"I don't get it." Shikamaru said, blinking.

Unlike the previous night, the Nara was quite lucid this morning – though his attention did occasionally drift off and he regularly looked suspiciously at innocent bushes, the boy seemed to have mostly moved past the hallucinatory drugs and was now merely exhausted. Of course, even an exhausted Nara was a step above your average intellect, which why he'd asked to learn about the Hiraishin, if his 'sensei' was willing to share.

Kakashi and Minato had shared an amused and knowing look at the boy's interest.

"You don't get it? That's a first, I suppose." Minato commented lightly as the Nara sighed at the seal design. The former Hokage's eyes twinkled in amusement as he put his special kunai away. "Really, you'd need a pretty solid foundation in basic fūinjutsu to understand the more complex seals and this one's up there in difficulty. It's hard enough that Jiraiya-sensei had quite a bit of trouble trying to figure out what I was even doing."

"I figured it out." The white-haired Sannin grumbled, biting into his rations with some disgust – Tsunade had quite adamantly insisted that the good bread should go to the medics in the party, given that they were required to keep the others going. When that argument had not impressed Jiraiya, she had made another one that impacted quite harshly with his head, after which he acquiesced.

"You're the only one, you know." Minato said with a smile. "Kakashi checked for me before I left – my old research hadn't even been touched since I died, it was all dusty and stuffed away in the Hokage's personal library. I suppose I should be glad that it survived – I'd have to start all over again otherwise!"

"You're still thinking about improving that move?" Jiraiya asked with a raised eyebrow. "You slaughtered armies with the thing, what exactly do you wish to accomplish beyond that?"

Minato grimaced. "For one, I'm still trying to figure out a more general version – this one's so specialized that it takes three ninjas to even use it, if I'm not around – and that's only the most basic transportation, not combat movement. Unless I redo the seals for every individual - which takes months - it'll stay limited to me."

"That seems enough," Tsunade said dryly as she joined the group at the fire, squatting down with a rather delicious-looking sandwich. "Can you imagine having multiple Yellow Flashes? Nobody would ever feel safe again." She shuddered dramatically.

"I'd think that you'd want to keep that technique to yourself, Namikaze-sama," Shizune said, following Tsunade as she sat beside the Sannin. "It is your most well-known secret…"

Minato shrugged. "I've already taught it to others before – granted, the version that needs three participants, but it works in a pinch. My former Guard Platoon was quite proficient in its use, though I think it was only used once or twice outside practicing. I would have taught it to - well, I am not averse to passing it on to my students."

"I'm really not the type for it," Kakashi volunteered. "Lightning-nature is ironically perhaps the hardest to mix with that technique, giving the high degree of variability inherent in the strength of chakra with that element."

"A problem I will fix," Minato said with certainty.

"I have no doubt that you will." Kakashi said as he smiled brightly, the edges of his mask crinkling.

"I suppose I'll have to study basic fūinjutsu," Shikamaru added morosely. "That sounds like an awful lot of work."

"Eh, how can you ever be a genius without hard work?" Jiraiya commented – Kakashi winced in response, staring at the old man incredulously. He smiled sheepishly in response.

"Anyway…" Minato drawled. "Now that we're complete, it is probably best if we get on with our mission – we've been reminiscing for far too long anyway. The sun's already over the horizon, even. Shikamaru should be capable of hitching a ride for a while, I'd think."

"Primary mission's still the trail, then?" Kakashi wondered, glancing at Tsunade and Shizune. "Given what the Ninken tracked, I don't think that's really a smart move. The trail leads quite blatantly into Iwa territory – straight at a military town, no less."

Minato grimaced, fury trying to take hold as he considered the people that they were chasing – it was easy to forget in this company, but the trail would lead to the thief of Kyūbi, the nine-tailed demon that he'd personally sealed – and more importantly, to the murderer of his only son. "The Ninken are likely correct in their destination, and we will not pass into Iwa territory – but if we can find information on the identity of the origin of this trail, that would help a lot. We're moving a lot faster than they did – some might remember details where he's passed more recently."

