Hey! I'm sorry for the delay in updating. I've been feeling a little off emotionally and etc. When I get really into my writing, I get sucked into the world and emotions of the characters and since WS and Reparations are heading into some darker plot lines soon, it's been getting me a little weighed down.

Anyways! I'm fine and thank you for the people who have commented and msg'd on my other stories. I've been writing a small KakaSaku fic called Always You, it's almost finished if you'd like to check it out.

This chapter was going to be longer, but I had to cut it short because the next chapter would have been super short since it's the last chapter for this part. The Chunin Exams... I am not a fan of writing fight scenes tbh. However, in the later chapters of this story there will be very important and bigger fights happening, so you will get more action then, I promise, so please forgive me for not going more in-depth here. The fights are not very important to the plot right now, so I didn't want to waste time on them when I was already behind schedule. Sorry.

In answer to some of the reviews:

-the thing Ayame has to confirm is in this chapter, so read on to find out!
-the anko thing was just a bit of fun. kakashi's not a pervert. he doesn't actually like her like that. he's mentally way older and sees the others as kids, just like obito sees rin as younger and hasn't done anything romance-y around her.
-thank you so much for loving the characters, intensity and being so awesome that you're as invested in this story as me! it means the world.

Next chapter is the final chapter in PART TWO.

Chapter 9

The first round of the third stage match-ups flashed on the screen in the training hall.

Ebisu vs Might Guy

Tokara vs Kurenai Yuhi

Ibiki Morino vs Obito Uchiha

Asuma Sarutobi vs Hayate Gekko

Rin Nohara vs Genma Shirunai

Kakashi Hatake vs Raido Namiashi

Rin glanced at her name with some nervousness. Genma wasn't going to be easy to beat, and if she did manage to beat him, she'd be fighting Kakashi in the next round. She grimaced, and Kurenai patted her on the shoulder comfortingly.

The other two-thirds of Team Minato were pleased with the results. Ibiki was an interesting guy to match up against, and Obito couldn't wait to get in his licks against Guy. Kakashi, on the other hand, was glad to be in the last pool, which meant that there was one less fight for him to take part it, although he was a little disappointed he wouldn't get to match up against his eternal rival - unless Obito did something stupid like lose.

Ayame looked at the board although Kakashi was sure she wasn't really seeing it. There was something else going on in her head. She'd been particularly subdued from the moment she'd arrived, and that was strange. It actually unsettled the other participants in the exams, who didn't know how to take it, considering the way she'd acted for the last two stages of the exams.

Minato noticed her change in demeanour as well, but before he could even question what had happened she shook her head at him and refused to talk to him about it. Instead of standing with the genin and their sensei during their matches - like he thought she would, just to play mind games with the genin - she instead sat on a platform across from them all, alongside the Hokage and his assistant, Nawaki Senju.

The exam started with a particularly unexciting match. Ebisu versus Might Guy was over embarrassingly quickly for Ebisu, who was knocked out after a brutal kick landed on his jaw. Kakashi winced and knew that it was going to be painful to get over that injury. Broken jaws were awful. Genma shook his head and muttered about Guy being a beast, and Obito grinned in excitement.

Kurenai won her match after effectively dodging Tokara's water ninjutsu and proceeding to catch him in a genjutsu.

"To be expected from Konoha's future genjutsu mistress," Minato congratulated her.

Kurenai blushed at the praise, and at the fact that it was the 'handsome Minato Namikaze' who was praising her. Rin smiled at her, and Kurenai whispered that she was lucky to have such a cute sensei, which Asuma overheard and pouted about. Rin, on the other hand, just rolled her eyes and giggled, reminding Kurenai that Minato-sensei was very married and adorably in love. Minato pretended not to overhear them, but his cheeks tinged pink all the same.

In his other life, Obito might have lost to Ibiki, who was extraordinarily talented at provoking his opponents. But he had planned their fight and set it up from the first move. Obito attacked and retreated moving in a circle and using a simple earth jutsu to cover up the explosive tags he was setting with each retreat. He only pretended to fall for Ibiki's tricks and taunts, attacking him fiercely with taijutsu and planted the final tag on Ibiki. Ayame called out to the Yamanaka who was seeing over the match to call it for Obito.

None of the genin understood why until Minato explained what Obito had done. The tags were all connected by a seal, and all Obito had to do was activate the one he had planted on Ibiki for Ibiki and the arena to blow up. What else could be expected when Obito's sensei was a fuinjutsu master?

