TH: Ahem. I was stupid yesterday and posted the wrong chapter at first. For a while, what had been up as 'chapter one' was actually ALL the chapters. So if you're reading this and thinking it sounds awfully familiar, it's because you were one of the people who got to Chapter One before I'd fixed it. Sorry, but nothing new here. It was just my bad. ^_^;;

Thanks to MakalaMea for betaing!

Horizons

.II.

The Department had gone all to hell as soon as Danzo had left with his army. A little under half of the workers had been conscripted into the force and had marched out to seek glory on the battlefield, leaving a very diminished workforce to take care of things in the offices. But the remaining (not cowardly, but wise) desk ninja were not at all motivated to do any work for that… that pretender-Hokage Danzo.

Kaname Junmai would agree, completely, that Shimura Danzo was not supposed to be Hokage. He would quite happily wish good luck to all those battle-ninja who had marched out after Danzo's army, intent on helping Genshi and opposing Danzo. But he would not march out with them. Nor would he abide the shirking of duty while both armies were out of the Village. Just because the head of the Village was a fraud and warmonger didn't mean they should all cut off their noses, to use the metaphor. Sure, it would give Danzo something unpleasant to look at, but it would also inconvenience them.

Junmai would do his work, because it was still work that might keep the Village safe, no matter what man called himself Hokage.

…Even if that man was intolerably condescending to Intelligence ninja. Like they were somehow lesser than those block-head fighters. Hmph.

The other workers in the Department were getting louder in their conversation again, all of them lounging around the office as if it were a lounge.

"Would you…" Junmai started, but it was obvious his voice was too quiet to penetrate the noise. He cleared his throat and tried again, louder: "Would you all just be quiet and get back to work?"

His compatriots blinked at him. One of the more insolent of them—Junmai noted with a sniff that he was a younger man—asked: "Why should we? It's possible that the work we do now will go on to help the imposter."

Junmai drew himself up, ignored the very quietly murmured 'oh great, now you've done it; we get to hear a Kaname-speech' from his audience, and began enlightening the foolish youngster as to his error.

"Even if Danzo-san is a false Hokage, this is still Konoha. We are still doing this work to prevent enemies from being able to hurt the Village. The civilians are innocent of this, you know! And, furthermore—"

Junmai's lecture was interrupted abruptly just as he was getting ready for the big, impassioned main argument. The door to the Intelligence Department offices exploded open—and that wording was not just a dramatic exaggeration from Kaname Junmai's mind. The door was supposed to be secured, double-locked against any wandering visitors to the Hokage's Tower, with reinforced hinges. There was a core of iron inside the wood finish.

But it was evidently not as secure as they all thought. The door was blasted from its frame by some tremendous force, shattering the outer wood and buckling the iron core. There were some alarmed cries from the Department workers, and they all gaped in shock as a buxom blonde woman stepped through the wreckage of the door to scan them with amber eyes.

There was silence in the office.

The woman nodded as if pleased with this reaction, and lifted a hand.

"You, you, and you. Come with me. There's work for you to do," she said, pointing firmly at three of the Intel ninja present. They responded automatically to the authority in her voice and moved forward.

"W-w-wait just a moment!" Junmai had regained the use of his tongue and stood up from his desk, frowning. He was one of the senior-most ninja in the Department, and since the other two didn't seem to be doing anything about this… this impudence, it fell to him to be in charge. "Just who do you think you are, charging in here and snatching away my workers?"

The blonde woman had turned to lead the way out of the room, but had stopped at the sound of Junmai's voice. Now, very slowly, she was turning around. The other Intel ninja were watching nervously, eyes flicking between her and Junmai.

Her eyebrows were raised. She asked: "Who am I?"

Junmai nodded, lifting his chin. He wouldn't let her cow him; he was right to demand an explanation!

"I am Senju Tsunade, the Slug Sannin, leader of Genshi, and—" her lips curled to show a bit of tooth in a feral smirk "—I am going to be your Hokage."

She…the… Oh, dear.

Kaname Junmai quailed, his face paling dramatically. His mouth opened as if he might say something more, but his eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted dead away.

It was an incident that would become a legend within the Intelligence Department.

TH: Poor Kaname-san! His heart's in the right place, he just doesn't have to be such an arrogant $& about it. Anyway, to those of you who enjoyed his character in 'Ravel, Unravel'- hope I revisited his character well here. This chapter's for you.