Disclaimer: The characters are Masashi Kishimoto's property, I own the OCs.

Characters age:

Akane: 19 (52)

Itachi: 19 (36)

Shisui: 22

Naruto / Sasuke: 13 - 14

Kakashi: 27

"I see. The Hokage told me the Land of Water was opening itself to the continent again, I am glad our help was useful," the Daimyo said, putting the letter from my Daimyo down. "You are the spokesperson for the Land of Water and Kiri then."

"Yes, Wakubo-sama. My name is Uzumaki Akane." He closed his fan and put it against his lips.

"Uzumaki Akane, why does it sound so familiar…"

"The Hokage's wife is named Uzumaki Kushina," one of his advisers said. He looked at me. "If I am not wrong, this young woman has also been a kunoichi for Konoha for a few years."

"How unusual to transfer from one village to another!" he commented, surprised. I smiled awkwardly in return, knowing I had to remain polite and pleasant.

"Yes, it is a long story I will not bother you with. Today, I am the connection between the Hokage and the Mizukage for obvious reason, and I have had to opportunity to see the daimyo of the Land of Water, Uryuu-sama, several times. Now that the time of the Bloody Mist is over, his only wish is for his country to reconnect with the continent."

"I am sure he is desperate for new, bright days for his nation," Wakubo-sama said thoughtfully.

"Everything the Land of Water is able to do currently is detailed in the scroll. I also wanted to ask for your approval to go to the harboring town of Okkonai on the Eastern coast and ask for at least two permanent connections with the Land of Water. One would be for Kiri specifically." He opened his fan.

"Well, if we are to enter a trading relationship, I don't see why not. Gin, get ready to write a letter. Uzumaki-kun, you will be summoned during the week and given the documents, so stay in Kikou and enjoy what the Land of Fire has to offer." I smiled, put my hands on the floor and bowed to him.

"Thank you very much Wakubo-sama."

"You may leave." I did just that.

I had left Sasuke at the tea house nearby. When I got there, one table was crowded with teenage girls. I raised a brow and moved closer to see Sasuke, who was doing his best impression of his father by having his arms crossed and his eyes closed in front of his empty cup.

I did tell him to stay here but…I didn't think he would…attract this many…fans?

I cleared my throat. The girls didn't hear me, but Sasuke did, opening his eyes and looking in my direction. Some girls giggle, others bickered because they thought he was looking at them.

"Aneki." I was taken back. It was quite a…

Oh, the girls all moved aside to let him through. He called me that to make them shut up then.

"Let's pay and we can go home." He nodded, we did just that and once we were far enough, he sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it would…be like that."

"I could live without this," he muttered. "You were not that long."

"The Daimyo was cool." I ruffled his hair, which made him glare at me. "I'm waiting on his response and then I think I'm going to deliver it in person." He averted his eyes briefly.

"Does it mean I'm going back home?"

"I don't know, I'd need to ask Minato. Tsunade-san should have given him my letter by now anyway." I'd send Uma once we were back in the hotel room. "I don't mind you staying with me if that's what you want, but I don't want to be accused of kidnapping you."

"You're fine with not going back to Konoha?" I raised a brow.

"Oh, you mean because of your brother?" He nodded. "Well, of course not but, the sooner I get things settled between the Daimyos, the sooner I can leave for shorter amounts of time. We both knew that I'd need to move a lot, it sucks but it's how it is." I pinched his cheek for a second. "I can't go back there until I know you're no longer in danger anyway, and that, your brother would agree with."

"Hn." He looked embarrassed for a second, but then he nudged my side with his shoulder.

A part of me was sad to lose the cute, kid Sasuke I had grown so fond of, but another was glad that as he would grow up, I would get one of my best friends back. I would cherish the few moments he would show his childish side that were left.

The next day, Shisui appeared in our room.

"What have you been up to?" I asked him from the desk, fuinjutsu notes spread on it. Shisui was lying down on my bed.

"Investigating Orochimaru and Iwa." Sasuke looked up from his katana. "I think Orochimaru cleaned all of his bases in the country, I found only abandoned places. As for Iwa, I'd say there are three platoons stationed alongside the coast and one that is in the Land of Tea."

"What was the Akatsuki's gain in that again?" He took a deep breath.

