[Sakurai's Mother POV]

There is always the fear. Inari is no stranger to courage, but there is always the obsessive, clingy lover named terror. Oppressive helplessness.

It is not fear of the ninja that travel the rooftops, capable of destroying her home with the few, odd contortions of their blood-caked, clean fingers. That is reality. That is what their world is like. That is all she knows, born in Konoha to civilian parents.

She is not afraid of their power. No, Inari is scared of what that power will do to her daughter. It's too late for her son – what is left of him anyway in that tall, broad, strong body whose eyes reflect her own- only in reverse. He is not afraid.

He is resigned. Sad.

Melancholy and desolate.

And then he visits and he smiles at her, kisses her cheek, tells her how good it is to see her after so long.

She wants-

Her little boy is gone.

She'd been naïve back then. Young. Unused to seeing the truth in things. It was the folly of youth. Her parents had cautioned her, when the war began. Sakurai had always been different, they had said. His placement in the academy had proven them right. Inari hadn't seen why it would be a bad thing, her son a ninja. She realises now that whatever her parents tried to tell her, carefully, cautiously against the ninja doctrine, she did not notice. She did not think.

Her son had seen it far sooner than her. Moved out. Gave her then-husband a key, a room, a bed and a home to find out who they were apart from each other, without Sakurai to care for. Happier. They were happier. And that hurts more than anything, some days. She knows her ex-husband is now content, still has that key, but lives with his lover. She knows her son gave them more options, more reasons to pursue their own wants. It's strange, that he could do that, at such a young age, that he could see it. But, in essence, her son has always been what he is now. Insightful, and wise, if obnoxious at times.

Inari, she loved Sakurai. Still does, when she manages to forget. He's broken. Twisted the wrong way in his growth and got stronger in spite of it. His soul warped, his body honed for war, his mind made madness sharp enough to cut down enough enemies to survive.

For all that he hasn't really changed, being a ninja made him lose something of himself. Something crucial.

He'd been only nine when he was recruited into ANBU. She… only understood years later what it meant, those porcelain masks. When he wore one of those, he was not her son. She thinks it's a good development that he will no longer have to leave himself behind when he goes on missions. She just wonders if there's enough of him left to do that. He'd been careful to never let her see the blood on his armour.

She looks at him now as he indulges in a smoke with his stepfather, and thinks he's only jagged, softened for a night between pillows of comfort that he dares not touch more than a featherlight caress. He was the same with Sakura, in the beginning. He'd been so in awe of her. Of her innocence, Inari can now acknowledge. Now…

A bird lands on his raised forearm.

A scroll. A mission.

He stubs out the cigarette. He stands. Reads the orders.

Wishes them a good night. He'll be gone for a few weeks. He'll invite them to dinner when he's back.

Vanishes with only the stub as evidence of his presence. Leaves to go kill someone. That's what ninja do.

Inari is afraid that Sakura will look at her mother with the same grim understanding as her son does. He sees Inari. All of her.

He loves her.

And deep down, she knows, he hates her for bringing him into this world.

None of them asked for this.

.

Die Erziehungsmethoden befleißigen sich von einem bestimmten Punkt an, Denkhemmungen zu setzen; sie tabuieren also gewisse zentrale Inhalte, welche die Ordnung der jeweiligen Gruppe garantieren. Das mögen einmal Respektbezeugungen vor Ahnen oder göttlichen Wesen, das andere Mal mehr irdische Besitz- und Herrschaftsordnungen sein. Ihnen gegenüber hört die Toleranz auf, und hier beginnt die harte Sanktion für Verstöße. Psychologisch bedeutet das, daß Ich-Leistungen – kritisches Fragen – früh durch Strafandrohung übermächtiger Wesen eingeschüchtert werden. S.102

From a certain point onwards, methods of upbringing are cultivated to set inhibitors on thought; they place a taboo on certain central contents which guarantee the order of the respective group. Those might be on the one hand testimonies of respect for ancestors or godly beings, on another more earthly orders of possession and rule. Their opposition is not met with tolerance, but instead with harsh sanctions for violations. Psychologically this means that I-accomplishments – critical questioning – are intimidated through threats of punishment by supremely powerful beings early on.

