Kakashi followed Fugaku's lead as their team quickly cleared the distance already set between them and the duo following Orochimaru.

The wind whistled past them as Kakashi and the others picked up the pace. Fugaku moves with a grace and agility that exceeded his juniors and his gaze locked on ahead as he consistently scanned the horizon with his sharingan to pick up any clues SHibi or Hizashi left for them to follow. Although, Kakashi was keen enough to notice that now and then Fugaku would advert his gaze back for quick glimpses at him.

Kakashi wondered, *Why of all the jonin in the village did he choose me? Why did he ask ME to pick the back up for this?* There was no way Fugaku could have known Kakashi was the deciding vote that secured his win for the next hokage position...so he figured it was only one possibility. Kakashi rubbed his hand over the headband that covered his left eye...the eye of his departed friend Obito. *He wants to see my abilities...to see if his kinsmen's sharingan is good in my hands.*

As he pondered over Fugaku's intentions and fixation with him, the wind picks up, stinging their faces with the chill of the early evening air. It was cold, and only going to get colder. Kakashi looked over to Guy and Genma, who seemed oddly unfazed by the temperature. Was it just his nerves making him shiver then? He shook his head, trying to dispel any worry out of his mind and focus on Fugaku and the mission at hand.

The terrain began to change as the team traveled the dense forest, the trees towering above like ancient guardians were becoming less and less frequent as they were leaving the territory of the Leaf Village in the Land Of Fire. Fugaku signals for the group to slow down and proceed with caution. "More of Shibi's bugs...more than the previous swarm. Smart, the swarms he's left behind as trail markers to guide us started small and only grow the closer we are to him. He can call back his stronger hordes of insects faster that way as well as indicate his distance."

Might Guy smiled widely as he was impressed by such a method. "Woah those bug clan creepies sure got a smart head! Wonder if he free balled that idea or let it marinate for a while!"

Kakashi and Fugaku both elected to ignore that comment; while Genma smirked and asked him, "Do you think he prefers to marinate, stew or simmer his bug ideas?"

Guy gasped, "GREAT question Genma! If he simmers his ideas then-"

Fugaku quickly spoke up, "You can ask him yourself since we're approaching him soon no doubt. No need to make small talk boy." Guy looked disappointed that he couldn't speak of the passionate thinking methods of Shibi Aburame...Genma just looked mildly let down he couldn't poke Guy for some fun. The team continued to move quietly through the forest, much to Genma's disappointment, and the trees became smaller and shorter as they were now in the regular territories of the Land of Fire. Finally, their silence was broken as Fugaku barked out an order, "Kakashi! Try using that sharingan to spot the next swarm Shibi left for us." He came to a stop and the 3 young shinobi halted beside him.

Genma and Guy were a bit confused about why the Uchiha head would order Kakashi to do something he so easily could pull off. Kakashi already figured out why though. It was part of this test to see if he was worthy of Obito's gift. Kakashi raised his headband up, revealing his sharingan and wasted no time scanning the direction the previous swarm pointed them toward hoping he was proficient enough with the ocular power to find the next one.

Kakashi could feel a cold glare from the next hokage as he searched for the ninja insects. Fugaku needn't even look his way to be felt by the young copy ninja. Kakashi could already feel the steady chakra drain the implanted eye came with. His body wasn't of the Uchuha bloodline after all, so while the sharingan worked it didn't come without a downside. The longer it took him to find the bugs, the more chakra he was going to lose. He squinted his eye hard, and even tensed up his body as he tried concentrating more and more on scanning for a mass of unusual chakra. Fugaku asked, "Can you not read chakra with that eye boy?" With a tone that was a mix of aggression and genuine curiosity.

"It's not that Lord Fugaku. I can make out human chakra signatures, I've just never looked for an animal's before. I just need some time to figure out..." He picked up the signature of some of the Aburame bugs that had followed them from the previous swarms. They had been resting on their clothes and Kakashi took advantage of the few insects there with him to try finding matching auras far away when finally, "-Wait. I see what's practically a blob of chakra about 2 kilometers away near the tree tops. It's fuzzy, moving inconsistently but is staying put. It may be on a larger scale, but it's overall signature isn't much different from the beetles with us right now. That's the next swarm leading us to the them, isn't it Lord Fugaku?" Kakashi asked as he pointed in the direction he saw the bizarre chakra reading.

