Kohama Hyuga was a man in his early fifties with long black hair that streamed all the way down to the small of his back. Typically, he donned a cream colored kimono with a plain, navy blue jacket over it made of soft material. He had a pair of piercing eyes, from which little could escape. Even when he wasn't using his Kekkei Genkai.

At a young age, he distinguished himself among the Hyuga clan with an unrivaled Byakugan, which allowed him to see further than any other Hyuga in history, and cemented his right as a Hokage candidate during his late twenties when he paired his unrivaled sight range with an ability to, plain and simply, destroy. There were no members in Konoha who rivaled his strength.

When the time for the last Hokage came to step down, Kohama inherited the title, and that was why he stood in the Hokage's office, looking through the enormous window there into the vast village that was hidden in the leaf.

If he so pleased, he could see it all.

Standing there, with his fingers intertwined atop his lower back, the air inside his office shifted ever so subtly. Almost immediately thereafter, he perceived the chakra of one of his subordinates and spoke without turning around to face her.

"Yes, Ora?"

"There's been an attempt on the Bijuu Shrine."

His eyes came to a slow close the moment he heard those words. It wasn't a gesture born of regret, but of anticipation. Rumors had been swirling for close to a year now that the land of the Shinobi was going to see another great war.

Since then, many things had occurred. Traders that provided each of the countries with needed supplies, including the smaller ones like the Village Hidden in the Rain, had been assaulted by bands of unknown individuals. It didn't take very long before countries began suspecting that these attacks were linked to one of the other countries, especially when the groups of assailants were reportedly specialists in the use of one element.

Iwagakure in particular had already started taking heavy military measures to defend their boundaries against Sunagakure. They believed that the Country of Sand had always been jealous of neighboring countries because the vast deserts in their land weren't particularly as fruitful as other lands, and that they intended to weaken Iwagakure enough so that they may take over a portion of their land in the future.

"The Shinobi that were involved in the attack were using the Lightning release primarily. Before their bodies could be taken for study, however, each of them dissolved, leaving absolutely nothing behind for an investigation."

It was the same old story. To Kohama and a few others, it was painfully clear that someone was trying to pit them against each other. He recalled a fruitful meeting with the other Kage months ago, when they each reassured one another that no intrusive military activities would be made on neighboring countries. It lasted a while, but with violence erupting every few days, some of them had been infected with a seed of doubt.

Blood turned out to be the right nutriment that seed needed to grow, and now things would start to reach a boiling point. It would appear that if those shinobi who attacked the Bijuu shrine were indeed Kumogakure shinobi, then it was the Raikage's intention to strengthen his land with the power of a Jinchuuriki in order to gain an upper hand in the impending war, and there was no way of proving it now. But really, could all the villages be using the same body dissolving technique to hide their true intentions? Likely not, but . . . it was possible.

Worst case scenario, the other Kages were already embroiled in a game of chess against faceless opponents, each readying their pieces for war.

Kohama's fingers came apart, and as his hands hung at his sides, he gripped them tightly into fists. It was frustrating to know that none of his soldiers were missing, that each and every man and woman who served his shinobi military was accounted for, and yet Kirigakure was trepid towards his village.

"And the Fox's Jinchuuriki?"

"She still hasn't reached the shrine."

The Nine Tails was the absolute grandest prize that a country readying itself for war could acquire. Naruto Uzumaki had made that painfully clear to everyone. The other Bijuu were powerful beings to have as well, and that was why after Naruto's generation faded away to the rigors of old age, each of the beasts was gathered and placed under the protection of a royal guard that consisted of members from each of the Five Great Countries. There, they were destined to remain sealed within statues, protected from anybody who may lust for their power.

Years later, the Bijuu tired of being quarantined the way they were, and threatened to revolt if willing hosts weren't assigned to each of them. It resulted in nine different Jinchuuriki who were not trained for war. However, their status as living representations of the Jinchuuriki who was responsible for the peace they were living under made them influential figures.

