Behind the Mask
Rated: T for language and violence
Disclaimer: Naruto characters (c) Masashi Kishimoto
Summary: We all wear masks. But that only makes it harder to tell the difference between truth and lies.

Note: Thanks so much to Crazichi123, Admired and the anon review for being the first three to review! Please keep up the good work and thanks to everyone else who read the first chapter!

And please guys, reviews are much appreciated

001: 朋友
(friend)

Period of the Warring States
Reign of the 5th Emperor of Fire
Month 11

About an hour and a half into the journey, a terrible gush of rain and wind swept through the forest like a typhoon. Rain pelted, lightning struck and thunder shook the ground through the bamboo forest that surrounded Konoha and effectively drenched both Naruto and Sakura to the bone. As shinobi, Naruto and Sakura were both accustomed to traveling through all sorts of weather, but the rain had become so bad that their visibility was severely affected. Naruto and Sakura were forced to stop and wait it out, even though there was no shelter in the bamboo forest from the rain. Sakura had an ominous thought that perhaps this devastating storm was only the beginning of more bad things to come. It was only when Naruto put a comforting hand on her shoulder that Sakura put that thought to rest.

Now, the rain was beginning to lighten as Naruto and Sakura rode farther through the forest. The autumn weather had turned wintry and Sakura frantically rubbed her arms as the cold air chilled her to the bone. Naruto took a deep breath of the fresh nature scent, enhanced by the rain. The forest was silent, the only sounds coming from the occasional bird calls echoing through the trees.

"So what do you think?" Naruto asked, calling out to Sakura.

"About?" Sakura asked, although she full well knew what Naruto was referring to.

Naruto looked over to Sakura. "About the Tian Tang Jian." He said, eyeing the box that was strapped onto Sakura's horse. "What do you think he meant?"

"I don't know." Sighed Sakura. "We've trusted laoshi's judgment all these years and he's never been wrong before. There's just something he's not telling us…" She really wished she could understand what her teacher was really thinking.

"You don't think he popped a screw loose while practicing his new jutsu, then?" Leave it to Naruto to make light of such a situation.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "That's not funny." Sakura grumbled. As one of Konoha's most accomplished shinobi in the field of Medical Ninjutsu, Sakura was the attending physician to more than half of Konoha's shinobi. She had seen her fair share of physical injuries, but more often than not, mental injuries persisted and to that Sakura had still found no cure. Considering Kakashi's rough past, it was a testament to his own will that his mind hadn't broke already

"Sorry." Said Naruto solemnly. "Do you think Tsunade put him up to it?" Naruto asked after a beat.

Tsunade was a former Konoha shinobi and trusted friend of Kakashi's. She had defected from Konoha before the Third Great Shinobi War and now resided in the city Peking as a government official which was why Naruto and Sakura were headed there now.

"I don't think Tsunade could make laoshi do anything." Said Sakura. When Kakashi noticed Sakura's aptitude for Medical Ninjutsu, he sent Sakura to study with Tsunade as Tsunade was one of the greatest medics to come out of Konoha. Sakura had spent three years with Tsunade, learning everything Tsunade had to offer and in that time, she knew that her former teacher could be amazingly stubborn and persuasive when she wanted to be. But what would Tsunade want the sword for? Or was she more worried about Kakashi's well being?

Reasoning out Kakashi's motives was only bringing about more questions than answers.

"She could if she used that large chest against him. I'm telling you those things aren't natural. How could any man be immune?" Naruto asked.

Sakura's eyes widened behind her mask. "Gods, what a pervert you are!" She cried, but she was smiling at her teammate's attitude. Heaven's knew they both needed some cheering up.

"I'm not a pervert." Said Naruto. "You don't have to be to notice those things."

Sakura didn't respond, only shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Do you mind if we stop by Tenten's?" Sakura asked after they had been riding in silence for a few minutes. "I had promised to help her out with some deliveries this week and I might as well make good on that promise now." Sakura said. Tenten was a longtime friend of Sakura's and her residence was on the way to Peking.

"Of course." Naruto replied nodding his head.

