It was meant to be the equivalent of a paid holiday, or that is what Bull-taichou had said when he finally allowed her to join the Uzumaki detail, 6 months after she had passed the exams involved in gaining a hallowed ANBU mask in the shape of a Koala. The squad of 14 operated a 4 'on' 4 'off' schedule, with 8 of them assigned to guard the Uzumaki in pairs and the others doing wall patrols. The reason why the Uzumaki job had been kept from her initially became clear to her when she finished watching the boy for the first time.
Given what the boy contained, as well as the various rumours and horror stories of what had happened with demon containers from the other villages in the past when they 'lost it', meant that she had been determined to take the job of guarding such an asset seriously and had turned up almost half an hour early for her first shift.
To her surprise she hadn't been able to find her squad mates, who should have been on the day duty shift, something she had fully intended to report to her Taichou when he turned up for their joint shift. Still, despite the failed appearance of her compatriots she had a job to do, so she had spent her twelve hour shift watching the Uzumaki boy, primarily prepare dinner in the form of cup ramen that made even her ANBU rations look good before doing some training before bed.
It had been a long night, especially by herself, so by the time 8 am had arrived she had been furious to find her replacement as non existent as the rest of her team. Tracking down her squad leader had been a relatively simple task, given that he was at his home with his wife as the second place she checked. It was then that her view on what the ANBU name stood for was shattered, Bull-taichou merely laughing at her indignation before proceeding to explain to her in no uncertain terms, that the ANBU hadn't been watching Naruto properly for years.
Other than the occasional newcomer like herself and the three teams under the ANBU commander with a cat mask, all of the numbered teams treated it the same way now more or less, to the point that many of them didn't even try hiding that they were shirking their duties in one of the Ninja only bars that ANBU members frequented. Only when the Hokage planned time to visit the young demon container, which given the venerable Shinobi's hectic schedule was known weeks in advance, did the team turn up properly and even then it was only until the Hokage left.
A mild burning on her left arm distracted Koala from bemoaning another lonely shift of four nights ahead of her, given the mess left in the aftermath of the young Bjiu container's graduation night and Mizuki's attempted defection there was no way that she was risking slacking in her duties. She was surprised the Hokage hadn't already called in the pair on her team, who were 'watching' the boy on the night in question.
She didn't need to roll up her pyjama sleeve to know what the feeling was, the kanji for 12 a seal that was linked to a special scroll in the Hokage tower, allowing for messages to be sent quickly and securely to teams in case of emergency. Instead she focussed on the feeling as the burn intensified and lessened so quickly that most would have been entirely unable to follow the message contained within, her face turning pale as the first part of the message became clear.
Code Black. Report in now. Fox's hideout.
A code black was something all ANBU were to respond to as fast as they physically could, which was why Koala had left her half eaten cereal on the table in order to run into her bedroom to change clothes, forgoing the need for underwear to save twenty extra seconds as she almost tore her pyjamas off and slipped into her ANBU gear. The last part of the message almost made her freeze as her fears were realised, something had happened to the container and undoubtedly her team were nowhere to be found, and given how much the Hokage cared for the boy heads might literally end up rolling for this.
Still she reasoned, turning and probably being the only sober member of her squad could only be a good thing. And despite the disappointment she had felt with the others laziness, Koala still personally prided herself on being an ANBU member and really, really wanted to keep the mask she had worked so hard to earn. Grabbing said mask and heading to the door, pausing only to grab her tanto in case the attacker was still at large, Koala headed out into one of the most frantic settings she had ever seen in central Konoha.
Ninja of every rank were crowding the rooftops as they flitted in different directions with an urgency that was rarely seen in a single team let alone dozens of ninja, whilst the streets were packed with civilians being forced to pass through makeshift checkpoints that had very clearly been 'grown' from the road beneath them in a hurry. It was probably the first time she regretted getting the sound dampening seals put on the walls of her apartment, this level of mayhem would certainly have keyed her in to something being wrong precious minutes earlier.
