The blade slashed sideward, cutting deeply into his shoulder as he deflected the other away towards the ground, just barely allowing it to slip past his unprotected side and into the soil, where sand was blasted aside and slowly scattered back to the ground.

"Damn it, that was too close!"

His opponent smirked as he crossed his short blades, ready to attack again. Jiraiya muttered curses under his breath as he readied himself for another strike, his sword held steadily before him as he nursed his new wound which was steadily dripping blood across his vest. "I still think it's cheating to take away all my toys, kid."

Asuma snorted, scraping his two blades together to produce an awful screeching noise. Jiraiya cringed and got into his fighting stance, legs wide, ready for anything. "Blade against Blade – a fair fight. Toads and seals have no place here."

Jiraiya scowled, charging with a wide slash to the legs which Asuma nimbly avoided. Before he could recover from his lunge the unmistakable sharpness of wind chakra cut deeply into the Sannin's shoulder again, bringing him panting to his knees as blood splashed across the ground and soaked into his clothing.

"Give up?"

Jiraiya forced himself to his feet, wincing – his wound was bleeding fairly badly for a training injury, but he'd definitely had worse. Tsunade watched on with a bored expression, speaking softly with her neighbour. It figured, Jiraiya thought, that she wouldn't care if he got his ass handed to him. He narrowed his eyes as he gazed back at his foe – the Toad Sage couldn't very well let this pipsqueak beat him even if it was only in kenjutsu, not one of his favoured skills. Time to get creative, then.

"Come on, old man," Asuma taunted good-naturedly, positioning himself into a sword-form that Jiraiya had trouble recognizing, though he could've sworn he's seen it before. He inhaled deeply, concentrating on the blades and ignoring the painful throbbing in his shoulder – this had to be the final blow. He'd definitely pass out if his shoulder was hit again.

"You still have much to learn!" Jiraiya exclaimed, forcing his own chakra into the blade; it immediately glowed white-hot, heat waves visible around the blade as he dropped into his own kenjutsu form, closely mimicking the Toad fighting techniques he'd learned ages ago at Mount Myōboku. Asuma gulped at what appeared as a shard of the sun blazing in his opponent's hand – before he could properly figure out how to defend against that, it was upon him.

Wind chakra wasn't the best solution.

A raging fireball blasted out from the clash of blades, a vast cloud of smoke billowing up as Tsunade ducked and hid her companion from the blast as well. The entire plaza was silent for a moment as the thick vapours slowly rose up and away. Two slightly singed shinobi were left standing at the centre of the blast, though Asuma had lost one of his knives and held his hand with an agonized expression. Jiraiya showed no signs of distress.

"That'll be it, I think." Jiraiya concluded, grinning cheekily. "I win!"

"Okay, okay, that's enough." Asuma admitted, glowering at Tsunade. "I guess the Legendary Sucker continues her losing streak… I should've realized it. I should never have allowed you to bet on yourself."

"You concede then?" Jiraiya asked as he sheathed his sword; it was still smoking slightly, though it had lost most of its heat in that vicious crossing of blades. "It was a good fight."

"I concede, Jiraiya-sama." Asuma said formally, bowing briefly as he glanced at Tsunade. "He needs some medical help, I think. My blades-"

"I won!" Jiraiya called, before faltering, blinking wildly. "What's going on? Why's everything getting so…" With a crash Jiraiya dropped to the floor, immediately starting to snore loudly. Tsunade was with him in a second to check his health, but the man was clearly not in great danger; Nobody could mistake the smug expression on the unconscious Sannin's face. He'd bluffed his way to a concession, and was probably really proud of the fact.

"Is he alright?" asked Sarutobi Hiruzen, recently released from the hospital after an extended stay; he nursed his left arm gingerly, using it despite it being visibly painful to do so. Tsunade looked on with worry; the arm had been heavily damaged and it was doubtful that it would regain full functionality even under her care.

"The old lecher will be fine," Tsunade answered lightly as she glared at the snoring lump. "Though I can't say the same about his pride when he realizes he fainted. You've gotten quite good with those knives of yours, Asuma-san, to get him to such a state."

Asuma turned away with reddened cheeks, rubbing his hand and grimacing as he noted that several nasty burn-wounds were visible – even with Tsunade's healing, it'd take a while to get full control back over those fingers.

