A/N Thanks again for the reviews/alerts/faves etc, they are very much appreciated as ever.

Extra special thanks with sugar on top to the delightful The Lady Smaell who made me some art to accompany this story. It is completely and utterly brilliant and I love it to bits. Thank you so much, sweetie ^_^

Chapter 10

After what had happened to Kurenai and Hiruzen, Kakashi and Iruka had decided that Tsunade's life was quite probably still in danger and that she should leave Konoha if it was at all possible to move her.

Sakura had managed to locate Shizune immediately after she and Iruka had met with Kurenai. She had let her friend in on her secret and told her what had happened to Hiruzen. The jounin's face had blanched at the thought of Danzou taking a six-month-old child to be trained as a Root shinobi drone. It was utterly disgusting to her. She agreed that getting Tsunade out of Konoha was the best plan and was reasonably confident that the Godaime could be moved safely – she was certainly safer outside Konoha than within. Shizune had agreed to summon Tsunade's slug Katsuyu to assist with the escape.

Very early the following morning Sakura sneaked up to Kakashi's apartment before her shift at the hospital to confirm the arrangements for that evening. She, Kakashi and Iruka sat together to devise their plan.

Kakashi had spent most of the night thinking about how to get the true Hokage out of Konoha and out of danger.

"We need to be very careful. There are Root ANBU crawling all over Konoha, keeping watch for Danzou, day and night. We need to get Tsunade out of here without attracting attention."

"How do you plan to do that?" asked Iruka.

"We use the same tactics Danzou used when Konoha was attacked. We cause a commotion somewhere in the village, get Root to follow up on that and then rescue Tsunade while the ANBU are running around trying to find the cause of the disturbance."

Kakashi continued, "I suggest that I detonate some paper bombs on the other side of the city, right below the Hokage palace. That should get Root running to protect our 'glorious' new leader. Iruka, you and Sakura can then get Shizune to summon Katsuyu and sneak Tsunade out of the village."

"No, no, no," Iruka interrupted. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He was an elite shinobi, highly skilled at developing strategies and wasn't accustomed to having anyone contradict his tactics. But he was also an excellent leader and he knew that allowing others to contribute ideas could result in a better plan. And he had always had far more belief in Iruka's talents than most of his colleagues or, indeed, the Hokage.

"I have a much better idea." Iruka had just had a brilliant thought but decided to keep things mysterious for the time being. "Kakashi, can you ask Pakkun to fetch something from my apartment please?"

Kakashi looked quizzical. Still, he did as his boyfriend had requested and called Pakkun over. Iruka whispered instructions to the small pug, who promptly vanished. About five minutes later the dog reappeared, carrying a small box in his mouth. He then trotted over to Iruka, dropped the box at his feet and returned to Kakashi.

"Thanks, Pakkun," Kakashi patted the dog on the head.

"No problem, boss," replied the hound, "It was exactly where Iruka said."

Iruka's box was very old. It was made of wood and rectangular, slightly bigger than a cigar box, and it had been scored with all sorts of characters and pictures. The images looked almost childish. Iruka held it in his hands with reverence and stroked the lid; that box was an old, familiar friend. It could only be opened using a concealed catch which Iruka alone knew how to trigger. He smiled, just slightly nostalgically, as he opened the box. It brought back many memories for him.

"OK. One explosion at the Hokage residence will have a few Root ANBU running to Danzou's aid. But if you want a real diversion, well, this is the way to create it." Iruka had a cunning grin on his face.

He brought forth a scroll from his box and unrolled it. Painted on the scroll was a series of characters unfamiliar even to Kakashi, although the jounin recognised them as some form of jutsu.

"I invented this many years ago during my teenage rebel phase. It's a multiple detonation jutsu – basically a series of firecrackers loaded with chakra that are completely harmless but unbelievably loud and I guarantee that they will cause a commotion throughout the whole of Konoha."

Kakashi sat back and observed his boyfriend, a questioning look in his eye. He was pretty sure that Iruka was about to surprise him. It wouldn't have been the first time.

Iruka continued, "One disturbance in one location will distract a certain number of Root, but I can tell you for sure that it won't be enough. If you want to get the whole of Root searching for potential invaders all you need to do is to set these up in multiple locations and then detonate them from a remote location using a series of hand seals which I can teach you. I suggest that the best positions to cause maximum confusion for the Root patrols are: First simultaneous explosions at the Hokage's office and the gates. Then set off one at the hot springs, one by the stadium and one at the memorial stone. The point is that if you set two off at once at either end of the village but then later radiate out from the Hokage residence Root won't know which subsequent blast to follow. The hospital is located midway between the gates and the Hokage monument so we should have Root scattered in all directions. Oh, and set one off at the Academy for good measure. Apparently Danzou wants to see me about the curriculum."