Kakashi nodded as Shikamaru sighed mournfully as he looked at the clouds with a more spaced out look than usual.

"Shizune…" Tsunade looked pained, glancing between Minato, Jiraiya, and her student. "If we're about to split up… come with me for a moment." The woman gestured to her student, nodding to the men briefly as she vanished into the underbrush.

Jiraiya scoffing as they vanished. "Figures they'd only come here to show off their better food."

Minato smiled at his old teacher, knowing that Tsunade was saying her goodbyes – he'd known the woman before his death, and she'd not changed a whole lot since, even if her lifestyle evidently contained considerably more drinking.

Tsunade's reaction had been rather amusing when she'd found out that Namikaze Minato, long-time dead guy, was the person waiting for them at the campsite, he considered. Kakashi had been vague about whom they were meeting to the point of madness, and Jiraiya hadn't felt the need to elucidate the matter. Indeed, the first reaction upon removing his mask had been an embarrassing and very loud string of expletives. It had taken quite a bit of talking for her to stop suspecting him of being a disrespectful doppelganger, as well.

Jiraiya, thankfully, had at least come along as well – however much Tsunade liked to bash the old lecher, she still knew he'd not be one to fall for a hoax easily, especially one of this magnitude; she'd quickly accepted that the very bizarre proposition of resurrecting Kages was apparently true. She'd drilled him quite a bit on how he came back after that – enough that it became a little uncomfortable. Jiraiya's sad but knowing look really told the whole story there.

Shizune, surprisingly, seemed to take the return of the Namikaze in stride – she greeted him normally and when asked by her incredulous teacher if she knew who she was addressing, she'd simply shrugged and answered that it was the Fourth Hokage – she turned out to be remarkably practical about the whole thing.

A lengthier reunion would have to wait – Tsunade and Shizune had tended to Shikamaru's injuries and turned in early, and barely a word had been shared since; Minato has the suspicion that Tsunade was somewhat uncomfortable around him, and probably didn't want to be reminded of all the other people she'd known that died, but didn't get a free pass back to life. He supposed he could understand that – rather too well.

Shikamaru, meanwhile, was frowning at the ground, where his shadows jerked fitfully, not fully back in the boy's control. Minato grabbed his frog mask and put it back on – slipping into the role of 'Kaeru-sensei' was easy enough. In the days they'd been gone from Konoha, the boy had shown remarkable progress – the fact that he forced daily training was probably largely responsible for that, given that the genius usually coasted through without paying much attention.

"My control's a bit… wonky." Shikamaru said as he noted that Minato had joined him – he was prodding at the chakra-infused shadows with his finger. "They feel different, too."

"The effects of the drugs may continue for a day or two, you heard Tsunade-sama," Minato retorted, shrugging. "I suppose you'll have to wait until then to continue your training." He glanced up to see Kakashi lounging on a tree, reading one of Jiraiya's books with interest – the old man in question was standing watch up on a higher branch. The man gave a relaxed wave, aware of being watched.

"That's not really what I'm getting at," Shikamaru countered distractedly, as he forced his shadows full of chakra – with a sudden jerk, a three-foot spike launched out of the ground, before vanishing back again. "It's a lot more solid than I'm used to – I've deduced that it's most likely to do with my mental processes being sluggish at the moment." Shikamaru tried again, this time forming a foot-long structure out of shadows before it collapsed in on itself.

"That looks very familiar," Minato murmured with interest, noting the fitful but unusually dense shadow, very similar to what he'd seen some Nara use in the war. "What are you doing differently?"

"I suppose… I'm manipulating the shadows more slowly, since I'm still a bit out of it," Shikamaru considered. "My control's a bit pathetic, but the shadow's much more compact – I've always been taught that speed is the key to these techniques, but those spikes seem quick enough - I'm not sure why this…?"

