"Someone's taken up the Gama mask?"

"Right, I'm sure I saw it earlier today," A long-haired jōnin with a piercing in his brow commented. "I never thought that toad mask would be worn by anyone again after Hatake's protest. I figured he and Hokage-sama were in agreement on that…"

"I hear the one wearing it is the Hokage's apprentice!" A chūnin chimed in.

Kakashi listened in with half an ear from the rooftop as below him several jōnin and chūnin gossiped about Minato's appearance – even if they didn't really know who it was. Minato was also on the roof, listening amusedly. "It'll be all over town within the day."

"You think that's a good thing?" Kakashi asked, scowling. "The only thing we need when Iwa's breathing down our neck is someone picking up the Gama mask and making a fuss."

"You know as well as I do that Iwa has little to no knowledge of my wearing that mask – at least, it's hardly the thing they focus on in regards to me." He fingered a blond lock that had escaped from beneath his hood. "If it comes to war, they'll have a lot more than my mask to deal with."

"Minato-sensei…" Kakashi muttered, glaring sideways. "I mean, Kaeru-san – what do we do now? You've already gone over the medical-nin files several times, you've yet to make a decision on a fourth member – we can't afford to wait much longer in pursuing our leads."

"I wish to have a kunoichi of impeccable skill on the team, Kakashi – you know that between the two of us we'll manage to get all kinds of gruesome wounds." He reached within his vest and retrieved a folded personnel article. "I had this one in mind – she's not in town and hasn't been a Konoha nin for some time, but she's a student of our best."

"Seriously?" Kakashi wondered as he looked over the file. "It says here she's been out and about for years – what makes you think she'll consent to come back to Konoha? Besides, this one appears to be – busy- right now."

"Our first mission will take us in the direction of Iwa," Minato pointed out. "We'll come by numerous towns, and it is the direction she was last spotted. It seems a good idea to me."

"I'll consider it," Kakashi answered grudgingly. "Where's our tiny teammate?"

"Shikamaru's using a family sensory technique of his to keep an eye out for any sign of the Iwa nin – we'll probably spot them before he does but that sensory technique's tiring which will help build up his chakra supply." Minato answered, pointing to the Nara's obscured form in the shadows of a nearby building.

Shikamaru could hear the two arguing – his technique amplified sound emitted near shadows connected to his own when it was active – but he chose not to acknowledge the two. It was difficult enough not to get embarrassed or nervous in front of them as it was. "Troublesome."

The three were holed up near the edge of the shinobi part of town – if the Iwa infiltrators were going to sneak in anywhere, it'd likely be here, where they could blend in under the guise of tipsy or drunk shinobi on leave. Shikamaru had been keeping a close eye on any duo of shinobi particularly, though most were simply couples.

Two tall shinobi strode around the corner as if they owned the place, one staggering slightly – not a peculiar sight in this part of town. He forced his mind to check for danger. They were shinobi, sure, but was there anything in particular about them that- wait.

"Suspect spotted," Shikamaru said softly, knowing that the two shinobi behind him would hear it. "I'm going to check."

Shikamaru formed a quick set of hand seals and his shadow sprouted a long sinewy tendril that crawled across the ground jerkily, crossing from shadow to shadow while keeping out of sight and stretching across the plaza. It was edging on his maximum range by the time it arrived at the location of his targets. Shikamaru heard his two team-members had ceased talking – they were observing his technique. Forcing the chakra to move with an effort of will, the Nara managed to get the shadowy tendril to connect with the closest of the two figures, who suddenly froze with his hands still firmly in his pockets, a look of consternation appearing on his face. "Kagemane Complete."

Shikamaru jerked his arm to the side, forcing his victim to do the same – if the man was innocent, he'd merely have a rip in his pants where he'd torn out the pocket. If he wasn't- The paralyzed shinobi's companion grasped desperately for the collection of items that clattered to the floor through the large rip that was torn into the pants. Among the fallen objects were a handful of kunai, what appeared to be sealing paper, and a battered hitai-ate – it was difficult to make out from the distance what symbol was engraved in it but it was definitely not the leaf symbol of Konoha.

