This meeting couldn't have been more cliché: man wants revenge, gathers his little group – all of whom wanted revenge, as well – to be a part of this madness and concoct a plan so clever and intricate and subtle and stupid just to kill the people they wanted to take revenge from.

If Kakashi's reading this kind of situation as a plot of a book, he would've laughed so hard from the absurdity of the story that the whole Konoha will hear him. However, he's in reality, where he can feel the tension in the air so thick that it can be cut by a knife. He can hear every single shifting foot that his ninja made. In the fading sunlight, he can see that there's a very real threat standing in front of him.

The one who spoke bowed in front of him in a very mocking way and Kakashi's left eye twitched in annoyance.

"It's definitely an honor to finally meet the infamous Copy Ninja, Hakate Kakashi," the apparent leader of the group said as he straightened up, his smooth voice slightly muffled by the mask.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, "Unfortunately, the feeling is not mutual."

Kakashi's blood began to boil as the man before them had the gall to laugh, as if everything that happened, as if the things that they have done to the ninjas of Konoha is all a big comedy show and he finds everything amusing.

"Oh, Hokage-sama, you entertain me!" he gasped out between his laughter, his hands clutching his sides, "The rumors are actually true! You do care about your ninjas! Oh, this is certainly new!"

Kakashi can feel the throbbing of his temple at his statement. What the hell is he talking about?

"Ah, Hokage-sama," he spoke again after suppressing his laughter, "The care that you have for your subordinates is a weakness and will, inevitably, be the end of you."

"We have very different beliefs, then," Kakashi replied in a monotone. They're obviously stalling; they didn't take the chance to attack yet but Kakashi doesn't know why.

An explosion from the west gate answered his unspoken question. Some of his ninjas exclaimed and gasped in surprise but the ones in front of him were unfazed.

"And there goes our signal," their leader said and, with quick hands, threw numerous kunais with explosive tags tied on them. Reacting quickly, Kakashi weaved signs and slammed his hands to the ground, an earth wall erecting itself as their shield from the barrage of explosion.

Kakashi realized too late that the explosion was created as a diversion.

The group had already started moving, their blades raised and drawn as they attacked his ninjas. This time, neither Kakashi nor his ninjas could react in time: his shinobi cried out as two of their comrades fell, a gaping wound on the torso of one and the other almost lost his arm.

"Take them away!" Kakashi ordered and another two carried out his instruction while he deflected the katana of the one closest to him with his kunai. He managed to overpower his opponent and pushed, kicking at their legs. They fell with a grunt and Kakashi took the opportunity to stab him on the chest. With only four of his ninjas left beside him, Kakashi had to make quick work against their enemies.

All around him, battle had begun.

Shikamaru would have preferred to spend this night in the comfort of his home. He could have been lying on his bed, eating whatever junk food is available and having a phone conversation with Temari (despite his mother's warning and complaints about the amount of long-distance calls).

But here he is in this bothersome situation, with barely any light to create a shadow for him to manipulate and trying to fend off this masked stranger intent on killing him. He moved further inside the gate, where the bright lights of the village could create a shadow and, once his shadow is dark enough, he took his position and strangled his enemy with the dark hands of his shadow. Without savoring his short-time victory, he straightened up and began to aid his struggling comrades.

They were situated on the west gate and originally a team composed of nine ninjas, as Shikamaru had divided their available shinobi equally to defend the four main gates of the village, but three of his teammates had been incapacitated due to the explosion made by this group. He had to instruct some of his companions to take the injured ones away from the battle, both to protect them and to keep them from being a hindrance to the fighting force. His team is now reduced to only three, including him, and they still have five opponents to defeat. Now, he has Lee, Shino and TenTen with him, who all had their hands full.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and reached for a kunai. He doesn't prefer close combat and his taijutsu ability is average at best but, with the lack of moonlight to create shadows for him to use, he had no other choice but to engage them in a hand-to-hand battle.

Shikamaru immediately ran towards one of them who, unfortunately, had a shinobi gauntlet. He hid behind the pillar of the village gate as scorching fire was aimed in his direction. From his position, he can see TenTen moving further inside the gate, one of her scrolls releasing a slew of kunais. Without pausing, she opened another scroll and had a pair of katana on her hands and began to push her opponent back and outside the gate. Shikamaru almost nodded in approval. What they need to do is to keep these people out of the village.

