Best Laid Plans

Arun

Chapter 8: Snake on Steroid, Slug on the Rag

Disclaimer: Naruto own I do not.

"The sealed orders and fake mission requests for the week leading up to the finals are done," Blackface reported.

Sarutobi nodded and laid down his quill.

"Please, sit down," he said.

The ANBU commander took his seat.

"ANBU squad and individual training for their missions are done," Blackface continued. "Cooperation from Root has been extraordinary. We've established communication protocols, and our people and theirs have trained extensively on interoperability."

"That's good. We're actually ahead of schedule on that front then."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. But I have reservations about keeping the regular shinobi regiments so completely in the dark. I understand some of the members are under suspicion of being compromised as well as the overriding need for secrecy, but this policy is going to have an adverse impact on our state of readiness."

"That," the Third dragged out, "cannot be helped. Surprise and secrecy are paramount to our plan. Strategic surprise certainly is, even more so than tactical element or overall effectiveness."

"Are we prepared for the casualties that the plainclothes will suffer?" Blackface asked, using the ANBU name for the regulars. "Considering the strategic objectives, shouldn't we be more sensitive to troop losses?"

"This is the best that we can do within the boundaries imposed on us from within and without… Unless you have something new to contribute," the Hokage said, shooting an expectant gaze at the department head.

"We can assign the chuunin and genin teams to civilian evacuation. The jounin can serve as the mobile security force as well as strategic reserve during the raid."

Sarutobi leaned forward looking slightly interested.

"It'll free up ANBU squads assigned to the evacuation for offensive operations," Blackface added, sensing victory in his grasp.

Sarutobi closed his eyes and thought it over. When he opened them, he had that look about him that said he had made his decision and would brook no further discussion on the matter. The Hokage's face was so stern that Blackface thought his suggestion was about to be rejected.

"We can always rewrite the SOP for evacuation and make the process work for us. It's overdue for a review, anyways," Sarutobi said, relaxing with a wry smile and a nod of acknowledgement to the ANBU commander. "All right. This is what we'll do…"

xxxxx

"You know, I think this is going to be a cinch," she said once they entered the exam hall, her eyes focused on all the genin gathered there.

"As if that was ever in doubt," Naruto replied, cracking his neck.

"The idea is to not attract attention," Sasuke muttered as he walked by his preening teammates.

Sakura pouted and Naruto shook his head, but they followed the Uchiha to the lone unoccupied corner of the room to the left of the entrance.

"Screw you, Mr. I've got a stake up my ass. Why do you have to cramp everyone's style?" Naruto said to his raven-haired teammate in a grumpy voice, leaning against the wall like Sasuke and Sakura so that he was facing the mass of genin.

Sasuke made to reply but noting Team 10 and 8 approaching their corner, kept his peace.

"We're about to have company."

"It's only the pooch and his team, and the bitch and hers," Naruto said with a grin as he crossed his arms.

Ino, who was near enough to overhear Naruto's comment, glared at the blonde.

"I heard that, jerk face."

"Really?" Naruto replied, faking surprise. "And here I was thinking you were deaf."

"Fuck you," Ino said rather vehemently. Sasuke's teammate or no, she was not going to suffer some prick calling her a bitch in silence. If it was war the blond bastard wanted, she would give him one.

"Naruto, shut up," Sakura said, taking control of the conversation before it devolved into a fight. "What do you want, Ino?"

"I came to see my Sasuke-kun," Ino replied. "It's been so long since I've seen him."

"Not long enough for me," Sasuke said off-handedly.

Naruto chuckled.

"So, what have you guys been up to?" he asked the others.

"Training and missions," Kiba replied in everyone's stead. "I bet I can kick your ass now."

Naruto snorted and made to reply but sighting a new arrival, controlled himself.

"And who are you?" he asked the spectacle wearing older genin sporting a Konoha headband.

The new arrival smiled disarmingly.

