A small sound awakened Hiruzen and his eyes opened and he turned to look at the open window, where an ANBU agent knelt.

"Pardon the intrusion, Lord Hokage. But there is something you must see right away. It's regarding the Abe incident."

The old man sat up and nodded, then stood to put on his Hokage cloak.

"By all means, lead the way."

The masked man led the Hokage to a small room in the ANBU compound and the old man blinked at the woman there.

"Kiri. You've returned."

"Lord Third." She bowed her head and stepped aside to reveal a young girl wrapped in a blanket.

"Who is this?" Hiruzen took a step toward the girl, who was trembling and wide-eyed.

"This is Kanna." Kiri answered softly. "She's a survivor."

"Survivor?" He repeated and closed his eyes briefly. "I take it that the situation was graver than we had thought."

"You could say that." Kiri bit her lip and knelt to touch the girl's shoulder. "It's alright. You're safe here, and Lord Hokage is a kind man. You don't have to worry."

Kanna nodded and Kiri looked back at the Hokage.

"Yuuri told me that you would recognize this right away." Kiri carefully moved the blanket from the girl to reveal her neck and the man's eyes widened.

"That mark..." His expression shifted and his brows furrowed as he met the girl's eyes. "How did you receive that mark?"

"I-I don't know." Her lip quivered. "The other kids and I... our heads were covered. I heard them scream and cry... and then something bit my neck." She bit her lip and her eyes watered. "It hurt so much... I thought I was dying."

"Did you hear any names spoken?" The old man pressed. "Did you see any faces?"

"N-No..." The girl shook her head. "After a long time, someone did come back in... he took off our hoods and looked at us." She swallowed. "But... I was only half awake, and my vision was blurry... so I didn't see what they looked like. He said that the others were dead, and that I was dying. Someone in the doorway called us failures, and they left. After that... I fell asleep but I thought that I really died..."

Kanna turned to Kiri and wrapped the blanket around herself more tightly. "Where's Koji? Can I see him now?"

"Koji?" He raised his brow and met Kiri's eyes.

"Her brother." Kiri answered. "Another survivor."

"Brother?" Hiruzen repeated. "Does he also possess a mark?"

Kiri shook her head. "He's only a baby."

"I see." The man frowned and stroked his beard. "This is more serious than I had thought. If he is behind this... we must not be careless and allow any stone to go unturned."

"You." Hiruzen glanced over his shoulder to the masked man, who dropped to his knee and bowed his head. "Have a room prepared in my estate for this girl and her brother to stay in. They are to be fed and examined right away, and select four from your team to guard them. Then, gather team Ro. They are to immediately go to the Abe estate. This incidence has been escalated to S rank."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." The man stood.

"Also... have Anko Mitarashi come to me as soon as you can." Hiruzen clasped his hands behind his back. "We will need her expertise."

"Right away." The man disappeared and Hiruzen turned back to Kiri, who kept her arm around the girl.

"Lord Third..." Kiri eyes narrowed slightly and her tone turned serious. "What exactly does this mark mean?"

He frowned slightly and his eyes rested on the young girl's frightened eyes. "It means that the one behind the tragedy of the Abe estate was none other than... Orochimaru."

Kiri's eyes widened and she drew the girl closer. "No..."

"Who's that?" Kanna whispered and looked at Kiri.

"A very bad man." Kiri gritted her teeth and looked downward. "This isn't good at all..." She reached up to touch the girl's shoulder. "I'll go get your brother now. Thank you for being so patient. You're safe now."

Kiri stood and walked toward the door, pulling the Hokage aside as she lowered her voice.

"Do you think he's going to come looking for her?"

"If he believes that she truly died... then she will be safe." He glanced at the girl from the corner of his eye. "However... if there is even a small seed of doubt in his mind, then there is no telling what he will do. The best course of action will be to keep her well-guarded. The same applies to the Prince as well."

Kiri nodded slowly. "What could be possibly be planning? For all this to happen so close to home..."

"I'll have as many of the Jonin out on missions return at once that we can. We must be prepared for whatever could happen, but without raising the alarm and causing any panic. For now, there is little we can do but prepare and wait"

"This doesn't bode well..." Kiri crossed her arms. "I don't like this."

"Neither do I, but I am prepared to defend this village until my final breath."

The Hokage frowned deeply and remained quiet for a long time after Anko finished explaining the encounter with Orochimaru, and he stroked his beard.

"This is worse than I could have imagined. First, the Abe incident, and now this. If we cancel the exams or interfere with them in any way, there is no doubt that he will make good on his threat. However, if we do nothing, there is no telling what else he might do next."

Several ANBU agents stood around the room quietly and he turned to Anko, who held her hand over her mark and stood in silence as the Hokage thought.

"Anko." She blinked and looked at him, then he continued. "What is it that you recommend that we do?"

Anko furrowed her brows and gritted her teeth. "I'd like to say that we should stop the Exams and raise the alarm ... but... we don't know his numbers, or their abilities. It's clear that he's planned this for some time, and we'd be risking the safety of the entire village if we don't heed his warning." She balled her hand into a tight fist. "The only thing we can do now is to let the Exams continue as scheduled. We can try to add more surveillance, but even that might set him off."

"I agree." Hiruzen exhaled slowly and closed his eyes briefly. "We will allow things to proceed as usual, while gathering as much information as we can. With any luck, there may be clues at the Abe estate regarding Orochimaru's plans." He turned to Ibiki, who stood in the back of the group with his arms crossed. "Ibiki, have you discovered anything significant in the Prince's memories?"

