A/U: My second attempt and Fanfic...this one's a bit longer and more serious than my first attempt.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. Otherwise, I wouldn't be writing this.

Quick Summary: (Ghosts) Danzo's revolt succeeds with the help of two major Clans, but not every person in Konoha stays.

Shuryō: Chapter One: Departure from the Leaf

Red eyes glinted in the eye slits of the raven-haired teen's porcelain mask as he grimly slipped his katana from its sheath on his back. His penetrating stare swept the darkened streets of the Uchiha Compound, his home. The elite ANBU captain crouched motionlessly in the shadows of an dingy alleyway, a snake poised to strike. He took one deep, calming breath to steel himself for the mission. The mission. The last hope for peace in his beloved Konoha.

However, the young ANBU had doubts. When a man calling himself Uchiha Madara had showed up a few weeks previously, offering to aid him in his task to exterminate the Uchiha, said man had also informed him about gaining the Mangekyo, which would greatly help him. However, it meant killing his best friend and cousin, Uchiha Shisui. Itachi had resolutely decided to carry out the task the night before the assassinations, since he would have to kill his cousin anyways, per his orders. However, Shisui had disappeared from the compound a few days previously.

For a moment, Itachi felt a stab of pain, of guilt and remorse for his clansmen, his family, but he ruthlessly squashed down his emotions. His orders-and the survival of Konoha-were what mattered now.

His red gaze flashed right, and the thirteen-year-old whirled and slashed with his katana, eyes blazing. The newcomer blocked deftly with a tanto. "Itachi!" hissed Uchiha Shisui in an urgent voice.

The weasel-masked ANBU did not reply, disengaging his blade to slice quickly at his cousin's side. His eyes flickered up to the face of his best friend, and he hesitated, giving Shisui time to thrust his shorter blade and knock Itachi's sword out of his hand. Itachi tore his eyes away from the bloodied mess that has his cousin's face and lunged for his katana, even as his other hand reached for a kunai. The older ninja stepped on the blade, grabbing his cousin's wrist as his own eyes spiraled into red-a four-pointed star pattern bloomed into existence. "Damnit, Itachi!" he growled. "Listen to me!" He wiped the blood from around his left eye using the sleeve of a long, black cloak he wore over his normal Uchiha attire. "You and I are in danger. I know your mission was to exterminate the Uchiha before they could revolt. I know the Uchiha planned a revolt for tomorrow night against the Third Hokage. Damnit, Itachi!" he snapped again, as Itachi attempted to wrench his wrist free. "Hear me out, okay? The Uchiha aren't revolting against the village...because Danzo promised them what they want!" Satisfied that Itachi wouldn't be attacking him at the moment, he released his friend, returning his tanto to its sheath on his back.

Itachi stood stoically, processing the information and what it would mean. Giving Shisui a calculating stare, he retrieved his katana and sheathed it. "Hokage-sama would never allow such a thing," he reasoned grimly, suspiciously scrutinizing the older Uchiha.

Shisui smiled mirthlessly. "He's not. Danzo sent his Root to have him assassinated minutes before I broke out. He has the backing of two of the most influential Clans to overthrow Sarutobi-sama tonight and assume the mantel of Godaime Hokage."

Itachi's eyes widened in shock, then narrowed as he reached instinctively towards his katana again. "You lie."

His old friend shook his head grimly. "Sandaime-sama is or will be dead before the hour is out. He was drugged at dinner by his own cook, verified by one of Danzo's agents, to make him weak and easier to kill. It'll sap his chakra and his strength. There's more. Danzo sold you out as a traitor to the Uchiha to get them to trust him. The old war-hawk named me as you accomplice and snagged me yesterday to 'get me out of the way.'"

"What?" Itachi's hand slipped away from the hilt of his blade. "Why would he sell me-us-out? He was the one who pushed the Hokage and the Council to have me execute the Clan."

