It had been over two weeks since the lightning strike against Hokage Tower and little progress had been made in determining the jutsu used in what many of the shinobi knew as an attack. This information was kept from the public to not alert the public of the attempt as well as to not allow spies to send word and perceive Konoha to be weak.
Since the incident several changes were temporarily made to village security. A kage bunshin of Naruto was always left with Tsunade if Naruto was working with his team to be part of her guard detail to sense for the person he had been pursuing while several Hyuga were out patrolling around the clock to search for the person Neji had described when observing the chase between Naruto and his target. If Naruto was with Tsunade for his lessons, then one of his many bunshin would be set to keep watch while the others trained.
Needless to say, Hiashi was pleased that his Clan was being utilized so much. This gave him quite a bit of leverage against the other Clans when it came time for the council to intervene in political matters. The Inuzuka Clan were meeting struggles when it came to their side of the investigation. They were struggling to keep the scent of Naruto's target as it seemed that a jutsu was active over the trail so they had to use more noticeable methods to mark the trail they were following. This ranged from ribbons around trees to small flags planted in the ground. When reviewing the findings of many of the Inuzuka that were part of the tracker teams they reported strange compulsions that encouraged them to follow different routes or reported that the scent seemingly went in separated directions leading to teams splitting up. If not for their methods of marking trails they may have lost the trail with the amount of course changes teams were met with.
The insects of the Aburame were not faring any better than the Inuzuka. Their kikaichu were constantly thrown off course, as if the chakra they were following became vapor and went off with the wind. Many of their insects were lost in the pursuit as they weren't able to return to their host as they strayed to far. This forced the Aburame to pull out of the search and resort more academic methods of aiding the investigation.
Hiashi's high came to a halt when several of his Clan members were found wandering aimlessly throughout the village rather than patrolling, almost as if they were put in a genjutsu. However reports surrounding the incidents determined that only certain sections of their brains were altered. This meant that it was not a traditional genjutsu. This put many in the Clan on edge but none more so than the Elders who were skittish for some reason, though Hiashi aimed to find out why.
Due to the issues that came from tracking Naruto's target, Tsume and Shibi were forced to consult Clan records to see if they had ever come across such problems before. In their lifetimes, they and their Clans have never struggled this much to follow a trail. It was a heavy blow to both Clans. Many Clans throughout Konoha usual didn't have many difficulties in utilizing their abilities in recent years. However, thanks to this incident and the recent invasion the Clans were forced to reevaluate themselves and acknowledge their short comings.
Sasuke in the meantime had experienced a few more whispers from his Curse Seal due to his loss against the fake Kakashi. Luckily those whispers were held back by the seal around it. Sasuke figured he would have been out matched by two Jonin so he didn't let his loss against the apparitions didn't bother him too much. If you asked however, and you could read the raven haired youth, one could see he was more upset that he lost to a genjutsu than a Jonin.
Sasuke also took solace in the fact that Naruto had admitted that his throat was slit open by the false Kakashi within seconds. It made Sasuke feel a bit better that despite Naruto's growth he still had limits comparable to his own. Though it did secretly horrify him that one he was beginning to see as a friend almost died due to whoever attacked the Hokage.
Interestingly, Kakashi had stepped up their training again. More so their dodge and danger sense training. While Naruto did the best when it came to dodging when Sasuke wasn't using his Sharingan, something he had to use with permission since Kakashi didn't want him to become reliant on it, he didn't have the best danger senses being on par with the group for that. That caused Kakashi to begin ambushing them as they trained with the silver haired man.
While all this was going on Tsunade's duties didn't stop. The foremost topic being the negotiations with Suna to not only handle reparations but potentially reinitiate their alliance. Despite keeping pace with all her work while she was out, there was still a lot that needed to be handled in her office. One such task was the ongoing negotiation for the release of the Suna Siblings. Sunagakure was desperate to have Gaara back behind their walls. As their jinchuriki, the red head was their single greatest deterrent against invasion as the whole country is his oyster while the other two were desired to boost the moral of their citizens. Even though all three were the children of the former Kazekage the populace of Sunagakure never saw Gaara as human so they needed Temari and Kankuro to aid in boosting their moral.
