Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own the series Naruto and the characters or settings associated with it. The only thing I own is my interpretation of that world and how I choose to utilize it in my story. This disclaimer applies to the whole story so I won't be re-posting it.

Before-you-read warnings: I originally had a super long explanation here but I cut it down to this: if you're not up to date with the manga like I am, you may not want to read this until you have. This story has potential spoilers for people not caught up. You have been warned.

I can't write lemons for crap, guys. FOR CRAP. So just know not to expect one in here.

I'd like to give a big shout-out and many thanks to my idea bouncer, Cyrus, for dealing with me and spending so much time helping me crank out this story. I'd also like to recognize and thank my pre-release double-checker, lisamomisa, for essentially being my guinea pig reader.

The Blood Diamond Paradox

Chapter 1: The Teacher and His Student

"Kakashi. Stop sun-bathing on the roof and get your ass in here."

The man in question was irrefutably lying on the roof outside of the Hokage's window with a book poised over his face trying to catch a quick nap, but he was most certainly not sun-bathing. If he cared more about his self-image, he might have taken offense at the statement. However, since he didn't really, he just sighed at his nap being interrupted.

It was definitely a tree day, Kakashi thought. He really should've gone with a tree instead of the Hokage Tower roof. Another sigh escaped from the silver-haired man. That was what happened when one ignored fate. Next time he would be sure to follow the coin toss results in determining his reading location rather than doing the opposite. Or perhaps next time he wouldn't do a coin toss at all. Then he couldn't go against the results because they wouldn't exist to begin with.

Although he really wanted to ignore the older woman's call, Kakashi also knew that doing so would only cause worse problems for him later. There would be other naps, but an impatient Tsunade was not something that could wait…At least not if he wanted to stay in one piece, which was a condition infinitely preferable. The only time he wanted to be in multiple pieces was when he performed a Kage bunshin no jutsu.

He carefully slipped his well-used book in his back pocket and easily glided into the Hokage's office through the open window.

"You called, Tsunade-sama?" he queried pleasantly.

Kakashi was the very picture of respect, but the blonde woman looked unimpressed.

"Don't you crinkle that eye at me, boy. You're a hundred years too early to think you can pull one over me." She leaned back in her chair and looked at him appraisingly. "So, how much did you hear?"

He didn't even lift an eyebrow at her accusation.

It might have been true that the roof outside the Hokage's office was probably the most understated location in all of Konoha.

Or that Kakashi knew the air conditioning was broken that day and on particularly hot days, like the one they were experiencing, the window was sure to be open; making it easy to hear the goings-on in the office from said location.

And it was possible that earlier in the morning he had seen Anko return from a recon mission he knew she'd been on when he decided to do a coin flip to establish his reading location for the day.

None of those things could have possibly meant that he had purposely lain outside the window to conspicuously listen in, no sir.

However, if Tsunade wanted to take it that way, he would certainly oblige her and answer like a good shinobi subordinate would to his superior.

"I may have heard that Anko's team was able to locate a potential hideout for Kabuto," he started out, forefinger occasionally tapping against his cheek with his exposed eye turned up thoughtfully. "And that you're planning on sending out a secondary recon party to follow up."

The Hokage stared at him over her hands, her chin resting on crisscrossed fingers.

Her earlier words were spoken in her usual curt tone, but the duration he had to endure her hard stare was minimal. She smirked. Tsunade might not have exactly approved of his actions, but she had to hand it to him; he was a gutsy guy. And she respected that trait. Normally she might not have been quite as forgiving, but she let it go simply because it was Kakashi and she knew how he was. He was a damned good shinobi that could do his job well so she had no complaints…except maybe about his choice of reading material, but that was irrelevant to the situation anyway.

"Just as well that I was planning on sending for you anyway. It's rather convenient that the mission you so tactfully overheard is yours, wouldn't you say? But I'm sure you already knew that."

Kakashi nodded, not surprised by that news either. She took note of his affirmation and continued.

"Usually I would send ANBU on this type of mission but you and your team has the most vested interests in Kabuto's whereabouts. He's shown himself as a possible threat to Konoha and we need to take the necessary precautionary measures. It's crucial to find out just how much of Orochimaru's work he's delved into and possibly continued. I trust that you understand the importance of this information. It could be our only chance. Once he knows we're onto him, it'll be much harder to track him again."

