Chapter 20.

Hinata and Hanabi marched on along a dirty road, trying and failing not to look back at their village. Konoha was defeated but not destroyed. At least that was what the girls have been telling themselves to prevent panic from settling in.

Hinata spied a glance at her little sister. Hanabi was quiet; worry and uncertainty no doubt occupying her head at the moment.

"Everything is going to be fine."

Hinata's reassurance felt empty even to herself. Nevertheless, she put her arm around her baby sister in a comforting manner, glad that Hanabi reciprocated the gesture.

Hinata wasn't sure who was comforting who anymore.

"Have you seen the letter?" she asked once Konoha was left behind the horizon and both girls released a relieved sigh they weren't aware they were holding.

Hanabi just shook her head, continuing to march aimlessly, following the road.

"Well, let's stop and take a look then."

Their one-sided conversation began to worry Hinata. Her little sister was a strong girl, but all the things that happened that day could take their toll on anybody. Distracted by her thoughts, Hinata almost missed Hanabi pulling out Kakashi's message and start to read it. The elder Hyuga stepped closer behind her back and joined her.

It was a simple letter, instructing them to get all the civilians to safety and inform Lady Tsunade of their location. It further read that Tsunade will know what to do once she gets the message. There was nothing else. It was clearly written in haste, and whatever plan Kakashi had in mind was not addressed in it.

"What does he mean by that!?" Hanabi exclaimed, her first words since their escape from Konoha being laced with anger. "Why should we even help those cowards?"

Clearly, Hanabi was not impressed by Kakashi's intent to continue protecting civilians. Weren't they in all this mess because of their concern for those ingrates in the first place?

Hinata frowned at her sister's uncharacteristically cruel remarks. It was a Konoha ninja's duty to protect the weak. It was what separated them from mindless killers.

"Hanabi-chan, think about it more rationally. Kakashi wouldn't ask of it if he didn't consider it important."

"What's important to him doesn't mean important to me!" the girl replied heatedly, before the words registered in her mind.

Almost immediately, her head hung in remorse. It was a lie, of course. Hanabi came to respect her brother-in-law and even love him as family, although she would never admit that to the man. Deep down she knew that she'd adhere to Kakashi's wish even if she disagreed with it. It might as well be his final wish…

"Hey, Hanabi, what's the matter?"

Hanabi didn't even notice the tears until she heard Hinata's worried question.

"Nothing," she replied, wiping the moisture away from her eyes. "It's all catching up, I guess."

She didn't want to mention to her sister what could happen to Kakashi and Hinata's friends while they were away. It was obvious to Hinata, however. She understood Hanabi because the same thoughts were swirling in her mind as well. But she had to remain strong for her little sister. She won't shed a tear in Hanabi's presence, and it was no time for sulking anyway.

"Come on," Hinata said, picking up the pace, "we have to reach the refugee camp before the nightfall."

And so, they went ahead. It might have looked like they were striding aimlessly along the road, but one of the first things they did upon leaving Konoha was use Byakugan to find a refugee camp. Apparently, Suna farmers who were working the fields near Konoha set up an aidpoint not too far from where they tended to the land. Hanabi wondered if it was part of the agreement between Kakashi and Suna, and their Kazekage ordered them to help refugees, or the farmers were doing it out of the kindness of their heart. Nevertheless, the word got around pretty quick that there was a huge camp for Konoha citizens nearby and every refugee was headed there.

Halfway to the camp, Hinata heard a suspicious rustle. Signing Hanabi to stop, she listened in, wary. Were they being followed by the enemy? Before she could activate her Byakugan and check for herself, a familiar gruff voice alerted them of their presence.

"Don't attack. It's us."

With those words, a pack of eight ninja hounds materialized from the bushes. Kakashi's ninken!

"It's you guys!" Hanabi exclaimed, displaying a positive emotion for the first time in hours.

She ran up to her canine friends and gave them a big hug. Pakkun looked decitedly uncomfortable but allowed the girl to squash him all the same.

