Title: Sneaking Around Konoha
Author: enchanted nightingale
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto, or the characters from them and I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Summary: Loneliness was not for him, Harry knew that. Then he met Kakashi and he found a solution to his problem.
Pair: Harry Potter/ Kakashi Hatake
CHAPTER 31 – Rooting out the mole
Tsunade welcomed them at the door of Naruto's office, her face grim.
"Come on in. We are also waiting for Nara Shikaku before we start brainstorming," she told them as she ushered them inside and shut the door.
Harry shuddered as he felt the barrier go back up. It was quite similar yet at the same time different to the wards he used around his house. He met Kakashi's eye and nodded, then Naruto's and he tried not to wince; their young Hokage looked mentally and emotionally tired. That meant that things were worse than they originally thought.
"Teddy," Naruto told the young Jonin. "We'll figure this out," he stated.
"You're awfully calm, considering the news," Tsunade stated.
"Harry dosed me with 'Calming Draught'," Teddy replied. "Otherwise my baser instincts would be at the front and that would not be good." Not to mention any unfortunate incidents with his magic. His godfather always maintained that accidental magic was not limited to young untrained children. Being more magically gifted than the average wizard, he was still prone to the occasional incident now and again.
"Smart move, wish I had done that for our Hokage," Tsunade said.
"I wish you had," Naruto agreed.
There was another knock on the door and Kakashi went to let the Jonin Commander inside.
The Nara Clan head shot a look around the room and he seemed to visibly deflate at the looks on their faces. His shoulders drooped just as the door shut behind him.
"I can see this will be a long meeting," he said.
Naruto motioned him to a spot and Kakashi started briefing everyone as fast as he could. Once Nara Shikaku had the entire story presented to him he nodded to show he understood. He spared a look at the young Jonin and his parent figure.
"This is a mess. A very big mess. Worst still, as far as I know the T&I department has yet to locate the mole. I'm sorry this happened to you, Lupin, but just as easily it could have been any other talented Jonin," the Nara commented. He faced his Hokage and Tsunade with a troubled look.
"So it is line theft," Harry said.
"Yes, I think so," Shikaku agreed. "And we are lucky you caught this. The situation then, would have been a lot worse."
"What are your thoughts?" Tsunade asked.
"Depends on what actions you want to take. This is both a Clan matter and a Village matter. Line theft is a serious business. Potter-san, can you track down the mother?" the Nara asked.
"I already started the process," Harry replied. "It's a simple thing to do." His mind went back at the house, were he had set up the location ritual. All he had needed was a map of the elemental nations, a very detailed one, and Teddy's blood, which he had on hand already. He had thought he would need it to track down his godson, not Teddy's children.
"That's a handy thing to have," Shikaku commented.
"I had this set up in case I ever needed to track down my godson," the green-eyed wizard admitted.
Shikaku nodded. "How soon will you have a location?"
"It could be an hour or two, the process cannot be rushed," Harry replied.
"That is sooner than I expected," the Nara commented.
"You already have a plan of action," Tsunade told him. "And an idea as to whom is behind all of this."
"I do, and you will not like it," Shikaku told her. He looked to Naruto. "As you well know, we have suspected or a while now that the issue with the misclassified missions stems from within the village."
Naruto grimaced, but nodded. "Your son said the same thing."
"The village Elders?" Tsunade demanded.
"You were the one who first took a lot of power from them. Then came Naruto, your successor and effectively declawed them. He has the approval of all the Shinobi clans, the Daimyo and several other Kage," Shikaku explained. "That makes it so that they will not recover their former power, not with Naruto as Hokage. There have been several assassination attempts, bust since he was a host to a Tailed Beast, he is immune to almost all poisons."
Tsunade nodded. "There were attempts before he took on the Hat, but the ANBU have been on top of things for a while now."
"There was also an attempt to attack me when I last visited the Daimyo," Naruto recalled. "Sasuke dealt with that."
"So, the Elders have been sabotaging our Hokage," Kakashi concluded.
"And my godson was a victim of that," Harry said.
"Effectively, yes," Shikaku replied. "But he was not the only known incident that line theft was in the picture. I know that Uchiha Sasuke faced an attempt to kidnap Shinomori Kiyo. Considering she was five months pregnant at the time… The would-be kidnapers were practically skewered by the shinobi guarding her. There was nothing left for the T&I department to work with. And now this clusterfuck."
"Someone is trying to revive ROOT," Kakashi concluded. "And there are only so many candidates."
"Danzo?" Naruto asked. He looked to Tsunade.
"I left him alive because he was just too politically well-connected to just kill him outright," the former Hokage said. "I did punch him, and I did have him confined to his house. Under guard."
"How sure are you that he's the one at fault?" Harry cut in.
"Almost certain. This is practically his handy work," Shikaku said. "Only problem is, that he never leaves enough clues to damn him."