"Not much, it was a way like another to keep the villages occupied, weaken them, the usual." So ultimately, it was to be thrown away once they no longer had any use in these people.

With Minato as the Hokage, I guess Obito would take more measures to weaken the villages. Raza was still alive as well and Konoha had not been as destroyed as before either after the Chuunin Exams. The Uchiha clan was still around.

If the villages were stronger than before, then the efforts to crush them would only be stronger as well. There were still two jinchuriki for Kurama as well, both close to the Fourth Hokage, they would not be taken easily.

Naru was with Jiraya-san, I wasn't that worried about him but…it was Aunty. If Minato left for too long, and with Danzou acting up, who knew when she would be a target.

"We will have to go to foreign countries to get proofs of Orochimaru's doings against all the villages anyway," Sasuke stated flatly. He looked at me. "Didn't Tsunade-sama say to wait for Hokage-sama's word regarding him?"

"Yeah, and we're not making any move against Iwa either, it would be stupid. We…wait then." I glanced at Shisui, who had closed his eyes and removed his eyepatch. "If there's nothing, maybe you should go back to the Land of Iron."

"I can't believe you're trying to get rid of me Akane," he retorted idly.

"It's not that, but you could be caught by Konoha or anyone and you've done what you were supposed to do, check on Iwa's whereabouts." He didn't make a sound. "Don't you want to see Shinobu?" That made him open his good eye.

"Whos's Shinobu?" Sasuke asked us, confused. Seeing that Shisui had sat down in a flash, he smirked. "Wait, is it your girlfriend?"

"Sasuke, you're usually quiet, don't be a brat right now," Shisui said with a frown. Sasuke and I exchanged a knowing look and I nodded. "I see you!" I snickered. "We…kind of got into a fight before I left."

"Right before you left?" He sighed.

"Her entire life changed, and she hates how I'm trying to help you guys, even if it's from afar, instead of focusing on our life together."

"What does she expect you to do?" Sasuke asked with a scoff.

"No offense, but you're fourteen Sasuke, you don't understand the situation." The youngest frowned.

"Now, don't fight guys," I said before Sasuke could say something. "In a way, you're both right. Shisui, I'm sure you're toning the actual situation down to protect her, but if you love her and respect her, and what you guys have, then you need to talk to her with honesty. Don't do like Itachi and I and spend six years having all the facts wrong."

"Well of course, I don't want to be stupid like you two." My eyebrow twitched. I wanted to help, and I was getting that in return? Asshole. "It's just that once I'm back there, I don't know if I'll be able to leave the country again."

"If Minato could work something out with Mifune once, he can do it again I'm sure."

Ultimately, Shisui left the next day. We did as well three days later. Getting a meeting with the owner of the harbor was a lot easier, and when he saw the Daimyo's request, he agreed.

I was showing Sasuke a few moves with a katana, debating whether or not going back to Kikou to wait for Minato's reply when I sensed three familiar chakra. It distracted me, but not enough to not dodge Sasuke, so I did and made him fall. Sadly, he progressed quickly so he landed on his free hand and flipped himself back on his feet.

"What is it?" he asked me with a frown, twirling his katana to move his wrist.

"Kou, Yasuo and your father are coming in our direction, no doubt a courtesy of Kou's Byakugan." Sasuke's hand immediately flew to his eye. He would wear the eyepatch at night only now. "Oh right. Well, he has to know about it anyway." He was still clearly anxious.

My old team appeared shortly after. From the look on their faces, it was not just a random visit.

"Why do I have the feeling I'm going to get a mission?" I muttered under my breath. Sasuke nodded next to me.

Fugaku-sensei frowned at his son and in a few steps was in front of him. He had his chin between his fingers and forced him to raise his face so he could look at his eye.

"What happened Sasuke?" he asked him coldly, but I could sense the anger in his words.

"It's just a scar Father," the teen replied, removing his father's hand. He was obviously not convinced and glanced my way.

"The Hokage told us Sasuke ran into you and decided to stay, is it true?" I blinked, taken back and I knew Sasuke was too. He recovered quicker than me though.

"Yeah, I have nothing to do in Konoha anyway." I just…nodded.

"Why are you here?" I finally said.

