This is a work of fanfiction. Naruto does not belong to me in any shape or form. Suing me, is counterproductive, as I own nothing, and unfortunately have nothing but a small apartment to my name. Cheers, and enjoy the new chapter, everyone.

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The western district of Konohagakure burned. Bricks and mortar failed amidst the flames of jutsu fueled by chakra. The ninja and civilian caught in the fires died while their screams deafened the ears of their kin and protectors. Ninja that survived the flames, like Hatake Kakashi, watched as those that chose to betray their home, their village, their duty, ran from their defeat. He listened to fire and death, and heard the horn for victory once again. Nevertheless, he watched, and he waited. Waited for them to turn around and realise what a mistake they were making. He waited for Shisui to turn and ask for forgiveness. He waited for the scroll he was so sure that would come, signifying more than surrender, but requesting a pardon for the actions of a few.

It never came. He waited for hours as ninja shook him and pleaded for him to answer their calls. He waited as commanders and generals, greeted him and recoiled when they realised he hadn't responded to their voices. He waited until the sun rose on a terrible morning when the village of Konohagakure, his home, had lost a great number of ninja, healers, and seers, but most of all to him; had lost a great amount of hope.

On that morning, Kakashi finally turned at the call of one Maito Gai, and his request to join him in the Hokage's chambers. He watched his empty village, devoid of life, its civilians hauled and hidden in bunkers to the North. He felt sadness at the lack of life, the lack of sound, and the lack of normalcy. He missed them and their ways. He missed the void that they filled, however unnoticed. He realised once again, for the first time in over ten years, what the first signs of war were once again.

As he and Gai made their way to the Hokage tower, the road empty, Kakashi glanced to his right momentarily, and wondered whether the boy that lived in the abandoned apartment building had made it to the bunkers in time, the boy that he occasionally was assigned surveillance missions for. He thought back to those missions, and how oddly the boy behaved for a 7-year old. Even for one that was enrolled in the ninja academy. He is an Uzumaki, maybe that's the reason? The boy had no family, like many in the village, his clan scattered across the continent, nothing but a broken land and reputation left of their legacy. They were always the front liners, in the Second Hidden War. Now that conflict had once again struck their homes, children like him would be cultivated and cured in accelerated programs in anticipation of the battles to come, likely to die within the first few months.

"Leave this scroll in his apartment, Dog-040"

"Hai, Hokage-sama"

He turned his attention away from the boy who had caught the Hokage's eye as they neared the edges of Sector 12 of the Central District. He paused as a flicker of chakra from the street to his left wavered across his senses. Gai immediately paused as well, quickly calculating the location of the disturbance and signalled to Kakashi before disappearing in a shunshin. He reappeared on the right side of the street, his hands flying in handseals muttering throughout, until he finally whispered, "Kai".

The illusion on the wall of the building disappeared and revealed a standard wooden door, its hinges marred and surface weathered. Gai gestured to Kakashi and he appeared above the door, his hands held in a ram seal. Kakashi nodded to Gai, and he rushed through the door, a kunai held in his right fist. Eyes darted left and right, taking in the surroundings of the interior of the home, and finally came to rest on a small drop of blood on the dark stone floor. Gai reached down and dabbed his fingers in the blood, turning to Kakashi as he jumped through the door, his hands still held in a ram seal.

"It's fresh, no longer than 5 minutes at the most," he said to Kakashi.

Kakashi turned his eyes to him and he slowly released his ram seal, "the genjutsu is going to reassert itself soon, we have a few minutes until it does."

Rising up, Gai looked to the stairs leading up to the second floor, placing his kunai blade back into his utility pouch, "Hai, you lead, I'll bring up the rear. Sequence 32-A, Kakashi."

