Author's Note: Hello everybody. I'm remembering that the hardest part of writing a fanfic is the fact that you have to start from nothing every chapter. But it's something I'm forcing myself to overcome.
I've spent the last few weeks solid working on some schoolwork. Not had much time for anything else.
But that's pretty much done with now. I can get on with this.
So…onward and upward. Let's continue…shall we?
Be Strong Konoha
Chapter Three – Truths
Tsunade sat behind her desk, now fully adorned in her clothes. Across from her sat a handful of Jounnin:
Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai and Ibiki and a few others sat waiting for Tsunade to start. For a meeting…it was a small gathering.
"Konoha is in trouble" Tsunade said simply. A few of the small number of Jounnin shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
"…Orochimaru has once again set his sights on us" Tsunade continued. The discomfort of the few Jounnin spread and grew into the remaining.
"Hokage-sama…are you sure?" Gai asked.
"Yes…quite sure. We followed up that tip-off we received recently…it turns out the Sound plan to attack, soon" Tsunade felt the discomfort of her comrades.
"It shouldn't be a great threat…the sound cant have regained enough strength to attack us surely…unless…" Gai started before trailing off.
"…unless they have help again" Kakashi finished…out of the Jounnin assembled, he was the most cool-headed.
"Correct" Tsunade confirmed he suspicions. "…Apparently they have enlisted the help of the Cloud"
"The Cloud? Why would they help the sound?" Ibiki asked. Tsunade briefly looked at the scroll in front of her…she had taken notes earlier.
"Records show that the Cloud are very egotistical…they would only help if there was a substantial gain for themselves. I'm pretty sure the Sound aren't going to live up to their end of the deal however." Tsunade said thoughtfully
"What makes you think that?" One of the other Jounnin asked
"I know the man pulling the strings, Orochimaru has never been someone to divide the spoils." Tsunade said.
Tsunade re-organised some of the scrolls on her desk
"Listen…we don't have the time to analyse the politics of this, we have to think about the impending problem of the attack." Tsunade said with finality
"When is it expected?" Gai asked
"According to the scroll, they plan to attack a dawn tomorrow" Tsunade braced herself for the reaction.
"WHAT?"
"You Cant Be Serious"
"that's not good"
"That's a very 'hip' attitude you have taken Kakashi"
"Enough!" Tsunade snapped "…fortunately we do know of their plans so we can at least prepare"
The Jounnin settled down
"I've been going over recent activity records…and I've concluded something disturbing" Tsunade's voice lost all the warmth it once held. "…we have a spy in our midst"
Kakashi's visible eye crinkled in a manner that suggested confusion
"How can that be?"
Tsunade looked around the Jounnin.
"I've been looking over the most recent village records. In the past two years: we have taken many more missions than ever before. As a result: more of our ninja are out of the village more often. I've cross-referenced the recent mission takings and just so happens that we barely have any ninja in the village right now. Almost ninety-percent of our forces are outside the village on missions. This is the least amount of ninja we have had in Konoha ever." Tsunade explained
"How does that suggest we have a spy Hokage-sama?" Kurenai voiced
"I refuse to accept that the biggest attack on Konoha coinciding with the most vulnerable period in terms of our forces as just a chance-happening. Thus: someone must have been monitoring our records and leaked our situation"
"Do we have any suspects?" Kakashi asked
"None as yet, unfortunately, we cant trust anyone outside this room. So we have to keep this quiet. I'm narrowing the list as best I can, but it's hard work, realistically: it could be anyone" Tsunade said angrily.
"If we leave aside that situation for now: what are we to do about the invasion?" Kurenai asked.
"Yes…do we have a defence plan?" Gai asked passionately. Tsunade's eyes flashed to each of the Jounnin in the room and took a deep breath.
"I've thought about it, gone over it many times and tried looking at it from every angle…and I don't think any kind of defence will be effective. In fact: if we stay in the village against these odds, I don't think anyone will come out alive" Tsunade said, her voice was shaking at too many conflicting emotions
"Tsunade-sama…what are you saying?" Kakashi asked
"Evacuation may be the only chance we have" Tsunade could feel the opposition the moment the words passed her lips.
"You cant be serious! Running away is not the way of the Konoha Shinobi…we would rather die defending our homeland rather than run away." Ibiki shouted
"What of the civilians in this village…would you so readily make that same decision for them? And what about the thousands in the villages around the Fire Country?" Tsunade was stressed and could feel the onset of a migraine. "…yes, staying and fighting the force head-on would be very honourable, but it would also be very stupid. We fight now, we all die. And where would that leave the civilians in this village? And after the attack is finished, do you think they would simply go back to their country, no. They would raid the entire country, village-by-village killing, stealing…raping." Tsunade could not feel her own shouting now.
