*Chapter 10*: Chapter Nine: Rendezvous

Chapter Nine: Rendezvous.

"Wait, we're doing what?" Asked Shikamaru in a voice tinged with panic.

"That note of fear in your voice tells me you already understand the mission, so there really isn't any need for me to repeat myself, is there?" Replied Anko cheerily. "Since Kakashi was tasked for an S-rank mission, leadership of this mission falls to me- although my instructions are very clear, that I am not to interfere except in the case of direct jeapordy of the mission itself or to prevent the loss of one of our three operatives." She paused for a moment. "I have to admit, it's almost unheard of to give a genin team a B-ranked mission... Especially first year rookies... So somewhere along the line you three must have really impressed someone."

Shikamaru and Sasuke shot a tired look at Naruto that bordered on outright resentment. Naruto, meanwhile, was doing his best to pretend that he didn't know Anko from before. You like to play those games? Well, I love to play games. In fact, I am a MASTER of playing games. Out loud she said, "So you're the powerhouse of this little group, Naruto chan?"

Naruto's expression was hard to read. "They're every bit as good as I am. In fact, as far as their raw skills go, they're both a lot better than me. I'm more like an explosive note- not much use unless you want something blown up, burned down, or broken. Those two are like rope and kunai- good for killing and so much more besides."

Anko nodded thoughtfully. "Interesting... you make light of your own skills. At least you aren't too likely to get yourself in over your head trying to prove something. That's good- cocky little brats like that don't tend to live long in our world. And think of all that precious, delcious blood going to waste when they go... such a tragic waste..."

"Why us?" Sasuke asked, chin resting on folded hands.

"When the village finds a good combination of team mates, they like to explore the combined talents the team has to offer, exploit their synergies., test them out on what talents they seem to excel in. For instance, Team Eight- You'll be running into them in a few days- we've discovered has a good synnergy in the art of tracking. Between the three of them, Shino, Hinata, and Kiba, they miss very little of the details in any given scene, including probable direction, any cast offs, impressions left on surroundings... all of it. As a result, Konoha has decided to attempt to slot them into an investigative and pursuit role, as a Tracking team. We'll rendezvous with them en route to our quarry- they're the ones who tracked our target to his present location and will be providing a support role in your subsequent hunt, but you three will be the main firepower in this little imbroglio."

"Okay... so why are we given the kill command?" Sasuke asked, although he seemed to already have an idea of the answer.

"Simple." Said Anko with a smile. "Like I said, somewhere on that last mission nobody is allowed to look up, you three impressed someone. You three are being tried out as an elite kill team."

"What about his subordinates?" Naruto asked. "Any instructions regarding them?"

"Whatever is necessary. No targets are considered unexpendable. This is a search and destroy mission- most basic of the assassination missions we have available. The target is in an isolated location with no civilian presence nearby to speak of, so callateral damage isn't an issue."

The three genin made no further commentary, and Anko began eyeing them in a frank and rather... discomforting fashion. After a moment, she began to- Well, walk didn't quite cover it; in fact, the closest word any of them could attach to this motion was slink- towards them, first orbitting Sasuke, then Shikamaru, and finally Naruto, before walking a short distance past them. After a second, she turned her head to look at them over her shoulder, and gave a short chuckle. "This is why I've always said every team of genin should include at least one kunoichi... Young boys like you are too easy to distract, otherwise." Her eyes are... distracting, Naruto noted absently. You could watch her move for hours. His reaction was a little stronger than the other two; primarily because he was older. Even so, his poker face remained intact, and he locked gazes with her solidly, refusing to allow himself to look any lower than her eyes.

Anko took this as a kind of challenge. "Such beautiful young boys you are!" She commented, as she slid closer to him in almost a single sinuous motion. "A buffet line... Dark and brooding, cool and relaxed, and the blond dish... bright and mysterious at the same time." By this time she'd circled around him, resting her chin on his shoulder lightly. "Like master crafted blades, you can see at first glance... both beautiful, and deadly." She leaned slightly forward and bit Naruto's ear, then licked at the blood she'd drawn.

Hmmm? She thought to herself. This blood has no taste to it...

She ducked to the side before the whirring noise reached her ears as a massive sword swept overhead. Naruto stood behind himself, a monstrous sword held firmly in two hands as he looked at her with a cocked head. "It isn't nice to bite."