By now Sakura was also looking wide-eyed at her former sensei. Both she and Kakashi had suddenly become very quiet and were hanging on Iruka's every word.

Iruka paused and looked up to his boyfriend and former pupil staring at him with astonishment.

"What?"

Sakura was the first to speak and – fortunately - asked the question that Kakashi was just dying to get an answer for. "How do you know all this, sensei?"

Iruka grinned. "You thought Naruto was the ultimate prankster when he was at the Academy? Well, he was an amateur compared with me. I was the original and the best. I used this strategy once and had the whole of ANBU chasing after me for about 5 hours."

Although Kakashi and Iruka's ages were just a couple of years apart, Kakashi had graduated and been promoted to jounin at an incredibly young age and was already leading shinobi squads while Iruka was still studying at the Academy. They would never have interacted socially as children and only got to know each other much later, as adults. And Kakashi would never have realised quite what a rebel Iruka became after the loss of his parents during the Nine-Tails' attack. Although he had heard tales of a young tearaway who had caused all sorts of mayhem in the village, he hadn't really twigged that it had been his boyfriend who had been the culprit prior to the Third Hokage taking him under his wing and convincing him to become a responsible shinobi; one who would later become widely respected throughout the village as a teacher.

Sakura was appalled. She had a look of utter disbelief on her face. "But Iruka sensei, you were always telling Naruto off for playing all those tricks. You can't tell me that you had been that much of a troublemaker yourself when you were his age?"

Iruka smiled broadly. "Of course I was. But I grew up and became a teacher, so it became my job to discipline him for all his misdemeanours."

He paused briefly, remembering the year of Naruto's graduation when the young pre-genin's tricks had resulted in some serious punishments.

"Although if truth be told though, I was actually pretty impressed by some of the stunts Naruto managed to pull off, even though I did have to tell him off. Why do you think I always took him out for ramen afterwards? Didn't he get you with the age-old classic 'eraser in the door' trick when you were first assigned to him, Kakashi?"

Sakura giggled, recalling how she had feigned shock at Naruto's prank despite her inner self secretly admiring the fact that the numbskull had had the guts to do it. Even Kakashi rolled his grey eye and smiled a little – it wasn't often that he was caught out but he had had to hand it to Naruto that day.

Iruka continued, "I think Kakashi should be the one to cause the disturbance. He's 'dead' so no one will suspect that it could possibly be him causing the mayhem."

He looked at his lover. "If you can do it though, you should let them catch a glimpse of you, and only a glimpse, mind. It will add to the mystery of the detonations and will really piss Danzou off if he thinks he has a saboteur in his village."

"I'll wear my hooded grey rain cloak. It'll hide my hair and that way I should be virtually unrecognisable if anyone does spot me. I can teleport from location to location before detonating the firecracker jutsu."

"No, don't teleport, you'll use up too much chakra and you still have a lot of healing to do. Only do that if you're on the verge of getting caught. "

Iruka reached inside his box again and pulled out a scrap of paper. He unfolded it to reveal a faded illustration, one that Kakashi and Sakura recognised as strangely familiar and yet somehow not quite real.

"Here's a map of Konoha. It shows all the side streets, alleyways and even the underground tunnel network, the original one, from the time when the village was founded. Everybody knows about the refuge tunnels in the hillside used to protect citizens when Konoha is invaded, but not many people know that the older ones even exist these days. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to map this out but, trust me, you can get around pretty much the whole of Konoha virtually undetected using this chart."

"But what about your chakra signature, Kakashi sensei? Is there a risk that someone will pick up on it?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, no problem," replied Iruka. "As you know, Kakashi's apartment has wards to protect anyone detecting chakra signatures from the outside, so he's always safe when he's here. Those wards can be extended, at least temporarily, onto his cloak. They won't work long term, but nobody will suspect it's Kakashi for the length of time he that needs to trigger the diversion."

Kakashi grabbed Iruka and just hugged him. "You're brilliant. Why didn't you ever make jounin? You were more than capable. You should be tokubetsu at the very least by now."

Sakura nodded. She couldn't help but agree.

Iruka blushed slightly. "Well, I got into teaching and loved it so much that I never really bothered about trying for promotion."

The trio then discussed the timing of their plan; when Kakashi was to trigger the devices and when they would summon Katsuyu to the hospital and rescue Tsunade. Sakura then left Kakashi's apartment and started making her way to the hospital. On her way out, she bumped into Sai.

"Oh crap," thought inner Sakura, "He's going to want to know what I'm doing leaving the jounin apartment block so early in the morning."

But Sai simply smiled his inscrutable smile and asked how she was.

"Oh, I'm fine, Sai, thank you. How are you? I've been very busy at the hospital recently. In fact, er, I'm just on my way there now." Sakura blushed slightly.

