I don't own Naruto.

"What do you mean, he's been imprisoned?" Kakashi bellowed. "I was given assurances that Naruto would be looked after once Sarutobi-sama had passed on!"

"Those assurances were made in the assumption that Naruto would not be implicated in his death!" Jiraiya returned. "Two Kage enter a blurred barrier that is then filled with tree roots - tree roots that only two ninja in this village could produce, with the other being fully accounted for. A traitor, genin and dead Hokage leave. Anything could have happened, and Naruto is our best chance to figure out what."

"By debriefing him, yes, not by torturing him! He hasn't seen the light of day since he was arrested. And he wasn't the only witness. Your elder toad summons saw everything, and by all accounts even told you to let Naruto go. Why aren't you asking them?"

"The way I use my summons is not to be questioned," Jiraiya mumbled. "Just as my judgement is not to be. I appreciate good criticism, Kakashi, but you have had your say. I outrank you, and this is a matter I will not move on."

Kakashi left the Hokage's Office, looking murderous as he did so. He was joined by Sakura and Haku as he left, and he saw Iruka shoot a poisonous glance through the open doors as they passed the mission desk.

"Still imprisoned?" the chūnin teacher asked.

"Yes," Kakashi said. "And it looks to stay that way. Have you heard from Yūgao?"

Iruka nodded, and Team 7 left quickly.

"What did you mean by that, sensei?" Sakura asked when they reached the outdoors. "When will we see Naruto again?"

"I don't know, Sakura. All I can ask is you to do is to have faith that I'm doing everything I can."

As they walked down the road, a shadowy figure charged past them and slipped a note to Kakashi. The cyclops read it, nodded, and burnt it, all within a few seconds.

"We're going to see Anko," he said. "We've been assigned a C-rank escort mission, starting tomorrow morning. But first, we have something to do."

They made their way to the training ground closest to T&I and waited until the Snake Mistress appeared.

"How goes it?" Kakashi hailed.

"Bad. He's holed up in a sealing matrix of Jiraiya's own design, and I can't make head nor hair of it. All I know is that it's slowly crushing him, draining his chakra, and electrocuting him."

"It's what?" Sakura screeched, as she and Haku looked ready to charge T&I by themselves.

"Enough," Kakashi said. "We can't help him by getting ourselves killed. What else?"

"They're moving him tomorrow. I'm not entirely sure where, but it's going to be underground. They're worried about a rescue attempt."

"And how's that going?"

"We'll all need to move at once. Organising everything will be difficult."

"We have several people on it. And there's a lot of support."

"What, we're planning something?" Sakura sang. "You have to let us help!"

"You two will be helping," Kakashi said. "We aren't going on the mission tomorrow. I'll send shadow clones, two of them to look like you two. After that we're going deep undercover, but staying in Konoha. You'll have to keep quiet and follow me. I'll keep you updated as we go along, but I can't tell you too much unless you're captured."

"That's a real risk?"

"It is if you're discovered in the village once you're meant to be out on a mission."

"So shall I keep on doing the same thing?" Anko asked.

"Hai. Good work. Keep me updated if the snakes say anything."

"I will."

"Come on," Kakashi gestured for his students to follow him. They wound through the residential area of Konoha, finally arriving at a small clan compound that was overgrown with weeds.

Kakashi palmed the door open and led them to the living room, where several ninja were already there.

"Hello Kakashi," Gai said.

"You can be quiet?" Sakura shrieked, pointing at the elite jōnin.

"Shush, Sakura," Yūgao said. "Of course he can. Being loud is his cover."

"Hai, I am loud in all normal situations so that people don't expect me when I remain quiet. While I love training, I am very little like the man you expect me to be. Lee is much the same."

"So your genin team is on board?" Kakashi asked.

"Hai. All of them. Lee is disgusted by the turnabout on his rival. Tenten is a fellow orphan and can sympathise with Naruto's plight. Neji is the interesting one. He wants an opportunity to live away from the thumb of the Main Branch of the Hyūga. He has floated the idea to the other Branch members. They will all support us."

"Over seventy percent of the Hyūga? That's a definite coup for us!"

"Kakashi..." Gai deadpanned. "You do realise it's a coup we're planning, don't you?"

"Oh, not really. We're planning to leave. That's not really a coup, right?"

"We are leaving?" Haku asked. "Who will take us?"

