36. Target Rin

The Past during Third Shinobi War: 12 Months After Kannabi Bridge Mission:

"Come on Rin, move it!" Kakashi shouted behind him at the young woman tailing him.

"O-okay," the medical kunoichi said slightly winded as if they had been running full out for hours but was truthfully a handful of minutes. She pushed herself harder, but then fell flat on her face as her foot snagged on something. She felt a weakness come over her for a moment, but it ended as she pulled her foot free after climbing to her hands and knees. She looked back in order to see what she had tripped over, but frowned as nothing obvious presented itself.

The moment slipped from her mind as her attention was pulled to the trees where she spotted several members of the Prajna descending towards her. Before she could react though, Kakashi appeared in the air between her and her attackers easily dispatching them.

Landing next to her, the Jounin said, "Are you alright?"

Rin frowned internally at Kakashi's tone as ever since Obito's death he had been emotionally distant. In truth it felt as if he had put a wall between them. And while she had to admit that Kakashi had never shown any signs that he carried any feelings for her besides those of a teammate. His current treatment of her made her feel more like a client that he had been hired to protect then a teammate or potential lover. It was a bitter pill to swallow that Obito's last request to Kakashi may have been the final nail in the coffin to her dream of one day starting a relationship with him.

She pushed such thoughts aside as Kakashi began rifling through one of the dead shinobi's pockets and pouches prompting her to ask, "What are you doing?"

"I'm hoping these guys are carrying some clue as to why they are interfering with our mission. The latest intel we have is that the shinobi village in the Land of Woods was destroyed. So the question is... what are they doing in Taki?"

Rin shrugged scanning for any sign of pursuit as she responded, "They're probably survivors hiring themselves out as mercenaries."

"That's what I'm thinking." Kakashi agreed. "But what I want to know is who hired them. The orders that we are carrying to the units helping to defend Taki from Iwa are important. But Iwa would likely send its own people. Whoever hired these guys is going to great lengths to keep his fingerprints out of it. That leads me to believe it's either a third party hoping to sell our plans to the highest bidder, or perhaps worse..." Kakashi trailed off leaving Rin to imagine what he meant. Before she could ask though a kunai shot from the woods aimed at Kakashi's back. He spun deflecting it into the ground before saying, "Looks like we've overstayed our welcome."

"Hand over the orders boy and we'll let you live. The girl can stay though, we'll show her a real good time."

Rin shrunk into Kakashi's shadow as several of the former Anbu of the Land of Woods chuckled at their team leader's comment. She could also feel several of the men lustful gazes traveling over her making her shiver. She felt a spark of girlish joy as Kakashi said, "It'll be okay Rin." It quickly died out though as he finished with, "I promised Obito that I'd protect you."

Once more reminded of the promise she felt was barring her path to a relationship with her crush she stepped from behind him saying annoyed, "I don't need protecting Kakashi."

She charged forward pulling a kunai from her pouch prompting the Prajna leader to say amused, "Watch out boys this kittens got fangs."

A few of his men chuckled and much to her chagrin the Prajna commander managed to block her attack. With a tanto he had strapped to his back. He lashed out with a kick that she managed to sidestep, but he in turn avoided her counter-attack causing him to leap away. She charged after him intent on proving to Kakashi that she could handle herself and didn't need him treating her as if she was some glass doll in need of his protection. She heard Kakashi shouting for her not to get too far away from him. However she paid him no mind as her focus was solely directed on her opponent and her desire to best him in order to prove herself to Kakashi.

The Pranja squad leader leapt back as she swiped at him with her kunai. He countered with his sword which she parried, yet her breath was taken from her as he brought his knee up into her stomach. His follow up spun her around as he hit her with a backhand fist. She suddenly found herself rolling down a small hill before coming to stop near a river bank. She appeared to struggle to get back up, but found she couldn't get any traction as her feet kept skidding in the mud.

"Pathetic," her opponent said landing in front of her using chakra to prevent himself from sinking into the mud. Moving to her side he added, "It's almost a mercy to put such useless kunoichi out of their misery."

He lashed out with a foot as if to punctuate his point by kicking her in the ribs, but missed his target as Rin easily rolled out of his way. She struck at the thigh all his weight was resting on as green chakra coated her hands. Severing the muscles that her chakra scalpel connected with, her opponent shouted out in surprise as his leg could no longer support his weight. "You little Bit.." he shouted, but was cut off as Rin's follow up attack was to slam into him bodily as she pressed her hands to his chest, her chakra blade severing his main artery. He tried to fight against her, but she used her weight to hold him down as he quickly bled out. Finally after several moments he laid still after emitting a final gasp. Having heard the death rattle a person often produced at the end many times over the course of the war she knew he no longer posed a threat.

Sitting back, she wiped at her forehead in relief. She felt a small desire to say something flippant to break the sudden silence that seemed to have descended over the forest with the man's passing. But she reined it in since as a medic she felt it was wrong to mock the death of another, even if he had been an enemy. But it was also due to the fact that she was fairly confident that while she had struggled against her opponent, Kakashi had likely and easily handled the rest of the squad.

She was about to begin the process of searching to see if the man had any intel of value on him, but stopped as a female and familiar voice said, "Whew, that was a close one. I was afraid I'd have to step in to bail you out."

Before she could react something landed against her back as white plant like flesh clamped around her torso making her feel like a fly caught in a Venus fly-trap. She looked over her shoulder as she felt her chakra being drained like when she had tripped earlier and received the shock of her life as whatever it was that was attacking her was doing so while wearing her face. After a handful of moments she felt on the verge of chakra exhaustion and the "jaws" that had held her in place retracted into her doppelganger's body. She collapsed and although still conscious was powerless to move as a white man with green hair approached her and although naked. He lacked any of the defining features of his gender. He looked down at her as he said with a tone that was both curious and bored, "So this is the girl he's been talking about in his sleep."

Her copy nodded as it replied, "It would seem so. I can't see why, she doesn't seem all that extraordinary. The way he talks when he's conscious it's almost as if he believes she doesn't poo."