The rain had finally cleared up by the time the young weapon masters' complex was in sight. It was an impressive complex, much larger than the Hokage's own complex in Konoha. It was filled with courtyards and terraces and they could hear the clash of metal on metal as men and women alike practiced with a variety of weapons.

Naruto frisked his hand through his wet hair before jumping off to lead his horse the rest of the way. The gravel crunched under their sandals as they made their way through the last of the rain drenched foliage and into the clearing. They could already see the servants outside shaking out towels and blankets, trying to continue their work before the rain had interrupted them. Sakura readjusted her mask and wiped off the excess water from her tactical vest.

As they neared closer, some servants caught sight of their presence. "Wu He! Zhong Hu!" They called out excitedly, dropping their work as they waved their hands.

A few ran over to take the reins from their hands as a young girl escorted them inside.

Jiang Tenten was the youngest daughter of the man dubbed as 'The Greatest Weapons Maker There Ever Was'. The man was a weapon making prodigy, specializing in both simple weapons like swords and kunai to more dangerous and exotic weapons. He became so renowned that he created Jiang Security which specialized in providing weapons and bodyguards to whoever had the money to buy them. When the old man died, Tenten took his place as head of the business as she had inherited her father's skilled hands. Sakura herself met Tenten a few years back when Tsunade had taken Sakura to Tenten's to pick out a new set of kunai as a rare treat for her birthday. That day, Tenten had shown Sakura that she was clearly the superior weapon wielder and they were friends ever since.

"I don't know what I would do without you. This request came at such an inconvenient time." Tenten sighed as she pulled a pair of heavy gloves off her hands and she wiped the sweat from her forehead. "If it wasn't for you I would have to decline! And that would have been a nightmare."

Soot covered Tenten's clothes and she brushed them off with her hands although it didn't do much good. It was a well known fact that no one was allowed inside the area where Tenten worked so Naruto and Sakura had waited briefly while the weaponsmith was fetched. When Tenten did finally emerge - covered in soot and sweating like a pig - she greeted them with a relieved smile and open arms.

"What's going on?" Asked Sakura as Tenten lead them down the hallways of her vast complex.

"Weapons manufacturing, sending out security details...I've never had this many clients in my life! Don't get my wrong, it's good business and all, but I really am at my wits end." Tenten said, shaking her head. "If there really is going to be war, part of me wishes it would happen already so things can go back to normal."

The scent of war had been heavy in the air for quite some time now. Konoha, along with a great many of the other Hidden Villages had not been engaged in war since the Third Great Shinobi War. Rumors, however were abounding that enemies of Konoha were mobilizing and gathering their troops for a preemptive strike. The thought sacred Sakura, who had known nothing yet but peace. And she did have to wonder if Tenten was secretly supplying her enemies with weapons. Tenten may have been Sakura's personal friend, but she had to remain neutral in fights between the provinces and Hidden Villages lest her own business be in danger.

"This client of yours sounds important." Said Naruto, swiftly changing the subject. "Who is he?" He didn't like talk of war anymore than Sakura did. Especially because of what had happened after the last one.

"A government official." Said Tenten waving her hand as she tried to recall the name. "Governor...Feng, perhaps?"

Naruto shrugged. He never heard of him, but then again, Naruto was not very savvy concerning the political world. He often left those things to Sakura. Sure enough, a quick look to the side and he found the pink haired girl nodding her head in recognition. What would he do without her?

"But from what I hear, it's not outside trouble he needs to worry about." Tenten turned to face them, her brown eyes looking mischievous.

"What have you heard?" Asked Sakura curiously.

"Rumor has it he's been harboring a criminal in his household. Some even say a shinobi." But then Tenten shook her head. "But, they are only rumors and you know how those go. It was just last week I heard that someone was going to assassinate the Emperor by nightfall and nothing came of that."

There was silence between the three and Naruto hid his grimace under his mask.

"You know," Said Sakura clearing her throat after a moment, "I'm sure Governor Feng would be much safer if you were protecting him." She pointed out.

Tenten stopped and turned to face Sakura, already knowing the answer to this common argument of Sakura's. She had a light smile on her lips as she answered her. "I'm not the one with the Konoha insignia." She said pointing to her forehead.

