A/N: Ok... ha ha. So, I haven't updated in a looooooong long long loooooooong time. Ha ha. Well, I wasn't really getting a lot of reviews... so, I kinda let it go. I didn't think anyone was reading it anymore until I was recently accosted by one person who yelled at me through e-mail about 4 times to get me to pick it back up. So, here I am. Thought it wouldn't be a bad thing to get back to this project and finish it (a loooong way down the road). Anyway... to the story!

Oh. And the characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi. -bows-

"..." speech

(italics) thoughts

boom sound effects

Chapter 5: Mission, Success?

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Another two hours later

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Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura crept carefully through the alleyways that connected back to the main street of Konoha, just outside the Hokage's office. Night had long fallen and with it a dense silence had descended over the village. On this particular street, one could look on for as far as they could see and not detect another soul who was still awake. Lamps lined the street which provided a soft yellow glow in the pitch black which lit the streets well, but the effect hardly seeped into the dark alleyways. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all well hidden to the eye, beside the fact that they were not hiding from any apparent someone, though should someone have been there, they would have been easily heard.

"Naruto, you're standing too close! Ouch! That was my foot!" Sakura hissed at Naruto, at least putting some effort into keeping her voice down.

"Sorry Sakura-chan!"

"Would you keep it down!" Sakura hissed again when Naruto spoke far too loudly. The sound resonated lightly off of the brick walls surrounding them. The three were lined up, pinned against the wall, staring intently at the building just across the street: the Hokage's office building. Sasuke was in the lead, Sakura following close behind with Naruto forced to follow behind after he had gone home and changed out of that ridiculous outfit, of course. Surprisingly enough, Naruto's orange outfit could blend in well enough in the dark, especially when they were surrounded by the rich earthy tones of the brick. In front, Sasuke was careful to stay just out of the lamplight where he also had a very good view of the Office's main entrance. In all that black, it would be almost impossible to see him when away from the light.

"Naruto! Back off already before you step on my foo- Ow!" "Sorry!" "Be quie-"

"Shhh!"

Sasuke quickly silenced the two behind him. As they had been bickering, his eyes had not moved from the main entrance of the Hokage's Office building and just now it appeared that something was moving just beyond the glass. A certain… tipsy something.

After a moment, one of Tsunade's Chuunin assistants appeared, stepping outside to hold the door open. "Godaime-sama, are you sure you're ok to walk home?"

"Fine, fine. Hee hee hee. I've drank pleeeenty more than thissss and lebeled a whole housse before! Nyaaa hahahaha!" As the Hokage emerged into the lamplight, it was obvious that she had had quite a bit to drink. When she walked, it was hardly a straight line and her speech was slurred, even if her sentences were still coherent. Of course, the sake bottle which she clutched in her hand was probably far more incriminating than anything else.

"Heh." From a distance it was hard to tell, but Sasuke was certain that he saw a bead of sweat roll down the assistant's face. Or was that because he had a similar sweat drop? No one could deny that the Godaime could be very frightening, especially when drunk and her sense of reason was hindered.

And so, Tsunade stumbled off, lit and then in shadow as she walked beneath the street lamps. Her assistant just stood there, watching her for a moment before he turned to return to his post with a short sigh of "Scary…."

In the ally, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura had long been silent as the scene played out before them. Their bodies tensed visibly. This was it…. Tsunade was just still in sight in the distance bobbing under the yellow light when Sasuke raised his hand and signaled to the others. They each ran out of the ally and across the street, throwing their backs against the brick wall of the building, trying to stay out of the light as much as possible and keeping out of eyesight of the glass doors. Sasuke then gave Sakura a nod, which she returned with a great look of determination. She performed a few hand-seals and whispered the name of an attack that not even Sasuke or Naruto, on either side of her, could make out, much less those just inside the door. Suddenly, a fine powder that floated like mist began to drift from Sakura's mouth, which, strangely enough, held a light scent of Sakura blossoms. Though it floated, it didn't seem to do so freely. As Naruto and Sasuke each placed their hands over their faces to avoid the effects of the powder, it blew, fully under Sakura's control, toward the glass doors and traveled right underneath of them. After a few moments, Sasuke's ears, well trained at picking up the faintest of sounds, caught the sound of several dull thuds from just inside the building. He raised his hand to stop Sakura, who was visibly tiring from the genjutsu.

------

A distance away, Tsunade stopped mid-stumble and turned back to look at the street behind her. She just stared for a moment with a quizzical look, distorted slightly by her alcohol level. After a second she just shrugged her shoulders and continued along her way. She thought she sensed something… but who cared just now.

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The door barely made a noise after team 7 walked into the lobby of the office. On the floor, five of the Chuunin assistants lay sleeping, unaware that three Genin had gotten into the building.

"Check each of them." Sasuke commanded quietly as he stared down at the nearest Chuunin. Naruto's face contorted in irritation. He obviously didn't like taking orders from Sasuke, but this really wasn't the time to be fighting when you're infiltrating an important government building with a lot of classified information. So, he obediently went to check, making sure each person was asleep without any doubt. Then they all met back in the center of the room.

