Title: The Seekers

Rating: G, action, adventure, romance

Pairing / Characters: Tsunade, Shizune, Umino Iruka, Konoha's ten, Hatake Kakashi

Word Count: 2, 169 words

Warnings: Spoilers for the manga, from chapter 245 onward

Summary: More children go missing, Tsunade informs certain people of developments, Kakashi is given an unusual request

A/N: Well, so far so good… consider this chapter as 'groundwork' for the rest of the tale. I promise, it will all make sense soon… (well, not that soon, or things would be over…)

Swearing, Tsunade threw a pile of reports onto an already teetering stack of papers, slamming her hands down on the table. Head drooping, Tsunade closed her eyes, trying to overcome not only her own tiredness, but her frustration at the latest news from Kumogakure.

'Five more children, Shizune,' she said wearily. 'Five more children are missing, the youngest, only ten – and still the bloody Council still refuses to get involved!'

Shizune sat up slowly. 'That brings the total to thirty five, Tsunade-sama, but –'

'Don't ask me, I don't know.' Tsunade straightened, rubbing the back of her neck. 'This whole thing is a mystery to me. The sooner I get some decent facts, something I can work with, I'll be a lot happier.'

A sudden knock in the silence of the room made Tsunade turn around. 'Enter!'

She recognized the young aide in the doorway at once, and frowned. 'Hana, what's wrong?'

Hana bowed low. 'My apologies for disturbing you, Tsunade-sama, but Umino Iruka was just admitted to the hospital in critical condition. We've healed his wounds, but I thought you would want to see him –'

Tsunade's frown deepened. 'Injured? How?'

Hana wrung her hands together. 'He was stabbed through the chest, Tsunade-sama but… it appears that he was also strangled – there were bruises on his throat, and he suffered considerable damage to his larynx. However, he should be able to talk normally in a week or two.'

Tsunade's mind raced. A brutal attack on a school teacher… it was true that Iruka was a very capable chuunin, but something about the attack made the Fifth consider a possibility that she really didn't want to consider…

'I will see him,' she said evenly. 'Thank you, Hana.'

'My pleasure.'

Hana bowed low, and fled towards the hospital, and Shizune glanced at Tsunade.

'Tsunade-sama –'

Tsunade took a deep breath. 'I have a very bad feeling about this, Shizune. No doubt Iruka will only confirm it for me, but nevertheless… I'm beginning to believe that whatever has been going on in the other villages has now occurred here. Come along, I must speak with him immediately.'

Tsunade headed straight to the hospital with Shizune in tow, trying desperately to keep up with her without breaking into a run. Once finding out where he was, she didn't hesitate, but went straight to the ward he'd been admitted to. As she rounded the corner, the first person she saw was –

'Shikamaru?'

The chuunin, who was slumped against the wall, arms folded, lifted his head. 'Godaime… you came personally?'

'Of course I did, the welfare of my shinobi comes first,' Tsunade told him. 'How is he?'

'Resting,' Shikamaru answered. 'He couldn't say what happened to him, he was pretty incoherent and of course, the fact that he hardly has a voice didn't help matters,' he added.

'Of course,' Tsunade repeated dryly, and slid the door open, stepping into the quiet room. Iruka lay in bed, his eyes tracking the progress of the clouds in the sky.

'Iruka,' she said gently.

At the sound of Tsunade's voice, Iruka struggled to sit up, but Tsunade moved over to the bed and pushed him flat.

'Don't be ridiculous, you've been wounded. Lie still, will you?'

Iruka subsided, and Tsunade said 'can you tell me what happened?'

Iruka's voice was barely a whisper as he related the events of the previous evening, unknowingly confirming Tsunade's suspicions. Her hands clenched, she forced herself to listen to his soft, faltering words, and when he grabbed her wrist, her head shot up.

'Please… please find him… he's so young… been through so much…'

Iruka, I promise you, he will be found,' Tsunade said firmly. 'Get some rest, Iruka, and let me handle everything.'

Iruka nodded, his eyes slowly falling shut. For a moment, Tsunade watched him as he slept before she got to her feet and left the room, pausing only to dismiss Shikamaru and to give orders to Hana regarding Iruka's treatment.

