Swinging back into the action genre.

Chapter 24: The last thing that we should do (is go slow)

Sasuke waited for Hinata to step into the Hokage's office and steady herself before following and closing the portal behind him. Ignoring the curious eyes, he turned to Kakashi.

"Explain. Now." Sasuke's voice was gravelly, making no attempt to hide his anger. He could feel his chakra roiling under his skin with an electric edge. From the corner of his eyes he saw Naruto wince and both Sakura and Shikamaru take a step back. Hinata's shoulders raised in his periphery, but then she was stepping closer. Her arm pressed against his, unobtrusive but very much there. The insistent buzz of his chakra settled into a low hum.

Kakashi's face was grave from where he sat behind his desk. His silver hair was messier than usual. "Tsunade and Sakura determined a way to fully extract the white zetsu from Fujiwara. When the nurse went to prep him for the procedure, Fujiwara's room was empty. The ANBU guarding him were knocked out and still haven't regained consciousness. Tsunade is examining them."

"What about the Konoha Go-Ikenban's watchdogs?" Sasuke asked.

"They were withdrawn after the letter from the Fire Daimyo," Sakura explained. "But Kakashi-sensei kept the ANBU there just in case."

"So they weren't there during the abduction. How convenient," Sasuke sneered.

"Hinata, I need you to draft correspondence to Shijimi-sama to buy us more time. Shikamaru will help you. Sakura, keep us informed of the situation at the hospital. Naruto, you're with me. Sasuke, feel free to join," Kakashi ordered.

"Join what exactly?"

Kakashi rose to his feet behind his desk and set the Hokage hat on his head. "I've called a meeting with the Konoha Go-Ikenban," he said, "And if you're going to join, there's something we should discuss first."

Kakashi and Naruto strode into the meeting room while Sasuke skulked around the doorway, sizing up the other four occupants.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were old and, despite the stern lines on their faces, feeble. It would take no effort for Sasuke to strike them down where they sat.

In fact, they were getting on in age enough that they'd both seen fit to start bringing assistants half their age, fresh blood to connect them with the current generation. Fūma Kiyoko had raven hair twisted in an intricate braid down her back along with stark white bangs framing her angular face. Her ruby red lips seemed to be settled in a permanent smirk. Beside her was a stocky, stone-faced man with neatly gelled salt and pepper hair: Shimura Daishiro. Sasuke stared him down until the man's pale eyes met his. They held as Daishiro nodded briefly before looking back to Kakashi.

After greeting Kakashi and Naruto, Homura and Koharu eyed Sasuke unapologetically. No shame nor remorse slipped through their closed off expressions for their part in his clan's annihilation. Kiyoko wore her interest openly while Daishiro's gaze remained steadfastly on Kakashi.

The palm of Sasuke's hand, hidden beneath his cloak, itched for his sword.

"What's all this about then, Hokage-sama," Koharu asked in a straightforward manner.

The weariness that had been present on Kakashi's face in his office was hidden beneath a placid mask. "I thought you would want to be informed of Fujiwara's disappearance," he said.

Both Homura and Koharu's eyes widened in surprise. Kiyoko's eyebrows raised while Daishiro looked to the elders.

"What?! The boy escaped?" Homura asked urgently.

Kakashi shrugged one shoulder blithely. "Escaped. Abducted. It's hard to say. We know he wasn't alone. The kid didn't have the skill to face off with ANBU."

"Aren't you being too calm about this, Kakashi?" Koharu spluttered.

"Mah, you're right, the situation is pretty bad after all," Kakashi said. His eyes uncrinkled from his fake smile, dark eyes deadly serious. "A civilian criminal in our temporary custody who was at the center of a debate of if he should be studied or healed has gone missing on the day he was going to be operated on, which would have consequently prevented him from being studied."

Homura frowned, hands on the table as he leaned towards Kakashi. "Are you accusing us of something?"

Kakashi tilted his head. "I'm simply assessing the situation and making sure we're all on the same page. And I'm sure I don't need to remind you that Daimyo-sama has explicitly requested Fujiwara to be returned to the capital tomorrow. Not complying would be bad enough, but the reason being that we couldn't keep track of a fifteen year old…that would be an unseemly display of weakness and could draw scrutiny onto the village."

