Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.
Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.
Sadly, Gaara's fight with his father has been very difficult to write, so I'm still doing fillers. Also, Kishimoto-sensei is currently focusing the story arc on Naruto, so be prepared for a lot of embellishments!
The four current Kages and their seconds were all gathered around a large map that was enlarged to focus on the north-eastern quadrant – the centre stage for the war. Red and blue place markers have been stuck onto the map to show known enemy deployments and the shinobi army respectively. There were four distinct red place markers placed in front of the 4th Division's camp – one for each resurrected Kage.
The last thing Gaara wanted to do was to attend a war council meeting at such a critical time, but he knew he had to; it would have been difficult enough engaging one Kage in battle, but to have four of them headed straight for his Division from four different directions…
He needed all the advantages he could get.
The resurrected Kages had retreated far into enemy territory soon after the first clashes, just out of range of Gaara's Third Eye. It was generally agreed that these were strong adversaries and several scouting teams had been sent to find out more about the resurrected Kages and the reason for their seeming withdrawal.
None of them have returned.
It was therefore strange that Kabuto decided to announce their intentions ahead of time by advancing the four Kages each with a sizable White Zetsu clones army so visible that all it took was a nameless shinobi watching the enemy borders to notice them and send a report back immediately.
He was now dead, of course.
With the exception of the Mizukage, Mei, the four current Kages were all at the war council. Mei was busy guarding the lives of the daimyos of the Five Shinobi Nations – men of great influence and power that even a Kage had to respect. Intelligence reports pointed at the possibly of Madara capturing these men to ransom them for the Hachibi and Kyuubi, so preventive measures were taken right from the start. However, even with Naruto and Killer Bee now on the loose and practically throwing themselves at the enemy, she still had to ensure the safety of their leaders; just in case Madara or Kabuto decided to go for a double-hit.
"Kazekage," greeted Tsunade, "We were just about to send word about the White Zetsu clones and how they can be identified."
She then gestured to Shikaku to continue. The solemn-looking man stood up from his papers-strewn table and addressed the room.
"Honourable Kages, I don't know if it is sheer luck or Fate at work here, but it turns out that Naruto in his Nine-Tails Mode can sense negative emotions. He was able to locate the hidden Akatsuki member Hoshigaki Kisame who was hiding in a sword that Killer Bee-san carried; something which even the Eight-Tails cannot sense. Now that Raikage-sama and Hokage-sama have allowed him and Killer Bee-san to join the battle, it is just a matter of asking Naruto to make shadow clones of himself and placing him all at points of conflict. He will be able to tell which one of our shinobis are actually Zetsu in disguise, and this should allow us to focus our attention on the approaching enemies."
"Where is Naruto headed, exactly?" asked Gaara, casting a sideways glance at Sakura. She had her hands tightly clasped together, no doubt in worry for her teammate.
"He's headed straight for the source of this war – Uchiha Madara," the oddly silent Raikage finally spoke up, "Killer Bee is with him."
"Is it wise to let him go, Tsunade-shishou?"
Tsunade noted the anxiety etched on Sakura's face and smiled kindly, "Sakura, he's so stubborn and so determined, I think he would have killed Raikage-sama to reach his goal."
Well, that would explain why the Raikage was looking more moody than usual.
"Four resurrected Kages," Oonoki brought everyone's attention back to the reason why they were gathered here in the first place, "And each one of them is either a mentor or a blood relative."
"It is obvious that the enemy is trying to shake our fighting resolves by having us battle to the death with those we respect. They are counting on us to show just the slightest moment of weakness to strike us down – psychological warfare at its finest," began Shikamaru
"We can avoid this situation by having each Kage engage an unrelated enemy Kage, but we will lose the advantage of knowing the deceased Kages' fighting styles and techniques. Our best chance therefore is to have each Kage fight their mentor. We will need to call for reinforcements to tackle the Zetsu armies in order to let our Kages battle uninterrupted. Currently, the 4th Division is too few in numbers to fight against an estimated Zetsu army that is 40,000 strong.
"The Kages who were chosen by Kabuto are anything but random. Kabuto specifically resurrected one Kage from each of the Five Shinobi Nations with the exception of a Hokage, all of whose souls are out of his reach. He obviously wants to draw all the Kages out onto the battlefield, including Mizukage-sama who is currently protecting the daimyos. To what ends, though, it remains an unknown."
