Author's Note: It's been a while since I did this, but I'd like to recomend a Naruto fanfic: "Why a Civilian Council is Inappropriate", by DigiXBot. I think the title is pretty self explanatory.

Many of you made guesses as of what Operation Rising Phoenix Would be. Many of you managed to get some things right and others wrong. Read the chapter and see what you managed to correctly guess. Enjoy:

Chapter 79:

Operation: Rising Phoenix

or

Cool Names to Disguise Uncool Actions

Even if Root put up a formidable resitsance, they were still unable to beat the assault led by the Hokage himself. The Root agents were strong opponents, and the Chakra Golems didn't make things any easier. But due the Konoha ninjas having both numbers and power on their side, they soon plowed through their ranks, and arrived at the lowest part of the level, where Danzo was gathering most of his troops.

"I can sense Danzo. He's at the other side of that door," Karin said, focusing her senses into the next door.

"I find it odd that he hadn't fled yet," Jiraiya pondered.

"In that case, it's obvious that he's preparing a trap, Hokage-sama," Shizune warned. "He probably knows that you're leading this attack by now, and maybe he wants to kill you and as many ninjas with you in one swift more."

"How much he's underestimating me is insulting. Still, better not let the guard down," Jiraiya said, as he nodded towards Karin. "How many people does he have with him?"

"Still quite a lot. I'm counting thrity eight, plus some golems," Karin replied, before frowning and crossing her arms. "Just how many people does he have working for him? With the amount of ninjas we fought against, you wouldn't think he'd still have this many."

"Danzo's days to run unchecked will come to an end before the day is over," Jiraiya stated. "His actions not only put one of my sons in constant danger, but he's the reason my other son is in a coma. Everybody, stand back! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Jiraiya created a single clone, before forming a Rasengan with one hand. The clone started to infuse the blue sphere with fire chakra, which started to expand and turn reddish yellow, almost if the Toad Sage was holding a little sun in his hand.

"Fire Release: Rasengan!"

Jiraiya slammed his fire attack into the door. The attack quickly expanded forward and exploded into a fiery inferno, which not only obliterated the door completely, but opened up a massive hole in the wall as well. Many Root ninjas who were near the wall were blown away.

As Karin had said, the room was filled with Root ninjas, a few Chakra Golems, and lastly, Danzo himself. Oddly enough, they didn't appear that they were doing anything, much less trying to escape. Jiraiya was about to order everybody to attack when Ino's voice echoed in his head.

"Everybody, stop! It's a trap!" Jiraiya heard Ino shouting inside his mind. Not only Jiraiya could hear her, but pretty much every ninja with him, as well as those who who remained in the upper levels fighting Root ninja and ensuring that no reinforcements reached Danzo.

"Ino? What's going on?" Jiraiya asked.

…

Shisui and Shizune's apartment

Given that both Shisui and Shizune were taking part in the raid of Root's facilities, they had hired a team of Genin in order to watch over their kids. The mission was given to a Genin team that had graduated from the academy that very year. Given that it was such a simple task, their Jonin-sensei decided to let them on their own, and do more productive things with his time than watching over babies.

It would be a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Thankfully, both Shiro and Shizuka weren't making any ruckus. The two of them were playing with their toys in their playpen, while the Genin boredly watched TV. The monotony, however, came to an end when somebody knocked the door.

"I'll go," one of the Genin, a girl with brown hair and glasses, said as she got up and walked towards the door. "Who's-"

However, she didn't finish those words, as the door was kicked open, hurling her backwards. Two Root ninja broke into the house, the first one tossing several kunai at the brown haired girl, killing her almost instantly.

"Hey, what's going on-"

The only male of the group, a boy with brown hair, a red headband and a band-aid on his nose, was also silenced mid-sentence when a tanto slashed his throat.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" the remaining Genin, a girl with black hair tied in a ponytail, screamed loudly as she, overwhelmed by terror, jumped out of the window.

One of the Root agents was going to chase her, but he was stopped by his partner.

"Forget about her, there's no time. Let's grab the target," the Root ninja said.

His partner nodded, and the two men, after a quick search, took the two Uchiha babies, and ran away from there.

…

Rin's Apartment

Unlike most of her friends, Rin hadn't been among those called to form the large group that would raid Danzo's facilities. Jiraiya knew that Danzo had people shadowing her for obvious reasons, so he decided it was for the best to leave her out. Not only she wasn't part of the group, she wasn't even aware that such operation was taking place right now.

Again, that would be a decision Jiraiya would come to regret.

Rin had decided to use her spare time in order to do some laundry. Then, she'll head downtown and do some shopping. Not just groceries, but she also felt like indulging on a whim.

"It's been a while since the last time I had strawberry cake," Rin wondered aloud, as she folded a clean bedsheet. "I think I could make some, and bring it to Kakashi's team so we can eat it together."

When Rin turned around to grab another sheet, she found herself staring at a masked ninja. Before the girl could react, the masked ninja quickly waved his hand at her, spraying her with some sort of greenish powder.

"What... the...?" Rin slurred, as she quickly lost consciousness.

The Root ninja caught her before she could hit the ground, carried her over his shoulder, and left the scene the same way he had entered it, through an already open door.

…

Downtown Konoha

Given that team trainings were suspended until Hagane recovered, Hanabi Hyuga found herself with more spare time than usual. She often trained on her own with the Moon Acolytes in the use of the Tenseigan, but her progress had been slow at the very best.

She decided to use some of her spare time in paying a visit to her comatose teammate. On the way to the hospital, she was thinking how empty and... sterile his room looked, and thought that maybe a vase of flowers could make the place a little more livelier. Plus Hagane would appreciate the gesture once he woke up.