Shino was doing his best to keep them out with his deadly insects but, from the brief encounter that he had with the insect-user, it seemed that these ninjas had an armor underneath their long cloaks and they had covered themselves to the boot, even their faces. His insects had been trying to find a chink in their armors where they can fit through but their enemies had been targeting Shino and deflecting his insects with their gauntlet.

So far, Lee had the most luck in fighting. He was able to unarm two of the ninjas and is now engaging them in taijutsu; he was throwing hands and kicks that the Yuki rogue barely had enough time to defend himself. Once they'd fallen, TenTen had rushed to their side and finished them quickly. They hastily made their way back to battle.

When he can no longer feel the heat of the fire, Shikamaru moved immediately. As fast as he can, he ran from his hiding spot and lunged at the gauntlet-wielding shinobi. He stepped to the side to avoid the water aimed at him and tackled them, burying the kunai that he held to the hilt on their chest as they both fell. They stopped struggling and Shikamaru watched as their warm blood began to stain his fingers. He quickly wiped his hand down his pants and stood up, glancing around him. Three enemies down, four to go.

Light drizzle of rain began to fall from the sky, which quickly turned into an all-out thunderstorm.

Kiba shook the water off his face as he put a hand on Akamaru's wet fur as they took a short breather from the battle. The rain had been a bad omen but, so far, the battle on their side had been going good. Taking a pill from his pouch, he fed it to the dog.

They were situated on the north gate, where they were suddenly swarmed by nine Yuki rogues, with that Jounin Sota Miho among them. Thankfully, they didn't lose any of their comrades from the explosion caused by them. His team was led by one of Hyūgas, who's currently battling one of them. They managed to take down four of them with only two injured shinobi on their part.

"Ready, Akamaru?" he asked his loyal dog. Akamaru barked in affirmation and, almost immediately, they attacked with Gatsūga, taking down most of them with a single blow. Some stood up again, while the other appeared to have lost consciousness. Kiba grinned. Once they're done with these people, they can finally offer their assistance to their comrades.

"Kiba!" their Hyūga leader called out, "Take Sota Miho alive! The Hokage needs him!"

"Roger that!" Kiba yelled back. Glancing around, his nose picked up the scent of the wanted Jounin by his left. Turning, he ran towards the direction and readied a pair of cuffs from his pouch.

His eyes widened when a kunai whizzed past his ear. Stopping, he pulled a kunai from his pouch and put it up, settling in a defensive position. His eyesight is almost a hundred times better than the average human but the rain is not helping with the visibility and hearing.

His sensitive ear picked up a sound from his left and, without hesitation, he swiped his kunai in a wide arc. His blade was caught with another, their weapons meeting in a shower of sparks. Kiba glared at Miho, who had a smirk on his smug face.

They both jumped back and Kiba's feet splashed on the puddle that formed on the muddy ground. Beside him, Akamaru had bristled, his hackles raised and his lips pulled back in a snarl, baring his sharp teeth.

"Nice to meet you here, Kiba," Miho greeted cheerfully.

Kiba had met Miho on the first week that they arrived in Konoha. The Jounin had approached him when he saw their ninken and had expressed his interest in befriending the dogs. Looking back, Kiba should've known better than to trust a man like him; it's known that their dogs can detect when a person is not trustworthy, and their ninken had never particularly liked Miho. Kiba regrets not wringing his neck right then and there.

"What's with that look? Come one, we're old friends here," Miho continued.

"Fuck you," Kiba growled between gritted teeth. His body tensed, readying himself for battle.

Miho shrugged and pulled out a katana behind his back, "Suit yourself."

He lunged, Akamaru right beside him. Miho had expected the attack and stepped to the side, throwing his kunai in their direction. Kiba raised his own blade and swiped at the incoming weapon, where it fell with metallic clang. Miho threw another kunai at him, which Kiba and Akamaru easily dodged. Miho wasted no time and was already charging at Kiba with his katana raised. In a spur of a moment decision, Kiba lunged again. With Miho's arm raised, Kiba slipped an arm under said arm, while his other arm went around his opponent's neck. Using Miho's own strength, he slammed him down, their bodies skidding a few feet on the muddy ground.