Sasuke continued to command, looking Sakura straight in the eye. "Sakura, you stay here and watch over the assistants. Your job is done. You've already used a lot of chakra."

Sakura returned the same determined nod as before. "The genjutsu should have affected the whole building. You shouldn't run into anyone."

Sasuke gave his own quick nod and then shifted his eyes to Naruto. "Let's go."

Now Naruto was in the lead, which made him happier than he'd ever care to admit. He knew the building far better, both because he had snuck in and because he was brought to be punished by the Sandaime so many times when he was in the academy. Most of the halls they passed through, quickly and quietly, were very dark, save for a dull light here and there. Very few people were working now, only the midnight shift which cleaned up a few files over the course of the night before they were needed again the next morning. Every once in a while Naruto and Sasuke would pass one of those unfortunate souls who had been knocked out by Sakura's jutsu.

It was only a short while before they came upon their first destination, the Hokage's office. It was decided previously that this would be the first place to look, seeing as Tsunade would often leave files strewn about her office, left for Shizune to clean up, which would be far easier to get to as opposed to any locked or guarded records.

Naruto and Sasuke approached the door cautiously, hoping that there would be no security on the office other than the assistants which were now indisposed. They aligned themselves on either side of the door, which was cracked slightly. A ray of light laid straight and narrow on the dark floor. Sasuke and Naruto each pulled out a kunai, both obviously thinking the same thing…

(Don't let there be a jounin guard….)

Sasuke touched the doorknob lightly and looked over at Naruto in the dark. His dark eyes reflected a small amount of the orange light filtered through the door, as did Naruto's. He gave Naruto a short nod.

The door flew open in a second as Naruto and Sasuke rushed into the light, kunai at the ready.

But there was no threat there.

For a moment, the two boys were surprised to see Shizune sprawled on the floor, but nothing came to attack them, nothing came flying out of the corners of the room. Sasuke scanned the room over a few times before relaxing enough to place his kunai back in its holder. First thing he did was walk over to the window and close the curtain with a long sweep. The last thing they needed after they had avoided the assistants was to be seen through the window by a passer by. Naruto, far less cautious, put his kunai away almost immediately and put on a broad smile, proclaiming his pride that his plan had actually worked. He put his hands behind his head and spoke a little more loudly than was wise. "Hee hee hee. Looks like my plan worked perfect!"

Sasuke gave Naruto a stern look from the corner of his eye, "Shh. We're not out of the woods yet, idiot."

Sasuke scanned the dimly lit room a few more times. (Something's wrong here. This is way too easy.)

Meanwhile, Naruto just gave him a dirty look and stuck his tongue out at him with a "Nyaaaa."

Sasuke ignored him and shifted his attention to Shizune. The darkly clad boy crouched down beside her body to check and make sure she was unconscious. Sure enough, she was out cold, lying with a few of the papers she had picked up under her body. Upon further examination, Sasuke noted a small red bump that showed itself near Shizune's temple. (Did she hit the table when she fell?)

It was certainly possible, judging by her position near the desk, but something wasn't right. Sasuke gave one last look around the room before he stood slowly and looked over his shoulder to Naruto who had stepped a little closer to take a look at Shizune as well. "Time to get to work. Look for anything that could possibly connect to this 'Ghost.'"

For a moment the two boys just looked around the room at all the unorganized paperwork. Where exactly do you start when you don't know anything about a person other than the word "ghost?"

Sasuke tried to be strategic and look for any files connecting to shinobi who were between the ages of fifteen to eighteen which were in the nearby filing cabinet. When he found something promising, he turned on his Sharingan to mentally copy the page he had read. It was far faster and easier just to collect information now and then sort through it all later when they weren't in danger of being discovered in an off-limits area.

Naruto's method was far more haphazard. He just kind of dived into the mounds of paperwork on the desk. Sasuke would have argued with Naruto not to move anything on the desk, at risk of someone noticing a moved file, but Tsunade had already created such a mess that it was doubtful anyone would notice.

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A short distance away

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Tsunade leaned against the wall just outside the Hokage's living quarters, not too far down the road from the office building. As she giggled a little in her drunken stupor, she fumbled one-handed through the small bag she had tied to the waist of her pants. Her sake bottle still occupied the other hand. Her face quickly changed and her eyebrows knitted as she dug around the bag a lot more furiously.

She took one deep look into the bag before she lifted her head again and cursed. "Dammit. Damn key."

She took one last look in the bag before pushing herself off the wall heavily with a sigh and turning around, prepared to stumble her way back to the office to retrieve her key.

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Back at the office…..

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Naruto and Sasuke were having very little luck. All of the files around the office pertained to the most recent events and upcoming missions, making it difficult to find too much information on any one person. Sasuke had found a short file on a dark-haired girl who was a Chuunin. Perhaps Tsunade was planning on sending her on a mission soon… but that wasn't too promising. The girl had been a Chuunin for a little over a year and it was doubtful that she was near the skill level of this "Ghost" who had disappeared in a second after stopping Naruto and Sasuke's fight. Plus, she had no visible connection to Kakashi which could suggest why she would call him "sensei."

