Naruto: Command Structure
Satori walked down the hall of the Hokage Building. He was summoned by Tsunade and was to report to her office immediately. He walked into the office to find her, Ino, and Tsuku standing there. And to his surprise the elders were there as well.
"So why the urgency?" Satori asked.
"I'm not even sure yet." Tsunade said.
Satori moved his arms in a "what the hell" motion.
"We've called you here. We are still waiting for someone to arrive." Homura said.
At that moment there was a knock at the door.
"Ah there he is now." Koharu said.
The door opened and it turned out to be Danzo.
"Always a pleasure, Tsunade-hime." Danzo said.
Tsunade hid her expression behind her folded hands. Ino leaned over to Satori.
"Who is that?" She whispered.
"It's Danzo. He's a war hawk. He opposed the Third Hokage for the title of Hokage. If he had his way, Konoha would be at war with everyone and their mother. He was the chief of ANBU's Root division before it was disbanded. Sai who is on Naruto's team was a part of Root." Satori said.
"I trust you know these three here." Tsunade said pointing to the two Chuunins and Jonin.
"I do know them and that is why they are here."
"I am relieving them of their teams." Danzo said.
"YOU'RE WHAT!?" Satori demanded.
"You heard me the first time and I'm not going to repeat myself." Danzo said.
"For what purpose?" Tsunade said.
"I'm sending these three on a mission. That is all I can tell you. I will be assigning Yohaku Junshin and Shiranui Tenten to be my aides in this matter."
"Oh sure just use us ninjas to your disposal." Satori said in a mocking voice.
"Bite your tongue, Satori." Homura said.
Satori shut his mouth and looked over to Tsunade. He could tell she agreed with him.
"Now if you three will come with me."
Tsuku, Ino and Satori reluctantly followed Danzo out of the office. Later that day, Danzo returned to Tsunade's office. Tsunade was still fuming over this whole mess. She hated not having control, especially when it came to the Shinobi. Junshin and Tenten followed Danzo into the office. Tsunade was half surprised by this but she couldn't do anything about it. Danzo got straight to the point.
"Rock forces have been deployed along their borders. They've mobilized three divisions and their communications have increased by fifty percent. The elders believe that they are preparing for an incursion into the Fire Country." Danzo said.
"Are the Rock really ready for war?" Tsunade asked.
"I didn't say war, Tsunade-hime. I said incursion. We've decided to send a team to the border to meet with a Rock Representative. I will be leading this three man team."
Tsunade looked back in shock. Danzo looked like he couldn't even walk a trip around Konoha let alone a trip to the Fire border.
"We're hoping that the presence of someone like me will send a message to their leadership about how seriously we view this situation." Danzo said.
"Where are the three ninjas you took earlier?"
Danzo gave her a very direct look. He obviously looked as if he didn't want to discuss this matter.
"Satori, Ino and Tsuku have been…reassigned. That's all I can tell you for now." He said quickly shutting down any other questions.
Danzo turned and left the room with Junshin and Tenten in tow, leaving a very disturbed Tsunade alone in her office.
Ino and Tsuku ran down a dark tunnel in a cave. They both wore backpacks and they're both smudged and dirty. They rounded a corner and stopped. Tsuku looked back down the tunnel as Ino pulled out a slip of paper and sets it on the ground. Tsuku threw a kunai with an explosive note attached into the dark tunnel as Ino activated the note.
"Seal." Ino said as the width of the tunnel quickly flashed.
They turn to go but they run into a Rock ninja who his holding a sword a mere few inches away from Ino's face. The sound of a completed handseal filled the room.
"Freeze simulation." Satori said.
The Rock ninja froze and Ino and Tsuku relaxed but they were clearly frustrated. Satori walked up to his two comrades as they caught their breath.
"You were five seconds slower that time." Satori said.
"You increased the difficulty level of this genjutsu." Tsuku said.
"It'll be a lot more difficult where we're going." Satori said.
"Which is where?" Ino asked.
"I can't tell you that just yet."
Ino sat down on a rock, exhausted and frustrated. Satori knelt down to the seal that Ino planted.
" Now, this deflector seal isn't set properly. You have to position it so that the whole passageway is blocked, otherwise it's useless."
Ino's irritation began to show.
"Sorry, I guess I was paying too much attention to getting away from that last Rock ninja or maybe it was the explosive tags or maybe it was the falling rocks."
Satori realized he was pushing them a bit too hard. He backed off for the moment. He moved in closer to them, trying to rally his tired troops.
"I know this is difficult for you. But for now, all I can do is ask for you to trust me."
Ino wearily looked into Satori's eyes and finds that she has no other choice than to trust him.
"All right, let's do it again."
She got to her feet as Satori smiled.
"Tsuku, time Ino and I down the first tunnel. We're going to pick up those five seconds."
Ino and Satori ran down the tunnel to begin again.
Later that day, Satori walked into his room, splatter with mud. He took off his backpack and collapsed onto his bed with an audible sigh of relief. He closed his eyes for a second then he heard a knock at his door. Satori managed to sit up.
"Come in."
The door opened and it was Tenten. Tenten noticed the look of utter exhaustion on her brother's face.
"Are you all right, Nii-chan?" She asked.
"Yeah. Just fine."
With effort, Satori stood up, not wanting to be seen as weak or tired, but he's almost asleep on his feet.
"Is there something I can do for you, Nee-chan?"
Tenten looked into the exhausted face of her twin brother and decided not to bother him.
"It's nothing. I just wanted to see how you were doing. Good night, Nii-chan."
Tenten walked out of Satori's room leaving Satori with a puzzled look on his face.