"Don't be stupid all these meatbags do."

"We don't" her copy quickly countered.

"That's because we ain't meatbags. I'll take her to the Master. He apparently needs her to pay for the Prajna assistance and for some intelligence he wants. You know what you need to do."

The Doppelganger nodded and after slipping a note in the dead man's pouch began to walk away in the direction that she had come from. She figured that Kakashi must have finished with his opponents as she could hear him calling for her. His voice sounded as close to panicked as she had ever heard it and she would have been happy if not for the fact that she had come to believe it had more to do with his promise then the depths of the feelings he possessed for her.

She tried to call out but the White man grabbed her around the mouth before causing them both to begin to sink into the earth. By the time her doppelganger led Kakashi back to the corpse where he would uncover the note which detailed his and Rin's supposed route to take on the way to the camp they were to deliver the Hokage's orders and thus force them to pick a new course, she would be miles away.

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

The Present:

"Who would I like to become?" The Kiri-nin repeated in confusion. Her voice hardened a moment later as she shot back, "What kind of stupid question is that?"

Far from being offended Kiyomi replied, "In most cases I suppose it would seem a rather foolish thing to ask one who has suffered like you have." Kiri-nin KK-one-one-seven-six looked at the sitting red-head in surprise especially as she began to recite, "I won't bother with your name as I'm sure you wish to discard it, but you were captured only after being betrayed by your squad's bodyguard Kisame Hoshigaki..."

"I wasn't betrayed by one lone shinobi," the Kiri-nin said cutting Kiyomi off her voice sounding bitter. "I was betrayed by my entire village. I have no doubt that he was following the orders of the Fourth Mizukage."

"Likely I suppose," Kiyomi replied, "I'm curious though. If you believed that why didn't you give the code up under torture or the many interrogations? It would have made things much easier for you."

The Kiri-nin glared at Kiyomi before looking away as she said bitterly, "If I had given the code up then it would have perhaps justified the orders Kisame was given. Besides, even if I desired revenge on those who had wronged me and given up the code, they wouldn't have suffered. It would have been the rank and file shinobi of the village. Not to mention, I bear no love for Konoha."

Kiyomi gave her guest an amused grin as she said, "No, I suppose you wouldn't." The grin disappeared as she turned serious once more, "Now, back to my original question. Let's just say hypothetically that I could give you a new life. A fresh start as you would say."

"That's awfully generous of you," the formerly imprisoned kunoichi said skeptically. "Why would you do that for me? Especially since I already told you I didn't do it for Seven, but myself."

Kiyomi shrugged dismissively as she answered, "I could tell you that regardless of your reasons, your actions still benefitted both my Sister and myself greatly. Although personally I could care less about what happens to the Uchiha woman. It would have been...upsetting to others had something happened to her." Kiyomi could see her words had little effect on the kunoichi so added, "However if you require a selfish reason then I suppose you could say that it's because I would like to further test my abilities. I have already used them to reshape people several times. The form I possess being but one. However, should you agree, you would be the first to do so willing."

"You honestly expect me to believe that you are some kind of flesh sculptor. Come off it..."

The kunoichi trailed off as Kiyomi clapped her hands and the door to the room opened. Three women then stepped into the room and moved towards the chair Kiyomi was sitting in. The youngest of the three came to a stop and said, "What are your orders?"

The former prisoner had a sense of familiarity wash over her from the woman's voice. It took a moment for it to register and with a sudden understanding exclaimed, "Yuffie!" The kunoichi gave no recognition that her name had been spoken as she waited for Kiyomi's order. Turning her gaze to the other two women she couldn't place them, but from the blank looks that they wore suspected that they may have been the Taki-nin's teammates.

Her attention was pulled back to the red-head as she said, "Very good, I'm surprised you recognized her."

"What did you do to her? And are those her teammates?"

Kiyomi inclined her head as she responded, "Indeed." She stood from her chair and directed the three women to stand in a line. Kiyomi stepped behind Yuffie, who due to her deaging appeared to be around sixteen so was much shorter than the Kiri-nin recalled. She placed her hands on the woman's shoulders as she explained, "During the battle I decided to test certain aspects of my ability to alter people's forms and personalities. Unfortunately, my attempt to alter their personalities failed to a certain extent. I'll have to research just how the Shinobi of the Sand are able to do it when they create their double-agents." She then moved between the other two women as she continued, "My success here was quite stunning. Although admittedly I'm not sure if I achieved the desired effect."

"What effect would that be?" the Kiri-nin asked with some curiosity as she was able to tell that the three kunoichi weren't just simply henged.

"I was hoping that my abilities brought out the women they wanted to become. But sadly at the moment they are in no condition to tell me." Stepping around the two women, Kiyomi held out her hand as she asked, "So how about it? Are you interested in becoming the person you always desired?"

The Kiri-nin reached up to take Kiyomi's hand, but stopped just short as she asked, "What if my desire isn't only my looks...but to become stronger?"

Kiyomi stared at the woman for a moment and felt a frown threaten to appear since she could guess at what the woman would want to use any power the Bijuu could give her for. She nearly retracted her offer as a result, but in the end felt it would be good practice for helping boost Ayame's chakra. Not to mention was confident that given time Naruto would be able to help the woman look past any desire for revenge she may have. As a result she said, "Boosting your chakra will take more time...but it can be done."

The Kiri-nin gave the matter one final thought and then took the offered hand. At first she felt nothing but then her body began to feel warmer as Kiyomi's chakra filled her system and altered her looks. When the transformation was complete she wanted to find a reflective surface to gaze at. However she collapsed back into the bed feeling drained, she closed her eyes unable to fight the fatigue as her body began to ache causing her to realize that Kiyomi must have dulled the pain she would otherwise have felt. Drifting off to sleep, she began to think about to what utilization she would use the promised power she would receive. Standing at a crossroad she found her gaze looking down a path that ended with a village in flames.