One of the main problems that arose from the correspondences that surrounded the alliance was Suna didn't have much of what Konoha needed on a militaristic level. That is what made the treaty difficult to iron out. Most of the negotiations were around centered around Gaara. Sadly Tsunade and her council were attempting to ascertain what resources Sunagakure had that would best benefit Konoha. Due to its climate and topography Suna had deposits of precious minerals like copper which is used in the manufacture of the short wave radios some teams have access to. Sadly however the manufacturing abilities of Hai no Kuni was highly limited so their current intake is steady enough for their making. Though an excess would aid the country in the event of a supply cut off, something Danzo pointed out while in a meeting.
While the negotiations with Suna were ongoing, the reconstruction of the village was going nicely. Thanks to the large sum Tsunade had brought in during her return from retrieving Jiraiya the village was able to purchase much of what it needed for both rebuilding and feeding the people. That's not to say it was all smooth sailing. Once the Fire Daimyo had gotten wind of the rather large sum Konoha had received, the skinny and spinless man attempted to demand much of the money should be his as he is the Lord of the Land.
Such demand did not go over very well with much of the council. When Tsunade sent a response, despite the polite language she used in her message, she all but told the Daimyo off as not only the money hers but that it was also a donation and he could get the money but only if he walked ahead of his army to take from her in combat. When that didn't work, he attempted to cut Konoha's funding to spite Tsunade. Needless to say that also didn't go very well as the next one to handle negotiations was Danzo. The more longer serving members of the council were hesitant to allow this given his very patriotic stance with Konoha. It would be days before the Warhawk of Konoha returned but upon his return the Daimyo ceased all "negotiations" with Konoha for wealth that the man had no claim to. Some on the council, such as Shikaku, were curious as to what the old man said in his conversation with the Lord of the Land to get him to back off. Sadly for their curious minds all they were given were cold shoulders and faint glimpses of a smirk that many had written off as tricks of the light.
As the Council of Konoha was continuing their discussion for their alliance with Suna, Orochimaru was experiencing great pain once again. Sadly this time no amount of anesthetic would remove the fire all of all his pain receptors going off. On top of all of this, the very core of his being felt like it was being crushed. He was once again sitting in his bed as he writhed in agony. Despite the new body he had taken over his arms were once again necrotic much to the confusion of Kabuto.
As Kabuto worked to understand what was going on, Guren was panicking over her master. She could also be found berating Kabuto over his inability to help Orochimaru. Currently Kabuto was studying a piece of necrotic tissue from Orochimaru's arms to try and discern what was happening to Orochimaru's arms. Admittedly he could get more progress done if he didn't have a woman constantly attacking his skills as he studied his samples.
"What is taking so long? Why haven't you found the answer yet!" asked a near hysteric Guren as she paced behind Kabuto who sat on a stool on wheels as he was looking through one of the many microscopes within the lab. She would have struck him to gain answers and get his attention however that would only slow the medic's progress. As she paced her question was met with silence. Kabuto was more focused on his analysis that placating a woman who would merely continue to be an annoyance and not assist in any way.
As she received no answer, she stopped her pacing and turned to the back of the silver haired medic and growls out "Answer me!" Again she was met with silence further irritating the blue haired woman. After a bit of time Kabuto pulled out a journal a leather bound journal to note his findings. "Hmm … It seems like the cells are decaying but not because of a lack of nutrients" commented Kabuto as he wrote in his book. He then pushed off the table before him carefully, allowing him to roll towards another microscope.
The new station he had shifted to has a slide of living cells from Orochimaru ready to be analyzed. Once again he made note of what he was seeing. "Hmm. It seems like the cells from his arms are missing something" he noted. Much to the annoyance of Guren, Kabuto shifted between the two microscopes and began making note of the differences he was seeing between the two sample.