"To tell you a few things from the Hokage," Kou informed me once they were close to us. "He wrote everything in detail here," he continued, giving me a scroll. "But to make it short, don't investigate on your own."

"I knew it," I sighed.

"And we have a mission to do with you for Konoha and Kiri," Yasuo added. I raised a brow. "We need to collect Intel about what Iwa is doing in the country."

"They're giving a warning to the Isle of the Lost," Sasuke said as if it was obvious. I ruffled his hair briefly.

Before, he would have thought before about saying something like this. However, he had known all of us since he was a baby or young child here.

"Sasuke is right. I haven't been there myself, but some of my contacts have informed me that Iwa looks as if they want to launch an attack on the place."

"You're well-informed about the place," Kou noted. I averted my eyes.

"It's where I went after I left Konoha." The three of them frowned. "I had to lay low and I found myself there, the whole vibe of the place was weird and…well, I kept an eye on it from afar ever since."

"Maybe you can share information on the way then Akane." I nodded at the Uchiha leader. "Sasuke, you're coming with us. You are part of this mission as well."

We went south and I briefed them as much as I could about the island, leaving anything related to the Land of Iron out of the picture. I didn't know how much I could say, and it did not seem important right now. We stopped a few hours later.

"They're here to stay," Kou stated, his Byakugan on. "It's like a military village."

"Can you give an estimation of how many people there are?" Fugaku-san asked him.

"Well…" He turned his head to the east. "I can see at least a dozen of shinobi running toward the Land of Tea." I frowned. "They must have another outpost near the fishing harbor Akane told us about."

"It would make sense to cut off any entry before attacking," Yasuo stated. "Sensei, how do we proceed?"

"Sasuke and I will go to the border to locate the shinobi. You three get in the outpost to find out more about this." Sasuke didn't pipe a word next to his dad.

I mean, no matter what, he knew that currently, infiltrating an outpost full of Iwa shinobi was a death sentence to him.

"Information gathering is our thing but infiltr…" Yasuo started.

"It's my specialty," I interrupted him coldly. "Not with you guys, but between the Byakugan and the Sharingan, I think we can work a plan out."

"Wow, Team Four is back when we're on the brink of a war, great," Kou commented with no enthusiasm.

I had infiltrated a lot of places, including Iwa, Suna and Kumo these past few years with the guys but…it was a military outpost. People there were all shinobi, on their guards because they were in foreign land. It would not be the same.

"Not being seen is more important, so if you feel it is getting too risky, abort the mission," Fugaku-san told us. We all nodded. "Sasuke, let's go." They left.

"Have you guys done any infiltration since I've left?"

"Some, but not much," Yasuo said.

"Okay. Kou, I think we're going to rely on your eyes a lot." He nodded. "First, we need to mark out the perimeter of the zone. We use the cardinal points up to five square kilometers."

It didn't take long; the outpost was smaller than we originally thought. There were maybe two hundred shinobi though. Once I had put markers around the outpost, I gave the boys a marked kunai each.

"I've never seen a kunai with this shape before," Yasuo commented, inspecting the kunai.

"They're great for assassination, but these are markers."

"Markers?" I nodded.

"Hiraishin markers." They both did a double take. "Guys, mission first, questions later." They shared a quick look but nodded.

"The next step is finding a way in without disrupting their whereabouts?" I nodded at Yasuo.

"Kou, you're the locator. Then, I'm the abductor and replacement. Then, Yasuo you're the interrogator with your genjutsu." I took each of their hand to put Chakra Concealing Seals. "Here, sensors should not be able to detect your chakra." I grabbed a notebook in my pouch.

The thing was you needed to be prepared for long infiltrations. Fuinjutsu was incredibly useful for this, so I was pretty much always prepared, from prosthetics, to outfits, wigs…

"Iwa," I stated, summoning a scroll from the notebook. From the scroll, I got a kunoichi outfit from Iwa. "Huh…I think it's the Explosion Corps. Kou, find me a target please while I'm changing. Make sure then tend to be on the outside if you know what I mean." He nodded and I walked behind a tree. It was quick to change, and when I walked back to them, I had the standard Iwa outfit on, with two sleeves and not just one.

There was a mask that reached my nose and a hood, so only my eyes were really visible. It took a dozen of minutes for Kou to find someone. Twenty more minutes and the poor girl was at our feet, unconscious.