"Thank you, be sure to come again," the clerk, a middle aged woman with brown hair, told Hanabi. "And I sincerely hope your teammate wakes up soon."

"We all do so, Mrs. Yamanaka," Hanabi said as she exited the door. "We all do."

However, the moment the young Hyuga set a foot on the street, a dart hit her in the neck. Dropping the flowers, she immediately plucked it out of her neck, and after her battle instincts kicked in, activated her Tenseigan for potential enemies.

However, the poison the dart was coated with was fact acting, and the young Hyuga suddenly felt to the ground, motionless.

"Hanabi?" Mrs. Yamanaka, asked, as she left the counter and headed out of the shop. "Hanabi!?"

Suddenly, two masked ninja came out of nowhere, pushed Mrs. Yamanaka away, took Hanabi's uncosncious body, and ran away, leaping from one roof to another.

"Those men! Somebody stop them!" Mrs. Yamanaka screamed. "They kidnapped a girl!"

…

Konoha Hospital

Hagane's room looked as if a bomb had blown inside. Not just because an entire wall –the one that faced the street– was missing. The rest of the walls and floor were covered in dirt, crack and debris, the bed and the rest of the furniture were completely wrecked, and most importantly, the corpses of two Root ninjas laid there.

For these two ninjas, tasked with the kidnapping of Hagane, had the misfortune of running into Tsunade as they carried on with their mission. However, the fact that they decided to attack her was pure idiocy on their part, element of surprise or not. Needless to say, it had been a very short fight.

"What happened here?" A nurse asked, as she entered the room. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw its state. "Tsunade-sama!"

"It's okay," Tsunade said, turning around. She was holding Hagane's unconscious body in her arms. "I'm fine, and so is him. Those Root agents, not so much."

"What... what happened here?" the nurse asked.

"Apparently Danzo wanted to take my son as a souvenir from Konoha before leaving for good," Tsunade said. "And if I didnt' have to take care of my son, I'd give that one-eyed bastard a piece of my mind. With my fists. Guess that Jiraiya will have to do it for both."

…

Ino explained everybody what the Operation: Rising Phoenix entailed. While Danzo and his cronies escaped, half of his forces would remain in the lair in order to keep the raid division busy, while small commandos kidnapped certain individuals that would be necessary for a New Konoha: individuals with great power and potential, but young enough to be manipulated.

"Those targeted are Shiro and Shizuka Uchiha, Rin Nohara, Hanabi Hyuga, and Hagane Senju," Ino finished.

"NO!" Shisui shouted.

"Hokage-sama! We need to-" Shizune was going to say, but Jiraiya already knew what she wanted to tell him.

"Go! I'll send you reinforcements whenever I can!" Jiraiya told.

Shisui and Shizune nodded, and the two black haired ninjas quickly left the lair, undoing the path they walked to reach there.

"Wait a minute, if Danzo isn't here, who is this guy?" Shikamaru asked, drawing the attention to such fact. "An imposter? Somebody under a Transformation?"

"According to Sai's mind, it's a genjutsu," they heard Ino's voice say.

"Sharingan!" Sasuke's Bloodline Limit flared to life, but all it did was to feed his confusion. "My Sharingan doesn't notice anything!"

"I don't sense anything either! What's going on?" Karin asked. "There's no genjutsu that can fool both the Sharingan and a sensor of my skill!"

"Actually, there is," Kurenai solemnly said, as she took a step forward, looking at the alleged Danzo in the eye. "There is a Bloodline Limit that makes genjutsu so real that your mind is unable to tell it apart from reality. Even if you're a sensor or possess a doujutsu. The bloodline of the Kurama Clan."

Suddenly, Danzo, his ninjas and chakra golems all vanished, being replaced by a single individual: somebody wearing dark brown robes, and their face obscured by an ANBU mask.

"Bravo, Kurenai-sensei. Took you long enough," the robbed figure, a woman, said in a cold but mocking tone.

"Yakumo? Is that you?" Kurenai asked. "Why are you working for Danzo?"

But the figure didn't say anything. Just raised a hand and made a hand seal, before vanishing as well as if she was never there. Several explosions rocked the place.

"Danzo was planning to bury us alive!" Jiraiya said in realization. "Everybody, out! Go, go, go!"

As the Konoha ninja present there fled the scene before the underground lair collapsed under their heads, they all realized how dangerous a foe Danzo was, and how far was he willing to go to see his goals completed.

…

The moment Hinata had heard what Ino said about Hanabi's kidnapping, she instantly shot into the sky, using the hole in the ceiling her previous attack had caused. She didn't even say anything to Naruto – though if he heard the same thing as she did, not only would he understand, but bolt to the hospital as well to check on Hagane.

Hinata franctically scanned the whole village from above, in a desperate attempt to find her little sister's chakra, but after a few minutes, she had to give up. Six Paths Chakra was incredibly potent, and through the Byakugan –or Tenseigan in her case– it shone with such intensity it was impossible to miss. Meaning that they had already taken her out of the village.

Hinata expanded her area of vision as much as she could, trying to catch a glimpse of Hanabi's chakra, but to no avail. However, even if she didn't see Hanabi, her sight caught something that merited her attention: masked ninjas moving towards the north. Not all of them walked the same routes, but it seems they had the same destination in mind.

"I don't have any other leads," Hinata said in resignation, as she focused her eyesight to the north. A feeling of hope swelled in her heart once she caught a glimpse of Hanabi's chakra. It was very weak –they had probably put chakra-dampening seals on her to prevent her escape–, but it was no mistake, that was Hanabi. "Hang on, Hanabi-chan!"