"It's great to see you, guys," joined Hinata, petting Biscuit with a smile. "Is there any news from Konoha?"

"I'm afraid we know as much as you do," replied Pakkun. "Boss sent us to find Hiashi and once we did, we figured it would be better to scram. Knowing Boss, he probably has someone outside the village to brief us on our next actions, was what we thought."

"You don't have a plan, by any chance, Mrs. Boss?" asked Akino, adjusting his sunglasses much like a human would do.

All eight of the dogs stood to attention, awaiting orders from Hinata.

Two sisters exchanged a look.

"As a matter of fact, we do," answered Hanabi, handing Pakkun the wrinkled letter.

The pug sniffed the paper and started reading its contents. As soon as he finished, he nodded and immediately proceeded to complete his new mission, his teammates in tow.

"Wait, where are you going?" Hinata called after the leaving ninken.

"Someone needs to deliver the message to Tsunade, and we will do it much faster than you," Pakkun threw over his shoulder. "In the meantime, take care of them refugees."

With those words, the pack sprang on a nearby tree branch and quickly disappeared out of the Hyuga girls' view.

"Well, you heard him," said Hinata, bewildered by those ninken's efficiency. "Let's go make sure those civilians don't end up killing each other.

It was a joke, of course. It was likely that refugees will return back to Konoha very soon, seeing as "order" was more or less restored in their village. Indeed, when Hinata and Hanabi arrived at the camp it was obvious that people were not going to stay there forever. Some have already began packing to go back.

"I think we are supposed to make them stay," Hanabi shared her thoughts.

Hinata nodded. "Otherwise Tsunade-sama would have no need for our location."

They had to stall for at least a couple of days until Tsunade arrived. According to Kakashi, their former Hokage would know what to do.

"But how are we going to convince them to stay?"

Hanabi posed a valid question. Simply asking them wouldn't cut it, would it? Nevertheless, they had no other ideas, so they approached the camp leader. He was a middle-aged man with skin tanned from constant exposure to sun. After explaining their situation, he readily agreed to inform the villagers that returning back to Konoha would be too dangerous.

"They might get arrested if they go in like that in such large numbers," he reasoned. "There are massive search raids going on, and any suspicious behavior can put you in the dock."

And so, they began warning the refugees to wait at least a couple of days until they hear an official statement from Danzou. In the meantime, the camp leader promised that he will negotiate with the Hokage to allow them safe entrance to Konoha. Some of the people still left anyway, but a large group of them remained after hearing the warnings. They didn't want to return to Konoha only to get arrested.

After their mission was accomplished, they stood in the camp centre, wanting to ask some questions to the camp leader.

"Thank you, we wouldn't know what to do without your help," Hinata felt lucky that Suna farmers were so empathetic to their plea.

"I would be obliged to help even if I didn't want to," the head farmer replied. "Kazekage's orders."

"That explains everything," Hanabi muttered, turning the man's attention to her.

He looked her over from head to toe, before realization flickered in his eyes.

"Say, could you be Hanabi Hyuga, by any chance?" he asked, trying to sound as nonthreatening as possible.

"Yes… How?"

The camp leader laughed. "How do I know you, you mean? I may look a simple farmer, but Suna would never put me in charge of such a strategically important place if that was the case."

"So you are a ninja?" asked the girl, seeing where the man was going.

"You truly are a prodigy," praised the camp head, surprising Hanabi. "Yes, I am a shinobi of Sunagakure. Come on," he beckoned his Konoha companions to follow him.

Hinata and Hanabi were led inside a sizeable tent. They figured it was occupied by the camp leader and the man wanted to have a conversation in privacy.

"My apologies for the lack of accommodation," he said, likely talking about the fact that there were only two chairs in his "office". "You can take this," he gave up his own seat so that both of his guests could rest, while he himself sat on the side of his desk, but still able to face them.

Thanking their host once again, the Hyuga girls apologized and asked for his name.