.

The problem is, Sakurai reflects as he takes in his mission assignment back in his flat, that even if there were attempts to maintain the peace, in this world might is right. It was the same in his first life. There were powers that had through technological advancement and military strength, and the lack of opposition from almost equally powerful forces subjugated countries to their agenda. Power, he thinks, is what makes people go to war. The defence of what once could call rights and law, justice even, is only meaningful to the powerful if there is an equal force in opposition. If there is not, the powerful will do as they please.

Propaganda does the rest.

What has always interested him is that the Hidden Villages are connected to the monarchies of their respective territories. But in reality, ninja live in a different plane of existence. Their power could be so absolute as to abolish the monarchies and nobility's claims to tax and resources. But they do not. He thinks it is in part because it would take time and resources to do that another Hidden Village might take advantage of, to encroach upon those newly freed territories.

On the other hand, a large part is because if ninja did take over the ruling, there would be less money flowing in to assassinate this noble, get rid of that merchant and so on and so forth. No matter that that money would be in the ninja's hands in the first place, territories have to be maintained, cultivated, and ninja forces would be only good for defence or mundane D Ranks. Salaries for ninja to do the maintenance and keep the peace would ensure that monetary resources were more evenly distributed – among ninja. This would potentially lead to riots, if one didn't carefully control population. So then, ninja would have to get involved in civilian education. And they wouldn't necessarily get paid for it better than a normal infiltration mission might cost. Now, they can infiltrate courts, play around with civilian politics while pretending to work to the Daimyo's advantage. Civilians might get uppity if ninja openly ruled.

Shadow government is really rather convenient.

He thinks sometimes that that's why Kage are called Shadow.

It's almost funny, when he looks at his mission. He's to go and investigate a noble's tremulous hold on the population near Hot Water's border. And if that noble has insufficient means of subjugating the rebels who won't pay their taxes for whatever reason – probably poverty – then Sakurai should assist. And if possible, find a replacement for the highest ranking noble.

Yeah. This is why he prefers ANBU. None of that population control stuff. None of that diplomacy, which really is making clear without saying it that if the civilians don't get their act together, the ninja will do it for them, by force of course. Fearmongering.

That's his mission. Putting the fear of ninja in these people's hearts when they already have it in their minds. But it is the heart that counts when you decide to rebel. He will probably have to make an example of someone. The rebellion is still small enough for that. There is no need to elevate the upper ranks of the movement into better economic and social standing to take the driving force from their efforts.

He will make an example of one or two well-known individuals. 'Do you remember Hiroshi? He was executed for (insert 'crime' here), you better watch out.'

Yeah.

He hates his profession sometimes. But he's not… well. He thinks maybe he can fulfil his mission and not make the rebels suffer too much. Of course, he's not going alone, Team Ten is accompanying him. Which means the Yamanaka and the Nara will have an eye on him. And Sarutobi Asuma… well. They don't really know each other, he supposes. Maybe they'll get along. Maybe they'll like him and turn a bit of a blind eye. But it isn't a kind heart that Konoha fosters in young ninja, it's a heart that beats for Konoha, their comrades, the Will of Fire. Rebels aren't Konoha. Rebels are the enemy.

As much as civilians can be the enemy anyway.

He thinks about why the Hokage assigned them under his leadership for this. The Nara is a competent chunin, Sarutobi could handle things with him on their own. And no mission is assigned people it doesn't need, unless there's insufficient intel and a high probability of combat. So. He packs his gear for a fight. There are probably enemy ninja involved.

Sakurai sighs. Just what he wants. But then, he figures this is another test of his abilities to perform as a normal jounin, with the backup necessary to catch his mistakes.

He could refuse. He can do that now, after all. Make himself into a combat specialist only. But that… that would mean that he'd be more out of the loop. He'd probably be pulled from the Commander's office in his time in the village and made to run missions nonstop since war is on their doorstep.