It seemed all very common sense, really, but Kakashi knew that she was just saying all the stuff that needed to be said for mission prepping. Tsunade wasn't questioning his ability by emphasizing how dangerous or essential the mission was. It was just standard protocol.

She might try to skirt around her duty on paperwork once and a while, but when she sent her people out on precarious and important missions, she left nothing to chance and held herself to the weight of her position. As the Hokage, Tsunade really looked out for her underlings and did the best she could by them. If nothing else, Kakashi could understand that sentiment.

Ending his brief internal dialogue, he nodded and then asked the next logical question to follow. The Hokage hadn't addressed it yet and probably would've mentioned it next, but he didn't want the prep meeting to drag on more than strictly necessary. Just because he respected her no-nonsense approach didn't mean he wanted to stand through a meeting needlessly, not when there were more important things he could be doing in preparation. He would still have to read the mission scroll later anyway to cover all the missed details. The meeting merely served as the bare intro.

"How many should I take with me?"

Tsunade answered with minor contemplation. Her response was nearly immediate.

"One. This should be a two-man effort."

Kakashi understood her reasoning without it needing to be voiced. Tsunade wanted the team to be as small as possible while still with a responsible number. One person would simply be unreasonable and three was just too much. Although three shinobi was the standard mission team size that didn't mean it wasn't adjustable. More people would make it harder to remain as inconspicuous. Even if they were shinobi, they'd be going against a pretty powerful enemy whose abilities they didn't know all that much about. It would be too big of a risk with less potential benefits. And it was always better to err on the side of caution in their particular business.

Of course, there was the off-chance that they'd be severely outnumbered, but the idea wasn't to engage the enemy. It was a reconnaissance mission so they were info-gathering. If they could get in and get out without being seen, then they'd be successful. Should the enemy sense them at any point in time, their information could be compromised.

Kakashi was also fairly certain that the Hokage already knew who he would pick for his team as well, almost to the point that he felt as if he were walking into a trap. His suspicion was confirmed when instead of inquiring about his chosen partner, she just smiled knowingly. Even so, his answer wouldn't change.

There really wasn't much to debate about in the end. Sakura was a high-level and very capable medic-nin and on top of that, he trusted her. Not to mention there was the added plus that Kakashi had worked with her many times as a member of Team Kakashi and the former Team Seven, so he knew her strengths and weaknesses pretty well. Incidentally, there may also have been the tiny factor that she might bash his head in if she found out that he took a mission related to Kabuto without her. That affected his decision at least a little.

Naruto was never really an option because as much as he liked the kid, stealth missions were not his forte. Surprising people might have been good in a pinch, but Kakashi was aiming to prevent such a necessity to begin with. Bringing Naruto could turn out counterproductive on this type of mission.

Once the team size had been determined, Kakashi only had one other question.

"When do we leave?"

The Hokage looked him straight in the eye as she spoke. "Immediately."

It was always on the extraordinarily hot and sunny days that Kakashi found himself traveling. He might've sighed if he hadn't already been used to it. Standard-issue clothing was usually pretty resilient, but it often worked a bit better against cold than heat.

He only had to finish his food and clean up after himself and then he would be on his way. He was pretty close to on-time if he said so himself. Only twenty minutes behind the meeting time.

Even though it was the last full meal he'd be able to have in a while, he ate something small and simple that consisted only of a single bowl of rice topped with some furikake seasoning. The food wasn't much, but it was satisfying enough. It was not prescribed to eat large amounts of food before missions because they could cause indigestion from the rapid and continuous traveling. Ninjas had many assets that regular civilians did not possess, but iron stomachs were based on genetics, not training. And not everyone was blessed with Naruto's stomach, which could handle ramen everyday three meals a day.

Kakashi was not looking forward to his future diet of soldier pills but it really was the best type of nourishment for a ninja during a mission such as the one he and Sakura would go on. It wasn't a mission of length and comfort, after all. The priorities were stealth, speed, and information.

He had been surprised to see that afternoon that Sakura was later than him as she was a naturally punctual person; he even ventured to guess that she probably always arrived early so she would have no chance of being late.