Sai smiled again and said nothing more. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and immediately rushed off to the hospital. She didn't notice the little inked mice that scurried into the apartment block behind her.

That evening, Sakura prepared a drink for the ANBU guards who were guarding the Godaime's hospital room, lacing it with Tsunade's very own patented undetectable sleeping potion, one that would knock them out for a couple of hours. The guards were trustworthy but Kakashi felt that the fewer the number of people who knew about Tsunade leaving, the safer she would be. As soon as they were asleep, leaning on each other's shoulders by the doorway and snoring loudly, Sakura, Iruka and Shizune started making preparations for the Godaime's exodus.

Shizune had already carefully bound both Tsunade's broken arms in a protective wrap and dressed her in warm clothing. Iruka located a stretcher and helped Shizune and Sakura carefully lift the Godaime onto it. They then strapped her in to make sure that she was secure.

Iruka, Sakura and Shizune donned their standard issue shinobi cloaks and raised the hoods to cover their hair and most of their faces. They needed to maintain as much anonymity as they could. The moon was in its third quarter but fortunately the cloud cover that night meant that Konoha was mainly shrouded in darkness.

"Are you going with her?" Iruka asked Shizune.

"I don't think I really have much choice. It could be very dangerous but I can provide the medical attention she needs."

Iruka and Kakashi had discussed whether they should be made aware of Tsunade's location and decided that it should remain a secret.

"I think it would be safer if we didn't know where you were taking her. That way, even if Danzou has Ibiki doing his dirty interrogation work, it would, in all honesty, be impossible for us to reveal Tsunade sama's location. Do you agree?"

Shizune nodded.

"Can you get a message to us if there is any change in her condition?"

Shizune nodded again. "I will send one of Katsuyu's slug subordinates to you at Kakashi's old apartment. You are still living there, aren't you? The slug will arrive bearing a reverse summoning jutsu if there is any need to give you information or, indeed, if shishou awakens."

"Okay. In the meantime, we are planning to rebel. I don't know how this is going to happen, or when, but I promise you that…."

BOOOOOOOOOOM! Explosions echoed from the Hokage's palace and Konoha's gates. Iruka hadn't been joking – those detonations sounded like a decade's worth of New Year firecracker celebrations rolled into one. The sound echoed around Konoha, making it difficult to discern where it was coming from.

Muffled shouts were heard as Root ANBU hussled into action. Squad leaders issued instructions to patrolling shinobi to investigate. But there were also sounds of confusion, it was obviously unclear as to which direction the sound was coming from and hence the ANBU guards didn't know where to go to investigate. Iruka looked just slightly smug. He knew this plan would work.

That was the cue. At the sound of the initial explosions, Sakura and Iruka stretchered Tsunade out to the grounds at the back of the hospital. They laid her out right in the middle of the garden on the well-tended lawn, amidst the leafy shrubs.

BOOM… BOOM… BOOM! Further detonations shook the village. This time they were accompanied by a flash, like sheet lightning, which lit up the sky for a millisecond. Kakashi had had time to study Iruka's justsu and had decided to embellish it, just a little.

Shizune produced the summoning scroll with a flourish, donated some blood and performed the requisite hand seals. The ground beneath them shuddered slightly and, very slowly and assuredly, Katsuyu emerged head first from underground, directly beneath where Tsunade was located, and the Godaime was automatically lifted onto her slug's back.

Shizune approached the white beast to apologise for summoning her and to explain the situation. It was always best to approach these highly intelligent creatures with a great deal of reverence. Katsuyu slowly dipped her head to acknowledge her understanding of the circumstances and confirm her agreement to transport Tsunade out of Konoha. Shizune bowed and expressed deep gratitude.

Shizune then climbed onto Katsuyu's back in order to secure the stretcher. She whispered instructions to the giant slug and waved to Sakura and Iruka as all three vanished.

And then the clouds parted, revealing a silvery moon. Iruka breathed a sigh of relief. The Godaime had been evacuated. He turned his head towards the Hokage monument and noticed a hooded figure standing right above the Third Hokage's head. He knew immediately that it was his boyfriend, although he was pretty certain that no one else would be able to identify the shadowy stranger. Kakashi had had the guts to detonate the explosions right in front of the Hokage? Iruka had thought that it would make things interesting if Danzou's men could get a glimpse of the mysterious saboteur but he didn't expect Kakashi to be as blatant as that. He'd clearly followed Iruka's map to set the detonation devices but was intending to teleport out of there.

BOOM! That one came from the direction of the Academy.

Iruka heard muffled shouts – "He's over there!"

"Where?"

"Hokage monument!"

And with that, Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke and crackle of lightning. The teleportation jutsu was actually far more efficient than that and Kakashi was capable of simply disappearing, but he was clearly enjoying himself and wanted to make his exit just that little bit more dramatic.

