Chapter One: Let the Chaos Begin

Tsunade lifted up the sake bottle and tipped it over her open mouth. Only a few drops whetted her lips and she growled in frustration. "Damn it! Where's the sake when you need it?" It had been a particularly stressful afternoon dealing with Naruto and his complaints. God she loved the kid but sometimes the urge to strangle him overcame her more than a few times. She remembered their argument vividly:

Team 7 walked through the door of her office and Naruto was the first to rush up to her, "Baa-chan! What the hell was with the mission you gave us? We're 19 already! We don't do simple escort missions anymore, we're ANBU!" he shouted the last part triumphantly holding up his fox mask.

Sakura rolled her eyes behind her tiger mask, "Shut it, Naruto. If anything you should be happy that we're in such peaceful times. I for one am glad to lay off the assassinations." She snorted with her hands on her hips.

"Well, I'm not." Naruto pouted, his broad, muscular arms crossed over his chest in a childlike manner.

Sasuke sighed beside him, wearily talking off his raven mask, "Clearly." He stated dryly. Sakura's head turned in surprise, as if she still couldn't believe that he had rejoined Team 7 and returned to Konoha. The fourth Ninja World War had been tragic and many of her friends and lost their lives but the war had brought her Sasuke. She remembered the aftermath of the battle as Sasuke walked into the ruins with Naruto and walked up to Tsunade, surrendering himself.

Tsunade had been lenient in her punishment as she had only given him two year probation and had him interrogated by Ibiki for intelligence. She had told the other kages she had done much worse things such as torture to appease them. The four other kages, besides Gaara, had wanted Uchiha to be sentenced to death but in the end, they realized it was Tsunade's decision as she was Konoha's hokage and Sasuke was a missing-nin from Konoha.

A year after Sasuke was free to go and free to rejoin Team 7 he had mended his relationship with practically everybody in the village and if she had ever seen a changed man she had seen Sasuke's transformation. They had all risen to the rank of ANBU and with that had had their egos inflated tenfold, Naruto in particular.

"Ay, Tsunade-baa-chan, can't you give us something fun and exciting to do?" he whined, his blue eyes narrowed in a pleading manner.

Tsunade snapped at him, "You idiot! How do you expect to gain the title of Hokage if you don't even comply with the current hokage? When I tell you to do something, you do it! Got it?" she snarled.

Sasuke growled at his best friend, "Can you shut up so we can hurry this up? Sakura and I have a reservation for lunch and if we're late, I'm going to kill you Naruto." His onyx eyes gleamed dangerously.

Naruto backed away, his hands cautioning Sasuke to calm down, "Okay, okay. Sorry to intrude on your love life." He muttered and then looked up with a mischievous grin, "Sakura and Sasuke sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes-"

He was cut off as Sakura elbowed him on the head, "Naruto!" she growled. Her long pink hair moved around her as she continued to hit him on the head.

Sasuke smirked at his girlfriend, "You beat me to it, for once." He teased in a low voice.

She stopped to glance at Sasuke, "It isn't the first time." She grinned.

Naruto made a gagging noise, "Ew, please. Stop flirting in front of me." He managed weakly, as he was now covered in bruises and cuts from Sakura's punches.

Tsunade stood up abruptly and slammed her fist on the table, "TEAM 7! You are EXCUSED, please leave before I snap your heads off." She smiled sweetly, taking another swig of sake.

Flashback end.

Tsunade grinned in satisfaction when she remembered that she told Naruto off. Take that you idiot, she silently thought in her head.

Shizune came in hurriedly with her plump pig Tonton at her side, "Tsunade-sama! This just arrived, by owl! Quite peculiar, don't you think so? None of the neighboring villages use owls." She handed Tsunade a little envelope that was sealed with a sort of crest that depicted four animals standing in front of shades of colors. A large H graced the front of the crest.

