Zero.
Madara carefully packs the last packet of takoyaki into the picnic basket. The brats are all putting their sandals on. They are excited and happy. Madara wonders what he forgot. That nagging feeling of forgetting something dreadfully important is still haunting him. Picnic? Ready. Kids? Arguing over which shoes belong to which twin. Dog? Chasing her tail. Cat? Hunting in the garden. Madara? Ready to go as soon as he remembers what he forgot.
Madara closes the picnic basket and goes to sort out the twins. Just as Madara is putting the last shoe on the last foot, there is a knock on the door. Madara wonders why Nono Yakushi is at his door, and why there are ANBU nearby.
And then, in one dreadful moment, Madara remembers what he forgot.
The Truce.
Internally swearing, Madara scoops up all five kids and the dog and makes a beeline for the kitchen window. He collects the picnic on the way out. The food will come in handy later, when he needs to keep the brats quiet.
"Uncle Madara?" says Tachibana. "Do you know the lady at the door?"
"Yes," says Madara. "She's from the orphanage. Now keep quiet." Madara sneaks past the ANBU. He has no time to grab the cat - but she can take care of herself.
Madara takes the kids out of the village, to a cave deep in the forest. "Wait here," he orders, as he dumps them unceremoniously on the ground. Then he leaves the cave to scout the area and set up as many traps as he can. When he returns, the older four children look confused and frightened.
"Uncle Madara, what's going on?" asks Tachibana.
"Who was that lady?" asks Sekitei. "What was she here for? I thought you weren't allowed out of the village? Why-?"
"Hush," says Madara. "One year ago I made a truce with the Leaf. The conditions of that truce were that I had one year to reconsider...my plan...but during that year, I had to stay within the boundaries of the Leaf Village and do whatever task they gave me. The task they gave me was to care for the five of you until the truce ended. Today, that truce ended."
"That lady came to take us to the orphanage," says Tachibana flatly. It is not a question.
Sekitei starts to cry.
"Hush now," says Madara, patting her hair. "Everything will turn out fine." Madara certainly hopes it will.
"What a disaster," says Fugaku, resting his head in his hands.
"Lord Hokage?" says Nono, sounding concerned. "Are you alright?"
"I can feel a headache coming," says Fugaku. "Are you sure he was there when you arrived?"
"Definitely," says Nono. "He left after I knocked, almost like he wasn't expecting me to come. If he was expecting me, he would've been long gone when I arrived, I expect."
"I should've waited until Akatsuki got here," mutters Fugaku, remembering Itachi's message, and realizing that it is highly probable that she is bringing some other Akatsuki members with her.
"Never mind," says Nono. "I'll leave the rest in your hands, Lord Hokage."
As she is leaving, Fugaku remembers that Nono is technically part of Akatsuki.
Fugaku swings around on his Hokage chair and gazes out of the window. What should he do? Madara has five hostages instead of two, this time, and there is no wall of flame trapping him so he cannot escape. Fugaku sees Lord Third walking through the streets far below, and decides to ask for help.
"Lord Hokage!" an ANBU leaps in the window. "We are ready to pursue Madara as soon as you give the word."
"Put that plan on hold," says Fugaku. "He has Joe's kids with him, so I cannot risk provoking him. Send your team out to find Shikaku Nara, Lord Third and Lord Fourth, and ask them to come here. I have need of their advice."
"Yes, Lord Hokage," says the ANBU, and vanishes.
Fugaku thinks hard while he waits for Minato, Shikaku and Hiruzen to arrive. It occurs to him that he probably should have called the village elders. Fugaku smiles grimly. Minato, Hiruzen and Shikaku are far more competent and in tune with the situation. Fugaku calls on them more than he calls on the elders. Not that he ever calls on the elders.
Hiruzen arrives first, followed by Minato, and then Shikaku.
"What went wrong?" asks Shikaku. "And how bad is it?"
Fugaku winces. "Madara took all five kids and the dog and left. Any advice on what I ought to do next would be much appreciated."
"Send a task force of strong fighters after him," suggests Hiruzen. "Half of them can keep Madara busy while the others get the kids out of there."
"How long ago did Madara leave?" asks Shikaku.
"About half an hour ago," says Fugaku. "He left when Nono went to his house to collect Joe's Kids. Had he stayed long enough to hear what she had to say, he would've learned that I wanted to speak to him about what happens next - but he got the hell out of there without even answering the door."
"You should've waited to see if he even remembered the Truce," says Shikaku. "If he didn't, we could've pretended it never happened and left him to raise those kids until he remembered on his own and decided he didn't care."
Fugaku frowns. "And what if he remembered, and decided to plan in secret, then hit us out of nowhere with the Infinite Tsukinome? I couldn't risk that."
"Hmm," Hiruzen muses. "Perhaps sending any kind of threat after Madara will endanger those children. We need to proceed with caution."
"Minato, you have been awfully quiet," says Fugaku. "What are you thinking?"
"I think you should go to Madara yourself, Fugaku," says Minato. "It's what you should have done to begin with. But take Sasuke with you, Madara trusts her, and he will be willing to talk to you if there is someone there he trusts, I believe."
"I hope you're right," says Fugaku.
Naruto arrives at Team Seven training around half an hour before he expects Kakashi sensei to arrive. "Hey guys!" he greets his team mates.
"Shut up, I'm trying to nap," says Madoka.
"We've been waiting for an hour," says Sasuke. "Kakashi sensei should be here in an hour or two."
"Oh," says Naruto. "I was hoping he'd be here in half an hour or so. Wanna spar while we wait for him?"
Sasuke appears to think about it for a while, then says, "Sure, why not." She jumps up and attacks Naruto.
Grinning, Naruto blocks Sasuke's attack.
When Kakashi arrives about 45 minutes later, Madoka has joined in the sparring match, and all three teens are attacking each other with joyful, reckless abandon.
"Training without me?" says Kakashi. "My, my, you are keen today."
Sasuke stops punching Naruto and says, "We know what day it is, Kakashi sensei."
Naruto and Madoka disengage from the sparring match and nod solemnly.
"Ah," says Kakashi, an understanding expression in his eye. "Want to go on a mission to take your minds off it?"
"I need Sasuke," says Fugaku, appearing beside Kakashi. "Madara took Joe's kids and bounced."
"Of course he did," says Sasuke, crossing her arms. "He was always going to do that. Now where is he?"
"We don't know," admits Fugaku.
"Then you'll need me to help track him down," says Kakashi. "Team, we have a mission: find Madara and help the Hokage convince him not to cause the apocalypse."
"Wait...who said you can all come?" demands Fugaku.
"And if any fighting breaks out, we can protect the kids," says Madoka, ignoring the Hokage.
"It's okay, Mr. Hokage," says Naruto. "We'll convince Madara to not cause the apocalypse, dattebayo!"