-October 28th, 339 NE-

-5:00 PM-

-Fugaku's Private Office-

"What do you mean they graduated early?" Fugaku snarled.

"Both Madoka and Takao Kurama successfully passed the graduation test two years early, and have already passed the second genin test with their squads. With Tetsuya Kurama's reactivation, the Kurama clan now have–"

"I know, dammit! Those pathetic little upstarts think they deserve to be a permanent clan on the Council," Fugaku sneered. His expression soon turned pensive. As things stood the Kurama would get their seat, and they would certainly not be voting Fugaku's way.

This wasn't the first setback he'd suffered recently, either. The Ogawa clan had been making waves in Konoha this past year. They were a relatively new ninja clan with strong civilian roots that had proven to be very effective in the field. Their connections with civilian council members were strong enough to secure one of the temporary seats despite Fugaku's wishes, and they too held no love for the Uchiha.

The Ogawa seat Fugaku had let slide, if reluctantly. Even if it made completely dominating the Council less likely, he would still have the simple majority he needed to secure his election as Hokage. But the loss of another seat to the Kurama changed things considerably.

Without that vote, he would only have the ten civilian votes and, perhaps, a single seat on the ninja side. The ANBU Commander, the Jounin Commander, and the other eight ninja seats would all certainly vote against him. The risk that he could lose the vote of the last remaining temporary seat or one of the civilian votes was far too high now that his advantage had dwindled to a single vote. Barely a month remained before the five year term ended and now, when he was so close to securing his ambition, everything was beginning to slip away from him.

The Uchiha who had delivered the message wisely withdrew as Fugaku began to leak killing intent, shutting the door behind him. That was fortunate, as Fugaku would not have appreciated any witnesses to the tantrum he indulged in shortly thereafter.

Several minutes later Fugaku collapsed in his chair, still fuming. The Kurama clan specialized in genjutsu, and with the sharingan's ability to detect such illusions the Kurama's strongest power was absolutely useless. Fugaku by himself could probably take on most of their so-called ninja without even breaking a sweat. Even idiots like Yuudai and Shinji could take out any of the Kurama at their leisure. The Kurama only just met the requirements to become a permanent clan anyway; if even one of their ninja retired or–

Fugaku suddenly shot to his feet. The answer was so simple and obvious, it surprised him that it took this long to come up with it. It was also illegal and even treasonous, but that sort of thing had long ago ceased to matter to him. In his mind he already considered himself the next Hokage, and the Hokage often had to make difficult sacrifices for the good of the village.

What did it matter if one insignificant genin died in an unfortunate training accident, compared to the prosperity he would bring to the village once he was Hokage?

It didn't matter at all.

-Same Day-

-6:00 PM-

-Uchiha Training Grounds-

Sasuke threw another punch at the log post that was sticking up out of the ground. His small fist and the meager power he could muster did not make the satisfying thunk the older ninja produced, but he persisted anyway. Itachi-nii-san trained like this, so he would too. Another ten punches and he would run another lap around the training field. His mother would be calling him home in thirty minutes, and he wanted to get as much training as possible in while he had the time.

He wanted to impress Itachi with his progress when his older brother returned from his latest mission. Sasuke always got a warm glow of satisfaction when his mother and older brother praised his efforts, even if his progress paled before Itachi's own.

He had also heard the other ninja children had started their own training regimens shortly after that incident, and he wanted to keep up with them as well. He wasn't certain if he could call them friends when he only saw them once or twice a month, but he always enjoyed the time he spent with them. No one ever compared him to Itachi then, and even Naruto, acknowledged by one and all as the strongest of their group, never made him feel weak or unwanted. They didn't care that he had yet to awaken his own sharingan.

Thoughts of gaining his sharingan brought his brother's words to mind – "the sharingan is a tool, nothing more. It is the ninja that makes it dangerous… or not."

His father said something else entirely though, constantly reminding Sasuke that "it is the sharingan that sets the Uchiha above all other ninja. An Uchiha without a sharingan is barely an Uchiha at all." Even as young as he was, Sasuke understood the underlying message – if he wanted his father's acknowledgment, he would have to awaken his own sharingan as Itachi had.