This is clean-up before it gets heated. He doesn't really mind that. He likes knowing what's going on. He's always liked it. That's why he pays so much attention, why he knows who's with who. Who's manoeuvring to place themselves as the next Jounin Commander. He likes watching them try to figure out why he's in that office almost every day he's in the village. He's certainly not taking over once the Nara decides he wants to retire. He likes knowing what's going on but he likes having a life outside of work and family more.

Regarding the mission, aside from the careful manoeuvring necessary to weed out the enemy nin, Sakurai thinks it could be a nice little holiday kind of thing. There are some nice hot springs where they're going. There's always time for downtime on this kind of mission. Well, there was when he did that sort of thing as a genin. Perhaps it will be different as the team leader.

He hopes not.

Besides, he can delegate. His team is probably quite competent. Good in a fight, too, if Sakura's opinion can be trusted. It can, even if they're friends. She's known how to assess the threat level of her comrades since he taught her in her last semester of the academy.

He's also curious to see how he'll fit in their team dynamic. The younger members have known each other since childhood. Sarutobi was – is – their jounin sensei.

Well. There's nothing for it. They move out tonight, so he leaves a note on his window and front door to let the kids and friends know he'll be gone for a few weeks.

Then he goes to shop for a few of the more palatable rations from the Akimichi store he frequents. The standard stuff is a bit bland for his tastes, and while he has some pre-cooked meals in storage seals, rations are always a good choice when you don't know for how long you'll be gone. He's not sure he wants to go undercover as a civilian either. Maybe he'll make one or two of the others do that.

He'll be sure to consult them, though. If there's no need, he sees no reason to force them.

He checks the time. Half an hour to go before they depart. He decides to stop by the tobacco shop he likes. He's running low on the kind that he can smoke on missions – no scent left behind, which makes it a little odd, but the taste doesn't suffer somehow. He's never investigated how, he's sure he doesn't want to know. Some of the chakra modifiers for plants and poisons can be a bit weird. Then again, it would be interesting. Perhaps he can ask the Yamanaka about it, if she's one of those who are into poisons and such.

The old, retired Yamanaka nin manning the counter is chatting with his clan head when Sakurai enters. Both glance at him, return his nod, and go back to their conversation about one of the greenhouses. Some of the plants seem to be suffering and the clan head is here for a consult.

Sakurai goes to pick out his preferred brand of scentless tobacco, takes a look at the poisoned tobacco selection to see if there is anything new. Not this time, and it's been a while since he was sent on an assassination mission that had to look like an accident – illness. So he picks out his money and goes to pay, intending on not interrupting the two men. He doesn't have time for a chat if he wants to stop by training ground three to tell Sakura that he'll be gone.

"Haruno-kun," Yamanaka Inoichi greets, pausing in his suggestion for the other Yamanaka to come by the next day to take a look, "Heading out?"

"Yamanaka-san, Yamanaka-san," Sakurai smiles, "Yes. I believe I'm assigned to your daughter's team this time."

"I told you not to add the san, Haruno-kun," the clan head reprimands, but Sakurai doesn't want to build up a rapport with the clan of mind readers and interrogators. They're very observant and he would rather they (rightly) think they discomfort him than have them around him more often. "To Hot Water's border, right? That'll be a nice journey."

Meanwhile, the shop owner has taken the money from Sakurai, given him a nod and gone to retrieve his diary.

"It wouldn't be appropriate, Yamanaka-san," Sakurai says. He's been careful to never go below san for any clan head, and none of them have been as persistent in offering him more friendly means of address. Not even Inuzuka Tsume who is as informal as anyone in that clan. But Sakurai, who only smokes the scent blocked tobacco on missions, has never had many dealings with that clan. "If the mission allows, we might get some downtime to enjoy a hot spring, too."

The clan head sighs at him, as though Sakurai's politeness were a great sadness, but doesn't press the issue. He never does more than once per conversation. And he never does it in front of the Jounin Commander. "Ino would like that. I hope it all goes well, then."

"It will. I'll see you when I get back, then," Sakurai says easily, noting how the man's face shifts into surprise for a moment at his surety. He's never been in charge of Sakurai's psychological evaluations, but he has had access to his philosophical and political writings. There's a lot of scepticism in there, a lot of introspection and sardonic self-mockery when it comes to morality. So he understands that this confidence might be surprising. He's never questioned his skill as a ninja, though. Only his role as one.

