AN: Chapter title: Questions and Answers

The location chosen for their nightly debriefing had been changed every night so far.

At the end of their first night, all of them had been taken to separate locations and spoken to not by their Jonin-sensei but by members of the Torture and Interrogation Force and each of them had a private session with Ibiki Morino. For three straight hours, they had been all but interrogated by the relatively unknown group of Shinobi. Across the hours, they had been pressed to repeat their story, repeat what they thought the others had been doing all day.

They had passed whatever test they were taking, had been allowed out by the end of the three rough hours.

The first night had been the worse.

For their next few debriefings, the intensity had lessened considerably.

The second had been much less intense, Kakashi handling it all by himself. With Asuma and Kurenai not available most nights, he had become their unofficial squad leader for this mission. He was a constant in the village after being attached to the Daimyo's guard detail.

Even when the other two Jonin were present, like tonight, Kakashi still took the lead in their debriefings. Unofficially, the Hokage had placed him in charge of this all but off the books mission, something recorded in official records as a training exercise on the basics of counterespionage.

Tonight, their debriefing was inside a reserved room in the same bar Kakashi had brought Sasuke to a few days ago. And, unlike their other recent debriefings, it was rather tense.

"He threatened you?"

"He threatened you!"

Where Kakashi was calm, Asuma was explosive, showed what he felt in this moment. Kakashi shot him and Kurenai both a look, urged them both to take their seats again while he worked. Grudgingly, the two did. While Kurenai hadn't been part of the outburst, her temper had still gotten the best of her.

"That's about what I expected when I asked you to get this." Kakashi looked over the slip of paper Ino had managed to snatch from the tower, one of many between her and Sakura. It did little but confirm that the Daimyo of the Land of Waves was indeed alive, confirmed that he was being held by Zabuza Momoichi until Naruto returned. "You two did a good job."

He looked over the rest of the information they had managed to grab today.

It was mostly things they already knew.

Two of Naruto's Cohorts, a few thousand of his clones in total, were focused on patrolling the Land of Fire, moving supplies for reconstruction, and securing the village itself. The third, one he had used during the invasion, was still in the process of being restructured. Like most, they didn't know it was going to be used for Naruto's mission to occupy Sunagakure.

That information was being kept from the village as a whole, the Hokage would speak with Naruto later on whether or not to inform even the Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf of his mission.

Most still didn't know of his interest in the Land of Whirlpools, the changes that had been taking place within the ruins of Uzushiogakure.

"We've gotten more information than we had on his organization at least. You're doing good work." To a part of Kakashi, it was interesting to see just how structured Naruto had made his army. While he lacked the ability to create barriers to track intruders like the Konoha Barrier Team could, lacked the knowledge of someone like Orochimaru to brand his clones with cursed seals for power or to assure their loyalty, he could still track them through a thing as simple as paperwork. The way the organization was structured was interesting, flowed down from him and Sasuke to the rest of the commanders of his Legion.

While Naruto's authority was without question, Sasuke's was in an odd situation concerning the responses he earned, something their continued observation of Naruto's army was proving to be the norm.

If he had to ever disrupt Naruto's army, he would aim for the Centurions. They seemed to act as battlefield commanders, kept order both on and off it. Without them, his force would be a bit easier to deal with.

"It doesn't feel like we're doing anything though." Ino tossed the stolen message around in her hands, her frustration at all of this evident. "He doesn't even care about anything we do. He's just giving us busy work…all of this is just a waste of our time."

"That may very well be so. Or it could be the opposite. We're still in the information gathering stage of…this. The Hokage's rather set on this method, puts all of you in the smallest amount of danger and can provide the most information for us to develop our own countermeasures." Kakashi leaned back in his seat, his one visible eye passing over the gathered Genin and Chunin in front of him. "But that's the kind of talk we save for when you're older. Right now, I need to know how you all feel about this assignment?"

He expected the looks his question earned from the younger Shinobi, ranging from confused all the way to wary.

But he didn't get any responses.

If he was being honest, he hadn't expected any.

Hubris of youth, inexperience, sheer stubbornness, misplaced pride, whatever one wanted to describe it as, younger Shinobi usually had difficulties saying they needed help.

"If there's nothing to add, then I'll consider all of you done for the night." Kakashi was already rising out of his seat, collected his notes and the messages the Chunin and Genin had grabbed. "You're dismissed."

