Jarred awake by a thunderous clap, Kakashi flinched in the tiny bed inside the cabin of the boat he was chartering. After stowing away his beloved Icha Icha he had fallen asleep while reading, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his gloved hand. But as he was almost thrown off the bunk he was napping on, the copy nin fought to stand, swaying to and fro as the boat was being shoved violently around in the choppy sea.

Great. A storm.

He was already having a hard enough time as it was on this mission, running on little to no sleep for the last few days. He was trying to track down a fleet of missing nin who kept hassling merchant ships like the wannabe pirates they were, and the sudden severe storm they were being batted around in now was just the icing on his shit cake, apparently.

Grumbling, he cautiously made his way above deck, not yet awake enough to find his sea legs as the bags under his eyes felt heavy enough to pull his dry and weary eyes shut under all the stress.

Holding onto the balustrade of the ship's deck, Kakashi winced as he was pelted with rain and hail, slowly staggering towards the captain at the helm.

"Where are we, Takao-san?" his surly voice yelled over the roar of wind and sloshing of water crashing against the side of the ship, spraying the salted mist high above their heads.

"I'm not sure. The readings are all over the place, we keep getting turned around. We'll figure out the bearings once the storm blows over," the crabby captain responded while deftly maneuvering the small ship over the maddening swells of the angered sea.

"I thought you said the sea report was all clear for traveling?" Kakashi responded with outright accusation. He was far too tired to deal with misinformation at this point.

"I can't control the weather!" Takao argued vehemently, his icy blue eyes glowering at the shinobi who bothered him while he was trying to save their asses. "But it looks like we've got company."

Following the direction of the captain's nod, Kakashi saw a larger ship splicing through the sea in their direction, an uneasy feeling settling deep in his stomach.

"Are these the thieves?"

"Doesn't appear to be, it looks like a rescue vessel. They'll probably tow us to safer waters seeing as there is no land nearby to dock at."

With an onyx eye narrowing at Takao's naive notion, Kakashi steadied his feet, his grip on the railing almost bending the metal beneath in his attempt at gaining control of the dire situation, his head churning with the sea.

Something was off.

As the larger ship came in close to their smaller vessel, half a dozen of the crew members jumped aboard. But when they made no attempts at tethering their boat, Kakashi readied his kunai as the porcelain masked men swarmed the helm.

Shit.

While the copy nin engaged a few of them, metal clinking swipe for swipe, he noticed Takao joining the rest of the men as they made their retreat, leaving behind a few parting gifts for him. As a flurry of kunai and shuriken were launched in his direction, Kakashi quickly deflected the metal stars aimed at his person, but looked at the poorly aimed kunai that were stuck in the ship around him. Wanting to scoff at their laughable attempt at precision, the silver haired nin noticed one small detail all too late before jumping overboard for cover.

Exploding tags.

They weren't aiming for him, they had surrounded him, boxing him in as he barely had time to leap out of the way before their detonation. Fighting against the churning depths towards the surface, Kakashi sputtered for air, his breath having been knocked out of him during the explosion. Slamming a fist on the water's surface, the seethed, cursing at the retreating ship as his own slowly sank below the choppy waters.

There goes all my rations and supplies.

Pushing chakra to his hands, Kakashi pulled himself out of the water, channeling more chakra to his feet as he tried to find his footing on the violent sea surface.

So Takao was one of them, huh? Figures.

Why else would a knowledgeable captain head straight for a storm while he was catching some shut eye... unless the sudden bad weather was not environmental at all. It had been calm seas and clear skies when he went to get some much needed rest, the coincidence was too perfect to ignore. Meaning, the thieves had conjured the storm in a jutsu in hopes of catching him under the guise of helping a ship in distress.

Now cursing himself, Kakashi clicked his tongue, pulling his sodden mask down off his face so he could breath easier and not drown in his own soaked clothing. Pushing is headband out of the way, the Sharingan eye opened, the tomoe swirling as it was activated. Glancing around, Kakashi looked for the fleeing ship, sighing when he saw that the ship had vanished into thin air, leaving no chakra signature behind.

Double shit.

Either the band of missing nin had transported an entire vessel, or he was dealing with someone who was skilled enough to use an invisibility jutsu and mask their chakra signature, scent and all. Either way, he was too tired and undermanned to pursue, especially since he had no idea where they would flee to out here on the open ocean.

Finally deciding that finding dry land was in his best interest in order to regroup, Kakashi headed South, knowing North and East would take him days to find land, and he had just come from the West, the trip having been a two day journey as it was from southern Tea Country. After reformulating his plan, and maybe calling for backup, Kakashi would find them... he had to.

