Greetings and salutations. I am Brainiac5, and this is my first Naruto fanfic, although this is by no means my first fanfic. I was greatly aided in the conception and transcription of this story by MidnightAnimeAngel, and wish to express my gratitude to her for her kindness to engage in thought-provoking conversations that frequently result in me dashing off to write. Just in case anyone was wondering, it's quite unfortunate, but I don't actually own Naruto, nor do I have the artistic skills of Masashi Kishimoto. Frequently I lament this fact, but it is true nonetheless.

"Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made clean again." ~Dag Hammarskjold

Prologue:

"So, the ANBU have finally come through," Tsunade said, cradling her chin in one hand, her fingers tapping impatiently on her desk. She turned a disdainful eye on the battered, pitiful form that lay on the floor before her, restrained and broken, but not defeated.

Slowly she rose to her feet and stalked across the floor, folding her arms and glancing down at the incapacitated figure of the missing-nin Yakushi Kabuto. She glanced sidelong at the five ANBU who stood watching the prisoner with apprehensive stares.

"How many of our people did we lose?" She demanded, glancing at the masked figures and placing her hands on her hips firmly.

A sadistic grin creeped across the snake-like visage of the trussed figure on the floor.

The head ANBU shook his head regrettably, glancing at the Hokage. "Too many," he replied, sending a chilling glare in the direction of the restrained shinobi. "We leave him in your care now, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade nodded once, decisively. "Very well." Glancing at Shizune, she turned and stalked across the room, opening the door. "Help me get him down to the hospital," she instructed whirling back around and fixing a glare on the defected Konoha ninja. "We're starting immediately."

A/N: Just so everyone knows, I usually talk down here, at the end of the chapter. Right now I have nothing to say, so I thought I'd tell you that I have nothing to say. Stay tuned!