Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I own none of it.

Summary: A more rational Danzo takes on team 7. The world changes accordingly

Chapter 14 - Operation Mongoose

As the beginnings of Orochimaru's "Operation Konoha Crush" began, all over the village, Anbu bearing the Root insignia on their masks appeared from shadows, handing out battlefield dossiers to ninja young and old. Both providing combat orders, and assurance that this wasn't a surprise they were unprepared for.

As the Leaf Forces assembled to guard the walls of the village, they were at first daunted by the massive snakes and legion of foriegn shinobi approaching. That is until suddenly the ground buckled and broke before the oncoming forces. Those on the walls were confused until from the ruble a green clad blond woman rocketed above the largest of the snakes, before delivering such a devastating punch it crumpled onto the shinobi below. Many of which were still off balance from the shattered ground were crushed by the beast before it dispelled.

Tsunade of the Sannin had taken the field, and the line she had drawn in the Sand would be felt for generations. Their opportunity spotted, the forces on the walls leapt down to join the legendary kunoichi.

In the stands of the arena, as a wide area genjutsu began to put many of the civilians to sleep, an event the likes of which the shinobi nations had never seen was about to unfold.

In the competitors box, the moment the genjutsu began Temari and Kankuro found themselves pulled out of the air as they attempted to leap down and assist their brother, courtesy of golden chains seemingly conjured from Naruto's arms. Unlike last time Temari didn't feel the rejuvenation effects of the blonds chakra, only the air leaving her lungs as both her and Kankuro were yanked back to the box just in time to meet the flat of Sakura's executioner blade, knocking them both out. But this wasn't the remarkable event.

The remarkable event was when the now unencumbered Naruto was shrouded in an aura of pure blue chakra, as she formed a hand seal she never used anymore, and called out the name of her technique. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu" And the top ring of the stadium was filled with smoke.

One thousand Naruto clones appeared, all with their mission and purpose.

Many of them shot out into the village, using their unrivaled knowledge of her home village to their advantage. But others, others stayed. Golden chains splayed across the stands landing on the shoulder of unconscious or wounded Konoha citizens, who would find themselves awake and rejuvenated from a pulse of the Uzumaki's amazingly potent chakra.

As Naruto moved to protect the civilians Sakura began opening up her seal, not really able to use it for jutsu yet but increasing her strength, speed and durability many times over. Her skin tinted gray and her eyes yellow as she still didn't have the balance quite right. Regardless, her blade sealed away again, she launched herself on a path to intercept Baki.

Back within the arena, Sasuke had measured his timing carefully as he sheathed his blade, counting on Naruto and Sakura to keep Baki off him long enough for him to give Gaara the final push he needed so Team 7 could hand the reins over to whoever Danzo had arranged to deal with this.

Sasuke breathed deeply as he centred himself, tuning out all distraction. He flicked through the hand seals of a jutsu he had only successfully performed once as he compressed and folded his family's legendary fire chakra within himself. He was almost ready when he saw Sakura blindside Baki like a human spear, and felt one of Naruto's clones join him on either side.

He took a final breath before he unleashed his jutsu, knowing Naruto would time their combination attack correctly. Sensors had an edge in that department after all.

Three voices spoke as one. "Team 7 Style: Majestic Wind of Kagutsuchi!" As Sasuke released his "Fire Release: Majestic Flame Destroyer" with two of Naruto's "Wind Release: Pressure Damage".

The two air jutsu spiraled, focused and fed Sasuke's mighties fire jutsu to hit Gaara's defences, the fire turning blue then white as they continued to feed the jutsu. Gaara's sand turned to glass almost immediately, but the thick walls were nearly sandstone and had to be cooked off almost layer by layer. Glass pooling on the arena floor as the reawakened crowd looked on with awe at the power these "Genin" wielding. They weren't allowed to stare however as clones and other genin in the stand continued to corral them towards shelter.

The gates of the arena were being kept clear and open, Hyuuga Hiashi was more than a match for even the jounin that the sand and sound sent to try and keep people trapped in the stadium for when Gaara cracked. Even if, to his own displeasure he was assisted by Naruto clones from time to time. It's not that he needed them but they were helpful.