"Our eyes." The older of the two reached up with an already bloodstained sleeve to dab away the blood dripping from the gouges around his eye. "He wants them for himself. He spent an hour telling me that my eyes were going towards the 'good of Konoha' and that I should go along with him without struggling. I escaped when they were transferring me from a holding cell to the operation room." He snorted. "I slipped a wire into the keyhole of the chakra cuffs on the operation table and broke out when they released my other arm. A bit of Sharingan, and wham, personal escape helpers." Despite his bluster, Shisui's eyes were haunted.

Itachi thought quickly. "Is there any way to take the Hokage or...someone else with us?" he asked.

Shisui shook his head firmly. "I can Sharingan the guards to leave the doors open and let anyone out and not notice, but we need to move fast and Hokage-sama...it's too late for him."

The young ANBU hesitated, then nodded. "We need to get out of Konoha. We should go before someone else finds out you are missing.

Shisui breathed out a sigh of relief, grinning and ruffling the younger raven's hair, to which said raven scowled and ducked away, smacking his hand. The shinobi renowned for being 'Shisui of the Shunshin' reached into a pack concealed by his cloak and handed Itachi a scroll and was consequently rewarded with a blank stare.

"What is this? A sealing scroll?" His eyes narrowed. "What is inside?"

Shisui chuckled sheepishly. "I, uh, slipped into your house before I came here and grabbed some supplies for you, and some scrolls and Clan techniques. From the Head Family library. Since we'll probably not return for...quite some time.

Itachi's eyes narrowed, and he began to speak, but his cousin held up a hand

"There's no time," he said quickly. "Meet me at the main gates as quickly as you can."

Two shadows quickly leaped away into the darkness.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage and widely revered as the Professor, student and successor of the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages, glanced up sharply as a large group of masked and cloaked ninja crashed into the rather small room, sending kunai and shuriken directly at him. The aged Hokage Kamawari'ed out of the way as his four hidden ANBU guards dropped down from the rafters to engage the intruders.

"Code red, code red," one barked into his radio. "We have a breach in the Hokage's Office. Code red!"

A chorus of chirping birds exploded from the hand of another of the ANBU guards as his hand filled with lightning, effectively taking down an intruder as he rammed it into the enemy's chest. The silver-haired ANBU didn't hesitate, effectively dispatching two other ninjas with his father's fixed and restored White Light Chakra Sabre in one hand and kunai in another. The last of his opponents slashed with a regulation ANBU tanto; the dog-masked ANBU parried with his kunai and stabbed him in the heart with his 'Fang' blade. The ANBU's dark eyes flashed around the room quickly. His fellow ANBU, codenames Raccoon and Ferret-with the radio-were both down, surrounded by bodies and pools of red. A fire bloomed behind him, no doubt the result of an unchecked ninjutsu. Tiger was barely fending off two more, four other assailants dead on the ground near her. With a bound, Dog bounded behind one, slashing through his throat. Tiger finished off the other with a quick stab, then turned to face her fellow ANBU. A deep slash in her side steadily dripped blood; white bone glinted at the bottom of the wound.

"Go!" she gasped, turning to face the rest of the enemy. "Take the Hokage. I'll distract them."

Dog nodded-they both acknowledged that Tiger was unlikely to survive the night, and may die in futile. Quickly, he darted to the Hokage's side, who seemed sickly and struggled to hold off a half dozen of the attackers, and shunshin'ed them both clear across the villiage. Dog staggered, dropping to his knees and panting from lack of chakra. The Hokage swayed, then collapsed next to his ANBU. Aghast, the ANBU stared in horror at the the Sandaime's stomach area-he was too late. The Sarutobi had been stabbed in the gut by what looked like a poisoned blade. No medic was near enough to keep him alive, and the ANBU's own medic experience was not nearly enough to heal an injury like that. Nevertheless, he called up chakra to his hands and began knitting the flesh back together before straining to remove the poison, shocked to find there were two; the one that was on the blade, and a more subtle, long-lasting substance.

"Hokage-sama..." he trailed off.

