Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage, leaned back in his chair and stared at the Kumo Jonin in front of him.
A week ago, Kumo had sent an envoy to finalize a new treaty between their villages. Two nights later, the main negotiator attempted to kidnap three year old Heiress Hinata Hyuga. He paid for that mistake with his life when the girls father intercepted him. That night, the rest of the Kumo contingent was arrested and held for questioning, the only thing that saved their lives was the fact that they were a diplomatic envoy and they were trying to broker peace between their villages.
He hadn't known how much they did or did not know about the now-dead-man's other mission, or whether he was even acting on orders or not.
After determining that they'd known nothing, he'd reluctantly let them go with a message to their Kage and the body of their companion.
Two days later, Kumo sent another group, this one full of Elite Jonin. They came demanding the head of the one who solicited an unprovoked attack on the man in charge of the diplomatic team, and new sanctions in Kumo's favor in the treaty.
"Your man was killed by the Head of the Hyuga clan, caught kidnapping a child of the clan, the clan heiress at that. The rest of your diplomats were questioned, found to have no knowledge of his actions, and were released to return home. You should be grateful I have not declared this an action of war, and that Hiashi Hyuga has graciously decided to not take further action himself." the Hokage snorted, glaring balefully.
"So this Hiashi Hyuga says." The Jonin said derisively.
"The investigating ANBU and Uchiha concurred with Hiashi's statement." The Hokage said dryly. Even all the way in Kumo, the rivalry between the Hyuga and Uchiha was legendary, the Uchiha would never lie for the Hyuga, not even as a matter of village loyalty against another village.
"Regardless, we will have the head of the one who killed him, or it will mean war!" The Jonin finally said boldly after a moment of silent and quick hand signals with the rest of his party. "Regardless of what you claim him to have done, he came here in good faith to negotiate a treaty. That good faith was shattered when one of your ninja killed him."
The Hokage narrowed his eyes, wondering what the Raikage was playing at. He had no doubt that the kidnapping was approved, if not ordered outright, by the Raikage. The kidnapper was caught and summarily dealt with, as was proper. Hiashi acted in the defense of his home and family, at the time of the attack he had not known who it was that was taking his daughter. It was not until they got some better light into the area that anybody realized what kind of situation they were in. But for the Raikage to be pushing it like this... this wasn't like him at all.
His agent was caught and dealt with. That should have been the end of it. So why was he pushing it?
Konoha was in no shape for a war, this was true. Perhaps if the Kyuubi attack had not happened, it might be a different story. But that attack, combined with the loss of both Minato and Kushina, as well as a great deal of their forces, had decimated the village that was already struggling to recover from the end of the latest war. But Kumo was in no shape to fight a war, either.
True, Kumo was in slightly better shape then they were, financially and manpower-wise. They had not had a giant demon fox attack, losing their Kage in the process. Not even that, they lost their trained Jinchuuriki in favor of an infant Jinchuuriki. It would be years before Naruto was old enough, or skilled enough, to even begin to train in using the fox's Chakra. Kumo, on the other hand, still had their two fully trained, war veteran Jinchuuriki.
But Kumo had also come out of the war in far worse shape than Konoha had. If it hadn't been for the Kyuubi...
Neither village was in any position to go to war. Neither village had the resources or manpower. And they both knew it.
Hiruzen knew that Kumo could not truly back up their threats of war, just as they knew he couldn't truly back up his own threats of escalated retaliation for this attack on one of their prominent clans.
More than that, the Raikage was usually more... pragmatic then this. He understood how this game of ninja was played. His agent was caught. To keep pushing it like this was practically an admission of guilt. All he had to do was accept what happened, disavow his agents actions, and that would have been the end of the matter.
Could they really be this desperate to get their hands on the Byakugan? It was possible, they were calling for Hiashi's head. As the Head of the Clan, and therefore a member of the Main Branch, Hiashi did not have the Caged-Bird Seal protecting his Byakugan from being harvested upon his death. Which was something they would have known, even if the exact details of the divide among the Hyuga clan weren't well-known outside of Konoha.
"I am not handing anybody over to you. Certainly not a father whose only 'crime' is defending his family. Get out of my sight." He ordered, and signaled his ANBU to make sure they reached the nation borders without detour. Then he sat back, deep in thought.
