Sakumo narrowed his eyes at the grizzled, bandaged wrapped man in front of him.
"You said you had information for me, Danzo?" Sakumo asked.
"Yes, I do, Hokage-sama; very important information, in fact." His one visible eye seemed to sparkle. "The team that I sent to investigate Madara Uchiha's whereabouts has discovered something: a base, to be more precise. It seems as if Madara is operating out of this base."
Sakumo was stunned. "Are they absolutely sure of this?"
"There is no doubt. They've seen Madara with their own eyes."
"Where is this base located?" Sakumo asked, filled with excitement.
"The base is located outside of the Hidden Grass Village, according to my reports."
"What are we waiting for? We need to assemble a strike team immediately." Sakumo turned to his assistant. "Have every able-bodied and available jonin report to my office immediately. If they've been assigned missions already, tell them that they have a new mission of the utmost importance."
"Yes, sir, Hokage-sama!" The assistant scurried off to his duty.
"Do you realize what this means, Danzo? If we can take out Madara now…" Sakumo's dream might be accomplished: a time when there was no war and peace prevailed in the hearts and minds of all shinobi.
"I realize the implications." Danzo said stoically.
"Good, because if this information proves to be accurate, then I would need to thank you in some way for a job well done; say, like a promotion to become my top advisor…"
Danzo held back his surprise. Top advisor? He had never been offered any type of advisory position before…
"Of course, I understand that you might not want to leave Root behind…"
"No, Hokage-sama, your offer is most gracious, and besides, I have someone I know I can trust that will run Root just as well, if not better, than I can."
Sakumo smiled. "Perfect. It's settled then."
Sakumo spent the next twenty minutes talking with Danzo, discussing the information his spies had recovered in a more thorough manner.
"Excellent, Danzo, excellent-"
Just then Sakumo's assistant ran into the room, panting heavily.
"I found as many as I could, Hokage-sama." The assistant held open the door for Fugaku Uchiha, Shikaku Nara, Hizashi Hyuga, Minato Namikaze, and Tsume Inuzuka with her ninken, Kuromaru.
"Good work Tsubasa, you may take a seat." Sakumo said to his assistant, before looking at each jonin. "As of now, I am making you all into a strike team. Your target is the ever illusive Madara Uchiha."
The jonins broke out in conversation, except for Minato, who seethed quietly to himself.
"Madara has been found?" Fugaku asked.
"Yes, he has, and that is why you're all here. You're going to find him, and you're going to kill him."
Sakumo could almost feel everyone's mood turn grave. "That's right, this is an officially sanctioned assassination mission; I don't want there to be any misunderstandings between us. Madara Uchiha is a huge threat to not only Konoha, but to the entire ninja world and we have the opportunity to get rid of him. All of you are tasked with ensuring his death." He paused. "If any of you have reservations, you may leave now."
No one moved an inch.
"Very well. For this mission, I am giving the role of team captain to Minato Namikaze." Minato looked startled, but Sakumo explained his reasoning. "Minato has fought Madara the most, and probably knows the most about him, so he is the most logical choice for captain."
"I thought you didn't want me going after him?" Said Minato.
"Well, I changed my mind Minato, and I'm giving you official permission to hunt him down. Are you saying you don't want to be on this mission?"
"Of course not." Minato said.
"Good. Shikaku Nara, you will be this team's strategist; you will formulate all battle formations and account for any possible situation that your team might be faced with. Hizashi and Tsume, you are both skilled trackers, and that will be your roles for this mission. Fugaku, you're most likely the best ninjutsu user here and you also possess the Sharingan. I trust you to counter any and all genjutsu attacks that Madara uses against your team."
"I understand, Hokage-sama." Fugaku said with his stern face.
"Does anyone have any questions?" Sakumo inquired.
Hizashi asked the first question. "Do we know if Madara has any support? Is he alone?"
Sakumo glanced at Danzo. "Go ahead."
The veteran spoke in his gravelly voice. "According to my reports, Madara is alone; he has no allies and nobody to help him."
"What about his skills? What type of jutsu does he use?" Asked Tsume.
Sakumo looked to Minato this time. "Go ahead, team captain."
Minato nodded resolutely. "Madara actually doesn't use much in the way of ninjutsu, at least, from what I've seen in my battle with him. I assume that since he possesses the sharingan, he can use genjutsu adeptly, but he hasn't actually used any on me. However, I have seen his taijutsu skills first hand, and they are formidable."
Tsume and Kuromaru shared a giddy glance. Tsume was what known as a "tokubetsu jonin", which meant that she was specialized in a specific area, that area being taijutsu.
"However…Madara is almost impossible to even hit, because he uses some type of space-time ninjutsu that makes him intangible. All your attacks will go straight through him, even though it seems like they should hit. Plus, his Sharingan gives him the ability to track even the fastest of movement, so that aids in his evading and blocking skills. I only defeated him by carefully timing my Flying Thunder God Technique; if I faced him now, I'm sure he would've adapted his jutsu to account for my own technique."
"Hmm…that's not very helpful." The ever-optimistic Shikaku complained. "What can you tell us about his fighting style? Is he aggressive, or defensive?"
Minato closed his eyes and thought for a moment, replaying his battle with Madara in his mind's eye. "When I fought him, he was very overconfident with himself. He was definitely the aggressor, but at one point… he threatened to hurt Naruto in front of me…He can be a coward when he's backed into a corner, so there's no telling what he would do when he realizes that he's outnumbered. In my opinion, he's very skilled and analytical, and he knows the balance between attacking and defending; he's an experienced fighter, and even though we'll have the advantage of numbers, I wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating him."