His mother said nothing on the matter.

Sasuke wasn't sure what he himself thought, but he knew that whoever was right, activating his sharingan would make him stronger. Maybe then he could finally move closer to Itachi's level. Maybe then people would praise him as they praised Itachi and Naruto.

Maybe then his father would look at him.

-Same Day-

-9:00 PM-

-Hokage's Office-

"What is so important that you had to bring me back to work, Dragon? I'd actually managed to catch up on my paperwork early, and was hoping to spend some time with my grandson," the Hokage said, visibly annoyed.

"My apologies, Hokage-sama, but the ANBU squads watching over the Uchiha Compound reported some suspicious activity, and given the nature of that activity I thought it best to inform you immediately," Dragon said, bowing.

The Hokage sighed, but settled into his chair. "Alright, let's hear it."

"Around six this evening, Katsuro Uchiha, who as you know is Fugaku's newest black ops ninja, was called into Fugaku's office. Shortly thereafter, he left the Uchiha Compound and observed the training sessions of Takao and Madoka Kurama. He followed them home, and spent nearly an hour observing the Kurama's security before returning to the Uchiha compound."

Sarutobi's face was a mixture of fury and disbelief. "He wouldn't," he growled.

"It appears that, in fact, he would," Dragon replied.

"I knew he had spent a lot of effort trying to lock up Council votes, but to stoop that low...," Sarutobi said.

"Even for an Uchiha, the man is despicable," Dragon spat. The ANBU surveillance on Fugaku over the last year and a half had proven most enlightening; Fugaku routinely bribed civilian councilors and took black ops jobs that did not meet the standards of village conduct set forth by the Hokage. It had actually come as a surprise, if a pleasant one, when they determined that Fugaku apparently only trusted a small subset of his clan with his personal agenda, a group that did not include his own wife.

"Do you have any idea when Katsuro will strike?"

"Other than the obvious deadline of the Council elections, no. Given Fugaku's pattern of arranging accidents for his victims, we can determine that Katsuro will most likely attempt something during a training session, although it is unknown how he plans to avoid the jounin instructor. His interest in the Kurama's security suggests he may try a more direct approach, although sabotaging the genins' equipment is also possible."

After waiting in silence for several minutes as the Hokage considered the information, Dragon volunteered an idea on how to handle the situation. "We could arrest Fugaku now," the ANBU Commander said. "We've already gathered enough evidence to prove criminal activity, even if we don't have anything to prove his more treasonous actions."

"We could, but the Uchiha would never stand for it, and the civilians would likely riot if their 'beloved' Chief of Police was taken into custody. That's why I haven't acted before now. No, we need to catch him in the act. We need to catch Katsuro alive, and get a confession out of him. With attempted murder of a fellow ninja, especially a child freshly graduated from the Academy, even the civilians will abandon Fugaku. Hopefully the other Uchiha will back down at that point, but I'm not going to play games anymore if Fugaku is ready to go this far. If the Uchiha still resist, they will be taken down," Sarutobi said firmly. "I want ANBU shadowing Takao and Madoka at all times. I'll personally contact the Kurama and apprise them of the situation. Wherever and whenever Katsuro makes his move, we'll be ready."

"Understood, Hokage-sama," Dragon said, bowing again. Even through the distortion of the mask, the ANBU Commander's voice carried equal measures of determination and eagerness.

-November 7th, 339 NE-

-10:45 PM-

-A Small Tavern in the Land of Water-

"They've managed to keep it quiet so far, hoping that they can find him or that he'll turn up on his own, but... the Mizukage has gone missing."

Only his strict discipline, strong nerves, and sincere desire not to waste such expensive sake kept Jiraiya from spitting his drink all over the table. "Missing? Like, missing-nin missing?"

"I don't think so. They don't seem angry about it, just worried."

"Well... shit."