Silence reigned in the war room, and Shikamaru realised how quiet everyone had become only a few moments later.
He quickly bowed and apologised, "Forgive me, Honourable Kages. I have spoken out of turn."
"No, boy – you have spoken well," said the Raikage, "The enemy wants us to falter in the face of falsehood. The Raikage out there may wear my father's skin and walk with his stolen soul, but underneath it is nothing more than some foolish meat puppet. If we can walk into the fight remembering that, then so much for Akatsuki's foul strategy."
It was easier said than done, and everyone knew it.
"How much longer before they arrive within striking range?" Tsunade asked.
Inoichi, who was still connected to the telepathic communications network, spoke up, "Field reports suggest that despite how the enemy forces are coming in from different directions, they will all arrive within striking distance at approximately high noon in fourteen hours' time."
High noon – the hottest and more unbearable part of the day in the desert. The resurrected Kages would brush off the scorching sun, but the same cannot be said for their living counterparts.
"Kabuto is throwing everything at us, hoping to crush at least one Division, it seems. My main worry here is that he is trying to divert our attention, or at least weaken our other three Divisions by expecting us to call for backup for the targeted 4th Division," said Shikaku.
Gaara finally spoke up, "The 4th Division will not ask for reinforcements."
"Kazekage-sama?" asked Shikaku, not quite believing his ears.
Gaara walked over to the map and pointed at his Division's place marker, "My Division remains the only one with a low assassination rate because we have not confronted the White Zetsu clones for extended periods. If we were to bring in reinforcements, there will be no telling how many of those clones will be masquerading as our forces and taking advantage of the situation to fully infiltrate all our Divisions. We cannot take that risk."
"But Naruto…" started Tsunade.
"When Naruto arrives, the fighting would already be underway. How many shadow clones can he possibly send to pick out our enemies while fighting at the same time?" Gaara said it more as a statement than anything else, "I will be glad to have Naruto fighting with us, but not at the risk of draining his chakra to nothing."
Sakura sighed; Gaara was right – Naruto would probably over-exert himself trying to help as many of their men as possible. If they were to task him with the job of identifying the Zetsu clones on top of that, Naruto would simply give them a winsome grin and poof up a few hundred more shadow clones with no regards for himself.
Naruto was a brave, selfless idiot. But an idiot nonetheless.
"Tsuchikage-sama, can I count on you to help me defend our borders?" asked Gaara.
Oonoki snorted and replied, "Even if you did not ask me to, Kazekage-sama, I had plans to assist the 4th Division. I would like to send my greetings to my former teacher."
Gaara nodded, then turned to address the Raikage, A, "Raikage-sama, can you give us any information on how to counter the Third Raikage's attacks as well as what we should expect from him?"
A did not appear pleased that he was being confined to the war room for now, but he went ahead and gave both Gaara and Oonoki as much information as he could about his own father.
"Sakura," said Tsunade, observing that the other Kages were otherwise occupied, "Can I speak with you?"
"Of course, shishou."
She was so caught up in the tense atmosphere of the war room, and her nerve endings abuzz in anticipation of the battle ahead, that Sakura had completely forgotten to question why Tsunade would want to speak with her at that moment.
Thus, her mental defenses were soundly crushed when Tsunade asked, "Is there something going on between you and Gaara?"
It took Sakura several deep breaths before she finally convinced herself to not go into hysterics. Leveling her gaze at Tsunade's, she replied, "We are just good friends, shishou."
Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest and gave Sakura a skeptical look, "Is that what the kids are calling it these days – 'good friends'? Gaara used those exact same words when we last talked."
"We are at war with Akatsuki, Tsunade-shishou. I can tell you honestly that I do not have the time to pursue a relationship right now."
"According to Shizune, the Kazekage doesn't seem to share your sentiments, what with him calling you by your given name and then the kiss itself…" there was now a smirk etched on Tsunade's lips.
Sakura could not help but blush at the memory of Gaara kissing her hand while gazing at her so intensely, and right in front of Shizune no less.
"It was a gentlemanly gesture, and Shizune nee-san knew it!" Sakura was a step away from burying her face in her hands in mortification.