Sakura scowled. "You would if you listened to me. I keep telling you, you would make an excellent shinobi. Konoha would be more than happy to take you."

"Sure, Wu He." Said Tenten turning around, ignoring Sakura like she always did.

Sakura smiled while secretly feeling a pang in her heart as they continued on toward the weapon warehouse. Being a shinobi meant following a strict set of rules, but none were as strict as keeping your identity secret. Infiltration and intelligence were the two foundations that the Hidden Villages had been built upon when they were first created some hundred years ago. And while Sakura regarded Tenten as one of her greatest friends, she had never known Sakura's true face or her name.

Naruto and Sakura quickly helped to load up the convoy with the weapons and supplies that Tenten was providing for Governor Feng. Tenten marked down a quick inventory and gave a copy to the convoy driver to deliver to Governor Feng. As Tenten packed the last of the weapons in, she wondered what the man needed with this many weapons.

Naruto quickly brushed his hands off and took a look around the huge warehouse. Naruto had been to Tenten's complex a few times, when Sakura came to visit her old friend, but he had never been inside the warehouse. It really was quite extensive. There were boxes upon boxes of weapons stored inside, everything from the ordinary ones like kunai and swords, to some of the more...exotic ones that Naruto would never dream of using. Naruto knew that each and every prototype was made by the weapons master herself and that was no ordinary feat.

"The men that Governor Feng hired out will arrive from Menggu in the morning." Tenten explained once she sealed up the convoy. "If you wouldn't mind staying until then to make sure they get settled in, I would be eternally grateful." Tenten put a hand to her face. "Gods only know how useful the men will be after such a long travel and if I wasn't already scraping the bottom of the barrel..."

"It's ok!" Sakura said quickly, grabbing Tenten's hand. "Zhong Hu and I don't mind helping out. Really, we don't. It'll be a nice...vacation, right?" Sakura asked, looking at Naruto.

"You bet." Naruto said easily, giving them a thumbs up.

Tenten heaved a sigh, not looking much better, but at least looking relieved. "Thank you. And I know you must be busy with your own missions in these uncertain times. I can't thank you enough." Tenten paused, a dark look crossing her features as she remembered something.

She squeezed at Sakura's hand. "Now that you're here, I would like you to see something. Could you follow me please?" Tenten gave Sakura a meaningful look before she dropped her hand and turned, briskly walking out of the warehouse.

Sakura turned to Naruto and shrugged her shoulders, before they both followed Tenten. Tenten led them inside a small shed to the side of the complex, one that Sakura had never been inside before.

"I let Hama use this shed." Tenten explained. "She creates most of her healing remedies in here."

Sakura nodded her head, remembering that Hama was one of Tenten's elderly servants. The woman sometimes scared her. The shed smelled of old herbs, most that Sakura recognized. Tenten approached a table set in the middle and placed her hand on a sheet that was covering something underneath. She gripped the sheet, willing her eyes to meet Sakura's. "I thought it would be important if I showed this to you."

She flung the sheet off and they were all greeted with the sight of a dead and decaying body. Sakura winced at the smell as Naruto covered his mouth and took a step back.

"My servants found him in the forest a few days ago. They brought him back here, although it was certain he was already dead." Tenten explained.

Sakura took a step closer to examine the body. The body was of a young man and luckily of no one that Sakura recognized from Konoha. The most obvious thing was that the body must have been exposed to the elements for a good couple of days. Sakura traced the stitch marks on the man's chest with her finger. His body smelled strongly of herbs.

"Hama performed an autopsy under my request." Explained Tenten.

Sakura nodded. That would explain the smell. She did a good job of masking the smell of death. "What did she find?" Asked Sakura.

Tenten shook her head. "It was the strangest thing. Hama said she couldn't find any immediate cause of death. Not a fatal stab wound or poison, or any counts of illness. But what she did find was very strange." Said Tenten, her eyes serious.

"I estimate this man to have been in his early twenties," Said Tenten, "However Hama explained to me that all of his inside organs, were much, much older."

