still waiting for Jiraiya for some confirmation."

"Confirmation for what, Tsunade-sama?"

"I'm dubious about the fact that Iwagakure has got the time to send these letters to me." Tsunade answered. "What more that has been bugging me is my cluelessness if these letters are also sent to other kages or some people that are of importance." She looked back at Kakashi, letting her anxiety wash the jounin.

"What do those letters say?" Kakashi asked.

"Just look at them if you want…" Tsunade said, finally sitting back at her chair. "Kami, I don't have the time to problem that for the moment, since Konoha is going to undergo another shift in economy that might need my deeper concentration." She said, rummaging at the papers on her table.

Kakashi moved slowly to the table. He picked up the letters on the table but then he stared lazily at it. He flipped and turned each paper, scanning the pieces of its contents. He had some discrete expression of surprise in his lone eye, which he would relax at the moment his eye drifted to another page. After being briefed of the messages written on the paper, Kakashi shifted his gaze towards Tsunade, a firm look plastered on his masked face.

"They say the same thing," Kakashi told. "Almost pointless."

Tsunade didn't know if she would smirk at the jounin's discovery or put the same frown Kakashi was having. She plopped her tired shoulders at the backrest of her chair, sighing all the negative air she had built up in her system. Really, the stresses of being a Hokage were putting her into the threshold of the maximum human capacity. Sannin or not, she could admit to the face of every people in Konoha that her body would inevitably fail while in office. Putting a hand at her temple, she spoke to Kakashi again. "I know; that's why my head always ache whenever a new one comes."

"They still want to say that their action towards Takigakure was just a preventive action to thwart a greater threat to the ninja world." Kakashi said. "Seriously, who in the ninja world would believe that?"

"I do," Tsunade said. Kakashi's eyebrow actually twitched in his own misunderstanding. "If that is their reason for foiling Takigakure down, then I might have thanked the Tsuchikage personally."

"Why?"

"From the reports of the Intelligence Division's Interrogation Office, the most recent interrogation output has finally revealed that Takigakure was aiming for the Fire Country's capital, if the invasion of Kusa would be successful." Tsunade said.

"I see," Kakashi could only say. That just added gravity to Iwagakure's action. "But I must also say that the intentions of Iwa are grand."

"For now, their reasoning is acceptable, but, as you can see, it seemed that most of the people concerned are overlooking the fact that Iwa indeed prevented a more massive problem. That is why their plan of subjugating Takigakure is being scrutinized instead of the good deeds behind it." Tsunade replied. "But, like them, I'm also doubtful of their goals, and I must say that the severity of Takigakure's original preparation is being outweighed by the indirectness of their plan." She shot a glance back at the map. "To add a country into your own… well, that is actually a deliberate announcement of superiority over others."

Kakashi nodded. It couldn't be denied that Iwagakure's plan of subjugating Waterfall Country into Earth Country was something disreputable. It was only one village that tried to disarm the world of peace, but why capture the whole country to finally obliterate the last stenches of the enemy? It was too much of a dream, if Iwagakure still persevere of their plan.

Still randomly flipping the papers in his hand, Kakashi caught the name of the person who wrote the fifth letter he was looking at. He cast a questioning gaze towards Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama, I thought that the Tsuchikage was the one who wrote this letter?"

"Yes, and why?"

"Why is this particular letter written by some other person?" Kakashi asked.

"Let me see that," Tsunade said, stretching her hand towards Kakashi. The latter quickly put the letter into her had, watching the strong hands grabbed the frail pieces. The Hokage scanned the name at the bottom of the paper, looking curiously at it. "Ah, I see…" She said, handing the paper back to Kakashi. "I remember…" She smirked. "It seems that the Tsuchikage himself is having some industriousness problem with himself." She watched playfully at Kakashi's growing curiosity embedded at his eye. "You see, sometimes, the Hokage could let handle these types of messages to the person assigned to the particular task. As for that one, a representative diplomat has written it for the Tsuchikage." She sighed again. "But then, that maintained their message from the very beginning. So boring."

Kakashi was nodding meaningfully. He rescanned the papers, now intently looking at the names who wrote the letters. Most of them were from the Tsuchikage himself, but there were some random names that wrote some, twice or thrice. When he reached the final piece of letter, his eye widened in surprise.

Luckily, Tsunade re-focused her actions on doing her paper works, missing the reaction on Kakashi's face. The silver-haired ninja tried to recompose himself, quickly layering his face of his serious countenance. Satisfied that the Hokage hadn't notice him, he reread the letter in his hands.

