Why Have You Brought Me Here?
It was with dark expressions that all four Commanders of the village, Hatake Kakashi and Yamada Kamiko was gathered up in one of the few meeting room build and protected with seals.
"I have my own news, which makes what you told me much more worrisome." Dragon stated gravely after Shikaku and I explained exactly how Danzo got elected as the Hokage. "Uchiha Sasuke has joined the Akatsuki and kidnapped the Hachibi Jinchuriki. I expect the Raikage to call for a Five Kage Summit. Having a traitor represent Konoha hardly puts us in good light."
"Fuck, a Kage Summit now?" Shikaku swore and rubbed his temples in annoyance. "Essentially this means that we need to have someone infiltrate the Summit, convince Mifune that Danzo is a traitor and somehow prove that Danzo uses a stolen Sharingan to gain power."
"That's suicide." Ibiki stated. "Mifune will probably assume that it's another traitor from Konoha planning to assassinate the Kages."
"What if we include the other Kages?" Kakashi pondered out loud. "The Kazekage is easy enough with us being allies, I'm a bit more worried about the other ones."
"If we could include the Mizukage as well, it would be enough." Kamiko said, surprising everyone slightly. She sent me a look, and I immediately understood that it was from her latest mission. "From my intel, I believe she'll bring Ao as her guard. He has the Byakugan. Not to mention that he has fought Shisui before. He'll know how the chakra in his eyes work."
"Still, we have no alliances with Kiri. They might see us as enemies." Dragon countered while tightening her ponytail. "We can't risk that. Not with Konoha in its current state."
"They aren't exactly ready for war either." Shikaku shot back, the look on his face telling us all that he had almost finished his plan. "Akira, you have fought Ao before, right?"
"Fox, Shikaku, I'm here as Fox…" I complained dramatically. While everyone in the room knew of my real identity, it still shouldn't be mentioned. "Protocols and all that… But yes, I did win against him. It was years ago, though. He's the reason people started calling me Shunshin no Akira."
"So you would say he respects you as a Shinobi, correct?" Shikaku continued. 'Where is he going with this? For some reason I feel like I'm signing away my life now…' I wondered while nodding uncertainty. "And you currently have the 'Flee on sight' warning under your face in the Bingo Book?"
Once again I nodded. I could tell Kamiko was smirking from her spot next to me, clearly having figured out what was going on. 'Okay, I'm definitely signing away my life.'
"Then I have a plan." Shikaku smirked at me, unsettling me greatly. "Akira, I need you to reveal your identity."
"Pardon?" I asked in confusion. The first rule in ANBU was to never reveal who the person behind the mask was. While ANBU Agents rarely gained any fame, as their missions usually avoided showing which village they came from. It was the darkness of the Shinobi world and usually revolved around assassinations and intel gathering. Showing the world that you were an ANBU Commander in a hidden village said a lot about both your abilities as a Shinobi and as a leader. Letting the world know that I was both Commander Fox of Konoha and Shunshin no Akira, wouldn't do me any good. Not to mention it meant that I would have to resign as ANBU Commander quickly. Personal grudges weren't allowed in ANBU and with my name being known, everyone with a grudge against Nakamaru Akira would also have that grudge against Commander Fox. "Why would you want me to do that?"
"Don't worry about it for now. Tanuki, meet up with the Kazekage and let him in on the plan. Dragon, I need you to personally track down the Mizukage and her guards. Hand her this letter and explain what's going on and what you need Ao to do." Shikaku handed Dragon a white letter. 'What the fuck is going on? When did Shikaku have time to write a letter to the Mizukage?' I wondered, but kept my concerns to myself. "Akira, you'll have the hardest mission. I need you to talk with Mifune and arrest Danzo at the first sign of Sharingan usage. In addition, I want you to represent Konoha once Danzo is arrested. Tanuki will meet you there and help you out with the arrestation. You are there as Shunshin no Akira, ANBU Commander of Konoha."