"Summon Hiashi Hyuga." He finally ordered his assistant, who nodded and left.
"Lord Hokage?" The Hyuga greeted his leader as he entered the office. "You asked to see me?" He asked stiffly. He did not know what it was about, but given the rumors of a squad of Kumo Jonin arriving for a meeting with the Hokage, he could guess.
"Yes. Kumo is demanding your head for your actions in stopping the kidnapping." The Hokage revealed carefully. "They threaten war if they do not have it... I have called their bluff." He said bluntly.
Hiashi stared at him, shocked. Hiruzen mentally patted himself on the back for being able to break through the Hyuga calm. "Lord Hokage? How can you be sure it is not a bluff?" He demanded after a moment. "Konoha is in no shape-"
"Neither is Kumo." Hiruzen interrupted.
"You still risk much in refusing them." Hiashi said quietly. All he could think about was his shy little girl growing up in a war-zone, as he and his brother had. Of Neji being pushed through the Academy and forced onto the battlefield before he was ready. He was almost old enough to start the Academy now, and that was with the Hokage pushing back the minimum age requirement just this year.
"It is a calculated risk." Hiruzen sighed. "Nevertheless, we will not be giving into their demands and offering up one of our citizens as sacrificial pawns. Truthfully, I do not know what he is thinking, pushing the matter as he is." He shook his head as he admitted this.
"They want the Byakugan." Hiashi stated the fact.
"Yes. But surely it would have been easier..." Hiruzen trailed off, shaking his head. "Never mind. You know the risks better than I." He sighed. "I am assigning an ANBU squad to protect the Hyuga, just in case they try again. It would be foolish of them to do so. However, they have already shown themselves to be so foolish."
"My clan does not need-" Hiashi stated hotly, spine stiffening impossibly further. They had been lax before, secure in their own homes within the Village. They would not be so lax in the future.
"All the Kekkei Genkai clans are receiving a protective detail until we can be sure Kumo will not try again." Hiruzen interrupted him again. "I do, however, ask that you not say anything to the others, I will speak with them about it at the meeting later today. Now, why don't you return to your family?" He suggested, and Hiashi took it for the dismissal it was.
He bowed stiffly, and left, meeting his brother outside the Tower. Since the kidnapping attempt, his younger (by five minutes!) brother had refused to let him leave the compound without him, only barely refraining from locking him in his room with a security detail outside the door like he had with Hinata, Neji, and Hitomi. He'd barely refrained from following his brother into the Tower filled with loyal Konoha shinobi and ANBU as it was.
"Well?" He asked, hiding his anxiety behind the typical Hyuga mask.
"Kumo threatens war if they do not receive my head. The Hokage has refused to meet their demands." Hiashi informed his brother as they started walking back home.
"He would risk further war for one man?" Hizashi demanded, shocked.
"He believes they are bluffing." Hiashi said quietly.
"But if they are not, Neji is almost old enough for the Academy, he-"
"I know, brother." The Twins shared a look before they continued towards their home in silence.
"Let's get started." Hiruzen swept into the meeting room, a quick glance revealing all the clan heads to be there.
"Lord Hokage, care to explain the increased ANBU presence watching my compound?" The Uchiha Head asked, icy.
"Yes, what is with the ANBU?" Tsume asked, although she gave the Uchiha a strange look. The Inuzuka did not have a detail, but some of the other clan heads did.
"I will get to- increased presence?" The Hokage cut himself off with a blink, looking at the Uchiha incredulously. What was he talking about, increased presence? "I never ordered ANBU around any of the clan compounds until today!" How did he not know about this sooner?
"Ever since the Kyuubi attack, my clan has been watched by blank-masked ANBU. They follow our children to and from the Academy and training grounds, they follow our police officers on patrol. They follow our women and elderly when out on errands. The only thing they do not do is come into the compound and spy on us inside our own homes, and even then we have found listening seals inside places of importance or gathering, including my own office and home." The anger was clear in his voice.
"There have also been whispers blaming the Uchiha for the Kyuubi attack." Shibi Aburame reminded the room.
"Those whispers are nonsense, and you know it." Shikaku Nara scoffed, rolling his eyes and leaning back, deep in thought.