Miho was probably disoriented and didn't try to fight back for a few moments, his sword lying near his hand. Kiba began to tighten his arms around his neck, locking one arm on Miho's shoulder and the other under Miho's arm. He clenched his hands, his elbows pressing themselves on the ground for leverage and Miho started to claw at his arms, trying to pry the dog-user's arm from the chokehold. His opponent tried to wriggle out of the tight grasp: he was in by kicking his legs back to gain the upper hand, only to skid helplessly on the wet and cold mud below them.

As Miho started to writhe and choke in his hold, Kiba only had one thought in mind, his predatory instinct clouding his mind.

I'm going to kill you, you treacherous bastard.

Tsunade sighed as she finished tending to one of the ninjas brought in from the battle. This one had a gash on his side, probably created by a slash of a katana. Luckily, he was quickly brought in to the hospital to be treated and the blood loss had not been severe.

The blonde looked around the Emergency Room grimly. The situation had already slowed down considerably this afternoon but, with the battle going on outside the village, the number of injured ones coming in had gone up considerably.

Her eyes caught Sakura's pink hair, bent over as she treated a patient, Shizune's dark head as she created an antidote for a poison, Ino's platinum blonde hair as she assisted a patient to a sitting position and Hinata's pale eyes as she treated a burn victim.

Tsunade was infinitely thankful that Hatake thought of sending Ino and Hinata to the hospital. Their skill in medicine may not be on par with Shizune's or Sakura's but they have basic knowledge of iryo ninjutsu that they can be utilized for treating minor injuries and can be used for first aid. And they are really needed here in the hospital.

Tsunade's eyes flitted back to Shizune's form. When Sakura fetched her from her office earlier, the dark-haired woman was somewhat pale and, Tsunade noticed, that she moved almost robotically, her arms almost stiff; as if she's forcing herself to move. Godaime got her answer when Yamato and his injured teammates were brought in, wherein they were informed that there will be a fight happening soon and that the Rokudaime is joining the soldiers.

The blonde couldn't help but worry about the state that Shizune was in. Sure, she knows that the woman that she watched grow up before her eyes is a strong, independent and professional woman who can separate work from emotions. However, something about the current events is obviously eating away on her former assistant that makes her almost appear like a robot.

So, when a small break had presented itself, Tsunade pulled Shizune by the arm and took her to her office, locking the door behind them. Once inside the privacy of the room, Tsunade immediately questioned the younger woman's behavior.

Shizune suddenly started to sob, surprising Tsunade.

"What if he gets injured again?" Shizune cried, "What if he forgets again? What if something worse - !"

"Stop it!" Tsunade stopped the dark-haired kunoichi's ramblings. They don't need an emotionally unhinged doctor right now, "Hatake knows what he needs to do, I'm sure of that. He knows better than to get himself hurt again. You can rest easy."

Shizune sniffled, "He proposed, mom."

Tsunade's eyes widened a fraction. Though she knows about Kakashi's feelings for Shizune, she didn't expect him to pop the question so soon, when the two of them just got back together.

"He called me earlier," the dark-haired continued speaking through hiccups, "Before he went out, he called me. He told me he loved me, that he can't see anyone beside him but me. And then he proposed. Over the phone."

Shizune raised her eyes, looking up at Tsunade with eyes shining with tears, "I'm so scared, mom. What if he forgets about me again? About the time that we had? What if… what if he dies?"

Tsunade couldn't help herself. She wrapped her arms around the younger woman's shoulder, drawing her in for a hug. Her hands ran up and down Shizune's back in a soothing motion as her adoptive daughter wrapped her own arms around her waist and buried her face on the side of Tsunade's neck. The blonde rarely showed affection for the younger woman, but she knows that Shizune needs to be comforted right now.

"Shh… shh.. it's going to be alright, Shizune," she whispered on her ear and paused for a moment, mulling about her next words, "I think you know that there's no reassurance in the world that we live in, right? I can't tell you that Kakashi will be safe and will not get injured because I don't know that. I can't be sure that he will remain unscathed during this altercation. But I do know one thing: Kakashi will do everything in his ability to return to you safely. Of that, I am sure of."

She pulled back and put her hands on Shizune's face, wiping away the tears that cascaded down her cheeks with her thumbs, "I have faith in Kakashi's skills and abilities, that's why I named him as the Sixth Hokage. I have faith in him now, that he will do every necessary thing to come back home safely. You should do the same."

Shizune stared at her silently for a few moments and then nodded her head, whispering a faint 'yes' with Tsunade's statement. Once she composed herself, they went out of the office together.

