I learned patience, perseverance, and dedication. Now I really know myself, and I know my voice. It's a voice of pain and victory.
-Anthony Hamilton

Chapter 14: Pain and Victory

The wagon bumbled along the road as the party slowly made their way into town. Shikamaru leaned against the back of the pale frame of the cart and stared at the road behind him. He at least had some purpose as the rear guard - that was mercy. Being useless would have been much more depressing considering this was still his first outside mission.

The road moved beneath him as he curled his arms around his legs. They had just left earlier that morning and it still felt as if they had made no progress. The journey into town was to be long, a few days at the very least. However, that fact didn't make it any less boring for him. His eyes trailed over to the side of the road where Naruto walked alongside the wagon train.

Naruto had been delegated to protect the left side of the train while Kei took right. This left Inoichi to walk en point and keep an eye out for any danger.

The oxen dragged on slowly and occasionally lowed their disapproval at carrying such a heavy burden. As they bounced along the path, clouds of coal dust would puff up into the air much to Shikamaru's annoyance. He waved away another such cloud away before casting his eyes down the road once more. He blinked his eyes as he spotted a small speck on the horizon. The boy brought his hand up to shield his eyes from the sun and double check to make sure he saw something. The figure slowly grew larger and larger, and Shikamaru turned to shout to Naruto, "Naruto-san! Tell Inoichi-sensei there is someone incoming!"

Naruto turned to Shikamaru and gave him a salute before running to the front of the train. "Inoichi-sensei! Inoichi-sensei!" Naruto scurried up alongside his mentor and said, "Shikamaru-kun sees something! You should probably go check it out!"

Inoichi turned away from Masaki with an apologetic smile and said to Naruto, "I'll be right there. Naruto-kun, can you take my place at the front for me? I'll call you if it's an enemy," he added upon seeing Naruto's disappointed face. "I'm not going to leave you left out, you know." Inoichi smiled and patted Naruto on the head. This morning, he and Naruto talked as Kei helped Shikamaru board the wagon. Naruto was desperate to prove that he was more than just a killer and had asked Inoichi to put him on the front lines if a battle came up. Of course, Inoichi had accepted.

The blonde man ran quickly to the back of the wagon train and looked down the road. A shadowed figure was running quickly down the path. A frown creased Inoichi's face. It was too obvious to be a sneak attack. Perhaps it was a diversion for people hiding in the trees? Blue eyes searched the forest only to find the woods devoid of any living soul. That left the option of the person being a messenger. The person was obviously a shinobi by the way they were shunshining, but Inoichi couldn't say that they were familiar.

He knew that he couldn't break off from the caravan to meet the mysterious person. If it was meant to be a diversion then pulling him away from his genin would have been exactly what they wanted. Instead he slipped a kunai out of his side pouch and slid it up his sleeve. If they were an enemy then he would have to be ready in any case.

"Thank you for telling me about him, Shikamaru-kun. I'll keep an eye on him, but try to see if he had any comrades," Inoichi ordered serenely as he walked backwards. He couldn't afford to take his eyes off this follower for a moment. He acknowledged Shikamaru's acceptance with a silent nod, and he began to silently calculate the ninja's movements.

He couldn't be taller than 5'10 at the most and he certainly wasn't over 300 lbs. This meant Inoichi would probably be able to face him in a fair fight if it came right down to it. He watched as the ninja fumbled around for something in a waist pouch before pulling out a small book. The man hurriedly flipped through the pages until he appeared to find what he desired. The pale-skinned man held a hand over his head and flashed through a series of signs.

Tiger, snake, monkey, rat, this was ANBU sign language! Obviously the man wasn't ANBU if he required a book to use the language, but someone had clearly trusted him enough to give him the manual. Inoichi's mind automatically decoded the signals as the man ran through them: Hand-Delivered message of immediate importance. Did the Hokage want to speak to him? Inoichi's eyes narrowed as he thought about the words. Hand-delivered messages were only for A and S class letters. Why would the Hokage send one while he was out with his genin?

"Shikamaru-kun, this man is an ally. You need not worry about him. I will go talk to him, but stay on guard." Inoichi's sharp eyes caught how the man had slowed his speed so he was merely keeping pace with the caravan. He didn't want others to overhear this conversation.