"I'm Yakushi Kabuto. I came to give you guys some advice."

Naruto scratched his head at the name.

"Are we supposed to know you?"

"No," Kabuto replied, "but I've attended these exams several times before and there are a lot of dangerous folks here. You would do better to not attract attention to yourselves."

Sasuke chuckled at the words.

"Must be a veteran loser then," he said in a patronizing voice laced with disgust, "Team 7 doesn't need your advice. Now go over to your little corner and keep a lookout for the dangerous kids. They might hurt you."

"I can help you," Kabuto replied, his friendly smile fading a little. "I have collected information on all the examinees and am prepared to share them with you since we're all from the same village."

"You'll share information just like that?" Naruto asked, suspiciously. It was either that this Kabuto was an incompetent or he had a hidden agenda. In both cases, especially in the latter, Naruto was sure he did not want Team 7 to be involved with him.

And apparently, so did Sasuke.

"We don't want your information," Sasuke gritted out, "get lost."

"Wait a minute, Kabuto-san," Sakura interrupted. She shot a glance at her teammates that quelled the protests forming in their lips. "You say that you have information on everyone gathered here?"

"That's correct."

"Tell us about yourself then."

"Myself?"

"Yes. Your strengths and weaknesses... Things like that."

Kabuto smiled and spread his arms.

"Surely, you don't want to know about me," he said affably.

"But we do," Sakura replied. "We want to know why you'd failed the chuunin exams several times before."

"I fail to see how that is pertinent to this conversation," Kabuto answered, the friendly smile plastered on his face fading a little.

"You're our opponent, Kabuto-san," Sakura pointed out, "We were taught that you learn more from failures than from success."

"None of the other teams have approached any of us offering help," Shikamaru added, eyeing the elder genin curiously. Now that Sakura had drawn attention to the discrepancies, his suspicions were aroused as well. Why on earth would anyone taking part in the exam want to help others when every little advantage you and your team had in your hands could mean the difference between pass or fail? "Are you setting yourself up to fail the exam?"

"No," Kabuto answered, slowly. He was supposed to awe the genin with his knowledge and gain their confidence, but Team 7 had derailed his plans. The other genin were nothing special and he could have fooled them any time he wanted, though as expected, the Nara was smart as all hell. But brains did not mean anything if you were too lazy to use it most of the time and the other genin weren't really his target. His quarry was the Uchiha heir, but it looked like Kakashi had trained his team too well to be had by so shallow a trap.

"But you will if you share information about yourself," Sakura pointed out.

"Obviously, I can't tell you information about myself."

"Then you'll share information about the other genin examinees."

"Precisely."

"But we don't know anyone," Shikamaru mused. "Why don't you tell us who we should watch out for? And throw in their strengths and weaknesses for good measure."

The easiest way out of this mess would have been to share the information Shikamaru asked, but Kabuto knew that would only have landed him in another one. To give the Nara and the gathered genin the answer was to undermine his own team in the exams, which would have raised some rather unwanted questions. So, he kept quiet.

"I thought so. You aren't here to help us but to undermine us," Sasuke accused aloud, breaking the silence after it dragged for several seconds, "we don't want you around. Get lost."

And Kabuto did. His mission was a failure, but that was okay. He was sure Team 7 would pass the written test and there was no avoiding the trap in the Forest of Death.

xxxxx

The woman watched the third ship of the day set sail from the harbor and made a mental note of it. Filing away the information, she turned away from the window and turned to stare at the middle-aged soldier sleeping naked on her bed. She had targeted him for months now and only the night before, before allowing him to seduce her, she had confirmed that he was one of the senior officers of the naval base's security detachment. That was good. She had more than a month to work her magic on him and he would be putty in her hands long before that. And when the time came, she would do her part and he would become an instrument of Tea country's undoing. Naval power is useless when the ships are moored on port and on land, after all.

xxxxx

Team 7 did not sense the Kusa nin until the latter revealed herself to them. It was enough to give them pause. In the two months since the mission to Wave, all three genin had improved by leaps and bounds. They had learnt that it took talent – Kakashi could do it seven times out of ten, for example – to fool them on the field.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked, even as she moved wide to take the Kusa nin on her left flank. Sasuke followed his teammate's lead by moving to take the genin from her right, leaving Naruto to protect the center.