The Uchiha turned his head over, showing his stern face to Kakashi as he nodded. "That's right. Good. Now when my own eyes tire I know I can rely on you to take over for our sensory needs." He then politely pulled Kakashi's headband back down over his eye to cover the sharingan. He then gave Kakashi a brief nod before facing toward the next swarm. "It was smart of Shibi to place these swarms of bugs so high up. The sharingan can't see through things like the byakugan, but you made great use of what tracking benefits it grants us. Alright, back into formation men."

They leapt off again to resume their tracking, only now with a more unified feeling from Kakashi's perspective. He believed he had passed that small test from Fugaku...and he wondered if it wasn't even the first. Was selecting the backup for this mission the first one? No, that had nothing to do with how well he could use the sharingan. No doubt his talent with the eye would be pushed to it's limits over the course of this mission to find Orochimaru.

They pass the swarm that Kakashi had located, and were now beside a public road full of traveling citizens. Fugaku had his sharingan active once more and locked onto Shibi's signature at last. "That's odd...be ready! Shibi is up ahead by the road, but I see no sign of Hizashi Hyuga! Whatever we're in store for, expect to go all out each one of you!"

The 4th Raikage and Killer Bee were about to step onto the ship that was to sail for the mobile living island of Genbu. As the ship awaited to sail off, the youngish Raikage left details to his father's and predecessors' right hand man Dodai on how to operate the village while he and Bee went on this impromptu training trip. While they discussed important matters, Bee was practically hovering over his brother's shoulder waiting on him to finish up so they could talk one on one. "Bee, if you're going to pester me about not wanting to do this again just go wait on the ship!"

"Nah not at all bro! I was just thinking this might be a good idea for you after all!" Ay looked over his shoulder and saw his little brother smiling earnestly. At least he wasn't trying to be a smartass and was sincere with whatever nonsense he was about to spout. "Right now I know you're feeling low, so I think you need to hit up the Truth water fall. Get your inner demons plaguing ya to back off and your spirits will BALL!"

Ay rolled his eyes and motioned for Bee to get on the ship. "I have no need of that place Bee; and stop that obnoxious rapping while we're under serious business and let me finish my conversation with Dodai!" Bee was about to open his mouth again but the raikage quickly turned and pointed to the boat shouting, "Wait for me on the ship!"

Bee threw his hands up as if to show defeat, but he wasn't about to let his irritation go unnoticed. "Alright, fine I'll drop it for now. Keep being a grumpy sour-"

"BEE! SHIP!" Killer Bee turned and waltzed onboard the boat, leaving Ay with Dodai. The raikage sighed and gripped the base of his nose before their conversation continued.

Dodai took this brief silence to clear his throat and speak his mind, "Sir...I don't think a trip to the falls would be a bad idea right now. It's worked wonders for many of our shinobi before, and it helped Bee with befriending the 8 tails. It could bear fruit for you as well Lord 4th." Dodai could tell there was a sense of annoyance from his superior at Dodai coming back to this topic. Nevertheless, he continued on as he concluded by reminding Ay, "Even your late father made great use of the Falls to be at peace with himself as a man, and a leader."

Ay's lips opened briefly as if he were about to give the one eyed ninja a rant to bare, but he quickly dropped it and his scowl entirely. Ay's shoulders loosened and his gaze went back to his little brother. "...I suppose to appease him I could give it a try. I won't extend this trip to try and get as much as I can from it though. I can't afford to waste time trying to find inner enlightenment.'' Despite agreeing to visit and try the Truth Waterfall, Ay can't help but feel a slight sense of reluctance at the idea. However, he knew that Bee and Dodai both mean well, and perhaps there is something to be gained from making use of such a mystical ritual. "When we met with the other kage...my rage got the better of me. The Cloud came out with the least and worst end of those deals. Nothing tangible but honeyed promises to not kill one another for a few years, and a MAYBE flimsy alliance." Ay shook his head and felt his anger returning. "Damn it...I really do need to use that cursed waterfall."