Minato thought back to the times he'd seen Nara's at work with their family's jutsu – manipulating shadows into solid structures was, as far as he knew, a pretty high-level skill that wasn't generally taught to genin. Here, though, Shikamaru came across the basics by sheer chance, it seemed… "You may experiment with this when you're healthy again," Minato conceded "Not before. I might have to speak to your father about it, as well."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, squinting at his shadow in contemplation. "You don't suppose I can use this in regards to that clone idea you talked about?"

Minato shrugged, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "It was just a bit of hypothesizing – making techniques takes a bit of time, so it might not be in your interest right now. You can use the normal clone, can't you?"

"Yes, but that won't give me an edge," Shikamaru said with a frown. "If there was a specific clone based on these shadows I'd know already, so who knows how one would work? Perhaps I could take up multiple angles to catch an enemy unawares, or have the enemy attack one of the clones only to get frozen in place the moment they dispelled it? Besides, my shadows don't fall apart when someone stabs them, and they can get quite physical – maybe the clones would even be solid."

"You're banking a lot on a 'maybe', little Nara." Minato smiled widely, though. "Heh, already thinking about making new moves – you remind me of Kakashi here, sometimes. Has he ever shown you that pride and joy of his? Oh, right – you remember the first shinobi that he took out?"

"Chidori." Kakashi said as he turned with a smirk. "A very effective technique, even if rather useless for a silent assassination, I'm afraid. It makes a hell of a lot of noise."

"I'm not much better, I suppose," Minato admitted sheepishly. "My first technique like that – I never really completed it, but it's effective enough." He turned his palm, focusing briefly – a spinning sphere of bright chakra formed in the centre of his hand, rotating in many directions at once and looking decidedly dangerous. "My Rasengan – perhaps now I'll have the time to finish it."

"I tried combining it with lightning element chakra," Kakashi offered, "It doesn't work – the lightning just messes up the structure, so I'll stick with my own technique there."

"I could've told you that wouldn't work; in fact, I distinctly recall telling you exactly that when you first proposed it, when you were still a chūnin." Minato mocked with a grin at Shikamaru. "He's not a really good listener, you know."

"My ears work just fine!" Kakashi claimed, affronted. "I just thought I could succeed where you failed, that's all."

"I know my own technique better than anyone, I told you it wouldn't work over a decade ago." Minato responded dryly. "I can't help it that you thought I was wrong – but I can frown on your mistrust, little student. Besides, I didn't fail – I was just delayed. I think being dead is a pretty good excuse."

"You two are like a married old couple," Shikamaru groused, rubbing his tired eyes. "How about we finally get out of here, and make some miles?"

"Rock-Paper-Scissors over who gets to carry the Nara," Kakashi exclaimed.

Shikamaru just sighed, ready for yet another humiliating day of tagging along on someone's back, incapable of keeping up with the jōnin's pace. It would doubtlessly be incredibly embarrassing, until he finally got the time to train his speed. Well, he considered as Minato hung his head in defeat, evidently the chosen victim today, it could be worse – he could have been asked to actually walk. H sighed deeply. At least he could watch the clouds.

Shin and Sai were halfway to the Hokage Tower when a second explosion hit – it came from the same general direction as the first, though it was a lot smaller, if the dust plume was anything to go by. The original blast's debris was scattered across a large part of the village, and civilians were outside debating worriedly about what to do.

"Sai," Shin said, drawing his adopted brother's attention. "What do we do when we get there? We may be capable, but I doubt either of us is capable of taking down jōnin, especially ones aware of our presence." Sai looked uninterested as ever – though he'd gone to great pains to get him beyond some of Danzō's more questionable teachings, Shin had a tough time getting it to stick.

Sai nodded. "Assassination would be preferable, but I believe in this case we are fine – the Hokage himself is a capable fighter." Sai nodded with certainty, carefully drawing his tantō from his back and looping it on his belt, ready for action. "If necessary, I will serve as distraction while the Hokage is removed from the area."

Grumbling, Shin forced himself to jump faster, crossing rooftops and awnings at breakneck speed. "I suppose we'll have to wing it, then."