Once the briefing with Kakashi was finished, Shikamaru Nara wasn't surprised to see his father waiting for him, wasn't surprised that he wordlessly bid him to follow after him. At the speed they travelled, Shikamaru had a chance to get his thoughts in order.

Or at least try to.

It seemed that whenever Naruto was involved, it was difficult to think.

'That went about as well as I thought it would.' It was hard to say if it was good or bad that his predictions were right. 'Kiba didn't even show up. I still can't believe he didn't even send Akamaru to drop off a message. I know he's hanging out with that girl Naruto brought in but…he's not trying to collect from her. He's just trying to be her friend.' At times, it seemed like Kiba didn't have a deceptive bone in his body, the Inuzuka always wearing his heart on his sleeve, always acted on what he felt with few exceptions.

'And Ino's pushing buttons.' He wished she didn't but he also knew her. She would back off if she neared whatever line Sasuke/Naruto's Legion had but it looked like she wasn't aware that there was a clear divide. 'Sasuke doesn't look like it but he's giving us all leeway while we're in these Tribunes roles. And on the other hand, the Praetorians don't like her. They tolerate the rest of us, only really glare at Sakura and her. And they're the most like Naruto. What he wants, they're usually the ones to do it.'

At least he knew he didn't have to worry about her. For all the issues the Praetorians, Naruto's Legionnaires in general, may have with them, they didn't believe in hiding it. They were also loyal. If anything was going to happen, it would have to be under order.

Which was a little terrifying to think about.

He was almost sure he, Choji, and Kiba wouldn't be involved but couldn't say the same for Ino or Sakura. From how Naruto acted at the Chunin Exams, he didn't dislike Shino either, wouldn't put him on little more than a kill order.

"And then there's Hinata." He wasn't blind. He knew just how strained the rest of her relationships had become since Naruto had spoken with her. He didn't know her well enough before all this to see how much she had changed but he could tell from the looks Kiba and Shino gave her when they thought no one was looking, the look in their eyes when they spoke of her.

Naruto had spoken with her but she had been the one to choose to change.

She didn't even look to have hesitated to do it.

She didn't look conflicted, there was no struggle in her to take a different path.

'Would…would I do the same?' It was always the question he reached. 'What would make me be like her? Friends are supposed to stick by each other, right? And we're still friends?'

"After all, I do still consider you a friend Nara."

'At least Naruto still thinks so. He's different from back at the Academy but he's not…He can't be an enemy…He wanted to be Hokage. Wants to be Hokage. And he's got to be strong to pull something like that off, he's got to have some claim to fame. Just like the First and his Wood Release, the Second and all his Kinjutsu, the Third and knowing every technique in the village, the Fourth and his Flying Thunder God. He just decided to make an army, decided to show it off.'

'He's still Naruto. He's not some enemy. He can't be. He's different but he's still the same…deep down inside. We're still friends.'

"Defeat is still a disgraceful thing." At the memory of meeting Naruto after his match with Temari he couldn't help the near shudder that almost stopped him from moving. The way he had looked, how his hand on his shoulder had been like a crushing weight, it was all crystal clear. "Allow me to show you what true victory is."

The grief he had felt, the sorrow, it had all been in the moment. Now, all he could feel was something that felt a lot like fear, something that shouldn't be possible. That didn't make sense. He had never been afraid of Naruto. It didn't make sense for him to be afraid.

But you can even be afraid of your friends sometimes, right?

His father stopped, seemed to notice just how far Shikamaru's thoughts had spiraled.

"You're overthinking this son." Shikaku stopped the two of them from colliding as he came to a stop in front of his distracted son.

"Then what am I supposed to think?" He needed advice on what to do, on how to do it.

"That's a tough question." Shikaku figured here was a good enough place, not as private as he would like but it would do. He nodded towards a park bench. "Let's sit down and talk about it."

He did exactly that, sat down and waited for his son.

He chose to join him.

"What are you feeling?"

Father and son seemed to share a skill: Asking tough questions to the other.

He was silent for a while. Not a few seconds as he composed his thoughts.

It lasted for nearly five minutes.

Shikaku didn't fidget around in his seat, didn't find himself anxious as the silence dragged on.

He merely waited for his son to get his thoughts into words.

He gave him time.

"I…don't know. I can't lie and say I'm not getting a little annoyed with all this. I can't say I'm not upset with everything that's happening. I know this is a mission but I don't know if I can keep doing this if thinking about Naruto, about what he's doing, makes me like this." Shikamaru at last spoke up from his seat.