The old man's eyes fluttered open weakly, waving a hand feebly in an attempt to forestall the last Hatake's desperate efforts to save him. "Ka...Kakashi..." he wheezed. "I'm going to die..." Though his voice was strained and desperate, there was a calm acceptance in his eyes. The one called God of Shinobi swiped a wrinkled hand through the blood pooling around his stomach and flashed through several hand signs. Several scrolls appeared, accompanied by a cloud of smoke. The Hokage gasped for air, exhausted from the chakra usage. "Forbidden secrets...techniques...guard them...guard them well...Danzo's plot...run, Hatake Kakashi...I name you...my true successor...go." The Hokage's eyes finally glazed, and his breath stilled.

So died a God among Shinobi.

"I'm so late! Okaa-san will be angry with me!" Sasuke cried out loud as he raced towards the Uchiha district. "She told me to be on time today, but I stayed out too late practicing throwing shuuriken! I'm so late!" he chanted.

Suddenly, the young Uchiha saw a shadow drop down from a wall and whirled, prepared to attack. "Nii-san?" he asked, confused.

"Otouto..." The masked, cloaked Itachi stepped forwards. He hesitated. "Don't trust them," he blurted out. "Don't trust anyone, not what they say, not what they do. Trust no one, not 'Kaa-san or 'Tou-san. When you can, get away. From the Uchiha, from Konoha. The village is dangerous; I will leave you a scroll to find with secrets you must know. Look for a sign-our sign-at the second crossroads of the north road. Come find me, later, and I promise I'll tell you why. Can you do that for me, otouto?"

Sasuke's coal-black eyes widened, staring at the figure. "Okay, nii-san..." he breathed, suppressing the avalanche of questions. The figure stepped forwards and poked his younger brother in the forehead. Sasuke yelped, stumbling backwards. "Sorry I couldn't play with you today," he said fondly. "Next time, otouto." He stepped back, turning away so his otouto could not see the tear rolling down his face, or his red eyes morphing into a three-pointed pinwheel, and shunshin'ed away.

Sasuke stared in shock for a few moments, processing what his older brother had told him. Could he really not trust his 'kaa-san? Sasuke's eyes hardened. If nii-san had told him that, then he had to be right. Quickly the young Uchiha dashed the rest of the way home. His house was empty, but a note on the table from his mother told Sasuke that the entire fighting force of the Clan had gone out. Sasuke grinned victoriously. Perfect! He darted to the cupboard and grabbed some of the bars his nii-san always took on missions-because this was a mission!-and filled his canteen with water. Next, lugging the armful of rations, he ran upstairs and dumped the lot into his traveling satchel. He stuffed his real kunai and shuuriken he'd gotten for his sixth birthday into the bag and added clothes on top. Thus prepared, he swung the bag onto his back and ran down the stairs in two's and three's and out the door, skidding out the district once again. He slowed to a slow trot, cutting through the park on his way to the front gates. His spirits soared as he jogged through the park. He was going on a mission! He grinned, jumping over a bush...

...and landed right on top of a pile of orange, which squawked indignantly. "Hey!" the blonde cried as Sasuke tumbled him into a heap. "Watch where you're going!"

The Uchiha was about to deliver a stinging retort as he got off the other boy-his age-but stopped, wide eyed, as he noticed the state of the jumpsuit-wearing boy. "What happened to you?" he gasped.

The other boy snorted. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I love ramen and pranks. The villagers always beat me up and call me things, though. I was hiding from them, until you exposed me!"

The young raven stared at the other boy critically. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke...how can you hide in that thing?" he pointed out. "And why would they call you things?"

"The storekeepers won't sell me anything else!" the blue-eyed blond shot back indignantly. "They're like everyone else! They all hate me for no reason! I hate it. They all give me looks, like they want to kill me, and they've tried to, too!" His big eyes teared up, adding to his thoroughly roughed-up appearance. Cuts and open slashes showed through torn orange material.

"Oh. I'm sorry," the Uchiha managed, at a loss for words. "Um...you can have some of my old clothes. I packed some. He dropped his pack and dug out the first set he could find, almost identical to Sasuke's own blue, wide-collared Uchiha-crested shirt and white shorts. He tossed it at Naruto.

