AN: Looks like most folks would prefer to skip team eight's fight so we'll just have a glimpse of it and the outcome.

Chapter 20: Striking Back

Tsunade and Shizune performed the procedure on Choji. He would keep the prosthetic leg but Tsunade would actually graft skin and nerves through the prosthetic leg to the bottom of the artificial foot. Chakra could then flow on 'flesh' allowing Choji to use the leg. It would also respond much better to him then a normal prosthetic. Tsunade had to have Jiraiya use a seal that kept the flesh from decaying since no nutrients could flow to it.

The procedure was not dangerous to Choji however it was extremely difficult to do and it took hours of painstaking precision before Tsunade and Shizune were finished. Choji would not be able to use all of his family jutsu but he could definitely now once again be a member of Asuma's team.

Tsunade was thanked over and over again by Shikamaru, Choza, Ino and many others. Tsunade felt a warm glow of accomplishment fill her. She had forgotten what it was like to heal shinobi from Konoha. Walking back to her temporary abode she did not feel the sadness and despair she normally did when walking the paths of Konohagakure. 'Perhaps it's time I stayed here. Shizune is happy and I'm sure I could convince Jiraiya to start a medical program like I had always wanted.'

***BREAK***

Kakashi met with the Godaime Hokage towards the end of his team's week off of serious missions. It was late at night and Jiraiya was still doing paperwork. Kakashi chuckled as he entered, "Good evening Hokage-Sama." Jiraiya had sensed him as he came into his office and looked up. "This is your fault you know." Kakashi gave him an eye smile, "My fault? That you have become Hokage and are ensuring our village's protection? Why yes. Yes it is."

The toad sage grumbled, "Gloat all you want behind that mask Kakashi but because of you there won't be any more Icha Icha books!" Kakashi scratched at his mask. "Hmm well that is powerful incentive for me to stop punishing you." Jiraiya looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean?"

"Well with the training I've used with my students I've learned how to deal with paperwork but I had been keeping it from you since you nearly got my students killed fighting Orochimaru!" Jiraiya nervously laughed, "Oh come on now! How was I supposed to know he would be there?"

"And then you did let yourself be drugged…"

Jiraiya growled, "All right enough! Tell me how to escape this paperwork!" The Hokage glared at Kakashi and warned, "And if you say a Katon jutsu I will be assigning you D ranked missions for the rest of your career!"

Kakashi chuckled, "Maa Maa, no need to be so hasty. It's simple." Kakashi stared at Jiraiya for a few seconds letting the tension mount. "Kage. Bunshin." Jiraiya's eyes popped to their widest possible. The Kage Bunshin could do the paperwork for him! He could easily create a couple and have plenty of time to do research, write his novels and just relax while all the work got done!

Jiraiya had tears in his eyes, "Kakashi… thank you! I thought my life was over, stuck behind this desk never to experience the joy of a sweet round…" Kakashi cleared his throat loudly. For some reason he was OK with reading his erotica but to hear Jiraiya go on about the research that supported was disquieting. "Yes well, I do expect the next book to be autographed. And maybe a little insert thanking me personally for the series being able to continue wouldn't be too out of line either."

Jiraiya laughed, "You got it kid." Jiraiya was dancing for joy on the inside but he put on his Hokage face and simmered down as he got down to business. "All right Kakashi, you mentioned earlier you had a plan you wanted to run by me?"

"Hai, since you have nixed the strike at Suna I believe we should deal with Orochimaru before he can rebuild his shinobi force. Here is what I have in mind." Kakashi was quite detailed in his plans and Jiraiya was soon nodding in agreement. It would be risky but it was far past time for the snake to be brought to justice.

***BREAK***

Naruto liked to position one of the clones he had disguised as a villager at the gates on Konoha. That meant he was the first of the rookies to see team eight return from their mission. He was shocked as they were bustled in by a 2nd team that included medical nin. Shino and Hinata were walking on their own though they both had bandages on them. Kurenai was being helped a pair of shinobi while Kiba was being hauled in by a stretcher.

Naruto removed the Henge and approached Hinata, "What happened?" He was anxious; he hated to see his comrades injured. While it was just a clone it still had the same feelings and thoughts as the original. When he dissipated those same feelings and thoughts would transfer over to the real Naruto.