"As I have said: we're only at ten-percent of our total power. We will not be running away per-se…rather taking time to gather our remaining forces from around the country. Any of you heard the adage: 'he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day'?"
Ibiki looked angry, however he did not contest her words, nor did any of the other Jounnin
"We will not abandon Konoha. I believe the best course of action will be to evacuate all the civilians to other villages around the country, then rally our forces in one area and launch a counter-offensive to retake our home." Gai did not look happy
"Launch an attack on the very walls that were meant to protect us…it doesn't feel right. Nor does the fact we are talking as if we have already lost Konoha" Gai said through gritted teeth.
"Shut up Gai…I was appointed Hokage for many reasons, one of which was to make the decisions that no one else could. This is our most viable option and we're doing it" Gai did not look persuaded.
"Unfortunately: we cannot begin an evacuation without first neutralising the spy within our midst, I've got a number of trusted people working to try and track him down"
"or her" Kurenai added. Kakashi rolled his visible eye at Kurenai's knack for pointing out the irrelevant. Tsunade chose to ignore it.
"…most likely it would be someone with access to our personnel records and mission records." Tsunade concluded. "…It is unlikely that would be a civilian, but someone closer. We can rule out anyone that hasn't been in the village for the past month. If we cross check these parameters with known history then we can form a list of likely suspects." Tsunade said, thinking aloud.
"Who should follow that list up?" Kurenai asked. Tsunade looked up.
"Not any of you, you need to prepare the village. I want most of the civilian ready to move out at a moment's notice, I want this to be done soon, and most of all...quietly. don't let on that we're about to be attacked, I want to avoid wide-spread panic if at all possible." Tsunade warned. Everyone understood the need for secrecy in the matter.
"Shizune has a rota on which of you will perform what task, be sure to read it and get to work straight away" Shizune was standing by the door to the office with a number of sheets of paper on it, each had tasks and times recorded on them, it was very well planned out.
"Er…Shizune? Where's today's roster?" Tsunade asked with a hint of embarrassment. Shizune rolled her eyes
"You folded it up and wedged it under your desk to stop it from wobbling" Shizune reminded
"Ah yeah…of course" Tsunade quickly brought the piece of paper off the floor and un-folded it. She was looking for someone to track down the spy. The roster was all the ninja that were in the village at the time.
Ino and Hinata were walking down the main street of Konoha towards the main building.
"It just aint fair Hinata-chan…I barely got any sleep after coming back this morning…and we get this assignment sprung on us" Ino couldn't help but yawn
"I know…but it's important, it's good to know that we're trusted. I just cant believe there's a spy among us" Hinata said stifling a yawn of her own.
"Well…not like it's not happened before, Kabuto did a pretty perfect job of staying under the radar. No on suspected a thing." Ino said. Hinata nodded in agreement.
"What do we need to do again Hinata?" Ino asked
"I've told you three times already!" Hinata snapped
"yeah…but I wasn't really listening, just sounds so boring" Ino said offhandedly.
"We need to observe the people on this list and determine which of them is the spy. I believe Shikamaru-kun went through a great deal of effort to narrow the suspects down to this list" Unfortunately for Hinata's sanity, Ino's brain went dead after "observe" and only kicked in as "Shikamaru-kun" was said.
"Right…of course" Ino bluffed.
"First on the list is Nakamo Shuri…she's stationed in the main building: she has access to personnel files, she defected to Konoha from Cloud almost a year ago and has a criminal record here already: petty-theft, disturbing peace, fighting."
"Defected from cloud?" Ino questioned, "hmm…I don't think it would be her. Last night was the first meeting between Sound and Cloud, why would the sound place a spy in Konoha, give the information to the Sound and then allow the Sound to bribe them into attacking Konoha? It doesn't make sense." Ino said. Hinata looked at Ino with surprise
"That makes a lot of sense Ino…I'm amazed. But she's on the list never the less. It's up to us to check out the suspects: not criticise Shikamaru's deduction abilities."
Hinata looked at her watch
"We better hurry"
"One more question…why am I here?" Ino asked. Hinata was a second away from strangling her friend
"You can enter her mind and see if she's telling the truth and dig up anything regarding it" Hinata explained. A light came on behind Ino's eyes.
"ahhh…Now I understand" Ino said with a smile. Hinata thanked the gods.