"Yes, see you in command."

And with that, Sakurai leaves and shunshins to training ground three once he's outside. Yamanaka always manage to make him overanalyse his and their interactions. He hopes Yamanaka Ino will be more focussed on something else. He doubts it, though.

Sakura is demolishing Sai in taijutsu when he arrives. No chakra strength, and no painting for this spar, it looks like. Sai is getting better, being with this team. Neither Yamato nor Hatake are anywhere to be seen, and Naruto appears to be practising some wind jutsu.

He watches them for a bit, before pulsing his chakra gently to alert them of his presence as he drops off of the tree branch he perched in. Perhaps, when he gets back, he'll drill them on detecting cloaked presences if he has the time. He's very good at hiding, but he knows Hatake would have caught the distortion his arrival brought. He tends not to bother cloaking that in the village. Not since Root was slaughtered.

Sakura and Sai pause, but Naruto appears very focused still.

"Sakurai-nii," Sakura comes over to speak with him, taking in his mission gear. "How long will you be gone?"

"A few weeks. I'll be on the border to Hot Water with Team Ten. Can you let Dad know I'm gone?"

"Yeah, I'll tell your old sack of potatoes that you're gone," she says teasingly, only ever halfway fond of her mother's ex-husband. "Man, Ino-Pig gets to go on a mission with you before me?"

"There'll be enough combat missions to go around soon enough, Sakura. I'm sure if I ask nicely, the Commander won't mind us going on one together."

It makes her smile. He likes making her smile. They hug briefly, then Sakurai waves to Sai, who waves back in that overdone, jerky way he has. That brat's taken being obnoxious and made it into a lifestyle. Sakurai's proud. "Tell Naruto to brush up on his spatial awareness before I get back."

"Sure thing," Sakura promises, eyes sparkling. She knows Sakurai likes to prank Naruto when he thinks he should do better with some of his training.

And then it's time for him to meet Team Ten at the gate. Team Ten is already waiting for him when he gets there. He's right on time, so they stop chatting with the gate chunin when he arrives with his shunshin. They're better at noting the distortion than Team Seven is, but that might be because Sarutobi turned towards him immediately when he was part of the conversation.

"Evening," he greets, "I'm Team Leader Haruno Sakurai, let's get along, eh?"

"We know who you are," the Yamanaka says, "And now that we're on a mission you can't ignore me any longer, Haruno-san!"

"Ah. How unfortunate," he comments, and earns a smile from Sarutobi. The younger men just watch curiously. They must be used to her. Akimichi must also be reconciling his calm demeanour with their last encounter. Nara just watches, looking half-asleep on his feet. He even has dark shadows under his eyes.

"You're really rude, you know that?" Yamanaka points out, seeming upset. He was younger than her once and used that tactic to wheedle lower prices at the market. It started not working too well when he grew taller. They must all be about fifteen or sixteen.

"I suppose I do," he agrees and waves cheerfully at the gate guards as they pass through. Kotetsu and Izumo are loose acquaintances, but even if they gossip every once in a while, he's recently not bothered much. Children did give him something else to do on weeknights. They give him a wave each. From a distance, he doesn't seem all that changed, he knows.

But his privacy's been violated. His thoughts have been aired to strangers. He's coaxed children with numbers for names to become children with wants and stubborn little tantrums.

He's not tired, per se. He's just waiting to feel like he's back to where he felt like life made sense.

.

He knows the route to Hot Water's border quite well and takes to the treetops easily, setting a lazy pace. He'll see how much stamina they have tonight before they make camp when they get too tired. He's worked with some Nara before, and they often have less than average physical stats. They're good to have on a team, though. Clever and quick when needed. And that clan technique is nothing to scoff at if they have the chakra reserves to hold it for a bit.