Dodai pats the raikage's shoulder in a sign of support. "Everything will run smoothly while you're away my lord. If you do end up needing to extend the trip-"

"No! I will do everything I need in the week we spend on Genbu. I'll rush my time at those Falls if I must. Besides, we've talked too much as it is. CREW! WE'RE LEAVING IMMEDIATELY!" Ay quickly left Dodai's side and boarded the ship with Bee. Before this little talk, it was Bee who was dreading this training trip more between the 2 of them. That was purely because he had no interest in having a harsh training trip fresh after political dealings, but now it was Ay silently dreading this trip more. While he had been swayed and decided to give the Truth Waterfalls a try...he wasn't excited at all about what he would learn and face about himself.

Hiashi Hyuga's eyes shot wide open and he felt a cold sweat overcome his body as he lay in a hospital bed. He sat up quickly as memories of the battle with ROOT flooded his mind and he got a quick awareness of his surroundings to piece 2 and 2 together. Due to some Aburame bugs, suffering from another Hyuga's gentle fist and Inoichi making him go into a berserk like state he had been depleted of chakra and was now suffering the aftermath in a hospital bed.

"Master Hiashi! You're up earlier than the nurse expected!" The voice of his student, Kurenai Yuhi, was full of delight and relief as she entered the room. Behind her came Asuma Sarutobi and Raido Namiashi the other 2 on the young team he led. "We were ordered to come here pronto by Shikaku Nara to guard you. Everything in the village seems...intense right now. Anyway, how are you feeling sensei?" Kurenai's eyes sparkle with concern and relief as she sees him awake even if it was in such a weak state. Asuma and Raido, wore more serious expressions as they follow closely behind Kurenai.

Hiashi groaned and already began to lay back down as the consequences of his immense chakra loss gave him a staggering feeling of vertigo and exhaustion. The back of his head hit his pillow, and he felt his eyes growing heavy already. "I...am alive so I suppose I shouldn't complain. You said the village was in a tense state, right? What's happened since I passed out?"

"Yeah, it's not like there's fighting in the streets or anything," Asuma answered on the team's behalf in a much more calm manner than Kurenai's earlier. "-But a buncha the higher ups are placing guards all over the place like they're anticipating something to go down."

Raido nods in agreement, his eyes glued to the window vigilantly as if he expected an attack at any moment. "Everyone's on edge but I guess we chunin aren't high enough in the pecking order to get all the details. All we were told was you got into a fight with a shady group of our countrymen and we had to watch over you until told otherwise."

Kurenai sighs and takes a seat near their sensei as she continues giving him a concerned look. "Master Hiashi, can you fill us in on what you think is going on? Or is it sensitive information?"

Hiashi groaned before letting out a pained breath of air. "All I know is that our next hokage Fugaku Uchiha wanted some tabs kept on individuals he found suspicious and they don't seem to like it. Whatever's happening right now, I'm just as in the dark as you three."

Asuma sighed and leaned up against the wall near where Kurenai sat and grumbled about how, "My dad's left the village too over this so it's not like I can run and ask him. We're stuck in this little annoying deadlock it seems." Asuma then smirked and asked the others, "But all the shops and restaurants are still open...so how about we order in some barbecue or noodles? Make the most of being stuck here together?"

Kurenai felt some water form in her mouth at the suggestion of barbecue, but Raido shot down that suggestion quick. "What if our delivery man happens to be one of these suspicious individuals and he poisons our food?"

Asuma rolled his eyes and reminded Raido that, "Not everyone thinks of every possible assassination opportunity like you do ya cynic."

"I guess that's why I'm the one in the ANBU, and was chosen by Minato to be one of his guards...and why your father always-"

Kurenai groans loudly and speaks over the two bickering boys, "Our sensei is LITERALLY in a hospital bed like 3 feet away from you and you're arguing over the stupidest crap! How about this, one of you go find a jonin you know is trusted by Shikaku to let them know Hiashi sensei is awake; and THEN go grab food for the rest of us to bring back here? That way we keep our superiors updated and avoid the risk of someone shady poisoning us."