The Kusa nin shot a creepy smile and unleashed a killing intent that was more powerful than anything Team 7 had experienced by at least an order of magnitude. It was testament to the kunoichi's strength that her desire to rend and dismember stopped them in their tracks for several seconds, something that none of their opponents had managed on the field so far. Clearly, this was no ordinary genin.

"Can the hunted question the hunter?" the kunoichi asked in a voice that was even creepier than her smile.

Sakura's grip on her kunai tightened before she willed herself to relax. The worst that could happen here was that she and her teammates would die. But the Kusa nin's team had to be worried about passing this phase of the exam as well and it made sense to prey on the weak or the weakened rather than the strong, which Team 7 were.

"A challenge for your Heaven scroll," the Kusa genin continued. She rolled out her tongue, which would have made Naruto's and Sasuke's thoughts take off in another direction any other day, swallowed her Earth scroll and said, "You can have mine. If you defeat me."

Naruto took a step forward and the kunoichi unleashed a powerful daitoppa at him and Sakura, never once taking her eyes off Sasuke. Naruto and Sakura weathered the windblast by holding on to the branches they were perched on with chakra.

"Lady, with a tongue like that, you can blow me anytime," Naruto shouted once the howling wind died.

As inappropriate as the comment was, it was exactly the right thing to say as it informed his teammates that frightening though their opponent was, it was still business as usual. Without any outward signal, Team 7 then jogged forward as one on different vectors that would have them fall upon their opponent in a staggered manner. The Kusa nin smiled at their tactics and stood her ground. The slight shift in her stance was the only evidence that she even acknowledged Team 7's attack.

Naruto reached the kunoichi first. Even as he drove in his first probing strike to test the other genin's defenses, Sasuke jumped high into the air. Paying scant attention, the Kusa nin blocked the blonde's blow casually, but her training betrayed her. As she defended against Naruto, she looked towards Sasuke, her eyes automatically focusing on his sudden high-speed movement. Their eyes met and she became ensnared in his genjutsu. Almost simultaneously, Sakura unleashed her own genjutsu – much stronger and far harder to break than her attempts less than six months back – and the Kusa nin staggered. At that moment, Naruto's kunai caught her carotids and she dissolved into mud.

Naruto spun without a pause, lashing out with a high kick. The Kusa nin blocked it and punched him away with a hard hit just over his solar plexus that would have shattered his rib cage if he hadn't used a kawarim in time to escape it. Sasuke's housenka fried the Kusa nin as the blonde made his escape, but like his teammate before, the raven-haired genin wasn't fooled. He threw kunai glued with explosive tags at a nearest tree to his left even as the now molten mud clone settled into the ground before him.

The explosion shattered the tree trunk, sending splinters everywhere. The tree tumbled as gravity exerted its iron will. The ground shuddered at the crash.

"Very good," the Kusa nin said in an amused voice. Before she could continue her speech further, Sakura's thrown kunai took her in her forehead.

"It's not nice to interrupt one before one's done speaking," a slightly less amused voice whispered into Sakura's ears just before a kick that was powerful enough to crush boulders slammed into her.

"And your voice is irritating," Sakura replied from behind the kunoichi after ramming her kunai into the base of the latter's skull.

The Kusa nin crumbled into mud again. The real one stepped out from behind a tree, a rueful expression on her face. Her lower part of her left earlobe was a mess and blood dripped into her shoulders.

"For mere genin to cut me without my intending it… Kakashi has outdone himself," the kunoichi said.