"Shikaku, you're a very intelligent man and I very rarely doubt you, but what the fuck?" I deadpanned and looked at him as if he had gained an extra head. "You do realize that means I'll have to resign from ANBU? Right when Konoha is in the middle of a crisis."
"I seem to recall that you also started working while Konoha was in the middle of a crisis." Shikaku stated with a raised eyebrow. "You'll still have time to train your successor."
Kamiko snickered, earning a glare from me. Then I realized the best way to pay her back and I smirked. 'Well if you need a successor who can take up the mantle quickly, then who am I to deny you?'
"I believe Tanuki is just about ready for the job. She's been working closely alongside me for the past six months." I stated and Kamiko quickly stopped snickering and started glaring at me. "She's the strongest in the force and the best tactician. I doubt we'll find a more capable Commander."
"Then it's decided." Shikaku smiled smugly. Apparently, I had given up more than I had gotten. 'Fuck you Shikaku! Fuck you, your stupid brain and evil plans!' I shouted inside my head. "Have all ANBU Agents ready to arrest Danzo once he returns to the village."
"I'll ready my force." I groaned and got up on my feet. "We'll talk after the Summit."
The nineteen-year-old ANBU Commander was tired. In fact, she was completely exhausted. As usual, she had started the week by assigning missions to her ANBU Force before going on a mission herself as the Jonin Shunshin no Akira. The mission had been a rather hard one and she had to fight her way through a large number of Iwa Shinobi, whose mission was in a direct conflict to her own. Needless to say, Akira was looking forward to relaxing back home. That plan however, was stopped by the Hokage herself who ordered Akira to be her guard for the next Chunin Exams. These ones were to be held in Kiri. And so, with just an hour of time left before departing, Akira had hurried writing a letter to Kamiko that she would have to take care of the incoming mission reports in Akira's place. After summoning her smallest and fastest hawk, Senko, Akira tied the now sealed letter to his feet and ordered him to track down the older ANBU. Next thing she knew, she was walking at Tsunade's right side as her guard.
"Tsunade, do you know how much paperwork I have to do?" Akira groaned as she sent her leader a frustrated look. "With both my solo missions and Commander stuff, I really don't have time to play escort…"
"You do realize that you're one of, if not the, strongest ninja from Konoha?" Tsunade asked with an amused expression, enunciating her sentence very clearly. "Of course you'll be busy. Besides, we're going to Kiri and you're very well-known there."
"And that's great." I said sarcastically, ignoring the stifled chuckles of the two ANBU behind us.
"Yes, it is. It's a show of power. I have no doubt that the Mizukage herself will have guards capable of taking the Kage Mantel, which means I need to have a guard with those capabilities as well." Was the firm response from the Hokage.
"Then bring Kashi! He'll be a great Hokage! He can't deliver paperwork late to himself. That just doesn't work out." Akira stated as if it was the most genius plan in the world. "And then I can go to sleep peacefully."
"Kakashi is not going to be the Hokage." Tsunade rolled her eyes. "While he is indeed powerful enough, and definitely smart enough, he does currently not have the needed emotional stability."
At the last comment, Akira couldn't help herself and laughed loudly.
"That's an actual criteria? The bar most be very low if that's the case." Akira snorted. "I mean, you drink and gamble for personal reasons that are definitely not healthy, and when I visited Kumo on your behalf last month, the Raikage jumped out of his window and ruined a Cabbage Carriage of some poor bloke. And honestly, you can't call me emotional stable, I decided that since my childhood was ruined, then I should forever remain a child at heart and therefore keep pranking people and doing other stupid things."
"It's probably one of the healthiest coping mechanism in Konoha." Tsunade smirked slightly as she thought about all the weird Shinobi from Konoha. "And there's this saying that when you look at the world from the eyes of a child, the entire world can become a problem, and the entire world can become an answer. I think you are one of those still able to see the answer."