Her entire being filled with determination, Hinata shot forward, flying faster than any bird, faster than any previous time she had flown, pushing her chakra to its very limits. Such effort, however, paid off when Hinata caught the kidnappers –a group of four ninja–, one of them carrying Hanabi on his back, and the other three acting as escorts. The moment they saw Hinata zooming in, they instantly placed themselves in a defensive formation, with the man carrying Hanabi in the middle.

Hinata floated above them, her Tenseigan glinting with a dangerous light.

"I'll say this once," Hinata began, her tone cold as ice. "Leave my sister this instance, and I won't even try to capture you."

The reply to her demand came in the form of several kunai with explosive tags attached being tossed in her general direction. With a telekinetic blast, she repelled the kunai,w hich were flown away in different directions, before exploding a couple seconds later.

"I see you made your choice," Hinata's voice was unflinching. Her handreached back, and pulled her collapsible chakra bow. "I'll make mine then. Lightning Release: Thunder Arrow!"

Hinata shot several arrows made of pure lightning in quick sucession. The Root agents, however, were fast enough to jump in time and dodge the attack.

"Quickly, go to the meeting point!" a Root agent said, as he unsheathed two swords, and charged at Hinata. "We'll buy you some time!"

"Negative. If the hostage stays here, she'll be forced to hold back in order not to harm her," the Root agent carrying Hanabi replied. "We can use her as a human shield if needed."

"You bastards!" Hinata shouted. Her face turning red with anger.

"Very well then," another Root agent, this one wielding a kusarigama, agreed. "Though be careful. Danzo-sama won't appreciate if the girl is hurt."

"We also have an opportunity to catch another Tenseigan wielder, so let's make the most of this!" the third root agent said, as his hands flew through hand seals, before clapping his hands together. "Fire Release: Fox Fire!"

Several fireballs appeared around the Root agent in a circle. The masked ninja started to make several quick hand motions, launching the fireballs with each one. Hinata expertly dodged the incoming fiery missiles –the fact that he was floating made it even easier– but she realized of two things thanks to her Tenseigan: the first one was that the caster could control the fireballs, and those she dodged turned around and flew back at her. The second was the ninja wielding the two swords took advantage of her predicament in order to land a hit when she was wide open,.

Fortunately, the Hyuga Clan Head had a solution for both problems.

"Heavenly Spin!"

Still mid air, Hinata started to rotate, turning into a spinning sphere of chakra, which both sucessfully repelled the incoming fireballs, and blasted the attacking Root ninja away, his swords falling from his hands. Once she stoped spinning, she made a couple hand seals, and dived at the ninja who had used the fire jutsu.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!"

Hinata was ready to strike her electricity-imbued palm into her enemy, but she was forced to abruptly stop when the man carrying Hanabi placed himself between the two of them, and hastly floated back.

"See? Told you this would give us an edge!" the man carrying Hanabi said.

As Hinata floated back, the ninja with the kusarigama tossed the iron weight of his weapon at her, which wrapped itself around her legs. Hinata was caught off guard when a sudden force pulled her down.

"I have her! Prepare the chakra suppression seals!" the Root ninja said, as he pulled Hinata down.

"That wasn't very intelligent on your part," Hinata hissed, making a single hand seal. Hinata's body started to crackle with electricity, electricity the chain transmitted, instantly shocking the ninja into unconsciousness.

"Two down, two more to go," Hinata said, as she imbued her hands with electricity again, and dived at the fire specialist.

Like it happened before, the man carrying Hanabi quickly jumped between the two of them, but this time Hinata was expecting it. Carefully measuring her movements, she dispelled the electricity of her hands as she wrapped one arm around Hanabi's waist, while pointing her other arm forward, releasing a powerful kinetic blast that both hurled the two Root ninja back, while propelling Hanabi and herself in the opposite direction.

"Good, I don't have to worry about you getting hurt anymore," Hinata said, as she gently placed Hanabi on the ground. She then turned at the two remaining Root ninja, who were getting back on her feet. Too bad for them, the fight was already over. She made several hand seals, in order to deliver the finishing blow. "Tenseigan Chakra Cloak! Truth Seeking Balls! Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"

Like she did not long ago, Hinata merged her two black orbs into a single energy sphere, which exploded into a silvery tornado that blew the two Root ninja away. Checking her surroundings to make sure there were no enemies around, Hinata quickly turned back to Hanabi, kneeled before her, and started to remove all the chakra dampening seals around her body and her eyes.

"Good, she doesn't appear to be hurt," Hinata said, as she checked her body. She noticed a small puncture in her neck. "Guess that's how they took her down. There's no way they could have defeated her in a straight combat. Anyway, I better take her back to Konoha. Sorry, Jiraiya-sama, I will rejoin the mission once my sister is safe and sound."

Hinata picked Hanabi bridal style, and flew back to the village.

…

Meanwhile, not far away from there, another group of four Root Ninjas were carrying the unconscious Rin towards their intended meeting point. Little did they know that a certain somebody was spying them. And while Danzo trained all his agents to learn to know when somebody was following or spying them, there was no way Danzo could have trained them to avoid this kind of enemy.

Because the spy was flying above them, but letting them some head start so they wouldn't see her if they looked up. She was looking at the marching group through binoculars she was holding on one hand. She used her other hand to tap an earpiece.

"Guys, target located," Fu said, her eyes fixed on the foursome. "Around three hundred meters from my position to the north."

"Good job, Fu-san," Gai's voice said from the other day. His voice sounded far more professional, and was devoid of the usual enthusiasm, but was just as energic. "Kids, time to show these unyouthful jerks what we do with kidnappers."

"Yes sir!" other three voices choruses in unison.

