Preparations

Jun moved on to the following pile of files. They were about the genins from Suna. He knew what he was looking for. He flipped through the pages until he found them, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. Their files were rather thin but the most important piece of information was there. They were the current Kazekage's children. And their Jonin-sensei was… Jun had to read it twice to make sure he had it correct the first time. He was expecting Baki as in the original story, but it was Pakura's name on the file. She was the Jonin leading the coup to vanquish the Kazekage. 

"What is the Kazekage playing at?" He asked himself, thinking out loud. 

"He's quite the daredevil, no?" A familiar voice replied to him. 

Jun raised his head. Apart from Shikaku, there weren't many people who freely came to his office. 

"Kanna!"

His former teammate smiled at him. They didn't meet much these days, each busy with their tasks. Jun was pretty sure that Kanna was a member of the ANBU. 

"What are you doing here?" The Uchiha clan leader asked, surprised.

"Inoichi told me that I might find you here. We will work together for the duration of the exam. I'm part of the team responsible for monitoring the demon they are trying to slip into the competition."

Jun wasn't officially responsible for monitoring Gaara. However, as an expert in Fuinjutsu, he was expected to step in if an accident occurred.

"Sure. What do you need from me?" He asked.

"I need whatever the Division has on it. Its abilities, how to contain it… Anything that would give us the edge. I was given a file, but there isn't much in it."

"Can I see the file?"

Kanna handed him a fairly thin folder. Jun opened it. There wasn't much in it indeed. It contained the name of the Jinchuriki, its ability to manipulate sand, the fact that he had survived several assassination attempts, and that Gaara was unstable. 

"Alright, I'll brief you on what we know. Maybe, we should do it with the rest of your team, no?" 

"We will be four Jonins. I don't have their names yet, but you can brief me now. I'll pass on the info to them." 

Jun raised an eyebrow.

"Three jonins… and you don't have their names yet. You didn't say you don't know who they are, but you don't have their names yet. Could it be because they have to make up a name for this mission?"

Jun winked at her and made the ANBU sign. Well, he hoped it was the sign for the ANBU. He wasn't sure. He had only seen it a few times by coincidence with ninjas he knew were part of the ANBU. 

"Where did you learn that?" Kanna asked in surprise.

Jun smiled. His suspicion was now confirmed. His friend was ANBU. He wasn't shocked. Kanna was a strong ninja. 

"Hehe, it's not my fault your buddies think no one can crack their secret code and are careless about it. It means ANBU, right?" 

Kanna laughed.

"No, it doesn't. There is no sign for ANBU. The sign you made is indeed part of our sign language."

"What does it mean then?"

"You sure you wanna know?"

Jun nodded, though the smirk on Kanna's face made him suspicious.

"It means you're horny," Kanna said and burst into laughter.

"Get outta here. Why would the ANBU have a sign for that?"

"We're people too… we have needs."

"Still… And people use that sign often?"

"I'm sure you'd like to know that… Is there an ANBU lady you're interested in? Maybe I can help." 

"I don't have time to date. Too busy with work…"

"I wasn't implying dating."

Jun laughed. His friend hasn't changed. Ever since they met and formed Team Shisui back then, Kanna liked teasing them. He missed the old times… Jun felt a bit nostalgic.

"You know you just admitted to me you're ANBU."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"I knew you had your suspicions. It isn't a big deal for you to know I'm ANBU. Plus, my Doton techniques are recognizable. But you don't know the most important thing."

"Which is?"

"What division of the ANBU I'm in."

"You're not going to tell me?"

"What do you think? Of course not."

"At least tell me how the ANBU recruits members."

Jun was curious. There were many myths about the elite force. It was hard not to be attracted to it. Jun didn't want to join, but it was nonetheless curious. 

"We post job offers all around the village."

"Fine! Keep your secrets if you want. Do you want to do the briefing or not?"

"Don't be upset. I know you're…" Kanna said and made the sign Jun displayed earlier. "You should find yourself a girlfriend."

"Oh, you're interested?"

"I'm taken. You know that."

"Well you keep bringing it up…" Jun said and made the sign again. "Are you not fully satisfied by your man?"

"You think you can do a better job?"

Jun sighed. Kanna would spend the whole day teasing him if he didn't put an end to it.

"Fine, you win."

She smiled at him.

"So, what can you tell me about the kid-demon?"

He has a name, and he is a human being. Jun wanted to say that but held back. People saw Jinchuriki as demons. He didn't want to go on a debate with Kanna right now on why they should treat them like normal people. 

"Not much. He isn't the most social kid. He's extremely isolated. He doesn't have friends. He doesn't care for his siblings. He kills very easily. And his affinity with sand is the real deal. It's very hard to hurt him physically."

Kanna raised her eyebrows.

"You learned all that last time you were in Suna? I thought all you did was fool around with Pakura."

"You… How did you know?"

"She bragged about it. You know… being one of the rare women to have you in her bed."

Jun ran a hand over his face. He wondered how many people knew.

"Some people believed his seal may be damaged," Jun said, deciding to move on.

"What?" Kanna said in an alarmed tone.

"Not in the way you're thinking."