"Hai," Kakashi muttered as he drew his father's old blade from its holster at the middle of his back. I'll need to get it fixed soon, was his afterthought as he raced up the stairs, tanto held at the ready. He came to a stop at the top of the flight, and felt a faint chakra signature to the left, at the far end of the hallway. He suddenly felt the urge to look away, a feeling of unimportance; that nothing was there. He raised his left hand in a half ram seal and flared his chakra repeatedly, running towards the area he felt the chakra from. He could hear Gai right on his heels, charging his chakra all the while. He leaped, and placed a chakra laced kick at the door, Gai racing right through as it splintered and fell to pieces, wood chips lingering in the air before falling. Not a second after Gai passed, Kakashi came after him, darting to the left as he saw Gai land a mule kick on the wounded ninja holed up in the room.

Gai raised his left hand, fingers held out flat, and he paused. Placing his tanto back into its sheath, he rose up from his stance and walked towards the downed ninja, stopping next to Gai as he spoke,

"Well, well. It seems not all of our friends have left this fair village, ne, Gai-san?"

Gai didn't turn to him, keeping his eyes ahead on what would be their prisoner, "it certainly seems that way, doesn't it Kakashi?"

Kakashi reached into his utility pouch and pulled out a roll of wire, pulling on one end as Gai rolled over the ninja with his foot, a muffled groan reaching their ears. He knelt, hog tying hands and feet before placing two small, rectangular pieces of paper, seals written and charged with chakra on the ninja's forehead.

Rising, he patted his hands down on his thighs, removing imaginary dust off his pants before he turned his eyes to Gai once again, a smile lighting up his features, " So, Gai-san, do you want to do the honors of carrying our illustrious guest to our destination?"

Gai, continued to look at their prisoner, a frown marring his face, "One moment, Kakashi. I would like to have a word before we depart."

Reaching for his kunai blade once again, moving forward before he grabbed at the long hair of the bound ninja before proceeding to cut it off, and remove the headband from her forehead afterwards. Gai backed away once again, surveying his work, "Hmm, it's been so long since I did that, how does it feel, hanzai-sha (criminal)?"

The Kuniochi continued to keep her head bowed, shame no doubt clawing its way through her mind at her capture, and humiliation. Despite this, Kakashi saw the minute flinch at Gai's insult, or attempt at one, anyway. Placing a hand on Gai's shoulder, he stepped forward and reached to hoist the kunoichi onto his shoulder to the Hokage tower. As he rose, he placated her, "don't worry Kurenai-san, you won't be raped anytime soon. You'll be seeing Hokage-sama first, then Yamanaka-dono and whatever he has planned for you."

Yuhi Kurenai spoke, her voice a faint whisper that echoed in the confines of their location, "I didn't do it by choice, Kakashi-san, Gai-san."

Gai's facial expression darkened, his left fist clenched tightly, "I suggest you keep your excuses to yourself, hanzai-sha, you will receive no sympathy from me." He turned and gestured for Kakashi to follow.

As he ran behind Gai, exiting the home and returning on their path to the Hokage Tower, Kakashi mentally retreated to his thoughts about the rebellion of the Uchiha, and how they would have all been gutted and hanged had the Yuhi clan with their bastardized and failing eyes not aided them. He looked ahead at Gai, his movements ever so slightly off, his left fist still clenched in a fist. He understood his frustration. Gai had personally befriended Yuhi Kurenai a few years before, the rookie jounin at the time, and taken it upon himself to assist her in her Taijutsu development.

To think, she would use what you have taught her to kill our comrades. What fury are you feeling, Midoriiro no kemono (green beast)?