"No kidding. Yagura is very popular, and the Kaguya in particular are not going to take it kindly if someone assassinated him. 'Course, it's kinda scary to think that someone could actually assassinate a Kage without some huge battle going down. Just goes to show even the best can be taken down, I guess."

Jiraiya nodded in agreement, but inwardly his thoughts were heading in a very different direction. Yagura wasn't just a Kage, he was a jinchuuriki. Even if he didn't have the absurd healing Minato's kid did, he would heal faster than most and poisons would have a hard time doing anything to him. He didn't rely on his larger chakra capacity to spam ninjutsu, either; Yagura was a taijutsu specialist and an absolute nightmare with that hooked staff of his. If anything ninjutsu was his backup skill.

Basically, there wasn't a chance in hell someone took him out without a fight.

"Anything else?" Jiraiya asked, already fishing around in his pockets for some coins to pay for the sake... and the information.

"Hmm... some more freelance ninja groups have started cropping up lately."

"What, like the Sword and Hammer you never shut up about?"

"Hey, those guys kick ass! Did you hear what they did over in the Land of Grass?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Doesn't change the fact that they're probably missing-nin from somewhere. Anyway, what about the new groups?"

"Well, there's the music note guys. They wear headbands like official ninja, and I think they're trying to start up their own village. They're still small fry right now, but I hear they're willing to take the jobs most ninja won't touch. They mostly operate near the Land of Hot Water."

"Ah... I remember those hot springs... and the ladies in them...," Jiraiya said, a lecherous grin crossing his face.

"Speaking of, when's your next book coming out?"

"Hey, you can't rush genius! It takes a lot of careful research to craft such perfect works of art!" Jiraiya said indignantly. "And that info is useless, I already heard about them six months ago."

"W-wait, they're not the only ones! There's these guys in black cloaks with red clouds on them that have been popping up everywhere. They were looking around the Land of Water two weeks ago! Don't try to tell me you've heard about that before!"

Jiraiya frowned thoughtfully. He had heard of them, but nothing as fresh as that. He'd started getting reports of them through his network nearly two years ago, but the information was often months old by the time it reached him.

"You got descriptions? Did they take any jobs?" Jiraiya pressed.

His informant shifted uncomfortably. "... No. The cloaks and the straw hats was all anyone could say. They just wander around for a bit, then leave."

"Then why are you so certain they're ninja?"

"Because they scare the shit out of everyone without even trying, that's why."

Dammit. That's the same thing everyone else said. So far these guys had been spotted in nine different countries, but they had yet to actually do anything – and yet everyone took note of them and reported it. No names, no descriptions, no jobs taken, nothing. There really wasn't anything to report, and normally he wouldn't even waste his time with information that vague.

So why did he get the feeling it was so important?

-November 15th, 339 NE-

-2:00 PM-

-Yamanaka Residence-

Ino was red-faced and sweaty and her clothes were covered in dirt and leaves, but she paid her disheveled state no mind. She was focused on her current task, slowly but surely inching her way up a tree in her backyard using only her feet. The chakra exercise was incredibly difficult for her, but she persevered and was slowly but steadily making progress.

Naruto was sitting on the ground nearby, surrounded by odd bits of black debris. He held a leaf on the back of his hand, and his brow was furrowed in concentration. After several seconds, he slowly turned his hand over so that the leaf and the back of his hand were facing the ground. Almost instantly the leaf caught fire, and he muttered a curse as the newest lump of ash settled onto the ground. He snatched up another leaf and began again.

Ino's control slipped and she landed on the ground with a loud thump. She stood up with a small groan and rubbed her rear, muttering under her breath.

"You better not let Kaa-san catch you saying that," Naruto said distractedly.

"Yeah yeah," Ino replied. She eyed the tree for a moment, but decided to take a break; her reserves were running a little low anyway. She plopped down next to Naruto, not caring that she landed on several burnt leaves. "How's it goin', little brother?"

Naruto growled, a surprisingly animalistic sound issuing from his throat. "It's not."