The closer I got to the Land of Iron, the more I hated Shikaku. He was pretty much pushing me into the Hokage seat while smiling smugly. The least he could do is pretending to be innocent and having no idea what he's doing, but nope. He's going to force me to take the Hokage hat and smile proudly while doing so. 'But joke's on him, I'll just tell Mifune and the Kage's that Tsunade wants Kakashi as her successor. That way he'll be the one stuck with the paperwork.' I thought with a smirk as I saw the three snow-covered mountains known as the Three Wolves appearing bigger and bigger. I also knew that the Samurai would intercept me as soon as I arrived.
Never ones to disappoint; three Samurai arrived the very second my feet landed inside the area of the Land of Iron. Their uniform hiding away their identities from the rest of the world.
"Yo!" I greeted casually, as if I hadn't just run into their territory without permission. "You guys wouldn't happen to know where I can find your Commander? Mifune?"
As I couldn't actually see their faces, I simply imagined that they were in awe of my awesomeness and that they therefore decided to lead me to their Commander. 'It definitely has nothing to do with me being a foreign and unauthorised Shinobi on their land. Just my awesomeness.'
"We'll take you to our Commander. Do not utilize any chakra while you're on our land." One of the Samurai stated after a few seconds of silence. "Any chakra usage on your part will be seen as an attack and we will cut you down."
"Aren't you guys the sweetest?" I smiled innocently while letting them lead me deeper into the Land of Iron. "Escorting an awesome person such as myself."
"Please refrain from talking." The second Samurai said gruffly.
"Rude…" I muttered but followed their orders regardless.
Mifune's expression had been completely stone cold while I explained everything that had happened in Konoha. His expression had not changed at all while he read Tsunade's letter.
"So with Hatake Kakashi as the Rokudaime and Danzo in prison, everything will be fine again." I finished my long explanation and handed him one of the letters Shikaku had written. Mifune scanned through it quickly and raised one eyebrow.
"It seems like you're misinformed, Nakamaru-sama. Tsunade-sama clearly named you as her successor." Mifune stated, looking slightly amused when he noticed my complexion pale dramatically.
"Are you sure you aren't misreading Hatake Kakashi as Nakamaru Akira?" I asked slightly desperately, knowing fully well that our names were very different. "Or can you at least pretend you do? I'm just getting out of my ANBU Commander paperwork… The Hokage paperwork is the incarnation of evil!"
"I'm afraid that fighting it is your faith." He looked at me, his eyes shining with sympathy, showing that he was very familiar with the hell of paperwork. "Regardless, I cannot allow you to interfere without proper proof that Danzo-sama is indeed using the Sharingan to manipulate. What you do back in Konoha is none of my business, but you are currently on my land."
"Which, of course, Konoha will fully respect. What I ask instead, is that you allow myself and my Second-in-Command to stand guard over the meeting, should Danzo attempt to use the Sharingan during the meeting." I said diplomatically. I knew perfectly well what was within protocols and what wasn't, and currently I was pushing it slightly. "As we know he used it to gain the Hokage seat, it's not unlikely that he'll do it again to gain more power among the Five Kages."
"A very understandable concern." Mifune nodded and scanned me thoughtfully. "We have a room you and your companion can stay in. It will allow you to hear and see everything going on inside the meeting while keeping the two of you hidden from the Kages."
"Perfect. Then with your permission, may I interfere should Danzo use his Sharingan?" I asked the old Samurai.
"Yes. Should you know for certain that he uses it, you may interfere." Mifune nodded again before standing up and gesturing for me to follow him. "Let me show you to the room."
AN:
Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter of The World Through Black Lenses! I definitedly enjoyed writing it! Once again, I just want to thank everyone who's still reading my story! Those of you who included this story as one of your favourite and those of you who started following me, thank you! It really means a lot to me. I'm also eternally grateful for the reviews I've gotten and I love reading them. So thanks to all of my readers and I hope you'll keep on reading the upcoming chapters!