Much to Gruen's annoyance, Kabuto shifted between the two samples a few more times before seemingly satisfied with his observations. As he sat back in his chair, Kabuto began making notes of similarities and differences he had seen throughout his observations. Guren however was only becoming more impatient as she was not receiving answers to her constant nagging. "SAY SOMETHING YOU FOOL!" she shouted out only to be once again met with silence. Unknown to Guren, Kabuto was pondering something as he appeared to be troubling him. 'Something is missing but what?' he grumbled in his thoughts.
Unknown to Kabuto was the nature of how the Curse Seal works and its relation to Orochimaru's body swapping technique. When Orochimaru grants his targets a Curse Seal he deposits a sliver of his soul within the seal. This sliver allows his Seal to whisper into the mind of his target, compelling them to seek him out for the reason they push themselves to move forward. As the piece of his soul wares down the will of his target it becomes so dominant that the will of the target erodes to nothing. When the Hebi Sannin switches bodies the piece of his soul within the Curse Seal he leaves on his target merges once more with his soul, he is able to take control of the body as the soul of his target will not resist his intrusion and conquest of the body leading to him taking over it. However like any disease, the body he took over will begin to reject him on an instinctual level requiring him to swap hosts again. However since he dominated the soul, he takes a piece with him allowing him to use the kekkei genkai of his former hosts in his new body.
For his current body, Orochimaru never placed a Curse Seal on his current target. Because of this a portion of his soul did not establish itself as the dominant soul within the body leading to the two battling each other within the body. As he is also only an incomplete soul Orochimaru is struggling to beat back the soul of the body he is attempting to keep as his host, forcing him to feel agonizing pain as the two souls battle for the body. What Orochimaru didn't count on was that because his soul has no arms, then the arms of his new body would also remain useless.
It had been a week since the lightning strike on Hokage Tower. Many things had come to light from the research done by some of the Clans. There was a Clan that joined Konoha sometime after the founding of Konoha. They were a Clan that had a kekkei genkai that allowed for them to create genjutsu that was so powerful that it's design became real. Sadly the Clan's kekkei genkai was breed out thanks to the Clan marrying so many kekkei genkai holders in an attempt to combine their own with another leading to neither being active. The Clan was a tragic example for many others to demonstrate why two Clans should never marry together unless to have a single member be used for an alliance. Even then many steps would need to be taken for a member of such a linage to be able to activate a kekkei genkai from the ancestor. This would typically be flooding a single Clan through the gene line for that kekkei genkai to become dominant once again. Due to such a program it would be required for more than one child to be born of such a union so that eventually both Clans would revive their ability through unable gene lines.
When this Clan was active however they were often considered incredibly difficult to combat as their genjutsu was very dangerous. It could dull senses or sensations to near non-existence, it could compel one to take certain actions if the caster was strong enough, and there were even records of them shutting down someone's cognitive faculties if they were strong enough.
The first to come forward with their findings were the Inuzuka. Despite their incredible pride in themselves and their skills, Tsume felt it necessary to bring everyone's attention to her findings. While some were skeptical about her conclusions, showing previous combat records of her Clan against this Clan as well as what she and her clan members were experiencing while tracking the trail they had been following for over a week. This had definitely led credence to her theory though there was still doubt as the Clan had lost its Shinobi Clan status as their kekkei genkai was deemed to be lost.
The next to come forward were the Aburame. The Aburame, like many on the Council, were skeptical of the Inuzuka's the theory. However they were finding no other means to explain why their kikaichu were dying on the trail they were following. It wasn't until they looked into their own tactics that they saw the similarities to the effects of genjutsu targeting their allies giving credence to Tsume's theory.