Godaime Hokage-sama,

Tsunade

Konohagakure

We continue to affirm Iwagakure's decision on attacking Takigakure as a precautionary and as a military action to suppress the threat against the Country of Earth. The Country of Earth is merely concerned about its safety, and Iwagakure is pledged to help in the country's problem, since it also posed as a threat to the village.

We wish to clarify that Iwagakure's move is not an act of aggression. We are only focused on protecting the people and that is our main goal in the subjugation of Takigakure. We did not attempt to test our mettle against Takigakure, but out attack had been the product of our regard to the continuity of peace in our lands. We hope that Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaf, do not see our action as an indiscriminate act to show our capabilities or just to conquer more territories.

Getting to grieve respectfully as soon; solemn need and right uttered. To ought something, gift indomitable, for the few risks usurped.

Third Representative to the Tsuchikage,

Iwagakure

There wasn't anything wrong in the letter – Kakashi had actually used his ninja senses to scan the paper for something unusual. There weren't any genjtusu or any chakra-infused material in the letter; it was a normal one – the Hatake actually pitied himself for not thinking that it had been from the Hokage; sure she had done the same thing too. It was the same heading from the other letters, the seal of Iwagakure drawn on the topmost right corner of the paper. It had also been real – Kakashi wanted to slap his face for noticing even the most minimal details for him to consider the thing authentic. It had also the same content, although written in different style distinguished from the other ones.

It also had the peculiar paragraph in the end, the common ending statement when ninjas or people from Earth Country wrote a letter. Since the people in Earth Country was popularly known for being stoic in their own ways, the people then started to do things to show the others that they weren't like an emotionless rock. In fact, their minimum intervention to change others perception of them made them more popular, since their ways of writing a letter was unique. As evident with the letter, people from Earth Country (especially from Hidden Rock Village) would always put a seemingly poetic sentence or even a paragraph at the end of their every letter, infusing much emotion in the words. From then on, only those who had passion for such literature could only understand the real meaning of the people of Earth Country through those words.

Yes, there wasn't anything wrong with the letter – Kakashi had affirmed that himself. He knew the only bothersome thing in the letter – its sender.

Third Representative to the Tsuchikage,

Iwagakure

Kakumo

The Third Representative to the Tsuchikage, huh… Kakashi thought. Kakumo… He spoke the name in his mind dryly, some ringing anger trying to consume him again. It was a name that burned deeply in his mind, since it was the greatest treachery that had been equated into his being. There was no event greater than the one he experienced a month ago, and it was always as fresh as his nightmare was, consuming him whenever he had the free time. His musing would always be stolen by the memory of Kakumo, a ninja from Iwa that he would never ever forget.

So… you're the Tsuchikage's representative now, huh, Kakumo? He asked in his mind, the name paining him much.

"––brought you here is that, I want to…" Tsunade trailed her words off when she noticed Kakashi spacing out. "Kakashi?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi quickly replied, hiding the inner turmoil deeper in his system.

"Were you even listening to me?"

"Ahh… What was it again, Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi smiled sheepishly under his mask, his eyes crinkling into a smile as well, scratching the back of his head.

"I knew you will always be a retard…" Tsunade exhaled noisily. "First of all, I don't want to have anything with those letters anymore, so, please, as the order of the Hokage, I want you to keep it. I know it will be safer if it's in your hand, since I feel the assurance that no one will ever try to look into your belongings." She said.

"Are you sure, Hokage-sama?"

"The hell I am, ninja!" She replied.

Kakashi nodded with vigor. He knew that he had the chance to make a recheck of the letter himself. "So, what is the other reason why you called me here?"

Tsunade straightened herself after yelling. "As you can see, there had been some tensions and pressures building up within the elemental countries and the ninja villages in it – that because of Iwagakure's deliberateness." She started her briefing towards Kakashi. "Almost a year ago, a spy network was initiated along the territories of Lightning Country. Due to the instability of peace that lingers today, I'm afraid that the people working under the spy network are under the threat of being discovered." She paused for a while, gathering a small scroll from the main drawer of her table. She returned looking at the silver-haired ninja. "I've saved this mission for you, Kakashi, since I expect you can do this better than the other ninjas available. Not that I don't trust the others, but I'm just expectant of your capabilities and situation."

"I'm going to have a rescue mission?" Kakashi asked, slowly getting the scroll from Tsunade's hand. "But I'm sure that some jounin aside from me that can do the job better."