"Wave." Kakashi said. "Wave will have us. From there, who knows? Nobody has ever been able to get to Uzushiogakure since the destruction of the Uzumaki, but Naruto will be able to find us a way in. Then, we rebuild. Wave is within the old boundaries of the Land of Whirlpools, so they will support the recreation of the Village Hidden in the Eddies. Not to mention that Naruto is their hero."

"And I, their villain." Haku stated.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Kakashi joked. "They never really got the chance to know you."

"So what is everyone else getting round to?" Sakura asked.

"I'm canvassing the ANBU," Yūgao said. "Team Ro is firmly in support of Naruto, with certain other members also trusting the wishes of Sarutobi-sama over Jiraiya, someone who's barely entered the village in the last ten years. The difficult part is persuading them that Sarutobi-sama wanted Naruto-kun's welfare above all else."

"This may help," Kakashi said, pulling an envelope from his pocket. "It was a letter the Third asked me to give to Naruto if he died. Considering the circumstances, I don't think he would mind you showing it around."

Kakashi passed over the envelope and Yūgao opened it, angling it towards the light.

Naruto-kun,

If you are reading this, then I am no longer with you. I know that you've had your doubts about how the higher-ranked ninja of this village feel about you, and I more than understand your hesitance. Jiraiya has decried you as a monster, and Tsunade nearly led to your death. But they do not represent the entirety of what Konoha is, and, though I dread to say it, I feel that the Will of Fire no longer flows within any of my past students. All have abandoned their village in some way, fleeing under the pretences of duty, power, or heartbreak.

But the Will of Fire is loyalty, and it is passion. It is courage and it is strength. It is accepting the difficult, working with what you have, protecting the weak, and staying true to your ninja way. And I know that your ninja way is that you will never go back on your word, and I know that you swore to me, as a child, that you would become Hokage.

You cannot become Hokage. Not with Konoha the way it is.

Konoha is riddled with disease. Minato, your father, granted far too much power to the ninja and civilian councils. Where they once would have been an advisory board, they are now the de facto rulers of this village. Danzo runs his illegal ROOT organisation from the shadows, serving his own interests under the auspices of serving his village. The civilians and many of the ninja of this village view you as a monster, ignoring the sacrifice you bear for us, every single day of your life.

So please, leave this place. Take all the good people you can with you, live, and flourish. This village will soon destroy itself, and you shoulder the hopes of all the past Hokages, as well as the ideals they stood for. Hashirama believed in kindness and protecting the weak, something you've acted towards as long as I've known you. Tobirama was a rationalist, and taught me to love and protect the village with everything I had. In this, more than anything, I see him in you too. As a Senju, it is no surprise that you share their values and strengths. And, as a Namikaze, you've shown the capacity to be as collected and cautious as your father at times, while as effervescent when happy as he ever was. And me. Naruto, I consider you my successor in everything, will, techniques, philosophy... You are the person I want to see leading this village, but this village doesn't deserve you yet.

When the time comes, you will know. When it comes, take back Konoha, take back the hat, and burn away the rot that has eaten at my home. Until then, grow and consolidate. I know you will surpass the others, use your gifts and burdens properly, and become the most exceptional shinobi Konoha has ever seen.

Always keep your faith. Always burn with the Will of Fire.

And Naruto, never forget that I loved you like my own grandson. And before I forget, he's your responsibility now.

Your Jiji,

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

P.S. The Scroll of Sealing is a Senju artefact, and it is yours.

Yūgao put down the piece of paper.

"We can use this."

Konohamaru burst into the Hokage's office, waving his practice kunai belligerently.

"Let the Boss go!" he yelled, pointing his finger at Jiraiya. "He's going to be Hokage after me; so listen to your future boss!"

With a flick of his fingers, Jiraiya summoned his ANBU escort and had the Sarutobi removed from the room.

"Make sure he doesn't hurt himself," he muttered.

This wasn't how he'd wanted to start the morning. Everybody was still continuing work as usual, but productivity was down. Everybody was subdued, as if they were waiting for a conclusion. But the Fire Lord was coming in two days to confirm the council's selection of Hokage, and Jiraiya was confident he would be supported. After all, the council had no love for Naruto, and plenty of respect for the Sannin.

Still, at least he'd been able to get rid of Kakashi and his team. A month-long escort mission that would get the second-most powerful ninja in the village out of his hair for a while. But that was just about the only blessing he'd had.