That being said, he was one of the few who knew about the Uchiha that was responsible for the attack. But all the Uchiha in the village were accounted for leading up to the attack, during, and after. By all accounts, the Uchiha responsible was rogue. They had a small list of suspects, mostly clansmen that were presumed dead on missions, but their bodies had never been recovered for some reason or other. He did not, however, blame the clan for one rogue element. The Uchiha were not the first, and would not be the last, clan to have a member turn on the village.
"Blank masks." The Hokage muttered to himself, filled with sorrow. He'd suspected that Danzo did not really shut down his Root division, but he'd never had proof before now. But to then be using them to spy on their most prominent clan, one of the Founding Clans, at that... With a flare of Chakra, he activated a seal that searched for and destroyed any other seal in the room, and activated another that put up a privacy barrier. Minato's own work. "Apologies." He sighed when the Clan Heads reared back in alarm or cursed when the sealing scrolls or other sealed tags in their pockets burst into flame. Disturbingly, several of them were stitched into the hem of the Uchiha's robes. He turned to the irate clan head. "You have permission to detain these blank-masked imposters. Inoichi, I trust that you will get answers?" He turned to the interrogator.
"Of course." Inoichi agreed.
"I hope you intend to pay for those scrolls." Tsume grumbled, trying to organize the mess of meat and dry dog food that had been tucked away in a sealing scroll in her weapons pouch.
"I will send an ANBU to retrieve new ones before we leave." Hiruzen assured her, watching in amusement as her canine companion managed to filch some of the meat while she wasn't looking. Choza merely looked at the pile of snacks and food-pill containers beside him in dismay. He'd had them all organized by 'type', now he was going to have to deal with that again. A few others grumbled while they tried to get the suddenly tangled wires sorted out or sorted through the piles of weapons to find theirs, versus everyone else's in the pile.
"You count yourself lucky I didn't have one of my sap scrolls on me." Somebody muttered sourly.
"Or my summoning scroll."
"I apologize for the lack of warning." Hiruzen sighed, and gave them another few minutes to reorganize themselves and stack their things against the wall.
"Now. As you all know, five days ago the head of the Kumo diplomatic team was killed in the attempted kidnapping of Hinata Hyuga. Investigation cleared the rest of the team of any knowledge or involvement in his actions, and they were released to prevent further incident."
"That guy got off easy, if you ask me." Inoichi muttered, trying not to think of what he would have done in Hiashi's place. "Oh, I wouldn't have killed him. There wouldn't have even been a mark on him." He grinned sharply.
"Oh, there wouldn't have even been a body." Shikaku revealed darkly. The rest of the room gave him strange looks, while his teammates subtly moved away from him, knowing exactly what he was talking about. They were the only two in the entire room that knew just what a Nara was capable of with shadows. That Kumo nin would have been sucked into the shadows to live the rest of his life in eternal torment, never to be seen again. That was if the Nara head was feeling generous.
The rest of the clan heads with children made similar promises of what they would have done if it had been one of their children targeted. Needless to say, nobody blamed Hiashi in the slightest for his actions.
"I feel sorry for any girl or boyfriends your kids bring home." The sole childless clan head muttered to himself.
"That's never going to happen!" Hiashi and Inoichi barked at once, glaring at him. He shuddered and raised his hand in surrender. The thought of their little girls bringing home a boyfriend... they shuddered at the thought of their babies liking somebody like that. Hiruzen snorted in amusement, but didn't say anything. He remembered the arguments with his daughter after the fourth or fifth boyfriend that he chased off. It wasn't even because he was the Hokage, either. Finally, he got the meeting back on track.
"Earlier this morning, a team of Kumo Jonin arrived, demanding Hiashi's head in payment for killing their diplomat. They threatened war if they did not get what they want." The Hokage revealed grimly.
"What?" A few questioned quietly, glancing at Hiashi and wondering if this was the last time they were seeing their fellow Konoha nin and clan head. After all, one life wasn't worth risking another war, right?
"I have refused their demands." Hiruzen said, voice as hard as steel. His Shinobi collectively sat up straighter as the kindly Professor was replaced by the hardened warrior Hokage.
"You think they're bluffing." Shikaku stated, matter-of-factly, mind turning with dozens of strategies and theories about why Kumo was pushing the issue.