Naruto caught them, bemused, and stared at Sasuke, who began shifting uncomfortably. "Thanks," he muttered, then disappeared into a clump of bushes.

Sasuke fidgeted, but Naruto soon emerged wearing the outfit. "Thanks, 'ttebayo!" he said cheerfully. "You're the first person who's given me something like that!"

"Er...no problem," the other boy said awkwardly. "Hey, wanna come with me? My nii-san said for me to find him and he'll tell me some secrets!" he confided confidently.

"Cool! Let's go!" The pair set off, but had not gone far before a girl burst out in front of them, long pink hair tangled and eyes overflowing with tears. A kunai was in her hand.

"Stay back!" she cried, pointing the weapon at the pair, narrowing sea green eyes dangerously at the pair, then relaxed. "Oh. Sorry," she muttered. "You're not 'them.'"

"Not who?" Naruto asked curiously.

"A masked ninja attacked my parents. They told me to run, get out of this place. It's not safe in Konoha, that the 'new era' of Konoha would be baptized in blood or something," she whispered, and her overflowing eyes hardened. "I swore, by my father's blood on this kunai, that I will find that ninja. I will find him, and I will kill him for what he did!"

"We're leaving also," Sasuke said abruptly, casting an apprehensive glance at Naruto. "You can come with us. Just tell us your name."

"Sakura. Haruno Sakura," she whispered, glancing fearfully over her shoulder.

Sasuke nodded, and Naruto offered her a cheerful grin. The trio briskly made for the main gates, and out of Konoha.

A bloody, masked, and armored figure staggered through the shadowy streets of the villiage. ANBU codename Tiger stumbled onwards with a fiery determination. She'd barely had the chakra to shunshin out of the office after she'd been overrun by the mysterious agents. She'd seen the director of the entire operation enter just as she vanished: Danzo.

It all made sense. Danzo had been disgruntled, to say the least, that he'd been 'cheated' out of the Hokage's seat, and waited until the Sandaime grew more complacent to make his move.

The ANBU was broken out of her musings when she reached the door she'd been searching for, and banged twice with her fist before collapsing on the doorstep helplessly. Moments later, the door opened, and a sleepy gaze turned into shock as the brown-haired man above her took in her broken form. "Yuugao!" he cried, picking her up and hurrying back inside. He kicked the door closed and lay the purple-haired ANBU on his couch. He forced a soldier pill down her throat, reviving her with a shudder.

"Hayate," rasped the ANBU. "I can't stay."

"Why? They're sending you out on a mission like this?" the sword master demanded, aghast, as he suppressed a cough.

"The Hokage is dead," she monotoned, stripping off her armor and accepting the roll of bandages thrust at her by her boyfriend.

Gekko Hayate staggered backwards. "What?" he demanded.

Yuugao ignored the other swordsman and stripped off her clothes, binding her wounds tightly in bandages before replacing clothing and armor. "Danzo had him killed," she said finally, softly. "He will be Hokage before the night is out, and Konoha will be at war." She began to get up, but Hayate held out his arm.

"Where are you going?" he hissed. "You're wounded! You won't get far, even if your wounds aren't poisoned."

"I have to," she stated resolutely. "I will be hunted down and silenced."

"I'll come with you, then," Hayate suggested desperately, but Yuugao pushed her hand against his chest to stop him.

"You will be of more use inside Konoha," she pointed out quietly, a tear slipping out of one deep brown eye. "Gather those against Danzo. Discreetly."

A few short minutes later, Yuugao slipped her white mask over her face to hide her tears as she hugged the pack of supplies Hayate had given her before leaping out the window. "I will come back. I will return. I promise."

"That was easy," noted Shisui as he and Itachi walked out of the gates after he successfully 'Sharingan'ed' the guards. Itachi raised his head for the first time since their meeting up, and his cousin gasped. "How...Itachi...how did you get the Mangekyo?"

Itachi looked confused, and the older Uchiha ignored the tear trailing down his cheek. "I...don't know," the younger managed in a broken tone. Suddenly, the thirteen-year-old stiffened and half-turned. "Taichou," he acknowledged, inclining his head.