Hinata looked at Naruto. She didn't blush or fidget she just tiredly said, "We were ambushed Iwagakure." Naruto looked at the stretchers and swallowed thickly, "Are they going to be OK?" Hinata looked downcast as she responded, "Kurenai will be but I don't know about Kiba. He lost a lot of blood and his heart stopped, if Shino hadn't learned basic medical training he would be dead."

Naruto wasn't sure what to say but felt obligated to say something. "Everything I've read about Inuzukas tells me they have great stamina and recuperative powers. I'm sure he'll be fine Hinata. Were you hurt?" She looked at Naruto hoping his words were accurate, "I suffered some injuries but took no serious wounds. But… I… I…" Hinata blamed the lack of sleep and exhaustion. Kakashi had trained her better than this. Forcing herself to calm down she spoke clearly, "I killed two Iwa shinobi. I haven't slept well since."

"After what they did to Kiba and Kurenai I'm glad you killed them," the clone said heatedly.

Hinata looked at the blonde haired boy she had always admired. He had taken abuse for years and never retaliated. He was not someone like Sasuke who was bent on the path of revenge. Had he changed now that he had become a shinobi? Was the boy she loved no longer an entity that existed? Or was he merely saying something to make her feel better? Or did he only get angry when it was other people hurt; maybe he wouldn't take vengeance for himself but would do it if his precious people were attacked. Her mind whirled with these questions and she realized she had been silent for several moments.

"Naruto, can we talk later?"

The clone nodded, "Sure and if I can do anything for you or team eight just let me know."

Hinata thanked him and then hurried after her wounded comrades. The Naruto cloned dispelled himself and the real Naruto who had been training his kenjutsu forms received the memories. Naruto was surrounded by his clones who were working on various chakra control exercises. A few clones had been lobbing various objects at him to cut at random intervals to improve his reaction speed while staying true to his kenjutsu style.

"Damn it. Iwagakure must have sent multiple squads to mess with us," Naruto said out loud. He created a few more clones and had them race over to Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi. The clone that went to Kakashi burst into a clearing where Kakashi was training. Kakashi had his own clone that was moving at a high rate of speed around trees, dodging to the side, using shunshin and Kawarimi seemingly at random. Suddenly the air around the clone distorted and seemed to be trying to devour the clone. However the clone wasn't hit square by whatever was absorbing it and was able to Kawarimi away. The Naruto clone saw the piece of wood disappear.

The real Kakashi was breathing quite heavily. His Mangekyo Sharingan had given him the ability to use Kamui. The power of it was frightening however it had significant drawbacks. For one it drastically drained his chakra. Kakashi may have been a genius however he did not naturally have high chakra reserves. With his constant training his chakra reserves had expanded to be near Kage level but with this technique even that did not allow for too many uses. The second and greater risk from a long term perspective is that it damaged his Sharingan.

While the damage wasn't significant over time he suspected he would lose all ability to use his Sharingan. This made it highly frustrating for him to train with it since in effect he only had a finite number of uses of it. He did not know if this was truly finite or if spacing out the uses would delay the effects but testing a hypothesis thoroughly was not an option.

Using it against his clone he realized that S ranked shinobi would not simply die from the attack. However if they were restrained or even briefly caught unaware he could hit with the attack and kill them. And even if they weren't restrained or surprised they could take significant damage, such as losing a limb if they weren't moving at the highest level of speed. Against lesser shinobi there was little someone could do to stop the attack. Since the attack did not use hand seals it was very flexible and death could occur before they even knew Kakashi was preparing to strike.

Kakashi turned to the clone and deactivated his Sharingan. "What is it?" The clone explained that team eight had returned and that it had two members severely injured due to Iwa aggression. Kakashi frowned beneath his mask; he had hoped that Iwa was done with their probing. "Thank you for telling me, I'll go see the Hokage." The clone waved and then went poof to let the real Naruto know the message had been delivered.

The real Naruto was upset. He wasn't sure which Iwagakure shinobi had attacked team eight but if it was the ones that they had let go he would track down whoever was still alive from that squad. Hinata had killed two, she would know if they were the same ones they had fought. It was also possible that all four had been killed. Maybe the other two were killed by the other members of the squad. He wouldn't bother Hinata about it now but he would ask later on.