Ino leaned over and patted him on the head, rubbing her hand through his hair and messing it up even more than it already was. "Even geniuses can't be great at everything. Besides, I'm sure you'll get it eventually."

Naruto gave her a sour look before he turned his attention back to his newest leaf. Another few seconds and a fresh lump of ash hit the ground. "I take it you had similar problems with spontaneously combusting foliage?"

Ino stuck her tongue out at him then sat back, leaning on her hands. "No, but I don't have the chakra reserves of a jounin either. Why don't you try something a little bigger or heavier? Or at least something less likely to catch on fire?" Ino suggested.

Naruto shrugged. "Shizune-nee-chan insists that I use leaves. She says using something heavy won't teach me the same skills using a leaf will."

Ino pouted. She knew it was silly, but she still felt a little jealous whenever Naruto talked about Shizune. Naruto's borderline obsession with becoming a med-nin complemented Ino's own decision to follow her father's path in mind-healing, but she felt sometimes like she was competing with the med-nin for Naruto's attention. It felt terribly selfish of her after everything Naruto had done for her and she made sure to squash those instincts whenever they rose up, but the feeling was still there.

"Well, why don't you try something in the middle then?" It had seemed like an obvious suggestion to her, even if she mostly offered it out of a desire to prove Shizune wrong, but Naruto's dumbstruck expression seemed to indicate otherwise.

Kuushou's troubles with human chakra control stemmed from the inescapable fact that, despite the body he currently occupied, he was not human. His youki was the dominant force within the body, both in quantity and quality. Whenever he tried even this simplest of exercises, his youki would completely overwhelm the human chakra and produce unpredictable and often destructive results.

He was currently attempting to completely isolate the human chakra from his youki and use only human chakra in the exercise, but that was proving nigh impossible. Always before he had simply surrounded the human chakra with his youki and essentially carried it wherever it needed to go. Despite his presence in the body, he only had the most tenuous of connections with the chakra it contained. He could feel it, and even move it about as it were his own youki to a limited extent, but once it was completely isolated from his youki it became dormant again.

Thus his current situation: if he used youki, the leaf burned; if he used just chakra, nothing happened.

But hearing Ino's suggestion had given him an idea for an entirely different approach, and he wondered why it had never occurred to him before. Rather than surrounding the chakra with youki, what if he attempted to blend the two energies together? A small amount of youki mixed into the chakra would theoretically increase the potency only slightly but still allow him to control it, if not nearly as well as pure youki. From there the control exercise, and eventually the incredible variety of human techniques, should be well within his reach.

He dropped the leaf he was holding and brought his hands together in front of him, concentrating on the two different energies his body contained. Ino looked confused, but recognized the expression on his face and sat back, allowing him to think.

Nearly a minute passed before a small bit of energy leaked out between his hands. It formed a rough sphere, wobbling to and fro and barely maintaining its shape. More important than the shape, though, was the color; instead of the expected blue chakra, the energy had a clear purple tinge to it. Even as Ino leaned forward to look closer the energy dissipated, but the way Naruto laughed told her that he was happy with that result. He jumped to his feet and pulled Ino into a hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are absolutely brilliant, Ino-nee-chan," Naruto exclaimed.

Ino had no idea what she had said that was so brilliant, but she wasn't about to turn down the praise, nor was she about to dismiss the incredibly satisfying knowledge that she had helped her little brother where Shizune had failed.

-November 17th, 339 NE-

-1:30 PM-

-Hokage's Office-

"Katsuro is preparing to make his move, Hokage-sama. Takao Kurama's team is scheduled for full contact weapons practice this afternoon, and Katsuro has acquired a sharpened sword disguised to appear dull for Takao's opponent. He has also acquired a deadly poison and treated the blade. In addition, he has acquired several similarly disguised and poisoned kunai, apparently as a backup plan," Dragon reported.

"Not exactly subtle, is he? Still, it would be virtually impossible to trace this back to the Uchiha if he was successful," the Hokage mused. "Very well, I want Katsuro taken into custody as soon as he makes the switch and taken to T&I. Once we get enough evidence, we'll arrest Fugaku. We'll need to move quickly to make sure Fugaku doesn't have time to prepare. If we can catch him off guard, we may be able to take him in without a fight."