"I do." Hiruzen said firmly. "Konoha is in no shape to go to war, this is true. Neither, however, is Kumo. What concerns me most, however, is how the Raikage is pushing the issue like this. Instead of disavowing the kidnapper, they are trying to completely pin the blame on Hiashi, and are trying to instead gain the Byakugan through him now that they failed to get his daughter, or another unsealed child."
"Hence the ANBU presence around the clan compounds who have a Kekkei Genkai." Tsume observed. The Inuzuka compound didn't have an ANBU presence around it, but the only thing they had that could be considered a Kekkei Genkai was their heightened senses. Otherwise their relationship with their dogs was the only thing that really made them special, especially since heightened senses could be trained to an extent.
"You're afraid that the Raikage is going to try again, possibly with another clan while we're focused on the Hyuga." Choza muttered, displaying that Shikaku wasn't the only strategic one of the group.
"Unfortunately I do not have enough ANBU available to cover every clan with a detail, or to provide more then one squad per clan." The Hokage informed the group apologetically. "All clansmen are to be on high alert when leaving the village, and are to remain vigilant when in the village. Take extra precautions with your children, even if they have not yet fully matured or activated their ability." The Hokage instructed, even though he knew it to be unnecessary, they all knew the precautions to take with their clan children and members.
"So how are we going to respond if Kumo continues pressing the issue or makes another attempt on one of our Kekkei Genkai?"
"We will respond appropriately." The Hokage said darkly.
"Inu." The Hokage instructed as he walked towards the orphanage. The ANBU silently appeared at his side, startling the civilians around them. "Prepare a room for young Naruto, we will move Naruto for his safety for now." He instructed quietly, trusting that Inu could put something together quickly, and still be nice for the boy.
With the current situation, Konoha's behavior and general dislike or even outright hatred for the boy within the village, he wouldn't put it past somebody to try and foist the 'demon brat' off on an enemy village, either hoping the demon would destroy Kumo for them, or just out of the malicious hope that Kumo would do what he, Hiruzen, refused to do.
Kill the boy.
Inu visibly perked up before nodding his agreement and vanishing again, just as the Hokage stopped outside the village orphanage.
Frowning up at the structure, he knew that Naruto was never coming back here, especially now that he finally had an excuse to remove the boy that the civilian council and the Elder's couldn't disagree with. He idly wondered how long he would be kept waiting while they retrieved the three year old from wherever they had him stashed away, out of sight and out of mind.
He feared that his random and surprise visits, along with the visits of several of his ANBU to play with the boy, were the only reason Naruto hadn't starved long ago, or been physically mistreated.
Well, he would ensure going forward that Naruto was treated as he deserved to be. He would spend some time in- hmm... He'd neglected to tell Inu just where to prepare Naruto's room. Well, he would see what the operative came up with, and then after this situation was settled he would see if Kakashi was ready to take Naruto in. The boy was older, not so much a child himself anymore. Well, he would wait and see.
And once Naruto was gone from here, he could do something about the workers here who dared mistreat him because of his prisoner. The only reason they hadn't already been dealt with was because nothing had actually happened, again due to his and his ANBU's frequent visits. They may think they had him fooled, though, but he was not stupid. Nor was Inu.
"He-hem." He cleared his throat when he entered the building. The lady at the front desk glanced up briefly, already pointing to a line of chairs for them to sit and wait while she finished whatever it was she was doing.
She froze. "Lord Hokage! We weren't expecting you today!" She greeted loudly, loud enough that the person in the next room heard her and quickly scurried off, no doubt to find Naruto and get him cleaned up and into a nicer change of clothes for the Hokage's visit.
Hiruzen nodded to the hidden ANBU behind him, who quickly followed her to find the boy and retrieve what little belongings Naruto owned, all of them gifts from the Hokage and different ANBU that had come to like the cheerful baby. Because they were gifts from the Hokage and ANBU, the workers here didn't dare take them away and re-gift them to the other children, nor did they allow the other orphans to steal them from Naruto, regardless of how else they allowed the other children to treat the young boy. They'd learned better after the first time Crow gave Naruto something and came back later to find it in the ownership of another baby.
They tried to pass it off as sharing toys among the children so that they didn't feel left out.
Ok, fine.
Except that it was only Naruto's toys they were 'sharing' around. Needless to say, Crow had not been happy, and made it known. Especially when the ANBU made it a point on his next visit to bring something for all the children, and Naruto's gift was still taken from him.