Taking this theory into account Tsunade sent a kage bunshin along with one of Naruto's to look through the Senju's records. She used this as a teaching moment on the lesson of using the past successes and failures of your predecessors to devise tactics to combat your next foe and to show the importance of keeping notes of all interactions with other Clans and shinobi whether they are allies or foes. Naturally Naruto had questioned this vehemently only for Tsunade to use the most recent assassination attempt as an example of why it was necessary. This led to a bout of anxiety as Naruto had not been recording such information. This caused Tsunade to chuckle at the younger blonde catching his attention. "Don't worry Naruto. Shizune and I have been adding your fights to the Clan records all they require are your thoughts and notes."
Naruto had let out a sigh of relief at that. At least the next generation of Uzumaki would have his notes on people he has laid the smack down on. This had led to Naruto questioning Sasuke if his family had any knowledge on what may be going on at their next team training.
"Hey Sasuke" the blonde said getting the Uchiha's attention. "Do you have any idea who may have attacked Tsu-chan?" Sasuke gave the blonde a flat look. "Dobe … what makes you think I would have any idea about who attacked the Hokage?"
"Well maybe I thought you would have checked your family's records. Ya know to see if someone encounter someone or something similar so that you could use their knowledge to beat them" Naruto said with a huff as he crossed his arms. Sasuke's eyes widened at the words. Ever since he lost his family, he had never looked through his family's records for anything, even training scrolls. All he had taken were jutsu scrolls and that was just for the jutsu, hardly ever looking at the notes left behind by his deceased Clan members.
Sasuke had cursed himself for not using such a resource. All this drive to get stronger and not once had he consulted the knowledge of his ancestors. He soon began to feel jealous of Naruto when the blonde explained to him why he had such a thought. "Hmm? Well Tsu-chan said that it was common for Clan members to document their fights and political dealings to better inform their Clan and leave them with knowledge to fight anyone with the same skills they had either beaten or lost to" explained the blonde.
It was then Kakashi decided to speak up. "He's not wrong Sasuke. In fact it's common for Clan shinobi to write their report to the Hokage twice so one can be submitted to the Clan's archive though usually such documents would also have notes and addendums of how they either lost or won with specific details to better ensure their Clan would win or avoid a loss." Sasuke was left to contemplate on this until Sakura spoke next.
"Hey Naruto why would you as that of Sasuke-kun?" Naruto turned his attention to his pink haired teammate. "Oh that's easy, because me and Tsu-chan went through the Senju and Uzumaki archives earlier this week to look for anything that may have been related to what had happened." That got everyone's attention. "Wait! Hokage-dono let you into her Clan's achieves!" shouted out a surprised Sakura.
"Huh? Yeah … I mean they are mine too" he said nonchalantly. Before Sakura could shout her surprise Kakashi spoke up. "Ah~ so Tsunade-dono informed you of your familial relation to her." That caught the other two's attention. "What do you mean Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura. "Well Sakura the Uzumaki are cousins to the Senju and after the marriage between Hashirama-dono and Mito-dono the Clans were allied through marriage. Thanks to that, the Senju compound also became the Uzumaki compound" explained Kakashi.
The silver haired sensei was met with silence from two of his students. The only thing they knew was that Naruto was her apprentice not that they were related. "Wait! If they are related how come no one said anything back when we were in the academy?!" questioned the pinkette. Here Naruto answered. "Well since I don't have the red hair the Uzumaki are known for no one believed I was an Uzumaki." Naruto brought out one of his chains, "I mean it took me awakening my kekkei genkai for much of the Jonin to believe I'm an Uzumaki" explained Naruto.
Sasuke kind of understood Naruto's trouble. In his younger years he remembered his father talking about some of the Uchiha that didn't have black hair and how it affected the Clan. What Sasuke didn't understand at the time was that Fugaku was worried the Uchiha was going to lose many of their dominant traits that marked them as Uchiha. Without the distinctive markers of the Clan, many could use the new traits to claim they were Uchiha and infiltrate the Clan. It sounds dumb but if the only thing they could rely on was the Sharingan to identify Clan members then everyone would be paranoid.