His eyes focused on the fireflies shining in the night, the light that faded moments later.

The bugs that were so simple, so small in such a world so big to them.

"And why is that?" Shikaku looked out into the night, didn't weigh down his son with staring at him as he spoke.

"All of this." The Genin lifted his hands up, gestured around them. "The spying, the secret meetings, the ANBU Black Ops watching us for the last few days, and…everything. Is this all really just preparations? Is the Hokage really considering this as an option? Are we supposed to see Naruto as an ally or an enemy?"

For a moment, the father took up his son's silence.

Privately, he debated on what to tell Shikamaru.

Would the truth help his son?

He wasn't confident on many of the decisions the Hokage had made on this himself, had buried his unease by following the guidelines Hiruzen had told him when this mess had grown into what it was today. If Naruto was to be considered an enemy, the Hokage was taking a strange approach to all of this. As difficult as it was to understand Naruto's strange Kinjutsu, the origins of which could be summed up as a string of insanity no matter his attempts to decipher it, it wasn't radical to think that simply killing the user could deal with the technique if it truly was a threat.

Of course, the situation was also far too complicated for anyone, even someone as militant as Danzo, to outright suggest such a solution.

Not only was Naruto the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi, a powerful military asset, but the handful of Shinobi in the village who could accomplish such a thing and prevent the Tailed Beast from running amok were all rather heavily emotionally invested.

Hiruzen.

Jiraiya.

Kakashi.

The list wasn't exactly long and all of them had issues that could still their hands, could very well cost them their life against Naruto.

Gai was a possibility in terms of pure power but the man had never had the character for assassinations, for what would amount to killing a boy instead of a man. His skillset was also too destructive, too eye-catching. And he lacked the ability to prevent the unsealing of the Kyubi.

Danzo had been considered, him and his ROOT agents, but there was no telling what would happen if the two clashed. Danzo's…"injuries" left him with as many advantages as disadvantages against Naruto. It also presented a risk that couldn't be ignored. As much as Hiruzen and Danzo now agreed on the danger Naruto presented, they also had very different mindsets. And the middle of an assassination wasn't the time for a power grab.

As much as he respected Asuma and Kurenai as capable Jonin, the two didn't have the power nor experience to accomplish such a mission. He had no doubt both could handle themselves at least for a moment against the Jinchuriki but surviving a battle was very different from killing the Uzumaki.

Of course, none of this information would help his son at the moment.

The knowledge that, even if only in private, Naruto's death was being considered, would only add more turmoil to his thoughts.

"This is a situation I don't envy you being a part of son." Shikaku broke his silence after only a minute, joined his son in looking out at the fireflies before them. "The answer to your question is rather complicated. While he's done nothing directly against the village, you know his actions have begun to cause an unwanted rise to tensions. His occupation of the Land of Waves, his public kidnapping of a Daimyo, the death of a man as powerful and influential as Gato. Those kinds of things, what they mean, get people higher up than the two of us rather uneasy: the Daimyos of the different countries. And, from that unease those Daimyo begin to call for action and pressure begins to mount on Shinobi of the Hidden Villages. It only increases as the situation remains unresolved."

"That's not even taking into account the other four nations, how they've responded to all of this."

"Iwagakure is always difficult to keep the peace with but our latest reports have the Tsuchikage believing that this is all a plan by the Hokage to gain more territory for the Hidden Leaf. He believes that this is all part of a power grab and is preparing accordingly. They've been building up forces since word reached him. Latest intelligence says he's likely plan to answer this "annexation" with one of his own. While they've managed to drive both of their Jinchuriki away, they likely still remain loyal in some ways to the village. And both are rather close to mastery of their Tailed Beast. If not having complete control already."

"Kirigakure, while still in turmoil, is also looking at Naruto's claim in the Land of Waves as the prelude to a new war. As you all know, the Land of Water is famous, closer to infamous, for the many Kekkei Genkai of its population. While lower after the purges, many still exist. In any time of war, those Kekkei Genkai users are all formidable assets. Not to mention how dangerous their abilities become the more experience they gain with them. Any of the ones who managed to survive are no doubt dangerous threats. While the level of control of the Sanbi's Jinchuriki is unknown, we know he's still alive. The civil war may have torn them apart but an outside threat has a way of unifying opposing sides. At least for the short term."