Her words gave Team 7 pause. The encounter so far had shown them that the enemy was extraordinarily powerful for a genin. She was possibly on the same level as Kakashi in terms of skill and power, if not higher. And that alone was freaky enough.

But to have her talk of their sensei as if she knew him personally… That went beyond weird. In fact, it struck terror in their hearts.

A genin from another village, no matter how skilled, could not have known about Kakashi. The only other option was that the kunoichi was in fact an older, higher ranked nin masquerading as a lowly genin who'd managed to smuggle herself with ease into an exam administered by watchful chuunin and jounin, and guarded by ANBU. The kind of skill involved in the act was mindboggling, but the idea that such a shinobi had chosen to target them – and there was no doubt in their minds as soon as they heard the kunoichi's words that they were the sole purpose the Kusa nin was even in the forest – was at once heart-stopping and exhilarating. Never more would Team 7 doubt their place among the best of the best after this battle.

The kunoichi grinned, reading the looks pasted on the three genin.

"Let the exam begin in all earnest," she said and moved.

The Kusa nin struck first. Summoning snakes, she sent them at Sasuke and Sakura, and laid into Naruto as if she were the devil herself. The blonde matched the insane pace she set for all of five seconds before she launched a punch from an impossible angle. For all his genius at taijutsu, the genin could only goggle at the strike even as the hit connected with the force of a pile driver against his solar plexus. He flew back through the air, and lay gasping and retching on the forest floor after pin wheeling several times. The blow also put him out of the fight for the next minute or so, as the kunoichi had intended. After all, no amount of ungodly healing and determination can help you if you cannot breath.

With Naruto on the ground, the Kusa nin turned to Sasuke and Sakura. They attacked her ferociously, but individually, Team 7 was nowhere near the Kusa nin in skill. It was only their teamwork that gave them any chance at all and with one of their own knocked out of the equation, the other two were as bowling pins on a bowling lane. The kunoichi knocked them down at will, shrugging everything they threw as if it were all nothing. Of course, Sasuke and Sakura fought like demons, but their opponent might as well have been a mountain for all the luck they had.

Finally, when all hope seemed lost, with both genin on the ground and the Kusa nin standing over them with a satisfied look on her face, a huge blast of fire struck her from the back. The heat was enough to singe both genin's' hair, make their clothes smolder and set the treetops on fire. There was no way that the kunoichi should have anticipated it – it caught Sasuke and Sakura completely by surprise – but anticipate she did, underlining once again how big the gap in skills really was.

So, even as the earth clone crumbled before them and Naruto collapsed on his knees gasping for breath, the Kusa nin stepped out of a tree chuckling, amusement writ on her face.

"Such determination. Such skill. Such power," she observed rhetorically. To Team 7 in general and Sasuke in particular, she said, "Sasuke-kun, I came to test the power of the Uchiha clan and truly, your eyes possess greater potential than Itachi's.

"I shouldn't be surprised that you are every inch the genius they said you are, but your teammates are treasures as well. Too bad I had prepared to apply the seal on only one person."

The kunoichi sounded almost wistful as she looked at the three genin.

"It'll have to do, I suppose," she said and her face broke into a wide smile. Paralyzing them again with an even stronger burst of killing intent than before, she elongated her neck and bit Sasuke.

The Uchiha stood his ground for several seconds, gritting his teeth to fight the pain and then fell down with a hiss, clutching the nape of his neck in agony. The Kusa nin watched him dispassionately as he writhed on the ground and turned to his paralyzed teammates.

"Your eyes thirst for power," she told them. "I can give it to you. More than you dreamt possible. If Sasuke survives the bite, he'll bear my mark forever and it will give him a taste of real power. And when it's time, he'll come to me to gain more. You'll come with him to join me as well because only I can give you the strength to crush your foes and quench your thirst.

"I'm Orochimaru and you three are mine till the end of eternity."

xxxxx

"I cannot tell you how delighted I was to hear that Orochimaru smuggled himself into the exam," the Hokage said, sounding as if he were discussing the weather.