There were many within the Uchiha that didn't have the signature raven hair and if it wasn't for them being born to two Uchiha there would have been a high likelihood no one would have believed that they were of the Clan.
Silence permeated the training field as it was now clear that Naruto had quite the notable members in his family tree. Not wanting the silence to drag on Kakashi clapped his hands together and spoke. "Well then I do believe it's time to get back to training, no?" The Genin merely sighed as they got into position and waited for their instructions.
Back in the council chambers, Tsunade was now hearing more evidence from the final Clan that had been involved since the investigation began, the Hyuga. Hiashi was not the happiest person when it came time to deliver his own evidence to support Tsume's theory. It was not because he had to admit his Clan had a weakness oh no. His anger came from finding out that his Elders had been hiding records of anytime that the Hyuga had not appeared to be infallible. Hiashi had deemed this as dangerous as it could lead both arrogance and ignorance. If a time came that war broke out once again and they faced a foe they had lost to again, chances are they would continue to do so all for the sake of the Elders pride of having an indomitable kekkei genkai.
When Hiashi had found out about this, he had his Elders arrested for sabotaging the Clan and eventually put to death as this was inexcusable behavior and he would not see his Clansmen dying just for some old fools who would not see combat ever again.
"Hokage-dono" bowed Hiashi as he began his report to the Hokage and the Council. "After consulting my own Clan records as have Inuzuka-san, Aburame-san as well as the other Clans on this Council, I throw my support behind Inuzuka-san's theory that a member of the Kurama Clan with their kekkei genkai had attacked" spoke the Hyuga Clan Head. Unlike when Tsume stepped forward with her initial, theory the evidence had mounted to give credence to her theory.
"So with all this evidence what shall we do?" asked Shibi. Tsunade thought for a moment before speaking. "We shall send a team to confront the Kurama Clan about this and bring in those believed to be responsible so that they may be interrogated and find out if they are responsible." This was met with nods of understanding from those in the chamber.
"Who did you have in mind Hokage-dono?" asked Hiashi. "The first would be my second apprentice Naruto. As you know he has the Kongo Fusa which will allow him to restrain any potential captives and nullify any their ability to cast genjutsu as well as sensory abilities that would allow him to see any genjutsu cast now that he knows what he is looking for. We will also be sending an Inuzuka who had participated in tracking the trail." Tsunade turned her attention to Tsume. "Tsume-san do you have someone who had participated in the tracking of the trail left by Naruto's target available to go with the team and identify the person who left the trail?"
Tsume nodded before speaking. "Yes Hokage-dono. I will be volunteering along with my partner Kuromaru for this mission" spoke the Clan Head. No one was surprised by the woman volunteering for such a mission. Her Clan had taken a hit in its reputation for being great trackers. There was no better choice to rectify the Clan's black mark like the Clan Head herself.
Tsunade nodded at the woman before continuing. "We should also send a Nara to aid in the detainment of the suspect as a back-up to any action hurts." Most of the room nodded along, Shikaku merely listening as he could tell where this was going. Just as he anticipated Tsunade addressed him next. The Nara would have spoken in anticipation of his Hokage's question but given the seriousness of the meeting chose to keep his mouth shut. "Shikaku-san do you have anyone available for this mission?"
Shikaku nodded his head in affirmation. "Yes Hokage-dono. Currently my son is available." This comment earned many raised eyebrows while the remaining Ino-Shika-Cho members were looking rather worried. Shikamaru had a poor showing during the Chunin Exams final round so in the political scene Shikamaru did not the greatest starting reputation no matter the strategist he may be. "Are you sure Nara-san" asked a skeptical Danzo. The boy may be intelligent but from what he knew of the preliminaries and the tournament, many of the current Clan Heirs had much to be desired with the ones showing their worth being the Uchiha, the Aburame, and the Uzumaki. He would give combative credit to the Inuzuka however his attitude needed more maturing before Danzo would be willing to say the boy is showing his station.