Shizune no longer moves with wooden limbs now, although she remained pale, probably from exhaustion. Tsunade, Sakura and Shizune had been working since this morning and it's understandable that they would be tired to the bone. Earlier, she saw Sakura take a food pill and offered some to Shizune, who eagerly took one.

Her eyes swept around the Emergency Room again. She had decreed that the treated patient from earlier that day should be transferred to the empty building beside them, where they'll be kept watch by a group of medics. However, with the fight still going on, the Emergency Room was nearly bursting with patients again and they can't take some of the treated patients to the spare building due to the rain.

She was broken out of her musings when a very wet Kiba entered the Emergency Room, a bloody gash on his arm, elbow and cheek. What surprised her, though, was the fact that he was dragging a very wet, muddy person by the back collar of their shirt through the floor.

She scowled, "You know this is a hospital, right? This place should be kept clean at all times and you just waltzed in here, looking like a dog who rolled on the mud."

The dog-user barked a laugh and let go of the collar of the person, where their head slammed on the floor and they groaned. Tsunade stared with wide eyes at the person lying on the once pristine white floor of the hospital, his face stained with both blood and mud, his nose obviously broken and his eyes shut from blackened eyes, "That's because we rolled on the mud, Godaime-sama," Kiba replied and he turned his attention to the person on the floor and nudged his foot on the side of their head, "Didn't we, Miho?"

Naruto nodded in satisfaction as his group managed to dispose of the group that attacked them and apprehend one of them. At the instruction of their Yamanaka leader, the criminal was brought to the Interrogation Corps building, where they'll be kept under heavy watch by Ibiki's subordinates. Since their group of nine had managed to remain intact and no ninjas were injured, the remaining ones on their group decided to split up into three to see if the other three group needs their help. Naruto was paired up with Choji to assist with the team on the west gate. Yamanaka went for the main gate, where the Hokage's team is, and two others went to check on the team on the east gate.

Naruto would have preferred to go to the main gate but, unfortunately, his request was rebuked by their leader, citing that the explosion on the west gate was louder and more pronounced than the other explosions and that they may need assistance more than anyone. Knowing that Shikamaru was by the west gate, Choji requested to go there with Naruto, which was easily granted. Unfortunately, they have no more men to spare to send over to the north gate.

Once the west gate was in view, they saw Shikamaru and Lee on the ground, with Lee wrapping a bandage on Shikamaru's forearm. Wordlessly, Choji and Naruto picked up their pace.

"Where's TenTen? Where's your other teammates?" Naruto asked once he's close enough to be heard. Lee looked up at him momentarily before bringing his attention back on the task at hand. Shikamaru was staring at his wound and winced when the taijutsu expert pulled a little too hard on the bandage.

"TenTen had to be brought to the hospital. She was burned when one of those ninjas used the Shinobi Gauntlet. The others were either injured or assisting the injured ones to go to the hospital," Shikamaru explained without looking up.

Naruto glanced out of the gate as Choji knelt down beside Shikamaru and offering the dark-haired man a food pill. Naruto saw seven bloody and very dead bodies outside the gate.

"You killed them, huh," Naruto commented, his eyes still trained on the cracked, white mask with a tinged of blood, lying on the ground.

Shikamaru nodded, "Life and death situation."

The blond nodded. He understands the need to defend oneself, to heed the survival instinct. He will not blame nor judge them for their actions.

"I see," he replied and knelt beside them, "Are you alright? I don't know what's happening on the other gates but I think they may need our help."

Lee secured the bandage on Shikamaru's arm, "What do you think, Shikamaru?"

"We'll split into two. Naruto, Choji, check the north gate. Lee and I will go to the main gate. If the situation there is under control, join us immediately at the main gate. We don't know about the situation there and they may need reinforcements fast. Did anyone from your group got there yet?"

Choji answered, "Our leader went there when he sent us here but he's the only one. We don't know if anyone from the other teams sent their teammates yet."

Shikamaru nodded thoughtfully, "I see. Then we have to hurry. Let's go!"

When Naruto and Choji reached the north gate, the able-bodied ninjas were already gathering evidence and cleaning up the mess that happened during the skirmish. They approached the Chūnin who, as Naruto recalled, was part of the group that defended the north gate.

"Oi," he called out, "What happened here?"