Naruto was never one to focus on past slights and grievances. The worst he would do to the villagers was pulling pranks on them which were temporarily infuriating but did no lasting harm. Right now hot rage filled his veins and he felt the Kyubi chakra bubble up inside of him. He clamped down on it hard. Breathing heavily he examined his thoughts. He was angry at Iwa for the attack. He was angry that his comrades were injured. He was angry that Hinata was sad.

Would killing Iwa shinobi make him feel better? If he were to ask Sasuke he would receive a yes. If he were to ask Kakashi he would say that revenge could be cathartic but that it should not get in the way of his goals and dreams. If he were to ask Sakura she would say no, that killing wasn't a good thing. He turned over the thoughts in his head while he continued working on his kenjutsu style.

He didn't enjoy killing. Killing someone to protect the village was absolutely something he did with no qualms about it being right. But to kill for no other reason than appease his own selfish psychological need? It wasn't who he wanted to be. If he had to kill Iwa shinobi he would do so without hesitation but he refused to take joy in it. He would not be like the Kyubi who reveled in destruction and pain.

***BREAK***

Kakashi met with the Hokage and Shikaku. Jiraiya didn't like having large group discussions, too many opinions and divergent desires made it a chaotic mess. He trusted Kakashi and Shikaku to provide intelligent analysis. Both of them were geniuses and in raw intellect were superior to him. He felt this was balanced because he often made decisions based on his gut as opposed to knowledge. He had little respect for Homura and Koharu. While they possessed wisdom their way of thinking was too closely aligned to Danzo.

Shikaku advised, "It seems unlikely Iwagakure will proceed with aggression. Both attempts have met with disaster, while the second attack was more successful they still were driven back with losses. As of yet we have no intelligence suggesting a troop buildup." Kakashi agreed with the assessment, "The Tsuchikage isn't always predictable but if he bothered with feeling us out surely he's seen that we are still strong."

Kakashi spoke again and said, "The problem is if Kiba doesn't survive his injuries the Inuzuka clan will demand a blood price for the attack." The Hokage waved it off, "Young Kiba was breathing when he got the hospital, with Tsunade helping out he is in no danger. While he may have long term injuries he will definitely survive." Shikaku replied, "In that case we only need to worry about Iwa and I don't think they will be making any moves after this."

Jiraiya pursed his lips in thought, "All right let's give it a few more weeks before we begin our operation against Otogakure. It would be a disaster if our best were out of the village and Iwa was going to attack." They were in agreement on that. They moved on to their plans to deal with Orochimaru.

"Kakashi I've given your proposal more thought and I'm making a change to it."

Only those three knew of Kakashi's plan. Otogakure had used most of its forces to hit their village. Orochimaru was sure to have some powerful pawns available however they could be dealt with. Kakashi proposed a strike team made up of team seven, a four man squad of elite ANBU and a mix of jonin with unique skills to track Orochimaru down if he attempted to flee. The jonin roster would include Tsume Inuzuka for her nose and strength. It would have Shibi Aburame with his insects to provide similar support.

The last two jonin would be Genma Shiranui who had a variety of skills. The last remaining jonin would be Shizune who would provide medical support. In terms of ANBU that was where Jiraiya had some changes planned. "We will only bring two ANBU along. Tenzo (Yamato) and Yugao Uzuki will be selected I have replacements in mind for the other two." Tenzo had access to Mokuton (Wood Release) which was both flexible and powerful. Yugao was skilled with kenjutsu and was a sensor shinobi which would also be useful for tracking down the snake Sanin.

Kakashi asked, "Who are the two replacements."

"Anko Mitarashi, I'm afraid she'll never forgive me if I don't include her on this mission." He paused and looked at his two trusted advisors. In a whisper he told them, "And she's really scary." Kakashi's eye twitched. Based on Jiraiya's behavior Naruto's over the top reactions and exclamations weren't behaviors that would prevent him from becoming Hokage. 'I'll never get him to act like a shinobi if I let him spend more time with Jiraiya,' Kakashi thought to himself. . His train of thought was derailed when Jiraiya announced that he would be the 4th member of the ANBU squad.

Kakashi's response was immediate, "You can't do that! You are the Hokage and this is a dangerous mission." Jiraiya laughed, "That's precisely why I should be going. If this mission fails we will have lost most of our elite and up and coming elite. I can make sure that this succeeds. Between the two of us I'm confident Orochimaru can be defeated. If it's just you, even with strong support he could win or inflict casualties and escape. He's one of the Sanin for a reason Kakashi."