Anko smiled at him, her expression more genuine than the one which she'd begun their meeting with. "Ooo, how touchy you are! I LIKE that in a guy. All three of you are going to be a LOT of fun, I can see it now." She smiled, her eyes every bit as daring and lascivious as before, completely unintimidated by Naruto's display of aggression. All three boy's nervousness was palpable in the air, as she laughed at their discomfort. "We leave tomorrow morning at dawn- so don't be late." She locked dangerous and sultry eyes on Naruto. "It wouldn't be nice." She commented as she turned and walked away.

Naruto released the clone as Shikamaru stood up, hands in his pockets as he watched her leave. "She's crazy." He said.

Naruto shook his head. "No... she's a killer." Just like me.

Team seven, complete with its new jonin, were well en route to the rendezvous point. Anko enjoyed the simple, rapid travel that shinobi teams practiced- It was easy, clean exercise, out in nature- and without even any of the monstrous creatures that inhabited her favorite haunt, the Forest of Death. All in all, it was very relaxing.

Right now, though, only part of her mind was enjoying the break from routine- the rest of it was busily considering the other members of team seven. Even cursory observation revealed that Shikamaru and Sasuke were both somewhat in Awe of Naruto- she wasn't sure if it was outright admiration, but there was a definite degree of respect. And yet, Sasuke hung a little close, as though he was ready to jump to Naruto's aid in word or action at a moment's notice.

As for Naruto, he was if anything harder to figure than before. He'd been close to the vest, quiet, and paranoid, although occasionally prone to absurd outbursts at the oddest times, before he would catch himself and go back to his quiet self after a few minutes. Now, while those traits were still present, he also seemed slightly distracted. Every so often, she would catch him holding something in his left hand, about the size and shape of a coin, looking as though he wasn't even seeing his surroundings, as he would rub his thumb along the face of it.

Anko decided to try and stir up some kind of a reaction from him. At the very least, it would be fun. "Hey, brat. Where's that sword you've been carrying around?"

"In storage." Naruto replied tersely. "I can get it if I need it."

"Ooh, I love it when you get testy. It's SO cute." Anko noticed the muscles in his jaw tense a bit. Yes! Let's push a little more. "Where did you get that ugly, clunky monstrosity, anyhow? You never had it before."

Naruto looked away. "It's a captured weapon."

"Captured from whom?" Anko pressed.

Naruto said nothing.

"Do I have to look it up?"

"That mission is classified S-rank secret." Shikamaru interjected. "I suppose you could get the information out of the Hokage, but if I were you I wouldn't really pursue it."

Anko narrowed her eyes in irritation. What kind of genin passes up the chance to talk about a captured enemy weapon? Most jonin I know would at least look a little unhappy about not being able to talk about a trophy like that thing, even if they had to keep quiet about it. They act as if it were something shameful...

There was no more conversation for the next two hours.

It took the team two days to reach the rendezvous point. Naruto scouted ahead with a Kage Bunshin that was henge'd as a breed of orange tree frog, a decision he came to after consulting with Anko as to a form that a predator would ignore, avoid, or not notice. They'd decided on this breed since, while they were uncommon, they were indigenous to the area, highly poisonous, and readily visible once you knew what to look for.

The area was well secured. Snares, tripwires, traps, and explosive notes were layered in various angles in complete circumference around the camp. As far as Naruto could tell, nothing larger than a rabbit could approach the site without setting any off.

Of course, at the moment Naruto was not larger than a rabbit. To the contrary, he was actually a good bit smaller.

From high in the tree branches, Naruto looked down at the four sleeping ninja in the secluded clearing. Scratch that; three ninja and a bunshin. The fourth one was up in the branches only about a tree or so away.

Naruto thought over the Genjutsu Anko had used to show him team eight's genin and their jonin instructor. The one in the tree looked to be Yuuhi Kurenai. Anko had also briefed him in the henge as to all of their known abilities and Kekkei Genkai of Hyuuga Hinata. Naruto knew about the Byakugan, of course- and he was grateful that she was not the one on watch, as his chakra would have been readily visible to her had she been using it. Sneaking up on a Byakugan user was decidedly risky.

Of course, Naruto reflected to himself as the clone froze to the light touch of a kunai to the top of its amphibious head, so is attempting to sneak up on a jonin. The frog shaped clone carefully opened its mouth and revealed a small scroll gripped by its tongue. The frog bunshin released as Kurenai took the scroll.

Seems the strike team is here. Kurenai thought to herself. Funny- I'd heard that Jiraiya Sannin was the only one to summon frogs anymore. Perhaps he's taken on a new apprentice amongst the chuunins.