Koharu glared. "We are very aware of the circumstances and the consequences, Kakashi. We've been doing this longer than you've been alive!" She crossed her arms, leaning away.

"We may have disagreed on what to do with the boy, but we are aligned here, Hokage-sama. The village comes before all of us and disobeying the Fire Daimyo would put us in a precarious situation," Homura said plainly. "If you need our assistance, we are ever at Konoha's disposal."

Sasuke took note of the wording. Konoha's disposal, not Kakashi's, not the Hokage's.

"Of course," Kakashi agreed. "I have our top ninja on the case. We may need to interview the guards that were watching over Fujiwara in case they saw something suspicious in the days leading up."

Homura and Koharu nodded.

"We'll send for them right away," Koharu confirmed.

"Wonderful," Kakashi said, standing up. "I understand things may have worked differently in the past for other Hokages, but as for me, I prefer my subterfuge on-mission, not within the village." With another cheerful and fake smile, Kakashi turned to leave. "Well, we must be on our way."

Naruto stood as well and then bowed to both the elders, surprising them. "Thank you for meeting with us," he said. "And don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this. Believe it." There was a warning edge under the confident tone of his voice and from the way the elders' eyes glinted they were not unaware of it. Koharu puffed up indignantly, but Homura's hand on her shoulder stopped her from saying anything. Again, Kiyoko and Daishiro simply observed the scene with little reaction.

Both elders bowed their heads to Naruto stiffly and the blond gave them a wide, guileless grin before exiting behind Kakashi. Sasuke watched the two advisors through the doorway for a few seconds longer before turning to follow.

"What do you think?" Kakashi asked quietly as they walked back to his office.

"I don't think they're behind it," Naruto said just as quietly from Kakashi's right side.

Kakashi tilted his head to the left where Sasuke was walking behind. "Sasuke?"

"They're not behind it," Sasuke agreed. "But Utatane knows something."

"Koharu? But not Homura? Interesting," Kakashi mused. They were in his office now and he immediately removed his hat before leaning on the corner of his desk.

"Body language. Mitokado was open, Utatane was closed. When she crossed her arms she leaned away from Mitokado," Sasuke explained succinctly.

"Any thoughts on Kiyoko and Daishiro?"

Sasuke held back a grimace. Kiyoko's once over of him had been overt and unwelcome, no matter how used he was to those types of stares. Daishiro had been inoffensive if one could look past the glaring offense of his family name. Neither of them had spoken nor seemed to have been expected to speak. "No."

"Really?" Kakashi pressed.

It felt like a trick question. Inviting some unsubstantiated comment on how Daishiro was allowed such a position with his great uncle's history to be rebuffed by platitudes of not holding his family against him.

Or perhaps that was an uncharitable read of the situation. Sasuke's mind perceiving traps and negative intentions where there were none.

Kakashi might genuinely want Sasuke to air his frustrations, vent about Homura's loyalty to his dead friend despite the atrocities the man had committed. But Sasuke didn't have the bandwidth to sort his feelings into anything except a stream of curse words. Especially after the mess of Fujiwara. A mess that was still ongoing.

He just had one question. "The Hokage gets to appoint the Konoha Go-Ikenban?" There was the barest inflection to make it something other than a statement.

Sasuke knew the answer was complicated, that there were power systems in place propped up by years of deals made and favours exchanged. That even if the elders were removed, they could very well continue to influence Konoha politics without formal titles.

Realistically the answer was complicated…

"Yes," Naruto said definitively.

…but it could be made simple. And Naruto was an expert at that.

Sasuke nodded, accepting the answer and understanding Naruto meant it as a promise.

"Koharu is right, they've both been at this for a long time. Neither of them are power hungry or the type to act on their own. They prefer to throw their weight behind someone," Kakashi said. "But if they were supporting another political player, I think they'd be united on it."

"So we've gotta figure out what she's hiding," Naruto summed up. His blue eyes landed on Sasuke at the same time as Kakashi's. Sasuke raised a brow at their twin stares.

"Sasuke, are you able to shadow Koharu and watch for any suspicious behaviour?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke observed his former teacher expressionlessly. They both knew Sasuke was more than capable of spying on the elder. Kakashi's true question wasn't about Sasuke's capabilities, but his willingness. It wasn't lost on Sasuke that as Hokage, Kakashi had full authority to assign missions at his own discretion. He certainly didn't need to ask permission from the person being assigned.