Shikaku could see the probability of success sky rocket by including Jiraiya on the mission. However he was the Hokage and if something were to happen to him so quickly after being raised to the position it would make Konoha very vulnerable. "This is troublesome; we are putting all of our kunai in one holster."

"I'd rather go big and lose no kunai, don't worry I'm a better gambler than Tsunade."

"That isn't saying much," Kakashi commented.

"Hey who is the Hokage here?"

Both Shikaku and Kakashi argued against the Hokage risking himself but in the end he was the Hokage. That meant that Kakashi had to ensure everything went well on the mission. Kakashi mused, "So we have three weeks to get the teams ready. I'll be drilling my team hard and limiting their missions. I suggest you have Tenzo, Yugao and Anko work together. Have them prepared to use attacks that will slow down even a Sanin. Do the same for the jonin team."

Jiraiya agreed that was sensible and then looked at his two advisors, "Oh and don't let Tsunade know I'll be bringing Shizune along." Kakashi thought that this was a terrible idea but again it wasn't his place to gainsay the Hokage. And he certainly wasn't going to betray the Godaime's trust by telling the slug princess.

Jiraiya wrapped up the meeting by saying, "While we are gone Shikaku will have control, he will be in a Henge to appear like me. I'll add some seals in the office to ward away dojutsu and chakra sensing. I'll also inform the village that I'm taking three days off to work on my literature and to not disturb me unless it is a dire situation. Eventually it will be discovered however we'll be travelling fast so hopefully no word will reach Orochimaru that I'm out of the village."

Jiraiya continued, "Orochimaru won't be able to resist the temptation of Sasuke. By this time he's already in a new body so he will be forced to try to take Sasuke alive which should give a small advantage to team seven. When you fight Orochimaru fight as cautiously as you can, as soon as we have confirmation you've engaged I will summon Fukasaku and Shima. I will take no chances and go into Sage mode prior to my arrival."

Kakashi and Shikaku still had reservations but they had already said their piece. Shikaku began to think about other ways to obscure the Hokage's departure. Kakashi had some training to do with his team. If Orochimaru had in fact used his jutsu to inhibit a new body he would have his arms back. Kakashi disliked not knowing all of the specifics of how the snake Sanin's immortality jutsu worked. They only had Jiraiya's conjecture that he drew on from spying on Orochimaru's movements for years and recovered research documentation. 'Better plan for the worst. Orochimaru will be at full strength and I need to make sure my team is ready to survive that.'

***BREAK***

Sakura was working diligently on fuinjutsu, it had been a surprise when the Hokage visited her and showed her a seal used on the village shelters. The seal hardened the material around it. Stone would take more damage before breaking. Wood could be made resistant to fire. The shelters were covered in these seals, the seals slowly bled chakra around them meaning they had to constantly be replenished.

Sakura got used to making this seal to help out with those efforts. She also was able to experiment slightly with this type of fuinjutsu. If the fuinjutsu failed there would be no explosion. Sakura delighted in the experimentation aspect of fuinjutsu. Depending on the material a different seal could work better, and then it became really complex when you were trying to use the same seal on multiple materials mixed together.

This fuinjutsu had some combat application as well. It could be used on the ground itself, making the immediate area harder to burrow through using Doton. It was a nasty surprise that could counter some of Kabuto's attacks from underneath. Like most fuinjutsu it required more time to complete then standard ninjutsu attacks. In Sakura's case she was confident that her team could protect her.

The pink haired genin spent hours and hours studying fuinjutsu and practicing seals. She had even skipped visiting Kiba in the hospital to practice more. Kiba was going to make a full recovery and needed his rest; one less body there wasn't going to hurt anything. And fuinjutsu was just so fascinating! When Jiraiya had told her that they were going to be going on an S ranked mission she redoubled her efforts to be able to provide offensive support with her fuinjutsu.

While the ground hardening seal may help out she longed for something truly offensive. She wasn't having a whole lot of luck. It was known that Uzushiogakure no Sato (Village Hidden by Whirling Tides) was feared for their combat application of fuinjutsu. But almost none of the books provided detail! What exactly were chakra chains? How did fuinjutsu increase the power of elemental jutsu used? The old texts provided precious few details.