Kakashi moved – in an instant he'd passed Shikamaru and half a dozen startled chūnin that were occupying the stretch of road in between the roof and his target – he'd pulled out a kunai along the way and firmly grasped it in hand, his fingers already stretching out to grasp the shinobi by the arm.

Shikamaru hadn't heard the jōnin move – one moment he'd been straining to keep up the shadow possession jutsu, then it had quite suddenly broken from the target's end. He glanced up from the hitai-ate towards the owner of the ninja tools strewn across the street only to find Kakashi already there, the nin unconscious in his arms while he held a kunai with the handle forward in his hand, as it had just been used to firmly knock its victim unconscious. Shikamaru swallowed nervously at the incredibly display of skill as he noticed something was off.

"Where did the other one go?" Shikamaru whispered under his breath as he glanced from side to side, trying to find the escapee, reaching for one of his own kunai. "What happened to-"

"I got him." Minato whispered from beside the genin, sending chills down the boy's back as he'd once again missed hearing the approach entirely; the man had put a hand on Shikamaru's hand halting his reflexive drawing of a weapon. Minato briefly showed an intricate seal drawn on a piece of seal paper that was glowing slightly with chakra. "I planted a Hiraishin seal on the second one – if he believes he's gotten away with escaping he might contact existing spies that have been entrenched in the village. I placed it under his vest, he shouldn't notice it for some time yet."

"You people are insane," Shikamaru muttered. He glanced towards where Kakashi had been only to find the white-haired jōnin gone, along with his victim and the hitai-ate. "You're both leagues beyond my skill and I couldn't even follow your insane speed!"

Minato chuckled lightly as he tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm afraid that few people compare when it comes to my speed, so that is an unfair comparison to make. I feel I must point out though, that you missed something important. Tell me, why did you choose to employ your jutsu just now?"

Shikamaru frowned. "There was something off about that shinobi – you told me to keep an eye out for suspicious individuals."

"Correct. Except I saw nothing particularly suspicious about that nin or his companion – yet you knew unerringly to go for that man despite letting half a dozen far more sinister-looking people pass by without incident." Minato smiled thinly. "It took me years to develop anywhere near that intuition – and it's clear that you have already surpassed me in this. Don't sell your talents short, little genius."

Shikamaru tried to avoid blushing, looking away uncomfortably. "Troublesome."

"You say that a lot, eh?" Minato answered with a friendly grin, a sad look crossing across his face in an instant. "My wife had a tic like that – except she would append nonsense phrases at the end of her sentences from time to time – I never did figure out why."

Shikamaru snorted, turning to his team leader. "Naruto did too, you know." The genin looked briefly dubious about whether he would continue, and then nodded to himself. "He liked to append 'Dattebayo' to whatever he said, constantly. For as long as I can remember, in fact."

Minato's breath hitched. "Really? To think something like that would be genetic-"

Shikamaru shrugged as Kakashi suddenly appeared next to them in a swirl of leaves, looking collected as always. "I have delivered the Iwa spy to Ibiki's tender mercies."

"Took you long enough," Minato said knowingly. "You left him intact, right?"

"He is in one piece, yes." Kakashi retorted evasively with a cocky smirk. "Where's the other one now?"

"About two miles northwards, near the wall," Minato said as he focused chakra into the seal paper he was holding. "The seal will hold for about another half hour – if he's going to find a hideout, he'll have to do it soon if we want to find it."

"You can track Hiraishin seals?" Shikamaru wondered. "I thought it was for teleportation?"

"Ah, my seals are far more useful than mere self-summoning," Minato answered, pointing out what seemed like a particularly wild squiggle in the mess that was the seal. "This here can serve as a tracker – as long as I focus on which particular instantiation of the seal I wish to follow, I have a pretty accurate feel for where it is. Unfortunately the seals are rather short-lived unless I prepare them beforehand, like on my kunai."

"You should've given Jiraiya the one working version back," Kakashi pointed out. "I mean, if you need him quickly you'll actually have to go find the man."