Sasuke was being given a choice to wash his hands of Fujiwara Minoru and of delving into the shady machinations in Konoha.

"Knowing Hokage-sama, he gave you an out. You didn't take it."

Mouth opening to answer, Sasuke was interrupted by the door swinging open.

Shikamaru walked in trailed by Team Eight. While Kakashi and Naruto greeted them, Sasuke watched quietly, his gaze trained on one particular member.

"Team Eight, Shikamaru briefed you on the situation?" Kakashi asked.

The three ninja in question nodded, Akamaru standing at attention by Kiba's feet.

"Yeah, we're gonna drop by the hospital to get some personal items from Sakura so Akamaru can sniff him out," Kiba said.

"We shall also confirm if Sakura-san has any sample of Fujiwara's chakra for my kikaichū," Shino added.

"In our previous encounter, the white zetsu in Fujiwara-san made no attempt to disguise its chakra signature. If that is still the case, I should be able to distinguish them from any Konoha-nin," Hinata said, voice clear and measured. Under the coat and the hitai-ate tied around her neck, she was still dressed in the same clothes she'd been lounging on Sasuke's couch in.

Kakashi offered them a smile. "As expected of our best tracking team. Dismissed."

Nodding sharply, Team Eight began to leave the office. Hinata returned his gaze on her way out, eyes softening in acknowledgement.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi asked. It was just the three of them again.

Still staring at the shut door, Sasuke's mind was on the girl heading out to hunt down Fujiwara Minoru's captors and, potentially, more traitors in a long list of this cursed village's sordid history.

"Making a big change like this will be difficult and it's not something anyone can do alone. We need to help each other, watch each other's backs and keep each other on the right track."

"Sasuke," Naruto called. Slowly, Sasuke turned his attention back to the other two shinobi in the room. "You're the best person for this."

Again, Sasuke read between the lines. As experienced as Koharu was, Sasuke wasn't the only ninja capable of tailing her. 'We trust you' their faces seemed to say.

Involuntarily, Sasuke's eyes drifted back to the door. He nodded. "I'll report back by nightfall."

Hinata crouched behind a tree, byakugan activated so she was looking right through it. Shino, Kiba and Akamaru were nearby, she could see their exact location and knew they were aware of hers in their own ways.

The sun was low in the sky. It had taken them some hours to track Fujiwara. Whoever had taken him knew to misdirect with scent and chakra alike. It would have misled a greener Inuzuka or Aburame for much longer.

Her kekkei genkai was harder to fool in this respect, at least with the white zetsu still either unwilling or unable to disguise itself.

They were approximately nine kilometers outside of Konoha. There was some type of bunker underneath the snow covered overgrowth. Hinata could see Fujiwara Minoru and two adults. She raised a thumb and then one finger, paused, and then curled her fingers deliberately before raising a single finger again.

"Target located. Two hostiles present: one shinobi and one indeterminate. Awaiting further instruction," Shino reported, voice crackling through her in-ear.

Shikamaru responded after a minute. "Stand by. Got your coordinates, sending Naruto over. ETA fifteen minutes."

"Understood."

The wait didn't bother her. The majority of surveillance and tracking missions was watching and waiting. Sometimes at the end of it they didn't even engage their target, gathering intel and leaving like they'd never been there at all or handing it off to a team specialized in interrogation. Other ninja might find it boring, but it took a great deal of skill to maintain a high level of alertness for such long stretches of time in order not to miss any details on your target.

With this in mind, Shino was a natural choice to lead. Kiba wouldn't seem suited to this type of work beyond the obvious tracking aspect, but Hinata had watched his patience grow by leaps and bounds over the years. Hinata would like to think she fit just as well.

Four minutes in, Hinata shifted. Shino and Kiba mirrored her immediately and waited. Pressing the button on her in-ear radio, Hinata made a concentrated effort to keep her voice low and steady. "One of the hostiles appears to be operating on Fujiwara-san. His chakra system is weakening." The network of interconnected lines that made up Fujiwara Minoru's strange, hybrid chakra was flickering in and out along his body. Hinata bit her lip. "Permission to enter."

Shikamaru sighed. Considering he had to press the button to be heard, it was an active choice. Hinata continued to watch the distressed chakra network.