"Now, I'm leaving you with her. I'm going there and try to dig up things on my own." I put a Chakra Concealing Seal on myself and stole her forehead protector and the tinted glasses she had on for some reasons.

Kou told me her itinerary and I left them. The second I saw shinobi clad in red appear more and more, I took a deep breath and got into my role. I kept to myself and put markers kind of anywhere I could without being seen.

"The Tsuchikage wants to send a team to the island and seize their power," I heard as I was next to a tent bigger than the other ones.

"I get it, but we know Konoha keeps an eye on us. We have three members of the Explosion Corps only, we can't send them all there," another voice said.

"We keep the defense mainly here and one of them, the other two go." I looked at myself.

The difference between the outfit for the Explosion Corps and regular shinobi was not much, but I was clearly impersonating the Corps. I had to get out of here asap.

"Akemi, where are you going!?" someone yelled behind me. I turned around and put my hands on my stomach. The guy was immediately embarrassed. "Oh…oh yeah, you go ahead then."

When I was out of sight, I teleported to the guys. The girl was still unconscious.

"Already?" I shrugged.

"It was that or risking being shipped off for infiltration for Iwa. Anything?"

"It seems there is some hyper-secretive meeting between us and Iwa in the Land of Tea." I frowned. "You?"

"Well, they want to send a team to infiltrate the island and maximize their defense here but…a meeting?" Kou nodded. "I have a bad feeling about it."

"Let's meet up with sensei and Sasuke," the Hyuuga stated. Yasuo and I both nodded.

With Root around and now a meeting…Minato and the old man? The Land of Tea would be neutral I guess but…

The timing felt off for some reason. We were quick, jumping from tree to tree and I was behind the guys, Kou in front of us.

"Kou, can you check behind me?" He was quiet for a few seconds.

"Why do we have Konoha anbu at our heels Akane?" I cursed under my breath.

"I think they're coming for me," I said, frowning.

"Wait, you were part of Root, wasn't that dissolved years ago?" Yasuo asked me, craning his neck to glance at me.

"Bite me, I thought so as well until recently. You guys keep going, I'll catch up."

"No!" I was taken back by Yasuo's sharp answer and the dark glare in his eyes. "Last time you've done something like this, you left with Shisui Akane, so no!"

"You've got it under control Akane?" Kou asked me firmly.

"Yes, it's not like last time."

"Kou! What's wrong with you!?" Kou didn't even spare us a glance.

"Now the cat's out of the bag, I can tell you to stop letting your feelings for Akane influence your judgement." Yasuo tensed in front of me. "You know like me Akane is stronger than us and clearly know the situation more than us. If she tells us she's good and to keep going, then it's what we're going to do."

"We can't just aband…"

"I'm asking you to leave, it's a big difference," I interrupted him. I stopped on a branch and turned around. "Find Fugaku-sensei and Sasuke."

Depending on their intentions, I would feed the Claw.

Barely two minutes later, I touched the ground of a clearing and was surrounded by Root members. They all had their tantos out immediately.

"Wow, what did I do?"

"You're a traitor to the Foundation and will be treated as such," one of them told me coldly. I tilted my head.

"You know, I was hoping you'd say that." I quickly threw markers around and ran straight to one of them.

Before they could react, I body-flickered behind them. They stopped my katana, but it was enough to get the Claw out and steal their soul. The blue ball of energy was swallowed in the Claw and I cracked my neck.

"What…what the hell is that!?" I threw another salve of markers around. There were five of them total.

I teleported behind one and stole their soul, then the next, and the next and the final one. The Hiraishin was way too useful, and they were Root members. They were good, yet as I could use the Hiraishin without a break for several uses now, they saw nothing coming.

I glanced around, staring at the bodies around me numbly. It was so easy to kill people with the Claw, just a touch almost, that it almost didn't feel real. A few seconds went by where there was nothing but the wind blowing my hair softly, and then there was a sharp pain in my stomach. I wrapped my arms around my middle, bending forward but the pain was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

I looked at my hands and flexed my fingers. It seemed…normal. Everything seemed normal.

I smirked to myself. At least connecting the Claw to my seal was finally done.

I spun around suddenly when I felt a hostile presence in my back and threw three shurikens at it. They landed in a tree. There was…nothing.