The look in Harry's green gaze has hard. His hands were practically fists, and he was almost ready to start cursing, figuratively and literally.
"I can help with that," he stated.
"Truth serum?" Tsunade recalled.
"I have some left. It mighty poison him but I really can't bring myself to care enough. He set out to hurt Teddy."
"We'll talk about that, extensively," Shikaku told the green-eyed wizard.
"So, what now?" Teddy asked.
"Now, we need to find out who the mother is and if she was in on the line theft scheme," Kakashi said. "Your mission was way above your grade. Both you and your team were placed in a difficult position. I know that there was one Hyuga in that team. They would have ended up in your position instead. There was better outcome from all of this."
"It is possible that any of his teammates was an intended target and not Lupin himself," Shikaku agreed. "I cannot think of any way that his abilities got leaked. That mission was the first time you did your 'thing' correct?"
Teddy nodded. "It was. I usually train with Kakashi-sensei, but I only use my abilities at our house training room, not even at the ANBU facilities."
"We will not know until we confirm Danzo or the Elders were behind this," Naruto stated. "We need to question them to be certain."
"How good is that truth serum?" Shikaku asked Harry.
"Very good," the wizard replied. "And it will last until an antidote is administered. The person under questioning cannot lie, they cannot withhold what they know. They cannot bite their tongue or try to misdirect."
"Savage," Shikaku commented, vindictiveness colouring his voice. "May I inform my colleagues at the T&I division?" he requested of Naruto.
"Permission granted," the blond Hokage replied. "I want the whole matter dealt with. We actually lost a few people because of them. I don't like my Shinobi to needlessly face danger. Not because of some geezer with an attitude."
Shikaku nodded. "I will speak with Potter-san about the poison."
"I have enough. And I can speak with your colleagues in order to recreate something similar," the wizard suggested. He was impulsive, but he was also making sure that what happened to his godson was not going to happen to another Shinobi.
Naruto nodded. "Fine. But that is only one matter. What do we do about any potential offspring?"
Shikaku sighed. "You will not like my suggestion."
"But I need to hear it," the Hokage stated.
"Retrieval of the offspring, through any means possible," the Nara stated.
Naruto grimaced, but he had been expecting to hear something like that. "Would you do the same if the shinobi was a Nara?"
"Yes, with extreme prejudice," Shikaku replied. "And if you ask around the other Clans, almost all of them will say the same thing, retrieval of potential children is first. If the mother is unaware, we stage a situation where we make them think the child is dead. If the mother is a willing accessory, we dispatch them."
Naruto winced at that last bit.
"Back home it was usually a prison sentence and monetary compensation," Harry said. "But the prison my people used … Usually those sentenced either lost their minds or their lives."
"Azkaban is a horrid place," Teddy agreed. "I have heard horror stories about the old guards and the whole island. A swift death was usually more humane."
Naruto sighed and faced the two wizards. "So, you both want to retrieve the child."
"It is the safest option for the child," Harry stated in a firm tone.
Teddy shrugged when his Hokage turn to him. "I can honestly say that I have no idea what I want from all of this. I am too young to have a child. But that is just logic speaking. I have no idea how I will react and feel if an actual baby is in front of me. Also, my instincts are similar to those of the Inuzuka," he said.
Naruto deflated. "I really don't like this entire situation."
"No one does, brat," Tsunade told him. "But we cannot leave things to chance."
"I understand," the young Hokage said. "I do not like this, but I do understand."
"So, we have our marching orders then?" Kakashi asked.
"You want to do the retrieval yourself?" Naruto asked his old Jonin instructor.
Kakashi shrugged. "After we interrogate the Elders we will have a more concrete picture. And I am fast."
"But it is too personal to you," Naruto pointed out. "Let us see where we end up. I think you will have no shortage of volunteers to help out. You all know what we need to do, get started. Teddy…"
"Yes, sir?"
The Hokage looked serious when he faced the young Shinobi. "I want you to know that whatever happens, who ever was behind this, they will get punished. We've got your back."
Teddy smiled. He was feeling tired, emotionally and mentally, but Naruto looked serious. Everyone around him looked ready to fight for him. Yes, there was the issue of a baby being brought into this world, but it was without his consent and the people in this room were trying to do their best for the baby and for Teddy. He knew Naruto would fight for the rights and safety of all his Shinobi, but he was going the extra mile because Teddy was Kakashi's.
"Thank you Hokage-sama," the young wizard said and bowed.
That made Naruto sigh and Tsunade snicker at his plight.
"One of these days, you will realize that your Shinobi love you," Tsunade told he successor.
"So, meeting's over. Shikaku, get to the Elders as fast as you can. Harry, as soon as you know the location, sent Kakashi to me," Naruto said. "Dismissed."
End of chapter