"Thank you Minato. Any other questions? No? Then I'll tell you where exactly Madara has been tracked to. Danzo, if you will…" Sakumo stood as Danzo began marking a world map with a brush. Sakumo pointed to a certain spot on the map before saying, "Danzo's agents have pinpointed Madara's location in a cave outside the Hidden Grass Village, near the Earth Country border. The cave entrance was disguised with a genjutsu, but Danzo's agents were able to see through it and into the cave itself; it appears as if Madara has set up a laboratory within the cave and is conducting experiments on the wildlife around the Earth Country's mountains." Danzo handed out a marked map scroll to each jonin. "Each one of you has been given a copy of this marked map, and each map has the exact route that you need to take to arrive at Madara's base. The journey should take about three days if you travel at the average speed. Any more questions?"
No one asked any more questions. "Alright then, you're all dismissed. Feel free to go to the armory and take whatever supplies you need for your trip. We'll meet at the Konoha Gate tomorrow at noon."
All the jonin filed out of the room, except for Danzo, who stayed in place.
"I would like to make a request." The veteran said.
"Go ahead." Sakumo replied, wondering what Danzo could possibly want.
"I would like to accompany this team on their mission, Hokage-sama."
Sakumo kept his shock under restraint as Danzo continued. "I know it came from nowhere, but I feel a personal responsibility in this matter. Madara's existence is a blight upon our way of life here in Konoha and a danger to our citizens; I want to see his destruction with my own…eye."
"I see." Sakumo replied. "Your request is reasonable enough. Your experience wouldn't hurt the team either, although I'm not sure if you're up to the trip-"
"I may not look like it, but I can still keep up to this generation." Danzo retorted.
Sakumo considered the situation for a moment. "Very well. If you can handle it, then I officially assign you a position in the strike team. Is there anything else you need?"
"Actually, yes there is." Danzo said. "I would ask your authorization to retrieve any of Madara's research from his laboratory."
Sakumo narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "And what is your reasoning behind this request?"
"First off, we both know that Madara is exceptional in the field of science; that monster Zetsu is proof enough of that. I would like to use his research to benefit the Hidden Leaf, and there is also a technique that I'm working on that requires the First Hokage's cells, which I believe Madara is in possession of…"
"I guess that's fine then, if there aren't any ulterior motives behind your thinking…?"
Danzo shook his head. "There is not, Hokage-sama."
"Fine. To be honest, I was going to ask you to recover any research material that you found anyway. Even though he is our enemy, he's undeniably brilliant, and I know that we can use his research for our own benefit. In no way am I condoning Madara's no doubt sick experimentations, but we could use his knowledge to save the lives of future shinobi. As for Hashirama's cells…I trust you to make the right decision with them."
Danzo was pleasantly astonished. Sarutobi had always distrusted him and looked at him through the eyes of a doubter; Danzo wasn't used to being trusted by anyone, let alone the current Hokage. He promised himself at that moment that he would never act outside of the Hidden Leaf's interest, and that he would never let Sakumo Hatake down.
"T-thank you, Hokage-sama. I…appreciate your trust." Danzo said.
Sakumo waved his hand. "No thanks are necessary, Danzo. But unless there is anything else that you need, you are also dismissed."
Danzo slowly left the room, leaning on his wooden cane.
"Tsubasa." Sakumo said.
"Yes, Hokage-sama?" The Hokage's assistant asked.
"Find Orochimaru and bring him here. I need his opinion on something."
Tsubasa swallowed nervously. "Y-yes Hokage-sama, right away."
Sakumo closed his eyes and exhaled. Madara Uchiha…would soon be dead.
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Sakumo tapped his finger on his desk, impatiently waiting for Tsubasa to return. It was unlike his assistant to be so late in fulfilling a request…
An ANBU burst through the door. "Hokage-sama! There's been a break in in the Forbidden Library!"
"What?" Sakumo rushed to his feet. "Take me there, now!"
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Sakumo gasped at the sight before him.
Tsubasa lay on the floor, in a spreading pool of crimson blood, every one of his limbs hacked off of his body. His eyes were gouged out, and his belly had been ripped open, spilling ropy cords of glistening intestines onto the ground.
Orochimaru sat in the corner, huddled over a pile of books and scrolls. His pallid face was stretched in a maniacal grin; he was clearly enjoying the carnage that he had created and was reveling in his reading of forbidden jutsu.
"Orochimaru!" Sakumo roared. "What have you done?"
Orochimaru rose slowly from his crouch, his head bowed and his dark hair fanning out to frame his pale face. His yellow, reptilian eyes shone with madness.
"I have done nothing, Sakumo; I am simply pursuing my dreams of mastering every known jutsu, and this little man stood in my way." He pointed to Tsubasa's still bleeding corpse. "You don't want to stand in my way either."
"You're insane Orochimaru! You are hereby charged with murder and with breaking into the Forbidden Library, an act of treason! For these crimes you are sentenced to immediate death!" Sakumo exclaimed furiously.
Orochimaru just chuckled in defiance, utterly remorseless. "You can't kill me." He drew out the words slowly, tauntingly.
"We'll see." Sakumo withdrew his tanto from its sheath on his back before turning to the ANBU that had escorted him here. "Go get reinforcements." He told the man, and the ANBU scurried off. Sakumo's tanto began to glow white as he charged it with his chakra.
Orochimaru licked his lips in anticipation.