"Kakashi, it isn't an S-rank for nothing," Tsunade replied, her brows knitting together in sudden annoyance from the lazy ninja. "Now, just read the content of that scroll – I don't have the time to brief you of all the contents of your mission. I'm too busy doing paper works that I never knew where came from." She stopped speaking and continued to sort out the papers stacked on her table. When she didn't notice any movements from the jounin, Tsunade looked up with vexation. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get your ass moving now!"

Kakashi vanished out of existence when his Hokage yelled at him again.

Missions would always be taxing, and every ninja knew that fact. But, being the shinobi as they were, they knew they had to keep up with those missions in order to do two things in life. First was the very truth that it was their mission that gave them money to live, and it was a well-sought implication of higher-ranked missions. Well, having some tougher jobs meant some higher rewards – but that would always be fine. After a tedious mission and a rewarding sum of money, who was the ninja who'd not spent the rewards in a sake night-out? Damn… Konoha was too appealing after a long and dangerous job…

The second one was one of the most importances to Konoha itself. It was a well-known fact that a running ninja village was an active ninja village. Even though secluded beyond the natural light that was well-known to civilian villages, ninja villages' activity would always be based on the number of missions a village accepted. It was a measure of how much strong a ninja village was, and it would also be the reflection of its status. Weakened villages would dampen their activity, thus subtly telling the other villages of its vulnerability. It was a dangerous moment when a ninja village was perceived incapable by its contemporary villages.

It was the problem that could always be maneuvered out. During the Third Great Ninja War, Konohagakure suffered a lot deal of casualties in its ninja ranks, and its ninja troops suffered a decrease in number. Obviously, things were going out of hand of Konoha's side. It was then the plan of almost literally exhausting Konoha of its ninja was executed in order to preserve the countenance of the village from the views of the other villages. It was a hard decision to make, but in order for the other villages not to notice Konoha's ninja deficiency, the village had to continuously do missions. It was a cover for Konoha to be rendered still having its strength. It was to keep the impression that it was still strong, and sometimes impressions could also inevitably change the outcome of war.

To keep an impression was one of the riskiest plans to save people.

But it did require the sacrifices of some.

Kakashi stood alone on where the memorial stone was located, absentmindedly holding the scroll that Tsunade gave him some minutes ago. The place brought him peace that he couldn't easily found elsewhere, and it brought him the feeling of satisfaction of idleness. In that place, he would often forget about time for the visit of an old teammate, some silent words being thrown towards the invisible visage that Kakashi would always imagine in his thoughts. In that place he would often placate himself to the unwariness of a normal life, trying to make a silent accord with the surrounding. In there, he would find himself trying to concentrate in a new level, his mind drifting into the belief that someone was looking at him, listening to the uttered whispers of his mind and heart. He believed that someone would always be there at the memorial, enjoying the company he brought when he went there. He too enjoyed the silence the place carried, but there would always be better things than making a company out of nothing.

Uchiha Obito… He read the name engraved in the stone, his mind scrutinizing every letters of the name he would never forget. His former teammate, and the person he might have considered his closest friend. It was the name that further changed the life of Hatake Kakashi, the name that would always be accompanied by the enigma called the Copycat Ninja Kakashi. Uchiha Obito was the single person that inexorably altered Kakashi, and the Sharingan eye on his left eyeball socket would be the testament of that.

However, some revelations had crushed some of his life again.

It was almost a month ago that he found out that Obito Uchiha was alive and well. In fact, he seemed to have gained a new life for himself, a life away from Konoha that he'd began to use some other name to mask his old identity.

Now, he was known as Kakumo, the Third Representative to the Tsuchikage.

A pain shot out from his chest, remembering the painful memory that had put his entire team into a dangerous standpoint in that time.

He opened the scroll carefully, the whole material still fresh from being hidden by the Hokage from others. It was from there he believed that Tsunade was really waiting for the opportunity to speak up with him, for her to give the mission scroll herself. His eyes slowly scanned the paper material, looking skeptically at the words in it.

Spy network in Kumogakure threatened. Evacuation of ninjas in hiding started. One field officer left in the field. Possible attack imminent. Extraction point 10km southwest of Kumogakure. ASAP.

Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise when he realized that it wasn't the usual formal mission scroll that he usually got from the Hokage or the Missions Desk. From the look of the message, the scroll had been a message itself, conveying some emergency information that required help. If that was the case, the Hokage's act of hiding the scroll from the other available jounin wasn't of a choice, but indeed of hidden necessity. And from the brief date contained in the scroll, it seemed that the network had penetrated deeply in Lightning Country, since the distance of the rendezvous point to the ninja village was too near. It really required some professional skill to get done with. Without further ado, he cast a final glance towards the memorial stone, not knowing whether he should make another wave of goodbye to the name engraved in the stone or not.