"I have other ways of tracking my dear old sensei," Minato said enigmatically. "In any case, the Iwa spy has holed up in one of the abandoned homes along the North wall that sensei pointed out to me – it doesn't seem like he's going to try and contact any colleagues within our timeframe. Until I have my kunai back and I've retrained this newish body in effective sealing via touch, I can't really offer any more."

"It's not working properly, then?" Kakashi asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Most of my techniques work fine," Minato said with a shrug. "My chakra control's just worse than it's been in ages – it feels like my chakra's not quite in line with my body. I have my suspicions that unlike the rest of me, the chakra actually did keep on existing during my time as a dead man – that would explain the discrepancy. I'm just not used to an older chakra system."

"So you've got the chakra that age would bring you with the body of a young Adonis." Kakashi summarized. "You have it bad, sensei."

"Oh, do shut up. Let's catch this Iwa bastard and get him to the Interrogation Department." Minato touched his seal again and nodded. "No movement – he's holing up where he is, and he's alone in the room, at least. Hold on to me, please."

Kakashi did immediately with Shikamaru following hesitatingly. "Are you going to- WOAH!"

Shikamaru stumbled to the floor as Minato had already pinned down the second Iwa nin, who looked on with startled eyes as his comfortable resting spot on the couch had suddenly been replaced with a dagger in his side. Shikamaru managed to keep upright as he looked around in disorientation – he hadn't even felt the displacement when quite suddenly his surroundings had changed.

"Another chūnin," Minato observed as he stood up, leaving the unconscious ninja from Iwa on the floor. "Didn't even set up any defences – no match for a Konoha chūnin, much less a jōnin." He glanced up and smiled at Shikamaru. "You would've probably made mincemeat of him as well."

"Why would Iwa send out chūnin, and how would a three-man chūnin unit take down one of ours on home turf?" Kakashi wondered as he fished the unconscious ninja's hitai-ate out of his pocket. "Haven't even really gone to lengths to hide their allegiance either."

"This is troubling." Shikamaru observed as he read a short note that had fallen out of the Iwa-nin's pocket alongside his headband. "Orders – spying, as expected."

"What's troubling about it?"

"It says it's for Roku." He muttered darkly. "Six. Why would his codename be sixth if it was only a three man team?"

"He's a decoy." Minato answered as he frowned. "I bet it'll turn out neither of the ones we caught know anything about Iwa's movements at all. Meanwhile actual jōnin-level infiltrators will do as they please."

"Three foreign jōnin, already in the village under our very noses," Kakashi noted. "We'll have to inform the Hokage – he's got to up security."

"This is rather convenient, Kakashi." Minato said worriedly. "Iwa sending a double infiltration unit within what's likely days since they heard the news about the Kyūbi… I'm starting to believe that Iwa might really have had a hand in setting up what happened."

"Why would they try to pick a fight with us?" Kakashi wondered. "We're hardly the weakest on the block even without a jinchūriki to fall back on and Iwa's hardly the strongest nation."

"That's what frightens me, Kakashi." Minato answered. "They wouldn't do this, unless they were pretty confident. Perhaps they've gone and allied with another nation without our knowledge – they might be gearing up for another big war."

Shikamaru frowned at the unconscious chūnin, quickly bending down to search his pockets. Beyond a few meagre supplies, there was nothing. "This one didn't come prepared for any lengthy stay – he must've been told to get in and out with some information. The fact that we captured this team will leak out within a day or two, when they don't report."

"It's probably what they expected," Minato commented. "What's the most likely occasion for a major strike in the near future?"

"Probably the chūnin exams in a few months," Kakashi said. "Foreign groups will already be in Konoha and it's quite possibly that Iwa will sneak in their allies, even if we forbid their nation from attending entirely." He turned to the chūnin and rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Considering one or two entirely new hidden villages are reportedly sending teams, security will be concentrated on the exams – we'll be spread thin to counter any attacks."

"Cancelling the exams is out of the question, I take it." Shikamaru noted, unsurprised. "Could we arrange for Suna to supply security troops?"