"A little overboard, wasn't it?" Kakashi asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Obito gave a sheepish grin and shrugged.

"Sorry, Ibiki, I wasn't really going to blow you up," he apologised.

"I would expect not," was Ibiki's serious response, his stare hard.

Obito gulped.

"Oh. Now you're in the sadist's bad books," Kakashi whispered to him. "I hope you enjoyed your life so far."

Asuma versus Hayate was a very active fight, beginning with taijutsu and quickly becoming something almost like a melee. Hayate's sword skills were impressive, but Asuma's ability to deflect and block then with his knuckle blades was maybe even more so. In the end, after managing to overwhelm Hayate with a wind-style ninjutsu, and Asuma came out the victor.

Obito cheered loudly for Rin, and Kakashi gave her a nod of encouragement and a quieter 'good luck.' She faced off against Genma and everyone watched with interest how the medic-nin would match up against someone who was regarded as one of the best of the younger shinobi.

It was a fascinating fight, in the end. Rin's impressive improvements in taijutsu had paid off, and she kept toe-to-toe with Genma who resorted to other methods to defeat her. At some point during their taijutsu match, he'd managed to stick a poison senbon in his fist and when one of his punches connected with her forearm, the sedative was in. He just had to wait out the match, until she succumbed to it. But Rin had felt the tiniest prick of the senbon and rushed her chakra at the affected area, keeping the sedative from moving throughout her body. But it took up a lot of her chakra and concentration to keep it, and she knew she was slipping. In a last-ditch effort to win, she attacked him again, but when his knee connected with her stomach, she was done.

Minato, Kakashi, and Obito all glared at Genma when he returned to the balcony, although Minato hid it better than the other two. Genma gave them all shrugs and made sure to stand behind Choza, but definitely was not hiding behind his sensei from Team Minato. Probably.

Kakashi's fight against Raido was over quickly. He had no interest in a drawn-out match unless it was against Guy or Obito, and he wasn't nice enough to play with his opponents like Obito. Raido wasn't a bad shinobi, he'd be excellent in a few years, and against another opponent, he'd have been able to show that. Kakashi earned a disapproving look from Minato-sensei, which he shrugged off. It wasn't his fault Raido was unlucky.

In the second round Might Guy defeated Kurenai, Obito defeated Asuma, and Kakashi beat Genma. No one was particularly surprised that Guy and Kakashi were among the last remaining, but until the exams, the other teams hadn't really believed that Obito was suddenly so impressive. His fight against Asuma had been far more difficult than he'd originally thought, and he used more chakra than he wanted to.

Rin woke from her short sedated nap in time to see Obito and Might Guy face off against one another. She stood beside Minato and Kakashi, who were watching the match intently. Genma murmured an apology to her, and she shook her head telling him it wasn't necessary. They were shinobi after all.

Obito was pleased to note that Might Guy looked at him with the same determination and concentration that he looked at Kakashi with. Guy was one of the few people that, although he was an idiot, did not approach a fight with preconceived notions about his opponent. He showed respect to everyone, no matter their level of skill. His thoughts were proven true when Guy spoke.

"My eternal rival considers you a great opponent, and therefore so do I."

Obito rolled his eyes.

"Kakashi's not that great. He's actually really ugly under that mask of his."

He heard Rin stifle a giggle from above and grinned.

Guy looked aghast.

"My rival is hip and cool! It's impossible for him to be ugly."

Obito heard Kakashi's long-suffering sigh, and then he heard Ayame's irritated voice.

"Just shut up and fight, Obito. You're wasting time."

Obito turned a glare up to her and saw that she wasn't even looking at him anymore. He frowned slightly and then turned back to Guy, who waited for the Yamanaka to signal the start of their match. Obito flexed his fingers, and it started.

Guy came at him with a high kick that Obito waited until the last second to dodge, ducking under his leg and coming up on the outside and aiming a kick of his own to Guy's head. The next few minutes were an intense bout of taijutsu, where they were mostly just testing each other out. Obito was careful to keep his chakra in check and not allow his Sharingan to activate, and only use taijutsu. Guy was incredible, but Obito and Kakashi were the only ones who could match him in their generation.

They backed away, both panting.

"You are truly worthy to be my rivals friend," Guy panted.