Nothing she could do about it now though, jumping to the roof tops as her uniform made those around her provide her with enough room to head towards the still billowing black smoke from several streets over. The number of ninja on the roofs rapidly dropped as she approached the target, and she suddenly found her path blocked by a rabbit masked ANBU member, whose masked was lined with the silver outline that distinguished him as a member of the Hokage's elite guard.
"Koala of squad 12, your squad are on rotation for guarding Black level target, a target that has been attacked at least one shift ago with no sign of response from the guard team. Do you understand what I am telling you?" It was clear the man was angry even if his tone remained surprisingly calm and level, his hand hadn't left the handle of the rapier attached to his waist in a clear message as to what would happen if she tried to run or said the wrong thing.
It wasn't quite as serious as dereliction of the Hokage, but even if she couldn't remember the exact punishment that such a thing entailed Koala knew she really didn't want to find out, so she moved to attention as fast as she dared given how Usagi was clearly on edge.
"Hai Usagi-taichou, I have been off rotation for the last three days and was due to start my next shift tonight, I have no idea where the rest of my squad are." It was the equivalent of throwing her team in front of one of Hokage-sama's fireballs, but it was the truth and she really didn't want to risk saying anything but that right now.
"That can be confirmed later, but for now you are the first member of your team to report in. Hokage-sama will want to speak with you personally. This way." Contrary to popular belief, getting to talk with the Hokage was not a privilege that many ninja could claim, as the man was busy beyond belief most of the time.
That meant that her first meeting with the man since he had attended her academy graduation was going to be about her team's abandonment of quite possibly the second most vital target in the village, this wasn't going to help her aspirations to become an ANBU captain one bit. She jumped off in the direction Usagi directed, knowing that in a situation like this she was still going to be considered a flight risk until the Hokage deemed otherwise, the older ANBU always two or three seconds behind her as she landed in front of the apartment complex and sticking to her blind spot in ways that had her skin crawling.
The Hokage was like the centre of a storm, emanating the kind of calm fury that made Koala mentally re-evaluate whether being the first member of her team to get here was really a good idea. He turned as she dropped to one knee, the legendary patient smile that was the facial expression of 'The Peacetime Professor' absent as the intense stare of 'The God of Shinobi' burned a hole in the top of her skull.
"Koala-san, I think you know what I am going to ask, and for your sake I hope that your answers to my questions are very satisfactory..."
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It had taken the ANBU almost half an hour to clear the corridor, and even with Hiashi's eyes aiding them two of them had been injured by some of the deliberately shielded traps that the attacker had set up, though thankfully the Hyuuga Lord had been able to help Iruka navigate his way back to the window in the minutes after the Hokage had left to find the missing team.
"Luckily the kunai caught you high in the shoulder Iruka, anywhere more serious and we might not be having this conversation." Getting stitched up by the Inuzuka clan head of all people made it clear exactly how out of the ordinary this situation was, all other chuunin or lower ranked ninja had been evacuated from an almost half a mile area for security reasons, only ANBU and other trusted Jounin allowed within 300 metres of the site given the risks of a remote detonation of the traps.
"Thanks for the... Honesty Inuzuka-san, not quite what I had in mind for the afternoon of the academy graduation, are the students?" Tsume chuckled at his strategic choice of words before settling on a smile as she interrupted his question.
"The assigned sensei's have taken care of it, even Kakashi turned up on time here with the black flare going off, not that he will be able to officially test his team based on what I've heard..." Tsume cut herself off as she realised what she was saying, but the implication about Naruto's injuries was the most people had given him in information terms since this had all started.
"How bad is it?" Obviously it was very bad given everyone seemed determined not to tell him, but before he could try and push for more information a wave of killing intent exploded through the makeshift medical tent they had erected, and even though it only lasted a second Iruka found himself gasping for breath as it passed.
"Holy shit, Hokage-sama is pissed at something if he's losing control like that, better go see what it is that has made him that angry." It wasn't an invitation for him to accompany her, nor was it an instruction for him to stay in the tent, which was about the level of ambiguity that Tsume could use as a defence in case the Hokage didn't want Iruka there for whatever it was.