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

Komachi guided Joseki through the tunnels that ran beneath the village, and were centered around Danzou's home, which resided near the abandoned Uchiha district. As she led the Suna elder to his meeting with Danzou, she thought back to how with some of her precious little free time she had scouted both the tunnels of Root as well as those that made up the Den. Her primary reason for doing so was just to insure that at some point they didn't intersect. Fortunately, it appeared that the tunnels that both groups were utilizing for their personal uses had been established by two separate entities and thus didn't intersect. She suspected that since the tunnels that Danzou had taken over as Root's base of operations also ran under the Uchiha district they had been the architects of ones she currently found herself moving through.

Komachi's thoughts were pulled away from the matter as they passed a group of Root-nin calmly heading in the opposite direction. Joseki chuckled as the two groups walked by each other. She suspected it was due to the fact that outside of ensuring that there was enough room for them to pass each other none of the Root members had acknowledged the other existed. A part of her wanted to ask what the Suna elder found so amusing. However, she was self-aware enough to recognize that was something she would only even contemplate recently. The Root member she had been would have filed away Joseki's reaction as unimportant and continued on in her task of guiding him to the leader of Root.

But despite her seeming indifference she got a glimpse of his mindset when he commented rather mockingly, "How orderly. It's much like what I imagine it would be like to be guided through a beehive. All the little worker bees moving about and only interested in the tasks they need to perform." Joseki's gaze moved to another group of shinobi heading towards them, but then suddenly turned at the intersection both groups were approaching. Although they moved at brisk pace, it wasn't hurried, but the quick walk of men not interested in small talk or camaraderie. Only in completing the missions they were given no matter how small in as quick and efficient a manner as possible. Joseki seemed to read her mind as he commented, "Yet even if the worker bees have no concerns outside of their assigned tasks. They should still sense some of the pressures that those who manage the hive are under. Either Danzou is surer that the story he had in place to blame that noble connected to the One King Movement is going to survive an investigation then I believe he should. Or, he has deluded himself into believing it wasn't the devastating defeat to his ambition that it appears to be."

Naturally Komachi remained silent, but she wanted to add a third choice and one she feared greatly, which was Danzou still had an ace in the hole that he had yet to play. Reaching the door to the room Danzou had told her that he would be waiting for Joseki in, she feared it was likely that her belief would be the correct one as she saw him sitting behind a small table upon which sat a shogi board. She allowed Joseki to enter first before following him in and not seeing any of his normal Root protection feared for a moment that she would be asked to leave. However, he made no sign for her to do so. Moving to stand behind him, she briefly looked at the board and saw that it appeared Danzou was playing the game by himself.

Joseki commented on this as he sat across from his old nemesis by saying, "What is the matter Danzou, unable to find any worthy opponents to play against? You should have plenty of free time to play with the other old men in the parks now that your ambition has been crushed."

Danzou didn't rise to the bait as he made a move and then analyzed it to see how best to counter it as an opponent would. Looking up from the board he said, "Joseki, I was surprised when you said that you wished to meet again. I was fairly confident you would try and distant yourself from me as quickly as possible. Please don't tell me you came all this way to simply rub my nose it what you believe to be an utter defeat on my part. True, it is a setback..."

"A setback," Joseki said his tone dripping with disbelief, "A scheme you have no doubt been planning for years suddenly falls apart. And while you may be confident that your pinning it all on some noble with delusions of grander may cover you from any of the fallout. The very fact that your Hokage reached out to Gaara and they managed to counter your plan without you catching even a whiff of it means that on some level they suspect elements within the Leaf."

"That is to be expected," Danzou said disinterestedly as his gaze drifted back to the board, "especially considering that a major Leaf installation was the home of the impending rebellion. I've already have been questioned several times about my connection to Akame. They will find nothing of value and all of my meetings with him were held in an official capacity. Tsunade may suspect more, but her opinion of me has never been the highest. In the absence of evidence, her concerns about me will be attributed to her prejudices against me."

Joseki shrugged as he said, "I suppose you are entitled to your delusions. But if I were in your shoes I wouldn't be relaxing just yet."

"Oh, I'm not relaxing and hoping this will all blow over. If Tsunade does suspect me then she is no doubt of the belief that is exactly what I would do." Danzou said moving a piece from the opposite side of the board. Komachi had to admit that as in all things Danzou was serious in all that he did, even in such activities as playing a game by himself, as the move he made perfectly countered the one he had done when they first entered the room.

"Still, I can't imagine you have very many moves left. Deny it all you want but I know this scheme cost you quite a bit."

Danzou gave no sign he was bothered by Joseki's words as he calmly reached for one of the captured pieces. He placed it on the board pointed against the pieces of his "opponent." Looking at Joseki he said, "Do you know what makes Shogi such a challenge? It's that unlike similar strategy games a cunning player can use his opponent's pieces against him."

"I see, and have you managed to capture one of the Hokage's pieces."

"Not exactly," Danzou said while acting as his opponent he made a move. "She wasn't the opponent I was referring to."

Joseki reading what Danzou meant suddenly shot to his feet tossing the table and board separating the two elders away. Komachi from years of training reacted without thought quickly unsheathing her blade in preparation of defending her leader. Through clenched teeth Joseki said angrily, "What have you done?"

Danzou came as close to smiling as he ever did while saying, "Don't act so surprised. That you came here looking to gloat over my supposed defeat, only highlights that we were only ever in an alliance of convenience. If you thought that also meant that we would pause in our own struggles against one another than you are a fool."

Despite Komachi's presence Joseki still took a step towards the sitting Danzou as he said, "I said what have you..."

"Done, yes I heard you," Danzou finished showing he was hardly feeling threatened. Raising his hand and signaling to Komachi to relax he continued, "It's simple really. All I've done is reclaim the piece that you captured during the height of the Third Shinobi War. A piece taken from Konoha while the ink on the document solidifying the alliance between our two villages was not even fully dry."

Joseki glared hatefully at Danzou as he growled, "What's your point? If anything you've just shown you're as capable of ignoring alliances of convenience as I am."