Obito didn't reply, instead, he formed familiar hand signs and released a Fireball Jutsu at his opponent, big enough that he had to move quickly to avoid it. Guy's reflexes kicked in and he dodged, coming back at Obito with more ferocity than before, not allowing Obito to make any more hand signs.

One of Guy's attacks hit him hard, and Obito felt his rib crack. He winced in pain. If he was going to win, he needed to do it quickly. He'd been allowing Guy to show his skill, that he deserved to be promoted, but Obito needed to be okay to fight Kakashi in the next round, and the lucky bastard didn't have to fight this extra fight to get to the final round. Stupid luck of the draw.

Obito slowly gathered the chakra in his eyes, defending against Guy's attacks, until he saw an opening. Guy punched out at him at the moment Obito's Sharingan activated, and Obito moved his head ever so slightly out of the path of Guy's fist, raised his hand at the same moment and colliding it with Guy's wrist. Guy's arm buckled a little, being pushed up and away. The quickness of the action, the unexpectedness of it, and the shock of seeing Obito's Sharingan made Guy half a second slow in his next move, and by then it was too late. Obito whipped his arm out to grip the back of Guy's neck, holding him for a second, bringing his face close to Obito's, and Guy was caught in a genjutsu.

All that training with Fugaku to master his Sharingan (which he didn't need but pretended to) had also included controlling the amount of chakra he used and a lot of genjutsu. It was no wonder Itachi had been so proficient in the art, his father was also a master. Obito released him with a grimace and stepped back, releasing his Sharingan. The chakra restraints gave him and Kakashi access to more chakra, but it was still a pathetic amount compared to what Obito actually had. He needed to conserve it.

There was a stunned silence in the room before Rin broke it with a loud clap and cheer.

"Yeah, Obito!"

Obito looked up at her, wincing slightly from the ache in his ribs, and saw that she was smiling broadly at him. He grinned back and glanced at the rest of his team; Minato was smiling at him proudly and Kakashi was giving him a look that meant it wouldn't be that easy next round.

He was declared the winner, the genjutsu on Guy was broken, and they congratulated each on a good fight. As soon as Obito arrived back on the dais with the rest of his classmates, he was suddenly surrounded by them all questioning him about his Sharingan. Minato saved him by telling them that he needed to go to the medics before the next round, and Ayame announced there would be a two-hour break.

Ayame left the arena quickly before the Hokage could ask her any questions, and went straight to Tsunade's office. It was technically against hospital and village law, and certainly considered extremely rude, to use the Body Flicker inside the hospital. It was a safety measure, for starters. However, Ayame wasn't in the mood and since her mother damn well built the hospital, she didn't care to obey its rules in the slightest.

It was helpful that the medic-nin within the hospital walls almost instantly recognised her, which meant they backed the hell away immediately and let her do what she wanted. If there was an uppity youngster around, they were pulled away quickly and told about her. Probably something terrible and frightening, and although she felt a slight prickle of sadness that she was feared, she was also a little proud of it.

The benefit of having a constantly activated Sharingan was that when Ayame was concentrating, she could determine who was where at any given time by their chakra signatures. Her lack of awareness of Orochimaru's presence in the Tower during the second round of the chunin exams was due to her giving her eye a break. Every now and again she needed to deactivate that eye and close it. Not that anyone would know unless they got close enough to her to see through the sweeping of hair she always had over half her face.

Tsunade was in her office, alone, so Ayame didn't bother knocking. The look of outrage on Tsunade's face was enough to break Ayame's face into a smile.

"If you were anyone else, you would be dead," Tsunade hissed at her.

Ayame dodged the pen that flew at her head and embedded itself in the wall. She closed the door behind her.

Tsunade, apparently realising her lack of sarcastic response was not good, straightened and looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"What happened?"

Ayame clenched her jaw and then unclenched it. She felt sick. Actually physically ill.

"How close are you with the scroll?" She asked quietly.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, and Ayame noticed the purple bruises under her eyes and saw the tiredness in her expression. Tsunade hadn't been sleeping. She reached down and Ayame watched her movements through her Sharingan, as Tsunade unsealed a draw in her desk and removed the scroll.

"Nawaki and I finished it this morning," Tsunade answered, placing the scroll on the desk.

Ayame frowned. He hadn't said anything to her at all.

"And?"

Ayame didn't move to take the scroll.

"They're research notes about cloning, increased rate of gestation and development with annotations made about some kind of body-swap jutsu." Tsunade looked and sounded disgusted. "Nawaki wanted to take this to the Hokage immediately, but I kept it here for you. I was going to call when the chunin exams were done."