Shikamaru hummed a reply before curling back up in a ball. Inoichi took this as a yes and shunshined towards the ninja. As he came closer he realized that he knew the man. "Kamizuki-san, what is it?" Izumo puffed his hair out of his face before stopping on the ground.

"Hokage-sama asked me to deliver this to you. He said it was of the utmost importance that I get it to you and that you should be careful for listening ears." The brown haired man flipped open his side pack and pulled out a Manila envelope. He handed the folder over the Inoichi and said, "It's concerning your secondary mission. He said you would know what that meant."

Indeed, Inoichi did. Had something happened in the village in his absence? If the Hokage was sending him a message about his job to train Team Tsume as spies then it couldn't possibly be good. "Thank you, Kamizuki-san. Tell Hokage-sama that I will be back in a week's time at the very latest."

Izumo read into the silent dismissal and gave a short bow. "Right then. I'll head back to guard duty now." He waved to Inoichi before turning around and shunshining away. Inoichi watched the chuunin leave before looking at the folder. He had better open it before returning to the caravan.

He cast a look over his shoulder to see the train still within eyesight and bent the metal prongs back into place. He pulled the flap open and slid the papers out onto his palm. Inoichi stuffed the empty envelope in his pants' waist and began looking over the notes.

Dear Yamanaka Inoichi,

Since you have left Konohagakure, something of the gravest nature has happened. I will reference to the conversation we shared in my office a few months previous, and I trust you will use that knowledge to decipher what I mean.

They are closing in around me, trying to suffocate me and those close to me. It is imperative that the mission I sent you on is completed with much haste. There are things I must know, and time is of the essence. I do not know how much time there is left. If the mission is only partially completed, it will have to do. We cannot wait for too much time to tick by.

These many years I have trusted you with my most important secrets. I know I can trust you to commit yourself to this mission. Consequently, Yamanaka-san, please move with haste. The date of the exams is nearing, and I wish to consult you over it.

The Hokage of Konohagakure,
Sarutobi Hiruzen

Inoichi frowned as he scanned over the letter. The council was beginning to move so early? Inoichi never would have thought they would try to plan a coup. Where would they get the political force they needed to...? Then the thought struck him. The exams. The chuunin exams. The chuunin exams were being held in Konoha this year. All of the military villages would be there with some of their strongest genin. Hired assassins could masquerade as body guards of high profile daimyo and kage. The genin could be faked and replaced with chuunin. There was no limit to ways that they could sneak in allies.

Inoichi bit his thumb as he thought over the letter. Would his genin be ready to take on the mission so early? He had expected them to have a few years at the very least before they had to go to compete. This was just too soon. He looked to where the wagon train was pulling away into the distance and sauntered towards it. It wasn't fast enough so he would catch up, but fast enough so that he wouldn't be left behind. He needed time to think about this. He'd have to break it to his team what they were truly designed for, and he wasn't sure that they would like it. No one would like to hear that they were brought together to spy on their own friends and family.

Inoichi sighed and shook his head. Hopefully, they would accept it. They always took everything in stride and, with any luck, this would be much of the same. Even if they accepted it, would they be able to handle it? They were just children right now, and they would be up against professional spies. They weren't ready, but the Hokage had given explicit orders for their deployment. Inoichi would have to obey that command.

Inoichi ran a hand through his long hair before looking back up towards the train. Shikamaru was still sitting in the back and was looking at Inoichi with interest. Inoichi wondered when he should tell them. He could do it now and give them time to think it over or he could tell them once they reached Konohagakure. Either way, he was sure a blowout would occur. Perhaps it was better to get it over quickly, but it could mean jeopardizing a mission. In Shikamaru's words: how troublesome.

He flipped through the other papers that were contained in the envelope and found a list of dignitaries that would be gracing the exams. Konoha, despite trying to create peace between all the nations, had the most tumultuous relations with the surrounding countries. Recently they had made peace with Sunagakure, but everyone knew that it was temporary at best. The Hokage and the Kazekage had been at ends with each year for decades now, and chuunin exams wouldn't change that.

He stared at the list of names and tried to recall what he knew about the people. If the council was going to try and throw a coup with the help of an enemy nation, then which one would it be? He obviously wasn't there to perform checks, but there were some countries that could be weeded out from the beginning. Amegakure was too involved in internal disputes to get itself involved in another war. Otogakure was a small state, but they had risen in notoriety after a string of S Class criminal captures. They could be suspicious.