"How bad is it?" Shikamaru asked, finally.

Fujiwara Minoru's entire chakra system went completely dark. Hinata tensed. It flickered back on, faint. "Bad," she replied.

A long minute passed. Then the radio crackled back to life. "Permission granted. Approach with caution. Keep engagement to a minimum if possible. Sending Sakura for medical support."

"Understood. Signing off."

Communicating with their eyes, Team Eight headed for the bunker in a standard formation. Kiba cleared the foliage off the door and held it open as Shino and Hinata climbed down silently. Kiba climbed in as well, shutting the door behind him and leaving Akamaru to stand guard.

The winding stairs were wooden and undoubtedly creaky, though Team Eight didn't make a sound. The stairs opened into a small, dark corridor. Dim, yellow light leaked through under a closed door. They paused outside, Shino sending some kikaichū in while Hinata stared through with all seeing eyes and signaled to her two teammates with her hands. The first room beyond the door was occupied by one of the hostiles, the shinobi. He was standing at the far end near an open doorway to another room which contained both the second hostile with his undeveloped, civilian-like chakra network and Fujiwara.

Exchanging another silent look, Hinata moved to one side of the doorway while Shino moved to the other. Then Kiba's leg shot forward, kicking in the door while he lobbed a smoke bomb. The room quickly filled with an odorless smoke, specially designed to bother neither Kiba's nose nor Shino's kikaichū nor Hinata's byakugan.

Under the cover of smoke, Shino threw a handful of kunai. The hostile was skilled enough to dodge even with the lack of visibility. Still, Shino accomplished his objective by clearing a path through the doorway.

Hinata wasted no time, sprinting into the second room where Fujiwara was strapped to a metal table. A tray full of medical equipment, scissors, scalpels, bandages and sutures, was beside him. She could see the undistinctive chakra signature of the second hostile fleeing the scene, but made the split second decision to prioritize Fujiwara's health. De-activating her byakugan, Hinata could see the boy was in a bad state. Under the eerie white light of a medical lamp, Fujiwara's skin was pale and clammy. The biggest concern, however, was the gaping would on his neck where Hinata remembered the white zetsu's head being. Now it was a mess of ripped skin and gushing blood.

Keeping her ears trained on the activity in the other room, Hinata quickly drew chakra to the palms of her hands and concentrated on patching Fujiwara's neck wound as best she could with her limited iryō ninjutsu.

She just needed to stop the bleeding.

At the first contact of her chakra, Fujiwara's eyes weakly fluttered open. His empty gaze roamed aimlessly for a minute before meeting hers. A hint of life entered them and then his eyelids slid shut again. It was surprising he'd been able to regain even a bit of consciousness. Hinata took it as a good sign.

With both hands hovering over Fujiwara's neck, it took a great deal of control to keep her chakra steady when Hinata suddenly heard the strangled gasps of her teammates. Her eyes jumped up even as she continued to pump chakra onto Fuijwara's torn skin, slowly knitting it back together.

What she saw had all the air leaving her lungs.

Hinata had seen the shape of the first hostile with her byakugan. Knew it was a tall and fit male with a developed chakra network that put him at jounin status or higher. Now seeing him with no barriers, Hinata could make out the tantō peaking out of an ANBU cloak through the doorway, paired with a black mask rather than the standard issue white as well as a short, black and red jacket like the one Sai still wore.

ROOT.

However, that wasn't what made Hinata's breath catch in her throat.

It was the swirling shadows stretching out beneath him, far bigger and darker than the lone lightbulb hanging above him should have allowed. Hinata could see them in three dimensions where they curled off the floor and around the limbs of Kiba and Shino.

Squeezing.

Suffocating.

Team Eight was trapped underground in a room full of shadows with a Nara.

I'm so sick right now I feel like a big ball of congestion (╥﹏╥)

Re: the question on if I research for this fic, I've usually got a million tabs open from the Naruto wiki, Naruto clips on youtube, a map of the Naruto world, to Japanese tea ceremony guides, names of Japanese formal wear, types of Japanese snacks/foods/drinks, time of sunset/sunrise in Japan on X month, etc. All of which will usually only contribute to like 2 lines per chapter and I'll wonder if it's worth the effort... Of course I also allow myself some creative freedom, but try to work with as much info as I can.

Thank you to my readers as always!

MVH