"Let's hope this is not a new trend in the Sarutobi clan," Hiruzen commented as he tapped his own wounded limb. "I rather appreciate two hands!" Hiruzen smiled sheepishly as he made his way to Jiraiya's side while Tsunade called streams of greenish chakra to her hands and poured them onto the nasty shoulder wound – it was always a marvel to see such delicate techniques in action, he thought. Slowly the knocked-out Sannin regained consciousness, blinking wildly as he noticed his old team-mate and sensei standing beside him.

"Don't tell me," Jiraiya groaned groggily as he took in the two faces and blinked. "I've gone back in time and have to do the stupid genin test again? Ugh." He shook his head to clear it and then gazed at his hands in horror. "No fair, why am I still old?"

Tsunade slapped him on the head lightly – still enough to have him stumbling forward in a daze. "There. He's physically fine." There was light scarring where Asuma had nicked the collarbone – at Jiraiya's age, perfect healing wasn't something that Jiraiya should expect, perhaps having another scar would be a healthy reminder – or he'd show it off to the ladies, of course. She sighed as she knew which was more likely. "Mentally – well, I can never tell."

The two bickered on and Hiruzen smiled contentedly – having his two students back in town was a surprisingly nostalgic experience, even if their presence wasn't strictly voluntary. Although few enemy shinobi would dare to cross their path, two of the most powerful shinobi in the village leaving would undoubtedly lure Iwa into action earlier than Konoha forces were ready for.

Asuma stood off to the side, hands in his pockets, debating with himself on what to do – he didn't go to his father for help much, seeing as the Hokage had many things on his mind, especially now. Finally, he decided to go ahead and ask. "Dad… have you heard anything, about…?"

"Your student will be fine," Hiruzen assured him with a smile. "It's been a while since we received any news, but I have full confidence that his team will keep him safe." The old man raised his pipe to his mouth and breathed a waft of smoke, thin rings appearing as he exhaled again. "You do worry too much, you know."

Asuma didn't answer for a while, looking into the distance as the clouds slowly drifted by, remembering those moments when he's do much the same thing with Shikamaru. He'd looked forward to instructing Shikamaru on a more formal basis, when the boy finally reached genin. Before he'd simply played shōgi with him; he never won of course against such an intellect. It had only become clearer over time that Shikamaru was a little something more than anyone thought, and his immediate placement on a far higher rank team than mere genin betrayed that. "It's just… I know Kakashi, but that's about it. He's never seemed the teacher type, honestly. Having a fresh genin out on the field seems… dangerous."

"Danger's part of shinobi life," Hiruzen pointed out. "He might be in danger out there – but as you've noticed lately, the same could be said of this place as well. You'll find that the best shinobi are forged through adversity, not through D-class missions in peacetime. I wish it weren't necessary, but I believe young Shikamaru's on the right path."

"I suppose we'll see at the Chūnin Exams," Asuma conceded. "He's still participating, right?"

Hiruzen nodded, though his expression betrayed his uncertainty. "He and the rest of his team will be home by then. Whether or not he will participate in the Exams depends on how much he's learned. I leave that assessment in Kaeru's capable hands."

Asuma didn't ask who Kaeru was – the rumours that had made their way around town a month ago when the frog mask was taken up again by an unknown shinobi had long since been verified. Kakashi, it turned out, had been spotted with the masked man – if he of all people would tolerate the use of that, Kaeru had to be someone worthy of wearing it. An interesting proposition in itself, that, considering its former users.

Asuma blinked in consternation as a long-haired messenger with a hitai-ate hanging across his shoulder entered the training ground and slipped right by him, panting slightly as he wiped his face off with his sleeve and fished a scroll out of his pocket. "Hokage-sama, Team Itou returning from covert messenger duty to Iwagakure."

Hiruzen took the scroll, glancing oddly at the new arrival. "Where is the rest of your team, Itou?"

"They're in the hospital, sir." Itou grimaced, glancing again at the scroll he'd just delivered. "We were attacked by a small group of Iwa-nin several miles outside Konoha… ANBU are already underway by Nara-sama's orders. He told me to bring this directly to you."