The Chūnin looked up and his face brightened when he saw Naruto and Choji, "Oh, you're here! Well… we managed to take care of the battle here and, thankfully, no casualties. Only Inuzuka was injured from his fight with Sota Miho but it's nothing but a scratch."

Naruto blinked, "Inuzuka? You mean Inuzuka Kiba? What happened to him?! Is he alright?!"

"It's nothing, Naruto-kun!" The Chūnin quickly reassured, "He just had a wound on his arm, I'm sure it's nothing serious. Besides, he already took care that traitor."

Naruto turned to Choji, "Let's go, Choji! Shikamaru and Kakashi-sensei needs to know about this!"

"Roger!" Choji agreed as they started to run in the direction of the main gate. They met some of the uninjured shinobi who were the ones to take their wounded comrades to the hospital and, once they safely did, they decided to check on the situation of the other gates. They joined Naruto and Choji on the way to the main gate.

They stayed close to the walls, so they'll be hidden from the enemy's view and wouldn't be a target when they're close enough. As they neared the gate, Naruto can see Shikamaru and Kakashi's profile, both of whom were facing outside the gate. Naruto willed his legs to move faster, his sandals pattering noisily on the wet concrete.

Kakashi could use a week in bed. Literally.

After the explosion that happened on the west and main gate, two more had resounded from the distance. He quickly deduced that the explosions were made on all of the gates as a decoy to confuse and create panic among his ninjas. He and his companions did their best to keep the group out of the village and they managed to take down two of them on the first altercation. However, their enemy recovered quickly and retaliated with their own blades, rods and their Shinobi Gauntlets.

Truth be told, the events of the ensuing battle had been a blur to Kakashi. He slashed his blade, kicked the legs of his opponent, punched their mask-clad faces, dodged and blocked incoming attacks, defended himself and his men; his body went on auto-pilot, doing everything that he can to protect himself and the village. When he had a short moment to glance around him, he discovered that it was raining heavily, that they managed to take down four but two more of his men had fallen injured. He couldn't send them yet to the hospital – as it would be a risk to leave the three of them to deal with the – and he instructed to quickly hide them by the walls.

They may be facing a mere number of seven opponents but these people are extremely resilient and observant; they can easily see the pattern on how their opponent fight in hand-to-hand combat and would be ready to attack on the first opening that they see. Kakashi tried his best to avoid pattern in his movements. Patterns meant that there would be a weak spot and he couldn't afford to be injured now.

When the Hyūga leader from the north gate arrived, they were already down to two who defended the main gate but still had three to take down. With the help of the Hyūga, they managed to take down another one of them but their apparent leader is still fighting and, even with only two enemies to defeat, they're still extremely skilled with their abilities and both are cunning with the fighting style that they possess. The rain had been pouring down heavily when they were joined by a Yamanaka from the east gate, along with some other ninjas to take their injured comrades away to the hospital. Kakashi thinks of the current state of their hospital; patients had been coming in since this morning and he can only imagine the fatigue and stress that their hospital staff is going under right now.

At the thought of the hospital, Kakashi's mind couldn't help but stray to Shizune, which spurred him on to fight continuously and momentarily forget his own aching muscles and bones. She loves him, she agreed to marry him and they still had a wedding to plan. He would not allow himself to come into dire danger and have Shizune worry about his well-being.

Yamanaka and Hyūga decided to take on one of the Yuki rogues and Kakashi had to face their leader. He thought of ways on how he can defeat him. He, obviously, had information about this little organization and Kakashi wants this one to be alive and available for a Yamanaka mind-reading. He wouldn't be surprised if this case is on a larger scale of Land against Land but he'd prefer that it was not. He had enough taste of wars to last for a lifetime and the last thing he needed to do is declare another war so soon, when his ninjas are probably still recuperating – physically and mentally – after the Fourth Great Ninja War. If this is, indeed, a scheme by the Land of Snow, then he hoped that it would be resolved with peace talks. One thing he learned from the previous wars is that violence is not the only choice in every disagreement.

The Hokage and the leader exchanged blows, parries, kicks and blades, their fight turning more into a fight of whose stamina is the longest. Kakashi can feel his right arm beginning to feel sore from all the blocks that he had to do from defending himself. This person, whoever he is, is very skilled with fighting. He tries to lower Kakashi's guard by slowing his attacks or stepping away from Kakashi and then lunges again with his katana once the Hokage was close enough. However, from his appearance, it's apparent that Kakashi was slowly gaining the upper hand; the blank mask that he wore now had a small crack at the corner, caused when Kakashi was close enough to deliver a left hook. The Shinobi Gauntlet that was once situated on his wrist now lay broken on the muddy ground, courtesy of Kakashi's kick.