"Suna and Konoha have a lukewarm relationship at best, the Hokage would never dare rely on that," Kakashi said. "We'll need to set up elite troops to guard the village in case of an attack, cut of the head as quickly as possible."

Minato turned to Kakashi and they shared an unspoken conversation. Shikamaru sighed in annoyance. "Seriously?"

"It'll have to be us, yes." Minato answered sheepishly. "Between Kakashi and myself we have the firepower covered, and a couple of months should also get you strong enough to defend yourself, under my tutelage. We could use your planning in setting up a defence during the exams as well - we'll need to find a fourth member soon, then we can set out, combining our main mission with extended training."

"This is going to be a lot of work, isn't it?" Shikamaru said under his breath. "What a drag."

"I wonder if Gai would be willing to tutor in Taijutsu?"

Neither jōnin reacted to Shikamaru's horrified grimace.

"Hiruzen, can we talk?"

"Of course, my old friend." Sarutobi responded, surprised. "What can I do for you, Homura?"

"I want to know what is going on with this 'Kaeru'." Homura retorted, sitting down gingerly across from his old team-mate. "You might've pulled the wool over Koharu's eyes for a moment, but she's suspicious. You didn't think I of all people would actually buy that you picked a new apprentice, did you?"

The Sandaime sighed, lighting his pipe as he walked to the windows and looked out over his town. "It's a useful cover. In some ways it's not far from the truth."

"It's a cover, then. For whom?" Homura asked, frowning. "I know you haven't recalled some of the most volatile individuals that would need protection – Danzō would've been talking about it constantly. What are you cooking up?"

The Sandaime didn't say anything for a while, then finally sighed. "His identity must remain a secret for now – I can't really go into why. It's important. You'll have to trust me on this."

"What trust could you have in this person that you would go to these length to cover for him? Giving him that mask – you'd only do that for the people you think most important." Homura wondered. "How strong is your confidence regarding this man's loyalties?"

"Absolute." The Third answered without thinking about it. He looked down at his pipe in contemplation. "It is my wish that he should be my successor."

Homura gasped, standing up and walking to his old friend, seeking confirmation of what he'd heard in the Hokage's expression. "Such trust – I have only ever seen you give it to a few people. I can't imagine what this man did to gain it – but if you say it is so…" The two briefly stood together as the team-members they once were, under their sensei, who would become the Nidaime Hokage. "Very well."

The Hokage didn't respond as Homura finally walked to the door, his footsteps the only sound in the office.

"I doubt many would appreciate an unknown to take the Hokage's headpiece, but your word would hold a lot of weight in the considerations. I'll trust your judgment on this – the last time you had such conviction about someone…" Homura smiled. "So be it, Hiruzen – I'll leave 'Kaeru' be. When you see fit to reveal his identity, I'll stand behind you."

Homura left the Hokage's office, the Sandaime continuing to stare out the window with a tear in the corner of his eye. Koharu was already there with a curious expression.

"Well?"

Homura stared at his hands for a moment, glancing back at the closed door to the Hokage's office. "I don't know why, but Hiruzen's convinced of his loyalty. More than that of most people, even. I – I think we should trust him on his word, this once."

"But Danzō-"

"Danzō is Danzō." Homura answered. "He may have a better view when it comes to military affairs, but he has never had the insight into a person that Hiruzen does, has he? Tobirama-sensei did comment on that often…"

Koharu looked conflicted. "You would side us with Hiruzen on this? Danzō will be infuriated when an elite shinobi team is led by an unknown and none of us will report on the man… He may choose to ignore us entirely after this."

Homura sighed, a forlorn look appearing in his eyes. Homura turned to his long-time partner. "The way Hiruzen spoke about this man… It has been years since I have seen that expression, Koharu. It looked like-" He sniffed. "He looked like he did when he passed on that hat."

"Ah." Koharu answered after a moment, indecision vanishing, a determined glint appearing in her eyes. "Well, then… it seems that Team Tobirama will stand fast on this."

The two shared a sad smile. Neither knew about it, but their third teammate looked on fondly from his office, a glassy sphere in his hand and tears in his eyes.