Baki was furious at the turn of events, Sakura might not be able to beat an elite jounin by herself, even with her limited sage abilities. But every time he delivered what should have been a decisive blow the girl was magically replaced by another of the seemingly endless blond clones, shit eating grins on their faces even as they popped.

Eventually the torrent of white fire began to die down, the clones chakra spent they popped out of existence as Sasuke let the jutsu fall, panting from the massive exertion. But as the fire died the damage became visible. Two thirds of the sand dome were now melted glass on the floor, and Gaara was screaming as he ripped his clothes off to get as much of the molten glass off as possible. Sasuke was actually starting to feel bad until he felt the ground moving.

Like a pulse, a shockwave ran through the arena floor as Shukaku pulled sand from the ground beneath and started building it back around Gaara, this time forming a monstrous physique of a twisted Tanuki with Gaara at it's head. Even as the beast gained size, Sasuke began to smirk as he caught his breath.

Sensei said to bring out Shukaku and he had people who would handle the rest, and with the entrance of Shukaku Baki began to flee leaving Sakura in the clear. Gaara made a hand sign before falling limp.

Only for the sand body of Shukaku to be able to speak now. "Yeah baby! I'm bac-"

He was interrupted as with a large poof of smoke a massive toad appeared above the beast spearing into its body with a massive tanto. The few remaining people that hadn't gotten through the gate cheered as Lord Jiraiya fell to land next to Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto fell into formation.

"Well, you kids put on quite the show! I'll take it from here though, you guys get out into the village and help clean out stragglers." Jiraiya turned back towards the great sand beast as the dog headed support beams started to glow and an Anbu appeared, a glowing kanji on his hands restraining the beast further. "Now, why don't we have a look at that seal of yours Shukaku. Looks to me like you've had a little too much freedom of late."

Jiraiya cracked his neck and hands as he started to walk towards the bijuu.

Up in the Kage box Orochimaru was starting to sweat. He knew Danzo would do something to get back at him, but he hadn't expected to be completely sold out AND directly confronted.

Even worse, while age had put some rust on them both, together despite all their differences they were a force to be reckoned with. Two S-Ranked Shinobi that survived three wars together, a fire and a wind specialist. While Sarutobi was an upfront and fairly honest combatant as shinobi go, Danzo wasn't. Every time Orochimaru would do something slippery that might have caught Hiruzen by surprise, Danzo was there with wicked wind jutsu cutting off his avenue of attack.

He was getting deeper and deeper into his arsenal of jutsu, until eventually he lept back to use his formation of ten thousand snakes, even knowing they would parish he just needed a moment. As his snakes were incinerated by another combination jutsu, he rushed through the seals and made it just in time. The moment he completed his seals he slammed his hands on the ground and three coffins rose from the roof, opening up to reveal the villages three past kage of the village as the ocean of snakes finished burning away.

Hiruzen's eyes widened at the sight of two of his Sensei and his successor before him. Orochimaru quickly rammed control tags into the back of their heads, desperate to not be interrupted.

Suddenly Danzo and Hiruzen were outnumbered two to one against some of the strongest shinobi to ever live. The situation seemed dire as Danzo jumped in front of an attack that would have killed his old friend, being struck down himself in the process by Minato's rasengan. Only for him to suddenly reappear behind Orochimaru, bisecting the sannin with his vacuum blade.

The revived kage looked on in confusion as Orochimaru's control slipped for just a moment as he spat out another copy of himself, giving Danzo the chance to shred his bandages revealing a twisted arm full of Sharingan eyes, one of them closed. "My student would never forgive this traspas Hiruzen. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell him of this when this is over." They made eye contact and Hiruzen understood perfectly.

Danzo had no intention of surviving this, but they would not lose.

Team 7 moved throughout the village assisting wherever they were needed. Naruto's improved shadow clone jutsu (with some help from Sakura's seal design) allowed her to pass information amongst her clones telepathically, and with the legion of them currently patrolling the shadows Naruto had eyes and ears everywhere. And thanks to those same clones Konoha had suffered shockingly few casualties.

Only suddenly there was a problem, Naruto went stalk still at the information she'd just received. "Guys we've got a problem."