Sasuke was in the middle of copying that file with his Sharingan when he heard Naruto. "Oi, Sasuke!"

Sasuke shifted his head, looking at Naruto with his blood-red eyes. Naruto waved a file in the air, "Oi, take a look at this."

Begrudgingly, Sasuke stood and walked over to take a look at what Naruto had. This had to have been the fourth time Naruto had called him over to look at nothing.

"What is it, idiot." Naruto barely noticed the insult on the end of the sentence. It had just kind of become a habit for Sasuke as of late rather than an attempt to hurt Naruto. He looked down on the file which Naruto had opened on the desk.

He read:

Zaruki Kuragi

Gender: M

Rank: Jounin

DoB : June 5, 532

Deceased: October 16, 566

The file went on, including the number of missions he had completed, many A and some S rank missions. A picture was also included. The man looked very rough. He was well built and toned. He did not smile in the picture, but rather stared out of it, almost threateningly. He had a shaggy mass of short black hair that stuck out in all directions at the crown of his forehead, but laid down at softer angles as it moved toward the back and on the sides. In front of one ear, the man wore one long strand of hair in a thin braid. His chin also sported a thick, short beard that covered his strong chin. His eyes were a chilling dark blue, further shadowed by his prominent brow and thick eyebrows.

Shifting his gaze from the man's eyes in the photo, Sasuke turned back to Naruto with an irritated look. "What's important about a Jounin who died ten years ago?"

Naruto looked back, a little unsure. He put his hand behind his head by reflex. "Heh. Well, this one's different from the other ones, right? This stuff is all recent, but that file's over ten years old."

Sasuke couldn't help but stare at Naruto for a moment. He actually had a point. What use would the present Hokage have for a file about a deceased Jounin? He didn't see how it could connect back to the girl they were looking for information on, but it was unusual. He took a moment to memorize the page with his Sharingan and was about to sort through the other pages in the file when the door opened suddenly.

Sasuke had been off guard for a moment while he was pondering this new information and as the door rushed open, he couldn't help but freeze with the file in his hands. To his great momentary relief, it was Sakura, but she was panting and looked very worried. Naruto next to him tensed as well, but then hurried over to Sakura when she ran in. "Sakura-chan!"

When Sakura caught her breath she stood straight and tried to speak as quickly and as quietly as she could, the words coming out in a stream. "SHH! Naruto! I was keeping watch outside. Tsunade's on her way here now! I lost time trying to find you! We need to get out now!"

It took the boys no longer than a second to register what Sakura had said. They couldn't go back the way they came, Tsunade would come that way. Just then they heard a small thump from downstairs and loud grumbling which sounding something like, "Sleeping on the job."

Team 7 seemed to panic, both Sasuke and Sakura turning to Naruto for a way out. Naruto looked just as puzzled and frightened as the other two and they looked around the office for any escape route. The window could work, but there was too high a chance that they could be seen if anyone was on the street.

Another thump followed the last one, but this time closer. Tsunade must be coming up the stairs, though it sounded like she had bumped the wall on her way.

Okay, so the window would have to do. Sasuke calmed himself and motioned to the others. He threw down the file and then pulled open the curtain he had carefully closed earlier. To his great fortune, Sasuke couldn't see a soul. He opened the window carefully and threw himself around to stick to the wall using chakra. Naruto and Sakura followed, jumping farther than Sasuke and sticking to the wall in a similar fashion. Sasuke, closer to the window, then drew a little more chakra to his hands and managed to pull the window closed just in time. Tsunade had just gotten to the door of her office and leaned against the doorframe. She gave an irritated look to the body on the floor.

"Shizune too? Ssslackers."

She then took another heavy swig from her sake bottle and then walked straight to her desk and began to rummage through the papers haphazardly. Her face lit up in the lamplight as she found her key amongst all of the clutter. Then she looked down at the file that was on the top of the pile.

"Zuuura… Zaaruki Kuuragi? What's this doin' here?" Tsunade, unperturbed in her drunken stupor just shrugged and started walking out of the door, dropping the file on Shizune's unconscious form as she left, "Yull take care of that, won't you Sshiiizune?"

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura didn't waste any time and climbed down silently as Tsunade was occupied. With a short whispered, "We'll meet tomorrow" from Sasuke, the three dispersed in different directions, retreating home for the night under the dim streetlamps.

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Far above the street where only the smallest traces of yellow light reached, a still figure stood, long braid flowing in the light breeze. She was standing upon the building which team 7 had just barely escaped from, looking down upon the Genin as they disappeared blocks away.

"Very interesting how they work together. Maybe I needn't have interfered…." The girl called Ghost chuckled behind her blank mask as she crouched down to leap from the roof into the dark. "Although I will have to apologize to Shizune tomorrow."

With that final comment, the girl disappeared into the night without a trace.

Well, no trace other than the two ANBU guards which were left unconscious on the rooftop.