She carefully began disarming specific traps in a pattern dictated to the Jonin this week before she'd left the village.

The middle of the night is not the best time to arrange a quick briefing meeting between two separate combat teams in the midst of a mission. None-the-less, the eight shinobi made do fairly well.

After the briefing, as the two teams were winding down for the rest of the night, Kurenai gave Hinata a meaningful look. Her fingers formed words carefully out of the sight of the others.

-Do you remember your mission?-

-I do.- Came Hinata's reply. Her eyes flicked in the direction of Naruto as he was unrolling his bedroll.

-When do you intend fulfill?-

-Return trip. Must not distract from current mission, may endanger if perform now.-

They both nodded. Hinata's eyes drifted towards Naruto once more, before she gave a little sigh and closed her eyes.

Neither of them realized that Naruto was high above them in the trees, watching the group as well as the surrounding area.

So in the end they even convinced a nice girl like you, Naruto thought with a small stab of disappointment. I suppose I should be flattered they chose a Hyuuga for this. And you're right, Hyuuga san, the mission must be completed first.

Naruto looked up through the tree tops at the stars beyond. Tomorrow, sometime, he would likely be fighting and killing to complete a mission, to kill a bandit king, and sometime on the way back to the village, he'd likely be fighting for his life as well.

He resolved not to kill Hinata, or even seriously injure her if he could help it. She was under orders, after all, and she'd always been a nice girl to him before he'd graduated. She didn't deserve that kind of fate simply because she had to follow orders.

Sunlight peeked between leaves and tree trunks alike as the sun rose. Naruto stretched, rubbing out a kink in his back before using Kawarimi no jutsu to get back to the ground where his clone had been. He released the clone that was now in the tree and got out of the bedroll, packing it up, as the others began stirring awake.

It's amazing the difference being fifteen feet up in the air makes. Wakes me in time that I can be packed up before anyone realizes it wasn't me down here.

Kurenai watched from the corner of her almost entirely closed eye, as the rest of her team began to wake up. Kakashi wasn't exaggerating when he said that Naruto never let's his guard down, even asleep.

Another thought occurred to her. If he was up there even last night, then he might have seen Hinata and I signing to one another. She considered this for a while, as well as everything she'd been briefed on by Kakashi and the Sandaime Hokage flashed through her min. Naruto's tendency to wake on the attack could be harmful or fatal to Hinata. He's strung tighter than a bow string and getting more tense every day. By all rights this mission is far too dangerous for her to attempt... but I chose this mission as much for her good as for his. At the very least it would get her obsession with him out of her system, and with any luck it would help curb her shyness. At best it might even turn into a stable relationship.

But if I get the Hyuuga heiress killed, Hiashi would likely demand my head... and get it.

Kurenai frowned, getting up out of her bedroll. I have to err on the side of caution.

Naruto made several seals, staring at an open scroll, before summoning a sword from it. The weapon wasn't just large, it was enormous, especially in comparison to his short frame.

Well balanced, though. Thought Kurenai, as she watched Naruto handle it. Balance point less than two inches from the tsuba. Incredible for a weapon that size- and the balance point past the guard makes it fantastic for delivering an unstoppable impact, yet balanced enough to maneuver in a duel.

Kurenai's eyes narrowed as she went about her business of packing up her gear. That weapon looked very familiaralthough for the life of her she couldn't say exactly why. She'd never seen it in any of the local weapon shops, although a blade like that would be an extremely expensive display piece, with its balance and craftsmanship. By the grace and craftsmanship of the weapon, it could have been a Koemi weapon, perhaps even made by old Temetatsu himself. Suddenly she recalled yesterday's post meeting conversation with Anko.

Flashback

"Anko... I was informed when we took this mission that we'd be receiving a chuunin kill team after we'd tracked down 'Mokujin' Roshi." Said Kurenai softly. "Why did Konoha send a genin team?"

Anko smiled. "Your guess is as good as mine as to how, Yuuhi-chan... But it seems somewhere along the line those three impressed the Hokage and the Council. They're being trained as a primary kill team."

Kurenai was startled. "What could they have done to convince the Hokage to make their first kill team mission a Brank?" She asked in a choked voice.

"Ah, that's the question, isn't it?" Anko said lightly. "Not only is their report from their last mission sealed, but everything about it as well- client, destination, even duration. We're not allowed to look up ANYTHING, except that the mission was classified as C-rank."