Kakashi hadn't been the one to set up the meeting time, so he assumed that he'd just gotten the time wrong and didn't bother to check. He took the new development in stride and merely propped himself down under the shade of a nearby tree and took out his book without deeper contemplation. Any extra time to read Icha Icha in peace was a blessing.

Around an hour later, Kakashi could hear her as she came running and looked up to see Sakura carrying a small basket of soldier pills. Kakashi quickly tried to prepare an excuse to politely reject her most likely soon-to-be-delivered generous offer of sustenance. A few seconds later he realized that he really hadn't needed to make an excuse at all. It was the truth that he had eaten relatively recently. And he started to say so, too.

Sakura wasn't oblivious to how many people were afraid of her cooking. It wasn't that she was a bad cook either; she was quite decent in fact. At least according to the people who'd actually tried her food. She'd just never been able to live down the one instance when she'd made soldier pills for Naruto when he was training by the waterfall to use his wind element. It had been her first time making it too.

Anyone could have made the same mistake. Soldier pills served as nourishment. They were meant to be super nutrient-rich. In the process of making them, she had known there was the possibility they would turn out to be on the bitter side because of this fact. What she hadn't anticipated was the extent of that bitterness. Sakura had been so focused on doing what she could for Naruto in a timely manner that she'd completely forgotten to try them until later. By the time she'd tried them, Naruto had downed the lot of them so she couldn't very well take them back and re-make them.

In any case, somehow, the news spread like wildfire, and from then on her cooking became as famed and feared as her Tsunade-level strength. Therefore, she had expected such a reaction from her former teacher and smiled sweetly at Kakashi, although he could tell it was at least half forced.

"Before you refuse, I'll have you know that Hinata made these, not me."

If Sakura's food was shunned on a preconceived notion of taste, Hinata had a reputation for making delicious foods. The Hyuuga heir seemed to have some culinary genius in her. Kakashi had never personally eaten the other girl's cooking, but he'd heard many praises sung from enough reliable sources to believe what was said. How someone could make soldier pills taste good was beyond him, though.

Some people believed that her skill was related to the byakugan, citing the reasoning that if the bloodline limit allowed the clan members to see far, it could veritably be used to see things up close as well; possibly in very large detail, perhaps allowing the user to see components of ingredients that the naked eye could not see. In Kakashi's opinion, it was more probable that the girl just had the talent in the kitchen. His evidence was based simply on the fact that not all Hyuuga clan members could cook.

"Well in that case—" Kakashi's hand was slapped away from the basket by Sakura's. Her smirk was firmer and definitely carried a more satisfied gleam than the previous rendition of a smile.

"You were saying that you just ate, Kakashi-sensei?"

Sakura had spoken in a silky sweet voice. It was never good when she spoke in those honeyed tones. He knew that from experience. One wrong move could lead to an explosion. Even grumpy Sakura (let alone full-on angry Sakura) was hard to deal with because her energy would somehow charge the air. Kakashi wondered if there were certain properties of perfect chakra control that could be studied to explain the phenomenon…or perhaps it was just something unique to her. Not to mention there was also the unconsciously used super strength she employed when she got into one of those moods. It was only a third of her scariness, to be honest. And he very much valued his life.

Kakashi saw the trap he'd been put in. If he verified his earlier interrupted statement that he had in fact already eaten, then there was no reason for him to try any of the pills, which would be quite tragic. If he said he hadn't, then it would be as good as admitting that he had intentionally lied to her because he didn't want to eat her cooking. A Catch-22. He would've applauded her genius if she hadn't used the trap on him. Kakashi supposed he should have been proud as one of her mentors, but he couldn't muster the feeling.

As a smart ninja would, he decided to err on the side of caution and admit he had eaten, but before he started to speak, Sakura held out a pill in his direction. He stared at her outstretched hand in surprise, wondering if the meaning of the gesture had changed since he'd last been on the receiving end of it.

"Aren't you going to accept it, sensei?"

Kakashi hesitated. Then Sakura laughed, picked up his hand and dropped the soldier pill into it.