"Ah, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. Atsuo Teima, at your service," he said, bowing formally. "I believe I know Hanabi-dono, but I haven't caught your name, lady…"

"Hinata Hatake," the elder sister replied without hesitation. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hatake eh," Atsuo smiled, "the pleasure is all mine. Allow me to apologize again; if only I knew that I'd be meeting such distinguished people…"

Both sisters were a little embarrassed by their host's behavior. They sure didn't feel like they were worthy of such honor. Meanwhile, the man continued showering them with praise.

"You may not have known it, but Hanabi-dono made quite an impression during Kakashi-sama's last visit to our village. All you could hear was the talk about a young Hyuga princess that was being groomed by the Copy Nin himself!" he informed Hanabi of her apparent popularity in Sunagakure. "And of course, who could forget about Hatake's charming wife. Word gets around, you know."

His suggestive remark made Hinata a little uncomfortable. Just what kind of things people say about her? There were more pressing matters, however, and she quelled her curiosity to ask the important question.

"Has there been any word from Kazekage-sama regarding what's happening in Konoha recently? If it's not too much to ask."

"Oh, not at all. Officially, Sunagakure condemns Danzou's recent actions. Apparently, other Great Villages also don't look at it favorably," Atsuo informed helpfully. "Currently, they are applying political pressure on Konoha to treat the arrested rebels humanely, so it is highly likely that your friends will not be executed. I cannot say the same about your husband, though."

"Thank you. I'm sure he'll be fine," Hinata replied, seemingly surprising the man with her faith in Kakashi.

The Hyuga sisters exchanged meaningful glances.

Atsuo was obviously cleared by Gaara to aid them. Otherwise he wouldn't be so cooperative, no matter how courteous. It was clear that Suna considered the rebels as allies and Danzou as the enemy, even if the Sand could not openly declare it. Hinata and Hanabi suspected Kakashi was involved with acquiring Kazekage's assistance. Perhaps Shikamaru was involved too, seeing as Temari took a liking to the lazy Nara.

"Oh, we will soon be joined by another important guest, by the way," their host remembered. "A stoic young man. I presume you know him."

Both sisters looked quizzically at the Suna shinobi. They were about to ask him who he was talking about when the man in question entered the tent.

"Ah, here he comes," Atsuo said jovially.

Hinata and Hanabi turned to see a hooded figure step in through the flaps. They immediately recognized him once he removed the hood, revealing a pair of mismatched eyes.

"Sasuke-san?" Hinata greeted, still not recovered from the surprise.

"Good to see you, ehm, Hinata-san," said man replied, still standing awkwardly at the entrance. "I arrived as soon as I heard what happened."

Hinata nodded, giving Kakashi's former student a friendly smile.

"It's good to see you too."

"Ah, how perfect, you already know each other! Saves me from introductions," Atsuo boomed, beckoning Sasuke to come closer. "That would've been awkward, considering I didn't know your name, Sasuke-dono."

Atsuo showed no hostility even though Sasuke Uchiha was considered an international criminal in many countries. Instead, he left the Konoha ninjas to "catch up", claiming that he had some business to attend to. All three of Konoha shinobi were sure that he left a bug to eavesdrop. His allegiance lies with Sand, so it was understandable. Thankfully, the man was kind enough to allow them a semblance of privacy for their conversation.

"So," the Uchiha said, not knowing how to begin, "you are Kakashi's wife now."

"Mhm," Hinata nodded, a soft smile on her face. "Do you have any information about Kakashi, by any chance?"

"Did you see him?" Hanabi chimed in, her tone hopeful.

Sasuke took note of their worry, and his doubts began to clear. He always assumed that Hinata would hate his former teacher for forcing this marriage, but it seemed it was quite the opposite.

"No, I have no way of getting past Konoha security to know," Sasuke answered honestly. "I'm afraid we'll only know once Konoha is retaken."

Hinata released a defeated sigh. She feared as much.