The toads were furious. They knew he had Naruto imprisoned. They knew what he was doing to him, as well, as they'd tried to reverse-summon the boy and protect him. Jiraiya had foreseen this and put a contract-disrupting seal into the matrix, but he'd suffered the backlash. Ma and Pa had managed to find their way to Konoha without being summoned, and they'd given him an earful, with things nearly coming to blows. They'd finally retreated, swearing to summon the council of toads to determine their response. They were bound by old laws to only intervene in the human realm in very narrow circumstances, something he thanked his lucky stars for on an hourly basis.

"The council meeting is in ten minutes, Jiraiya-sama," one of the ANBU said. "You asked me to remind you."

"Thank you, Lizard," he said. The bulky man lifted himself from the desk and plodded down to the council chambers, the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Alright, settle down, I'm here now," he said, quieting the low murmurs permeating the council chambers. "Starting points, Koharu?"

"First point, the negotiations with Suna, Jiraiya-sama. They have requested the return of the Kazekage's children, Baki-san and the others. Considering the peace treaty we're drafting..."

"Denied. We cannot appear weak. With those four removed from them, and the casualties from the invasion, their combat power is down to a minimum. They have shown that they cannot be trusted; we cannot have them with significant military power on top of that. Thoughts?"

"They betrayed us," Inuzuka Tsume said. "They deserve everything that's coming to them."

"While it appears to be a logical reaction, perhaps our lack of mercy will be treated with contempt and rebellion rather than acceptance," Shibi murmured.

"I agree," Shikaku said. "We could have them as an uncertain ally, but with this we will certainly have them as future enemies."

Inoichi simply looked uncomfortable, and Chōza neglected to speak.

"I am in agreement with Jiraiya-sama," Hiashi said. "Showing even a kernel of weakness will let them think they can walk all over us."

"A vote, then. All for keeping the Suna ninja and denying the request?"

Tsume and Hiashi's hands went up, as well as Jiraiya's, Koharu and Homura's, and Danzō's single functional arm. Many of the other ninja and civilian members voted.

"All against?"

Shibi and Shikaku's hands were the only ones to be raised.

"Abstentions?"

Everyone who hadn't voted, Inoichi and Choūza included, raised their hands.

"So, by an overwhelming vote, the Suna prisoners will not be returned. What else?"

"The builders from Wave have backed out, claiming they have funding issues."

"You haven't offered them more money, have you?"

"Of course not. They won't get a ryō more."

"Exactly. Find someone else. What else?"

"The chūnin exams - awarding rank to our genin."

"Now that is interesting. The Nara and Aburame heirs showed logical thinking, but didn't get the chance to demonstrate anything more than that. Hyūga Neji and

Akadō Yoroi were slightly unhinged - I doubt they'd pass a psychological screening as they are now. Haruno Sakura showed promise, but she has only been a genin for six months. And there is her teammate's possible influence to think about. She will no doubt be successful in the next exams. The Hyūga heir... well, I'm sorry to be rude Hiashi-san, but her performance was abominable."

"I'm more than aware, Jiraiya-sama," Hiashi said, knuckles whitening.

"And that only leaves our potential murderer. The less said about that, the better. What else?"

"Nothing other than the Hokage selection. Nominations, then voting. As the Hokage-elect, you obviously don't need to be nominated."

"Understood. Any nominations?"

"I nominate Shimura Danzō," Koharu said. "He has the strength and loyalty to Konoha to steer us through these tough times."

"Are you suggesting that I don't?" Jiraiya asked.

"Ne, she just knows more about Danzō-sama's experience," Homura said. "Please don't take it personally; we just have more to draw on."

"Do you need a demonstration?" Jiraiya asked. "I can-"

"I nominate Uzumaki Naruto," Shikaku said, cutting through Jiraiya's challenge.

"What?"

"You saw him subdue a bijū, achieve sage mode, use the Rinnegan and Wood Release, and that's all without using the power of the Kyūbi. He will be unstoppable in a few years, why not put our faith behind him sooner rather than later?"

"Unacceptable," Jiraiya said. "He will never overcome the Kyūbi. It can't be done."

"Sarutobi-sama had the utmost faith in Naruto," Shikaku said. "I just wonder why you don't. Didn't you teach his father? The one who designed his seal?"

Jiraiya turned from the Nara and stared at Koharu.

"The vote. Now."

Koharu administered the vote, with Jiraiya winning a simple majority. A few voted for Naruto, and about a third going for Danzō. But Jiraiya's reputation gave him that much. Now all they needed was the Fire Lord's confirmation.

"Are we ready?" Kakashi asked his team.

"Hai, Dog-sama," the team chanted. They were splayed around the T&I headquarters, all wearing masks.

"Do we have word from our operatives?"