"Nothing yet." Ibiki shook his head. "Inoichi is still searching, and every conversation and detail is being recorded. If there is any information of use, we haven't found it yet."

The old man sighed quietly and stroked his beard once again.

"What about those two?" Kiri stepped forward and crossed her arms, looking at the Hokage. "If there's anyone who might know more than we do... or at least be able to investigate without raising any alarms, it'd be one of those two."

"Hmph." Ibiki looked at Kiri and frowned slightly. "You mean that woman? Can we really put our trust in her?"

"She's been around far longer than any of us here." Kiri turned to look at him. "As questionable as her loyalty may be, there's no one else with as much experience." She narrowed her eyes. "And, I'd trust her over Danzo any day."

Ibiki opened his mouth to reply and a man stepped into the room from the shadows and cleared his throat.

"Miss Ueno, is this really the time to voice your unfounded loathing of me?" Danzo's cane quietly tapped against the ground as he walked and Kiri gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

Kiri turned quickly to glare at him. "What the hell are you—"

"Kiri." Hiruzen cut her off sharply and she bit her lip. "If you cannot hold your tongue and remain civil, I would have you remove yourself from this room. Is that understood?"

She clenched her fists tighter until her knuckles whitened.

"Is that understood?"

"...Yes, Lord Third." Kiri muttered through gritted teeth and stepped as Danzo walked past her to approach the Hokage. Danzo's eyes moved from her to the Hokage and he rested both hands on his cane.

"I understand the situation." Danzo nodded at Hiruzen and paused. "I've dispatched a unit of my best to follow up with the investigation of the Abe estate, and I will have a group providing surveillance for the remainder of the Second Exam... in cooperation with your ANBU, of course."

"Cooperation." Kiri narrowed her eyes at the back of his head. "Say what you mean, you damn prick. You're just interested in getting in the way. You'd love if Hiruzen died. It's your ultimate wet dream, isn't it?"

"Your organization's... cooperation would be appreciated." Hirzuen watched him carefully and chewed on the end of his pipe.

"To demonstrate my good intentions, I will have one of my best guard that girl miss Ueno has brought."

"No way in hell." Kiri muttered, and Hiruzen met her eyes and silenced her with a look.

"Girl?" Anko put her hand on her hip and turned to the Hokage. "What girl?"

"That is something I also wanted to discuss with you..." Hiruzen turned to her. "She is the recipient of a Curse Mark that Kiri recovered. She was the only child at the estate to survive it."

Anko's eyes widened and she turned to Kiri, then back to the Hokage. "She's here? In the village?"

"She is in a safe location, under adequate ANBU surveillance." Hiruzen nodded.

"If he's the opponent, it won't be adequate." Anko clenched her fist. "If she's here, he knows..." She reached up to touch her own mark. "He can always find us..." She met the old man's eyes. "She's not safe here at all..."

"Allow me to hide her deep within my compound." Danzo kept his eyes on the Hokage. "He will not be able to penetrate our defenses and my agents are more than capable—"

"She will remain under my care for as long that I believe she is sufficiently cared for and protected." Hiruzen narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned to Anko once again. "We will follow your advice on the matter of the Second Exam for the time being. And then, once your time as a proctor has ended, you will henceforth be her primary mentor and guardian."

Anko froze in place and blinked. "G-Guardian? Why me? I don't even like little kids much..."

"There is no one else with the firsthand knowledge and experience of the burden of that Mark." He exhaled slowly. "It will be your responsibility to train her to resist it and suppress it. We may still place a Seal over, though it is vital that she learn to not succumb to it. Is this acceptable?"

"I..." Anko crossed her arms and sighed. "Well, it isn't as if I have much of a choice, anyway..."

"That settles it." He took a long puff of his pipe and exhaled a small cloud of smoke. "I shall introduce you to her in the morning." He paused and looked around the room. "Is there anything else that needs to be addressed at this time?"

After a moment of silence, Hiruzen nodded to himself.

"Very well. You are all dismissed for now. Should any of you discover new information, report it to me directly."

Kiri watched as they all filed out, scowling as Danzo met her eyes before he stepped out of the room. Once they were alone, she turned to the Hokage and furrowed her brows.

"You can't trust Danzo." Kiri crossed her arms and frowned slightly. "Especially not with that girl. That scheming bastard just wants her for himself."

"The matter is settled. The girl is to remain in my care. He is aware of that." Hiruzen held his pipe in his hand away from his mouth and met her eyes. "He would not dare to make such an open act of defiance and try to take that girl."

"The hell he wouldn't." Kiri taped her fingers on her arms. "He can't be trusted at all. For all you know, he could be in league with Orochimaru. That man only thinks of himself."

"His methods may not be palatable, but Danzo operates in the best interest of the Leaf."

"In the best interest of himself, you mean." Kiri pressed her nails into her arms. "He operates just within a fine line to make it seem like he really works for the Leaf, but I know damn well that he only cares about his goals. And you should know that, too."

"I understand him well enough, and I also am aware that he and I are different sides of the same coin." Hiruzen let out a short breath. "The leaves cannot bathe in the sunlight without the roots that grow in the dark."

"Yeah, well, the roots of this damn tree are rotted, Hiruzen." Kiri shook her head and muttered. "The more involved you allow him to be during this, the worse off we'll be."

"Allowing him to... cooperate with us on this matter and keeping him close ensures that we can keep a better eye on him."

"Trusting him will be the death of you, mark my words." Kiri let out a sigh and she shook her head again. "You stubborn old man..."

Hiruzen chuckled and returned his pipe to his lips. "I don't intend to ever die so easily. Have some faith in an old man."