Weird. I kept staring at the spot suspiciously as I picked all of my weapons up and got rid of the bodies with…some Kiri jutsu I had learned in my time in the Anbu. Then, I was back on my way to the others. I summoned Seihitsu and jumped on his back, telling him I would guide him while he was keeping track of any suspicious scent on the way. Seihitsu was also naturally faster than me when we ran.

"I smell rocks and earth," he said suddenly.

"Yeah, Iwa is around. Anything from Konoha?"

"It's fainter, but yes." I nodded.

"I have four, you too?"

"Yes."

"Good, they're all here." My fingers clenched harder in his fur, and I leaned toward his head. "Earlier, I sensed something weird, a chakra, something I don't know. But then it was gone, keep your nose open to that too." He growled in approbation.

I found the others half an hour later. I knelt next to Sasuke and Seihitsu sat behind me.

"Are you okay?" Yasuo asked me immediately, looking at me up and down.

"Yup, the trash was taken out." Kou shook his head while Sasuke looked away from his dad. Well, even if it was odd, it was none of my business. "So what now?"

"Hokage-sama is in a meeting with the Tsuchikage and Kou has seen Root members going in that direction." I pinched the bridge of my nose. Of course they would be, Danzou was clearly trying to have Minato's head and maybe the Tsuchikage's as well. I mean, why not have two Kage's head for the price of one?

"We're going."

"Huh? Can we leave the country with…"

"I will deal with the consequences if need be," Fugaku-sensei interrupted me. "And you're allowed to Akane anyway."

"Yeah, true, I forgot," I mumbled. "I had a weight attached to me keeping me from leaving the country since I came back." Sasuke glared at me.

"I'm right here," he sneered at me.

"And I enjoy our bonding time together Sasuke," I retorted with a smirk. He narrowed his eyes at me and looked away, clicking his tongue. "Do we know where they are exactly?"

"No, which is why Kou and you are going to do some scouting of the area." I nodded.

"We should go to that Ruibosu Village, they should be nearby," Kou suggested.

"Let's go."

The afternoon was coming to an end when we got there. As Kou was looking with his Byakugan, I put my hand flat on the ground and closed my eyes. People in the village…some Iwa shinobis around…

I frowned.

"We've got Root going to the west at high speed, they're around twenty."

"And to the west are Minato-sama and the Tsuchikage," the Hyuuga added. Seihitsu came back with my shadow clone on his back.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," my summon informed us. I dispelled my clone and petted Seihitsu on the nose.

"Good job, you get some rest now." He left in a cloud of smoke. "How do we proceed?"

"We're going to split up. Akane, you and I are going to hold them back while you three find the Hokage and warn him and his bodyguards." Well, Fugaku-sensei's plan seemed good. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Yasuo shifting slightly, and Kou narrowed his eyes at him. The Uchiha kept quiet. "Akane." I nodded and we split up. "Have you completely disposed of them?"

"I was an anbu in Konoha and Kiri sensei," I replied simply. It didn't take us long to reach the Root anbu.

"Katon: Great Fireball Technique!" As usual, the fireball was big. I removed myself quickly from the heat to get to those who had dodged, so all of them.

However, they were focused on Fugaku-sensei and not me. One man saw me coming and made a wall of earth when he noticed I was not slowing down. I threw a marker above the wall and teleported there.

"Is that the Hiraishin?" one of the three below asked, recognizing the jutsu.

"Yup!"

"Kat…"

"Suiton: Double Water Dragons Technique!" I spat two water dragons from my mouth which completely extinguish the small flame he had produced. The second it touched the ground; I made the tiger seal with my fingers. "Hyouton: Freezing Technique." The dragons froze, like two poor souls now trapped in the beautiful ice dragons I had made.

I glided on the ice and saw boulders coming my way.

"Suiton: Wild Water Wave." I focused enough wind chakra to make it as sharp as a blade and I raised my head, slicing the boulder in two. Both halves flew on each side of me, blowing my hair as they did so.

He was in front of me, tanto in hands, but I blocked it with my club. I got his blade in the big hook and turned the club to the right to throw his weapon away. He started to move back, but I managed to put my hand flat on his chest and put an Immobility Seal and Chakra Suppressing Seal on him.