Sasuke pulled his lightning infused blade out of the head of a sound nin and turned to look at Naruto just in time to watch Sakura punch the last member of the squad they were dealing with clear out of the village. "I'm sorry, do you mean other than the invading shinobi?"

Naruto rolled her eyes. "No, that's the problem. There's some sound-nin tearing our forces apart heading this way. He got his hands on one of my clones and said he was coming for us and would "tear apart any trash that got in the way" so I'm thinking we hurry?"

Sakura stretched and took a deep breath as she opened her seal up a little further, her skin darkening further still. "Any notes before we do this?"

"Yeah, fights with bones and is cutting down chunin like butter."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Fuck, a Kaguya. I thought they were all dead." Sasuke's free hand started to crackle with more lightning.

Sakura cracked her neck and limbered up a little, before the three of them launched off where Naruto directed them.

The scene they arrived at was grizzle, a block of the market littered with blood and corpses. A man with his pale skin, vivid green eyes, angular facial features, two scarlet dots on his forehead and long white hair stood amidst the carnage. A scene so similar to one Sasuke had seen before, and it made his blood boil as he flashed into Kimimaro's guard. Sharingan ablaze as he drove his chidori into the white haired man's chest.

Or at least, that's what should've happened. Instead it felt as if Sasuke had driven his hand into a piece of plate steel. His family's legendary eyes gave him just enough warning to flip out of the way before Kimimaro's bones erupted from his rib cage. Frustrated with his wasted chakra he jumped back to where he knew his team would land in formation with him.

"I see why Lord Orochimaru wants you next. Kneel before me, or be defeated and dragged back to Otogakakuru by force." He stated in a flat monotone, seemingly unphased by the whole burned through the top of his robe.

Sasuke looked at the devastation the man had caused once more, hardening his resolve to fight against an obviously powerful shinobi. "My team and I will never betray the leaf."

As he makes his deceleration his team has already jumped into action. Two wind covered kunai that Kimimaro deflected with bone spikes he produced from his wrists. Naruto quickly used a replacement technique with one as a hidden clone did the same with the other. Both of them going through seals for another jutsu even as they did the seal-less replacement, a frightening display of ninjutsu capability being able to mold multiple jutsu at once.

Kimimaro wasn't Orochimaru's top shinobi for nothing though, and he rapidly turned and got his arms up to defend against Naruto's point blank "Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets". Even though his clothes were shredded he didn't sustain any real damage from the normally devastating technique. But it turned out even that was just a distraction for Sakura to appear behind him with a devastating swing of Kubikiribocho digging into his kidney before he was able to harden his bone armor against the new attack.

"ENOUGH!" The elite jounin shouted as he spun with bones erupting all over his body forcing his opponents back yet again. Now surrounding Kimimaro as he kicked the battle into high gear and activated his curse mark. Charging at the kunoichi that had managed to wound him, nearly getting a clear shot at her before one of Naruto's clones replaced her and took the blow meant for her teammate.

The moment Sakura reappeared she was finishing the hand signs for her next jutsu. The "Swamp of the Underworld" sank Kimimaro to his knees, slowing him for a moment as Sasuke held his sword out, pointing it at the sound-nin before it was bathed in lightning once more. This time with as much intensity as he could muster as he intoned the name of the jutsu he'd created.

"Lightning Release: Death by 1000 Cuts" And seemingly phased out of existence before the square was filled with the sound of electrical shrieking and Kimimaro was engulfed in lightning as Sasuke raced around him in Shunshin, delivering 1000 lightning enhanced cuts all over Kimimaro's body before he reappeared in the spot he had started as he sheathed his blade. Truly, if you blinked you would have missed it, but the smell of ozone permeated the clearing, along with burning skin and fabric.

But even as Sasuke panted trying to catch his breath, his eyes and the eyes of his teammates widened in horror. Tearing out of the swamp Kimimaro had seemingly pulled on more of his curse marks power, his bones protruding in such a way that he almost looked like a dinosaur as he tore towards Sasuke with single minded purpose.

Sasuke was spent, not even enough left for a shunshin out of harm's way. Sakura's eyes were wide with horror, knowing she was at her limit with her seal and still not fast enough to save him.