"Those backstabbing traitors," they heard Hanabi speak up suddenly, all the pent up rage returning with full force. "To think that I wanted to ban the practice of curse marks when I became the clan Head…"

Sasuke was confused by the girl's words, but Hinata understood immediately what her little sister was talking about. The Caged Bird Curse Mark was a seal placed on the members of the branch family to prevent the enemy from stealing their Byakugan. It was also used by the members of the main family to ensure obedience, as when activated the seal caused excruciating pain to its victim. Needless to say, the seal was often abused by the main family, essentially enslaving the branch house. It was an outdated and inhumane practice, and Hinata was sure that it was anger speaking in her little sister.

"Hanabi-chan," she turned to the girl, "I understand you are angry, but don't let their betrayal to–"

"I don't let anything, whatever happens to those bastards is no longer my concern," Hanabi cut her off, not in the mood to listen her sister preach about forgiveness. She abruptly stood up, "I'm going to get some fresh air."

Hinata and Sasuke watched as Hanabi left. Despite the differing expressions on their faces, both felt quite similarly about the situation. After half a minute of sitting there and gathering her thoughts, Hinata was finally ready to follow her sister outside, but was stopped by Sasuke's hand on her shoulder.

"Let me talk to her," he said, surprising even himself by the sudden display of enthusiasm.

Nevertheless, Hinata reluctantly agreed, and so there was nothing Sasuke could do except follow with his own request.

He quickly located the girl; she stood just on the edge of the camp, facing the direction of their village, completely distracted by her thoughts by the looks of it. Releasing a sigh, the Uchiha went straight up to her, causing Hanabi to finally notice him. Looking at the girl's irritated and very much conflicted expression, Sasuke almost started regretting his decision to involve himself in this matter. Almost, because he couldn't allow Hanabi's hatred to jeopardize their mission.

And if he was completely honest with himself, he couldn't allow Hanabi to turn out like him.

"Listen…" he began but had no idea how to proceed further. "You– Your sister is– Hn. Forget it," he said lamely, accompanied by a raised brow from Hanabi. "Revenge is not the answer," Sasuke finally announced, managing to formulate his thoughts somewhat.

It didn't seem to have much effect on Hanabi, however. She frowned, arms crossed over her chest.

"Pretty rich coming from you."

Well, one thing was for sure for Sasuke, the girl was straightforward. And the fact that she was aware of his past meant that she was also quite astute.

"That's exactly why I am telling you this," the Uchiha avenger replied calmly. "Don't make the same mistakes I did."

"My father and my whole family are probably dead because of them! Kakashi could be dead! How can you tell me that I shouldn't hate them for it!"

Tears threatened to spill from Hanabi's eyes, and it looked like she was doing everything in her power not to openly cry. Sasuke felt bad for being reassured by that. The girl was already stronger than him at her age. Even under all this stress she was displaying incredible courage.

"You don't know that for sure," he argued, having patiently waited for her outburst to die down. "And even if they are dead, do you think your father or Kakashi would've liked you to give up like this?"

"I'm not giving up!"

"Are you?" the man asked, disbelief clear in his tone. "I was in a similar position as you many years ago. Kakashi warned me about going down the path of hatred, and that it will bring me nothing but pain. He told me that I couldn't bring back my family, but I still had people who cared for me. That I would be abandoning them if I defected," the words were leaving Sasuke's lips in a stream by that point, the memory of that fateful conversation bringing back emotions. "Tell me, what is it if not giving up!?"

Hanabi looked more and more conflicted by the second, each sentence chipping on her stubbornness. It was time for Sasuke's final argument.

"I was in a similar position, and I made the wrong choice. I truly thought that I had no one in this world, not that it is any excuse," he muttered, feeling infinitely tired by his past stupidity. "But you, do you truly think that you don't have anyone?"

Hanabi's eyes widened at those words. Not only the man's uncharacteristic outburst was shocking, but she could never answer negatively to his last question. Even if Father was dead, even if Kakashi died, she couldn't say that she had no one else whom she cared for. Because she would still have her sister. Because just a thought of causing pain to Hinata made her heart clench; and she knew how it must hurt her if she saw her little sister become jaded and unforgiving, casting away all her principles in the name of revenge.