Hiruzen nodded, turning to Jiraiya, who was still nursing his aching shoulder, though his eyes betrayed that he was paying close attention. "They maintain their positions, then."

"I already told you as much, when they jumped me the moment I left," Jiraiya answered simply. "I've sneaked out three times – and three times jōnin-level shinobi are lying in wait, ready to take advantage of the situation. Aside from going with escorts of ANBU or jōnin-teams, our genin and chūnin are essentially boxed in, unable to perform missions. We'll have to do something about it."

Hiruzen agreed, opening the scroll he'd been handed, quickly skimming its contents. It didn't take him long before he slapped it down on the table, growling. "Ōnoki's as stubborn as ever. Denying all culpability for the attacks! What does he hope to accomplish with such lies? Is this what we get for attempting a peaceful solution?"

"Hokage-sama," Itou said waveringly. "The Tsuchikage was angry, but he did let us go… perhaps he really doesn't have anything to do with it?"

"Distractions, attempts to confuse," Jiraiya concluded. "That Bastard of a fence-sitter is doubtlessly expecting that you're going to roll over and accept that he's got nothing to do with it, before he's suddenly inside our walls. I'd hardly rethink his personality based on letting one messenger team return across the border."

"Tell ANBU troops to arrange for an additional patrol around the village wall atop the one we currently maintain," Hiruzen told Asuma, "Call Shikaku, I'll have to discuss Ōnoki's plans with him. If Iwa's going to play idiot and expect us to follow their whims, they are sorely mistaken."

"Are you contemplating sending a more … forceful message?" Jiraiya hypothesized as he noticed the hard look in the Hokage's eyes. "I would volunteer…"

"Your presence in the village is paramount right now; your spies can deliver messages indirectly, their positions are not in immediate danger. No, we wait. We prepare our defences and wait until we hear news. If things go badly… then I will consider your offer."

Jiraiya nodded shortly, turning to stare silently out across town, his gaze wandering northwards – somewhere out there were his student and his team. If any news was going to come – it would be from there. It'd better be good news.

Three kunai sank satisfyingly into the makeshift training post with a dull crack, cantered neatly in the neck, heart and femoral artery areas of the human body facsimile drawn upon it. The strikes were true – red tree sap dripped to the ground along the knives' edges, pooling on the ground, which was already covered in quite a mess.

"Very good," Minato said, handing Shikamaru three more kunai as the boy haphazardly sought to support himself. He was currently blindfolded, one of several handicaps 'Kaeru-sensei' had inflicted on him in an effort to increase his acuity in senses beyond the eyes. "Same spread, please."

Once more the kunai found their targets, each ricocheting off the previous knives with a sharp clang before embedding themselves right next to them. Shikamaru smirked cockily, stretching his arms wide and squinting as he freed his eyes. He was cheating, in a way – relying purely on chakra spread around his shadow to sense the shape of the immediate surroundings, allowing him to have a rudimentary variant of chakra sensing. It could be a very useful sill to have, though it was presently far too slow to be of use in a battle – unless he planned it right.

Minato, Shikamaru mused, knew very well what we was doing – many of the techniques he'd been teaching or helping practice were seemingly mundane and far too inefficient to use in a real duel as using them cost precious time and relied on a lot of variables. Though a few quick techniques appeared in his repertoire and his speed overall had increased considerably, he was still relying on quite a variety of impractical moves. That'd been his pessimistic assumption until he realized how he should actually bring them into a battle.

His strategy had always relied on outsmarting the opponent, as the Nara were generally prone to do – luring them into a false sense of security and then lashing out with a Shadow Possession or similar to finish it. All of the techniques he learned, if planned appropriately, would serve to do exactly that; if he set up several in succession, it was unlikely even a good enemy avoided all of them and this would be a bad thing for them, as while they were slow these attacks certainly packed a punch.

"I suppose that's about it, then." Minato commented, quickly removing the kunai and wiping them off with a few loose leaves before putting them back on his belt. "Blind throws like that will help you out considerably if you need to keep an eye on multiple targets – keep one busy dodging, while you approach the other. Granted, it will be less effective against larger groups…"

"But I'm unlikely to face those on my own anyway," Shikamaru concluded. He nodded as he pulled his blindfold from his neck, suddenly noticing that Minato wasn't wearing his mask. "Eh, now what do I call you? Teaching, yet without the mask?"