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Within his office, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood, still donned in his battle gear, his armored headdress placed on the desk as he surveyed the village. His eyes drifted from the mountain carvings down to the Hyuuga compound in the far Eastern District. His village. He had nurtured it and raised it from its infancy. Watched children grow old and die; some to have never grown at all. Had seen entire clans wiped out, their cries echoing in defeat, while others rose in their wake, spawning new legacies and failures. From the time he had taken the reigns from Tobirama Senju, the greatest tactician he had ever had the honour of calling sensei, Konohagakure no sato had become akin to a metropolis. It had changed and morphed into something entirely different from the place he once called home as a young boy. Civilians now roamed freely within, where once there would be few who were not ninja at some point in their career. Camaraderie became a fixture not only in the village, but in the homes and cities all across Hi no Kuni. Many, if not all, embraced the philosophy of the Will of Fire. They adhered to it, thrived off of it, and allowed it to fan the flames of their souls when they needed it most. He remembered what Tobirama had said on the morning of the Battle of Unroku Bridge, during the Second Secret Shinobi War, "Search for the Will of Fire, Konoha, and you shall safely embark on this campaign and bring glory to our homes, our families, and ourselves. Let the fires burn within your chakra, and may we see each other after, and bask in our victory."

He turned away from the window, and memories of the past as one of his ANBU kneeled in front of him, left hand raised, a scroll held tightly in a gloved fist. He reached for it, and motioned for him to rise, "Ah, Kaeru-kun (frog), thank you. Send for Shimura-san immediately, he is to be here within the next 5 minutes."

An androgynous voice reverberated back before disappearing, "Hai, Hokage-sama."

Scroll in hand, Sarutobi drew a minute amount of blood with a slight application of chakra on his forefinger, sliding it across the face of the seal. Reading the brief message, he resisted the urge to reach for his pipe. Now is certainly not the time for that. He instead thought of when he would make the trip to Uzushiogakure to meet with Itachi-kun and his unit. The boy certainly deserved a much worse punishment than whatever his student had decided to dole out. Always a soft hearted one, aren't you, Jiraiya? You always did like the boy. He raised his head when the chakra signatures of his expected guests drew near.

Waving for his ANBU to keep position, hidden in various areas of the room under Fuuinjutsu, he watched and waited while Kakashi and Gai came into the room, the former dumping his charge unceremoniously onto the floor before they both kneeled, heads bowed.

He walked forwards until he came to a stop directly in front of Kurenai, facial expression set in stone, "Welcome, Hatake-san, Maito-san… Yuhi-chan" His eyes drifted to Gai, "Report"

"Hokage-sama, following the battle at the Uchiha clan grounds, our squadron conducted sweeps of the village and all clan grounds. A total of 263 Uchiha remained in the village, of the original 765. The Yuhi clan have left the village as well, 194 ninja of the total of 390. 196 Yuhi clan ninja are deceased. The numbers at the moment indicate that 369 Uchiha are deceased, leaving 112 Uchiha that have left the village. The remaining clan members of both families have been placed in complete lockdown within Shi no Mori (Forest of Death). All have been bound, their chakra sealed. 12 Platoons are monitoring the confines and perimeter." Pausing, Gai then glanced at Kakashi to continue.

"En route to the tower, a chakra signa—" Kakashi paused as the double doors to the chambers opened, revealing a ninja none could mistake at the feel of his presence. His eyes widened slightly, cursing at the crack in his composure, before he and Gai lowered their heads once again. His thoughts were beginning to run rampant. He knew these briefings were mere formalities, that there were others before that had filled in all the gaps and deduced quite quickly that they would be about the prisoner that they held with them. But if he was here, then things were moving much faster than they anticipated. What is he doing in the village? I thought he was in Amegakure?

The right hand of the Hokage, Migite. The man notorious for killing Oda Nobunaga, the third Soshoryu of Kusagakure in plain sight, sparking what he thought was the cementing action that caused the Third Secret Shinobi War. Shimura Danzo, a man hated by many for his ways, and loved by even more for them. Kakashi's eye flickered to Kurenai, and saw the minute twitch at her recognition. He couldn't fault her. No doubt, his chakra was certainly distinct, and not all that different in intensity from that of the Hokage. He certainly is not a friend to you at the moment, Kurenai-san.

