Kakashi forced himself to calm down and think rationally. He went over the last few minutes in his head.

He found Itachi.

Itachi told him that he had not killed the Uchiha's, but Madara Uchiha had.

Madara Uchiha had then tried to wound – possibly kill – him.

That was where he was beyond confused. Madara Uchiha had supposedly died years ago, back in the early years of the Leaf Village. He wasn't supposed to be alive in the first place.

So how was he?

Kakashi shifted slightly, his hand twitching. What the hell was going on?

Itachi narrowed his eyes at Madara, taking a step closer to Kakashi.

"Madara," Itachi said, voice cool. "What are you doing here?"

"Why, Itachi, you know why I'm here," Madara said. "I'm here for my payment."

"Payment?" Kakashi frowned. "What payment?"

"You said you could wait for it." Itachi stared at the other Uchiha.

"Well, something…came up," Madara replied.

"I don't have it."

"Then you know what happens." Madara smirked and reached behind him, dragging out another, shorter and very familiar figure.

"No!" Itachi's eyes flashed red, anger and pain showing through the emotionless mask he usually wore.

Kakashi's eye widened, not believing the sight in front of him.

"Sasuke?"

His son stared at him, pure terror in his dark eyes. Rope bound his hands and a gag was stuffed in his mouth, preventing him from making noise.

How did Madara get Sasuke, especially when Tsume should have protected him, along with the fact his family was supposed to be at home in Konoha?

His question was somewhat answered when Madara took a step farther into the forest, pulling more of his captives out.

Tsume, Hana, and Hiashi – what was he doing here? – were tied together, all three barely conscious. Kiba followed – he was not tied up; instead, his arms were free to cradle an unconscious Naruto. The blonde had blood trickling down his face, which Kiba repeatedly wiped away worriedly.

Kakashi could understand why the young Inuzuka was free – he was too terrified to do much more than carry his younger brother.

Itachi's hand was clenched around a kunai, red Sharingan eyes glaring at the man in front of him.

"You said I had a week." Itachi narrowed his eyes. Madara shrugged.

"Like I said…something came up. I need it now."

"Itachi, what payment?" Kakashi asked, desperately hoping it had nothing to do with his family. He wouldn't be able to take it if something happened to them and it was his fault.

Itachi's eyes never left Madara as he answered. "Danzo ordered me to kill the Uchiha's. I refused and Madara offered to do it for me…for a price.

"It was a huge risk," he continued. "But Danzo could have gotten to all of you if they didn't die. It was my only choice."

"Itachi, you know—" Kakashi was cut off by Itachi throwing an icy glare at him.

"It was, Kakashi! Don't tell me otherwise. The Hokage was never going to get to it, and the new Hokage was too busy getting settled in to help. It was my only choice," he repeated coldly.

Tsume shook her head, forcing herself out of her daze. Kakashi's gaze was drawn to his wife. How did Madara get to his family so easily? Tsume was a Jonin, and Hana was a Chunin – plus both were Inuzuka's. All of them had at least one dog; Hana had three. Sasuke's Sharingan hadn't activated yet, but Kakashi knew his son could not be beaten easily.

And, if Hiashi had been with them, he was the leader of the Hyuga clan, with a Byakugan.

It should have been near impossible for Madara to capture them so easily.

Kakashi frowned and looked back at his family. Now that he was looking, where were the dogs? He couldn't see a single one of them, and even Pakkun had disappeared.

What had happened?

"What was the payment, Itachi?" Kakashi repeated softly. He was almost afraid to know the answer.

"I needed to pay him an unbelievable amount of money for his help."

/\/\

Tsunade groaned, pressing her hands to her thighs in an attempt to restrain her anger.

"You know, worse things could have happened," Jiraiya said. Tsunade narrowed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath to keep from breaking her desk in half.

"What could be worse than three Inuzuka's, two Uchiha's, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki abandoning the village?"

Jiraiya opened his mouth to respond, then sighed and shook his head. "Hiashi has gone after them. You know that he'll find them and bring them back. You need to calm down."

"How do you know, Jiraiya? We haven't had any contact with Hiashi since he left." Frustrated tears pricked the blonde's eyes. "They could die, or be captured, or worse…"

"There is no way that could happen, and you know it. Kakashi was trained by the Fourth Hokage, and Tsume…well, she's Tsume. Nothing can get past them."

Tsunade shook her head slowly. "I hope you're right, Jiraiya. Because the Leaf Village can't afford to lose so many shinobi…especially Naruto."

Jiraiya stared at her. "It's more than just because he has the fox, isn't it?"

Tsunade sighed. "Minato was like a son to me, you know that. I helped you train him. You're his son's godfather; don't tell me you wouldn't be affected if something happened to him."

"Tsunade, you know as well as I do that I would do everything in my power to help him. But for now we have to trust Kakashi and Tsume. They can protect him better than we can."

"I know that, Jiraiya." Tsunade squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists. "I just can't help but worry."

"I know, Tsunade. I know."

They sat in silence for a long time, before Tsunade finally opened her eyes. "Jiraiya, get me Kurenai and her Genin team. I have a mission for them."

Jiraiya opened his eyes and blinked tiredly before nodding. "Yeah, sure. They'll be here within an hour."

"Good."

A/N: Oh my God, I feel so horrible. I haven't updated anything since the end of the school year I think. Honestly I had this chapter finished months ago, I just never actually wrote it. I am so sorry. I will honestly try to update more, but I'm leaving for Colorado tomorrow, and I don't think I'm going to bring my notebook…I promise I will update more when school starts…which is sort of backwards. I should be updating more now but whatever. Enjoy this chapter. I will try to have more up soon.