Ayame felt her lower lip begin to tremble.

One war ends and another begins.

"So why don't you tell me what's making you so afraid?" Tsunade asked in a gentler voice that was rarely heard from her. "Because this all but confirms that Orochimaru is working on making some kind of freak clone jutsu, but what does it have to do with your brother?"

I look forward to your attempts to try and stop me.

Ayame took a deep breath.

"He's already completed it," she replied simply, giving Tsunade a falsely cheerful smile and a small shrug, making her seem like the age she looked.

Tsunade's eyes widened and she stood up suddenly, hands planted firmly on her desk.

"What happened, Ayame?"

"He was here," she whispered. "He was in the village, pretending to be just another Uchiha child. Playing happily with Itachi while Mikoto looked on unawares."

She hated herself for not entirely hating him. That seeing the child-Ryuu had brought back so many feelings she'd pushed away, so many memories she'd been forcing herself to forget. He wasn't always bad, her mind whispered. She couldn't let herself think those thoughts, she couldn't. Too much was at stake, and sometimes it felt like it was too heavy. Her mothers legacy - not the hospital, or Tsunade, or the revolutions she'd made to medical ninjutsu - her true legacy of shadows and pain, hungover Ayame like a cloud, a constant reminder of protecting the village, protecting the future.

Ayame couldn't stop the trembling that took hold of her body. She was afraid, she was so afraid and so worried and so angry and everything that she'd been hoping was wrong, wrong and a lie and couldn't possibly be real or true for the last thirty years had just proven itself to be true that morning. It wasn't fair! It wasn't fair because her mother never failed and her father didn't -

Tsunade Senju was not the kind of woman who showed physical affection to someone if it didn't come in the form of violence and Ayame Uchiha was not the kind of woman who ever showed vulnerability in front of another person.

If someone who knew the two of them had walked into the office to see Tsunade hugging a crying Ayame, they'd think it was some kind of illusion. But to Ayame, Tsunade was the closest thing to a sister she had, and although she had kept the biggest secrets from her, and she was absolutely certain that Tsunade was aware of that. But Tsunade never pressed her, and Ayame showed Tsuna everything else she could.

"He's coming back for Konoha," Ayame whispered to Tsunade. "As soon as the war ends, and whatever experiments Orochimaru does to make him stronger."

She felt Tsunade's rage rise and the woman let her go.

"Then we have to put an end to it now," Tsunade said fiercely.

Ayame wiped her eyes and sniffed. She took a deep breath and collected herself. Within ten seconds, the only evidence remaining that she'd been upset was the slight red tinge around her eye.

"Do not let that scroll out of our sight. Keep Nawaki silent until I give the all-clear. When the chunin exams are completed, I will call for you to meet with Sarutobi-sensei. Understood?"

Tsunade nodded.

"Of course."

"Just… act normal around the snake," Ayame said with displeasure.

Tsunade scoffed derisively, her own conflicted dislike of her ex-teammate shining in her eyes.

"I'll do my best."

Ayame let out a long-suffering sigh.

"I was really hoping today was going to be a good day."

Tsunade snorted, returned to behind her desk and pulled out a bottle of sake, which Ayame swiped from her and drank straight from the bottle.

"Welcome to our life."

"Hey, brat."

Obito paused in the doorway, recognising the voice. He waved the other genin ahead and stopped to talk to the unusually serious-looking Ayame. She almost always looked semi-serious, but it was with an underlying hint of amusement, or irritation - something other than grave, which is how she looked at that moment.

He frowned, concerned. Not that he would ever admit out loud that he secretly really liked and cared about her. She was so annoying and overbearing and treated him like a kid sometimes and as an adult at others, not to mention her nickname for him was 'international criminal mastermind' which really frustrated him. But he definitely did not like to see her looking the way she had been all day, and he knew that Kakashi and Minato-sensei were slightly concerned as well. It was unsettling.

"What?" Obito scowled. "I have to go fight Kakashi."

"Just stay still," she said with annoyance.

Obito sighed heavily.

"What do you want?"

Ayame raised her hands and they glowed green. Obito's eyes widened slightly as he felt her medical chakra probe his body.

"What are you doing?" He asked her. He'd never seen her heal before.

"Just double-checking," she replied vaguely.

Obito narrowed his eyes and sniffed.