He didn't want to make another farewell because Obito was still alive - even if he was on the wrong side of the battlefield, he didn't want to lose him again.

2 weeks after

Umino Iruka was having another round of headache as he passed through the crowds in the humble streets of a civilian village in the territory of the Country of Lightning, the elemental country located at northeast of the Country of Fire. The chuunin academy teacher was trailing again at the place, wishing that he could go back to Konoha as soon as possible. Since he was away from the Academy and from the Missions Desk, Iruka was having a hard time to contain the idleness he was possessing in that location, since it seemed that it was becoming a stress for him not to do something. His joblessness in that civilian village was putting him into a feeling of uselessness, since his body was almost craving itself to be doing something productive. Well, being outside the walls of Konoha would always render him unoccupied, a status that most ninja wanted to have for themselves.

But he was Umino Iruka, one of the most loyal and hardworking citizens of Konoha.

Even through the throbbing headache that was punishing him, Iruka couldn't miss the random chakra signatures that were following him through the village, a feat that always happened when a foreign ninja entered another foreign country. The Academy teacher couldn't miss those people, since he knew the very reason why those people were chasing him in shadows. It was better for him to remain cautious in his way, because he didn't want to make any mistake while he was visiting that village.

The news of Takigakure losing a quick war in the western side of the ninja world was the main news of the month. It never missed the conversation of people, the citizens wary of the impending complications of the brief war that happened last month. With Takigakure oppressing the still peace that was still holding weakly across the ninja world, many people were aware that it could lead to another set of conflicts again, just like the ancient ones that created a string of skirmishes and battles through the end. It actually bothered many people, since they were becoming conscious of the politics of war. They knew the consequences of breaking through the wall of unstable peace and it would not be left unattended by the other concerned people. From his experiences and the information that he gathered in his works, Iruka knew the complexity of those things. From his own analysis, there were already uproars from the leaders of the ninja villages against Takigakure.

But he wasn't just a simple citizen that knew how to analyze the minds of war.

He was a ninja, and he knew newer information than what the ordinary citizen did. From the latest message that the Missions Desk Department sent, it seemed that the proposal of Iwagakure of the subjugation of Takigakure was coming into a finishing step. From the information alone, it could be deduced that Waterfall Country's end was near. Iruka wished that such event mustn't happen, since it was already an incitement to the already crumbling peace throughout the lands. Iwagakure seemed to be kicking Peace down into its knees, and Iwa wore steel sandals embedded with blades.

The unstable serenity hovering in the ninja world would not last.

"Good morning, Umino-san!" A voice attracted the Academy teacher to whirl to his back. Seeing the person that was waving at him, Iruka let a small smile be plastered in his face.

"Good morning too, Rei-san." He answered in a calm but happy voice. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Umino-san." Rei answered. "I just brought my son to school when I noticed you passing in this direction." He said, scratching the back of his head.

Iruka quirked an eyebrow towards Rei, but then proceeded to smile at the other man. "About your child, do you have some time to talk about him?" It brought an alarmed face in Rei's features. "Don't worry; I just want to talk about his progress."

Rei nodded, and the two men decided to go into a small restaurant stand in the village.

Halfway through their destination, in a spot where less people were walking in their ways, Iruka went nearer into Rei's body, as he procured a kunai from his pouch in a silent but effective manner. He hid the kunai from the general view, still retaining his gestures in normality, as not to attract the attention of the people.

"Umino-san? What are you--"

"You are not Rei-san, so drop the henge." Iruka said, trying to put a courageous face. Actually, he was nervous that he was confronting an enemy with all himself in a foreign location. It wasn't actually a good scenario for him.

The other one cleared his throat. "How did you know?" There was a change in his voice.

"There are no classes for this day," Iruka answered, trying not to stutter in his words. He brought his kunai nearer to the enemy's body. "Who are you and what are you doing with Rei-san's image?"

"You know the reason, Umino Iruka." The man said, hint of malice washing all his words. Suddenly, Iruka felt the presence of five more ninja that suddenly appeared around him and the man impersonating an acquaintance. With the sudden emergence of more enemy ninjas, Iruka cursed when he suddenly lost his concentration, his guard dropping in an instant. As soon as his whole body was exposed for the enemy to attack, Iruka felt so weak that his headache seemed to triple in its strength.

"Now, Umino, you have something to tell us."

- End of Chapter -

I know this chapter's kinda long... but it's actually an investment because I'll probably not able to write again for a long time (I hope not).

Thanks for reading.

Yours truly, Dairene Kezelghski