Now, it was a problem, because Chizu Uzumaki, the only host that the Nine Tailed Fox would accept, was out in the open with a much smaller contingency of guards than she would have if she was home.

That nobody was able to make contact with her or her guards made it clear that she had either been captured, or was in hiding, because traveling directly to the shrine would likely land her in the hands of whoever was after her.

From behind Kohama, Ora's eyes never left the Hokage. Under the ANBU bear mask that she wore, she stared intently, as if she was trying to read, by his mannerisms, what his decision would be. Would he act?

It eventually grew tiresome to wait, but she wouldn't dare rush him.

"Sending help is going to be a complicated affair. Chizu and her guards can trust no one."

Since the Bijuu Shrine was established, no outside influence had ever meddled in its affairs. The guards in modern times were all descendents of the guards that had been allotted to it in its creation, and all were loyal to the Jinchuuriki over any of the surrounding countries. Naturally, they would take a cautious stance towards any foreign shinobi.

Still, Kohama sensed that other countries would start dispatching small teams to search for Chizu regardless, and a chaotic crossing of paths like that could easily be the one decisive strike that would set a match to flame.

He couldn't stand idly by, however. He had to understand that if the worst came to pass, he was going to have to do his best to put Konoha well ahead of the others. It was his duty to ensure that the village survived, no matter the cost.

"Send word for Eito Hatake, Kokori Nara, and Izo Yamanaka."

Ora's eyes focused, wondering if it was really the Hokage's intention to send only three shinobi. Surely, if the other Hidden Villages were going to chase after Chizu as well, then they would undoubtedly send larger groups.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

She exited silently, and he stood by, watching Konoha. As he did, he called to mind a picture of the devastation that the one named Nagato left behind all those years ago. He had no intention of ever seeing that take place during his tenure as Hokage. He would sooner die.

He was eagerly waiting for the three closely aged shinobi to arrive when they did.

Eito Hatake was the first to step in.

The white hair of his lineage had been washed away by his mother, who had dark hair in contrast to his father's white. His facial features, however, were starkly similar to those of his oldest fathers. He wore the traditional shinobi flak jacket with a pair of black cotton pants, steel plated gloves and, most prominently, an iron headband with the Konoha emblem etched into it that hung over his left eye.

In modern days, the Hatake family had turned close to what was considered a clan within the confines of Konoha. Believing that the power of Obito's Sharingan could one day be used to preserve the ensuing peace, or to protect his village again, Kakashi had it removed so that it may be passed down to the strongest members of his descendants.

Eito made it clear that he deserved Obito's Sharingan early on. He was born with an uncanny proficiency to manipulate chakra that was said to rival the astounding control of the energy by those in the Hidden Village in the Stars, and now, at the age of twenty five, he was considered to be the undisputed future Hokage. In fact, the only thing that was keeping him from taking the position now was that he had expressed a deep hatred for the idea because he believed that the strongest shinobi of a village should not be confined to an office during difficult times.

By now, the Sharingan was well at his behest, though he was still regrettably fated to never attain its grandest powers solely because the blood coursing through his body was not an Uchiha's blood. He had mastered the training passed down to his family by Kakashi, and at one time, he specialized in the protection of high value targets. This, beside his obvious aptitude as a shinobi in general, made him a prime candidate for the protection of Chizu Uzumaki.

Nobody ever found out the real reason why the vision in Obito's eye never blurred, much like it had for other members of the Uchiha clan in the past. After all, the Uchiha clan was extinct, and there was no way to find out. Kakashi once said that it was probably because Obito's desire to protect Konohagakure had been so steadfast, that even after he was dead, Obito would never relent in his desire to see the future and help it as best as his sharingan would allow.

Kokori Nara followed him in.

She, too, resembled her family. Her straight hair could go in any direction she willed it to go, but she kept it wrapped into a high bun atop her head. She wore the same attire as Eito, and even though she didn't have a pair of bright colored eyes, or even though she wasn't particularly busty, she still kept an alluring air about her. Perhaps it was the sheer beauty of her face. Such was the reason why she was the object of Izo's affection.