"And if he is prepared?" Dragon asked.

The Hokage's face became grim. "Then bloodshed may be unavoidable. If it comes to that, we may require some additional support; your brother, for instance."

Dragon nodded. "He would be most eager to take part in this. He always complains that I get to have all the fun, and nothing would make him happier than to take down Fugaku personally."

The Hokage snorted. "No doubt."

-Same Day-

-2:00 PM-

-Hyuuga Compound, Main House Training Area-

"Again," Hiashi Hyuuga barked.

Hinata slowly picked herself up off the mat and settled back into the stance for her family's famed and feared fighting style, the Jyuuken, or Gentle Fist. Her feet slid apart, her right foot forward and her left back, while her hands mirrored her feet with her left hand forward in a guarding position and her right hand tucked close to her body.

Hinata was currently wearing a thin blue shirt and loose black pants tied off with a white belt. She had several bruises already forming on her exposed arms, and the occasional wince as she moved showed she had similar injuries elsewhere. Her indigo hair hung loosely down to shoulder level, swaying slightly whenever she turned her head. Her pale lavender eyes were currently narrowed in determination.

Hiashi examined her form for a long moment, then nodded in satisfaction. "Begin," he said.

Hinata launched herself forward, her hands moving quickly and firmly as she dueled with her fellow student. Her opponent, her cousin Neji, was wearing an ivory shirt and matching shorts, and his hair, actually longer than Hinata's, was gathered into a pony tail that mimicked Hiashi's own style. He had far fewer bruises than Hinata, though he had not come out of their clashes unscathed. He was also wearing a bandanna around his head, and was the only person in the room with his forehead covered.

Neji's stance matched his cousin's as their hands flashed through the space between them, diverting or blocking each other's strikes as they battled. He slowly began to advance, forcing Hinata to retreat in order to maintain the distance between them. As her stance shifted Neji suddenly darted to her weak side and struck, his hands blurring. It appeared for a moment as if he had won yet another bout before Hinata bent sideways, allowing Neji's hands to pass harmlessly above her as her own hands lashed out, touching several points on his chest.

She was unable to maintain her position for long, however, as she lost balance and fell the rest of the way to the floor with a light thud, panting. Neji did not follow up on this opening, instead retreating several feet and settling back into his stance, similarly breathless.

"Enough," Hiashi barked again, and strode onto the mat towards his two students.

Neji relaxed out of his stance and moved to stand next to Hinata, looking down at her panting form. After a moment, he thrust out his hand. Hinata reached up and took it with her own, and Neji pulled her to her feet.

"Thank you, Neji-nii-san," Hinata said, slowly regaining control of her breathing.

"Of course, Hinata-sama," Neji said, smiling. "You have improved remarkably in the last month. You would have completely disabled me in that last exchange."

Hinata blushed slightly, but nodded.

They both turned to face Hiashi as he knelt on the mat next to them, motioning for them to join him. Once they had settled into place, feet tucked under their bodies, backs straight and heads held high, he nodded firmly.

"What did you do wrong in that last exchange?" he began.

Neji spoke first. "I overextended on my strike, leaving myself open to a counterattack. My feet were also out of position, slowing my recovery time and preventing me from pivoting away from Hinata's attack," Neji said calmly.

Hiashi smiled, pleased with Neji's response. "Correct. You were too eager to strike at the opening and did not position yourself properly before attacking. At your current level of skill and experience, you should never sacrifice mobility to strike at an opponent. As you just saw, even with one opponent it can lead to your downfall and against multiple opponents it is an even worse mistake."

"Yes, Hiashi-sama," Neji replied, bowing his head as he absorbed the advice. He was used to this post-training discussion and no longer had issues critiquing himself or accepting the advice that followed. He had seen for himself in the year since he began training that he improved far faster when he listened.