Luckily, one of Naruto's oldest tricks would save the day for the time being, as all the kunai Naruto had been using the whole fight suddenly transformed back into clones, clinging to all parts of Kimimaro before they suddenly exploded. Dazing Kimimaro just long enough for him to find himself bound by Naruto's chains.

Unfortunately, Naruto was not her mother, and these were no Adamantine Sealing Chains. Naruto's were developed more for support, and couldn't hold down a curse seal enhanced Kimimaro for long. Luckily for them it seemed to be the only moment they needed as an electrical screech unlike any they had heard before cut through the clearing and an arm bathed in lightning burst out of Kimmimaro's chest.

Hatake Kakashi, wearing his Anbu battle armor with his arm encased to the shoulder with lightning, was standing behind the monstrous sound-nin before pulling his arm out, letting him fall dead at this feat. He put a hand on a radio earpiece before speaking. "That's the last of them in the village. Start the sweep for the wounded." He then looks at the three genin present. "Sorry I was late, a black cat crossed my path and I had to kill a hundred sound-nin to clear up the bad luck." He covered his sharingan eye as he spoke, but from the shape of his visible eye you could tell he was smiling. "Mah-mah, you guys didn't have too much trouble with this guy did you?" He said as he scratched the back of his head.

Sakura couldn't help but burst out laughing, letting the swamp dissipate as she fell on her ass and started to wind down her seal. Her features returned to normal as she gradually let go of the nature chakra.

Sasuke was still out breath, and for the first time the whole day he let his eyes spin back to black, no longer having enough chakra to maintain his doujutsu. A smile tugged at his lips even as he fell to his knees.

Naruto was slightly more expressive. "Oh thank kami. I can't maintain my clone network and use Kyuubi and I was so out of ideas." She walked over to Kakashi and gave him a hug, despite not really knowing him. "Thank you Sasuke's Sensei-Taicho." She says into his armor.

He stiffens at the contact but allows it, before pulling himself away after she spoke. "I'd do the same for any Konoha Shinobi Naruto, not just because I taught Sasuke. That and if anything happened to you I'm sure your mother would torture me for eternity if I let anything happen to you." He chuckles a bit at the end. But the comment leaves them with a somewhat awkward silence as Naruto pulls her teammates back up.

"Anyways…" Kakashi draws their attention back to him. "I gotta finish up with clean up. We've confirmed no more hostiles so unless you need medical you can all go home." He puts a hand to his ear again before continuing. "HQ says you have an appointment with the Hokage for debrief tomorrow morning at 0800, don't be late!" He gives them a small wave before disappearing with a shunshin.

The three genin kinda shrugged but slowly made their way back home.

By all accounts Operation Mongoose had been a resounding success.

So why did Naruto have such a bad feeling?

On the roof of the Kage box Hiruzen stood, heavily wounded but alive. He looked over the village and while he wanted to be happy for the condition it was in, truly the Will of Fire showed its strength today…

The body of one of his oldest friends and rivals laid behind him. Before anyone else had arrived, he re-wrapped his… Arm… In accordance with Danzo's last wishes. It had taken everything the two had against Orochimaru and the revived Kage. They tried everything before they realized they couldn't win. At least not conventionally.

But eventually, when Orochimaru figured Danzo was out of Izanagi time he closed for the kill, impaling him with the Kusanagi Blade. Only Tobirama realised the deception, for it was his own favourite battle strategy.

Strike when the enemy is sure they have won.

So while Danzo died on Orochimaru's sword, he made eye contact one last time, and whispered a word that froze Orochimaru and his revived kage in their tracks. "Kotoamatsukami".

Orochimaru's eyes had gone wide, the rage behind them evident but the damage was done. Danzo would forever have the last laugh, as within Orochimaru's mind an infallible command was issued. "Serve Konoha, from the shadows in my stead. Leave the Village and never return."

While Hiruzen would never know what Danzo had commanded, Orochimaru turned and left, bringing his remaining Shinobi with him.

A single tear trailed down Hiruzen's face as he looked down at his old friend. He had never considered he would outlive the whiley and underhanded Danzo. But it seemed Danzo finally found something he was willing to lay down his life for.

A better future for his team.