2 Prologue II

Emiyo forced the aching pain that was currently racking her body to the back of her mind. For the last day, the pain had been increasing. She didn't tell Daichi about the pain because she didn't want to add to his worry.

Logically, she knew she should be more worried about the pain and what it meant. There were some dangers of using chakra for extended periods while carrying a child. But she didn't have a choice. Two lethal shinobi squads who answered only to the Dynamo from the Land of Lighting had been tracking them for the last two days. Not because of anything she had done, but because she was related to the Chinoike Clan.

Emiyo barely even remembered the Chinoike clan. Her mother had taken her away and went into hiding rather than remain with the clan. She hoped to give her a somewhat normal life, refusing to train her because she believed it would be safer for her. What little she did know about chakra had been taught to her by Daichi.

Still, it didn't take an expert to feel the waves of chakra flaring behind her. With Daichi giving it his all, she could do no less. All she had to do was get to the outpost and get help. Surely they would help. Daichi had hinted that even though he had abandoned the Hidden Leaf, his father was important enough that they would send help.

They had to help. They just had to.

Emiyo continued to scan her surroundings as she fled through the forest. She had to be closing in on the outpost, but it was supposed to be hidden, and Daichi didn't explain where it was, only the direction.

As Emiyo moved closer to the outpost, the hair on the back of her neck rose. Every instinct screamed at her that she was being watched by ruthless predators deciding if she was prey. Knowing that it would be dangerous to continue, Emiyo came to a halt resting on a thick branch.

Emiyo desperately called out, "I know you're there. Please, I need help."

For a moment, Emiyo thought her watchers would refuse to show themselves.

Her face paled when three Konoha ninjas suddenly revealed themselves in the nearby trees. Each one of them dressed in dark blue outfits with green kevlar vests. While their appearance was shocking, that wasn't what made Emiyo's face pale. Instead, there was something about their faces that terrified her to the core. She understood if the Konoha shinobi deemed her an enemy, they would kill her without hesitation.

Emiyo froze in terror as she felt a razor-sharp blade gently caress the back of her neck. Somehow, a Konoha ninja had gotten right behind her without her noticing.

"Move, and your life is forfeit. Speak if you understand."

The way the Konoha ninja spoke sent shivers of fear through Eniyo's body. He spoke in a tone that implied he didn't particularly care what choice Emiyo made. Whether she lived or died, it was all the same to him.

"I understand," Emiyo carefully whispered, not wanting to give the ninja any excuse.

"Now, what are you doing sneaking into Hidden Leaf territory? It's a death sentence to be caught spying on Konoha."

"I'm not spying on Konoha." Emiyo maintained. "I was traveling with my husband, who is from the Hidden Leaf."

Silene greeted her as the ninja holding her considered her response.

"Name." The nameless shinobi demanded.

"Daichi," Emiyo replied. "His name is Daichi."

The nameless ninja rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to need more than that," he said.

"Shimura, Shimura Daichi."

The shinobi in the trees that Emiyo could see twitched upon hearing her husband's last name.

The world blurred as Emiyo was spun around by the ninja holding her. Emiyo noticed a cold face framed by dark brown hair and amber-brown eyes glaring death at her when the world stopped spinning.

"You picked the wrong cover name, spy," the ninja spat. "Daichi has been dead for almost a decade. I should know. I attended his funeral."

Emiyo shook her head in denial, "That's not true. Please. Check my pack. I have a scroll from Daichi to his father. Danzo."

Amber eyes searched hers, weighing her words, looking for any sign of falsehood.

"Please," Emiyo begged. "Check my pack. Daichi is in grave danger."

"If this is a trick," the nameless ninja gravely warned, "I promise you, you will regret it."

Wary of a trap, the dark-haired shinobi slowly reached into Emiyo's pack. He hissed in surprise when he pulled out a scroll and noticed its seal. It was a unique seal, one that he had only seen one other person use, Lord Danzo.

"Where's Daichi?" the ninja demanded.