"I was just playing with you, Kakashi-sensei. Since you probably just ate your usual pre-mission fare of furikake rice then it'll probably be better to supplement it with that. Hinata's been making several different kinds of soldier pills. The one I just gave you isn't meant to be the replacement of a whole meal, but it should certainly provide sufficient nutrients to give us a jump-start boost of energy."

There was a brief pause before she started speaking again, her tone a little more subdued.

"Shishou already briefed me. I understand it that we're to leave as soon as possible."

He still felt a little hesitant while staring at the small black ball in his hand, but Sakura was already busying herself with the task of putting the remaining soldier pills into her traveling pack so he chanced it and tossed the pill into his mouth, biting down firmly. If it was terrible, at least it would be over with faster.

Kakashi needn't have worried. It was surprisingly chewy and warm with just a touch of stickiness, which was an odd texture and temperature for a soldier pill. If he had to describe it, he would've likened it to freshly made mochi with a bit of lightly sweetened red bean paste in the center, except the exterior and interior were blended together in such a way that one couldn't be separated from the other. He chewed on the rest of it (which wasn't a lot considering it was a soldier pill) thoughtfully. Kakashi decided that he agreed with everyone else's assessment of the Hyuuga's superb cooking skills.

He found himself envying her team a little and then winced slightly at the direction of his thoughts. As discreetly as possible, his eyes shifted quickly back and forth at the pink-haired girl, trying to make sure that she didn't somehow catch his expression and read his stray thought from it.

She was a tad bit touchy about her cooking and he didn't want to actually upset her when the situation earlier had been a false alarm. Kakashi was not an easy person to read, but he'd been finding that lately, Sakura was able to read some of his more mundane thoughts. And it almost always had to do with unflattering things related to her. He was lucky this time and found her not paying him any attention at all.

When Sakura finished zipping up her pack, she placed it securely around her waist and then turned to him and apologized for being late without him even enquiring about it. Something about being held up at the hospital because a bleeding-to-death patient had been brought in last minute. At least he was able to find out that he'd been right about the meeting time. It was irrelevant that he'd been late for that time anyway.

Unlike his creative responses to the usual question thrown his way, hers sounded like a decent and reliable excuse. In fact, she had already stopped asking him what made him late. Kakashi was pretty sure he'd used up all the usual excuses on her anyway, but it certainly saved him the effort of creating new ones.

She tried to cover up her unhappiness at being late, but he wasn't really complaining about her tardiness anyway. He'd used the time to read Icha Icha for the extra hour. He didn't say that last part out loud, but he did tell her that her unusual tardiness was alright because he knew it would make her feel marginally less upset.

Had she not volunteered the reason behind her lateness, Kakashi probably wouldn't have asked her about it at all because he knew that if there was a legitimate reason she would tell him. And if there wasn't, well…that wasn't really a problem either. He certainly made her wait many more times than she did him. With that settled, they started into the forest for their mission.

Sakura had seemed generally high-spirited in the village despite knowing the details of the mission, but out in the wilderness when they were actually on said mission, she was all seriousness; maybe even a little anxious and nervous at times. The mood was staggeringly different from earlier but not unexpected. Missions were serious business after all.

She was usually exceptionally cheery and playful before a mission of extreme undertaking. He supposed it was her way of coping with the stress that was to come. It was also an indication to him that she was really concentrating. Sakura put all her effort into each mission she went on with him (and he doubted she gave any less on the missions she went on without him), but how she acted before the real mission start was typically the way he could gauge how she personally felt about the mission. Based on their earlier interaction, he knew this was a big deal to her. He didn't expect any less.

Kakashi and Sakura easily slipped into the flow of being on a mission. They would take the occasional break, pop a soldier pill in their mouths when necessary, and sleep in shifts. It had gone on like that for several days but they were making steady progress. Kakashi estimated that they would arrive at the designated location by midday the day after.

While he sat by the fire during his watch shift one night, he thought about how much his life had changed within the past several years. Kakashi looked briefly over at the sleeping form of Sakura and thought about the girl she used to be and the young woman she had become, with great enough ability to go on a two-man mission of this caliber.

