Let's start this from the beginning

Disturbances

III

Searching through the drawers of politicians and bureaucrats wasn't part of his usual skill-set, him being more adept at combat and all that, so although it had happened in the past, Kakashi didn't feel quite as comfortable in this situation as he would on the battlefield.

Besides, this was more of a task for the ANBU, not for a lowly Jōnin like him. Hokage-sama should make his mind whether he wants me to be part of them or not, he thought. What was the use in pulling him out of ANBU but then letting him do their job anyway? I guess it could have something to do with the current shortage of ANBU in the village, though.

At least it was unnecessary to worry about missing important details as he was not only more than capable of finding hidden spaces with secret letters, but also possessed a perfect memory thanks to the Sharingan. Usually, that was more of a curse than a blessing as it also forced him to remember every bloody detail with as much clarity as if it had happened mere seconds ago, but that was not the case this time.

That didn't mean he liked these kinds of missions, of course. Kakashi preferred to stay as far away from politics as he could, leaving that kind of stuff to people that were better at it like his sensei had been.

Not that that was an option anymore, mind you.

So it was left to him and what he found was… alarming, to say the least.

He was currently standing in the private office of the Head of the Civilian Education Department, using the opportunity of the woman not being home right now to go through her stuff, holding a piece of paper in his hands. On it was a list of every teacher that worked at the seven civilian schools of Konoha and which subject they taught, as well as a note of which extracurricular activities, like for example clubs, they supported.

He didn't know what it meant, but next to most of the names of those that supported a club, a little cross was drawn. There were a few crosses beside other names too, but not too many. Altogether, somewhat around one-sixth and one-fifth of the names had a cross beside them.

Now, there was no explanation of what that symbol meant, but he could take an educated guess:

Either the cross marked a collaborator of the conspiracy the Hokage had told him about, or it marked those that still needed to be convinced or, if that didn't work, eliminated. Kakashi would need to compare this list to an older one to see whether the names that had a cross were recent employees or not; that would give him an answer to that question.

But no matter what was ultimately the case, there would be a notable number of teachers that spread anti-ninja propaganda either way. Probably not too obvious, for that would have been noticed by now, but subtly by putting shinobi in a bad light with casual comments thrown in during the lesson. The children would unconsciously pick these comments up and start believing in them, slowly but surely deteriorating their opinion of shinobi in the process.

He would recommend putting a few Chūnin in charge of watching some classes to get proof of that. It would be a boring job, but it was important to find out how far this already went. Maybe we need to continue doing that for a while even after we cleaned house, just to make sure. He allowed himself a moment to pity the poor souls that would be forced to do that.

I wonder what the others have found, he thought, thinking about his comrades who should be looking through the documents of the other members of the Administrate Collective at this very moment. Maybe I should arrive on time to hear their reports just this once. It might actually be worth it.

The moment the silhouette rushed over the wall completely undisturbed – where were the guards? There should be people up there to avoid things like this! - Akihito knew his gut feeling had been right; something was very, very wrong.

He had no chance to go and warn someone. If he left now, his target would escape and probably never be found again. With the small amount of ANBU that were currently in the village, which was something he only knew thank to some old connection from his own time in that organisation, there wouldn't be enough tracker to guarantee their capture. The Hokage would need to organise another team first, and until they were notified and ready, the person would be long gone.

So, I guess that means I need to do it on my own, huh.

Decision made, he created a shadow clone that instantly turned around and started to rush towards the Hokage building. All he needed to do now was to stop the intruder long enough for help to arrive.

Using a technique had apparently alerted his target – is he a sensor? - as they suddenly increased their speed. Cursing his bad luck, as well as himself for not keeping his skills as sharp as he should have, he hurried to keep up with them.

The chase continued for almost twenty minutes until the other person jumped around without warning, almost cutting him in half with a slash of a triple-bladed hand claw. Akihito managed to stop just in time to lean back, letting the blades harmlessly pass over him, before jumping back to get some distance between them.

"How unexpected," they said. "You are dressed more like a civilian than a shinobi, so you're no guard. What were the odds to be seen by you, I wonder…"

He didn't answer, choosing to observe the person instead.

He was a tall man of tanned complexion. He wore simple dark clothing that matched his brown hair, long pants and a short-sleeved shirt with black shoes, as well as a red sweatband on his head. However, his most prominent feature was the waistcloth with the kanji for "Fire".

"What I wonder is why one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja is sneaking in and out of the village," he finally said. "Especially because I'm pretty sure I heard one of you guys would arrive over the next few days."