Emiyo teared up in relief upon being believed. She pointed in the direction she came from and said, "Back that way. At least twenty shinobi from the Land of Lightning were chasing us. Daichi stayed behind so we could escape. Please, you have to help him."

Now that the Leaf shinobi somewhat believed Emiyo's story, he took immediate action. He pursed his lips and blew a sharp whistle. From the surrounding trees, fourteen shadowy figures revealed themselves.

Eyeing his subordinates, the ninja barked, "Nano. Kaneya. Take her to the outpost and make sure nothing happens to her. And send a message to Konoha requesting reinforcements. This could be a trap from the Hidden Cloud."

He paused for a moment before adding, "And send for Lord Danzo. If his son is involved in this mess, he should be informed.

Before Emiyo could protest about being sent away, the Hidden Leaf Shinobi flashed away, off to reenforce Daichi. Once they were gone, it was like the fire keeping Emiyo going went out. Her eyes closed and started swaying, but before she could fall, Nano and Kaneya rushed to her side and kept her on her feet. Then, seeing that she was in no condition to travel, Nano picked her up and began making his way to the Konoha Outpost.

Kutaka cursed to himself as he leaped from tree to tree. No matter how this ended, he had a sinking feeling there would be no happy outcome. If the pregnant woman was telling the truth, then a man he had thought long dead was still alive. Had he been on some undercover assignment this whole time? It wouldn't be the first time a ninja's death had been faked for some obscure assignment. Or was it something else?

Deciding he didn't want to know, Kutaka buried those thoughts deep in his mind and readied himself for battle. It was foolish for the Cloud Shinobi to intrude this deep into Leaf Territory. The whole world was at war. They had to know that there would be no mercy given if caught. It seems that whoever gave the orders had deemed their deaths an acceptable risk.

As the Hidden Leaf ninjas approached the battlefield, Kutaka's hope for Daichi's survival grew smaller and smaller. Even though he wasn't a chakra sensor, he knew he should be able to feel something from here. The fact that he couldn't feel any chakra waves indicated the battle was over.

When a familiar scent reached Kutaka's nostrils, he knew they had reached the battlefield. It was a sickeningly sweet metallic smell. The smell of blood choked the air, declaring this patch of forest a field of death.

Kutaka ordered his unit to fan out and search for Daichi and any survivors using silent hand gestures. Kutaka pitied any survivors who were unlucky enough to survive this battle. Lord Danzo would want answers.

When Kutaka caught sight of a group of bodies, he somehow knew he would find Daich in the middle of them. Silently, he surveyed the ground that was soaked in blood, trying to piece together the fight. Moving forward, Kutaka paused when he caught sight of his old friend surrounded by the dead, who had been sliced to pieces.

Kutaka shook his head at all the dead bodies. They had probably surrounded Daichi, thinking he was caught. Little did they know that close quarters was where Daichi excelled the most. He was death incarnate when he started swinging that blade around. The better plan would have been to attack from a distance, slowly wearing him down.

Kutaka knelt beside Daichi, feeling his still warm body for any sign of life. A burning desire for vengeance made Kutake want to scream out, but his years of discipline made him clamp down on his emotions. There would be time for that later. For now, he had a job to do.

He turned when he felt his second in command arrive. "Report." He calmly said as if the blood of an old friend wasn't drying on his hands.

"It appears as if the woman was correct. Not including Daichi, we found nineteen dead."

"So one got away," Kutaka mused, "He couldn't have gotten far."

Just as he was about the motion for a squad to break off and pursue, his second-in-command corrected him.

"Sorry, I should have been more clear. We found twenty cloud shinobi. Nineteen were dead, but..." His voice trailed off as he seemed to savor his last bit of news. "We found one alive but heavily wounded."

Kutaka's amber eyes hardened as a cold grin crept out. "Good, treat his wounds and prepare the prisoner for transport. I know someone who will want to have words with him."