"The target's location isn't known. He was moved this morning, but our contact has left the security seals lowered."

"Good. We storm the place from the front. Group B from the rear and C and D from the roof. We systematically search the place and see what we can find. Understood?"

"Hai!"

"Okay then, move out."

The six ninja fanned out and approached the building, each of them on high alert.

"Contact!" Cat hissed. Rat disappeared into the shadows to offer support, along with Boar. Toad and Dog 2 moved to guard Cat and Dog while Dog uncovered his eye.

"Jiraiya-sama, a pleasure," Dog drawled.

"The mask hardly does you any favours, Kakashi," the man said. "Your hair and eye are rather obvious."

"You misunderstand, Jiraiya-sama. The mask isn't about hiding identity. The mask is about unity!"

He exploded into action, throwing shuriken in an intricate pattern and charging with his right fist drawn backwards, lightning chakra shooting out of his coils. At the same time, Cat leapt into the Dance of the Crescent Moon, her two shadow clones barrelling into Jiraiya's left and right sides while she attacked from above.

"Ha!" the Sannin yelled, as he dodged to the side, killing one of the shadow clones with a flurry of needles from his hair.

The older man charged chakra into his palm and spun it randomly, forming the Rasengan.

"You shouldn't have come here, traitors."

"You're the traitor," Kakashi shouted, chidori still active as he span on the spot. "Imprisoning a loyal Konoha shinobi without just cause? Sensei's son?"

"That beast isn't Minato's son. He isn't even human. I'm putting him down for the good of the village."

"The Third thought you'd do this. And he didn't think the village was worth saving if you had to do things like this!"

"I was never sensei's favourite. And he had bad judgement in picking them. First, Orochimaru - traitor. Then, Naruto - a danger to us all. My sensei was a great man but it's my responsibility to clean up his messes."

Kakashi glanced over to the T&I building before biting his thumb and rifling through handseals.

'I hope Gai's having better luck.'

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

The taijutsu jōnin's foot broke through yet another wall, revealing another empty cell.

"No! Our youthful friend is nowhere to be seen!"

"But I'm sensing something," one of them said. "A feeling, like a kindred spirit. It's his wood element; I'm sure of it."

"Yosh! Good work, Tenzō-san! We will find him yet. Onwards downwards!"

Gai aimed an axe-kick at the ground they were standing on, making it crumble.

"Eh, Gai-san, we're in the lowest basement level. Kicking might not help."

"Ah, yes! Then we must dig. I will dig all the way down with my fingernails, or I will dig twice as far with my teeth, or I will-"

"Gai-san, I'm an earth user. Maybe it's best if I deal with this."

"Yosh! Even better!"

'Sigh,'

"Are you sure you don't know where they sent the brat?" Anko yelled.

"Hey, I may have worked here for years, but this place was built before my time and designed by the Second Hokage. There could be all sorts of trick rooms and traps. All I know is that we were to assume it was safe and not ask too many questions," Ibiki said.

"Damn it, and just when I hear from the snakes that they've made contact with the toads, but they haven't been able to summon him. The only thing we know for sure is that Jiraiya's main advantage has been taken care of..."

"Steal one of my pups, will you?" Inuka growled, as the dog boss flung itself at Jiraiya once more, before darting out of the way of a Rasengan. "Why don't you summon Gamabunta to take care of me? Oh wait, you can't!"

"I don't need the toads to deal with you!" Jiraiya growled, as he shot needle hairs at the alpha. The dog wove out of the way and circled back around to Kakashi.

"Call the pack, Kakashi," he growled. "You have my full blessing."

Kakashi's hand plunged to the ground, fuinjutsu kanji spiderwebbing out from the point of contact and exploding into smoke. When it cleared, over fifty dogs were there, all primed and growling at Jiraiya.

"I may need to sit this out," Kakashi said, feeling drowsy.

The pack descended on Jiraiya, forcing the experienced ninja to go through a complicated series of acrobatics before slamming a hand to the ground.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

Several hounds were caught in the collapsing earth and disappeared, but the onslaught continued. Rat took the opportunity to shoot a senbon needle at Jiraiya's neck, but the Sannin blocked it with a casual shake of his hair.

As Frog and Dog 2 moved to take the centrepoint in the assault, Boar looked anxiously over at the building they were assaulting. Nobody had made the signal yet, and they couldn't hold off the Hokage-elect for much longer.

Meanwhile, in a hidden room in Konoha's Torture and Interrogation building, Naruto's heart beat one last time until it finally gave out.