Too much was at stake here. He had to protect Konoha, and catching these masked marauders was a crucial point in ensuring the villages' safety. It was a delicate mission, and one that he would not rush into by being ill prepared.

Through the pouring rain, the copy nin ran, hopping over the crashing swells as he barely had the energy to keep his heavy head up. He was overworked from the last few months of traveling solo, totally engrossed in a mission like no other, and it was definitely making him feel his age these days. Ever since Sasuke killed Danzo, the village had been slowly recovering from the damage the old bastard left in his wake. Kakashi having run himself ragged tying to clean up the mess of others in hopes of restoring the peace, or at least the passable illusion of peace.

He wouldn't allow himself to make the same mistake twice. He had dismissed a gut feeling in the name of duty. But if he had followed through with his own instincts, he could have prevented this. It all started with a noticeable change in the ANBU teams. Their questionable and off putting behavior had his shinobi senses tingling with palpable trepidation.

Almost ten years ago, he was summoned for a classified mission. Kakashi swallowed his unease and set off to join his team that had been gathered in Danzo's office for a debriefing. Being the last to enter, he raised a brow at the large number of shinobi that were all lifelessly awaiting his presence before the meeting could begin.

As they were all still dealing with the loss of Asuma, and struggling to digest the loss (and sudden gain) of loved ones and colleagues during Pein's invasion, no one even bothered to reprimand him on his tardiness. Everyone looked so haggard and defeated, which caused his chest to tighten uncomfortably as he leaned against the window on the far wall.

It was true, they had all been through a lot as of late. He, too, was among the dead during the invasion, having used every ounce of energy to save his village and its people. He was among the lucky that were fortunate enough to return to this world after their dying breath. A truly haunting notion to accept.

Noting all the somber faces of the friends and teammates he had made throughout his life, Kakashi knew they were struggling with these feelings as well. He couldn't help but feel that their sudden gathering was not a great omen before an ominous and last minute mission, especially since no one seemed to be in the right frame of mind.

Scattered throughout the small office, he was joined not only by Genma, Gai, and Anko, but also Ibiki, Yamato, Kotetsu, Izumo, and Naruto. Unless the others had nothing better to do, the silver haired ninja was joined by an abnormally larger amount of shinobi that any regular mission would have called for. Even the largest caravan escort jobs for a high profile client didn't warrant this many guards.

It was a red flag.

Their team numbers were tripled for this one assignment, and not only that, but what mission would require the aid of the villages' own gate guards and personal assistants to the Hokage?

That was red flag number two.

After Danzo made his haughty entrance, Kakashi wasn't sure what this mission entailed, and wasn't sure if he even wanted to know. It had bad news written all over it. But hindsight is always 20/20. Except, he was a ninja, he should have seen it coming. Hell, they all should have seen it coming. Their presence around Konoha was obviously trying to be made scarce for some particular reason, and it nagged at him.

After passing out their mission scrolls, Danzo had given Kakashi the task of leading the highly adept search party deep into the Land of Iron to flush out Orochimaru and his apprentice, Uchiha Sasuke. Deeming his fresh intell as credible, the new Hokage assured the group that both Orochimaru's and Sasuke's whereabouts were confirmed deep underground in a secluded system of tunnels.

What he didn't know, what none of them knew, was that it was all just a giant ruse. Upon their arrival to the frosty landscape of Iron, the detailed map on their scroll led them into the middle of nowhere. To make matter worse, they had arrived during a hellish blizzard where they stood dumbfounded and shivering, all of them caught somewhere between anticipation and annoyance.

Why on Earth would the serpent wielder choose the frigid landscape of a non-shinobi nation as his hideout and base of operations? It made no sense at all.

That was red flag number three.

But like he always said, you have to look underneath the underneath. Sometimes choosing the least expected place to hide, was the best way to evade your enemies. Trudging on, Kakashi led the team deeper into the snowy tundra, dismissing his gut instinct in the off chance that they would actually find his rogue student. But as they reached their destination marked on their map, they were surrounded and arrested by the samurai that protected the humble and neutral nation.

Danzo had sent them directly into a trap, and Kakashi had allowed himself to lead them there. After calming down an irate Anko and kyuubi-containing student of his, whom were all too eager to fight for the sake of their 'mission', Kakashi placated his team and convinced them to obey the samurai and go quietly until the matter was resolved. However, they soon found themselves locked up with chakra countering restraints and marched straight into prison. Now it was all too clear what Danzo's true intent was.

Disposal.

For months Kakashi and his team were kept inside the inner sanctums of Iron's maximum security detainment center. Time and time again, the copy nin pleaded their case, and each time they were laughed at. He even submitted their mission scrolls as evidence, but as the confirmation came back negative, they were all deemed liars. Danzo even went as far as sending General Mifune an apology that stated he gave no such order and that they were there of their own volition.