A shock of silver-grey hair spiking above the mask of a snarling dog ruffled slightly as its owner landed on the path behind them. "Itachi-san." Kakashi's tone was measured, but there was a hint of a growl.

Said Uchiha studied his ANBU taichou. The Hatake wore his mask and bloodstained armor still, with the addition of three large scrolls slung over his back.

"You are coming from the village," Shisui noted softly. "I take it the Hokage is dead, by Danzo's dogs...no offense..."

The older ANBU inclined his head, sharp eye taking in Shisui's own injured eye, hidden by a slanted hitai-ite much like his own."He is. How did you know?"

"Danzo captured me; I escaped. Itachi and I are fleeing Konoha," replied the dark-haired shinobi.

The Hatake nodded. "I trust you." Although his words were honest, he hesitated still before removing two of the three scrolls he carried. "These are valuable village secrets. They must be kept away from Danzo."

"Where will we go?" Itachi asked the older two as he slung his scroll onto his back. "Hi no Kuni is probably not safe. We could travel or assimilate into another village. I'm sure any village would be pleased to have the prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, Shunshin no Shisui, or Kakashi of the Sharingan in their forces..."

"We can't trust the other villages. Or rather, they won't trust us," noted his older cousin. "We'll travel. As mercenaries." Kakashi nodded in agreement, removing his Konoha hitai-ite from beneath his mask. Slowly, he removed a kunai, poised to slash through the symbol. The two Uchiha watched in silence, but Kakashi wavered. He replaced his blade and slipped the forehead protector into his pack and removed one with a blank metal plate instead, tying it over his scarred eye beneath the Dog mask.

Itachi glanced away, instead delving into his own pack for a scroll and brush. He sat down beside a tree and quickly wrote out what seemed to be a long letter. He stalked quickly away from the other two and disappeared. Kakashi and Shisui waited in awkward silence before the young prodigy reappeared, and the trio sprang away into the darkness, away from Konoha.

Away from home.

A scream broke out in the Hyuuga compound. 8-year old Hyuuga Neji's Byukagan eyes activated, and widened in panic at the sight of the heiress apparent being assaulted in her room. "Hinata-sama!" he cried, sprinting for his cousin's room. He turned a corner in the Main House's halls and skidded to a halt suddenly as a tall, white-robed figure stepped out in front of him to bar his path.

"Leave, Neji," Hiashi ordered coldly.

"Hiashi-sama!" Neji bowed hurriedly. "I apologize for my transgression, but Hinata-sama is being attacked!"

"Your eyes were left unsealed for a reason," Hiashi stated stoically. "You will become heir in Hinata's stead. The Hyuuga has no use for a weak heiress. She is being taken care of, as per the agreement. The Hyuuga will become strong once again, influential and powerful in Konoha. I will be going out to see that the new era initiated as planned, as will the rest of the Hyuuga. When we return, you will be named heir. Do not disappoint me." The imposing leader turned and stalked stately out of the compound.

Neji watched him go, a thousand thoughts and emotions running through his head. Resentment. He had been born, destined to be a servant to a weak girl, to have his abilities restrained for the good of the Clan. His own father had been mindlessly sacrificed for the well-being of the Main branch. Because of his father, though, Neji was of the Branch family in all but seal-his father's last request was that he be left unsealed. Now, he was next in line to carry on the Hyuuga blood. Yet he still harbored that hatred of Hinata. But had she not argued softly with her father, begged him to honor Hizashi's last request? Why should he hate her, she who had fought for him, given him small gifts, even, called him brother, although he had pushed her away at every show of kindness? At that moment, Neji's mind cleared. He didn't. He shouldn't. She was his imouto, and he should protect him because she was family, not because he was obligated to. Having made up his mind, he dashed straight to Hinata's room, throwing open the door. The Hyuuga girl was fighting fiercely with half-trained Jyuuken strikes and a steely determination Neji had never before seen. The intruder, obviously ordered not to use ninjutsu, was attempting to capture the former heiress with a combination of wires, shuuriken, and kunai, but Hinata kept knocking the projectiles away from her. The assassin whipped around at the unexpectedly opening door, and the normally shy girl lunged for him, a spike of chakra practically leaping from her hand. The girl's aim was true, and the attacker dropped, dead after the strike stopped his heart.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji said quietly. "Hurry, pack what you must. We must leave quickly. Your father wanted you dead and me as the heir-we have to run!"