Ducking under the flap that Tsume was holding open for him, Iruka winced as the movement combined with his response to the killing intent earlier made both his injuries ache painfully, though he shook it off as he shielded his eyes from the early autumnal glare. The Hokage was stood not far from the apartment complex entrance, looking down at a kneeling ANBU member with a Koala mask in a manner not unlike an angry deity as a tiger masked ANBU was reporting something from his right, his robes billowing slightly in a non-existent wind and his eyes almost glowing with the barely repressed chakra he was holding back.
"Must be a member of the ANBU squad meant to be guarding the boy, I would feel sorry for her but given Hokage-sama's reaction she's the lucky one, I wouldn't want to be the rest of her team if they aren't in hospital or the morgue." Despite the fury the man was exhibiting so casually, Tsume still strode towards him in the casual and forthright manner that caused so many to underestimate her clan's ability to act as shinobi rather than unsubtle berzerkers.
"ANBU teams 7, 11 and 17 are being told to report to ANBU HQ, though they haven't been told why. If what Koala reports is correct, then they may be jointly responsible in compromising village security. Usagi, Wani and Hato will be waiting with ANBU teams Yurei and Tengu to forcibly detain them, in case any of them prove... difficult." Iruka paused about 10 feet from the trio as he heard this part of the report, for three of the Hokage's personal guard to be assigned to a mission that wasn't protecting the Sandaime whatever breaches in village security they were talking about were dire to say the least, and chances were these breaches were linked to Naruto's attack.
"And the rest of squad 12?" It was like comparing fire and ice, the cold tone of the Hokage a far cry from the affable figure he pretended to be when he visited the academy on occasion, another wave of killing intent exploding out from him as Tora shook her head that made Iruka stumble.
He would have fallen if Tsume hadn't caught his uninjured arm, and given the now twitching Koala ANBU on the floor he wasn't even receiving a full dose. To Iruka's surprise Tora stepped between the fallen ANBU and her Commander and locked eyes with him, some unspoken conversation occurring in a fraction of a second before the killing intent faded significantly and Iruka could breathe once more.
"We have detained 8 members of squad 12, though Squad Leader Bull seems to be on the run, given the state of his home when Wani arrived. He will not get far." It wasn't an assurance as much as a statement of fact, Tora turning away to look at Tsume, who to her credit hadn't even looked fazed by the Hokage's outburst.
"Tsume-san, if you could help Koala-san to medical tent, I will have one of the other ANBU go and grab her some spare clothing for when she recovers." It was at this point Iruka noticed the small pool that was forming underneath Koala's collapsed body, but he was polite enough not to make an issue of it when Tsume nodded and released his arm to lift the woman back to something of a kneeling position.
"Iruka-san, please return to the academy and inform the new teams of the basics of what has occurred, I am giving you clearance to inform them about the attempted theft of the scroll of seals though nothing about Uzumaki's special circumstances is to be mentioned." It seemed that whatever silent conversation had occurred it had led to Tora taking control of the situation in order to allow the Hokage to get control of himself.
"Hai-ANBU-san." There wasn't much else he could say to that, despite his concern for Naruto the firm but subtle dismissal from the area left no space for brooking an argument.
As he turned to follow the order he had been given, there was a flurry of movement from the apartment complex and another ANBU came running up to the group, Iruka using the opportunity of being injured to struggle with the hand-seals just long enough to get some news that brought a relieved smile to his face.
"Hokage-sama, we have him!"
A/N: Tada! Another (admittedly small) chapter to tease you with in this regard, focussing on the fall out of Orochimaru's attack. It covers quite a bit of Konoha's response to a high level infiltration/assassination attempt that I think is quite lacking in canon, but then again there are a lot of things they are quite blase about in canon.
And I know, it is another chapter without any actual Naruto in it, but we are getting there. Next chapter will be the first real actions in response to this attack, as well as a discussion regarding what is going to happen with the new graduates who are a man short. We might even get a bit of Naruto time, though no promises, it depends where the story takes me!
Defias Out!