Minato pulled a face as he tapped the painted Kaeru-mask that dangled off his belt. "It's stifling; I figured since the only other person around was blind and couldn't tell anyway…"

Shikamaru muttered something vaguely insulting, before turning towards camp. "We should go find the old people."

Minato smirked at that, recalling a rather illuminating conversation from a few weeks earlier, when he had idly remarked that Kakashi was getting a little grey around the temples, and the man had burst out that no, he wasn't balding, and it was ridiculous to say such a thing. Shizune had merely giggled, noting that she was actually older than the silver-haired jōnin, by about a year – something that had caused such a look of relief on Kakashi's face that Minato hadn't quite managed to get himself together for half an hour afterwards.

Ever since that, Shikamaru had taken to referring to the two as the old couple or old people, mostly to needle Kakashi as Shizune seemed completely blasé about the whole thing and pointed out that with enough medical knowledge, looking young until you were supposed to be old and grey was hardly the most difficult feat to pull off – just ask Tsunade.

The team was currently holed up on a plateau southwest of what was apparently Otogakure, the target village that was home to Orochimaru and those who followed him. There were few patrols and it seemed more like a base of operations than a genuine ninja village; few if any civilians actually lived near it, it seemed, and there was no apparent central structure.

Detection seals in place, Minato would know of approaching shinobi minutes before they arrived though thus far it hadn't been necessary; the defences around Orochimaru's compounds were strong, but shinobi did not stray far from the outskirts of the last buildings, much less into the surrounding countryside.

Tracking down Tenzō had been difficult – the first week after they'd arrived Kakashi had gone from outpost to outpost and even base to base (most of them abandoned) to find a trace of the man and he was unsuccessful every time, returning with little more than scraps of information, even after arranging for the help of Pakkun and the other Ninken. That is, until two days ago.

Minato gestured to his former student covertly, quickly flinging one of his kunai upwards - in a split second he was high up on the rock wall, crossing his legs as he found a reasonable flat section; the view was breath-taking. He'd sat down on the highest part of the rocky ridge that sheltered them from the wind, which seemed to perpetually howl along these parts. Great gales came from the highest peaks and spread all across rice fields that were visible in valleys far below. From atop this vantage point he could see multiple small collections of buildings in the distance, practically all empty husks; the only base that wasn't abandoned was the closest, their target. Smoke rose slowly from several chimneys; it was too far away to make out any detail.

"Yo." Kakashi had scaled the rock wall in three steps, settling himself lightly next to his teacher. "What is it?"

"I wanted your opinion," Minato glanced down at Shizune and Shikamaru. "If we're going in there to get Tenzō – do we take those two along? They're pretty good, but we're bound to run into a jōnin or two."

"Of course they're coming along," Kakashi said, affronted. "We didn't very well spend a month training them to slack off now. 'Sides, I distinctly remember some missions our team did, back then. This is child's play compared to those."

"That was war."

"This is war," Kakashi hissed. "Shizune's a lot more capable than you think; she could take out a jōnin on her own, I have no doubt. If they're not careful enough, she could take down practically anyone with that poison of hers. As for Shikamaru…" Kakashi smiled brightly. "There's a reason I've been stealing him from you, occasionally. He's got a few tricks up his sleeve beyond your collection of Nara ones."

Minato nodded with a troubled glance at the youngest member of their group. "I suppose it's his age. I can't help but see – see a little of my son in him, I suppose. I've already lost him – I really don't want to have another young death on my conscience, so quickly."

Kakashi sighed. "It's not healthy, sensei – I know that you miss him dearly, but you can't use that as an excuse to keep other genin out of the fight – you remember your own days as one, don't you? Better to focus on the fact that he's practically chūnin level, rather than beating yourself up about his age."

"You think he'd make chūnin? Already?" Minato wondered and Kakashi congratulated himself on a successful deflection away from the sore topic of Naruto.

"I do remember telling you he'd make it on the first Exams," Kakashi said. "That's without training by a Kage-level ninja. If he has to compete at all, he'll blow the other competitors away within seconds."