Tears were now flowing freely down Hanabi's cheeks. Despite what her current appearance might have looked like, Sasuke saw a girl far stronger than she ought to be at that age. He came up to her, awkwardly putting a comforting arm on her shoulder.

"I know it feels unfair. But if we want things to truly change, we must not stray from our beliefs."

Hanabi didn't say anything, just nodded. It was enough for Sasuke. It was time for him to leave anyway, sensing that the girl's older sister was approaching. Evidently, Hinata couldn't sit and do nothing while her sister was hurting.

Leaving the family in their moment, Sasuke allowed himself the tiniest of smiles. Today he managed to steer someone clear from a fate full of pain and hatred. And in doing so he felt a little better about his own. Afterall, his mistakes could serve as an example for others who might want to entertain similar thoughts like Hanabi. Nipping it in the bud is much better than allowing the wound grow and fester, ultimately causing only more pain.

'For those who follow the path of revenge, it never ends well.'

Sasuke remembered those words like it was only yesterday that Kakashi spoke them to him. It's funny how words like that seem like nothing much until you experience them firsthand.

"Don't you dare to die, Kakashi," the Uchiha said, looking up at the brightening moon.

'Don't you dare to die,' Danzou said in his head, watching as the former Jounin Commander, currently his captive, was writhing in pain at his feet. Pathetic, really.

"Sir– Hokage-sama, I fear his brain might not survive if we continue…"

The urgency in Yamanaka's tone didn't escape Danzou's notice. And Ibiki had been awfully quiet during the interrogation. Rebel sympathizers, all of them.

Meanwhile, Hatake was still moaning in agony on the floor. "Please, stop. Please…"

"So be it," Danzou said, scrunching up his nose at the sight of his once right-hand man. "We will resume interrogations tomorrow."

With those words, Danzou stepped over Kakashi's miserable form and left the torture room, trusting his subordinates to take care of the prisoner without him.

As soon as their Hokage was out of the Torture and Interrogation Force headquarters, Ibiki came up to the still suffering man and covertly administered him with a sedative. All the while Kakashi begged for the pain to stop.

"You did well, Hatake, now go to sleep," he said, watching in pity as the Copy Nin recovered from the worst torture imaginable.

As if on cue, Kakashi lost consciousness, his breathing abnormally rapid even in his sleep.

"He might have nightmares," a voice echoed from the other side of the room. The Yamanaka psyche specialist was looking compassionately at the now unconscious man.

"You developed that torture method," Ibiki said, carefully laying Kakashi's prone body down and standing up himself, "tell me, how is it any better than the traditional way of inflicting physical harm on the captive?"

The accusation was left hanging in the air.

"Ibiki-san, need I remind you that had I not suggested it Hatake might have lost a limb or two, or all of them, or got blinded. There are countless ways to inflict pain on a person, and I have developed the least debilitating," the scientist defended calmly.

"Yeah, and the most mentally scarring," the head of the T&I department responded gruffly. "I seem to remember that about 15% of your method's victims went insane during the trials."

"And all 100% of them confessed within the first 3 minutes of interrogation," Yamanaka countered with a scoff. "And those people didn't go 'insane' as you put it. They had developed major psychotic ilnesses. Having delusions, hallucinations and the like does not mean that you are crazy."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ibiki said.

He didn't really care what happened to those scumbags anyway. Kakashi Hatake, however, was not a scumbag.

Ibiki didn't get much of that egghead's explanation, but he at least understood the rationale behind the Yamanaka's technique. When cast upon the victim, it messed with their brain, working like an illusion in many aspects, making them believe anything the caster projected. Thus, when Danzou told Kakashi that his skin was on fire and that his organs where being eaten from inside, Copy Nin felt that.

"I hope he recovers soon."