Tsunade stared at the crest for a long time. Why did it seem so familiar? It was almost like she had seen this before, a very long time ago, perhaps when old Sarutobi was still alive. She opened up the envelope cautiously but seeing it was nothing but a regular letter written in impeccable handwriting, she proceeded to read:

Dear Princess Tsunade,

While it may seem quite a while back, I hope you do remember me. Your sensei, Sarutobi, rest his soul, had taken you and Orochimaru and Jiraiya to London to see magic for the first time. If you don't recall this, I do apologize for assuming so. I was the headmaster of the school that you visited and I have always remembered your kindness. I call upon your kindness once more to ask for the service of your ninjas who can bodyguard a young boy and his friends. This mission will be year-round but please, everything will be provided for. The offered money and mission description is enclosed as well with this letter. I hope you will accept for plea for help.

Many Thanks,

Albus Dumbledore

Despite her horrible memory, she did recall such a visit with Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Sarutobi-sensei. Albus Dumbledore, huh? She mused silently to herself. She knew the perfect ninjas for the job. Team 7 would have to be included in the roster as Naruto had pleaded and demanded her for a mission, well, he would get one. She opened the envelope to see money. A lot of it. Yes, she was definitely taking this mission.

She smiled to herself and grabbed a sheet of paper from her drawer and ink.

Albus Dumbledore,

Thank you for your polite letter. I am pleased to inform you that I will gladly accept the ninjas. I wish to have one of my most trustworthy ninjas meet you later tonight in the forests on the outskirts of our village. I thank you for your time.

Regards,

Tsunade

She looked up from her letter and tightly rolled it up and tied it with a strand of string. She handed the letter to Shizune who stood there looking apprehensively. "Please attach this to Moku's leg; he'll know where to take it." She said shortly. "Ah, and is it not true that Gaara and Temari are in town?" she asked.

Shizune nodded, "That is correct. Kankuro is filling in for Gaara as Kazekage." She informed.

Tsunade just nodded her head in satisfaction, "Good, very good."

Later that night

It was an unusually warm night with the occasional slight breeze swaying his silvery beard to and fro. His half-moon spectacles were perched on the tip of his crooked nose and his midnight blue eyes twinkled merrily as he viewed the moon from where he sat on the bench. "Ah, such a beautiful night, don't you agree Minerva?" he turned his head to gaze at his companion beside him, a stone-still black cat whose sharp green eyes seemed to view her surroundings with disdain. He paused, "I find it hardly suitable to sit so still, Minerva! You should relax, we are safe here, no need to hide your true form." Chuckling softly he popped a piece of hard candy in to his mouth.

He felt a breeze violently push past him, his glasses slipping down further. Turning once more to face his companion he saw that she was now in her human form which was not so unlike her animal form. A tight bun was secured at the top of her graying head and her lips were pursed tightly together that they were a pale white. Her green eyes glanced nervously back and forth as she viewed the forest around them, "Dumbledore," she spoke in a little voice, "I don't like it one bit being here! This strange foreign land seems so bizarre and—"

He cut her off, "Please Minerva, it won't do you well to fret. I am old friends with the leader of this territory, Princess Tsunade. She assured our safety and I have the utmost faith and trust in her."

She shook her head, "Be that as it may, I still have bad feelings about this place. She said she would have somebody meet us here who has yet to show up! What if they are planning to turn on us? You never know, ninjas have a history of being fickle." She crossed her arms together tightly and paced around in circles.

Dumbledore smiled amusedly, "I don't know why I didn't think of using ninjas as bodyguards earlier. Sarutobi completely slipped my mind. Now that I think about it, it's quite ingenious. Using young adults who have been trained from childhood to think and act on their feet. They'll blend right in." he mused quietly.

Minerva paled, "Dumbledore you can't possibly be thinking-?" she said in horror, her eyes widening in shock.

He responded with a confused look, "I thought you understood from the beginning, Minerva. I am hiring these ninjas to protect Mr. Harry Potter. The most strategic way to do so is to have them pose as students in order to be close to Potter." He tilted his head in an innocent and almost childlike manner.

"No!" she hissed, "You can't have them around the students! You forget, Dumbledore! These ninjas have been trained to kill."

"McGonagall-sama? Please lower your voice. Even the trees have ears." A low voice informed her from behind."

Dumbledore smiled while McGonagall whipped around to see who had spoken. She was surprised to face a young man hardly in his 30s with gravity-defying silver hair and sleepy eyes. The bottom half of his face was concealed behind a mask and in his right hand he held a bright orange book, hardly what she was expecting.