"Nii-san..." whispered the young Hyuuga, eyes wide and unseeing in shock at her first kill, but obeyed mechanically, eyes filling with tears, as she efficiently filled a pack of clothing and other essentials. "Meet me at the front gates of the compound," he hissed, and ran to pack his own bag.

Hinata pattered down to her sister's room. The three-year old was sleeping soundly, not even sucking her thumb. Hinata lifted the child from her bed, wrapping her in blankets. She hesitated, then gently laid her imouto in her mostly empty traveling bag and ran out to meet Neji.

Neji's byugaken eyes were still active, and instantly locked onto Hinata's bag in the shadows of the night. "Why did you bring Hanabi-sama, Hinata-sama?" he asked quietly.

"I cannot leave her," she replied. "She is my imouto, and I will look after her."

Neji studied the one he had been born subservient to, and she lifted her chin resolutely. Neji nodded once, then unslung his own bag and handed it to Hinata. "I will carry her," he stated. "I can handle heavier weights for longer periods of time."

Hinata clutched at the bag containing her sister, but finally relented and handed over the bag carefully, taking Neji's. The older Hyuuga delicately rearranged the blankets inside to be more cushioning before sliding it on. "My bag has scrolls on Hyuuga history and techniques from the Main House library," he stated unashamedly. "We mus go. We cannot return to Konoha."

Still rather in shock, Hinata nodded mechanically, and the pair took off through the streets of Konoha. As they ducked into the alleyway near the gates, they nearly trampled a bedraggled trio: a blond and raven both wearing Uchiha crested shirts and traveling packs, and pink-haired girl in a dark red dress with tear marks down her cheeks and a large, bloody kunai in her hands.

"What-?" began the dark, spiky-haired Uchiha, but Neji held up his hand for silence.

"You three getting out too?" the eldest Hyuuga inquired quietly.

"Yeah, we're leaving," confirmed the blond.

Neji nodded. "I'll see how attentive the guards are first. The gates seem to be open; unusual. Especially considering what Hiashi-sama said..." he trailed off, narrowing his pale eyes. The others watched him as he set his hands in a hand sign. "Bushin no jutsu!" he whispered fiercely, and a clone appeared beside him in a puff of smoke. The long-haired Academy student panted a bit, then concentrated again. "Henge!" the clone turned red-haired and stocky. Neji surveyed it critically as the others watched, wide-eyed in awe. The Hyuuga sent the clone off, and it walked sedately up to and through the open gates. A few paces outside, it ran to the trees and dispelled. They waited.

"Nothing happened," Sasuke noted. "Where are the guards?"

"Don't question it!" Naruto exclaimed. "Run!" He jumped up and darted outside the gates and into the forest. Sakura was next, following the blond and almost bowling him over. Neji and Hinata ran together, careful not to bump Hanabi around too much, and Sasuke was last, watching out behind him for signs of witnesses or pursuers. "Keep moving!" Naruto whispered, and the tiny group ran quickly away from Konoha and into the darkness.

Deep within a hidden base, ROOT operative codename 'Shin' stalked through the shadows of the maze of winding tunnels. He didn't know how to explain it, but he'd 'woken up' during his last mission. Broken through the wall of nothingness constructed by Danzo-sama's emotional training. And he'd learned that he cared for his little otouto, codename 'Sai'. He didn't want the cheerful black-haired boy to become an emotionless killing machine.

And he didn't want Danzo to have any influence over him.

So Shin made a life-changing decision: he'd release Sai and tell him to run. To run far, away from Konoha and Danzo's 'Root'. And he'd work to make sure Danzo would be out of the Hokage's seat as fast as possible.