"Kumogakure is likely to have a similar mindset as the other two. Simply magnified. The Raikage has always been rather aggressive, a legacy of stubbornness comes with the position, and there's little reason to believe that Kumogakure won't attack first if the situation grows any worse. And that will cause a domino effect with the rest of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, each of them either joining the fight or annexing new territory. Those conflicts, while originally minor, will then lead into larger and larger battles until the Fourth Shinobi World War is officially declared."

"And there's Sunagakure to take into account. While we've managed to defeat their invasion attempt, they're still far from pacified. We have the upper hand at the moment but it won't last much longer. The Hokage will release the Kazekage from our custody at some point, a majority of their prisoners will likely be returned with him, and there isn't much else we can do from our current position. In the next few years, it wouldn't be extreme to expect that Suna and Konoha will have a tumultuous relationship. We're not allies but, officially, we're no longer enemies either."

Shikamaru said nothing as his father spoke.

He said nothing as he did little more than fill the air with empty words.

He already knew all of this, had guessed all of it.

"You didn't answer my question."

Despite the situation, a father couldn't help but smile at his son's dry tone.

"Fair enough." Shikaku shrugged his shoulders. "Like I said, it was a tough question. Maybe I can answer another one you have." He laughed. "Maybe make this one a bit easier for your old man?"

"With everything that's happening, I'm out of easy questions." The younger Nara did have another one, one that was related to Naruto but was also related to Sasuke, to Ino, to Shino, and even to Rock Lee. "But…why did you think I wasn't ready to be a Chunin?"

It was the wrong question to ask.

Both knew he was ready for the promotion, that he more than deserved it.

Things had simply changed, had made his father see remaining a Genin as an advantage.

"I figured you already guessed. I didn't know how conflicted you were about all of this, didn't think it would get to you like this, but my initial reasoning was to assign you to a temporary squad with Naruto once things calmed down. I wanted to give you the chance to see all of this for yourself, get a feel for him before I asked you some questions about him. Of course, I didn't expect for this opportunity to come out of nowhere like it did." The man could allow something close to embarrassment to cover his face. "Makes me looks like quite the fool, doesn't it? I stopped your promotion, something you deserved, because I wanted to ask you a few questions."

"I pieced all of that together easy enough. You were avoiding answering me when I asked after the others got the news." The younger Shinobi could only shake his head. "Before all of this, I agreed with you. I wanted to use this chance to go on a few missions with Naruto, to use this chance to understand him more. I honestly thought I was ready to handle a mission like this, was ready to handle myself outside the village no matter what but after all this…"

He stopped talking.

He simply ran out of words, couldn't think of any to say.

He looked to the clouds instead. Even at night, he could find something to distract himself.

"There's no shame in what you said son." Shikaku joined his son in looking at the clouds crawling over the night sky. "Too many Shinobi aren't willing to admit their faults, admit when they're not ready for a mission. And so many of them never learn why its so necessary until it's too late."

The older Nara sighed.

"I know this is going to be hard for you but, at this point, I believe it's best if we stick to the plan. We could manage to gain something from all of this. When you didn't protest that night, didn't push me for a better answer, I thought that was your way of accepting the plan. Now I see that was a mistake. I should've asked you instead of simply assuming." He looked down from the clouds to his son. "So, do you?"

"…I do. Just, can you answer that first question?"

"You don't have to view Naruto as an enemy if you don't want to. Neither do you have to view him as an ally. A case can be made for either."

"That's a bad answer. It's indecisive."

"It's a complex answer."

"Then can I ask another hard question?"

"…Sure."

"How do you see Naruto? Is he an enemy or an ally to you?"

His father's silence was answer enough.

"…This is all such a drag." His heart wasn't in such a complaint. His eyes drifted away from the world around him and to the ground, his hands curling into fists on his thighs. "If he's the bad guy…If we're going to have to fight him…why even bother with all of this?"

His voice cracked, broke under this sudden surge of emotions.

"…Tough questions usually have hard answers. And, a lot of the time, we don't like what we hear." Shikaku gently laid a hand on Shikamaru's back. "I know this is all hard for you but this is something all Shinobi face. At times, the conflict within us is something we have to ignore in order to serve the village."

"What a bad way to live…"

"At times, it is."

AN: This chapter was originally Kakashi heavy. I looked it over. I decided to change it.

Review/PM if you want.

Peace.