The eccentric looking man stepped forward and extended his right arm to Dumbledore, "Pleased to meet you. Dumbledore-sama, I presume?" he spoke in perfect, unaccented English.

Dumbledore shook hands with the man vigorously and gestured towards Minerva, "This is Minerva McGonagall as you so correctly guessed. We are pleased to finally meet you Kakashi."

Minerva's lips pressed together tightly as she viewed the ninja with apprehension, he seemed to be trustworthy and charming but she couldn't be sure. She nodded curtly, acknowledging him shortly.

Dumbledore sighed, "Ah, please forgive my companion's unease. She's not used to being outside of Hogwarts."

Kakashi nodded, "No worries. I'll be quick then so that you are able to return to London as quickly as possible." He withdrew a scroll from within his vest and gave it to Dumbledore. "That is the roster for all the ninjas going to Hogwarts. There are a total of 10 students posing as students and two adult teachers including myself. Within the scroll you'll find their personal information, skills, weaknesses, etc."

Dumbledore nodded and opened the scroll to skim over the contents quickly:

Team Leaders:

Kakashi Hatake

Anko Mitirashi

Tracking Specialists:

Hinata Hyuuga

Neji Hyuuga

Medic Specialists:

Sakura Haruno

Ino Yamanaka (assist)

Intelligence Specialist:

Ino Yamanaka

Shikamaru Naara (assist)

Offensive Specialists:

Sasuke Uchiha

Naruto Uzumaki

Defensive Specialists:

Temari Sabaku

Gaara Sabaku

Weapon Specialist:

Tenten

Lead Strategist:

Shikamaru Naara

Dumbledore chuckled as he read over the list, "I am very glad I came to Konoha. Princess Tsunade thinks everything out, does she not? I just have a few questions."

Kakashi nodded, "Of course. Shoot."

"Yes, do all of the ninjas know how to speak English?"

"Fluently."

"Excellent. And they are all trustworthy and would not do anything out of what we have discussed?"

"Of course. Only one is particularly rowdy but he has a good heart, Naruto Uzumaki is his name. I'm certain that they will succeed and meet your expectations."

"I am sure they will." Dumbledore smiled pleasantly, "They know they are to leave tomorrow and are briefed in the mission, correct?"

Kakashi paused and smiled sheepishly, "Well—not exactly. You see, we haven't exactly told them about this mission. Half of the assigned ninjas were gone on missions and just got back yesterday."

Minerva opened her mouth to protest but Kakashi cut her off, "No worries. They'll be up for the job. I know my students and their friends and they'll do it for sure." He nodded as if trying to reassure himself more than the two wizards.

Minerva closed her mouth shut and glared sullenly at Kakashi. He had nerve, she had to admit but it didn't make her trust him any more than when he had first mysteriously appeared. "I trust then, everything will be ready by tomorrow evening?" she asked sternly.

Kakashi smirked through his mask and bowed, "Of course McGonagall-sama. I am certain you won't be displeased. We're traveling through the portkey Dumbledore-sama gave to Lady Tsunade earlier and we'll be immediately transported to Diagon Alley. There your colleague, Hagrid will meet us there and take us to buy supplies. I'll see you at Hogwarts, McGonagall, Dumbledore." He gave a sharp nod and another violent gust came swishing through the air as Kakashi was gone in a tornado of dry leaves.

Minerva sputtered angrily, plucking the leaves out of her bun, "W-why! That scoundrel!"

Dumbledore simply stood there looking at the spot where Kakashi had left, "Do not fret my dear Minerva." He murmured. "Hm, quite an interesting technique, no? I must get him to teach me that someday." With a quiet chuckle he turned on his heel and popped another hard candy into his mouth.

"Come, we must make haste. Time does not slow for even us." Minerva nodded and she too, turned on her heel. A loud CRACK sounded through the air and the wizards were gone, leaving Konohagakure in its rare moment of peace.

A/N: So this is Chapter One and I hope you guys enjoyed it! It was just a tad bit shorter because I want to see how people think of it before I continue on. Please review so that I know what you guys think. I won't update until I get about 5 reviews. Thanks so much!

UNTIL THEN,

WRITER4EVERR