Sai looked confused, at which Shin rolled his eyes in exasperation – idioms weren't his brother's strong suit. "Come on, Sai – liven up a little. Don't let Danzō get to you – you've got me." He smiled thinly, nodding. "We can take on an assassin if we fight together, I'm certain."

"Unless I'm mistaken, you are supposed to be wearing your mask," Sai suddenly pointed out.

Shin shrugged, wiping grey hair out of his face that was drenched in sweat. "Let's focus on the life-saving first, my following orders later, okay?" Shin was annoyed – he'd skipped wearing the mask plenty of times before, and each time Sai would remind him – Danzō was equally adamant, which was pretty much the main reason he'd done without so often.

The two approached the tower, crossing from roofs to the street – several ANBU were stationed outside though a majority were off to track down whoever bombed Konoha, Shin figured. There were at least three ANBU present, as was the three-man Guard Platoon, at first glance. Genma, the only one Shin had actually met, was in a conversation with the Hokage, though the latter merely listened, not responding at all. The one that had to be Raidō – the scar was telling – stood ready, though his tantō was still clasped to his back. The last, Satou, was distractedly tapping the floor with his boot, scowling at something Genma had said.

"Thank Kami," Shin breathed, as it seemed he was in time, still. He quickly gestured a series of ANBU signals to make sure that the guards knew they were friendlies - thankfully, they nodded to approach. "ANBU patrol, we come from the bombing site –"

Sai looked past the ANBU towards the Hokage, who was fussed over by three heavily-armed bodyguards; the man had a rather sheepish look on his face, though Sai had no idea what that was meant to convey. He supposed that embarrassment may be applicable in this instance. The soil moved - Sai doubted anyone else noticed it, as he'd been staring in precisely the right position – he barely even saw the minute tremor that caused the leaves on potted plants to bristle, or the tassels on a rug to twitch slightly. For a brief moment, Sai wondered if it was another shockwave from a bombing, the sound not yet arrived due to its lower speed.

Without fully processing what he'd seen, Sai burst forward with a blinding burst of chakra - he accelerated so quickly he crossed the distance from himself to the Hokage in the span of a second – the old man's eyes widened as he saw the blur coming straight at him and he stepped casually back. A hand crashed out of the floor and snatched into suddenly empty air, jagged chipped nails grasping. Sai's foot landed quite solidly where it was, though the attacker retracted his limb too quickly to be hit.

"Hokage-sama!" Genma shouted as he whipped a trio of kunai into his palm in an instant, while Raidō and Satou did the same. All three bodyguards were ready to fight, though Genma in particular looked positively stunned at the sudden assault of both Sai and the subterranean ninja. Sai flipped back and landed calmly on the wall, attaching himself with chakra, as he pulled out his notepad and started drawing. Shin crossed the distance joined by the ANBU that Sai had effortlessly passed, as they too joined in the now crowded hall, at least three of them intensely focused on any subterranean movement.

The Hokage looked – amused? Sai didn't get it. The man stood to the side of the room, coughing uncomfortably as his bodyguards kept uncomfortable close. He was occasionally glancing worriedly at the floor, though he gazed at the one that came to his rescue with interest. "Your timely arrival is appreciated, though I can't say I recognize you." He raised an eyebrow in question.

"I am called Sai, Hokage-sama." The boy answered neutrally. "The assassin may still be in the vicinity, caution is advised." He finished his drawing and with a few hand signs, three life-like but very much ink-based snakes dropped onto the floor and started burrowing. "These should alert me in case the enemy chooses to make sudden moves."

"Hokage-sama," Genma finally blurted out, seemingly recovering from the shock. "I am very sorry – an attack from under the ground, I had not expected such a – I will make sure to double-check that direction. This should not have happened." The man continued to beat himself up about it as the Hokage shrugged and sent a knowing glance at Shin, who was smirking.