Hiashi then turned to face Hinata expectantly. She blushed again, still unused to this sort of attention, especially when she was expected to criticize herself. After a moment, she offered her own hesitant analysis. "Um… I didn't recover properly when I dodged, and fell?" she offered.

Hiashi sighed softly, and relaxed his expression a little. "It should not be a question, Hinata," he corrected. "Still, you are correct. Like Neji, you focused too much on offense and not enough on proper defensive positioning. It worked out in this instance, as your strikes would have disabled Neji, but you left yourself open to attack if you had failed or if other ninja were present during the battle."

Hinata shrunk into herself slightly, but nodded in acknowledgment of his words. Hiashi was actually impressed; despite her relative lack of confidence compared to Neji, this response was much better than what had happened at the end of their first training session: when Hiashi had slowly coaxed her into finding something wrong about her own performance and then further explained what she had done wrong and why, she had ended up bursting into tears and running from the dojo.

Hisana had ended up giving him a piece of her mind later that day, though his wife did understand what he was trying to do. She had also worked with Hinata over the last month, providing an outlet for Hinata's frustrations that complemented Hiashi's more stern approach. Hisana had also talked him into adjusting his own approach to these post-training discussions, and even Neji seemed happier with the new way of doing things.

"As you are both having difficulty on defense, I think our next session will focus on that. That said, you have both done very well in your training so far.

"Neji, your speed has continued to improve steadily, and your stance is generally very stable. The strength behind your blows is also very promising; with time I think you will be able to penetrate your opponent's guard even during a frontal assault, which will serve you very well once you begin learning the Eight Trigrams.

"Hinata, your speed is also improving steadily, and your flexibility is already impressive. If you focus on that, you will be able to easily slip around your opponent's guard and strike at vital points effortlessly. As your footwork improves, I think your mother will have some very interesting techniques to teach you," Hiashi said, smiling encouragingly.

He spotted Hizashi lingering near the entrance to the dojo, and dismissed his two students for the day. Neji enthusiastically greeted his father, but was soon sent on his way as the two brothers had important business to discuss.

"It's happening today," Hizashi told his twin without preamble as the two began to walk through the Hyuuga compound. They were both currently wearing the same outfit; the only difference between them was the headband that covered Hizashi's forehead while Hiashi's was left bare.

Hiashi's face grew tense at the news. "When?"

"Within the hour. ANBU have requested support from the other clans in case Fugaku intends to resist. The Hokage hopes a show of force will deter him and we can get through this without bloodshed."

"And what does our ANBU Commander think?"

Hizashi snorted. "Not a chance in hell. Fugaku won't go down without a fight, even if he was alone; and knowing him, he won't be. I'm just glad Itachi is out on a mission right now."

"Really? I didn't think he was powerful enough to pose that sort of threat," Hiashi said quietly.

"He's not… yet. He'd do a lot of good in ANBU though, and things will go a lot smoother for him if he doesn't get caught up in this mess. By the time he gets back everything will be settled one way or another. Mikoto appears clean, and the majority of the Uchiha have no part in Fugaku's madness, so there's hope that with Fugaku out of the way things will settle down quick enough."

"You know the Kurama aren't going to be satisfied with Fugaku's head alone. They've got a serious bone to pick with the Uchiha."

"That's for the Hokage and the Council to figure out."

"You're on the Council, idiot," Hiashi said, amused.

"Yeah, well… shut up, brother," Hizashi responded petulantly.

They shared a quick laugh but their faces gradually grew grim as they mentally prepared themselves for the coming conflict. Turning to face one another, they clasped forearms and pulled each other into a brotherly embrace.

"Be safe," they said, and parted ways.

-2:30 PM-

-Hokage's Personal Training Grounds-

Sarutobi surveyed the ninja who were currently preparing themselves to battle Fugaku Uchiha and any of his clan who supported him. Most of them hoped that their preparations would prove unnecessary, but none of them really believed Fugaku would allow himself to be arrested. The best case scenario would be that Fugaku was quickly immobilized and that none of his clan fought against the arrest.