The leader lunged and raised the metal rod, swinging the weapon down in Kakashi's direction. He jumped back, his head narrowly missing the end of the metal. Kakashi ran back to him while he's still recovering and tried to deliver a punch to his head, which had enough force to knock him out. His opponent was expecting it and moved, Kakashi's fist hitting his shoulder instead. He then retaliated by attempting to kick at Kakashi's leg. Kakashi jumped back again and threw his remaining kunai in his direction, which hit his thigh. He heard him grunt in surprise and pain. While he was pulling away the kunai embedded on his thigh, Kakashi weaved signs and used a Water Style jutsu. A torrent of water began to hit the leader, which he tried to avoid by jumping out of its range but he was already hit by the powerful force of the technique before he can move away; his cloak is now in tatters and some parts of his limbs are now bleeding. Still, he showed no sign of defeat and stood up.

Kakashi stepped away momentarily to catch his breath and his opponent did the same, clutching his bloody arm that was made with a well-aimed kunai. Kakashi panted and contemplated his next move. He can't do anything severe to this man that would render him useless in questioning and interrogation, so he couldn't exactly use his Chidori. Perhaps a Fire Style jutsu might do the trick? Before he can decide, however, the man began to run in his direction, the metal rod that he dropped earlier now raised above his head again.

The Hokage couldn't help the sense of déjà vu that ran through his being when he saw it, like he had been in this situation before.

His brain told him to keep this man alive, to wring him out of information, but, as if it had a mind of its own, his hand had started to form his infamous purple lightning, his survival instinct taking over. In a split second, his opponent will be upon him and killing him with a metal rod. This is a life and death situation.

What he didn't expect was the Hyūga slamming the leader to the ground.

"Now!" the Hyūga yelled and Kakashi glanced to his left and saw the Yamanaka, their fingers weaved together in the sign of their clan's hijutsu and it came to him that they're trying to take over the mind of the leader.

Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise and his hand stopped its motion. He hadn't expected any of them to be available to aid him since they were both occupied when Kakashi last noticed. His question was answered when his eyes landed on one of the dead shinobi, the one that they were fighting earlier.

He rushed to where the Hyūga was holding down the leader, who was still writhing to get his arms off the hold and fighting the intrusion in his mind. Kakashi pulled his arm back and delivered a big punch to the leader's jaw, effectively putting him to sleep. Kakashi reached inside his pouch and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"Don't let go of him just yet," he instructed the Hyūga holding him down, "We'll have to secure him first.'

After putting the cuffs on his wrists and ensuring that he was, indeed, knocked out, Hyūga and Yamanaka took him away to the Interrogation Corps building. Kakashi walked slowly towards the village gates, his feet heavy and his legs shaking. All he wants to do now is to take a warm shower and sleep for probably a week. He pushed his wet hair away from his eyes while his left hand began to rub the sore muscle of his right arm. He rubbed his eyes tiredly as he passed through the gate.

"Hokage-sama?" a voice said from his right. He removed his hand from his face and saw a drenched and tired-looking Shikamaru, who was looking at him curiously and worriedly.

"Hokage-sama," the young advisor repeated, "What happened?"

Kakashi took a deep breath, his lungs filling with air as the rain pelted his form, "It's over," the Hokage said lowly as the two of them stared past the gate. Kakashi's eyes traced the forms of the dead criminals that they had no choice but to kill, his gaze drawn to the blood that had flowed during the fight.

Reality finally hit him when he said the words out loud. It's over. They defeated the terrorists trying to destroy the hard-earned peace of their village. It's finally over.

Or is it?

"Kakashi-sensei!" a familiar voice called out. He averted his gaze from the gore and looked at Naruto and Choji rushing to their location.

"What happened?" the blond asked once he's within earshot, "What happened, Kakashi-sensei? Is it over?"

Kakashi took a deep breath again. Whatever this event might mean, he will be ready and still hope for the best, "Yes, Naruto. It's over."

A/N: whew! that was the longest chapter so far! anyway, next chapter will be uploaded next sunday!