"I was aware of the assassin, Genma," the Hokage cut him off, much to the consternation of the ranting shinobi. "I chose not to alert him to lure him closer, so that I might identify the attacker myself; I knew that Iwa would attempt something one of these days, so I arranged for an assassination opportunity that I had under control. Fortunately, his arm was distinctive enough that it was sufficient for identification." The Hokage seemed to suddenly look his age as he looked out over the village where two sizable ash clouds were still descending from the sky in the wake of the civilian sector attacks. "I had not expected them to go to these lengths to distract the village, though. Certainly not when it was apparently a stealth attack they were planning, given that making a panic only increased the number of guards around me; viable for poisoning or backstabbing, not so much for underground tactics."

"He had rock-like nails," Shin observed. "I have heard of only one person that's in the bingo-book with that particular trait. If he were successful in scratching you…"

Sarutobi nodded, a fierce look appearing in his eyes as he pulled out his pipe and casually lit it. "It is Horuchika Moru, more commonly known as the Mole for his high-ranking Earth element techniques. Yes, this man's a notorious missing-nin from Kiri – if he's working with Iwa now, it's likely he was simply hired for the job, rather than strictly loyal." The Hokage ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head tiredly. "You can come out now, Mole." He gestured for his guards to take up positions around him again. "Your laughable attempt at assassination failed."

The man's arm slammed out of the earth as quickly as before, a foot-long tantō clasped in the assassin's hand that crashed into Satou's kunai, screeching loudly as the metal met. They stared briefly at each other before Moru disappeared back under the soil.

"Evidently he is unwilling to get himself topside," Sarutobi observed. He turned to Sai with an intrigued glance. "Sai, is it? How many of those ink creatures can you generate? I can sense them, but they are too slow to keep up with our foe."

"I can maintain over a dozen, usually." Sai answered dutifully. "My training-" He coughed, clearing his throat, as Shin looked on worriedly, swallowing thickly. He, like all Root forces, would be prevented from speaking out about the group by a seal that had been placed on his tongue by their leader, Danzō. The Hokage, Shin suspected, knew something about what the man was doing but tolerated it for the sake of preventing in-fighting; especially now. "I have been told that the quality of the constructs deteriorates, the more I make of them." Sai continued, tapping his brush against the paper. "Larger constructs take up more chakra, as well."

"Interesting," The Hokage looked at the two boys before him with a raised eyebrow. "Please generate as many small ink creatures as you can – you can call off the serpents, they are ineffective."

Sai dutifully did as ordered, though Shin was amazed to note that Sai actually questioned the order with a strangely fitting tilt of the head as many miniscule ant-like creatures started pouring down the page – due to their tiny size Sai would be able to maintain more of them, though after the first few dozen they'd be rather poor quality.

"The presence of chakra tracking creatures forces the Mole to keep moving, lest he be caught. Though I cannot easily follow him, the movement makes it considerably more effective," The Hokage said, nodding to his trio of guards. "Sensing subterranean threats like this one is considered one of the most difficult tricks to learn for a ninja without an earth affinity, or without having chakra sensor abilities."

"Hokage-sama, it is not wise to stay here," Genma warned. "We should get to a higher floor – there's earth for him to move through here, it gives him an advantage."

"Yes, it does." The Hokage said, smiling. "Also, a disadvantage." He stomped on the floor harshly, the floor trembling slightly at the chakra-enforced blow. "While I can track him, he cannot successfully attack me by surprise; if we go elsewhere, he will likely give up this tactic and try something we may be less prepared for."

"He is moving away," Sai noted bemusedly. "He has destroyed almost a third of my ink creatures, though I don't think it was intentional. The assassin is merely burrowing straight through them."

"Track them," the Hokage ordered, glancing at the ANBU in the room. "Sai, lead these men to his position, capture if possible. Keep your ants close-by to lead them to his position." He turned to his right, to an ANBU with a sheep-like mask. "Find a Chakra Sensor or Earth-specialist and join as well."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Both said simultaneously, glancing at each other in consternation before heading out – Shin remained behind, worriedly looking after his brother while he left.

"You are… Shin, are you not?" Sarutobi asked softly as he set a few steps forward. "I recall your presence a few months ago - the Suna mission that ended so…"

Shin nodded, frowning, wondering what the Hokage was trying to say.