That successively led to thoughts of his first and only genin team. The nature of Sakura and Naruto's friendship had worked out for the best. The girl may not have held much affection for the boy in the beginning, but Kakashi knew that she had developed a genuine fondness for him as time went by, much like he had for his team.

It was sometimes hard to believe how much time had passed and how much they had all grown in both maturity and skill. He supposed it might have been a little bit like how parents felt when they realized their children had grown up, although he dismissed the thought soon after it came into existence because he was much too young to be a parent figure. It simply wasn't how he viewed them and their relationship.

Perhaps he was more like the sometimes appearing older brother who had already moved out of the family home and was making his own way in life?...He was probably over-thinking if his mind was trying to paint some type of simile in that much detail. There really didn't need to be a comparison between their team relationship and a typical other one.

Thinking about the past in general got Kakashi thinking about another team with a different leader much more charismatic than himself. Kakashi often found himself comparing his first solid team to his current one. Although he hadn't been with them long, it was safe to say that his time with Minato-sensei, Obito, and Rin had really changed him.

When the Akatsuki member with the orange mask had introduced himself as Uchiha Madara, it all made sense at the same time that it hadn't made any sense at all. Kakashi couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong about the whole thing, although he couldn't put his finger on why. He had thought Deidara had called him "Tobi" when they had been partners, but that had no relation to Uchiha Madara in any way. The only person whose name might have remotely been related to that was Obito, but—

Kakashi shook his head to clear his thoughts. Obito was dead, no matter how much he might have wanted him to be alive. It was impossible that Uchiha Madara was anyone but who he said he was. He was just over-thinking it because of the shock of the announcement that Madara was alive combined with his earlier rumination about his teams. Despite his entirely reasonable rationalization, his thoughts couldn't help but go into the same direction and Kakashi had a niggling feeling that he was clearly missing something important…

"Kakashi-sensei."

The soft voice interrupted his thoughts and he turned to his exhausted-looking pink-haired companion, who had been unable to cover up the sleepiness inherent in a person who had just woken up.

"It's time to switch watch," she continued saying when they made eye contact.

He nodded and walked wordlessly over to his laid out sleeping bag that was only a few steps away. As he plopped down and secured the material around him, Kakashi willed himself to temporarily forget his thoughts and worries, and then surrendered himself to sleep.

The next morning the cycle continued. Their supply of soldier pills was still pretty substantial, but it was a good thing they were close to their destination as the pills had a tendency to run out faster near the end as a result of pressure and fatigue. They were a little over the halfway point.

Double-checking that the area where they had stayed the night before looked nothing like anyone had been there, once satisfied, Kakashi and Sakura continued on their way.

As they got closer to their destination, he motioned for her to slow down and stop so they could formulate a plan. When they actually got there, they could adjust the plan as necessary, but they needed one to begin with. They hadn't explicitly talked about it yet, but as they had worked together before, the division of work was likely to follow the same pattern.

He would venture into the complex for closer inspection while Sakura would stake out the area and be on guard for other suspicious activity. She would watch out and prepare for the potentiality of traps because as careful as they were, it was possible the enemy already knew they were there. They had to be prepared for such a scenario to plan a course of action to follow if that proved to be the case.

They stopped in a small clearing completely covered by the heavy shade of large trees a little ways in front of what looked to be an old lair of Orochimaru. Kakashi turned to look at Sakura.

"Do not engage the enemy if at all possible, understood?"

He was essentially doing the same as Tsunade had done earlier. They both understood that as a general rule of thumb reconnaissance missions tried to remain inconspicuous and unknown, but as team leader, it was expected that he make sure she knew the procedures and what was to be done.

"Got it."

"Alright. I'm going in. Cover me." This time, her only response was a nod. Mission time was on.

With that, he slowly started to make his way to the entrance of the building. Once inside, he continued to travel progressively deeper. Every time he searched a room and would find nothing that stood out he would move on. The air felt old and stagnant inside and he really didn't really want to think about the past horrors that had most likely been committed there. The thought alone was enough to make his skin crawl. If he had been a less seasoned shinobi, it might have even elicited a cough or gag.

After an extended time of probing and searching, it was so quiet and devoid of life that Kakashi was ready to turn back and report that it was simply an abandoned hut and their information had been outdated because Kabuto was no longer there.