"Ah, would you believe me if I said I arrived early but then turned back because I forgot something?"

"If that were the case, why wouldn't you use the gate?"

"Maybe it's something embarrassing, you know."

He wanted to keep the man talking to buy as much time as possible, but before he could say something else, he was forced to jump aside to dodge the blades of wind that flew in his direction. Then, without giving him any time to get his bearing, his opponent appeared in front of him and slashed at him with his claw again.

Letting himself fall to the ground to evade that attack, Akihito brought his hands together to weave hand seals only to be thrown into the air by a kick to his stomach. However, rather than paralyzing him, the pain made him only feel more alert than before. It was as if his body suddenly remembered all those countless hours of training he had put it through over the years.

Not letting himself be stopped by a small inconvenience like pain or being defenceless in the air, he continued to make hand seals.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

His fireball hit a new set of wind blades that were thrown at him, resulting in his flames getting even stronger as they devoured the weaker element.

Akihito had barely landed on the ground when a figure jumped at him from the flames. A moment later, his opponent, who was unharmed aside from some small holes in his robes, forced him into a Taijutsu battle.

He sent a kick at the man that was blocked by his biceps, shortly followed by a punch towards his face that was easily dodged. Then, forced to abandon his offensive as soon as it began, Akihito fell back to once again avoid the claw on the man's arm. These kinds of exchanges, with him starting a handful of attacks before being forced back into defence for twice as long, repeated itself several times before he managed to get enough space to make hand seals once again.

A second later, the ground below his opponent turned into mud, making the man sink into it until only his head stuck out. However, before he could celebrate, the body turned into stone. It were only his instincts that saved him from being ripped apart by an attack from behind, making him jump away before he even understood what was going on.

Or so he thought.

Even though he had definitively dodged those blades, he could feel the burning sensation of deep gashes on his back and the sick feeling of warm blood running down his skin.

He fell to one knee. "What the-" The man hadn't thrown wind slashes, he was sure of it, so how...

"Oh, you like it?" his foe interrupted him with a laugh. "Chakra Blades are really useful in catching enemies off-guard. You would think experienced shinobi would know better than to just assume they dodged an attack only because the visible weapon didn't hit them, right?" He raised his claw-blades as he said that to show him how he had almost twice as much range as before thanks to the chakra flowing out from it. "But you're not too bad. Say, what are you? A Jōnin? ANBU?"

"Retired."

The other man chuckled. "Oh, good answer. I like people with humour. Don't you want to abandon Konoha and join the daimyo? I'm sure you would fit right in."

He narrowed his eyes. The daimyo? Is he conspiring against the village? But that doesn't make any sense…

"Ah, forget that I said that. You seem like the loyal type, no way you're going to do that." He sighed as if he was truly disappointed. "A shame, that. You would have made a good comrade."

Akihito didn't get the chance to reply as the other man started to attack him again, engaging him in a much more one-sided fight than the one previously. It went so far that he was focused to let himself get hit by some attacks because the alternative was getting killed outright. It preserved his life –for now- but did nothing to improve his condition and fighting power.

He dodged a punch only to be kicked in the chest. I really should have kept training, damn it!

He ducked under a kick only to have his arm slit open from his shoulder to his elbow. I wish I had a damn weapon to block him with something other than my body!

He evaded another slash, only to be punched in the face. How long does it take to get some people out here, damn it!

In a desperate move, he ignored a kick to his waist and rushed forward, ramming his elbow into the other man's stomach with as much force as he could to throw him back. Now, he thought and went through hand seals as fast as his by now numb fingers allowed him to.

"Doton: Ishi Yoroi no Ude!" (Earth Release: Stone Bracers)

Akihito allowed himself a small smile at the sight of the bracers on his arms. Now he had something to block the damn attacks with while also getting some armour that would compensate for his lowered mobility because of his injury.

The smile faded when he noticed movements out of the corner of his eyes, prompting him to turn around and raise his arms in defence.

A second later, the triple-bladed weapon slashed right through his bracers and cut off both his arms.

He didn't feel pain as he fell to his knees, eyes widened in surprise. But how-

"A nice try," the other man said in a voice that sounded almost pitying. "But something like that is not enough to stop my attacks."

Damn, he thought while his lips tucked upwards in grim amusement. At least I don't leave-

Akihito didn't have enough time to finish his thought before his head was separated from his body.