"I am aware of your… affiliations." The Hokage said, pacing as his three guards quickly took up strategic positions in the room. Shin only barely managed to contain a gasp, as Sarutobi looked at him knowingly, a bit sad. "In light of recent events, I have been taking a closer look at my ninja forces, to filter out possible spies that have slipped in. I was quite surprised to note that quite a few young people seem to mysteriously vanish from registry. People such as yourself."

"Hoka-"

"I know, Shin. If that is your real name." The Hokage frowned, tapping his pipe. "I am aware of quite a bit more than that man is likely comfortable with, which is why I'm extending an offer to you; especially given the loyalty you and Sai just displayed." The man smiled thinly. "You may say you confirmed my suspicions – you two are different."

Shin nodded stiffly, the seal on his tongue burning slightly as he contemplated telling the Hokage all sorts of things – mostly things we couldn't, not right now. The Hokage looked at him sympathetically and he realized with a shiver that the Hokage knew. He knew.

"I extend an invitation to you – and you alone – to come visit me at your earliest convenience; remain undetected, if you please. We will discuss things then. I may have a solution to some of your problems, such as that case of bad indigestion you're clearly suffering." The Hokage chuckled under his breath, though his eyes were sharp and piercing. "I will be expecting you."

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage nodded, gesturing to his Guard Platoon. "I'm afraid my personal involvement right now would be - inadvisable, to say the least. As you can see from these three, my being in danger rather upsets people."

"Leave it to us, Hokage-sama." Shin answered with a nod, as the Hokage turned to his three guards. "Well, then…"

Shin couldn't possibly have been quick enough. A kunai flashed out, slashing its way down the Hokage's arm as the owner jerked forward, a wicked grin appearing on the man's face. Sarutobi twirled around, blood spattering around from the superficial wound as a massively powerful blow smacked straight into the attacker's face – the face of one of the three members of his Guard Platoon, who had been with him the entire day, without going away for even a minute. The man immediately crumbled into a pile of mud; a substitution jutsu with a clone, just in time.

Genma and Raidō jumped to the aid of their Hokage as the man grasped at his arm, their kunai smacking into the mud clone belatedly – they looked in shock at the blood that spattered the floor as they took up positions alongside their Kage – one ready for attacks, the second tending to the wound. Shin didn't know what to do – he was a good kenjutsu fighter, but he had no expertise in Earth-jutsu whatsoever to help out – he slipped the tantō into his hand as he stepped behind the three, eyes peeled.

"Where is Satou?" Genma cried out, eyes wild as he kicked the piled of mud. "He couldn't do this sort of jutsu – he must've been a fake! All along – an assassin slipped in without anyone being aware of it?"

"I believe…" The Hokage said, stuttering slightly. "I believe that it was the primary attack – Horuchika, the Mole, was yet another distraction, to isolate me with only the Guard Platoon. First distract the standard guards away so that only a small force with me personally is left – then distract those too, so no ANBU are around at all. It was an ingenious plan, if reliant on a lot of assumptions about my own actions. It's also possible that there's more than one party involved here."

The Hokage winced, grasping his wounded arm tightly. "The attack, I'm afraid – was successful. Tell Shikaku – he has command. I'm-" The old man stumbled, paling.

"Poison." Shin stated, glancing at the horrified looks on the Guard Platoon members that were left, Genma still glancing at the pile of mud in clear worry. "We have to get him to the hospital."

"You aren't going anywhere." Satou's voice said, as the long-time jōnin rose from the earth, a tantō in his hand. The look on the man's face was cruel, the grin too wide and toothy to be normal, and Genma stiffened.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm afraid that I have been Okashi Satou for some weeks now, seeking for an opportunity like this – and I will continue to be him for as long as necessary, when you are all dead." He smiled broadly, eyes glowing slightly as his eyes narrowed to slits and his sclera discoloured yellow. "Sarutobi – I am surprised and disappointed in you. Don't you recognize your own student?"

The Hokage blanched. This wasn't good. This was really not good.

"Orochimaru."