"I know little about Fuinjutsu, so you better explain."

"No other Jinchuriki is... haunted by his Biju as Gaara is by his. He never sleeps. I don't know if it's because he cannot or if it's because he's afraid the Biju may take over if he does. Either way, sleep deprivation may explain his short temper. I'm guessing that the seal is of poor quality, making it unstable."

"A demon with an unstable seal, the rival of the Kazekage on the verge of making her move, the Kazekage himself, and the new Mizukage… I'll be shocked if this exam ends without any incident."

***************

There were only a few days left before the Chunin exam began. Somewhere in Konoha, a new ANBU was receiving a new mask and her codename. The mask had been made specifically for her. The white mask had some falcon features with purple patterns. She was also assigned to a team with three other people. 

Their captain was Washi, a man with blond hair with a white and blue mask. Then there was Towa, a tall brown with a white and red bird mask, and Komachi, a blonde kunoichi with a mask adorned with delicate crimson patterns.

********

In the Hokage office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was looking out the window with his pipe in his mouth. He felt old. Well, he was old. He was older than the previous Hokages before their death. He was even older than most active shinobis. Despite feeling tired by the day, he got up every morning to go to work and watch over the village. Some days, he wondered how much longer he could go on. 

The last few years have been difficult. Hiruzen didn't intend to come out of his retirement. But the sudden death of Minato, the fourth Hokage, left him with no choice. He felt like he had lost his touch. Maybe peace had softened him. He missed several things. Orochimaru's and Danzo's treason had caught him off guard. 

He and Danzo had different views on how to run the village, but he always thought they had the same goal in mind. He even looked the other way when Danzo sent him his Root members to kill him once. He only let him off with a warning. Yes, Hiruzen had turned soft. He had let Danzo grow in power. 

But Danzo was dead. No one had seen it coming. His friend had betrayed him again, but that time was probably the worst. Danzo had instigated an attack on Konoha citizens. Yes, they were Uchihas, but Hiruzen didn't care. He considered them to be people he must protect. But he had failed. Hiruzen had wanted to confront Danzo to get an explanation. Why did he go so far? But he would never know. Danzo's thirst for power had been his downfall. He was indirectly killed by a member of the clan he wanted to destroy. Hiruzen still resented Jun for it, even though he knew he had no reason to. The Uchiha clan leader had saved him and the village from Danzo's machinations. 

After Danzo's death, things had been worse for a year or two. The extent of his betrayal had been revealed. His secret force, the Root was mainly made up of children believed to have been abducted by Orochimaru. The secret missions, not approved by Konoha and sometimes in direct conflict with its interests, were brought to light. The laboratories, which bore the distinct mark of an extended collaboration with Orochimaru were discovered. 

But the situation got better following Danzo's disappearance. Internal tensions had subsided. The skirmishes and attacks at the borders had decreased. The relationship with their neighbors had improved. Without Danzo making things worse behind the scenes, Konoha seemed to be doing much better.

But Hiruzen missed Danzo. He was his comrade. They had fought together in their youth. Danzo was the only one he could relate to. They were around the same age and had lived through the same experience. 

However, Hiruzen's energy received a sudden boost recently. Two of his students had returned to the village. And again, Jun Uchiha was behind it. The Sandaime had lost count of how many times he had summoned Jiraiya to the village with no success. He even gave up on Tsunade after the last great war. By what miracle Jun Uchiha had convinced her to come back, he had no idea. But he was happy they were home. 

Hiruzen exhaled the smoke out. Despite his old age, he felt like he still had a few good years ahead of him. He wanted to see what the future holds. He wanted to see the village prosper even more. He wanted to see his grandson grow up. 

*************

Much further away, a ninja wearing Kusa's headband on his forehead stood on a roof and pretended to look for a training ground for his Genins. In reality, he was observing the orphanage located two streets away. The orphanage where he grew up. He wondered who the director was now. Kabuto mechanically pushed his glasses back over the edge of his nose. The sun reflected in his glasses, briefly masking his gaze.

He hadn't returned to Konoha in years. He wanted to feel nostalgic, but he felt nothing. It had been a while since he felt something. For almost a decade now, Kabuto has been wandering… searching for something that could make sense of his life. Orochimaru promised him that he would find the answers he was looking for by his side. And Kabuto had discovered many things… Secrets, hidden truths, unknown facts. But nothing that gives meaning to his life. He thought that going back to Konoha would awaken something in him, but… the only person who mattered to him in this village was long dead. It was the woman at the orphanage who raised him. She was dead because of Danzo. 

Well, it was all in the past now. He had found Orochimaru. The latter made things interesting. Kabuto had a reason to continue moving forward until he found his way. And this Chunin exam would be interesting too. Orochimaru had made sure of it.

"Kabuto-sensei!" What are you doing up there?! What are we waiting for?"

"Tayuya, don't be impatient." Another voice said.

Kabuto sighed and leaped softly from the roof.

"Calm down, children. Let's go."

They obeyed and followed him. The children weren't there to be promoted to Chunin. They couldn't care less. They had another goal, a special mission directly assigned to them by Orochimaru.