"It wasn't a recrimination," Danzou said a small tone of amusement entering his voice, "I'm merely pointing out that it is a tactic that you've used before you try to take the moral high ground with me. I admitted to you in the park that I had the Prajna eliminated once it became apparent you had secured their services. A group of former Anbu in the hands of my enemy was a threat I couldn't ignore. Fortunately, from the leader I learned of an interesting fact. Mainly his group had been ordered to attack a pair of Leaf-nin carrying orders to the front. In truth I nearly discarded the information as unimportant since I already had prior knowledge...until he admitted a little tidbit I had been unaware of. While his men had been hired by you to get their hands on those orders, I'm assuming for the purpose of learning of our forces locations in Taki in order to convince the Kazekage to betray us and deal a devastating blow, there had been a secondary objective. Getting your hands on the medic-nin partnered with Kakashi. They didn't know this, but I gleamed this fact since you gave specific orders to the Pranja that only Kakashi was to be harmed."

To both Komachi and Danzou's surprise Joseki seized on a small facet of Danzou's retelling of past events. "What do you mean you had prior knowledge of the attack? The fact that you knew of my involvement but didn't go running to the Fourth Hokage means..."

Komachi felt her eyes go wide at what Joseki was implying. She was glad that the Suna elder's attention was solely on his Konoha counterpart as she was sure her rather un-Root like reaction would have garnered some notice. Danzou didn't even reply with the smallest amount of shame as he coldly said, "Yes, I was the one that provided Kakashi and Rin's route. After all, both you and I had dealings with the same man."

"The Broker," Joseki said unable to keep a small hint of the fear and respect the mention of the mysterious man incited in him.

Danzou inclined his head and as she was unable to see his face she suspected he may have held the same feeling. "Yes. He, or more accurately I should say one of his associates approached me asking for details on the remaining members of Team Minato's movements. As his name certainly entails, he offered me something I had been desirous of in return. I saw it as a win-win type situation. With the death of the remaining members of his team, I believed Minato would finally take the steps necessary to achieve a final and lasting peace. Plus I would finally be able to meet with Hanzou in order to hammer out an alliance with him. Sadly, that alliance was short lived as some upstarts slaughtered the men that I had loaned to the Salamander. I am curious...what did you trade to him?"

The name of the last host of Iwa's Five-tailed Jinchuriki. As you know they had managed to keep it under wraps after the death of the previous one."

"Ah," Danzou said, "I believe we now know what he wanted that information for."

"Wait you can't mean?"

"Exactly, the Broker wanted to learn the location so that Akatsuki could later collect them."

"That's insane!"

"Is it," Danzou replied, "The Broker has always had inside connections to all the villages. I mean how else can you explain the Mist Village's involvement in you securing Rin Nohara?"

"What are you talking about? I was told his agents were able to secure her while Kakashi was busy facing the Prajna."

"That is only half of the story," Danzou said, "The rest even I'm not fully aware of. But Rin was declared killed by the enemy by the Fourth Hokage. However, before even a cursory autopsy and after mission investigation could be called they had buried her. I found it curious, but always maintained the belief that both Minato and Kakashi were covering up the truth of what happened. What I do know as fact is that after encountering the Prajna, Kakashi claims that Rin and he took an alternate route to link up with the unit that the orders they were carrying were for."

Danzou went silent for a moment, Komachi felt on edge in a way foreign to her due to her desire to hear what the elder knew about the mysterious Broker he had mention, due to his connection to Akatsuki. To her further surprise she was fighting back a desire to attack her former master. She supposed it was part of her lover's personality rubbing off on her. But having to remain emotionless as Danzou admitted to treason was proving extremely difficult. It was partly due to how he was callously revealing that he was willing to sacrifice loyal Leaf shinobi so long as it benefited him or brought the Leaf Village another step closer to how he wished it to be. But what was truly whipping up a fury inside her was that he was admitting as much right in her presence. Granted he had done so before, but with her new perspective it just highlighted the wrongs that had been committed against her and the other members of Root that had turned them into unthinking machines.

Luckily Danzou's focus was directed squarely on Joseki since it was clear the man was building up a powerful anger as well. Komachi believed the only thing keeping the Suna Elder rooted to where he stood was a desire to learn what Danzou knew about how the Broker had secured the kunoichi that he had used to further his own agenda for over a decade.

Unaware of his subordinates thought's Danzou picked up from where he had left off by saying, "Now according to Kakashi a short time after changing their route, they encountered a group of Hunter-nin. Considering that Mist had a short time earlier opened up a new front where Taki bordered the ocean in the north we were told that it was likely they had stumbled onto an advanced scouting party for what would be their Harbor Wave offensive."

Danzou paused as he stood from the chair and turned his back on Joseki. For a brief moment the Suna shinobi tensed as he considered attacking Danzou. However, he noticed Komachi tense as well, and unaware that her reaction was simply a result of years of training, since due to her own swirling emotions she was considering letting the man make his move, he backed down. Komachi had no doubt that Danzou was well aware of what his presenting an opening to his opponent had done. She also was coming to understand that to him it was all part of the game. However what she wasn't so clear on was what he was hoping to gain by telling Joseki what he was up to, especially since whatever it was that he had done, he could likely have done so without the Suna Elder being any the wiser.

The moment passed and Danzou moved to a map that had been hanging on the wall behind him. Although she kept her back to Danzou, as she watched Joseki, she could easily imagine that as he stood before it he was envisioning the many battles that had taken place during the Third Shinobi War. This was in part due to the contemplative tone his voice carried as he said, "That was always the most upsetting thing about the strategies of Kirigakure. Their shinobi would show up in a theater, cause a bunch of chaos and then fade like the mist they so often used to cover their tracks. It was almost as if their whole purpose was to prolong the war for as long as possible." Danzou turned from the map before continuing, "But I'm getting sidetracked. Needless to say that as far as Minato and Kakashi were aware Rin didn't survive the encounter. I've long wanted to dig up what was buried in her grave, but I couldn't do so without raising questions that may have led to my own dealings with the Broker."