Grabbing Shizune's arm, she said shortly 'Shizune, find that damned Mrs. Komura and tell her I'm taking matters into my own hands. This has gone too far for me to keep out of it any longer, and I won't tolerate the Council's indecision over it. Then, find Shikamaru and tell him I want to see him and the others immediately. I'm not going to wait around for more children to disappear without a trace.'

Shizune looked startled, then bewildered, then bowed, and fled in the opposite direction.

Tsunade paced the office restlessly, unable to believe what she'd heard, despite the evident truth in Iruka's words. A scowl on her face, she marked Konohagakure off on the map across her table, stabbing her inkbrush into the paper so hard it tore the yellowed parchment.

When she heard the knock at the door, she snapped 'enter!' and continued glaring at the map.

'You wanted to see us, Tsunade-sama?' Shikamaru asked.

The Fifth sighed. 'Yes… come in, all of you.'

As the group filed into her office, Tsunade felt a smile cross her face.

How people had changed during the last two years was… unbelievable.

Shikamaru had eventually become comfortable in his role as a chuunin. No longer afraid to assume responsibility, his skills – both tactical and otherwise, had only grown.

That wasn't all – in the last two years, every single genin had advanced further than possible, and all had become chuunin. Tsunade had been unsurprised by their growth, particularly that of Sakura, who had become an excellent medic nin, so much so that she was on the verge of surpassing her master.

Tsunade fought down her amusement at the thought, and said 'Close the door please, Chouji.'

Seemingly casually, Chouji stretched out his arm, closing the door softly without moving an inch from where he was standing.

Tsunade rubbed her forehead, wondering where to start.

'There really isn't any easy way to say this,' she said abruptly. 'Over the last six weeks, children have been going missing from various villages, shinobi and otherwise. In the course of the last three weeks, twenty three children have gone missing, and last night, three more children were added to that total. Thanks to the bumbling inefficiency of the Council, it brings the total of missing children to thirty eight – and three of those children are from Konoha.'

'What was the Council's role in this?' Neji asked curiously.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. 'It was their job to decide whether or not Konoha was to get involved. Sadly enough, those fools still can't make up their minds, so until I say otherwise, I'm taking over.'

'What do you need us to do, Hokage-sama?' Tenten enquired. 'If we should –'

Tsunade flapped her hand. 'No, no, for the moment I need you all to just be on your guard, and be ready to move out at any moment. I still don't know what the reasons behind their disappearances are, but I will find out. When I do, you'll be the first ones to know. Be on your guard,' she repeated. 'The ones we're looking for call themselves Seekers, and their strength is unknown. I want you all to consider them S-class criminals until more information comes to light.'

Shikamaru immediately made a connection. 'Let me guess – one of these Seekers injured Iruka-sensei last night, am I correct?'

Tsunade inclined her head. 'Yes.'

'Iruka-sensei was injured?' Ino asked in shock.

Tsunade nodded. 'He's all right, Ino, resting comfortably.'

'Thank goodness,' Ino murmured, pressing a hand to her heart.

'Tsunade-shishou – how are you going to find out what's going on?' Sakura asked.

Tsunade smiled then. 'Very easily, Sakura. I'm going to send the best of my ANBU captains to investigate.'

'An ANBU captain?' Lee asked. 'Just one?'

Tsunade shook her head. 'No, Lee. The one I have in mind will be leading a platoon, as he once did. I have faith in his abilities – his reputation speaks for itself.'

Shikamaru frowned. 'Once did? You mean he's no longer an ANBU member?'

'Right again, Shikamaru,' Tsunade said, a trace of laughter in her voice, clearly not meaning to tell them anymore. 'All right, you're dismissed – and be careful, all of you.'

For a moment, Shikamaru was silent. 'Well, we'll do what we can,' he told her carelessly, before leading the chuunin out of the door.'

'Come in, Kakashi,' Tsunade said, smiling at the silver haired jounin. 'I have a mission for you.'

Kakashi put away the book he was holding. 'What sort of mission?'

Tsunade steepled her hands, and regarded him thoughtfully. 'I want you to take up your old position of captain again, Kakashi.'