So the silver-haired boy made his way to where Sai resided currently with a cold, hard bed and nothing more than a few sets of dark clothing and standard tanto. He opened the door noiselessly, but the boy within was already crouched and waiting, blade unsheathed. "Shin-nii!" he called.

"Sai." Shin thrust a traveling pack at the boy. "You are to leave Konoha. Don't return. I have a scroll of explanation within."

The pale boy nodded solemnly and took the pack, returning his tanto to its sheath. "Hai, Shin-sempai," he stated in a monotone, then marched out of the room.

Shin stood like a statue for a few moments, staring at where his adoptive brother had lain. Already, the bunk would be growing cold...and the flame that had ignited Shin's heart would go out. He would become once again, a tool for the good of Konoha. The silver-haired shinobi closed the door and paced back to his room.

Meanwhile, Sai trotted out of one of the Ne headquarters' secret exits and sprinted through the streets of the village. He already knew what would be inside the bag his partner had given him: his mission scroll, drawing scrolls and supplies, clothing, rations, and water. He'd go north, per usual, and as soon as he was five or so kilometers from Konoha, he'd open the scroll and read it.

Sai was surprised to see the main gates opened, but didn't question it and dashed out into the woods.

It would be five years before he set foot in the Village Hidden in Leaves again.

Unaware how badly awry his plan had gone, Shimura Danzo allowed himself a victorious smile as he surveyed the office he had coveted for so long. All these long years of waiting had paid off, and the seat of the Hokage was his at last. He turned to face the village through the windows, relishing the sight of the nighttime Konoha, slumbering and still. Behind him a masked and robed shinobi landed in a crouch and knelt. "Your orders, Hokage-sama?" the ROOT nin asked.

Danzo smiled. "I am not yet Hokage, Fuu. Spread the word. Kumo has attacked and assassinated the Sandaime Hokage. As soon as I am Hokage, Konoha...is going to war."

It was the end of the Konoha everyone knew.

It was the beginning of a nightmare.

It was the beginning of Shuryō.

OMAKE: Sakura's Vow

A shadow within shadows stole towards its target. Light glinted of the abnormally large kunai in his hand. A whizz. The kunai left his hand, hurtling towards the unsuspecting chuunin guard in front of the Hokage's Tower. Just as it was about to impact, a figure stepped in front of the projectile. A sickening squelch and crunch, and the man crumpled. A high-pitched scream filled the air as a tiny, pink-haired figure lurched down beside the body, wailing. The ROOT operative left the shadows, hurling another kunai and taking down the guard in one shot.

As he turned to go, he was caught off guard as a tiny fist knocked his mask off, and he grabbed the arm of the pink-haired girl glaring at him, tears streaking down her face. "You jerk!" she shrieked. "You killed him! You killed my father!"

The operative did not respond, releasing the girl to retrieve his mask and walk off. She was not part of the mission. She was not a threat. Therefore, he could ignore her and continue the mission; the mission was all that mattered.

"Hey."

The operative turned back at the voice. The girl stared steadily at him through the tears in her eyes. "I swear," she said, sliding the kunai out of her father's heart and holding it in front of her like a sword, "that by my father's blood on this kunai, I will find you one day. I will find you, and I will kill you for what you have done. So run!" she snapped, stepping forwards. "Cling to your cowardly life. Live looking behind your shoulder on every mission! Because one day..." she advanced another step. "I swear, you will get what's coming to you!"

The operative thought he could not feel fear as he slowly backed away from the kunai-welding girl, continuing his mission.

But he was afraid of this girl.

A/U: Whoo...pretty long. For me, anyways. Over 5k words in two days! ;D Reviews, please! Then I'll decide whether or not to continue this story...

Things to keep in mind: Itachi planned for Sasuke to find him in 5+ years. He obviously didn't take into mind the impulsiveness of seven-year-olds. Also, I guesstimated Shisui's age to be around 16-19 if Itachi is 13 and Kakashi is 22-23. Shuryō means 'ghosts', that'll come into play later on.

Aaanyways. :P Alfa out~