"Just give me a straight answer, Sakura – do you like him?"
Sakura didn't trust herself to speak; she nodded minutely instead.
"You really like him, more than just a friend," concluded Tsunade, "And this is not an infatuation?"
"Shishou, Sasuke was an infatuation. And in the years since he deflected from our village, I've been on enough dates to know the difference between a passing feeling and something stronger," a tiny part of Sakura was wondering why in the world she was having this conversation with the highest-ranking shinobi of Konohagakure.
"And it's not some bad-boy phase that you're going through, you are certain?"
Sakura blinked. Twice. "Wait, what?"
"Gaara has the looks for the part," Tsunade then pointed at her own forehead, "And the tattoo. I know a lot of girls who would be smitten by that combination."
Sakura did not know whether to laugh or to cry; their entire conversation was starting to sound like something out of a bad daytime soap.
"Shishou," Sakura hissed through clenched teeth, "I'm not into 'bad boys', and I am not shallow enough to go into a relationship with someone just based on their looks."
"Sakura," Tsunade's voice became softer and kinder, "I want you to know that Shizune brought this up to me out of concern for you and Konoha. Being romantically involved with a political figure, especially one of Gaara's station, has huge ramifications on the entire shinobi world. If it comes to the point of a political marriage, you are effectively creating an unbreakable bond between two Shinobi Nations. And if you mess it up, well…"
"Shishou, please," Sakura was sure that her face must be as red as a tomato, "We are nothaving this conversation. I like Gaara; Gaara likes me. End of story. No time for movies or dates, and definitely no time to consider anything close to matrimony. We have a war to focus on right now."
"That's my point, Sakura. We do not always make the best decisions in the face of death, and when confronted with loneliness, we can…"
"Oh, stars!" shrieked Sakura, and promptly slapped both hands to her burning ears, "I promise I will be careful, both when I'm fighting and… when I am not fighting. Now can we please stop talking about my love life?"
Tsunade smirked once more, and said to no one in particular, "She calls it her 'love life', and yet refers to him as a 'good friend'. Such paradox; Katsuyu, you will help me keep an eye on Sakura, won't you?"
The slug summon poked its head out Sakura's collar and squelched in agreement, puffing itself up a little.
"Sakura," said Katsuyu, "If the Kazekage tries to make any moves on you, I shall not hesitate to defend you."
Sakura had a hard time deciding which was worse: when everyone just assumed that Gaara and she were doing the dirty, or now that everyone was treating it as a foregone conclusion.
Maybe she should hunt down Kabuto and Uchiha Madara herself, and put an end to this war and have all the shinobis go back to gossiping about their own people instead.
The two women (and their slug summon) were so caught up in their conversation that they failed to notice how the other three Kages had stopped to observe them for a while.
A was the first to speak up – "Kazekage, I certainly hope your personal medic will not become a distraction in the ensuing battles."
Gaara's gaze hardened as he replied, "Haruno-san is an exceptional kunoichi whom I can trust to defend herself. She will not be a liability to me."
"Kazekage, I don't think that was what the Raikage meant," Oonoki shared a knowing look with A.
It took Gaara a moment to process what both men were implying, and when he finally understood, he had to fight the urge to raise his voice at his elders.
"Raikage-sama, Tsuchikage-sama – Haruno-san is Hokage-sama's apprentice. Let us not speak of her like this again."
Okay, maybe he did not raise his voice, but he certainly lowered it enough to get his point across.
Oonoki raised an eyebrow at Gaara, and said, "Kazekage, your personal life is of your own concern. But if it starts to affect your capacity to function as the Regimental Leader, we can and will step in. She is a beautiful kunoichi; why, if I were eighty years younger, I wo…"
Oonoki was cut off by a sound that Gaara made at the back of his throat that left all three men staring at each other. Without another word, the Kazekage turned on his heels and swept towards Sakura.
"The insolence of youth..!" A scoffed.
Oonoki was still staring at Gaara's retreating form.
When the old Tsuchikage finally found his voice, he pointed a finger in Gaara's direction and asked A, "Did the Kazekage just… growl at me?"
"I believe he did."