"Do you guys want me to join you?" Fu asked.

"For the time being, no," Neji's voice replied, making Fu pout a little. "You're more useful watching from above. But feel free to lend us a hand if it appears that the enemy has the upper hand, or if we can't rescue Rin-san."

"Understood then. You guys want all the fun part to yourselves," Fu replied, as she went back to her binoculars. "I'll stick with the boring job."

Even if Fu hoped that the fight wuld be a tough one and the Close Combat Squad would be forced to call for help, it wouldn't the case.

"Double Konoha Whirlwind!"

Gai and Lee, shining with the a faint green aura provided by the first Celeistal Gate, appeared from behind the lush trees, delivering a flying roundhouse kickto a Root ninja each.

"Run!" the Root ninja carrying Rin urged. His partner nodded, and continued forward.

Unfrotunately for them, Gais team had already a plan for that.

"Manipulated Tools: Rain of Steel!"

Swords, spears and morning stars rained from above, abruptly cuttingtheir escape, before Tenten landed in front of them, carrying two large battleaxes on both hands.

"Going somewhere?" she asked, as she took a battle stance.

The man carrying Rin took a step backwards, while the other one unsheathed a katana in order to fight Tenten. And as this happened, Neji landed besides the kidnapper, took Rin from his arms while pushing him away.

"Rin is safe! Finish them off!" Neji said, as he retreated with the still unconscious Rin in his arms.

"Very well then!" Tenten said, as she started to glow with the same aura as Gai and Lee. "Gate of Opening: Open! Raging Bladestorm!"

The two Root agents were unable to do anything to block, dodge or counter Tenten's devastating technique.

…

Not far away from there, Shisui and Shizune were leaping from one tree branch to another, in hopes of finding the ninjas who had kidnapped their children. Thankfully, Ino had already alerted the Hunter Division of the kidnappings, and decided that rescue the hostages was of higher priority than capturing Danzo and his cronies. Even then, the Uchiha couple just couldn't leave the rescue of their children to a third party.

"Danzo is so dead after this," Shisui seethed. "I don't care if Hokage-sama or anybody else thinks it's wrong or whatever. That man will die by my hand."

"Shisui," Shizune called him. "Right now, I hate Danzo as much as you do, but we should focus on getting our children first and foremost."

"They will be bringing them to him right now," Shisui reasoned. "So if we track Danzo, we'll track our children."

"Okay, makes sense..." Shizune admitted. "But do we know where is Danzo? Where are we going, by the way?"

"From what I heard the other Hunter Teams say," Shisui said, tapping his earpiece. "All the Root ninjas were heading north. So far, the only country in that direction is the Land of Sound, the former Land of the Rice Fields."

"I don't think I'm following. There's nothing of interest in that country, at least not after Orochimaru abandoned it!" Shizune replied.

After Orochimaru and his forces vacated his lair, it was deemed safe for the inhabitants of the Land of the Rice Fields to go back to their previous homes. To make sure such thing wouldn't happen again, Konoha would send teams every couple of weeks or so to check that everything was fine and the small country wasn't invaded again.

The fact that all the returning teams didn't report anything out of the ordinary meant that Orochimaru didn't return .

"Yes, but think about it. The first time we found Orochimaru's base was because his actions drew our attention. It's possible that he recovered his old base, but this time he decided to be more discreet about it," Shisui explained. "We do know Danzo and Orochimaru were close in the past, to the point that Danzo nominated Orochimaru to be the Fourth Hokage. And Orochimaru is part of the Akatsuki. It's obvious that he was the one Danzo has been selling the information to on the other jinchuriki.

"I don't think he made it his main base again. No, that one has to be somewhere else. But I'm sure he's still using it as an outpost and maybe meeting point."

Suddenly, both of their earpieces started to crack with some noise, before a voice spoke.

"Shizune? Shisui? Do any of you copy me?" a calm voice asked.

"Kakashi!" Shizune replied, recognizing his voice. "This is Shizune. Shisui is here with me as well. Any news?"

"Yeah. We've just intercepted a group of Root ninjas. After a quick fight, we defeated them. They were the ones carrying your children. Don't worry, we checked them, and they don't appear to be harmed."

Both Shisui and Shizune let out a huge sigh of relief.

"You have no idea how happy we are to hear those news, Kakashi," Shisui said, his voice recovering his usual warmth. "Remind me to buy you a drink when this is over."

"I'll be sure to check on that," Kakashi replied. "Anyway, Tamaki is going to shoot a fire jutsu into the sky. That's our position. Come here to pick your kids."

As soon as Kakashi said that, the two Uchiha saw a fireball shooting into the sky, before exploding in a shower of orange and yellow sparks. Wasting no time, the Uchiha couple headed to the direction of the improvised flare.

…

Konoha Hospital

When Naruto saw the massive hole in the hospital's front, just when Hagane's room was supposed to be, his heart sank. But upon entering the hopsital and asked, he was very relieved to see that Tsunade had stopped the potential kidnapping of his adoptive brother. The blond wasted no time, and rushed to the room Tsunade had moved Hagane.

"It's a good thing that the two of you are safe," Naruto told Tsunade after greeting her.

"Yes. It's such luck I work here. It allows me to visit Hagane as much as I want. And the attack happened just when I was about to pay him a visit," Tsunade said. "Do you know something about Kaida? Was she kidnapped as well?"

Naruto shook his head. "I send a few clones to check on her. They found her in a clothing store, shopping. It seems that Danzo didn't target her for some reason."

Tsunade let out a sigh of relief. "It's good to hear that."