Hiashi nodded his head in agreement. "Astute idea Kurenai...boys I know how you 2 can be so...decide who goes by some game or something-" The 2 had already silently began playing rock paper scissors and by the time Hiashi was finishing he was cut off as they got to the best of 3.

"Ha! Looks like you're the errand boy Raido!" Asuma gloats as his teammate begrudgingly walks out of the room. After he left without a word, Asuma turned back to Kurenai and Hiashi as a minor look of uncomfortable concern was growing. "...So, I didn't want to say this in front of mister hokage guard since he'll be right under Fugaku soon but..." Asuma cleared his throat and stepped closer to Hiashi's bedside before leaning down and whispering, "Do you think the Uchiha are plotting some sorta total take over? There are all those rumors the 9 tails attack a few months ago was their doing after all...and now one's positioned to take over and before he's even officially boss he has some of our elite spying on people he doesn't trust? You gotta find this fishy, right sensei?"

Hiashi winced in pain as he gathered the energy to speak with his students honestly. "To be clear, I wasn't one of the jonin who voted for him. I'm not saying this out of jealousy because I wanted the position, but I don't believe all his intentions in doing this are pure or for the village's best interest. I think if Shikaku, or Jiraiya even were selected instead to take the mantle of Lord 6th we wouldn't be dealing with this right now." He repositioned himself to get more comfortable, Kurenai lent a hand to help her sensei and he nodded his head at the young girl in appreciation before he went on. "However, given the reaction of those I was sent to gather intel on...perhaps he has the right idea to snuff them out before he takes office."

"Hizashi is still on his trail I take it?" Fugaku sternly asked Shibi. His group had finally caught up with the Aburame head and been told about their tracking of Orochimaru. This news that a 2nd unknown figure was with the snake master concerned all the shinobi, but they all had a silent admiration for Hizashi taking it upon himself to follow them alone so Shibi could stay back and group up with them.

"I've some bugs on and following them as well, so we can catch up quickly and easily but-" Shibi went on before discarding his genjutsu disguise and returning to his real look. "-I do worry if we all catch up too soon they may notice us. We lack any intel on the sensory skills of this mystery figure, and Orochimaru is no novice in detection."

Fugaku remained calm and assured his team that, "If we catch up and are found by them we still have a numerical advantage. It would be a 6 vs 2, even if we're against a Sanin none of us are slouches."

That was easy for the next hokage to say, but for the 3 boys accompanying him...they can't help but feel a sense of unease. The idea of facing off against Orochimaru and this mysterious figure is daunting, even with a numerical advantage. At least they also had the element of surprise...for the time being and hopefully til the end of this horrid stress inducing mission.

Guy then broke the tense feeling in the air, smiling as he pointed to the sky. "Holy WOAH is that a PARROT?! Out here?! How often do you see one a those flying in the wild?!" The others all looked up, and sure enough...a bright green and red parrot was soaring over head. "It's filling me with this sense of 'GO GET EM GUY! YOU'LL KICK BUTT AND BE A LEGEND!' Is it doing that for anyone else?!"

Genma's eyes widened as he changed his stance just enough to be ready to move, "It's filling me with something alright...it's coming down for us. That's probably no pet someone lost."

Kakashi narrowed quickly rose his headband, and activated his sharingan as the bird flew closer and closer. "...There's a Leaf insignia around it's neck! That's a summon."

The brightly colored parrot swoops down toward the group, its wings flapping rapidly as it descends. Everyone can see now that there is indeed a small, Leaf Village scarf tied around its neck. As the parrot lands gracefully on a nearby tree branch over the group before squawking and then clearing it's throat. "Ahem! My pal Hizashi Hyuga has a message for you lot about his tailing of those 2 creeps." The parrot spoke in a shrill yet raspy voice. "They've gone off the backroads entirely now, and are headed for a cave tucked away deep in these woods. My pal thinks it's a secret base of sorts." The parrot then looks Fugaku straight in the eye. "I bet the answers you seek about how trustworthy and dangerous this predator is can be found inside."

The parrot's words hang heavy in the air as the group processes the new information. Fugaku nods, his expression serious as he turns to the others. "Looks like you were right about this bird providing us fortune Guy." The taijutsu specialist shed a single manly tear at the praise. "Alright, noble avian-" Fugaku knew summons well enough that they loved and demanded respect and praise, "-please take us to Hizashi immediately."