As the sun sunk beneath the horizon allowing darkness to reign, the leaf shinobi were busy cleaning up the battlefield. Nineteen bodies were lined up and were made ready for storage and transport back to the Hidden Leaf. Shinobi bodies were a treasure trove of insights on how a foreign shinobi jutsu work.

Just as Kutaka was about to signal to store the bodies away in the storage scrolls, he felt a cold presence appear behind him. Kutaka felt like he was standing at the front of a freezing, pitch-black cave that was unfathomably deep.

Turning around, he saw an older, dark-haired shinobi whose hair had touches of grey. His steely face was lined with age, and his eyes were dark and unforgiving. On his chin were a pair of scars shaped like an X. He wore robes of equal parts black and white and leaned slightly on a wooden cane. But, if anyone thought his age and use of a cane were indications of weakness, they would be sorely mistaken.

Kutaka respectfully went down to one knee, "Lord Danzo."

Danzo held up a finger, indicating he wanted silence as he took in the scene. Slowly he made his way through the battlefield, his soulless eyes absorbing every tiny detail. When he came to his son's body, a complicated expression appeared on his face, and his eyes softened for a brief moment. But, the moment passed, and his face returned to the emotionless mask it had been before.

Choosing to look away from his son's body, Danzo turned back to Kutaka. "I want a complete report. Start from the beginning."

Taking a deep breath, Kutaka carefully began narrating events. When he mentioned that the pregnant woman claimed to be married to Daichi, other than a slight twitch, Danzo didn't react.

When he came to the end of his report, Danzo asked, "Have you identified the cloud shinobi?"

"A few of them," Kutaka replied. "They appear to be members of the Rakuria Sqwad, who answer directly to the Lightning Dynamo rather than the Raikage. Perhaps Emiyo can tell us more."

Danzo waved away Kutaka's suggestion, "She has been taken to Konoha and is no longer any of your concern."

Hearing the finality in Danzo's voice, Kutaka bowed his head in acceptance.

"What about your son," Kutaka whispered. "What will we tell everyone? He was supposed to have died a decade ago."

Danzo turned and made eye contact with Kutaka, "And that's how it will stay."

"But sir," Kutaka protested. "Your son took down twenty jonin shinobi. His deed deserves to be recognized."

"No," Danzo slammed his cane into the ground. "A true shinobi suffers and sacrifices in silence."

Finished with the conversation, Danzo activated the storage scroll his son was laid out on. With a puff of smoke, Daichi's body disappeared. Even though there was no weight to the scroll, Danzo sighed as he picked it up and concealed it beneath his robes.

"Take the prisoner to Interrogation," Danzo commanded.

Having said his final piece, Danzo disappeared in a swirl of wind.

When Danzo returned to the Hidden Leaf, he paused for a moment, thinking about his next move. He knew he should tell her about their son, but there was still the matter of Daichi's supposed wife, plus he would have to brief the Hokage about today's events.

His son coming back to life, dying, and leaving behind a pregnant wife wasn't something he could hide from him. Not to mention all the dead cloud jonin his son took with him.

Danzo decided he would stall by gathering more information. He withdrew the sealed scroll Kutaka had gotten from Emiyo. The scroll was locked with chakra, and only Danzo knew the correct chakra combination that would unseal the scroll. Any deviation and the message would explode, taking out whoever was trying to crack the combination.

Danzo almost smiled in satisfaction upon seeing his son's message. He wrote it in code that only Danzo would know. Even after all this time, his son didn't forget the lessons Danzo taught him.

Father,

If you are reading this, I am dead, and I pray my wife and child have made it to Konoha safely. With the war that's been raging, I didn't have anywhere else to take her. I realize that you still must be furious that I left the Hidden Leaf, but I hope you don't hold it against Emiyo and let her and my child stay in the Hidden Leaf. She is no danger to the village. Her mother didn't teach her despite having chakra, so what little she knows comes from me. If carrying your grandchild isn't enough reason to admit her to the Leaf, then I will tell you a secret that will ensure you will protect my unborn child. She is from the Chinoike Clan, famed for the Ketsuryugan, an eye-dojutsu that is said to rival the Byakugan, Sharingan, and the mythical Rinnegan. Although she never manifested the Ketsuryugan, our child will have the potential. Unfortunately, some conditions need to be met to awaken the Ketsuryugan, and Emiyo doesn't know the method. But, with all the forces available to you, it shouldn't be challenging to track down the remnants of her clan and learn what is needed. I have instructed Emiyo to seek refuge with mother, and I have hinted to her what my training at the foundation was like and that under no circumstances should she allow you to take our child to go there.