The penultimate round of the chuunin exams had ended less than half an hour earlier. The victorious genin had left to celebrate their success and prepare for the finals to be held a month in the future. The atmosphere among the various ANBU heads and the lone jounin gathered within the hall was very somber, however. Sarutobi had known about Orochimaru's successful infiltration into the chuunin exams for three days now. In fact, he hadn't spoken a single word about the embarrassing incident much to the relief of the ANBU captains. His opening words today told the men and women gathered in the room all they needed to know, however, especially since he, a stickler for proper timings, skipped explanations for the delay in starting the meeting. If they knew the man, and they knew him, the Third had used the three days to work himself into a royal fury on the subject of his treasonous student.

"How," Sarutobi ground out, "do you imbeciles excuse the breach in security when ANBU are on red alert?"

No one answered. Ibiki and Kakashi kept their faces completely immobile without a hint of emotion. The ANBU may or may not have – it was impossible to tell with their masks – but from their rock steady postures, it was clear that they were as full of trepidation as the barefaced shinobi were.

All the active nin present in the room had known the Hokage in such a frame of mind only once. Right after the attempted kidnapping of Naruto, Sarutobi had called his people together and spoken to them in a similar manner. The jounin who'd been in charge of security in that sector and whom the Hokage held personally responsible for the attempt had lost his head that day. And the very next, a dozen shinobi and civilians followed with theirs. It was literally life or death now as it had been then, and the men and women in the room knew it.

Behind Sarutobi, Homura and Koharu locked gazes with Danzo and nodded. This was the Sarutobi they knew. This was the coldblooded, analytical killer and master tactician who'd led Konoha to victories in the wars of a long gone era. This was the Hokage Konoha needed with carrion-eaters sniffing at the door and finally, they'd got him. There would certainly be no pussyfooting anymore. Let the other villages call Konoha a bunch of tree huggers henceforth if they dared.

"What I want done is this," Sarutobi continued on the same vein, outlining the actions he wanted taken. As he spoke, his subordinates visibly relaxed and jotted down points on issues relating to their duties. If heads rolled today, it would only be in the figurative sense and that was a whole sight better than losing it literally.

"Kakashi," the third said once he was done, "you wanted to say something."

Kakashi nodded and approached the center of the room. Normally, a jounin wouldn't be allowed to attend a meeting between ANBU heads and the Hokage, but Hatake had once been an ANBU commander himself. And while he was no longer on the active lists, he maintained close ties with the ANBU community offering them advice and generally acting as a consultant. Still, even he had been surprised by most of the things today. No wonder that the guards allowed him entry only after consulting their superiors and denied it to someone as trusted as Asuma. So, it took a couple of seconds to organize his thoughts.

"As you are aware," the jounin told the ANBU, "Sasuke has been given one of Orochimaru's curse seals. What you may not know is that Orochimaru has offered to give succor to Team 7 should they ever become nukenin."

There were a few murmurs at the news. The few ANBU who were in the know kept their counsel to themselves, however. For his part, Kakashi allowed the murmurs to die down naturally before continuing his report.

"My students and Asuma's have brought to our attention suspicious behavior on the part of one of the Konoha genin who participated in it. His name's Yakushi Kabuto. I've looked at his records and that of his team. This is the sixth time this Kabuto had attended the genin exam. His records indicate he advanced to a certain level and then gave up on all six of them."

There were more murmurs. While it was possible that the genin was a loser without ambition, it was just as likely he failed the exams because advancing further in the ranks would put him under closer scrutiny that would reveal things of an unpleasant nature, like treason. This time, Ibiki and the counter-intelligence head, the only two people in the room other than the Hokage and his advisors who knew about the information prior to the meeting kept quiet.

"Yakushi Kabuto offered to help Konoha genin at the very start of the exams," Kakashi continued. "In particular, he approached Team 7 purposefully before he did the others."