The bird flew off, making sure to stay tree top level as the 5 shinobi followed behind him As Hizashi's summon guided them to his master. As the group followed closely, Kakashi felt his nerves ever increasing. *It's happening so soon...it hasn't even been 6 hours since Fugaku first requested us to investigate Orochimaru, and now we're about to confront and possibly battle him. We don't have any information on what could even be inside this base of his. It's practically a coin toss if Anko and her parents are even in there at all. Guy and Genma trusted me when I came to them asking for their back up on this mission...but what if I fail them like I did Obito, and Rin...what if I fail that poor Anko girl too and-*

"Kakashi!" The young jonin was snapped out of his inner rambling by Fugaku's sharp voice. "When we link with Hizashi and go for Orochimaru and his cohort, let us adults handle the serpent. You lead your friends against whoever his ally is and try to take him alive if possible. Don't forget I brought my Jigoku No Fuin sealing jar in this scroll on my back. So bringing prisoners back to the Leaf will be no hassle for us. Understood?"

Kakashi felt...unsure about this trust placed in him. He had figured out the next hokage was testing him, but it was clear some trust was there already. The trust of an Uchiha, just like his belated friend. He rubbed his hand over his headband that covered the implanted sharingan eye of his, and answered back with a stoic, "Yes sir."

The parrot then swooped down, landing on the top of a not too distant tree. Once the group caught up and arrived at the base of this mighty flora, they were greeted by Hizashi Hyuga looking proud in himself at suceeding in trailing Orochimaru's party undetected. Hizashi brushes a few leaves off of his shoulders.. He gives them a nod, a small smile playing on his lips. "You made it," he says, his voice filled with relief. "and with a larger team of reinforcements than I anticipated! Hold on though, with Kakashi here that means we're only missing that Taika Uchiha fellow from our original formation. Is he preoccupied still with searching Orochimaru's estate?"

Fugaku shrugged, answering bluntly that, "We didn't have the time to wait for him before we left so as far as I'm aware he's still back in the village." Of course the reality was Taika had already been ambushed and murdered by Danzo. His eyes taken by the other target Fugaku was focusing on while he was busy handling what he perceived as the greater threat.

Hizashi seemed unfazed to hear they would be without the Military Police sergeant. "I see. Well at least we still outnumber them as is. How do you propose we go about this soon-to-be-lord-hokage?"

Fugaku chuckled softly at that teasingly long title. "Hmmm..." Fugaku thinks it over as he glares in the direction of the cave that made up Orochimaru's secret base. "Have you looked the inside over with your byakugan yet Hizashi?"

"I have, and I can confirm Orochimaru and his companion are the only souls walking around in there." Hizashi informed the others while gesturing back at the cave with his left thumb.

Shibi rose an eyebrow and asked in a worried tone, "Walking around? Does he have guards asleep?"

Hizashi sighed and scratched his chin as he thought how to explain the oddity his byakugan picked up. "Possibly? Honestly we won't know until we see whatever is going on with this person until it's face to face. All I can make out is there's some chakra signature wholly unfamiliar to me...floating in there. As if in a state of suspended animation."

Genma groans hearing that and comments, "Awesome so we got a mystery jerk and a freaking wild card waiting for us in there. Still want us 3 to handle the jerk Lord Fugaku?"

The Uchiha head nods, "We have no clue if that's another rogue ninja under his employ or possibly a prisoner that chakra belongs to. I will worry about it if it poses a threat. For now, we have to keep to the plan at hand. Hizashi, Shibi, are you ready to face one of the sanin with your next hokage?"

Hizashi's gaze doesn't wavers as he responds to Fugaku, "I am always ready to face any challenge, especially when it comes to protecting the village and its future." His hand instinctively reaches for his headband that covered his Hyuga curse mark, a silent reminder of his loyalty both to village and clan.

Shibi Aburame simply nodded his head. Fugaku turned to the boys tagging along, "And you lot...do you need a moment to ready yourselves or shall we proceed?"

Might Guy unleashed a quick flurry of excited kicks. "Ready right-away sir!"