"He should," said his Yamanaka colleague, not unkindly, "this method is designed specifically so the danger to captive's physical health is minimal. It is mental health we should be worried about. Despite the results of clinical trials, it is very well possible for Hatake to go insane from such relentless torture. If only Hokage-sama gave a little more time for him to recover…"

Ibiki let a heavy sigh; that was unlikely. Opening the reinforced door, he threw one last look at Kakashi's prone body. To think that he willingly subjected himself to it...

"I hope your saviors will arrive soon," he muttered, before ordering the guards to relocate the prisoner to his cell and finally leaving himself.

Kakashi spent the rest of the day in a fitful haze, alternating between nightmares when he was sleeping and the lingering pain from the torture when he was awake. His weakened psyche was on complete overdrive, producing horrors long after that infernal interrogation was over. He didn't know what was real and what was his mind playing cruel tricks on him anymore. The only thing that grounded him to reality was a purple scarf his wife had gifted him not so long ago. Copy Nin held on to it like it was a lifeline, clutching the fabrique to his chest, all the while trying to replay the happier times with his wife in his head.

Later that night, when he was sufficiently recovered, Kakashi will lie on his bunk, the scarf still firmly wrapped around his chilled knuckles, and think about Hinata. How was she? How was Hanabi taking everything?

He would also reflect on everything that happened in the past 48 hours. It was all his fault. He thought he was cautious, he thought he had everything under control. When in reality he was stepping right into a trap. He's gotten careless, his marriage to Hinata and the happiness it brought him inebriated him. It wasn't Hinata's fault for being the best thing that has ever happened to him. It was his own fault for not being able to keep a cool head and allowing it to cloud his mind. In short, he was an idiot. An arrogant, selfish, lovesick idiot.

His only solace was knowing that his precious people were faring better than him. Naruto should have recovered by now, knowing his innate regeneration and Tsunade's impeccable care. Kakashi managed to endure this one day without spilling any information on his friends. He feared he wouldn't be able to keep that up for long, however.

He released a shaky sigh.

The pain he experienced was like nothing else he felt before. Even Itachi's Tsukuyomi wasn't as bad, although he suspected it was because the Uchiha genius went easy on him. Still, today Kakashi was on the verge of giving up multiple times, but every time he opened his mouth something stopped him from betraying his comrades. Instead, desperate pleas for the pain to stop were the only thing Danzou heard from him.

In his most hopeless moments hallucinations started to appear. He saw Minato-sensei, Rin and Obito, sometimes he saw his father. But most of the images that his unhinged mind conjured were of his wife, Hinata. He didn't know how, but somehow those visions helped him go through the torture without losing his mind.

Now, after many hours since his suffering, Kakashi's mind calmed enough. Nobody was eating his flesh and no fire was under his skin. For the first time in many hours Kakashi relaxed.

Even now Hinata was saving him. His guardian angel; her gentle, radiant image was enough to soothe him even when the pain made nothing else seem to matter.

With those thoughts, Kakashi awaited the sunrise with a little less anxiety. Come morning, his interrogation session will begin anew.

"Danzou, we hope you are not going to execute the prisoners."

The Hokage was at his desk, for the past hour listening to his former Councilors tell him what to do. Well, not so former, apparently.

"I was under the impression that you two were retired," he said, glaring at the pair of his "old friends".

"We were," Koharu nodded, "but the circumstances all but forced us to come back."

"We have never made an official retirement announcement, so we have never actually left," Homura added.

Smug old coots. Crawling out from their hole when they fully realized that Danzou couldn't afford to antagonize them. Not when they still held a lot of influence among Konoha clans, and definitely not in such unstable times. It was clear that the two were waiting for this moment to return and begin hindering him once again like they used to before Kakashi made them "retire". Damn that Kakashi and his scheming!

"Other Hidden Villages are condemning Konoha's actions and also urging the rebel prisoners to be treated fairly," meanwhile, councilman Homura continued.

"I'm sure you know that even the daimyō's court is starting to get interested," supplied Koharu.

Sometimes Danzou was unnerved by the ability of these two to perfectly end each other's words. They were right, however. Konoha was being pressured from all sides to follow their newly signed conventions and treat its prisoners humanely.