"Have you been drinking?" He asked incredulously.

Ayame's lowered her hands and gave him an irritated glare.

"Just shut up, Obito," she snapped with more force than he'd ever heard from her. "I'm just doing what I can for you, all right?"

Obito had a feeling that she was talking about more than just the medical ninjutsu.

"Thanks, Princess," he mocked jokingly.

Finally, finally, he saw a little smile.

"Keep your heart in the right place, Obito," she said quietly. "Make your clan proud today."

With that, Ayame walked away. Obito watched her go with confusion. Feeling Minato's hand on his shoulder, he looked up at his sensei.

"Something's wrong," he murmured quietly.

Minato nodded, worry etched into his brow.

"I agree."

Obito shook his head.

"Well. First, we've got to finish this, and then we'll figure it out."

Minato-sensei nodded, giving him a quick smile.

"Good luck."

Obito grinned and went inside to fight Kakashi.

"THAT WAS THE MOST AMAZING DISPLAY OF YOUTHFUL SPIRIT I HAVE EVER BEEN WITNESS TOO!"

Guy's proclamation of the fight - no, battle - between Obito Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake barely scratched the surface.

The pair had finally allowed themselves to show the truth - as much as they could with their chakra restraints on - of their skill. Only Minato, Rin and Ayame were left unsurprised by how far ahead of everyone else the pair of them were.

"They were holding back on us," Asuma muttered to Genma.

"You think?" Genma snorted.

Rin gave Minato-sensei a secret smile, and he gave her a pleasant one back before ruffling her hair.

"Maybe someone should send a medic down there?" Kurenai said, concerned.

Rin looked down at her two teammates, who were laying on their backs, unconscious. She peered at them.

"They're still breathing," she said. "I think they'll be fine."

Hayate gave her an incredulous look.

"But you're their team medic, aren't you going to help them? Aren't you worried?"

Rin smiled.

"If you thought that fight was the worst they've ever come through, you're very misinformed. They'll be fine and look, the medics have arrived already."

Rin heard a quiet murmur of 'what kind of training do those monsters do?' and couldn't help but smile.

It wasn't the gathering of the trio that worried Minato. He'd seen Ayame and the Senju siblings together before; they were apparently quite good friends. Ayame's only real and proper friends from what he could tell. So seeing them together wasn't concerning, but seeing the usually calm and thoughtful Nawaki in what he could only describe as a rage, did worry him.

Nawaki Senju's injuries as a chunin were severe enough to land him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but Minato admired him even more for it. Not many would be able to do what he had done; to crawl back from the edges of despair (if the rumours were to be believed) and use his wits, intelligence and mind to get as close to his goal of being Hokage as he could.

The traditional seat of Senju on the Hokage Council was supposed to have been taken over by Tsunade, as the eldest. However, likely due to Sakura's influence, there was also a seat on the council required by law to be filled by the head medic. After all, how could the village as a whole be run properly if the health and wellbeing of its citizens were neglected in favour of military might? Tsunade had been filling both roles until Nawaki had been fit enough, and now Nawaki was the one filling both, acting as a go-between for his sister who apparently hating meetings. Not to mention he had become the personal assistant to the Hokage, which meant that Nawaki was just as knowledgable and powerful as the man himself. Minato had heard from Shikaku Nara that Nawaki was just as an adept a strategist with a slightly more idealistic view of the world as the Nara himself. Nawaki Senju was possibly the most powerful man in the village, although Minato highly doubted that he would ever use it for his own advantage. Nawaki was by all account an honourable man who acted with integrity and kindness first.

Minato watched the trio from a distance with a frown. Ayame had been odd since the day of the final exam, and two days of vacantly worried looks on her face was extremely concerning considering the nature of their 'mission' and how that would affect his own time-traveling soon-to-be chunin. He knew from experience that if he approached Ayame with his concerns, she'd brush him off with a joke or something else that was infuriating, evade his questions and then continue on with whatever she was doing. All he could do was wait and wonder.

Suddenly, the door to the Hokage's office burst open and his trio all walked out of there with huge grins on their faces. He walked from his place by the window at the end of the hall to meet them.

"Congratulations," he smiled at them.

"Yeah!" Obito's fist-pumped the air. "We're chunin!"

"I knew you could do it," Minato said, pleased.

Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Well, all things considered… of course you did."

Obito threw his arm over Rin's shoulder and they both laughed.

