The Ides of War

Sarutobi Hiruzen was furious.

Not only had Minato lost his life, the nine-tails and Kushina had been abducted as well.

If that wasn't enough, his own prestige was at an all time international low after having been forced to retreat by two women, one a jonin and one barely more than a civilian.

He clenched his teeth and suppressed his impulsion to smash things.

While he couldn't help but admire the staunchness of Lady Shin, he couldn't live the humiliation down.

The grating discussions of his subjects in Konoha reached his ears through his voyeuristic… ahem surveillance crystal ball.

Why? One of the Inuzuka was gossiping with his fellow about him being an old dog who had lost his teeth.

A blue vein beat on his forehead.

Old dog, hmm? He had just the right mission for mouthy whippersnappers like him.

The fact that the mission had a 10 percent survival rate had nothing to do with personal reasons.

After all, the team did need a tracker and the Inuzuka was one of the better ones.

Maybe his addition would bump up the survival percentage.

There was a knock at his door.

He almost snapped.

"Come in." he grated out.

If the ones coming calling didn't have a good reason, he didn't mind releasing his ire on them.

The door opened and Danzo walked in.

Despite being the same age as him, Danzo had aged much better and in standard ninja attire, he looked nearly ten years younger than his actual age.

[Author's Note: Right now, Danzo has yet to get the Sharingan implants so he is not crippled… just a Kage level ninja… on the level of Chiyo. Weak Kage.]

The blue vein on Hiruzen's head beat harder at the sight of his old rival.

If not for his convoluted long-term plans in Rain country that had taken away precious resources away from Konoha during the Kazekage's surprise attack, they could have prevented the theft of the Kyuubi.

If the plans had been even mildly successful, it would have been fine but the man had no results to show for it.

Just as he was lay into the man with a tongue-lashing, another figure entered through the door.

His hair immediately stood on end.

Any ninja who could evade his notice was one that he had to take seriously.

When the cloaked figure entered the room fully and pushed his hood back, Sarutobi drew in a cold breath.

It was Hanzo, the Salamander. The one closest to God in the ninja world… though with the appearance of Lin Feng, that was debatable.

Hanzo spoke, his voice muffled by his rebreather, "The Iwa ninja have been repeatedly invading our land and we have no love for the Kiri nin either. But, what interests me most is Lin Feng… I want his secrets… they might be my stepping stone to Godhood. If Konoha promises to hand him over to me I can join the war on your side. Rain will follow behind me."

Sarutobi calmed himself shooting a look at Danzo.

It seemed that the plans hadn't been totally fruitless.

He waved to an empty seat opposite to him. "Please take a seat. We have much to discuss.'

…

…

[Undisclosed secret location]

There were three cloaked men meeting.

One was quite short, a midget really.

One was extremely muscular, his large stature and bulging muscles nearly bursting his cloak.

The last was average in stature.

These three men meeting clandestinely were the leaders of three of the foremost ninja villages. They were Kage.

The Mizukage was the first to speak. "What do you think of the new Kazekage? Onoki, you fought him… tell us your impression."

The midget, Onoki, the Tsuchikage spoke, "That man is unfathomably deep. I fought with him only when he had one tailed beast but now, according to sources he has two already sealed within him and now that he has the Kyuubi… I shudder to think what he will be like if he seals it in him too."

"Impossible!" The Mizukage exclaimed. "Two tailed beasts are the limit… three, especially if we talk of the nine-tails… it's impossible."

Onoki refuted, "Some time ago, even two was impossible!"

The Mizukage grew silent.

The third man spoke with a voice that rumbled like thunder. "I don't think that he will continue supporting us in this war." He was the third Raikage.

"He got what he wanted… the nine tails. The old monkey played a poor hand… well, it would have been good if he succeeded in capturing his lover… but to be drawn back by a civilian woman, even if she was the Daimyo's wife… really, he is losing his touch. This Lin Feng just chose to counter attack when the old boy was away."

Noticing Onoki and the Mizukage's surprised look, he sneered, "What? You really think I became the leader of a village with brawn alone?"

Onoki shook his head. "Forget it. It seems like the power balance has been tilted again. First it was Konoha on the top, balanced by four other villages, now the sand has risen to be a threat equal to or greater than it. Gentlemen, what do you suggest?"

The Mizukage spoke, "Nothing to do, really. If we attack Konoha, the Sand will either withdraw and let us consume each other and then reap the final benefits. Or worse, backstab us at the end of the war. I say we stop this war and go back to rebuilding. We can reach an economic alliance and pressure Konoha's ninja during their missions by undercutting their prices and stealing away their customers. The sand? Let them lie. This Lin Feng is too dangerous."

The Raikage spoke again. "Hey, I have news from sources in the Sand that after kicking Onoki's ass and getting the four-tails, he took around two weeks to absorb the tailed beast's power… soright now,"

Onoki frowned at his wording but completed his sentence. "He is in the process of sealing…"

His eyes shone. "This is the perfect chance to hit him. If we don't act when he is busy dealing with the sealing, we will never be able to win."

He Mizukage spoke, "Why take risks? Why not give this information to Konoha. We can also act like we are massing our troops for an attack to give them more pressure. They will be forced to act and disturb Lin Feng. After they fight, the three of us can swoop in with our massed armies and hit them both."

The three of them looked at each other and nodded. "Done."

Onoki spoke, "Now, as to his location… "

As they further began to discuss, they failed to notice a tiny piece of shadow that was darker than the rest.

…

…

Pain was sitting cross-legged on top of a mountain, bathing in the moonlight with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, a tiny piece of darkness crawled out of his shadow and merged with the black portion of his armour.

His eyes snapped open, glowing purple as his Rinnegan activated.

The moonlight around him warped as a formless ripple of force spread out.

As he went through the information he had learnt from Zetsu's spying, Pain spoke out loud, "So, everyone is making their move. We should move too. The top forces will gather. When they fight Lin Feng and begin losing, they will use the tailed beasts. That will be my chance. Worthily is he my rival and the man even Madara was wary of. Beating me to the Nine-tails. Right now, I am not his match… but after I gather all the rest of the tailed beasts… Let us see whose fate is stronger and who will become the God of this new world."