I looked back when two anbu were behind me, tantos in hand. I quickly made an Explosive Seal beneath my foot that sent me in the air and made me dodge their blow. I put my hands on each of their head and sealed their movements and chakra as well.

I looked at them as they fell limply to the ground, then the two trapped in my ice.

"You're fucking weaklings," I said with disgust. "Were you that weak when I was there? Thank God I left." I made a shadow clone to stay with them and walked up to Fugaku-sensei. He was done as well and was making an anbu talk. When he dropped him, he looked at me as his sharingans were fading to black.

"Care to explain why they tried to kill Sasuke?" I raised a brow.

"I'm not doing that." He frowned. "I sent Itachi a message and told him what happened, if he didn't tell you it's on him, not me. Sasuke backed him up earlier before I could understand what was happening that's not…No, this one is not on me!" He seemed taken back and I was panting now my rant was over. "I'm not taking the fall for these two lying to you Fugaku-sensei, I'm not!"

"…I will take it to them then, and Minato." I pursed my lips. "What?"

"Well, there is one thing. I…I didn't save Sasuke from them, I found them unconscious on the ground."

"Who did then?" I smiled awkwardly.

"My dad?" He froze and widened his eyes. "Now, he used a Healing Seal on his eye and Tsunade-san came and checked his eye and it's fine, Sasuke's fine so my dad didn't try any funny business on him."

"What was your father doing here?"

"Keeping an eye on Iwa? Oh and Shisui was there too." He opened his mouth, but I pointed my finger at him. "Which is something I have not told Itachi, so here, you know something he doesn't."

"Fugaku!" We turned around to see Minato, with his three bodyguards and the three others from our team.

"Hokage-sama." Minato glanced around.

"Unbelievable," he muttered. I raised my hand.

"I had a few sent after me earlier, and I killed those I admit. But I didn't kill these ones."

"It was an assassination attempt Akane, I'm not going to hold it against you or Kiri." I sighed in relief

"Hokage-dono." We all looked down at the short, old man coming our way. He narrowed his eyes at the club on my back, but looked back at Minato. "If this is some scheme to make me waste my tim..."

"It is not, Tsuchikage-sama. This…is an unfortunate and desperate attack against me."

"Hmph." He started to leave. "If I can give you one piece of advice Hokage-dono, the only way to save the body from gangrene is by severing the infected limb." The tension between them was quite something. "I will refrain from any action for one month. After this, I will attack the Isle of the Lost." He stopped next to me. "Long time no see Uzumaki." I looked down at him and bowed a little."You need to have quite the audacity to have that weapon on your back, or just enjoy provoking people." I didn't say anything and merely smiled, although faintly. He scoffed and left with his bodyguard.

"We're going back to the village," the Hokage stated. "Akane, can you summon Seihitsu so he can carry a few of them?" I nodded.

As we were on our way, Sasuke slowed down to be next to me.

"You didn't get hurt fighting these anbus?" I scoffed.

"Please. I was with your dad anyway." I quicky glanced at him. "He knows, by the way. About them going after you." He groaned. "He used his sharingans on a Root member and I very happily told him to take the lie to your brother and you."

"Seriously?"

"You're not taking me down with you. I've been neck-deep in your clan's business before and I'm not doing it again." It seemed strike a chord.

"Of course, sorry Nee-san." I raised a brow, surprised by the change of tone. "I'm sure Nii-san had a reason not to tell Father."

"I hope for him it was a good one, that's all."

Why would he not tell him? Or why would Minato not tell him?

Thanks for reading. I hope you have liked it, please do let me know in reviews! Thanks to the Guest for the reviews! Yes, I fell in love with the MCU like a decade ago now. I'm flattered you consider this story like canon ^^, and I write fast because despite being in college we didn't have much classes because of the essay we had to write. As for my English, it is a combination of school and not having the patience to wait for the French dub of American shows and finding the French fanfics on this website lacking for some fandoms. Then I went to uni for a degree called 'LLCE' in French, which is the study of literature, civilization and the language in a foreign language and I was in English, so most of my classes were in English. Also, I never struggled with the foreign languages and I started English when I was in elementary school with native speakers, which is not something that happened for everyone so I was quite lucky for this.

Bye!