The murmurs were very excited now. Ibiki stepped forward as Kakashi stepped back.

"We suspect Kabuto, his team and their sensei are compromised," he said. "Unfortunately, we cannot bring them in for questioning. It would raise suspicions in the opposition's camp if we did and that is something we have to avoid at any cost. But we cannot let Kabuto and his team out of our sights. Too much depends on operational secrecy for the next few months. They will be under observation by ANBU from the counter-intelligence division, henceforth."

The ANBU heads nodded. Sarutobi took center stage again.

"That is all. May God and Will of Fire defend the right!"

xxxxx

It had taken far longer than Danzo anticipated. But that wasn't really a surprise. The sannin were skilled as only a few in the history of the shinobi world were and when they did not want to be found, they could not. Luckily for Konoha, Tsunade, genius kunoichi and world's foremost medic nin had not cared to hide her tracks as her teammates were wont to. If she had, this meeting would not have transpired at all this side of eternity.

"Excuse me, but have you read the slug, the snake and the toad?" the ordinary looking man in plainclothes asked the well-endowed blonde as he slid into the barstool next to hers.

Tsunade's buzz from her drinks went just like that. What the man spoke was the code-phrase to ascertain credentials for whenever some emissary from Konoha wanted to make contact with her. She did not need this today or any other day, for that matter.

"Go away," she told the intelligence officer gruffly. Konoha could go and blow a bull's cock for all she cared.

"I'm afraid not, mistress. I'm under orders. I'm sure you understand," the agent said. He ordered a drink quietly, letting her mull over what he'd said and what he might say to ruin her day further.

And mull, Tsunade did. She could not leave. Sarutobi had said in no uncertain terms that if she made any attempt to avoid an agent of Konoha, he would declare her a nukenin and send his dogs after her when she left the village. He would let her go if only reluctantly, but she owed the village more than it owed her and back in those days at the end of the war, her teacher had no qualms about cashing in the IOUs. And if they could not be cashed, the debtees head on a platter would do in a pinch.

"Fine. Have your say," she said finally when the man took a sip and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Very well. The Hokage wishes your presence in the village for the coming chuunin exams."

"I would rather not go back to that accursed village," Tsunade said bitterly. She had lost all that had ever mattered to her life in that village. The streets, the favorite haunts… They all held painful memories that she could not abide and that was why she had left. Sarutobi knew this. Why would he want her to reopen old wounds? Especially when he knew as well as she did that those wounds had never healed.

"You do not have a choice, mistress," the man said very politely as he laid down the law, "Konoha has bought your debts. If you refuse, Konoha will call them all in at once."

Tsunade glared. How dare the old man do this to her?!

"And if I do?" With Sarutobi, if there was a stick, there was always a carrot. He wouldn't hesitate to use the stick if it was warranted but its main purpose was to sweeten the deal for the carrot.

"You'll have to ask him yourself. They expect you in the village soonest."

The man paid his tab and left the bar as unobtrusively as he must have entered. Tsunade glared at his back till it disappeared and staggered out of the bar after paying hers. Oh, she would hurry all right. She had a few choice words to tell the old monkey and the sooner she got them off her chest and threw them in his face, the better for all concerned.

xxxxx

Author's notes:

I receive so many reviews my heart bleeds!

Anyways, thanks to Nugar, who gave a great idea about Orochimaru and Team 7, and mrriddler, who said I don't have to send in the proofread copy of the draft version of his latest chapter immediately. Without the former, the story would have been looser logically and without the latter, I would not have completed this today. As for Kabuto, his role is not pivotal as Mizuki's but now, everything is setup for it. Let's see if anyone can guess what it will be within the next few chapters.

Thanks to The Unicorn as well for taking me to task about the encounter between Team 7 and Orochimaru. I've made a few changes to the narration.

I hope I've done a good job with this chapter, but as always, it's up to you the readers to decide. Please leave comments.