Danzou began slowly moving towards his opposite number in the Sand Village as he said, "It must have been quite a convincing double for Minato and Kakashi to not even question it. Her quick burial was explained away as being necessary for a village that was experiencing far too many funerals. However, I have long believed that whatever the Broker had used had put Minato into the unenviable position of possibly tarnishing his student's memory if an investigation was called for. I suppose that much like Sarutobi, it must have been an extremely difficult thing to except that a person you helped bring up in this world of shinobi may have decided to betra..."

Having heard enough Joseki snapped, "While this is all so fascinating. You've yet to answer my question. What have you done now that you have possession of this kunoichi? What is it you that you plan to do? Are you going to offer her up, should the investigation into the prison begin to point to you? Are you going to use her as proof that I've capable of controlling people and thus was framing you?" Joseki aware that he was on Danzou's turf scoffed as he added, "I suppose that's why you allowed me to come before you to gloat."

"I had indeed considered doing that," Danzou admitted as he came to a stop in front of his long-time rival. "However while that would likely have cleared me...it does nothing to move me closer to my ultimate goal. If anything using such a tactic would likely force me to keep a low profile. I don't think I need to tell you that I'm not getting any younger. No, the best way to find myself through this storm is to do exactly what you did to that shogi board."

Joseki tore his gaze from his hated rival and looked towards the board he had sent flying. Seeing it lying against a wall, as well as the pieces for it scattered all about, his eyes widened in understanding prompting Danzou to say, "Precisely. I plan to find my way through these current troubles by creating an even greater incident by which to distract them. An event that no one can ignore, one that when the dust settles and all the pieces are placed on the board again, it will be with me as the Hokage."

"How do you propose to do that with one mediocre kunoichi?" Joseki asked turning his full attention back to Danzou.

"Come now Joseki," Danzou said with a mildly disproving tone, "We both know she is far more than average. You tend to be rather hard on your puppets. On some level she must have pleased you."

"I have never used her in that sense," Joseki said quickly and angrily at what Danzou was suggesting. "I wouldn't sully my wife's memory by using some Leaf whore. The reason this puppet didn't end up as a discarded and broken tool is because I believe she may have had some future use for bargaining or blackmail token against the Broker."

Danzou remained silent figuring Joseki would explain what he meant. When no answer was forthcoming he shrugged as he said, "No matter, perhaps I will learn what secret she holds after everything settles down. Although, considering she is going to be what instigates a new round of conflicts I highly doubt it."

Joseki scoffed incredulously as he said, "Do you truly believe that the Leaf and Sand will go to war over this matter? Besides since it seems you are going to let me live what is to keep me from telling them all I know about you."

"That is rather a simple thing to answer," Danzou replied sounding smug as if everything was proceeding exactly how he expected it too, "self-preservation. You are mistaken in that I plan to use her as a wedge between our villages. Recent events show that the ties between our villages are far stronger than even I anticipated. However, Tsunade has made recent inroads with Kumogakure as well. Before these can fully form I plan to disrupt them by provoking the Raikage in such a way that he'll react in the most severe way possible."

"Do you truly think yourself capable of such? You couldn't even predict the events going on in your own village."

"I think you will find that predicting an enemy's reaction is simple when compared to that of allies. The reason for this is because in most instances your enemies are reacting to the pain you inflicted, and all people react the same in the face of pain and death. They seek out the one responsible and inflict it in turn." Danzou raised his cane and tapped the destroyed eye that one of Joseki's plots had left him with after the Elder's own had killed the Sand-nin's wife. "Do you remember what happened after the death of the previous Raikage?"

"Of course, Kumo became twice as aggressive. They pushed hard into Hot-Water Country and nearly broke through until Shikaku Nara took command."

"True," Danzou said, "But you forget that he also put his jinchuriki into hiding."

"So what," Joseki said dismissively, "He did that so the jinchuriki could protect the village. A pulled almost all of his village's defenders for the offensive."

"Is that what you believe?" Danzou said with a tight almost imperceptible grin. "You would be wrong. It did have that benefit, but the Jinchuriki didn't make an appearance even after Shikaku forced Kumo back into their own territory. In truth, the Eight-Tail's host never made another appearance onto the battlefield. Rather strange considering how poorly the war began to go for Kumo after their offensive failed."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that the reason the Raikage kept his jinchuriki in the rear was because he wasn't willing to lose him. Remember it took almost Ten-Thousand shinobi to bring the Third Raikage down. Considering his strength A must have thought his father would live forever. Suddenly seeing him brought down must have been quite the shock." Danzou moved back to his chair and sat down. He leaned forward as he continued, "Now considering that both he and his jinchuriki were raised as brothers he did what all good older brothers do. He ensured that his younger brother would be safe, even at the cost of his war efforts. Now imagine if that brother was to suddenly be attacked. I imagine it wouldn't matter whether or not that attacker succeeded. The mere idea that his beloved partner would be threatened should be enough to rouse his anger; especially should he accuse a kunoichi that as far as the Leaf is concerned is dead and buried. The more the Leaf tries to deny it, the angrier he'll get and eventually he'll begin to believe all the cozying up that Tsunade has done was to get him to drop his guard so we could eliminate his greatest military asset. I don't think I need to tell you what is likely to happen next. I should thank you, as a result of your willingness to work with me. I was able to ascertain how you communicated with your various pawns. Granted the information is of little uses since I'm unsure of any of the other people who are under your jutsu, but I just needed to know the one to send her an order. Don't bother trying to recall her. She's already been made aware that any future attempts are to be considered misinformation generated by the enemy."

Joseki was shaking with barely controlled rage now that Danzou had revealed that he had been used. Twisting the knife just a little further he added, "This moment is rather exhilarating. I've often wondered if this is what the Silver and Gold brothers felt when they spoiled the peace talks between the Second Raikage and Hokage. Did they have any idea that their act of betrayal would spiral events out of control and lead towards the Second Shinobi World War? Probably not, but they had to at least know they were guaranteeing that the bloody age of shinobi would continue. I've always figured that the Broker may have had a hand it the matter as well. However since neither of us have heard from him in decades it is likely that he has passed on. That is good news for you, especially since if you believed Rin could be used against him then I imagine he gave her to you with the understanding you would eliminate her. I doubt he'd be pleased to learn she was still around."