Oh and Sunagakure, they were beyond suspicious at this point. Ever since the Kazekage had made a sub textual threat at the world meetings three years ago, Konoha had put him on a high risk list, despite being allies. Inoichi fought the temptation to immediately categorize Suna as being the enemy. He wasn't even there and couldn't make decisions.

The Kazekage, Inoichi was going to be sending his own genin to spy on the Kazekage's followers. The ruthless man had earned his place as one of the most disliked Kazekage ever after rumors came around that he had forced his children into his military. They hadn't wanted to become ninja and they didn't have to become ninja. Some had said he was waiting for his own children to die, but Inoichi knew that any father could never feel such a thing. Deep in their hearts, they would always worry for their children.

Inoichi sighed and shook his head to clear his thoughts. That wasn't the task at hand. He had to tell his genin what was going to happen. He trusted them enough to know they would not rebel. They had grown so fast, faster than he had any right to expect them too, but they would have to grow a little bit more.

He tucked the papers away in his waist pouch before shunshining up to the wagon. At Shikamaru's questioning gaze, he said, "It was just Kamizuki-san. He delivered a message to me which I will share to you all tonight."

-TSUME-

The wagon train pulled over for the night in an inlet on the side of the road. The oxen pulled the carts to form a semi-circle along the forest's edge while their masters pitched camp in the half moon. They lit fires to deter the creatures of the night. After they had all dined, the miners all eased off into sleep, leaving the ninja to themselves. Inoichi waved his students closer to the fire.

"You all heard of the messenger that I talked with earlier in the day, correct?" Inoichi questioned. At the nods he continued, "I received a letter from the Hokage about a mission that I had been tasked to. It's the reason why I was allowed to create my own team from the pool of students, and it is also why your team is different from all the others."

Naruto tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "Well? Are you going to tell us about it?"

"Yes, Naruto," Inoichi said with a kind smile. "I am. The story begins in the heart of Konohagakure. You all know of the council?"

Naruto's face fell into a dark frown as he heard the name. The council had marched against him these many years. The council members had often taken it upon themselves to make his life a living hell. He hoped he wouldn't have to do something like become an elite council slave team. He'd rather die to be perfectly honest.

"The Hokage has worried for a long time now about their actions. Actions in the commercial and residential districts don't require his authorization much like how deployment of ninja forces doesn't require their authorization. However, the council has been demanding power over the ninja corps. The Hokage has refused them this and they have been fighting for many years now," Inoichi said with a nod.

"He worries that soon they will not wait for him to grant them power, for that will never happen. A revolution is on the brink of happening." Shikamaru froze in shock. He knew that his father sat on the council, but he had never heard of anything like this. Was his father aware of the traitorous mumblings? Were any of the shinobi aware of them?

"That was why Team Tsume was brought together," Inoichi continued. "Old dogs like me have proven to be loyal to the Hokage for too many years. The council is on edge with us and it would be impossible to get near them. On the other hand, you,"

"Are fresh young genin. Ones that can be easily manipulated by people of power." Shikamaru cut in. His brain was already beginning to forge links between all the pieces of the puzzle. If Inoichi was telling the truth, then how far did the betrayal reach? What would it mean for Konoha? Coup de tat?

"That's unfortunately correct, Shikamaru-kun," Inoichi said with a sigh. "Not only that, but no one would expect a genin to have the skill set required to spy. I know what I am asking of you is difficult, but I must ask it. Are you willing to spy on your classmates, your neighbors, and your family to figure out where the council's grasp extends to? We do not know who is on our side and who is on theirs. Knowledge is power and right now we are weak. The enemy knows who are on their side, but we do not and it puts us at a distinct disadvantage." He looked at the trio with a cautious glance. His eyes trailed from Kei to Shikamaru to Naruto before flickering back to the fire. He let the genin stew in silence as the reality of the situation came crashing down.

Kei was stilled. She had often spent her time working about her parent's store, and she had heard things like "The shinobi are too reckless. What if they decided to rebel?" and "The shinobi are free to do whatever they want. It isn't fair.", but she had never thought about them before. Were these the beginnings of a civil war?

She bit her lip as she thought about what Inoichi was asking her. He was asking whether her loyalty to the Hokage was stronger than her loyalty to her friends and family. It was true that she had sworn to serve and protect Konoha, and by extension, the Hokage, but never had she thought she would need to choose between the two. But she had read all too much on the consequences of civil wars, of which Amegakure was a prime example. A ninja village could be crippled so easily, and Kei couldn't let it happen to Konoha.