It was surprising to her that Jiraiya did not know more. He was a seal master. Shouldn't he know how to use it in combat? The toad sage had just chuckled, "I don't use a lot of fuinjutsu in combat. I tried to warn you it's not necessarily best used in combat." She remembered how he had scratched his head in mild embarrassment, "Of course I told that to the Yondaime and he went on to become known as the 'Yellow Flash' because of his mastery of fuinjutsu allowed him to perfect Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)."

"I guess being a seal master doesn't mean you really have mastered the art of seals…" Jiraiya's jaw dropped and he responded with faux outrage, "Pinky! I know more about seals then anyone alive today!" Sakura laughed; if she hadn't gone on the trip to retrieve Tsunade with him she would never have been so carefree with the Hokage. But since she had, she went ahead and responded, "Well when the village that is full of seal specialists is destroyed I guess they had to lower standards." Jiraiya's mouth worked but no words came out. He crossed his arms and grumped, "I have paperwork to do. Next time ask your sensei for help with fuinjutsu!" With that he zipped away with a shunshin leaving Sakura smirking.

Sakura returned to her fuinjutsu studies even more determined to master the art. So much had been lost. She would be the one to recover it and she would then be an even more integral part of the team. Sakura was confident in her abilities but even with her Genjutsu talent and teamwork she was the weakest link on the team. Naruto had amazing chakra reserves allowing him to summon massive battle toads and nearly endless clones. Not to mention his taijutsu was becoming scary, it wasn't the technique that was dangerous but the sheer power behind the attack. And Sasuke-kun with his Sharingan was even more dangerous in close quarters. He also had a healthy dose of jutsu for two separate chakra types.

'Ah but if I can make fuinjutsu battle worthy I can hold my own. And maybe then Sasuke-kun will see how strong of kunoichi I really am. He wants to restore his clan; he isn't one to let little things like love and feelings impair his goals. He wants revenge first and then to rebuild his clan. He will want a strong kunoichi and that is where I will come in. Then I will teach him about love and kindness and we will be happy for the rest of our lives.'

Sakura was no longer considered a fan girl because of her outward actions. Internally she still had her dream of being married to her Sasuke-kun she was just now picking a path that would give her the most chance. Pushing thoughts of the future aside the strong willed girl continued with her fuinjutsu studies.

***BREAK***

Sasuke had been informed of the S ranked mission. Kakashi had also told him that he was essentially going to be used as bait. This then led to a discussion on why Orochimaru wanted his body. His brother Itachi had bested Orochimaru using the Sharingan. Plus the Sharingan could be used to copy nearly any jutsu which was a major goal for Orochimaru.

Sasuke didn't mind being used as bait. In fact he was looking forward to it. If Itachi could defeat Orochimaru it would be a good test to see how close he was to his brother. Despite his youthful pride he knew that Orochimaru would utterly decimate him in a one on one battle. With his team behind him it should be an excellent test. Sasuke had come to a decision – he would not be facing Itachi alone. Not having his team with him would be like going into battle without kunai or without his Sharingan active.

An essential part of his shinobi fighting style was teamwork. Sasuke was aware enough to know that Kakashi had done this deliberately but frankly he didn't care. As long as his team was willing to go after Itachi he was happy to be part of it. Sasuke was confident that Sakura and Naruto would gladly stand by him and help get his revenge.

He lived for the day he could take Itachi down. He would avenge his village, his clan and his family. He idly wondered if Itachi would beg before he died. While Sasuke was tempted to torture his older brother like he had been tortured it went against the training Kakashi taught. As long as an enemy is alive they are threat. When the final battle with Itachi took place Sasuke was determined to end it using precision, there would be no mistakes. After the battle ended he could revel in his victory but not a moment before.

Sasuke manipulated the Chidori in his hand. With his Sharingan aiding him he had started to manipulate the jutsu. He had increased the strike range by a few inches and in theory he could actually have it extend much further. He'd discuss it with Kakashi during their next training session. Thoughts of ramming a Chidori blade into Itachi's heart spurred him on as he continued his training.

AN: Some of the scenes are a bit short. I always have mixed feeling on that sort of thing. Do people want three pages about a surgery? Personal preference I'd rather read a 300k story that moves the plot along rather than a 700k story that meanders in the weeds.

Also I've got some issues with some of the late magna stuff that goes on. I'm not sure how AU I'm going to make it outside of the change with Kakashi. Some of the changes probably can't be linked to the ripple of effects he has caused.