Genma smirked and confidently stated, "Eager to show the 6th why Lord 4th made me one of his guards."

Kakashi, once more unveiled his sharingan as he adopted a steely and resolved expression. "I'm ready." The 6 Leaf shinobi emerged from the foliage and now stood before the entrance of Orochimaru's hidden cave base. It was time to get some answers.

Yagura, accompanied with Raiga and Juzo Biwa plus a handful of other Mist ninja stood at the base of the Mizukage's castle. "Gramps hasn't congratulated me on winning the title of his successor yet...he hasn't left this place AT ALL since he got back from that meeting with the other kage. SO! Who's ready to march on in there and see what's holding him up?!"

Juzo begrudgingly leaned against the Executioner Sword and asked, "Not going to worry about him revoking your title before you even have it?"

"He can try, but he knows how powerful I've grown since becoming the host to the 3 tails." Yagura spoke so matter of fact; practically talking down to the swordsman. "He can't just make the promise to step down and name the strongest as the 4th Mizukage and back track on that. I'll force him to step down today if he tries."

Juzo felt uneasy at just how casual and confident Yagura was about this...while Raiga seemed entertained and intrigued. "You're already my favorite Mizukage sir! So much assurance in your abilities ans a REAL drive to get what you want!"

"Heh, alright enough chatting. You lot just make sure to look tough and scare off anyone who tries something. I'll handle the real leg work." The young and overly eager jinchuriki rushed to the front door and forced it open with a mighty slam of his peculiar hooked staff. His company led by the 2 swordsmen Raiga and Juzo stuck close behind doing just as he said. Looking tough and intimidating anyone who might slow Yagura down. Word had already spread that Yagura won the battle Royale that determined who would be the new kage of the Blood Mist village so several of the staff were smart enough to simply step aside and either salute or bow as he passed through with such a powerful entourage.

As they marched through the castle together, Yagura was already acting as if he were sworn in and ruling. He had a powerful swagger to his step and even had the gall to stop the party's march just to look at a painting hung up on a wall. "Hmmm...Juzo, Raiga...what do YOU 2 think about this piece?"

Juzo rolls his eyes and answers in a bored tone, "I dunno it's art I guess? I don't look at pictures."

Raiga admires the piece, "Personally I think it evokes a certain joy among misery. Like a funeral! The terrible grief that comes from mourning but the joy at the celebration of life lived and-"

Yagura then unhooks the painting from the wall with his staff and tosses it to Raiga. "I think it's tacky so, keep it out of my palace if you would!" He then immediately resumed his march while Raiga awkwardly looked for a safe place to leave the painting in short time before rejoining the group.

Juzo couldn't say it, but he was considering using his massive blade to behead the bratty soon to be kage...but he resisted that intrusive thought. He was still smart enough to know that even if he did somehow assassinate Yagura, he wouldn't make it out of the village alive. So, he begrudgingly marched on following this no doubt horrid future ruler of his home.

After what felt like a somehow brief eternity, the group was now standing before the Mizukage's chambers. Yagura reached for the door, wanting to open it politely for his grandfather's sake...but the door was locked shut. "Tch, alright be that way gramps." Yagura stepped back and called upon the power of the 3 tails as a chakra cloak engulfed him. His party all backed up, already knowing how dangerous this power was and wanting nothing to do with getting in it's way. In the blink of an eye, the cloaked Yagura smashed through the fancy door that kept him away from seeing why his gramps was taking so long to address his achievement.

Yagura quickly released the tailed beast's power and returned to normal as he stood up straight after smashing into the bedroom. "Mind telling me why you've hidden away in here since you got back old man? No, hey good job kiddo I knew you could do it? or anythi-" Yagura took a combat pose with his staff and widened his eyes in shock. "...Who the hell are you?" His party could make out the silhouettes of 2 men inside past Yagura. One they knew quite well, the 3rd Mizukage...and the man beside him with a terrifying red eye peering through a mask.

Author's notes: basically all talking and build up this chapter, I wanted to get to the next battle but it was getting so long already I figure it's best to save the fights for next time. Only 2 chapters remain now for the prologue and then we'll have us a time skip on our hands as usual any and all feedback is greatly appreciated and thank you for reading!