"Kushina wanted me to tell you to be at our house by seven tonight," Minato told them. "She's cooking up a special congratulatory meal for you."

Rin's hands came together and her eyes lit up.

"Oh, Kushina's cooking is the best," she said happily. "I'll make sure they're not late, sensei."

"Thank you, Rin."

Minato watched as Kakashi was dragged off by Might Guy, who had also been promoted, and waved to Obito and Rin who followed along with Genma Shirunai, the only other promoted genin of the group. He was proud of them, although not surprised. If they hadn't been made chunin he would have been extremely disappointed in the Hokage and fought for their promotions. Kakashi and Obito were both elite jonin level shinobi technically (but only he knew that), and although Rin was a mid-level chunin a most, she was still a very strong and smart kunoichi with a lot of potential.

"Come in, Minato."

The Hokage's voice drifted into the corridor and Minato walked into his office.

"You have a fine team, Minato," the Hokage said, sucking on his pipe.

Minato inclined his head.

"I do. They're all extremely talented shinobi."

"As you know, it's not common for genin teams to stick together after they're made chunin unless they're exceptions such as Ino-Shika-Cho, since we need to fill our ranks with the best people in each place."

Minato stilled. Was his team going to be split up? He'd only had two years with them, and there was more they had yet to do.

"It is clear, however, that Team Minato is very much a cohesive and effective unit. You will remain the team captain, with the chunin under your command. However, due to the war effort, there will be times when each of them are called away to fill different roles."

"I understand, Lord Hokage," Minato responded, unable to stop the rush of happiness and relief he felt. His team was going to be kept together.

"With that in mind, Rin Nohara will be assigned to the hospital, working directly under Sakiko Uchiha in conjunction with Tsunade's student Shizune. You should meet with her to organise a training schedule that will keep Rin from burning out. Medical ninjutsu training will burn through her chakra reserves and any external missions must have this taken into consideration."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage."

The Hokage inclined his head and Minato was dismissed.

"It's the necessary time."

The air in the Hokage's office seemed to suspend and the words hung around the Hokage and Ayame. The suddenly tense atmosphere didn't make sense to either of the Senju siblings, but they remained quiet, understanding that it was not their place to speak or question. Something that Tsunade usually had a lot of trouble abiding by, but apparently this was one of the rare situations in which she did not speak.

The Hokage's eyes drifted from Ayame to Tsunade and Nawaki.

"I expect that since you haven't dismissed them, this information is necessary for everyone?" He questioned Ayame.

Ayame took a deep breath and gave a wry smile.

"It's…part of the necessary time," she amended.

The Hokage's eyes narrowed at her.

"Tsuna, the scroll."

Tsunade gave her a calculative look and then handed Orochimaru's scroll over to the Hokage.

"What is it?" Hiruzen asked.

"On the morning of the chunin exams I was walking to get some senbon from that really delicious place in the Uchiha District, and then I saw Mikoto with Itachi at a park. So I went to sit down on and chat with her - "

"Get to the point, Aya," the Hokage snapped.

"There was a boy playing with Itachi. About nine, maybe. He wore Uchiha clothes, I assumed he was an orphan - until I got a look at his face."

Tsunade stepped forwards.

"Nawaki and I have been working to decipher that scroll for a month. It's Orochimaru's."

The Hokage scanned its contents and Ayame saw his face pale.

"Tell me the rest of it," he said, his voice quiet and thoughtful, but wavering with anger.

"It was a lightning clone," Ayame told him, keeping her voice flat and emotionless as if she didn't care at all. "He gave me a message. Ryuu will come for Konoha when the war is done, but before then, something must be done about the snake who has been conspiring with him."

There was a long silence in the room, and Tsunade couldn't contain herself any longer.

"You know he's been off for years," she snarled at the Hokage. "Orochimaru is not a friend to Konoha, everyone knows he's been doing something in the shadows and this is the proof."

"I found that scroll in one of his hidden laboratories on the borders of the country," Ayame said. "I do not doubt for a moment that it was put there for me to find, likely by my brother, who does not and never has cared for Orochimaru. They're working together and using each other for their own means, I'm sure of it."

Lord Third closed his eyes for a moment.

"We are in the middle of a war," he murmured. "And Orochimaru is one of our most significant and important shinobi."

"He's also a traitor," Ayame hissed, her anger getting the better of her.

"What was the message?" The Hokage asked her.

Ayame swallowed her annoyance.