"Maybe because he ordered to kidnap Rin as well, who does have the Wood Release, and couldn't afford to spare people to kidnap the two of them," Naruto reasoned. "Though, speaking of Rin, I really hope that both she and the others can be rescued before they lose their tracks."

…

Forests to the North of Konoha

Danzo and eight of his ninja were resting in a small clearing they found in the forest. Well, to be fair, only Danzo was resting, sitting against a tree, while the rest of his men were watching for potential pursuers. Not that they minded, they literally lived for Danzo.

"Danzo-sama?" one of the ninjas, a woman wearing a wolf ANBU mask, walked to him. "I'm afraid I have bad news. The extraction teams failed their missions, and all the targets had been retrieved by enemy forces."

Danzo, as usual, didn't react. Or didn't make his reaction known. Either way, his body language didn't change.

"It's unfortunate, indeed, but even then, they fuilfilled their purpose," Danzo cryptically said.

"I'm afraid I don't follow," the Root agent asked.

"Getting my hands on at least one of those Bloodlines would have been a major boon for my plans. However, that's not the only reason I ordered the extractions," Danzo began. "I knew that, if several high-profile Bloodline Limit carriers were kidnapped, Jiraiya would focus all his forces to their retrieval, freeing the rest of our men. Such as the ones carrying all our archives, scrolls containing secret jutsu, and the blueprints of the Uzumaki Chakra Golems."

"I see. Truly a genius strategy, sir," the female agent complimented him.

"Danzo-sama!" another of his agents shouted, jumping down from a nearby branch, landing in front of him. "We saw a flare not even a kilometer south of our position. Our pursuers are way closer than we had expected."

"In that case," Danzo said, as he picked his cane, and used it to help himself back to his feet. "They won't take long to resume the chase. We need to reach the Land of Sound before Jiraiya's forces close the gap."

"Yes, sir!"

And with that, Danzo and his men resumed their exodus.

…

To the south, Shisui and Shizune had finally met with Kakashi's team. On top of Kakashi and his students, there were more ninja present, such as Kiba's mother and sister, Tsume and Hana Inuzuka, Neji's father Hizashi Hyuga, and some other ninja they didn't recognize, though they could see all of them were suited for tracking.

"My babies!" Shizune said, as she rushed towards Hana and Tamaki, who were holding a baby each. Shizune scooped the two of them on one arm each. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Once again, thank you guys," Shisui softly said, as he joined his wife.

"Anyway, now that that's out of hair, shall we chase that one eyed bastard?" Tsume asked. "After pulling such a shitty stunt, I want to hack him to pieces and feed him to the clan's dogs."

"Mom!" Hana protested.

"You know I'm joking, Hana-chan," Tsume said with a dismissive hand wave. "We'd never feed our dogs something so disgusting. But yeah, harming children is a big no-no for our clan. If I get my hands on him, he won't come back in one piece."

"I agree with that sentiment. However." Shisui interjected. "I must ask you another favor, and make sure to take care of Shiro and Shizuka until this is over."

"Shisui-san? What do you mean...?" Hana asked.

"It isn't obvious? I'm going after Danzo," Shisui said, as his hands clenched into fists. "That bastard had caused enough harm to the Uchiha Clan, and this was the last straw. That man will die by my hand."

"I understand," Tsume said with a nod. "Had Danzo harm any of my kids, I would have felt the same. Don't worry, Uchiha, your pups will be fine under our care."

Shisui nodded back. "Thanks again, Tsume-san. I'll make sure to repay you for this," Shisui then turned at his wife. "You coming?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Shizune replied, as she returned her kids to Tsume and Hana. Even if it was rather odd seeing the rather mild and tame medic-nin so thristy for blood, given the circusmtances, it was understandable.

"Let the rest of us accompany you," Kakashi offered. "Chances are Danzo won't be alone. Plus you'll need us to follow his tracks."

"Very well then. Come on everybody, move!"

…

Almost a kilometer to the north, Danzo's group continued their journey towards the Land of Sound. They were mostly unperturbed, until Fuu, the Yamanaka redhead and the squad's sensor, perked up. Worried, he dashed closer to Danzo.

"Danzo-sama, a large group of ninja is coming close," the Yamanaka stated. Despite the urgency of the situation and the message, his voice was still clam. "I'm sensing some rather powerful chakra signatures among them."

Danzo took a couple seconds to process the in formation, and come up with a course of action.

"I see. Since all the targets had been recovered, they're focusing all their efforts in capturing me, while ignoring my other fleeing agents," the one eyed man deduced. "A sound strategy indeed."

"What should we do, Danzo-sama?" Fuu asked again.

"Diving our forces would be folly, since they'll chase whoever group I'm part of. It's very likely that they have a sensor in their group, or some specialized tracker," Danzo replied. "No, I'm afraid that the only possible solution is to delay them as much as we can in order to widen the gap. Listen everybody!"

The rest of the ninjas escroting Danzo immediately turned their attention to him.

"We're being chased by a large group of hunter-nin. It's more than likely that they'll catch on us before we can reach a safe haven. In order to do so, somebody needs to stay and delay them. Everybody except Fuu and Torune, stay here and prepare an ambush. Fuu, Torune, you shall continue with me."

"Yes, Danzo-sama!" all his ninjas chorused in unison.

…

To the south, the group of pursuers lead by Shisui and Shizune continued their chase of Danzo and their men. But mostly Danzo.

"Danzo left most of his men behind," Hizashi warned the others, his Byakugan active. "They're setting up several traps. They're planning to ambush us."

"A diversion to make sure we are unable to reach them," Kakashi quickly deduced.

"What should we do, sensei?" Tamaki asked. "Try to go around them?"