Surprisingly enough, the Yamanaka decides to leave it at that for now. Sakurai signs for the Nara to take point about an hour into their journey for a private signed conversation with Sarutobi about his team's capabilities. He finds out that they're all about on the same level genjutsu-wise, which is… not much to speak of; infiltration is good for Yamanaka and Nara; Akimichi has high-chunin level taijutsu, good reserves, but isn't so good at independent strategizing; Yamanaka has some expertise with poison, her clan jutsu of course and information gathering without violence is her forte; Nara has a knack for strategy like the Commander, good chakra reserves for the clan jutsu, but relatively poor physical stats. Sarutobi is good with wind jutsu blades, katon and quite versatile in close and mid-range combat. Otherwise he's their sensei and must have been responsible for honing their individual talents. They're all good for memorisation and no one will have trouble posing as a civilian for a time.

That's good, for what Sakurai wants from them.

Around sunrise, Nara requests a break and because they have an Akimichi on the team, Sakurai decides on an hour to get some good cooking done since he spots a few animal tracks in the dense undergrowth.

"Someone get a fire going, I'll be right back," he says, not caring who does what, they've been on enough missions together to sort themselves out and he doesn't like micro-managing everything. He hopes to set the tone for the mission with this. Sort it out yourselves.

He finds the rabbit nest quickly enough, takes three with quick kills and brings them back to the campsite. Akimichi helps him skin the carcasses and remove the entrails while the others keep an eye out and rest. Sakurai is about to retrieve some herbs from his pack when Akimichi stops him, "Allow me, Haruno-san."

"Alright. Thanks, Akimichi-san," he says and sits back to watch the young man cook.

"So, Haruno-san," Yamanaka begins, "Why do you think you were put on this mission with us? Doesn't seem like the type of thing you usually do."

Sakurai shrugs and packs his pipe with the last of his scentless tobacco. "I'm a jounin now. Gotta have a bit of a repertoire if I'm not too heavily specialised. So let's call it a learning experience."

"Makes sense, I guess. Hey, did you get that from old man Juuichi? He's cultivating a new type of that scentless stuff, should be ready in a few months," she chats easily, almost mindlessly. But she's showing him how observant she is as well. A good memory for small details, too, which can only be good for her place on an information gathering team.

"His shop has some of the better selections," Sakurai offers and lights the pipe.

"He does," Sarutobi agrees, "But if you want good cigarettes, I recommend checking out the store by the old jounin barracks."

"Ah? I'll stop by there sometime, then, thanks," Sakurai says and doesn't mention that that place tends to overcharge a bit, when it comes to the more popular brands. He prefers the civilian corner shop near his mother's house for cigarettes. "Say, Yamanaka-san, you wouldn't happen to know how the scentless tobacco keeps its taste without the smell?"

And she jumps on the topic, eager to explain the chakra modifications and that in some Inuzuka, they can cause a sneeze attack. She regales them with an amusing tale of one of her uncle's old teammates who couldn't stop sneezing for hours. The method of cultivating them remains secret.

And then the rabbit is done, crispy, lightly salted and very tasty.

Sakurai compliments the cook who smiles, pleased. The Nara, having to be shaken awake by his teammate also thanks his friend for the meal. Then he asks Sakurai about his plans for the mission.

"We don't have much intel beyond a few names and a little information on Fujiouka. It's likely that there are enemy shinobi helping to stir up the trouble and there has been a high concentration of bandits in the area in the past. From what I remember, the region isn't too rich on crops, only some of the farmers grow potatoes like in Hot Water, so most of their income is tourism for the hot springs and a few of the still-operating mines. We'll pass by the mining towns on our way there. In the last war we had some minor battles with Kumo nin near Raishu because they tried to retaliate for our successful moves on Frost's smaller iron mines. They still have those supply-agreements. I figure it might be them, or since it now exists, Sound. So what I want is to gather some information while one of us puts some pressure on the noble. I also want to track down the nin and rebellion leaders. I'm open to suggestions from you."

Nara hesitates, then sighs softly. "I figure Asuma-sensei should take on the noble, Ino and Chouji should gather intel and you and I should track down the nin. We'll find them in a good position to influence the rebellion leaders."