Kakashi blinked, startled. 'ANBU captain? Surely –'

Tsunade shook her head. 'I'm well aware of your reputation, Kakashi, just as I'm aware that many of your fellow ANBU members still consider you to be a part of their organization. You're hardly past your prime, in fact; I'd say your skills are better than ever.'

She chuckled. 'You still practice those old skills of yours, according to certain very reliable sources. I'd go so far as to say that you're keeping yourself prepared for such a request.'

Kakashi sighed faintly. 'And you'd be right on all counts,' he told her resignedly. 'What do you need me to do?'

Tsunade's smile faded. 'Kakashi, the reason that I'm asking you to do this is because I trust you. Not only do I have complete confidence in you, but I know what you're capable of. I know that of all my ANBU members, you are by far the most competent, because you've really only been a jounin sensei for a few years. You're ANBU level at the very least, and that's what I need.'

Even as she spoke, her eyes noted the subtle changes in Kakashi. He stood straighter, the guise of an easygoing, even tempered, somewhat lazy jounin falling away to reveal the sharp mind and wits of an ANBU captain.

'Very well, Hokage-sama. What's the situation?'

Tsunade leaned forward. 'This is what I want you to do…'

Ashita Yoshio glanced up in surprise as a presence made itself felt in the corridor outside the common room where he, Yamaguchi Kyoko, and Yoshioka Masahiro were taking a well deserved break from what had turned out to be a hell of a mission.

'It can't be,' Yoshio said, getting to his feet. 'He hasn't set foot in the ANBU offices for several years…'

Kyoko stared up at her partner in bewilderment. 'Who are you talking about?'

'A legend, Kyoko, a legend…'

'I see my reputation really has preceded me,' a cool voice remarked, pulling the door open.

Yoshio was the only one of the three who didn't look surprised to see the figure in the doorway, but even he couldn't hide his astonishment at the sight of the full ANBU uniform the figure wore. The shock of silver hair and the sharingan eye gave him away immediately.

'Hatake Kakashi,' Masahiro whispered. 'Legendary ANBU captain, cream of the elite…'

Kakashi folded his arms, the steel vambraces glinting in the early afternoon sunlight. He wore full body armor, a slender katana across his back, the wolf mask identifying his rank at his waist.

Without hesitation, Yoshio dropped to one knee, bending his head respectfully. 'Captain… whatever your command, I am here to serve.'

Kyoko and Masahiro exchanged horrified glances before hastily following Yoshio's lead and repeating the ancient, ritualistic words.

One was never disrespectful to, and never disobeyed an ANBU captain, regardless of the situation; to do so was to insult the Hokage herself and was a crime punishable by death…

'The three of you have returned from a mission, correct?'

Yoshio didn't raise his head. 'That is so, Captain.'

'When?'

'This morning, Captain,' Yoshio answered.

Kakashi frowned, considering. 'Yoshio, do you think your team is capable of leaving on another mission?'

'We are. What do you need from us?'

'Get up,' Kakashi ordered. 'We don't have much time to waste. I want to leave as soon as possible.'

Yoshio stood up. 'We can be ready in a few moments, Captain.'

Kakashi nodded. 'Good. I'll explain on the way to Sunagakure.'

Five minutes later, three masked figures left Konoha's borders and made for the border of Kaze no kuni.

'This is Konohagakure,' a high, childlike voice identified dully. 'We are to make our attack at sunrise, when they least expect it. There are several jounin we should be careful of – one of whom is Hatake Kakashi, also known as sharingan no Kakashi, or Kakashi of the shadow mirror. The others are Sarutobi Asuma, Maito Gai, Yuuhi Kurenai, Mitarashi Anko, Shiranui Genma, Kamizuki Izumo, and Hagane Kotetsu. These have been identified as the most dangerous of those we'll face.'

'Understood,' another voice replied just as tonelessly. 'Who are our targets?'

'The Fifth Hokage, her attendant, and the third of the sannin. We are to eliminate anyone who stands in our path, civilian or otherwise. Everyone must be destroyed.'

'So until then we wait?'

'We wait.'