"One war ends and another begins."

The rest of the message was not for the others to know, not yet. According to her mother, Minato would become the Hokage after the war, and it was Minato Namikaze that she trusted more than the Third in this matter. The Third was emotionally compromised when it came to Orochimaru and Danzo. Minato, Ayame hoped, would not be.

"Lord Hokage." Nawaki rolled his chair forwards. "I believe this information in regards to Orochimaru and Ryuu Uchiha must be brought to the council. We are in the midst of a war unlikely to end any time soon."

"No," Ayame was the one who snarled this time. "Danzo Shimura will not be informed of this."

The Hokage looked at her darkly.

"You have no proof that Danzo is involved in nefarious activities, and your judgment over the man is biased."

Ayame's blood ran cold.

"You think that just because you're old friends that you can keep that man in line? Please, you're a sentimental old fool, Sarutobi - "

There was a reason Hiruzen Sarutobi had been named the Hokage, and it wasn't often these days that people felt the darkness of his presence under his guise of a cheerful, tired and intelligent old man. But this was a man who had survived two wars and was trained under the Second Hokage. Ayame cut-off and glared at him, knowing that if she spoke another word he wouldn't hesitate to send her to Ibiki or Inoichi to extract everything she hadn't told him from her brain. He glowered at her, and she refused to back away or back down from her opinions. The sooner Orochimaru and Danzo were killed off the better for everyone.

"Nawaki, call the council for an emergency meeting now. Keep it quiet," he snapped.

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Nawaki left the room.

"Tsunade, get out," Hiruzen ordered.

Ayame could feel the anger rolling off Tsuna's body, but she left without a word. The excessive slamming of the door was enough to let them know she was furious.

"Tell me everything, now," he demanded.

"No."

Ayame's response infuriated him.

"You need to focus on the war. My focus is on my brother. He won't do anything until the war is done, and we will be prepared for it."

"You have no way to make that guarantee. Ryuu is not the same man you knew."

Ayame bared her teeth.

"I know exactly who my brother is," she growled. "He will not make a move until the war is over."

"Why?"

Ayame grit her teeth.

"That's classified."

Hiruzen's face was thunderous.

"I am your Hokage!"

"My orders overrule yours," Ayame snapped. "You are the Hokage and your village is at war. This is not a situation you should be focusing on right now. Keep your people alive and I will do the same!"

Hiruzen and Ayame stared off at each other, their chakra's had both released to a level that brought ANBU immediately to the room. Hiruzen dismissed them with cold looks and they left immediately. The Hokage took a moment to control himself.

"How certain are you that Orochimaru is working with your brother?" He asked eventually.

"One hundred percent," Ayame responded immediate and flat.

The Hokage suddenly looked every bit the old and tired man he was. She couldn't find any sympathy for him. If one of her students - not that she ever had any - turned into a psychopath (she was still watching Obito carefully, but he seemed fine for now) she'd kill them immediately. She knew what happened when you didn't put down threats: they turned into Ryuu.

There was a knock at the door and the Hokage called out to enter. It was Nawaki. He glanced between the two of them carefully.

"The council has gathered," he told them.

"Very well."

"This is a mistake," Ayame muttered under her breath.

Hiruzen ignored her, and they went to inform the council.

The party at Minato-sensei's home had been more than enough for Obito. Kushina had cooked a really good meal, Rin had been smiling so much her cheeks hurt, Kakashi had actually spent the entire evening without his mask on - which shocked everyone since he only ever took it off to eat very quickly in front of them, and they were the only one who'd ever seen his face.

He had never expected that his clan head would hold a small gathering for him as well.

Mikoto whispered to him during the course of the bewildering party where he was congratulated and apparently respected by his fellow clansmen, that Fugaku had used the excuse that this party was to help boost morale with so many of their clansmen at the front lines, but secretly, he was proud of Obito. It was nice, Obito decided, to be properly accepted as part of his clan. It definitely made things easier. With his half-truthful, half put-on facade of a cheerful, boisterous boy, he could sneak into people's good graces and help prevent any future unrest. Even though the clan and village were on very good terms, it still helped to have an in. He hadn't completely abandoned all that he'd learned as Madara/Tobi, and manipulation was a basic skill for shinobi.