"I have made other arrangements for Naruto's care." The Hokage informed the Orphanage Matron when she came out of her office to speak with him.
"Oh? That's... wonderful. I'm sure the boy will... be happy with-" She started to say, trying to pretend to be happy for the boy in question instead of relieved to have him gone.
"Do not pretend that you even marginally like him." The Hokage rebuked, icy. "Do not think you have had me fooled or blind to the poor treatment the boy received in your care. Admit it, the only reason he was not starved or beaten was because myself and my Shinobi came by to see him often." He glared and released his killing intent, careful to only direct it at the targets of his fury and not the children. The children had only acted as they were encouraged to by the adults in their life, after all. He would see that somebody else took charge that would teach them otherwise.
She stopped and her jaw worked up and down as she trembled. Before she could work up the courage to say anything, though, Sloth came back with Naruto in one hand and a small bag in the other. The toddler babbled away happily to one of his favorite playmates, most of the words were even
recognizable, thankfully.
"Gramps!" The boy cheered when he saw him.
"Hello, Naruto." He smiled warmly, his KI disappearing from the room when Naruto appeared. Reaching out, he took Naruto from a reluctant Sloth and settled the boy on his hip. He found it highly amusing that most of his elite, highly trained killers and assassins were wrapped around the little boys finger the way they were, but he didn't say anything for fear of making some of them draw back into their shells. "How are you today?" He asked, and was treated to some of the same babble Sloth had already been greeted with.
He spared the Matron one last glare before leaving, passing Ibiki and Inoichi on his way out. They would handle it from here. He had a little boy to settle in.
... Right after he figured out exactly where Inu decided to house the boy in lieu of proper orders on the matter.
One never could tell what that one was thinking sometimes.
"Lord Hokage, are you certain of this? Surely it would be better to-" One of the civilian councilors started to say, glaring slightly at the Hyuga Clan Head.
"I am certain." The Hokage said sternly, frowning at her. "We will not be sacrificing one of our own for what I am quite sure is a bluff. We will not give in to childish demands. His man was caught and dealt with. This posturing now is the act of a child not getting his way." He held up his hand and burned the scroll he was holding to ash.
It was yet another demand from the Raikage to hand over the one responsible for the death of his diplomat or they would go to war. This one promised to be their final warning.
He'd already doubled the patrol on the border, ensuring that somebody was there who would be able to get a message to the village quickly. The clans were still being guarded, and the watch on the walls had also been doubled.
They were ready for anything Kumo might pull... short of Kumo sending the eight-tailed host after them, of course.
Just in case, though, he'd already called Jiraiya back to the village. He and young Kakashi might be the only ones who could fend off Killer B, especially if he was busy elsewhere.
In fact, he had more important matters to deal with now than pandering to the civilian council. He still didn't know why they'd called this meeting of the council. They had no authority over the Shinobi, and therefore absolutely no authority over this situation. No, he had more important things to do at the moment.
Like trying to figure out what Danzo was up to with the Uchiha clan and how to deal with it.
"We're only in this mess in the first place because-" The civilian didn't finish, he was too busy choking as potent Killing Intent filled the air. From nearly every Shinobi in the room.
"I dare you to look me in the eye and tell me you would not have done the same if somebody had tried to kidnap your child." Hiruzen said quietly, staring at the Civilian Councilors and making it quite clear that they were not casting blame on any one person, that nobody was at fault for the situation and the potential war on their doorstep. He'd failed to nip it in the bud when Sakumo returned from that failed mission and was blamed for starting the second war. Look what happened to Sakumo. He was not going to let it happen again.
Looking at the clan heads, he shot them a Look and they reigned in their KI before the civilians started dying from fear.
"Dismissed." He told the civilians, and they reluctantly filed out of the room, clearly wanting to stay and be part of the discussion they knew was coming, but he refused to say anything until they were gone and the seal was again activated to destroy any potential listening seals in the room before a privacy seal went up.
This time, the clan heads were prepared for the possibility and had left their various storage scrolls behind, even if they did feel half-naked without half of their gear on their person.
Hiruzen frowned. "That's the second time seals were sewn into the hems of your robes, Fugaku." He said. He knew that they hadn't been put there by the Uchiha himself because the man was clearly angry about them being there.