End Flashback

Kurenai's eyes flashed. I know where I've seen that weapon!

Almost in a rush she opened up the side pouch on her pack, grabbing her blue Bingo Book. Flipping through the pages, she found the section detailing Nukenin.

Mizugakure... There. Mamochi Zabuza, A-class missing nin... known jutsus, suiton based... foremer member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist... signature weapon, Kubikiri Houcho! OH MY KAMI SAMA NARUTO HAS MAMOCHI ZABUZA'S SWORD!

Her eyes widened as she looked from the picture in the bingo book to Naruto, where he sat carefully inspecting, honing, and oiling the legendary blade. He looked up, feeling her eyes on him, and realized she recognized the weapon. Her most burning question must must have shown in her eyes, as he looked nervously around to be sure the genin of team eight weren't watching before flickering his finger message at her: -Yes it is.-

Kurenai felt her world spin for a second, and she had to steady herself against the nearest tree. The Seven Swordsmen were as famous for their weapons as for their deeds. None of them would reliquish their weapon willingly; the only way to take it would be in death.

That means, somehow, in their last mission, team seven came up against Mamochi Zabuza... and Naruto killed him! No wonder they assigned team seven to a B-rank kill mission- they wanted to assess them all! And that means with the chuunin exams coming up...

Kurenai gave Naruto a measuring look. They want him ready to kill again. At some point during the chuunin exams, he's going to receive a mission to kill a participant from another village.

But it likely hinges on seeing how good he really is- this mission is to test to see if it was a fluke or luck, or if he- if THEY- are truly as good as the result of their clash with Mamochi Zabuza would seem to indicate. Is he truly deadly enough to have killed the Demon of Kirigakure?

Kurenai turned to face the other jonin. "Anko sensei." Kurenai said. "If I could have a moment of your time."

"Yeah? What's up, Yuuhi chan?" Anko replied, hauling her bag over her shoulder before walking over to see Kurenai.

"I think..." Kurenai began, "That I know why team seven is being sent on this mission... and also I think I know why their last mission was sealed." Kurenai pointed at the listing in the Bingo Book, then pointed at Naruto. "Do you recognize that sword?"

Anko's eyes widened as she looked from the page. "No way!" She said quietly. "You mean... Of course! It makes sense, everything! The captured shinobi, the sword, everything!"

"Captured shinobi?" Kurenai asked.

"Oh yeah, that's right, you weren't in the village long enough to see him after the ANBU released him- team seven came back from that mission with a Shinobi hunter from Kirigakure. And the way he was acting, he was apparently Naruto's vassal now- I knew I'd heard the name Mamochi before, but I couldn't think where! Mamochi Haku, that was his nameNaruto killed Zabuza, and captured Zabuza's son!"

The two kunoichi fixed Naruto with a pair of cautious stares. "If the other two are anything close to him, we might be looking at the formation of a new Sannin." Said Kurenai in a voice tinged with wonder.

Anko nodded her head. "The one with the loose, dark hair is Uchiha Sasuke and was top of his class, and the other is Nara Shikamaru. By all reports he's the smartest of his generation. I'd say it's not only possible, but highly likely."

Kurenai shook her head in amazement. "I can't wait to see how this mission turns out- I have a feeling those three will be something to watch."

The teams had reached the site of the bandit king's stronghold by late afternoon. It was a wooden palisade. Near the top of each wall there was an interior walkwalkway, providing a four foot high wall behind which archers could crouch. The walkway was patrolled by thirty or so guards. Within the walls near the center of the camp were four roughly constructed towers, angled so that each wall had line of sight to three of them. Archers were posted at the top of these as well. All together, it was a fairly well considered layout.

"They have all their angles covered, don't they?" Murmured Sasuke.

"Hey, wait!" Said Naruto indignantly. "I thought this guy was just a bandit! Since when do bandits have hideouts like this?

Why's he that organized?"

Anko sighed in frustration. "Well, duh, kid, that's why he's called a bandit king! Just a gang of bandits hiding out in a cave somewhere wouldn't be a B-rank mission, you know! A bandit king is actually dangerous, to a point."