"Good. I figure you can all operate independently of my direction, but I want team meetings every day. Times will be flexible, so I want you to know that my summons are peacocks, and if you see one you should come find me. They're relatively common in the area, so be sure to register the chakra trace. I don't care if you send a shadow clone for an info dump, so long as you can assimilate the memories. If you want to alert us to some imminent danger, then you'll either have to track me down or signal a flare. I won't be leaving a shadow clone anywhere until I can assess the threat level we're facing. If we keep up the pace, we should arrive in three days. We're not in a hurry. And when we're there, if it all goes smoothly, I don't mind if you take some time to relax."

"I can't do the shadow clone," Yamanaka pipes up, "But I can establish a two-way mind link with Shika and Chouji within my range of sight, and keep it up for a few hours. Only half an hour in stressful situations like a fight, though. How do you know of those Kumo connections? There was nothing in the archives when I had a quick look this afternoon before we left."

"Those might be classified records, Ino," Sarutobi explains. "We have some non-aggression treaties with Frost, so it's not something you should spread outside of mission requirements."

Sakurai knows because he'd been part of some of those ANBU operations. That was a mission where his sealing ability really got a workout. And then his quickest shunshin. Frost had some quick guards stationed there, but none of them could really keep up with ANBU. The nin there aren't really required for the grand scale destruction that the major Hidden Villages can deal, so their average nin is a bit less dangerous than Konoha's forces. Average doesn't mean much, though, if you encounter the ones that are above the cut. Frost still has some relations with Kumo, but Sakurai suspects they'll remain more neutral in this next war if they can. He's also suspected for some time that Frost trains some of their civilians to be infiltrators. Konoha does that with prostitutes sometimes.

"Well, about that mind link," Sakurai begins, "Can you keep up a passive connection that you could use for emergencies? Or is it only active?"

"I could, but only for a day or so before my chakra runs low."

"Right. Then I want you to use it only for the first day until check-in," he decides. That's the most usual time for enemy nin to engage or take off. "I also want you to periodically check for genjutsu if you can keep your signatures hidden doing that. Sound has some pretty tricky ones using everyday noises. The stuff they present in the chunin exams is just for show."

"What kinds of everyday noises?" Yamanaka presses.

"Anything relatively rhythmic. Some can kick off a dog's bark and use that if they've heard the dog before. I've seen it done with carpenters fixing a roof, or the children singing one of their repetitive songs. Someone especially skilled can use leaves rustling or running water, even if it's only a trickle. That's only a few more obvious examples, though. So check periodically, if you can."

"I don't know if I can," Akimichi volunteers. "I'd like to check before."

Sakurai glances at Sarutobi who nods in response. "Right. I'll put a mild one on you when we make the next leg of the journey. Haruno-san can judge whether you can hide your signature adequately. You too, Ino, Shikamaru."

The team nods.

"Okay. Let's move on," Sakurai orders.

It's dusk when they next stop and make camp for the night. It's warm enough for no fire, but they indulge in another hot meal, courtesy of Akimichi. With a bit of practise they all get the disruption without revealing themselves down to a level where if Sakurai weren't keeping a feel out, they'd be unnoticed. He's one of the better sensors in ANBU, so he figures that's fine. He was. Was one of the better sensors in ANBU.

Yamanaka chats a bit about how Yuuhi Kurenai, the genjutsu mistress and Sarutobi's not-so-secret girlfriend, taught her a few interesting genjutsu. "Have you ever met Kurenai-sensei, Haruno-san?"

"Maybe once or twice," Sakurai offers, "She likes the tea at Zashi's, if I remember correctly."

"She does," Sarutobi affirms, a surprised undertone in his voice. "Did you meet her there?"

Not-quite jealous boyfriend, but wanting to know if Sakurai and her ever got a bit closer. They didn't. Sakurai likes his sexual partners to be either civilian and more or less happily married or ANBU. No need for complications. "Joined her and a mutual acquaintance there once a few years ago. We don't really run in the same circles, so that was one of the few times I ever saw her. I heard her genjutsu is good enough to fool some of the older generation."

Potential situation diffused – you never know with ninja, if they're jealous or not, but he's seen it turn into a problem with a few genin. This is a jounin, but adults can be children, too.

"It is," Nara judges, "Dad said she got Shimura Otae once, in a spar for the jounin exams."