Caught up in the diplomatic game of cat and mouse, Kakashi's impatience boiled beneath his calm façade as he struggled with the fact that he knew they had to return to Konoha immediately. Something was obviously very wrong, and this time... he would not ignore his inclinations.

As luck would have it, the general's latest correspondence to Leaf regarding the return of their captives, came back unanswered and unopened. Questioning the shinobi collective once again, Mifune finally released them under the suspicion of foul play, never knowing the Hidden Leaf to be so unwilling to communicate, especially when it came to the safety of their own kind. With the threat of death issued to all whom who dared not to leave Iron immediately, Mifune allowed them their freedom. Whatever he thought might be going on in the largest of the hidden villages, Mifune wanted no part of it.

Traveling home in just a few days time, Kakashi's team found themselves thankfully back in the warmer climate of Konoha... or what was left of it. No wonder Iron never received their response, the entire village was deserted. Upon their arrival, the city was in disarray. Buildings were smashed and crumbling, debris littered the streets, the South gate was toppled over, the power was out, and not a single civilian was in sight. The eerie quiet was all too unsettling.

Determined to get to the bottom of this fast, Kakashi summoned his ninken, sending the dogs in every direction, searching for anyone who might be around and knew what the hell was going on. But before his team could check more than one building for occupancy, barking was heard. As Pakkun alerted everyone of his location, Kakashi and his team deployed to investigate, where they found a lone, dead body. There, laying face down in the street adjacent to the Hokage Tower, was Danzo.

The next adamant bark came from Bull, who was less than twenty meters away. As Kakashi and Naruto arrived at the large bulldog's location, leaving the rest of their team to guard and inspect Danzo's remains, they were greeted by a tired and tattered Sasuke. He looked a little worse for wear, but was alive, nonetheless.

Skeptical at first, they heard their former teammate out, listening to his story as they were given the run down on the status of their beloved home and all the happenings that they had missed since their imprisonment. It was all a little unbelievable coming from the rogue nin, but seeing how he had saved Konoha from Danzo's malicious grip, they were inclined to believe him over the ANBU that had mysteriously vanished.

After hearing that Sasuke had warned Iruka sensei to get everyone that was left to a safe place beforehand, Kotetsu and Izumo rushed to the village vault within the Hokage monument, assuring the townspeople and the other shinobi that it was safe to come out. But after doing a head count, there were others who were still missing.

With Anko and Ibiki deployed to investigate the status at the hospital, they reported that it was equally abandoned and sporting some major destruction of its own. Apparently, it seemed as if someone had punched holes clear through the back walls of the bottom level as well as the town's generators and electrical systems.

This matched up to Sasuke's story perfectly, and everything was starting to make a bit more sense now. Not only had Sakura helped free Sasuke, but she had also damaged the integrity of whatever Danzo was planning by severing his literal source of power to the underground maze of tunnels beneath the Hokage Tower.

But neither Naruto, nor he, could accept that their cherry blossom would leave the village they knew her to love and protect. Something must've shaken her so badly she couldn't fathom the idea of staying.

Remembering that Sasuke mentioned she had been taken captive and forced to work for that old bastard, Kakashi just hoped she would be strong enough to work through whatever personal demons she had accrued while in their absence. He worried for her, day after day, but was convinced she would make her return one day... when she was ready. Sakura was never one to give up and turn her back on something so easily.

It was all they could do to work together, civilians and shinobi, to try and rebuild their beloved city while Kakashi worked to piece together the system that would allow their village to thrive once again. Apparently Danzo had killed a number of important people that had stood in his way, threats to his sordid endeavors. Among the top of that list were the village elders, the Fire Daimyo, Tsunade, Shizune, and most of the medical staff. Luckily for her, Sakura was talented enough to be recognized as indispensable, and escaped being one of his victims. Kakashi often wondered what price she undoubtedly paid for said luck, and how that factored into her continued absence.

Kakashi had also learned that the ANBU whom had served Danzo were a mixture of criminals and his ROOT shinobi, who (besides Sai) were loyal until the end, having raided the underground laboratories and hospital before disappearing after the geezer's death. Sai had explained that he simply cooperated with ANBU for inside information, observing that Danzo was up to something strange and peculiar.

Having Sai around proved to be quite a blessing as he was specialized in reconnaissance, and was now a source of valuable information. The ink jutsu user also knew about the main biological weapon Danzo was working on. Tetrodotoxin, he called it, was a fast working, lethal toxin that was concocted from harmful bacteria and was planning to use it in a full scale war between allying nations and all whom opposed him. It was clear Danzo despised the growing unity between all shinobi nations, and wished to see Konoha at the top of the pyramid. He wanted full control, and would settle for no less.