Minato gazed at his hands for a little while, tracing several small scars – they were healing over quickly and would be gone by morning thanks to Shizune's help. A month had done wonders for getting back into things – he'd regained much of his former accuracy and was on the cusp of developing a technique he'd never thought he'd get to finish at all. With that, he should be able to defend the entire team, he was certain. "Just… let me mark those two with the Hiraishin seal – just in case. If things go bad, at least I can make sure they're safe, even if I'd give all the politicians back home an aneurysm with my sudden return."

Kakashi smirked, briefly exposing his Sharingan and gazing at the little 'village' below; there were one or two people outside, but they showed no more signs of moving outside than they'd done over the last two days. "Tomorrow, we retrieve Tenzō – after that, we'll see about the rest, alright? Politics is a deep pit full of ink and paper that you get trapped in like a fly in amber – let's save that till we have no other choice." He smirked knowingly as Minato cringed. All that paperwork!

"Yo, Tayuya," Jirōbō called as he saw her leaning on one of the wall's supports, idly playing a tune on her flute that resonated eerily throughout the base. "Cut that out! I was trying to get some shut-eye!"

Tayuya scoffed, putting her instrument away and glaring at the rotund orange-haired Oto-nin that had called her. "Shut your pie-hole, fatty. I can play whenever I want, Lord Orochimaru's orders! Besides, I'm actually doing more than just making pretty music; unlike you, I actually work around here."

"What were you doing with that infernal noise?" Kidōmaru wondered sleepily as he blinked furiously to clear his eyes, stumbling out of the base's central entrance. "I was sleeping peacefully, dreaming of pretty ladies and smashing my enemies and then you go and wake me up with that screeching!" He pulled a hand through his dark hair in frustration and rounded on Jirōbō. "You're no better, shouting like a maniac!"

"Listen - we're not alone out here." Tayuya said with certainty, staring into the distance. "The resonance of my music is off – somewhere out there is a powerful shinobi, covering up their chakra. That's why I've been playing regularly - I usually only get this effect around shinobi of the boss's skill…"'

"Don't suppose he's back early?"

"Nah, he said a week – he meant a week. Right, Kidōmaru?" Jirōbō looked between his two colleague members of the Sound Four uncertainly. "Except… that means there's someone else out there?"

"What a stellar observation." Tayuya gazed worriedly across the valley and up the mountainous flanks that could hide a thousand shinobi, if they wished. "What are we going to do if they attack? We're probably the strongest at the base right now, especially without Sakon and Ukon, but if this person is on the boss's level…"

"You forget who he left in charge," Kidōmaru said confidently.

"Ah, him." Tayuya responded with a shudder. "The creep."

"He's busy with preparations for Orochimaru-sama, but I'm certain if it were necessary he'd come out here to kill." Kidōmaru smirked. "No more than a graveyard would remain."

It was incredible, Orochimaru considered. Tsunade was even more skilled than he'd anticipated; the complex cocktail of enzymes and toxins that he'd administered to the Third had been perfect – it should have killed the man within hours through unimaginable pain. Instead the man was recuperating quickly, already walking and using chakra like he'd never been at the gates of death at all and the smiles he gave seemed genuine. He could even use the blasted arm, though it seemed stiff. It was doubtful he'd get a second shot at taking his life soon, Orochimaru concluded – the old man was lucky.

Two days now the Sannin had spent watching the Leaf Village, returning there after an extended stay at one of his bases; the body he had chosen turned out to be considerably more resistant to being taken over than he'd anticipated. No matter, he had more to take care of. He glanced over to the tall walls where a great many shinobi passed by, escorted by an ANBU or a regular jōnin; near-constant patrols, day and night. Occasionally he glimpsed Jiraiya and Tsunade themselves and he made sure to stay well out of range of any of their techniques. He had to admit that an invasion would have a tough time breaking through this, even during a time when defence inside was as important as outside, such as the upcoming Chūnin Exams; he'd expected the Third to cancel them, but evidently the old man had other plans.

Of course, the Hokage was assuming that there would be a straight-up invasion. Orochimaru's lips curled up in amusement and he chuckled lightly as his long tongue licked his lips in anticipation for the slaughter to come.

It would be glorious.

Author's Note: Well, that ends the preachy part, now onto combat! :)