Shimura Otae was a tricky ninja. She was a stealth expert and uniquely suited to sabotage. Sakurai ran a mission with her once when he was sixteen. She showed him a neat trick for creating noise away from his position to throw off a listening guard if they were already suspicious. She died just a few months ago, gathering intel on Ame. Sakurai only knows that because Groundhog, her partner, had a few frustrations to vent and came to Sakurai with them. It really is true what they say about pillow-talk. Not even ninja are safe from the effects that sex with a trusted person has on the lock on your tongue. Nothing really classified got to Sakurai, but he got the gist of it. Ame was near-impenetrable. Groundhog only got out by the skin of his teeth. He's still a bit stiff in the leg and doing light-duty guard missions at the moment. Maybe he'll retire to the normal forces as a chunin. He doesn't want a new ANBU partner.

"Shimura? Wasn't that the councilman's clan?" Yamanaka questions.

"Yes," Sarutobi answers, giving Sakurai a sidelong glance that tells him his frown at her name was noted, "He was her uncle, though."

"I haven't heard much about Shimura Otae," Yamanaka says, "But I think she's a tester for the jounin exams quite regularly."

There are a few moments of silence before Yamanaka looks at Sakurai, "Haruno-san, do you know her?"

"I did. She didn't make it back from a mission a few months ago," he offers, since there's no need to gossip about dead people.

"Oh. Were you close?"

"No. She was a very skilled kunoichi," he says and figures that's that.

It's not, apparently. "Do you think she knew about Root?" the question is asked with a lowered voice, a bit like Yamanaka expects someone to scold her for asking it. She's young enough to get away with that sort of tactic, he supposes. He's not about to offer any of his speculations, though.

Shimura Otae wasn't the kind of ninja to live an uninformed life. He saw her a few times in ANBU HQ with the Root-masked nin. So yes, she knew. She was involved. Groundhog also complained about those creeps to Sakurai once a few years ago. That man had a bit too loose a tongue, he reflects, but what he can do with it more than makes up for that. Besides, Sakurai doesn't share personal stuff with him. Groundhog has never seen a problem with that. He already knows a lot because he's been to Sakurai's apartment.

He just looks at Yamanaka and knows none of his thoughts are showing. She waits, hopeful. He huffs a laugh at her and begins to pack his pipe.

"Aw, can't you tell me?" she wheedles. "I'll even stop bothering you about your rudeness."

"What, no offer to stop being nosy?" he smiles at her to soften that blow, keep it friendly. They're on a team for now. No need to put her off too thoroughly. But she needs to do better than that if she wants that kind of information from him, even on a dead woman.

She crosses her arms under her bust and pouts. It's not as sexy as she thinks. Well, it might be if his type was young and naïve. "You really are very rude."

"Who do you think taught Sai his social graces?" he asks, opening another avenue for her.

She gapes at him a bit. "That's- why would you-?"

Perhaps that was too much of a curveball. He lights the pipe. "Because he's hilarious."

"Troublesome," mutters Nara. Sakurai huffs another laugh, meeting sharp brown eyes, through the smoke he releases.

"I'll take first watch," he finally says when the Nara closes his eyes with a yawn.

"Second," Akimichi volunteers. That's the least popular time.

"Third," claims Yamanaka. That's that. Tomorrow night, Sarutobi and Nara get first and second, Sakurai decides and he'll take third. He doesn't sleep much at the moment. The upcoming war is making him a bit restless.

.

Alle Berufung auf tradierte Wertordnungen, Normen, Institutionen kann nicht aus der Welt schaffen, daß eine offensichtlich kaum eindämmbare Aggressionsbereitschaft die Menschheit beherrscht und daß jeder, der sie durch kräftige Anstachelung der Projektionsneigung auf Sündenböcke zu fixieren versteht, großer Macht über die Menschen sicher sein kann. S.107

No oaths to follow traditional orders of worth, norms, institutions can remove the obviously barely containable readiness for aggression that governs humanity and they cannot remove the surety that those who understand how to fixate the projection aptitude on scapegoats by method of thorough goading have great power over humans.

.

The night is quiet, and they have two more days to go.