Gaara walked up to Tsunade and Sakura and gave the former a nod of greeting before giving his full attention to Sakura, "We should return to the camp, Haruno-san. I require you to go over the deployment plans with me."
Tsunade cocked at eyebrow at Gaara, "Kazekage, do you often discuss such matters with your personal medic?"
"Haruno-san possesses a mind as sharp as Nara-san's, Hokage-sama. It will be a shame to have her fulfilling the role of a medic-nin only."
Sakura blushed at the compliment, causing Tsunade to mistake the reason for the colouring on her cheeks. With a grin, she asked Gaara, "Well, aren't you going to call her 'Sakura' in front of me?"
"Not when there are so many listening ears around, Hokage-sama. I trusted Shizune-san to not gossip, and it appears she only told you – an action that I can agree with. Haruno-san is her fellow apprentice after all, and she was simply exhibiting due concern."
Tsunade nodded exaggeratedly, saying, "Of course, of course. It is only in privacy that you may call each other by your given names, Gaa-ra-kun."
Gaara looked a little queasy at being addressed so intimately by a woman old enough to be his grandmother, and Sakura was silently attempting to beat herself unconscious in the meantime.
"Shishou, we'd love to stay and chat, but I need to get the Kazekage back to bed… I mean, make sure he gets enough sleep before the battle tomorrow," Sakura blurted out, then she turned to Gaara and stage-whispered, "Can we please go now before my personal life takes centre stage in the war council room?"
After the farewells were (rapidly) said and Gaara had left with Sakura, Tsunade allowed her posture to ease a little, worry written on her face. Both Gaara and her apprentice were mature for their age due to their lives as shinobis, but love was one department that they were both sorely lacking experience in.
The only thing she could do now was to hope for the best; that, and to pray that Sakura wouldn't accidentally start the Fifth Shinobi World War by breaking Gaara's heart or vice-versa.
Tsunade would go to war if someone dared to hurt Sakura like Sasuke once did.
"Son of a…! He left us behind!" Oonoki suddenly yelled out, drawing Tsunade's attention to him and a bewildered-looking Shikamaru.
Muttering a few more colourful curses, Oonoki finally calmed down enough to assess the situation. "It's alright – I can fly back to the camp, and when I get there, I'm going to… what?"
Tsunade and A were deliberately avoiding looking at Oonoki, and that only irritated the old man even more.
"Alright, fine," sighed Oonoki, "I'm going to 'levitate' back to the camp. You youngsters have a lot of nerve, thinking that the sight of an old geezer like me flying is something weird."
Tsunade coughed discreetly into her sleeve.
"You there – Shikaku's son," gestured Oonoki, "Come on – I'll carry you back; save you the trip of walking back to the 4th Division all by yourself."
Shikamaru started to hold up his hands in horror, and his father quickly took a few steps forward.
"Tschikage-sama, my son can walk back. We don't want to trouble you," Shikaku looked about as aghast as Shikamaru did.
"My father is right, Tsuchikage-sama. I don't wish to impose on my elders in such a manner," added Shikamaru.
"Nonsense," snorted Oonoki, "Imposing would be if you asked for a lift directly. I'm now offering you one. Hurry up, boy – I'm already one foot in the grave; I don't have time to dawdle."
Bad enough to have the Tsuchikage offer him a lift literally; now Shikamaru was guilty of wasting his time as well. He fought back the urge to sigh aloud – it would be rude to do that in front of all the Kages.
Inching forward like a kicked puppy, Shikamaru dragged his feet towards Oonoki and obediently held out both arms at a ninety-degree angle from his sides. Oonoki floated about a metre and a half into the air before he grasped Shikamaru by his upper arms and slowly, oh so very slowly, they drifted their way out of the war room and into the starry night skies.
Shikamaru thought to himself about how terribly romantic this situation would be, if the person carrying him was not a hundred years-old, grumpy man who was probably a little too complimentary about a shinobi's beauty, especially when she was young enough to be his great grand-daughter.
Sasuke must have loads of experience in this department. First Orochimaru, and now Uchiha Madara – that guy is an old geezer magnet, mused Shikamaru.
Shikamaru tried to distract himself by counting stars so that he did not have to focus on the Tsuchikage's clammy grip on his arms.
He counted exactly forty-three stars before Oonoki's spine gave an ominous "snap".