Kakashi's only warning was hearing a powerful force of suction to his left and he dodged the fist headed towards his side. He recognized the power and who it belonged to.

"I would say, 'long time no see,' but it really hasn't been long enough."

"If that was your attempt at being witty, Hatake Kakashi, you failed miserably," Uchiha Madara replied, talking through his ever present orange mask. Their eyes met, locking in on each other over what would soon become their battlefield.

Kakashi shrugged and casually made a move to uncover his sharingan.

"I was merely stating a fact. If I were trying to be funny, you'd know."

"No matter. You won't be alive much longer any way."

"Is that so?" Kakashi's face carried an expression in between thoughtful and skeptical. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

And then it began. Without answering or giving his opponent much time to react, Madara disappeared and then reappeared closer to Kakashi, trying to get a hit on him.

He was too fast. Kakashi wasn't slow by any means, but Madara's corporeal to non-corporeal ability was allowing him to teleport, making him much faster. Kakashi was keeping up, but just barely, and he definitely did not have the upper hand. He was only defending and had no time to form a plan, which put him at a distinct disadvantage.

It had been different in the past when they'd run into him with the group because even though they had seemed to be overall ineffective, each person was able to provide some distraction, which was something Kakashi didn't have at that moment. Sakura was too far outside so it was unlikely that she even knew such a conflict was going on, so he couldn't count on reinforcements. Based on the enemy, however, he might not have wanted to call on her anyway.

Taijustsu was out because Madara's ability allowed him to dodge physical attacks. Although Kakashi could do it fairly quickly, ninjutsu required at least some time to make seals and that was time he didn't have. Kamui was probably his only hope of really striking some damage, but his attack was predominantly meant for long-range and sometimes mid-range, and it was very much a close-range battle. He wouldn't have the time to concentrate the sharingan's chakra where it needed to go if he had to spend so much time moving about evading everything thrown his way.

However, he knew his train of thought wasn't wrong and he was onto something. Why couldn't he use Kamui in close range? He had never done it before, but there was a first for everything. And perhaps his closeness to Madara would make it easier, in a way, because his target would be that much closer to him and therefore much larger as a result. It would allow for a larger margin of error. In any case, it was certainly worth a try and was really his only option at that point.

Kakashi sacrificed a rather hard hit to his left shoulder in order to gain the split second of time needed to lock the sharingan on Madara's person. Then he activated his mangekyou power, Kamui.

The last thing he remembered was seeing the red and black of Madara's sharingan, glowing more brightly and ominously than before, bleeding into him. Then Kakashi found the world around him blend together into a single blur of nothingness and he disappeared.

Outside, there was a loud explosion. The ground and surrounding area shook the same time as the door of the building blasted off its hinges and was completely blown apart. Sakura looked on at the scene in horror and shock. Just before the blast, nothing had seemed out of the ordinary and then suddenly everything was in pieces.

Her heart pounded painfully in her chest, searching for any sign of her partner. She scanned the sight in front of her and zeroed in on a figure.

On the ground in front of the resulting opening, she saw the body of a man amid the debris, but was unable to see clearly through the smoke and dust who it was.

A/N:

1) The mission in question is kind of like a combination of two Anko missions featured in the anime (I don't know if or when it appeared in the manga): the one she took with Yamato/Tenzou and Sai that was briefly shown during the Pain invasion of Konoha when they were looking for Kabuto and the one she takes with other shinobi (which had Hyuuga Tokuma and Aburame Muta in their numbers) a little before the Fourth Shinobi World War. I think the second one was dubbed the Infiltration and Reconnaissance Party by Narutopedia.

2) Speaking of the Fourth Shinobi World War, just so you know, I won't be writing about it at all simply because I think it places a sense of urgency and really complicates the whole thing in a way I don't want to deal with. It's also because I just want to write about the general lull of Konoha in a normal everyday type of setting. You could think of it as a giant filler episode if you want. If you're into extreme action and lots of cool and convoluted stuff happening, read the manga. Or watch the anime. Take your pick.

3) Also, I super suck at writing fight scenes, I know. It needed to be done in this chapter, so I did it, but it was obviously hugely condensed and not well done. I apologize for that.