Despite those shadowed thoughts he kept in the back of his mind, Obito had come to truly care for his clan in a way he never had before, and particularly for Shisui and Itachi. Shisui was similar to the boy Obito had once been; competitive, loyal, a little more animated than most other Uchiha. But there was a darkness in him that came out on the rare occasion; he was a jealous child, but Obito knew Shisui would come out of it a better person and shinobi.

He'd never tell it to anyone, but Obito had always liked Itachi. Even as he manipulated and tried to kill him in another life. Itachi was someone worthy of respect and admiration. He could only hope that by being around the boy, Itachi would help Obito become a better person, and in turn, Obito could help Itachi - and keep him away from people like Danzo. There were a lot of things to think about, but now that Obito was a chunin, and the war was still at least two years away from ending, he had other things to think about. Including whatever was bothering Ayame, which was probably nothing good.

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS YOU OLD, MORONIC - "

"SIT DOWN, TSUNADE," The Hokage thundered.

Tsunade did not sit, but she did not speak either. Ayame's fists were clenched and even Nawaki looked outraged by the suggestion.

"We cannot afford to lose Orochimaru's strength in this war. He is a Sannin. His arrest would weaken us, and make us look weak," Danzo said in a calm voice.

Oh, Ayame wanted nothing more than to decapitate the man.

"Danzo is right," Koharu said.

"Of course you agree with him," Ayame snorted. "You fucking spineless old hag."

"Ayame!" Nawaki looked at her with distress and indignation.

"Call me all the names you like, Princess, it doesn't change the fact that you and your mother failed to destroy your brother even after he mur - "

"Another word and I'll kill you," Ayame hissed, kunai pointing at the old woman's throat.

Koharu sat back, but there was a morbid, smug satisfaction in her eyes, mirrored in Danzo's own expression.

"Put your kunai away, Ayame," the Hokage ordered.

"This bickering is pointless," Nawaki said, ever the peace-maker. "We are at war. In times of peace, the course of action is clear, now it is clouded by need over ethics. Konoha needs Orochimaru right now. When the war is ended, we can take the appropriate course of action then."

"Indeed," Danzo agreed with Nawaki. "However, we must do something to ensure that we keep him from easily being able to contact the Dragon."

Ayame glowered at Danzo.

"We will recall Jiraiya," the Hokage offered. "And have Orochimaru accompany him for intelligence gathering and sabotage."

Ayame loathed to admit that it was probably the best idea, but she wanted the snake's head on a platter so she could burn it to a crisp and feed it to his own summons.

"Jiraiya should be able to keep him from getting into too much trouble," Homura nodded. "But I can't help but be concerned that he will find ways to contact Ryuu Uchiha by methods Jiraiya will not be able to discern."

"Of course he will," Tsunade scoffed, sitting back down.

"At least he will be out of the village. It may deter the Dragon from another infiltration attempt."

"He's not infiltrating for any other purpose than to play and torment until the day he really will come," Ayame drawled. "Which will be after the end of the war."

"We should send out a team to find him," Koharu said. "Put him down before then, if he truly is a child again as you claim."

Ayame snorted.

"If you think you can take him down, even if he is a child again, you're severely underestimating my brother's skills and overestimating the shinobi we have available for that kind of mission. Besides, I spent thirty years looking for him. He's not going to be found, it's a waste of resources."

"I'm inclined to agree," Danzo said.

Ayame narrowed her eyes at him.

"However, with Orochimaru's departure from the village, might I suggest that you allow me to investigate him?"

Ayame's eyes narrowed further. If that wasn't implied fear that his own association with Orochimaru might be discovered, what was? The Hokage nodded, much to Ayame's displeasure.

"I trust your discretion in this matter, Danzo," he said.

Ayame had never been more disappointed in the Hokage, and Danzo the fake, simpering, treasonous bastard, smiled.

"This matter is to be handled with the utmost discretion, not to be spoken about outside of this room. There is a war going on and we cannot have murmurs and whispers within our ranks, bringing down morale." The Hokage spoke authoritatively. "Ayame will continue to do her work, tracking down everything she can about her brother. Danzo will investigate Orochimaru, and we will inform Jiraiya only to keep an eye on him. No specific details whatsoever."

The meeting was closed and Ayame sat for several moments in the room, as the other council members left. She sat in the quiet, hating everything that had just happened. It was lucky she remained longer in the room, gathering her thoughts because if she had left earlier she would not have heard the tail-end of Danzo and Koharu's conversation and her Sharingan would not have picked up the passing mentions of Amegakure, the Akatsuki, and Hanzo.