Sarutobi turned and stepped around his desk, looking out at the village. Lacing his hands together behind his back, he turned and eyed Danzo, then Kurenai before nodding; a nearly imperceptible motion. He turned back to the window then as Danzo took a step forward, tapping his cane once on the floor. Two ANBU from Root Division appeared, shrouded in black cloaks, their masks the only thing visible. He looked to the trapped Kurenai, frown lines shifting as his displeasure shone through briefly,

"Come now Yuhi Kurenai, we have much to discuss."

As she was pulled to her feet, gripped by her elbows, the first reaction since her capture came to light at the command. She didn't glare or snarl. A simple scowl adorned her features, as defunct Sharingan eyes, devoid of the attributes that fueled their power burned and seemed to glow as she attempted to funnel her chakra through them. The two seals on her forehead sizzled momentarily, drawing a gasping hitch as her chakra coils seized, legs giving out from under her. The two ANBU at her shoulders continued to hold her up as she continued to gasp and draw in breath from lungs that wouldn't allow her to.

Danzo scoffed, a slight smirk appearing before vanishing as quickly as it came. He turned then, Root ninja dragging Kurenai along behind. One more epithet was heard as the door closed behind them,

"Good, hanzai-sha (traitor). I will enjoy extinguishing that flame during our time together."

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As the double doors to the chambers clicked shut, Sarutobi turned to look at Kakashi and then Gai as he briefly considered the various options he had for these two. He funneled some chakra to the seal on his left elbow before the ANBU commander materialized on his left side, his black dragon mask blending with the cloak he wore around his form. He bowed at the waist, waiting for his orders. After a moment, Sarutobi looked to Kakashi,

"Hatake-san."

"Hai, Hokage-sama?"

"You will go with Ryuujin (dragon king) and resume your tenure in ANBU squad Alpha-1."

Rising, Kakashi bowed at the waist in acknowledgment before inclining his head to the ANBU commander. Both vanished immediately after.

Gai rose out of his bow, "And what will my assignment be Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi raised his chin slightly has he took a deep breath, keeping his eyes on Gai. His immediate desire was to reach for his pipe once again; something he knew wouldn't be possible till a later time.

"You will enter the Hunter Corps, Maito Gai."

Gai took a sharp intake of breath, a surprised expression lighting up his features momentarily before realization took its hold, "I take it Hatake-san will be joining me shortly, then?"

Sarutobi grinned in response, "Ever the sharp one, Maito-san." he turned and finally took a seat at his desk, reaching for a scroll and ink brush before continuing, "As you are not doubt aware, things have progressed much more rapidly than anticipated. The situation in Amegakure has grown increasingly volatile. Hanzou has taken steps and contacted the Daimyo in preparation for a siege on the Northwestern border and River Country. We must move much faster than we have, Maito-san."

Gai inclined his head, "Of course, Hokage-sama."

Finishing the final touches on the scroll, Sarutobi applied the final seal with a minute application of blood and three half seals with his right hand. A flare of chakra later, he held out the scroll for Gai to take, "You will give this to your father in Otafuku City. He and the rest of your family are to return to Konoha within the next 30 days, Maito-san. Do make sure he understands."

With a final bow, Gai placed the scroll within his utility pouch, heading to the west wing of the Tower where he would collect his gear, uniform and rations for his journey. The assignment certainly did not surprise him, the urgency with which plans were progressing however, did. His visage darkened once again as his thoughts flickered back to the Yuhi clan and their betrayal. If they had not assisted that cursed family, we would still have a few more years before these plans had to be made. Contingencies were drawn up in the case that some Uchiha survived, but not on this scale. The Yuhi had hid their intensions well, much better than ever anticipated. It was nearly a route.

He paused in the hall to slow his breath. Calm yourself, fool! They will be dealt with in due time, father is the true issue at the moment. Continuing down the hall once again, his visage once again resolute and his pace sedate, a mutter slipped past his lips as he entered the western wing,

"Contingencies, contingencies."

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