We're way too few people to deal with that kind of shit, the ANBU operative known as 'Owl' thought with a frown that was hidden behind his mask. Now we have an intruder who not only managed to infiltrate us unnoticed but also almost escaped with no one the wiser in addition to all the regular stuff we're already dealing with.

"That's where he went over the wall," the shadow clone at his side said. "I followed him, but-"

It didn't get to finish the sentence before puffing out of existence.

Neither he nor his other comrades, all of them experienced shinobi, stopped, even though they all knew what this meant.

Infiltrating the village, successfully escaping, and then even killing one of our own, he mentally updated his list of crimes committed by this unknown enemy with a resignation born of having seen many of his comrades perish in battle.

"Kazuma-san, welcome in Konoha. Did you have a good journey?"

The other man smiled brightly at him. "I did, thank you, Hokage-sama. I hope you're well? Asuma asked me to make sure you're not working too hard, you see."

They exchanged mostly meaningless pleasantries while they talked, the irony of it not being lost on him. Kazuma doubtlessly held resentment towards him for representing the village he so despised while Hiruzen himself disliked the man for not only being a danger to his home but also for being the murderer of one of his shinobi. Oh, he had no proof, of course, but it didn't take a genius to come to that conclusion.

If everything went well, several members of the Administrative Collective would be taken into custody before the day was over. It was unlikely that any of them could withstand even easy interrogation, so they should have sufficient proof to imprison Kazuma without causing a political incident soon enough.

"So, Hokage-sama," the man finally said. "To get to the topic I came for. Can you please explain the presence of so many rogues in the countryside? Daimyo-dono is most anxious about so many bandits and hostile missing-nins that close to his home, you understand."

Hiruzen hummed and took a puff from his pipe before he replied in a confused tone. "I do understand, of course, but as far as I know, none of those rogues has made any big moves so far. Certainly nothing that would give us reason to worry. Their number increased, but the number of crimes stayed mostly the same." Considering they had already concluded that Kazuma most likely let them into the country himself to act as decoys for his real agents, that was no surprise.

"Be that as it may, they're still dangerous. Just because they didn't act yet doesn't mean they will not do so in the future."

"You're right," he agreed easily. "But you can assure your liege-"

"Our liege, Hokage-sama."

"Of course," he said while hiding his amusement at the very much anticipated correction. "Forgive me. You can assure our liege that the situation is completely under our control and that those rogues pose no threat to him."

Kazuma narrowed his eyes. "You want me to tell him that dozens of groups of bandits whose members are missing-nin pose no threat? Are you sure you're taking this seriously enough?"

"I can guarantee you-"

"Empty promises are as useless to me as they are to Daimyo-dono. Maybe you're not quite aware of how serious-"

"I'm very aware of the situation, Kazuma-san," he said with a hard voice, making the other man's mouth snap shut with an audible 'click'. "We have almost every single group under permanent surveillance and regular patrols all over the country ever since these groups started appearing some years ago. We know what they're doing and when they're doing it. If you have any information you would like to share to convince me that I'm missing something essential, however, you're welcome to do so." He stayed silent for a moment to allow Kazuma to speak if he wished to and only continued when it became clear he didn't. "Can I assume that there is nothing you would want to say, then?"

A nod.

"Wonderful."

After that, their conversation returned once more to one of mere pleasantries, even if it was much stiffer than before.

Ever since the last war had ended, the various villages had taken measures to safeguard the peace. No one was foolish enough to believe it would last forever, of course, but everyone knew that another war at this point in time would not be worth it. So, for as long as it took for them to regain their strength, they would need to keep the status quo.

Konoha and Kumogakure were no exception to that, although these two villages were probably the ones who came out best from the last conflict.

So, to guarantee good relationships between their two villages, they have sent many one embosser and delegates over the years to talk about treaties both parties knew would be broken in secret by each other. These treaties contained agreements on trade, the number of shinobi that were allowed into the smaller countries between them, information exchanges, and even a mutual protection pact. Still, it was only now, almost six years after the end of the Third Shinobi War, that the final signing would take place. That was why he, the Head Ninja of Kumo, was here.

At least officially. Unofficially, he had another mission.

His village had been interested in the Kekkei Genkai of other villages for quite some time now. It wasn't easy to steal one as its carriers were rarely willing to change sides and the few missing-nin who had one were ruthlessly hunted down by their former comrades to stop other villages from taking advantage of them. You could kidnap children or even try to kidnap adults and get them to have children, but that wasn't easy either; children were well-protected and adults that could be kidnapped usually killed themselves before they let something like this happen to them.