If the rebellion happened, what would become of her friends? Most of them were merely genin or civilian, they would not be able to protect themselves. So if she did this, she would be protecting her friends. If they were helping the council, she would still rather have them jailed than have them die in combat. She looked up towards Inoichi and said, "I am willing."

Beside her, Shikamaru was running hundreds of scenarios through his head. There were ones with his family supporting the council and others of his family supporting the Hokage. He didn't want to think of his family ever betraying the Hokage, but it was a legitimate possibility and everything had to be taken into account. Would he be strong enough to go against his father if it came right down to it?

When he heard Kei's acceptance, Shikamaru felt his gut wrench. Either way, it seemed he could be fighting against the people he cared for. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "So am I." The die had been cast and now he would have to stick with it and hope that everything would be alright.

Kei and Shikamaru turned to look over towards Naruto who had stayed silent the entire time. A sneaky smile had made its way onto his face as he whisper-shouted, "Of course! This will be fun!" Shikamaru slapped his face into his palm. Trust Naruto to make light of a serious situation. "I've never liked them anyways, so this is a perfect chance! So, how do we do it?"

Inoichi let out a breath he didn't even know that he had been holding. They had all accepted. Thank goodness, for he didn't know what he would do if one of them rejected. If one had rejected then... Well, they couldn't let the council know that they knew.

"The chuunin exams will be held in Konoha this year. I trust you all know about them?" The genin nodded in return as the leaned over the fire to listen closely. "Foreign dignitaries from all over will be coming to watch the competition. We don't know if the council has made an alliance with one of these leaders to help overthrow the Hokage. I need you to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity on the part of the genin or the sensei. Can you do this for me?"

The trio bobbed their heads up and down.

"Of course, Inoichi-sensei."

Omake: The Genius, the Bookie, and the what?

The genin were all huddled in Naruto's apartment to discuss battle tactics when Naruto suddenly asked, "Hey, wait a minute." He pointed towards Shikamaru and said, "Everyone always calls you the genius," then he pointed to Kei, "and they call you the bookie. Then what do they call me?"

Shikamaru facepalmed and said, "They call you the... Uh..." Then he realized that Naruto didn't have a title. He had been so used to being called a genius that it was practically a second name. Kei was obviously a bookworm with how she carried that notebook around. Naruto on the other hand was slightly more like a hyperactive squirrel than anything.

"See? I don't have a name!" Naruto exclaimed while waving his arms around emphatically. "I hardly see how this is fair! I want one too!"

"This is completely off topic," Kei mumbled quietly. "How about we just continue to call you Naruto-san? And I really don't see why I am the bookie. This is a journal, not a book. And I don't live in a library or something. I observe people. This requires that I don't stick inside of a stuffy library all the time."

"A journal is still a book-like thing, Kei-chan! And it's important! Remember Inoichi-sensei's former team, Ino-Shika-Cho? They were called Boar-Deer-Butterfly and I think it was incredibly awesome. Your name is kinda short to use as a prefix, Kei-chan, so we should do nicknames instead! Come on, please?"

"Genius-Bookie isn't a good starting point, Naruto," said Shikamaru with a sigh.

"Nothing is cool until you make it cool. What, did you think that calling a team Boar-Deer-Butterfly sounded cool in the beginning? Duh, no. We'll make it cool once we become famous!" Naruto chirped excitedly.

"Fine. We'll call you Livewire. Happy?" Kei said with a roll of her eyes. However, Naruto wasn't quite as skeptic as she was about the idea.

"That's so awesome, Kei-chan! I knew you would come up with an amazing name! Genius-Bookie-Livewire! We'll totally rock this name!"

That was the day that Kei and Shikamaru solemnly swore that no one would ever hear of Team Tsume's second nickname.

Author's Note: konatachan603! Did you notice that I used your prompt? ;) I had a lot of fun writing that so thanks for sending it to me!

I'm so honored to be receiving all of this support from you readers! It's amazing that the story has come so far! Seeing the alerts count go up and reading the reviews keeps on inspiring me to plug out the next chapter, so thank you so much!

Also, special thanks to Pokepikachu1, my beta, for taking the time to beta for me with a busy schedule.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!