The Uchiha scowled at the burning threads and looked at the others. "I just purchased these clothes yesterday evening. I went over every piece in my wardrobe carefully and disposed of the ones that I found something sewn into that should not have been there. Somebody was in my home last night!" He stood and paced angrily at the thought. He was angry that they would dare trespass in his home, the home of the Uchiha Clan Head! He was angry that they dared break into the home that his wife and sons were sleeping in! He was angry that despite heightened security, somebody had still broken into his home!
"To sneak into the Uchiha compound... especially with us all on alert..." Inoichi said grimly. Then he sighed. "I attempted to get answers from the Root agents you brought me, they had a suicide seal tattooed onto their tongues. It activated automatically when we tried to initiate a mind-walk." He informed the group. "Every attempt to mind-walk before their brain completely shut down failed. Whoever they answer to did not want them talking if they were ever captured."
They all knew who they answered to.
Hiruzen hummed. "I will get Jiraiya to draw this seal for your office, at least." He promised the angry Uchiha, fingering the seal in question. He made a mental note to have Jiraiya draw it in his office, the regularity in which somebody he regularly met with had listening seals concealed upon his person by a third party was very disturbing. His office was swept regularly, of course, but perhaps it would be best to have a way to ensure there were no listening seals or bugs more often.
"Too bad I don't think that seal of yours will work on the suicide seal." Inoichi sighed. "The thing has multiple triggers that we could tell. If the host attempts to break his conditioning and give answers or speak about his boss, it will kill them. If it is tampered with in any way, it will kill them. As far as we can tell, that includes trying to remove it. If somebody attempts to get the information directly from the hosts mind, it will kill them. It can also be triggered by the host themselves through a code-word."
"Somebody did not want them to be able to talk, alright." Shikaku sighed. "What a drag!" His head thunked on the table in front of him.
"We will have to attempt to track them through other means, then." Hiruzen sighed. "In the meantime, Inoichi, have some of your clansmen combating the rumors about the Uchiha and the nine-tailed fox. And-" He was interrupted by the door bursting open.
"Lord Hokage! Kumo nin have attacked the border patrol units!" The Chunin announced urgently, leading to a skyrocketing tension in the room.
Hiruzen snorted. "He did not even give enough time for us to respond to his missive." He muttered, then looked at the Clan Heads. "Prepare your clansmen." He ordered, and swept out of the room, calling for his ANBU commander and various other people. Shikaku sighed, but hurried after him.
Inu waited patiently, watching and stretching his senses intently for any indication of his prey or whether or not his prey had friends with him that could pose a problem for Inu's trap.
The past three months had been long, and difficult since Kumo went on the attack. So far, however, Konoha seemed to be winning the little war that had been started. Hopefully his target would have the information they needed to end this and end it quickly, before things escalated further than it already had.
The only reason that the other three major Villages had yet to get involved was because they were in just as bad, if not worse shape than Konoha and Kumo were from the last war, but that could very well change at any time.
And the current fighting outside the village wasn't helping matters inside the village much either...
He resisted the urge to let his mind wander to more pleasant things, like the blonde three year old waiting back at the village...
He perked up and crouched down further when he smelled somebody coming. They didn't smell like any of his teammates, so he quietly palmed a Kunai and waited...
The last thing the Kumo Jonin saw before losing consciousness was a bone-white mask and a swirling red eye.
Ibiki Morino blinked down at the Shinobi that was laid at his feet before glancing up at the ANBU that laid him there. All that was missing was the pretty red bow sticking to the man's forehead and he would be the perfect gift for the interrogation specialist.
"Go get some rest." Ibiki finally ordered the man who'd been assigned to him for the time being.
Inu nodded and vanished from the room, not seeing one of Ibiki's minions disappear to prep their latest guest for questioning. He had somewhere else in mind to be.
When he stopped at his final destination, his mask was already off and hanging from his belt, a bounce in his step. He nodded in greeting to the ANBU standing guard before laying his hand on the seal by the door to disarm the traps before Kakashi finally entered his old family home, smiling wider when he was greeted by a chattering blonde missile and two ninken.
Come to think of it, had the Hokage even bothered to ask him where he'd placed Naruto after the boy was removed from the orphanage?