Joseki instead of exploding seemed to center himself. With a restrained tone he said, "I trust we are finished here then."

Danzou nodded so the Suna Elder spun on his heel and quickly made his exit. Komachi moved to follow but stopped as the crippled elder said, "Let him go. He isn't going to do anything so foolish as remain here." Once it was just the two of them he said, "You disapprove Komachi."

Komachi feared he had picked up on her own anger towards him. However, thinking along the lines the emotionless Root kunoichi she had been would she said, "It isn't my place, sir. However, is it wise to reveal so much to him and let him go? He will no doubt try and foil your plan if for no other reason than that he may fear what this Broker character you mentioned would do if he is still alive."

"That is a slim possibility," Danzou said standing as he made his way to the door. "Although I never saw his face, in my dealings with him you could feel the age he carried on his robed shoulders. I doubt Joseki truly believes he is alive either. No my old sparring partner will simply try and foil my plan out of ego. But I'm counting on him to at least attempt to. I want him to make as big a mess of this situation as he dares. He'll no doubt expend quite a few assets that he has in place in Kumo in an attempt to keep Rin from reaching her target. Should he succeed I lose nothing, but should Rin kill a few other Kumo-nin on her way to the Eight-tails well I can only imagine how the Raikage will react."

Danzou paused at the door when Komachi didn't fall into step behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see her picking up the pieces for the Shogi game that Joseki had overturned. Guessing that as he had pulled her from escorting Joseki through the Root facility she was simply finding a way to be useful left her behind.

Komachi righted the table and began to place the pieces back on the board. However, although she could have recreated it exactly as it had been before Joseki had sent it tumbling, she placed one of his pieces next to his king facing the wrong way. Since it was facing towards where Danzou would be sitting it would be considered his opponents. She smiled briefly as she began to walk away as she enjoyed the irony that Danzou's enjoyment of capturing an enemy's pieces and using it against them was in turn being done to him. Reaching the door, she looked back at the board and the captured piece that was holding his king in check. Seeing herself as that piece she promised then and there that this would be the last scheme that Danzou plotted. Leaving the room, she would first alert her lover to the new danger to the peace he was building and then would find the link necessary to make sure that when Naruto foiled his scheme that Danzou would face the justice he so richly deserved.

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

Tsunade ducked beneath a punch thrown by her opponent. Now inside her opponent's guard she struck out with a shot that she channeled her chakra into. Much as she expected although it connected with his gut, it did little of the damage that she was used to. Still her opponent staggered back as he rubbed his stomach saying, "Ho, Ho, your Taijutsu is as truly formidable as your legend claims Lady Tsunade." He looked at where her apprentice Sakura was squaring off against the clone of the man she fought. "I'm glad you requested this training session. It's such a rare opportunity to see how my own taijutsu would fare against a living legend such as you."

Tsunade felt a vein appear on her forehead since to her Gai's calling her a legend was akin to calling her old. Therefore charging the man who was fighting her with the first three gates opened, she said, "Legends are dusty old things you read about in books."

Gai met her charge throwing several punches that put her on the defensive. She blocked or avoided most of his attacks before spotting an opening. Putting all the information that she had gathered from the session, and her fight with the Idiot Brothers about why her chakra enhanced blows didn't seem to work against opponents whose chakra was in an overly excited state, she hit Gai in the chest. Modifying how she released her gathered chakra, she was almost as surprised the Jounin when he went flying back. He hit the ground and then skidded along it as well as over the small pond the training field they were using contained. Coming to rest on the opposite bank she heard Lee shout, "Gai-sensei!!!" He abandoned his fight with Sakura and took off running. He cradled his master's head in his lap as he cried in the exaggerated fashion that he and his master were prone to.

Feeling like she had kicked a puppy in front of the young man she was about to go check on Gai when Shizune said, "It would seem you've overcome your recently discovered handicap. I must admit I'm beginning to see how you earned your reputation as a prodigy."

Tsunade turned towards her first apprentice with an arched eyebrow, while catching a towel that Shizune threw towards her. Wiping the sweat from her forehead and chest, which was glistening from her exertions, she said, "Just beginning?"

Shizune smiled as she replied, "Well you must admit I didn't exactly get the fully engaged Tsunade. It's still hard for me to imagine that for every day following the battle you'd be up at the crack of dawn training. Or that you would be at it several hours later and in danger of missing a meeting because you lost track of the time."

"What? Shit," Tsunade said about to take off. She paused a moment as she looked over her shoulder and still seeing Gai lying in a dazed heap was about to order Sakura to look at the Jounin.

But Shizune beat her to it by saying, "I'm sure you and Sakura would like to discuss what you've learned. I'll see to Gai."

Tsunade nodded her thanks as she began to briskly head towards her office. Tsunade was about to explain what she had learned but was stopped when Sakura said, "Please correct me if I'm wrong but the reason our techniques are impaired by those who open their chakra gates is because it is in essence being overpowered by the stronger chakra."

Beaming at her student and fellow Harem member Tsunade said, "Very good. For me I imagine a still pond. Let's call the pond our opponent for the sake of my example. Now imagine throwing a rock in it, what happens?"

"The pond would begin to ripple from the point of impact," Sakura answered.

"Much like how when we would punch the ground the earth reacts to our technique." Sakura nodded at Tsunade's remark causing the Hokage to say, "Now imagine a fast moving river. Much like before you punch it, however this time there is a far less noticeable reaction since more water swarms in to carry away the disruption."

Sakura inclined her head in understanding before asking, "How did you overcome it just now though?"

"I used a bigger rock," Tsunade said with a smirk. "No matter how fast a river is flowing, with a big enough rock you can force it to recognize your efforts. What I did was hit him so that for a moment I created a gap in the overflowing chakra. When his chakra tried to fill it, well you saw the results."