Kurenai nodded, although her explanation was more patient. "See how they've cleared out all the underbrush and filled in the surface of the ground around the fort? It gives them a clear line of sight for at least two hundred yards in all directions. All of the men in the central towers are carrying longbows, and they appear to know how to use them, by their stances. The men on the walls not only carry their spears like professionals, but each of them is also carrying a short bow as well. They're disciplined as any soldier- this kind of coordination and training in his subordinates is why he's called a bandit king. And 'Mokujin' Roshi is by all reputation a very dangerous foe himself. This is the reason the local daimyo called on the services of Konoha." Kurenai looked over at Anko. "You're in charge of the kill team; what's the plan?"

Anko shrugged. "No clue. I'm only here to supervise and support in case of catastrophe. According to the Hokage's instructions, this is their show." She looked over at Naruto.

"Don't look at me." Naruto said, throwing his hands up. "I just break things- I'm not the strategist here." He and Sasuke both looked over at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru looked around at the other seven whose eyes were all fixed on him. "Nobody for me to pass the buck to?" He asked. "How troublesome." He paused for a second, looking over the fort. "Hmmm. Well, right now I don't have enough information, so everyone lay out the tools you've brought along with you. I need to know what resources we have to work with."

The genin began laying out their gear. Anko and Kurenai exchanged a short nod of approval. Out of all team seven, Shikamaru showed most the mentality that was required of a chuunin. Should team seven participate in the chuunin exams this year, he'd almost certainly make his promotion.

Shikamaru requested a more thorough overview on the abilities of each of the genin of team eight. After a forty-five minute briefing and demonstration of each of their abilities, Shikamaru sat down and began meditating. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a grin- after one of these think sessions, Shikamaru was usually at his finest. Given time to prepare, not even Naruto could count on winning against him.

Shikamaru opened his eyes. "I'm sorry, Anko sensei, Kurenai sensei, but as the teams are we would be unnecessarily hampered. I would like a quick reorganization of the teams." At their nod of assent, Shikamaru went on. He looked around at the group, than drew in the dirt a rough layout based on what they could see from the outside.

"As it stands, of the genin present we have two long range types- Shino and Sasuke- and four short range and melee types. Since all of the enemy are carrying bows, we don't want to expose ourselves to their fire if we can at all help it." Shikamaru nodded out to the open field between the tree line and the fortifications. "Those darkened marks on the ground indicate where they typically burn bonfires at night so as to make approaching attackers visible at night. If I make my guess they'll start assembling the bonfires about half an hour before sunset. Therefore, the most effective time for us to strike would be at dawn or right before, where the lighting conditions are hardest for human eyes to adjust to, and the bonfires have all burned down to embers. Additionally, should fighting break out, the rising sun will make my shadow manipulations most effective and give them their longest range."

Shikamaru pointed to the four squares near the middle of his drawn diagram. "These towers are placed near the center of the complex to provide easy line of sight to the surrounding fields and enhance the defensive capacity of the walls by allowing the archers to thin out an attacking force as it comes in. But the one thing the designers were not counting on was this." Shikamaru drew a dotted line around the drawn walls on the ground. "The cover those walls provide to the patrollers on the top creates a blindspot that they can't see into from any tower or any point on the walls. Ordinarily the bonfires and the wide open area would make this a null point, but at dawn we can degrade the effectiveness of their eyesight the best."

Sasuke drew a question mark on the interior of the walls. "We don't know how many buildings they have inside. I suspect, however, the largest one will be where Roshi is staying. It will be either a spreadout one story building, or a two story building. Any higher than two stories and we could see it from here. More on this later."

Shikamaru pointed to each ninja as he spoke. "My proposed arrangement is the first team, with Anko sensei supervising, be myself, Naruto, and Hyuuga Hinata. Hinata's byakugan is well developed and will allow us to scout out the interior layout more effectively. Her skill as a close range fighter with her jyuuken may also aid us greatly should we get into a lot of close quarters fighting. Naruto's clones can provide us flank security in our assault, and at close ranges his sword as nearly unstoppable. I can provide them both medium range support with my shadow jutsus and while present can adjust the invasion plan as needed."

"The second team with Kurenai sensei will naturally be Sasuke, Shino, and Kiba. Kiba and Akamaru are fast and can get in close to the enemy to do a great deal of damage... But I want them in the second team for a different reason. Sasuke and Shino will be supporting from long range with ninjutsu once the guards become aware of our presence. They can divide the attention of the guards outside who will be responding to the attack on the inside. Extend yourselves to maximum range- Sasuke, I want you to burn the walls with Gaton jutsus. Shino, your job will be to assault the archers in the towers with your insects- but until the attack is launched keep your insects in the air and dispersed as much as you can safely manage so that the guards inside the walls can't see them. Between the two of you, Shino, I want you attacking first. Sasuke, once the archers are engaged, then you burn the walls. The signal for the attack will be the guards on the walls running off the walls. When that happens, wait fifteen seconds exactly then begin your assault. By that time all of the guards should be distracted enough that when the attack occurs, they'll be indecisive as to where they should go. This will reduce their effectiveness by seventy five percent, if I guess correctly, and increase the amount of time before the main building gets reinforcements by about a minute and a half."