"That would make us waste time, and Danzo would gain a lead," Kakashi said, shaking his head.

"Then the other possible solution is to plow through the ambush, right?" Kiba asked. "But that's also going to delay us a lot."

"Not if we copy their strategy," Kakashi rebutted. "Danzo decided to leave some of his forces behind, so we'll do the same. Most of us will stay and take the ambush head on so the rest can continue the chase unimpeded."

Needless to say, it was obvious that those who would continue the chase would be Shisui and Shizune. The two of them quietly moved to the back of the group.

"Here they come! Get ready!" Hizashi warned. "Watch out for wires and explosive tags!"

And just like the former Branch House Hyuga warned, the hunting group was soon bombarded by a barrage of elemental jutsu, as well as a shower of kunai, shuriken, and other weapons. But they were prepared.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Pouring as much chakra as he could into the jutsu, Kakashi blew a powerful wind current from his mouth in order to push the incoming barrage back. Even if his attack alone was insufficient, he wasn't the only one to jump forward to take the brunt of the attack, as Hizashi and Tamaki soon followed.

"Heavenly Spin!"

"Death Steel Ring!"

The two ninja, leaving a reasonable distance from each other, started to quickly spin until they were turned into living tornadoes, deflecting most of the incoming attacks.

Following this, Shino extended his arms, and two swarm of angry bettles poured from under his sleeves, flying at the attacking Root ninja, while trying to push them to the sides.

"Shisui-san, Shizune-sensei, I created an opening. Better take it as long as I can keep it," Shino warned the couple.

"Very well then, thank you Shino-kun!" Shizune said, as she dashed past him.

"Stay safe until we return!" Shisui added.

"Shisui! Danzo may be old and retired from active duty, but he isn't a pushover!" Kakashi warned the Uchiha. "Remember that he's strong enough to be considered for the position of Hokage!"

"Don't worry, I know that!" Shisui shouted back, before he set his eyes forward. "I underestimated Danzo once. I won't make that mistake again."

…

North of Shisui's position, Danzo and his remaining two escorts continued their escape. Fuu was monitoring through his sensing abilities how the ambush was going. And while it worked as intended, it didn't throw all the pursuers off of their backs.

"Danzo-sama, the ambush has stopped most of the pursuers, but I'm afraid that two people are still chasing us," Fuu told his leader. "They're getting closer and closer with each passing moment. I doubt we'll reach the Land of Sound before they catch us."

"Just two?" Danzo asked. At the very least, they no longer had the advantage. "While fighting them might be tempting, we better not take any risks."

"Wait a minute, this chakra..." Fuu said, his eyes opening wide. "One of the two people chasing us is Shisui Uchiha!"

"Shisui Uchiha?" Danzo repeated. This changed everything. "Torune, how far are we from the Land of Sound?"

"Not much. The Valley of the End is just ahead," the masked Aburame replied.

"Very well them. That shall be our battlefield," Danzo decided.

"Danzo-sama? Are you planning to fight Shisui Uchiha?" Torune asked. While he was going to question his master's orders, he felt it was too risky to stop and fight when they were so close to their goal.

"Eight years ago, I had one of Shisui's eyes under my power, until we regretably lost it to Akatsuki," Danzo began. "Shisui's eyes have the power to cast a genjutsu so powerful, it can control the mind of others. It's so powerful is impossible to resist, and the only known way to break it is to bring the victim to a state of near death. Now, another chance presents before us. It is imperative that we collect at least one of his Sharingan. With that power, rebuilding Root and setting Konoha straight would be a child's play."

"Very well then, Danzo-sama. What is the plan?" Fuu asked.

"We will meet them in the Valley of the End. Meanwhile, you two will keep them busy while I unseal my arm," Danzo instructed.

The two Root agents nodded.

"We won't fail you, Danzo-sama."

…

Shisui and Shizune arrived at the Valley of the End shortly after Danzo did. Oddly enough, the leader of Root and his two cronies weren't fleeing anymore. Instead, Danzo had removed his allegedly injured arm out of the cloth he used as a cast, while the other two watched. However, the moment the Uchiha couple arrived, the two underlings immediately went to face them.

"It seems that you guys finally stopped running," Shisui said, as he unsheathed his tanto. "Good, it would be kind of annoying if we had to chase you all the time."

"You will pay for you did, you monsters!" Shizune shouted.

Shisui thenn noticed something. "Uh... what is Danzo doing?"

And indeed, Danzo's right arm was covered in three larged golden bracers, secured with thick locks. Danzo was calmly undoing the first lock.

"I see... the bastard was hiding some sort of trump card, am I right?" Shisui asked. "And you're supposed to buy him time while he removes all those things."

"Danzo-sama won't have to sully his hands fighting the two of you if we're able to get your eyes ourselves," Torune stated.

"My eyes... so that's why you stopped. Makes sense. Oh well, you know what they say," Shisui said, as he adopted a fighting stance. "Never stop an enemy when they're making a mistake!"

And with that, the Uchiha vanished, reappearing behind Fuu, his tanto ready to strike his back.

"You're a Yamanaka, right? I don't want you messing with our minds! You go down first!" Shisui said as he attacked.

However, his tanto clashed against another one, as Torune had parried Shisui's strike just in the nick of time, allowing Fuu to move away from him. As Shisui vanished again, Shizune leaped at them, her hands forming a seal, and her cheeks puffed.

"Poison Mist!"

Shizune exhaled a massive cloud of purple gas, forcing the Root operatives, and even the nearby Danzo, to jump away from the incoming hazard. That moment, Shisui reappeared behind the fleeing Root agents, his hands weaving seals at an imperceptible speed.