Reaching the Hokage mansion Sakura peeled off to grab a shower. Her apprentice aware of what was in store for her master said, "Good luck."

Tsunade hid the small grimace that threatened to appear. Entering the building she made her way to her office and struggled again to keep it from appearing as she saw Asuma and Ibiki waiting in front of her door. Although she wasn't late, she knew the two men had been waiting sometime for her, which led her to believe the coming meeting would be a tense one. She couldn't blame them, since if she had been in their shoes she would likely have seen it as a slap in the face to learn that the person they took orders from had apparently trusted people outside the village to deal with the threat the prison posed then the people that had called it home.

Stepping before them she said, "Good morning gentlemen."

"A little closer to afternoon at this point Milady," Asuma said his tone terse but diplomatic.

"I'm sorry if you were waiting long," Tsunade said stepping into her office her two subordinates following behind her. "I was at the training field. Considering how you take after your student Asuma I didn't think I'd need to worry about you wanting to start this meeting early." Asuma didn't respond to the jest so guessing that both men wanted to get down to business she took a seat behind her desk. She studied the men for a moment before saying, "Let me start out by saying that my decision to not include the two of you as to what was going on in the prison in no way reflects any doubts I may have in your loyalty to the Leaf Village."

"Then what does it reflect?" Ibiki asked quickly his tone making her feel like a prisoner being interrogated. "Because as near as I can tell you chose to trust a recently awakened coma patient, the mercenary she hired, a prisoner who once tried to sack Konoha, and finally the Kazekage of a village that has attacked us in the past, all over the shinobi that served you."

Tsunade had a hard time not frowning as Ibiki rattled off his list. Hearing it from an outsider's prospective; she admitted it showed that to most people it looked like she had lost faith in her shinobi. Yet having expected to be questioned along such lines she quickly responded, "Deciding to keep this a secret from shinobi I know and trust was no easy matter. However Ibiki you must understand the need to keep an operation secret especially when the fear that the ears of your enemy are present among your forces as well. Look at it from my perspective. An instillation that was supposed to protect the safety of the Leaf Village was turned into a training camp for a force to destroy it. The people we trusted to keep this facility running smoothly were the ones plotting rebellion."

Ibiki's face didn't lose any of its gruffness, but he did incline his head in acceptance of her point even as he said, "I understand what you are saying. However, your choice in allies is...questionable to say the least."

"Is it," Tsunade said sensing that at the very least Ibiki was someone who could understand her running an operation off the books. "Before you pass judgment on that let me tell you how we first learned of this impending threat. It started several months back when Yuugao upon hearing rumors of Anbu at the prison decided to investigate." Tsunade paused, while she knew that in truth it had been Koharu to discover the Anbu presence at the prison, she and her fellow Harem members had changed that fact for public consumption. Beginning again she said, "She did this off the record. While there she discovered that not only were the rumors true, but that it appeared the prisoners had the run of the top few levels. She was discovered unfortunately, but managed to escape. She came to me with what she had learned."

"I've gone over the security tapes," Ibiki said as she paused for a breath. "I take it that Yuugao was this masked woman that infiltrated the prison. She had managed to avoid the known security of the prison, but was picked up by the modified one that Akame had installed."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, although I was hesitant to do so I was forced to bring Koharu into the matter."

"I find that pretty strange," Asuma said speaking up, "You two never truly saw eye to eye, at least not until recently."

Tsunade gave a small amused smile as she thought about how the jounin would react if he knew just how much she had come to see the elder eye to eye, generally while pressed against her as one or the other was being fucked by the man they both cared for. Unable to help herself she said, "Well you know what they say about certain circumstances making for strange bedfellows. Yuugao had brought her concerns about the unaccounted for Anbu activity to elder Koharu first. She recalled that Elder Koharu had raised some concerns about the security of the prison. She had asked for some advice on how to breach it. Since it didn't appear that the prison was put on alert by the Elder's knowing we decided to trust her. As for my reaching out to Kiyomi, I did that shortly after the assassins tried to eliminate her. We were of the opinion that Akame had to be getting his supplies for the rebellion into the prison from somewhere. What better way than from the company hired to secure and deliver them?"

The Hokage could see that her logic was winning over the Head of the Torture and Interrogation department. Strangely enough the usually far more readable Asuma was giving her no feedback. Continuing she added, "When Kiyomi was awoken as a result of the first chakra wave I paid it no mind. That is until she was targeted for elimination."

"You figured that her regaining consciousness threw an unexpected monkey wrench in Akame and the noble's plot so they put pressure on her siblings to have her eliminated to ensure their supplies would continue to flow in."

"Forget the noble," Tsunade said and could tell her statement surprised both men, "He's a patsy...he was a potentially dangerous one but a patsy all the same. Truthfully so was Akame. But I'll get to that eventually. However you are correct in your reasoning, Kiyomi was targeted to ensure the smuggling operation wasn't discovered. This led me to believe she could be trusted and since her bodyguard defeated the assassins when Kiyomi suggested I let her in I agreed."

"I'm unclear on how you brought Yoruichi aboard. She was out of the village supposedly hunting down the last assassin."

"True, but where was Koharu during these events," Tsunade said in response to Ibiki. "She managed to find Yoruichi, who had quickly eliminated the last hired killer. You see, it was Yoruichi that Yuugao caught up with, although she was henged at the time. We figured that since Akame would know that the assassination attempt had failed. Giving him the chance to tidy up the loose ends would be too tempting to resist. That was how we made contact with the woman calling herself Seven."

"If I recall correctly she ended up killing her cellmate...unless some other woman was sacrificed."