"Got a plan for how to do this?" Ino asked seriously. "…she's going to notice if I sit down in front of her, do a hand seal and slump forward while I go into her mind"
Hinata thought for a second
"I'll get her talking, then you can stand back and get into her discreetly" Hinata suggested. Ino nodded.
The two entered the main building and went into the main lobby area. There was a single woman at the desk, different from the one Hinata had met earlier.
Hinata quickly checked the photograph next to her description. The suspect was the woman.
Hinata walked up casually while Ino just had a seat at the side trying to get comfortable so she wouldn't make a scene when her consciousness left her body.
"Hello Shuri-san" Hinata greeted. Shuri looked up at Hinata and rolled her eyes.
"What do you want Hyuuga?" Shuri asked impolitely
'Looks like some people never got over that little incident' Hinata thought, it wasn't a shock to her that anyone that hailed from the Village of Cloud were not fond of Hyuuga.
"Nothing really…just saying Hi. How're you doing?" Hinata asked
"What's your angle Hyuuga?" Shuri narrowed her eyes "…you don't walk out of nowhere and say hello to a complete stranger." Shuri was one of the coldest people Hinata had ever met. In her peripheral vision, she saw Ino's body completely relax. She was in.
"How am I meant to make new friends?" Hinata asked earnestly. The look on Shuri's face looked like she had detected a foul odour.
"Are you here to get some personal revenge? I know who you are, you're the excuse Konoha made to kill the Cloud's Head ninja. But we…They got their revenge for that, took the offenders life as penance. What was he? Your father?" Shuri was getting agitated
"My uncle…Shuri-san, I'm not here to make a fuss, I'm only trying to get to know you" Hinata was at the end of her patience with the girl
"Just leave me alone…please" Shuri's face softened marginally.
"What's wrong?" Hinata's caring nature sensed something deep inside the girl.
"I don't want to talk about it…okay? Please Hyuuga, just drop it" Shuri completely closed herself off, she wouldn't even acknowledge Hinata's presence after that. Hinata backed away, wondering what could have happened to this girl to make her like that.
She walked over and sat beside Ino's body, she hadn't come-to yet. But Shuri wouldn't look up so long as Hinata was in so there was little risk of her noticing.
Hinata sat there next to Ino for a few more minutes before her body began to stir.
Ino slowly got up and made her way towards the door, Hinata was close behind her.
Hinata didn't think Shuri was the spy, although she was harbouring some inner-demons that she needed to get out in the open. Hinata filed that away in her mind and reset herself on the task assigned to the pair of them.
When they got outside Ino turned to Hinata
"I was right…she's not the spy…but Hin, you should see her mind, it's a mess. She's gone through some really awful crap in her life" Ino said concerned. Hinata nodded
"I thought that aswell…but listen: we cant afford to dwell on that right now. We got a dozen more suspects to see." Hinata looked through the list again briefly. She noticed one of the suspects was a Hyuuga" That confused Hinata greatly. She was sure Shikamaru made a mistake or something. She shrugged it off and decided to leave The Hyuuga for last while she moved on, deciding which suspect to go to next.
Deep inside the Sound Country, Kabuto was being cursed by severe headaches. He was in the middle of overseeing the Sound troops by Orochimaru's side.
"Kabuto?" Orochimaru questioned
"It's nothing Orochimaru-sama…only another headache"
"They have been plaguing you since you returned from the Cloud meeting. Did something happen there?" Orochimaru asked
"No…the meeting went well. Nothing untoward happened." Kabuto said confidently
"I have a bad feeling about this" Orochimaru said
"Let's just leave it up to fate" Kabuto said
"I don't believe in fate. I am in control of this, and this will go my way" He said with a crooked grin.
"That's what you said last time" Kabuto said under his breath, not beyond the notice of his master
"If you dare say that again…I will rip out your heart from your mouth. This time there can be no failure" Kabuto stayed quiet while he endured his continuing headache.
He was beginning to suspect that something happened during his encounter with the Cloud ninja…but he had no idea what. He too was having a bad feeling about the coming attack.
Author's Notes: Back by popular demand…I've had a number of messages TELLING me to continue this fic. I understand that fics need to be updated for the readers, but you must have consideration for the writer aswell. I myself have got a lot going on in my life right now. School has finished for me forever and I'm sorting out my future.
Remember this: I always finish what I start. No matter how long it takes, this fic will have an ending. Although that might be a long time away and a vast number of chapters. So keep on reading, and I'll keep on writing.
((((there's a time difference from the beginning Author note and the End Author note )))