But seeing as how Sakura never figured out the mechanism behind the toxin's potency, the antidote was still unknown. With the lack of medics to offer their services, Kakashi wasn't sure they would ever find one.

Besides the disbanded ANBU and Sakura, there were still a few whom were missing from the village collective. Where were all the clans?

Scanning through the throngs of people filing out of the monument's shelter, Kakashi noticed a familiar leather jacket wearing, red cheeked face in the crowd whom appeared to be casually walking between Rock Lee and Tenten. Quickly approaching the group, but much to his dismay, he was met with a nonstop barrage of barking.

It was Akamaru.

Summoning Pakkun once again to act as a translator, Kakashi sunk when he finally got the answer to his question. The ruthless bastard was threatening everyone that stood in his way, the affluent clan heads and their families being no exception.

After rounding up the Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Aburame, Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans, Danzo threatened them, blackmailing them into going quietly or else they suffer the consequences. But as the illustrious Hyuuga's had a problem submitting their will without a fight, Danzo thought it best to hit them directly with the harsh reality they were now facing with their reluctance to comply.

The damnable fool made an example out of Neji in order for the other clans to acquiesce promptly, lest they wanted their children to meet the same demise. With the eldest Hyuuga assassinated before their eyes, all were compelled to go quietly, as Danzo locked them up in a specialized ninja holding facility in Kusagakure known as the Blood Prison, Hōzukijō.

Taking the news in stride, and with the Inuzuka clone in tow, Kakashi quickly gathered Naruto and Sasuke as he ordered Sai to take them to Grass Country on his inky bird immediately. If they were to stand a fighting chance against the rebelling ANBU, he needed all of Konoha's ninjas to pull it off. It was a rather rushed and brash mission to take on, but Kakashi was only trying to right the wrongs that Danzo had put into motion. Not only had he threatened and killed many of Konoha's most important people, but he had locked the rest of them away. Having just escaped Iron himself, the copy nin couldn't rest until the all of his fellow shinobi were released from their prisons as well.

If the man wasn't already dead, Kakashi would have ripped out and fried his heart seven times by now with his Chidori, feeding the charred organ back to its owner in an attempt to make him taste his own hatred. It was absolutely disgusting behavior befitting someone who dared to call himself Hokage.

After a minor scuffle and some seriously forward litigation, Kakashi and his team made it back to Konoha in due haste with all the clan members in tow, riding in on the artist's flock of large birds.

During their leave, Yamato had exhausted himself and his chakra reserves, restoring the village to its previous and pristine state. Having the buildings repaired, and the rubble cleared away, it almost seemed as if nothing had happened at all. But, with the looming possibility of the ANBU coming back to seek vengeance on the village that harbored the guilty Uchiha, there was much work to be done.

Fortunately for the people of Konoha, it would be years before the ANBU would have the proper know-how and manpower to understand, produce, and handle the mass amounts of the Tetrodotoxin... having nicked their own vulnerable artery when all medics capable of such a feat were dead or missing in action.

All they could do was prepare and wait.

Having been involuntarily deemed intermittent Hokage, Kakashi now had his hands full, it was his village too, after all. He had fought, bled and lost loved ones in the name of Konoha, and now it needed him the most. Who was he to deny the position? He had hoped it would be Naruto to take over, but with his skills and diplomatic tact (or lack thereof) Kakashi thought it best to train his student during the tumultuous times ahead. A call that he, to this day, still fully supported.

But when he received an urgent mission request from Tea Country nearly a decade later about medical supply ships disappearing with precious cargo and villagers being poisoned with a fatal and unknown toxin, Kakashi knew it was a mission he would need to take on himself.

The ANBU were ready now, and so was he.

Putting their contingency plan into motion before he took his leave, the silver haired Hokage made the appropriate arrangements with his diplomatic staff, and headed off. He just didn't expect to meet this much resistance. He had ignored the Nara's insistent pleas to take backup or other team members in his quest, but mainly, Kakashi couldn't stand any more blood on his hands.

The village, and its inhabitants, had suffered enough over the years with their fate looming every day the ANBU remained shrouded. Even if it meant he was taking this mission to the grave with him, like a Hokage was expected to, he knew that the village he called home was in capable hands that held the Will of Fire for the new generation. It was that hope, alone, that kept him going.

Pushing his inner turmoil aside, Kakashi's doleful expression lightened when he saw a sliver of land on the horizon. With the sun peeping through the haze of the morning fog, and the worst of the storm behind him, Kakashi breathed a heaving sigh of relief when he spotted an island just ahead of his sprinting form.

Seems his luck was about to change.