"Hardly, we placed a seal on Yoruichi that when activated disrupted the chakra suppression seal. As you know Ibiki, sometimes the worse thing for security is its efficiency. Since up to that point no one had found a way around the chakra suppression seal, the guards never even checked to see if they had been placed in a genjutsu. What appeared to be a fatal injury was nothing more than a carefully staged scene. I'm still unsure how Yoruichi managed to smuggle in the blood packets. All she'll tell me is a lady needs to have some secrets. With the offer of immunity Seven agreed to be our spy on the inside and with her chakra suppression seal was tampered with so that she had access to a small amount of chakra. We were able to communicate in the form of small stone beetles she would create to pass us notes. From there we reached out to the Kazekage and the Training Force was born."

Asuma frowned as he said, "Still the idea that you would trust all these outside groups over us is rather..."

"Upsetting," Tsunade supplied understandingly.

"That's putting it mildly."

"I know. It was hard not knowing who I could go to. However there is a very good reason for that...Root still exists."

Both men shared a look at the mention of the supposedly disbanded Anbu organization. Once they turned back towards her she said, "It's true. What I'm about to reveal does not leave this room. I mean it...Asuma I don't want even Kurenai to know."

"You can't mean to suggest that she..."

Tsunade held up her hand and silenced him with a stern look as she said, "Don't be ridiculous. However, the threat to Konoha still remains and the last thing I want to do is upset a pregnant woman who is entering the third trimester." Asuma nodded in understanding so she continued, "Remember what set this all in motion were reports of Anbu hanging around the prison. Yuugao encountered two members on the roof. She managed to place a tracking seal on one of them. As a result, we have learned that running under the Uchiha district as well as Elder Danzou's residence are tunnels that are being used as a base of operations for Root. We believe that Danzou never truly disbanded Root and even expanded it after the Uchiha massacre. Therefore, it is in all likelihood that placed all throughout Konoha's forces are shinobi that are loyal to Danzou first and the village second. That is why I couldn't risk letting even Shinobi I trust with my life in on our plans."

Ibiki recognized what she was suggesting first as he said, "You're saying that Danzou was behind this plot from the beginning. Some of the surviving prisoners and guards have mentioned him. They have pointed his picture out, but they also did so when I showed them a picture of the noble they would insist that is Danzou as well."

"That is because we believe he tampered with the Sharingan he gifted Akame with, so that whenever it was in the presence of the noble it would put those present under a hypnotic suggestion to see him as Danzou."

Ibiki crossed his arms over the chest as he said with a disbelieving tone, "Are you saying that Danzou created a situation where he would be pointed at as a potential suspect."

"I know it's a theory that is rather hard to swallow, but considering that he'd be able to point out that people were seeing this noble as him. He'd easily be able to raise the point that it appeared he was being set up." Tsunade stood and came around the desk. Standing before her two Jounin she said, "However, Danzou's days of slinking in the dark as he covets the position of Hokage are over. I'm going to need both of your skills if I'm going to make sure that when we bring Danzou down the charges stick. But for the time being nobody outside of this room is to be brought into this. Root has had years to seep into every facet of the village. If we're going to pull it out then we need to be positive that not even a whisper reaches Danzou's ears."

Both her shinobi nodded in understanding. They then began to plot on the best ways to insure that the small group could grow without attracting the attention of the elder or those loyal to him. Little did Tsunade know that soon she'd be putting the ideas that where being suggested to use much faster than anyone anticipated.

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

Mikoto awoke slowly, but some part of her immediately registered that she was no longer in the Punishment section of the Leaf Maximum Security Prison. The fact that it was probably a good forty degrees cooler was one clue as was the fact that she was lying on luxurious silken sheets. That fact told her that she was most likely not even in the prison anymore. For a brief moment she wondered if she was awakening from the horrible nightmare her life had become ever since the occasional griping about how the Uchiha were treated had turned into plans for rebellion. A part of her hoped that at any moment a young Sasuke would come bounding into the room telling her it was time to get up as he excitedly bounced in place.

However, she quickly abandoned her flight of fancy since she knew it would not help her deal with whatever new situation she found herself in. Without opening her eyes she tried to take stock of her surroundings. From years of shinobi practice and just married life in general she instantly knew she wasn't alone. Mikoto wondered just who it was that was watching her since the woman that had instructed her in what life as a kunoichi was like, had often told her and the other female academy students that just because they didn't find themselves in a dungeon. It didn't mean that they were safe from the dangers the fairer sex far too often experienced when taken prisoner by the enemy.

Apparently though the man watching her had enough experience to know when a woman was only pretending to be asleep. He alerted her to this as he said with a warm voice, "I really don't mean to rush you. But, I've only just gotten back to the village and several of my friends have offered to treat me to barbeque. I don't think they'd understand if I told them I was late because I was watching a woman as she pretended to be asleep."

Mikoto turned her head towards the voice and cracked her eyes open for a brief moment she thought she saw Minato sitting in the large comfortable chair he was sitting in. However as he came into focus she could see more of Kushina come into the picture and coming to the only conclusion that fit upon her recognizing the whisker marks on his cheeks said, "You must be Naruto."

The blond man nodded in greeting as he said, "I am. It's nice to finally meet you."

Mikoto sat up in the bed to discover she was dressed in a large t-shirt. She then took in the room and was surprised by just how opulent it was. Commenting on it, she said, "It appears you've come up in the world. These living conditions are quite the improvement over the rat hole the Third arranged for you after leaving the orphanage."

Naruto cocked his head in confusion as he said, "I wasn't aware you had any interest in my living arrangements."

Mikoto looked away from the kind penetrating eyes of Kushina and Minato's son as she recalled going to the Hokage upon learning that he had let the young boy move into an apartment one step away from being condemned. She had torn into him about it, but he had told her that the other apartment buildings had refused to allow the young jinchuriki to stay on their premises. She had nearly offered to take him in, but since by then the Uchiha were fully committed to toppling the Hokage. She was afraid her husband would use the boy as a bargaining tool or worse begin to influence him to support the Uchiha in their rebellion. Not to mention she doubted the elders of the village would allow such a thing to happen since there were many of the opinion that the Uchiha had been behind the Kyuubi attack in the first place. She doubted these people would be pleased for the Bijuu container to be living under the same roof as those who were supposed to be able to control it.