Which was why his current position was so precious. Yes, he was under surveillance, but once he managed to get away from his watchers, he had almost unlimited access to the entire village. Being in the very heart of it, all its bloodlines were presented to him on a silver plate. As long as there was no proof, he could kidnap a child of one of the clans without fearing any retaliation. Oh, sure, they would suspect him, but what could they do? He didn't plan to be in the village anymore by the time they noticed the missing child and they would surely not start a war over it. Not yet, at least.

It was a bit risky, of course. Konoha was known to do things other villages considered crazy all the damn time. But alas, his Kage had ordered him to do so and that was the end of it.

Initially, they had planned to kidnap only the Hyūga heiress. She could be moulded to either be a loyal Kumo kunoichi –she was certainly young enough- or, if that didn't happen, be of other use later on. Or, in the worst case, they could just take her eyes.

Then two years ago, the Chūnin Exams happened and the Raikage changed the plan. They would still go after the girl, but aside from that, they would also try to get the Sharingan. These eyes were long since known to be powerful, but the demonstration of the Uchiha heir against Yugito had brought that point home once again. By kidnapping the boy -or any other Uchiha brat, really- they would not only take care of someone that would become a problem in the future – damn Konoha and all their bloody prodigies - but also gain a powerful asset.

At least, that had been the plan.

"Good evening, Tee-san."

He jumped around, ready to defend himself against whoever had managed to sneak up on him and expecting to see the shinobi that had observed him earlier. After all, maybe he hadn't done as good of a job to get rid of them as he had thought. Instead, he found a black-haired woman smiling at him, wearing casual clothes that would make him mistake her for a civilian were it not for the strong chakra he could feel emitting from her.

"I hope you didn't get lost. It must be confusing for someone from another village to find his way through all the streets and alleys, especially during the night when it's dark."

Now he recognized her; Mikoto Uchiha, mother of his target. The sight made him grit his teeth. That woman was a former Jōnin, meaning he wouldn't be able to kill her quickly before anyone noticed him. Any fight between them would only attract more enemies, making his mission impossible.

"Uchiha-sama," he said. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm quite alright. I'm just taking a little stroll, enjoying the night and all that."

"Ah, I see," she said with a gentle smile. "That's understandable. After all, we're doing the same. Isn't that right, dear?"

"Naturally," a voice behind him said, making him jump around again. "It would be a shame to miss the opportunity to watch the starry sky on such a clear night, after all."

Wicked Eye Fugaku, he thought with a scowl. How did both of them sneak up on me…?

"Say, Tee-san," Fugaku continued. "The weather in Kumogakure is much colder than it is here, isn't it?"

"Yes?"

It was the man's wife who spoke up next. "We were just wondering why you were wearing a cloak, that's all. I mean, it's even hiding your face! That must be horribly hot for you."

That was when he realized what was going on: they knew. It wasn't an accident that the Clan Head and his wife, both formidable shinobi in their own right, confronted him when he was just about to infiltrate their district. Konoha knew we would do something and prepared accordingly, he thought. It wasn't a secret that his village was interested in Kekkei Genkai, so it wasn't a stretch to assume all the clans had been warned and put on high alert.

"Oh, I see!" Mikoto suddenly exclaimed as she clasped her hands in front of her as if she had just had a revelation. "You don't want to be recognized, do you? Our villages were at odds not too long ago, so you wanted to avoid problems."

He just barely stopped his eyes from narrowing as he answered with a smile on his lips after taking off his mask. "Haha, you looked right through me, Uchiha-sama." Why were they playing along? They knew his intentions, he was sure of it, so why-

Oh, he thought. They play along because they want to keep up appearances. For the sake of peace, they acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Both parties would know about their attempt, and both parties would stay silent about it. The cold war between our villages will probably increase tenfold, though.

"Well," he finally said. "It was nice to meet you, but I really should go now. I have a meeting with the Hokage early tomorrow and would like to get a few hours of sleep before that."

He had just turned around when Fugaku spoke up from his right. "Let us accompany you. We don't want you to get lost, after all."

"That's really not-"

"We insist," Mikoto added from where she appeared on his other side with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "We would hardly be good hosts if we just let you go on your own, now, would we?"

Understanding that he had no choice in that matter, he agreed. It were an uncomfortable 15 minutes until they reached his hotel, filled with polite comments and subtle threats.

For a second, he wondered if his comrades that went after the Hyūga girl had better luck.

He seriously doubted it.