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "What? How is that possible?" He asked in disbelief.

Tenten shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "She said it was the strangest thing and she had never seen anything like it before. It was as if something dried him up from the inside."

Suddenly, something clicked in Sakura's head and she felt very sick. "I know who did this." She said.

Naruto turned to Sakura surprised. "You do? You've seen something like this before?"

Sakura shook her head. "No." She admitted. "But would Orochimaru seem to explain this?"

Naruto's face dropped and he eyed the body warily. "I guess he would."

"Orochimaru?" Tenten questioned. "The Konoha traitor? But how?" She cried.

Orochimaru had been a former Konoha shinobi. His betrayal of his village however had made his true name infamous across the many provinces. Now, there was nary a shinobi nor civilian who didn't know his name.

Sakura turned to her friend. "There's this...forbidden jutsu that Orochimaru has been using, a way to...keep himself alive forever. It's called Furou Fushi. It allows Orochimaru to take on a 'host' body. When that body is spent, he moves on to a next one." Sakura explained, grimacing.

"Disgusting." Tenten whispered as she glanced at the body.

"I've never seen a victim of the Furou Fushi, but I'm guessing this is what it would look like." Said Sakura.

"So what does that mean?" Asked Naruto. "That Orochimaru has been through here? That he's headed toward Konoha? We have to get back!" Cried Naruto.

"Wait!" Said Sakura holding her hand up. "Let's think about this. Tenten said she found the body a few days ago, and it is evident that body was in the forest longer than that. We got to Tenten's from Konoha in a few hours. Don't you think he would have been there already?"

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "That's true...but then where's he headed?"

"Perhaps the same place you are headed." Said Tenten. "Maybe it's the reason Governor Feng needs so many weapons...I don't know." Said Tenten quickly when she saw Naruto and Sakura's look of alarm. "But maybe while you're in Peking, you should keep your eyes alert." She said.

Naruto nodded. "Tenten is right. Maybe we should get going."

Naruto moved towards the door as Sakura covered the body. She could sense Naruto's eagerness to get to Peking. But she couldn't help but get a cold feeling when she thought about what awaited them there.

Kakashi hopped off his horse and silently approached a small stone house. It was deep within the forest yet still within Konoha's boundaries. To an outsider it would have looked like an abandoned shrine dedicated to some long forgotten God, but Kakashi knew it for what it really was – a shine dedicated to Konoha's fallen. The grass was mushy under his feet and the sky was still dreary, but patches of sun were starting to peak through the grey as Kakashi lifted his mask and pulled one of his gloves off with his teeth. Biting down on this thumb, Kakashi smeared blood on the Konoha insignia on the door. Slowly, the door grated open and Kakashi stepped inside.

Inside, the air was stale and dusty and the lighting meager as it slipping in through the slats of the windows. Using memory rather than sight to guide him, Kakashi took off his wolf mask down and proceeded further into the shrine. Against the back wall, there were a variety of stone tablets, all engraved with names. The largest three chronicled the lives lost during each of the Great Shinobi Wars while the foremost ones were each dedicated to the past Hokages. Kakashi collapsed to his knees in front of the third one. How somber it was that the Fourth's memorial was before the Third's...

Kakashi slowly traced the Konoha leaf engraved on the memorial with weary eyes. Kakashi's eyes dropped to the name that was engraved at the bottom of the memorial. A tattered forehead protector had been placed on the floor. Kakashi gingerly picked it up, recalling it was the same one that he had put there eighteen years ago.

Dedicated to Uchiha Obito

Gave his life on the battlefield to defend the Fourth Hokage

Lighting a match, Kakashi dug out a few sticks of incense from his vest and lit them before resting them by the memorial. Kakashi hung his head, his hand resting against the memorial. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

Glossary:
Furou Fushi: A forbidden jutsu that was developed by Orochimaru. This jutsu allows Orochimaru's soul to be released from its previous body to move on to a next, keeping him 'immortal'.

Wu He: Dancing Crane, Haruno Sakura's shinobi name
Zhong Hu: Loyal Fox, Uzumaki Naruto's shinobi name