"There's no way you can escape from this!" Shisui said, as he finished the seal sequence. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Shisui exhaled a massive fireball at the Root agents, sandwiching them between the flaming attack and his wife's poison mist. The two attacks soon collided, resulting in a massive explosion. The Uchiha then reappeared alonside Shizune.

"We had a good combo there," Shizune pointed out. "Do you think it was enough?"

When the smoke and steam raised by the explosion dispelled, a pair of charred logs were floating in the water.

"I'm afraid it isn't," Shisui said, as he tensed up.

"Fuu, Torune!" Danzo called, as he started to undo the second lock. "Stop fooling around. As long as you don't damage his eyes, everything is fine. Use your best jutsu. Especially you, Torune."

"As you order, Danzo-sama!" the two of them replied at the same time.

Emerging from underwater, the two Root ninjas charged at the Uchiha couple, with Torune oddly enough undressing as he ran. Fuu pulled out several kunai with explosive tags attached on them, jumped and tossed them at the Uchiha couple. Shizune's answered this by making a chain of hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

The water beneath their feet started to shake, as a barrier of water emerged in front of the two, blocking the kunai, followed by a chain of explosions, which created yet another cloud of steam. And from said cloud of steam, Fuu appeared, tanto readied to skewer the Uchiha. Shisui's Sharingan started to spin, and as if everything moved in slow motion, expertly dodged the thrust, before slashing Fuu's own throat. However, rather than blood, water started to pour from the wound, before the alleged Fuu burst into water.

"A decoy!" Shisui realized too late.

A splash from the back alerted them from the ambush, and saw Torune, not wearing any clothes from the waist up, charging at them, whose entire skin had turned purple for no reason, both arms extended as if trying to grab them, rather than punching them. Acting purely on instinct, Shisui grabbed Shizune's hand, made a hand seal with the other, and Body Flickered several meters away to put some distance.

Which is what Fuu was expecting.

"Mental Scourge Jutsu!"

Shisui felt a short but very painful and throbbing migraine assaulting his brain. A feeling of uneasyness washed upon him.

"What... what the hell was that?" Shisui asked, feeling a bit dizzy.

"Damn, I know that jutsu. The Mental Scourge is a Yamanaka Clan jutsu that prevents the target from using ninjutsu," Shizune explained. "It doesn't last forever, but usually last long enough for the caster to finish the battle by then."

"And if I try to use ninjutsu..." Shisui began.

"You'll feel like your head will explode," Shizune finished.

"Fine. I see, no ninjutsu then. I'll have to get creative," Shisui stated.

"Then get those creative juices flowing, because they're coming!" Shizune warned, as Fuu and Torune were once again charging at them.

"Very well then. Given that ninjutsu is not an option, I'll take them head on, and try to create an opening for you to exploit," Shisui told the medic-nin.

"Got it!" Shizune nodded.

"Also, make sure the masked guy doesn't touch you," Shishui warned. "His skin is covered in million upon millions of diminute bettles. I don't know what they do, but better not to take any risks."

"The Sharingan is sure something, to see the secret of my trump card with a mere glance," Torune said. "Not that it will help you in the long run!"

Shisui dashed forwards towards the incoming ninjas. His tanto clashed against Fuu's, and while they were locked, Torune took advantage of the moment in order to punch Shisui. Shizune, however, intervened just in time by delivering a double kick into Torune's face, hurling him backwards.

"SHIZUNE, TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES, NOW!" Shisui yelled. "But try not to touch them!"

Not wasting any time to ask why, Shizune quickly kicked her shoes out of her feet, making sure not to touch them with any other part of her body.

"I thought we'd be safe if our skin remained untouched, but it seems they can propagate through inorganic matter as well," Shisui thought, as his Sharingan stared at the sinking sandals. If it wasn't for his Bloodline Limit, his wife would pretty much be dead now.

Fuu snapped him out of his brief thoughts when he attacked again

"They seem to be entirely focused on Shisui. Better for me then!" Shizune thought, as she pulled three senbon, and tossed them at Fuu, who was forced to disengage Shisui in order to deflect the attack. Shizune decided not to give them a moment to breathe, and his hands started to form hand seals. "Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

The water around them started to gather and formed a massive serpetine dragon. Letting out a distorted roar, the dragon lunged at the two Root ninjas, who once again where forced to jump back.

"With all these water around, somebody with a water affinity has the advantage," Torune mentioned. "We won't be able to touch Shisui as long as his wife is defending him."

"In hindsight, this was a poor choice for a battlefield," Fuu observed. "What shall we do? Should we try to take her out first?"

"No, even without ninjutsu, Shisui is still the more dangerous of the two. We should neutralize him before your jutsu wears off," Torune replied. "Then, there shouldn't be any problem taking care of Shizune."

"Shisui it is, then. But we'll have to make sure Shizune doesn't jump on us like she's being doing so far," Fuu replied.

"Leave that to me," Torune said, as he clapped his hands together. Upon separating then, a dark purple gaseous mass started to form, growing bigger by each second. "Make sure you don't touch this: Poison Cloud Jutsu!"

Torune blew the cloud forward, creating a smokescreen that quickly advanced towards the Uchiha couple, which were forced to take a few step backwards.

"Shizune, I have a plan to take them out," Shisui said. "It's kind of risky, and we need to split up for it to work."

"Don't worry, whatever you have thought, I trust you," Shizune replied. "You're thinking in running around the cloud, right?"

"Jackpot. You go to the right, and I'll go to the left. Make sure to strike when the opportunity arrives," Shisui instructed.

"Understood."

The Uchiha couple took different directions, surrounding the expanding swarm of microscopic beetles from opposite sides. Even if they couldn't be seen, Fuu was able to sense their positions and from where they were coming.