Damn all of them. It is always after a war that Hidden Villages start to cooperate and make agreements. Had there been no war, Konoha wouldn't have been forced to treat with other villages.

"I have to agree with you, my dear old friends," he conceded, turning away from the two to look in the window of his office. "Do not worry, no one will be executed. In fact, most of the rebels were released under a house arrest."

Their Hokage was in no mood to continue this discussion. Getting their clue, the Councilors proceeded to leave.

"Oh, and if you are planning our assassination, please wait until the situation in the village is stabilized. We'd like to die knowing that Konoha is safe and prospering."

Danzou rolled his eyes as the doors closed behind his former teammates. Koharu always had a snappy tongue, but she had nothing to worry about. The two of them were the least of Danzou's problems right now.

Unfortunately for him, the vast majority of rebels were members of powerful clans. Those ancient clans possessed unique skills and vast knowledge in their respective specialties for Danzou to simply dispose of them. Killing off the Nara, Inuzuka, Yamanaka and the likes would greatly weaken Konoha and make it ripe for the taking by the enemies. So, as much as he wanted to get rid of those traitors, he couldn't. Instead, Danzou opted to gradually replace their leaders with people loyal to him. That would ensure their obedience and allow Konoha to use their strength. He has already begun the process with the Hyuga clan, the most powerful noble family in the village.

Oppressed by the main house, the branch family was quick to side with Danzou. He gave them freedom, and they gave him Konoha in return. All of the main house members who could use the curse mark were either eliminated or imprisoned, allowing the branch house to take over with no fear of retribution. They didn't allow Danzou to take Hiashi, though. Something to do with clan honor and whatnot. The former Head of the Hyuga clan was under a house arrest in the Hyuga mansion. Personally, he would've killed Hiashi straight away, but either way, Danzou didn't care what happened to the man.

"No matter," the Hokage muttered, still looking out the wide window at the landscape of night Konoha.

He knew by heart where anything of importance was in his village. He could pick any clan compound out from the map blindfolded. Traitor or no traitor, he knew the value of every noble clan in Konoha. Their value being the power they provided. It seemed, however, that many of those clans did not realize that simple fact.

Naïve little fools. They did not believe in power and they clearly did not believe in their own Hokage!

He spent his whole life building the village up, protecting it from enemies all around, and that was the gratitude he gets? The most powerful clans in the Leaf were being led by children. No wonder they betrayed him. Those perishers couldn't possibly understand people like him. They were not even born when it was kill or be killed; were not there when Danzou had to fight people twice his size and age with his bare hands until those very hands gave out. When the hands gave out he fought with his legs, and when those gave out he used his teeth. By the end of it all, if you survived, you came stronger than before. Better. This is the reality of being shinobi. And if those snotty brats didn't understand that then he had no remorse in getting rid of them.

Feeling that he was starting to get worked up, Danzou made a few deep breaths to calm himself.

"No matter," he spoke again, quieter. His ruminations were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Enter," Danzou said, turning around in his chair to meet his Root operative. Finally, the real reason he was still in his office in the middle of the night. "Report."

"Hokage-sama, we were successful in locating and retrieving the target," he said after bowing to his master.

With those words, a new figure stepped inside the office. Despite their shaky gait and strained voice, they exuded a powerful aura on par with a Kage level shinobi.

"So, I am a target now?" the figure spoke mockingly, seemingly unbothered by the fact that they could barely stand. "You know, I was pretty surprised to discover that all my hideouts are a wreck, and there are no replacement bodies left for me. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was you who destroyed them," the figure, who turned out to be a pale skinned man with long dark hair, gave a sinister grin to the Hokage at the desk before him.

Of course, it was Danzou who ordered all the hideouts destroyed, and both men knew that. With no replacement bodies, his "guest" now will have to accept Leaf's offer of alliance if he wanted to live.

"Welcome back to Konohagakure, Orochimaru."

Danzou couldn't help but return the smile. If he had no allies within his own village, then he will find allies outside of it.