Kokori distinguished herself as a popular Hokage candidate, just as Izo and Eito had, during her first chuunin exam, where she fought Eito in the final round. The two of them stalemated to a point that the match almost had to be decided by taijutsu, and towards the end, when they were convinced that they had to use the last of their chakra to win, a Jonin stepped in to prevent them from dying from complete chakra depletion.

Songs were made of their ability to sacrifice their lives to win.

Since then, she and Eito had spent a lot of time in the field, protecting high value targets or performing all other duties given to them by the Hokage.

The last one to step in was Izo, and he was taller than the other two. He had short blonde hair with a pair of friendly green eyes. Izo was believed to be the strongest from the Yamanaka clan, and had distinguished himself as the second best sensory shinobi in the village.

The obvious first was the Hokage himself.

During his chuunin exam, he proved himself to be a great sensory type shinobi in the second stage of the test. Therein, he easily avoided the groups that he and his team mates, which included Kokori and the son of the Akimichi clan, believed to be they were least prepared to handle and made short work of the teams they believed they could easily defeat.

After acquiring their scrolls, they easily avoided contact with other teams because Izo could sense them all when they came within range. The team emerged from that portion of the exam without a single scratch to show for it. Now, he was hard at work in an attempt to give the Hokage a run for his money at being a sensory type shinobi.

"I've called the three of you in because I have a very important mission for you."

Each of them stood abreast as they listened to him. In detail, the Hokage began explaining the complexities of the situation that the Five Countries were now faced with. As the three shinobi watched him, it was very easy to tell that he was deeply concerned with the possibility of war. Peace between the largest countries had endured for so long. To watch it burn now would be a tragedy.

Since it happened, all of the countries that entered into the alliance had taught the new generations the great sacrifices of their forefathers in order to keep the understanding of how much must be lost to undo war fresh.

"If it must be done, we will ensure that Chizu ends up under the control of Konohagakure, Hokage-sama," Eito eagerly commented.

Kohame's eyes narrowed slowly and his lips pressed together. He opened his mouth to speak and cut himself short, closing his eyes for a moment, stopping to think. When he opened his eyes, he did so with a brand new intensity.

"I've decided that you will not be wearing the headbands with Konoha's symbol etched into them."

His three shinobi didn't express any surprise.

"You'll be wearing headbands with the Five Country Alliance symbol on them. I require the three of you to understand," speaking, he carried his eyes to each of their faces until they settled atop Eito squarely, knowing that he was the most volatile of his chosen group.

"Because it is not your primary mission to strengthen Konohagakure. It is your primary mission to protect the peace, to protect Chizu and return her to the Bijuu Shrine, where she belongs. It is your primary mission to defuse any tension that may be in the air if and when you encounter shinobi from the other villages. Transporting Chizu here is a last resort only to be used when you are absolutely certain that war is on the horizon. I ask that you not make that decision lightly."

He carried that same intense gaze to the rest of them again.

"Do whatever it takes to preserve Naruto's Legacy. Above all, this peace that we've attained means most. It would be an insult to the sacrifices that our forefathers had to make in order to get us here. If you are forced to return here with Chizu so that Konohagakure may use her as a weapon . . . "

The pause that he gave made it look as if he was unsure if whether his next words were correct. He looked to mull them over deeply before finally, he uttered them, "Bear in mind that I'll have considered your mission a complete and utter failure."

Kohama allowed some time to pass by between the four of them like he was allowing a sponge the time to soak in surrounding water. Once he felt that his message was clear, he continued, "Chizu Uzumaki is believed to be somewhere between the Waterfall Village and the Rice Field Country. I chose a small team because the three of you will have an easier time staying out of sight."

His eyes found Izo, "I have full trust in Izo that he will be able to keep you all from being noticed by any other influences in the area. Now go. Acquire your headbands with the Five Country Alliance emblem on them. Best of luck."

The three of them faded into nonexistence. In their absence, he closed his eyes again.

Did he just send three of his finest shinobi out to be slaughtered by larger groups? No, they were stronger than that. He was sure of it.