"Torune, here they come!" Fuu warned.

The first one to appear was Shisui, holding several shuriken in both hands, which he tossed at Torune. The Aburame jumped backwards, as he skillfully deflected all the steel stars with several swipes of his tanto.

"And here's Shizune," Fuu said, just as the black haired medic-nin made her presence known.

Shizune rolled up her sleeve, revealing her wrist mounted senbon launcher, which fired multiple needles at the Yamanaka Root agent, who, like his partner before, also deflected with hus tanto while jumping backwards. Both Fuu and Torune noticed that Shisui and Shizune were pushing them against each other, and thus made sure to keep their distance.

"So, this is your plan? Getting me to accidentally infect Fuu with my rinkaichu?" Torune asked. "Not bad, but it's not going to work. Our teamwork has been honed over years of training and doing missions together. I know how to fight without endangering him."

"Yeah, that was our plan," Shisui admitted. "And even if you caught up, it was too late."

Shisui then motioned both hands in opposite directions, much to Torune's confusion, upon he saw a faint light flicker around them.

"This is..." Torune said in realization. "Fuu, watch out!"

But like Shisui said, it was too late. The shuriken Shisui had tossed a moment ago had ninja wire attached to them. With that quick motion, Shisui maneuvered the shuriken to move around Fuu, tying the ninja wire against him.

"Damn!" Fuu cursed, as the ninja wire immobilized him.

"Shizune, now!" Shisui shouted.

The medic-nin already charged at the immobilized Yamanaka, and delivering a flying kick to the chest that sent him into the air, helped by Shisui pulling him as well. Torune was unable to move in time, and the orange haired man crashed into him. Even if they only touched for less than a second, it was already enough. Multiple purple spots appeared around Fuu, which started to grow as the beetles devoured his flesh and chakra, and used them to breed at an alarming rate.

"AAAAAAAARRGH!" Fuu screamed, as he futilely tried to wipe the tiny insects away from his body. With each passing second, the pain was becomign more and more unbearable.

"Fuu, hold on!" Torune said, as she rushed towards his fallen teammate.

However, before he could help him, Shizune landed in front of him, making a splash when her feet touched the water. Two kunai appeared in each of her hands, and started to deliver quick swipes at the Root agent, trying to keep him away from the agonizing Yamanaka.

"Get out of the way!" Torune desperatedly shouted, as he countered Shizune's attacks with blows of his own. Unfortunately, in his urge to help his partner, he had taken his eyes from Shisui, and that moment of distraction is all what the Uchiha needed to dash and plung his tanto into the Aburame's back, piercing his heart. "Urk..."

Unlike Fuu, Torune's death was quick and painless. Wordlessly, Shisui walked towards the still agonizing Fuu, and quickly stabbed his tanto into the Yamanaka's chest, putting an end to his mysery.

"Okay, done," Shizune said, panting a little. "Well done."

"Thanks. They thought they could beat me if they cut me off of my jutsu. But this is what happens when you underestimate the Uchiha clan," Shisui replied, as he turned his head towards the last remaining enemy. "Now, time to end Root forever."

Fortunately for Danzo, his minions had bought him enough time to undo all the locks protecting his right arm. Not to mention that they had wore Shisui and Shizune down a little, making the upcoming fight easier.

"Fuu and Torune were two of my best agents," Danzo replied, as the last bracer fell down, revaling a bandaged arm. "Finding suitable replacements is going to take quite some time and effort."

"Guess that you don't care about the lives that had been lost here, do you?" Shisui spat. "You only see them as tools you can replace."

"Ninjas are nothing but tools, Shisui. All of us," Danzo said, as he started to unwrap the bandages of his arm. "However, if I can take your eyes, their deaths won't be in vain."

Both Shisui and Shizune's eyes grew wide open after most of the bandages were removed, revealing Danzo's right arm. It was much paler than the rest of his skin, but the most horrifying part was the multiple Sharingan eyes on it. Danzo also removed the bandages covering his right eye, revealing yet another Sharingan.

"Now, let's begin."

Author's Notes: We're reaching the climax of the Root Arc, and boy, I'm really excited. Next chapter, Shisui & Shizune versus Danzo! Will the Uchiha pay Danzo back for stealing his eye shortly before the Uchiha Insurrection? Or will Danzo succeed where he failed a few years ago? Let's say that this is a fight I've been planning to write pretty much since the beginning of the story, and I'm so glad that we're so close to that part.

Now you had it. Operation: Rising Phoenix involved kidnapping several young individuals with powerful Bloodline Limits. While Danzo also used them as a distraction, he was hoping to get his hands on at least one of those kids. That's why, even if it might look dumb, Danzo decided to stay and fight Shisui when he heard he was only accompained by Shizune. The man refuses to go away with his hands empty.

You know, I was originally planning to end the last chapter with the montage of the kids being kidnapped, but I decided against it since most readers would get mad at me making it appear as if the bad guys were going to get another win on Konoha again. By the way, the trio of Genin that were taking care of Shiro and Shizune are a reference to other anime, in both their appearance and the way they die. Let's see if you guys can guess which one ;)

Like many of you guessed (not that it wasn't obvious) Yakumo Kurama wasn't dead. Danzo's agents abducted her, and he turned her into one of his puppet agents. Thanks to reviewer AzureTemplar who suggested this idea after my first attempt at introducing Yakumo in the story failed.

Thanks to Ookamii88 for betareading the chapter.

Next chapter, Shisui and Shizune versus Danzo! Are you excited for this fight? Because I surely am! In the meantime, leave a review with yout thoughts on this chapter and your predictions on the next! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!