Daichi.

Danzo burned the scroll with a sigh. It seems his son had yet to forgive him. Closing his eyes, Danzo planned out his next moves. He had three things he needed to take care of tonight.

The first, he immediately discarded. They hadn't spoken in years. Nanako blamed him for their son leaving and had yet to forgive him. The girl could also wait. She was tucked away at the hospital with his people watching over her.

It was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, that needed to be dealt with first. He probably already had gotten a report and was waiting for him to come in and clear things up.

Danzo felt a brief flicker of annoyance upon being forced to wait outside the Hokage's door. It was probably Hiruzen's subtle way of making his displeasure known to him. Having the Lightning Dynamo's personal hit squad killed on Konoha's front door was no small matter. Since the Lightning Dynamo was involved, the Fire Dynamo would also have to be looped in.

Eventually, the Hokage door opened and Danzo entered, not paying any attention to the four ANBU shinobi standing guard.

The Hokage was dressed in his official red and white robes. He sat in his chair behind his thick desk, smoking a pipe, seemingly waiting for Danzo to report. But, before Danzo could say anything, Hiruzen looked him in the eye and said, "I just heard about your son. I'm so sorry."

Danzo kept his face blank, refusing to break his emotionless mask.

Mentally distancing himself from the situation, Danzo coldly remarked, "At least he died well. Taking out twenty jonin is no small feat."

The Hokage sighed, "Yes, but it couldn't happen at a worse time. There's been such a lull in the fighting that I was beginning to hope the third shinobi war might come to an end. But, unfortunately, Daichi's actions could flare up the fighting all over again."

Danzo pulled out a headband with a Konoha symbol that had a line drawn through it and tossed it on the Hokage's desk.

"Daichi wore this while he fought. If the Lightning Dynamo wants to use Daichi's actions to stir things back up, you can use this to disavow Daichi's actions."

The Hokage made a pained face, reluctant to disavow Daichi, the child he had once bounced on his knee. But, he couldn't help but acknowledge the usefulness of Daichi's actions.

"I can't do that to your son," The Hokage protested.

An icy chill emitted from Danzo, "You can. You must. If ending this war early requires tarnishing Daichi's name, then it's a price well worth paying."

The Hokage seemed to deflate a little, accepting Danzo's proposal.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" The Hokage asked.

As a matter of fact, yes. There is something you can do," Danzo replied. "Daichi had a wife who was pregnant with their child. I would like to have her settle in Konoha. It was Daichi's final wish."

The Hokage sucked deep on his pipe, considering Danzo's request. With the third war raging, Konoha was on high alert for spies that might try and sneak in. While he doubted that the cloud would give up twenty jonin to insert a spy, he couldn't be too careful.

Danzo nodded like he understood the dilemma. "We'll do a blood test to make sure the child is Daichi."

The Hokage blew out a puff of smoke. "If the child is Daichi's, then she is welcome to stay. But, if it's not..."

The Hokage's voice trailed off.

Understanding his intent, Danzo vowed, "I'll personally take care of it."

With that out of the way, the Hokage asked, "Where will you keep her?"

"She'll stay with Daichi's mother. She and the child will be safe there."

The Hokage grunted in satisfaction.

As Danzo left, the Hokage couldn't help but feel the hand of time weighing heavily on him. Maybe it was about time to look for a successor. Hopefully, the war would end soon, and he could finally hand off the mantle.

Unfortunately for the Hokage, his dream of a quick end of the war would end up being just that, a dream.