When Iruka arrived home, Kakashi was lying on the sofa with the widest grin on his face. He was tired but had thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Iruka collapsed beside him, falling right into his boyfriend's arms. They couldn't stop laughing.

The following day, the village was buzzing with news about another attack on Konoha, but no one could understand why there had been no damage to the village's infrastructure. Was it an attack? Was it just a prank? Some people had seen a shadowy figure moving swiftly through the alleyways, others had spotted a silvery shape atop the Hokage Monument. Rumours of the perpetrator being a 'silver shadow' circulated through the village. The civilians discussed the situation openly with the patrolling Root ANBU to find out what was going on. As part of Danzou's propaganda exercise Root were instructed to be visible and approachable in an effort to win the support and loyalty of Konoha's ordinary citizens.

The truth was, no one really knew what had gone on. And nobody had yet discovered that Tsunade was missing. Or if Danzou did know, he was keeping very quiet about it.

Iruka drank in the air of excitement as he walked towards the Hokage's office. It made such a change. Many shinobi from his circle of friends were either constantly out on missions or seemed terribly sad whenever he saw any of them. He was only ever able to make small talk with them, which frustrated him immensely. The cause of their depression was undoubtedly the curse seal but the effect was exacerbated by the fact that no one could talk about their experiences. That old phrase "a problem shared is a problem halved" had no meaning when an evil dictator had ensured that no one could talk about what was troubling them.

Iruka was due to meet with Danzou, as requested, to discuss the Academy curriculum. His heart was feeling increasingly heavy as he approached the Hokage office, as he feared that some kind of educational reform was going to be inevitable. He was worried that Danzou was devising a Machiavellian plan to indoctrinate his pupils.

Iruka knocked on the Rokudaime's door and entered his office. Danzou turned to greet him.

"You asked me to call in, Hokage sama?" Iruka gave a shallow bow as he addressed the nasty little man who stood in front of him. He was finding it increasingly difficult to disguise his aversion and hatred, but he knew that had to play out a role and be very, very careful choosing his words when addressing the village's leader.

Danzou was a very clever politician. He knew far more about his subjects than he let on and he also knew how to get them on the defensive in order to get his way on other matters. He had spies everywhere.

"Iruka. I understand that you have been living in jounin accommodation apartments for the last four months. Can you explain to me why you are doing so? I believe your rank is chuunin?"

"Yes, Hokage sama. As you know, Hatake Kakashi was my boyfriend. When he left on his final mission he asked me to look after his ninja dogs. I couldn't accommodate them all in my own quarters and Tsunade sama didn't have a problem with me moving into Kakashi's apartment after his death."

Iruka paused. "Seeing as he died for Konoha," he added, sounding somewhat more spiteful than he'd intended.

Danzou studied Iruka's expression. He was trying to see how far he could push the chuunin. For his part, Iruka managed to remain impressively impassive, although internally his mind was beginning to whir with questions: Why would Danzou want to know about where he was living? Had the Hokage been spying on him? Oh kami, did he have any suspicion that Kakashi might have returned?

"I see. Well we may have to give some consideration to your living arrangements in future. However, I did not call you here to talk about accommodation, so I will get to the point. I would like to discuss the teaching curriculum at the Academy with you."

Iruka was beginning to feel flustered.

"What do you wish to know, Hokage sama?" What did the bastard have in mind next? Iruka was troubled that Danzou wanted to interfere with the tried and tested methods of the shinobi Academy's training regime.

"Well, as you know, it is my intention that all future shinobi be taken under the wing of Root's special training initiative as I believe that it will nurture and develop elite ninja who will be able to defend Konoha appropriately. But in the meantime we have a number of students already in the education system and I would like to adjust the curriculum in order to balance their existing training with their future developmental needs as shinobi."

Iruka looked confused. Danzou continued.

"I will require a morning session with them once a week. I will personally teach them about Konoha's history and politics. I intend to form a youth movement, one that will ensure that they develop into fine, upstanding ninja who understand the importance of Konoha's standing amongst the shinobi nations and will promote Konoha's strength. I trust you can adjust their curriculum accordingly?"

"But Hokage sama, why not just let them continue their current training?"

"Are you questioning my motives, Iruka?" Danzou frowned, peering at the chuunin, who blushed furiously. He felt as though those mean little eyes were boring right through him.

"Oh no, Hokage sama, not at all. Really. I'm a teacher, I ask questions. A lot. I'm just curious as to why you are initiating this regime?" Iruka felt sure he was babbling. He had to remember simply to obey.

"Because Konoha will be changing over the next few months and years. Konoha is weak at present and the village needs to become strong. I will be making an announcement to all shinobi in due course."

Iruka remained expressionless but nodded to acknowledge the Hokage's wishes. He bowed a shallow bow and turned to leave Danzou's office.

"And Iruka, have you seen the Jinchuuriki?"