Shikaku fixed the Elder with a hard look. "Yes Danzo-san I am sure that my musuko is capable of this mission" spoke the Nara. Danzo said nothing after that and let the meeting continue. "In addition I am having Jonin Kurenai Yuhi join the team as the foremost genjutsu user amongst our forces." No one said anything against this as having a subject matter expert in such situations is always a good idea. Before the team was finalized Homura spoke up. "Pardon me Hokage-dono but may I suggest that we send along Uchiha-sama?" Everyone, including Danzo, turned their focus on the Elders, suspicious of their motives.
"Why are you suggesting such thing Homura?" asked Danzo. Sweat began to form on the brow of the Elder. Clearing his throat Homura spoke his mind. "Well … his Sharingan could prove to be useful in combating this potential foe." Shikaku raised an eyebrow at the Elder's horrible justification. "If that is the case then why not send Kakashi?" Here Homura seemed to gain more confidence in his words. "It is simple, he cannot keep his eye active as long. No criticism against the Jonin's skills however if he cannot keep his eye active for a long period of time." Danzo did not take this critique very well. Kakashi was a loyal shinobi that had served faithfully for decades. This criticism felt rather forced, especially against one with such a record as Kakashi. Sure the Warhawk had pushed the silver haired Jonin to continue his service despite the signs that the man needed to take time off but his record spoke for itself and he was needed far more in the field than in the village.
Tsunade was going to veto the inclusion of The Last Uchiha but Koharu suggested the issue be voted on. Many saw this as useless as Sasuke offered nothing to this mission. The vote was heavily in favor of sending Kakashi in place of Sasuke's place. Unknown to the Council but Homura and Koharu were attempting to use this mission to show off The Last Uchiha. Due to his tardiness, the clients that had been interested in the boy were not able to see the boys skills. To rectify this, the two Elders were hoping to use the mission to arrest the Hokage's assailant as a means of boosting the villages prestige by relying on the name of another. However, Naruto's showing off his Kongo Fusa, proving his linage to the thought extinct Clan to the Courts of many Daimyo and wealthy individuals, as well as his shocking performances of making all his fights seem easy had done wonders for the Village, the Uzumaki name, as well as the Senju name. In fact the spies that Danzo had in the Daimyo's Court had reported that Naruto was quite the popular discussion for his lineage and demonstration of power over the other favored candidate to the point the Fire Daimyo was using the boy as a mark of status over other Daimyo due to his blood rarity and making the exams seem easy due to how handily he had beaten other favored candidates.
Sadly for the two Elders, The Council vetoed the decision to send Sasuke along on this mission. Seeing the situation they were in, the Elders played their final card for this argument. "Hokage-dono" spoke Homura, annoying everyone else in the Council Chambers. "If you are sending Naruto-san and Kakashi-san on this mission then would it not be better to include the remaining members of Team 7?" Tsunade's ire began to rise at the constant pestering to allow Sasuke to join the mission. She had made her stance on the matter very clear. "Sasuke-san and Sakura-san are not yet Chunin and Team 7 is still a full squad so it would be unwise to start separating members of the team unnecessarily." In response Tsunade slammed her open palm down on the table startling most in the room and silencing the Elders.
When everyone's nerves settled back into place Tsunade spoke. "While it is true that Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno are not Chunin, their rank and placement within their Genin team does not mean they must be included in missions that require their sensei, Naruto, or both. When it comes to selecting shinobi for missions it is my job to select those that are best suited or have the best skills to see the mission completed with as few injuries or casualties as possible. Sakura-san nor Sasuke-san have any skills that would allow them to aid in this mission so they will need to sit this mission out" she said firmly, eliminating all argument from Koharu and Homura.
Seeing as how the Elders were no longer pushing the subject, Tsunade continued the meeting. "Okay. Now that the composition for the team of the mission is agreed on, all will be called to my office in the morning to receive their briefing." This received several nods of understanding. "Now we shall conclude with the most recent correspondence from Suna." Everyone prepared for another long conversation as these discussions were long and very boring.