To one side nearly half of his entire ANBU force stood prepared, their masks the only feature distinguishing them from one another. Those who specialized in weapons or used other tools kept them hidden within their cloaks to avoid giving away any information to potential enemies. This gathering of such an elite force, comprised of some of the most powerful and experienced shinobi in all of Konoha, made for an intimidating sight. Dragon was moving through the group, making sure each squad knew their assigned roles and were prepared.

Shizune stood near the ANBU, she and her personal team of med-nin loaded down with medical supplies. They would not be involved in any fighting, but would be doing their best to make sure no one died, on either side.

Scattered around the clearing were representatives from the other clans of Konoha.

Hiashi Hyuuga had brought eight members from his clan in addition to himself; their Gentle Fist techniques would be invaluable in taking down opponents without killing them. The Hyuuga's long-standing rivalry with the Uchiha had turned bitter in recent years, and all of the Hyuuga appeared eager to commence with the mission.

Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, and Chouza Akimichi stood together, conversing quietly. Three other members of the Nara clan stood nearby, but Inoichi and Chouza were the only members of their clans present. That was understandable; while the Nara's shadow techniques were even more effective than the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist at capturing opponents, the Yamanaka and Akimichi skills tended to be more dangerous and deadly, and very few in Inoichi's clan had the skill to utilize the mind transfer jutsu in the midst of battle. The infamous Ino-Shika-Cho trio had honed their teamwork to an incredible level and were considered one of the most effective strike teams in Konoha's history, but their fellow clan members had been unable to replicate their clan heads' success.

Shibi Aburame had brought five members from his clan, and the way their identical outfits of high-collared trenchcoats and sunglasses hid nearly their entire bodies was as disconcerting in its own way as the appearance of the ANBU. The Aburame would be placed with the ambush teams – in open battle the Uchiha's fire techniques would render the Aburame's insect-based jutsu highly ineffective.

Tsume Inuzuka and her partner Kuromaru rounded out the collection of clan heads, accompanied by four members from her clan and their own canine partners. She had a slightly sour look on her face. Tsume had not been pleased when told that her clan would be held in reserve in case the battle went badly or any Uchiha attempted to flee. Sarutobi had held firm on this point though; even the weakest of the Inuzuka's jutsu tended to do serious damage to their targets, and he still wanted to preserve as many lives as possible. That Tsume and her clan valued loyalty as highly as the Aburame valued honor also meant that the Inuzuka would "accidentally" go too far and end up killing opponents they might have incapacitated or disabled.

The Kurama clan had wanted to take part as well – literally every active shinobi ranked chuunin or higher from the clan had volunteered. Sarutobi knew their presence would practically guarantee a fight, however, and he wasn't certain whether it would be the Kurama or the Uchiha that would strike the first blow. They had finally relented when the Hokage promised to strip the rank from any Kurama ninja who interfered with Fugaku's arrest, the threat of losing their chance at a permanent seat on the Council sufficing to curb their bloodlust.

Satisfied that all ninja involved in the operation were present, the Hokage flared his chakra, drawing the attention of the other ninja in the clearing. "Everyone understands their roles in the operation, I trust?" A chorus of affirmatives rang out, and he nodded in satisfaction.

"Very well. Move out," he said, and vanished in a shunshin. The other ninja followed quickly, and within seconds the clearing was completely empty.

A/N: Things have finally come to a head, and we get another example of Sarutobi's change.

In canon Sarutobi kept negotiating and negotiating, apparently to no avail, until Danzo, Homura, and Koharu went behind his back and ordered Itachi to massacre his entire clan. Supposedly they did this because the Uchiha were on the verge of open rebellion and Sarutobi wasn't doing anything to prepare for that. Here Sarutobi has given Fugaku plenty of rope to hang himself with, and now the noose is tightening.

In this story the Uchiha were never suspected of controlling the Kyuubi and thus the lingering resentment and suspicion that "pushed them into a corner" is not present.

We finally get a bit of PoV for other ninja children - Hinata and Neji in particular are rather different than in canon, thanks to the changes in the Kumo Incident.