"Wait, why am I with those two again?" Kiba asked.

Shikamaru nodded. "You and Akamaru can provide flank security for Sasuke and Shino wqith one of you watching each side. You're strong enough in close that you can hold back the enemy until Shino or Sasuke can support you and finish them off. Additionally," He added, looking at the red eyed jonin, "Since the support team will be weakest from behind, I ask that Kurenai sensei maintain watch there. As a jonin, you will be more than a match for anything we should run across in this assignment."

Shikamaru rubbed his eyes a second before going on. "Just before sunrise, we will make our way henge'd across the field as tarantulas. Our size, coloration, and the lighting conditions should make us effectively invisible for the time it takes us to cross. Once we are there, Hinata will use her byakugan at the base of the wall to locate the likeliest building and then our target's exact location inside that building. From there we will see. If he is in a one story building, or the ground floor of a two story building, I anticipate an easy mission. We can tunnel through the dirt here fairly easy. It will take us a maximum of thirty minutes, digging at a good pace, to get to wherever Roshi is located- from there, we can burst out of the ground, strike, and leave, collapsing our tunnel behind us to stop pursuit."

Shikamaru frowned. "If he is in the top floor, things will be more complicated. He has very good security outside the building protecting the complex, so he isn't likely to have guards patrolling the interior of the building, but there's no guarantee of this. We will likely have to invade the building and find and kill him as fast as we can. At which point stealth is going to go right out the window, and we will need the distraction the support team will provide."

Sasuke asked, "What if they don't take the bait to come back to the walls when we attack?"

"If they continue inside, then head to the walls. The archers in the tower will still be too busy to do anything about you, and the walls themselves will be undefended, at which point Kiba, you and Akamaru should be able to combine forces and penetrate that stockade in one attack, and can pincher the enemy between us when they are bottlenecked trying to get into the building. Their close quarters should make them easy targets for Katon jutsus, Sasuke, so you will be in charge of dealing with them at that point, while Shino harasses anyone away from their group and Kiba keeps them from getting too close."

"I only have so many insects." Shino commented.

"By the time you reach the walls, your insects should be done with the archers." Shikamaru answered. "You won't be running top speed so that you aren't winded when you reach the walls." Shikamaru waited. "Any other questions?" No-one answered. "Good. rest up- we'll attack at twenty five minutes before dawn."

End Chapter Nine

-AN: Mentioned in the reviews was a question about the jump from Kakashi's father to Jinchuuriki. Well, that part wasn't so much about Kakashi's father as it was about Danzou- Just as the information about Jinchuuriki was in a side ways fashion illustrating what made jinchuuriki so fearsome, why Naruto was different, and implying without directly saying just why Danzou should never be able to get his hands on Naruto, both pointing at Danzou's motivations and actions in the past, as well as the potential problem that could arise should Danzou get his hands on that kind of power in the present. But also the part of the scene where Kakashi and Sarutobi traded commentary in sign language kind of illustrates that much of what Sarutobi was talking about, with kakashi's assistance as the intended recipient of the information, was really being staged for Haku's benefit- that this itself was something of a power play reaction by the Hokage, recruiting a ninja to his side without ever asking or even letting the ninja know that he was in fact recruiting. It was a careful and dirty trick employed by the Sandaime Hokage. It's another demonstration that while he IS a fairly benevolent old man really interested in the good of all Konoha, or at the very least opposing someone whose actions are going to do irreparable harm to the village. But the fashion in which he approaches it says in no uncertain terms that the old man is still a ninjaand a very sneaky, underhanded sort at that, meaning that he is hedging his bets even though he doesn't know the full extent of what Danzou is planning.

Anyhow, I apologize to those of you who had some difficulty with the transition, but I work two jobs and am essentially writing this story on lunch breaks and stop lights. So if you see some dude dictating into a mini tape recorder and driving a minivan while you are driving from point a to point b, congrats. You may have run across me. I'll try and smooth out that, as well as many other things, when I get around to the rewrite after the first story arc.