They keep up the pace well, so he leaves it as it is. There's no need to tire them out before they arrive there.

On a hunch on the second day, Sakurai directs them to the road for a few hours, still in the treetops, but they find signs of bandits. He thinks a little clean-up is in order. Then he can gauge their teamwork against a weaker but numerous enemy. He wouldn't usually, but before a war, it's best to get rid of some of the more destabilising factors for the roads. And by doing this he's not likely to deprive the village of income that a mission request would generate. This far from Konoha, it's more likely that civilians would turn to their noble lord for help.

He has them track the bandits while he and Sarutobi assess. Nara is the best sensor, Yamanaka has an eye for detail, and Akimichi can enhance his sense of smell quite well. They find them within minutes. Bandits are… they do what they do to survive, but Sakurai figures there are better ways to do that than robbery and murder. Ninja don't do much else, so he's not too high and mighty about it, but in a world where not having chakra often means that you have the chance at a peaceful existence…

Anyway. He doesn't really care about them, and these particular ones appear to have no problem keeping two women alive to do with them as they please. They're keeping them in a cage, even. That probably used to house some kind of livestock.

He doesn't begrudge Yamanaka her ruthlessness as she takes them out. He briefly considers killing the women, too, but this isn't that kind of mission. He questions them instead.

They're from Oshuraki, which is on the way to Raishu, where they're going to meet Fujiouka. Or Sarutobi is. They still have family there, respectively. They were on their way to Soukai, delivering a shipment of potatoes and livestock. Usually the women would have stayed behind, but they wanted to meet friends. Sakurai estimates that they'll probably never travel without ninja escorts again.

Thankfully, the bandits have some horses, so they agree to escort the women to Oshuraki, stay the night and move on to Raishu. Sakurai will use the chance to figure out how the mine's doing there. If all is as it was, or if there might be some discrepancies in the records or shipments.

"I have some medical training," Sakurai offers lowly, when the others are out of earshot. "But I understand if my being a man makes you uncomfortable."

The women share a look full of uncertainty. "It would make getting on a horse less painful," he says, and remains in his position on one knee, as though receiving orders from his Hokage, though far more relaxed.

One of them reaches out for the other's hand. "If- if the woman watches."

He nods. "Yamanaka-san," he calls softly and she joins them. "I'll be healing these two for the journey. They'd like you to observe. Perhaps you can assist me."

Her face is resolute as she nods. "Of course. What do you need?"

"I'll create a wall for some privacy. I need some water, boiled and clean cloth. Have you seen any during clean-up?"

"No," she shakes her head.

"Right," Sakurai says and unseals his medical supplies before using doton jutsu to raise that privacy wall, a half circle, not very high. Then he fills the metal basin of his med-kit with water from the air with a quick suiton jutsu. Finally, he heats it with some katon, which is the only one he needs handseals for.

The women watch with fascination. Yamanaka looks impressed. "You mastered three elements, Haruno-san?"

"I didn't master them. But this I can do," Sakurai admits. He's no ninjutsu expert. But he can pass for a decent chunin in their own affinity with Suiton and Katon. Doton, that's his affinity, and he can do most jutsu he's practised without handseals. When it comes to lightning or wind… maybe genin level. And lightning gives him a lot of trouble when he does practise it. He hasn't in a long while, though. Perhaps he should see to it that his skills remain at the level they're at now before the fighting really starts.

There are no more comments on his ability when they set to cleaning the women's wounds and tears in their genital areas. They cry, but silently, holding each other's hands tightly. He doesn't do much, but he carefully heals what he can, and minimises the risks of infection where he can't because some of his anatomical knowledge only extents so far for these parts of the anatomy. Healing requires some detailed knowledge of the cellular makeup. He doesn't have it for everything. Mostly, he can heal stab wounds and mend some organ tissue until a proper med-nin can take a look.

Once that's done, and the other men on the team have burned the corpses, they take the four horses, some of the supplies and set off, this time on the road.

Yamanaka and Nara travel with the women on horseback, while Sarutobi and Akimichi keep pace on foot. Sakurai elects to scout ahead because he doesn't like the looks of gratitude and awkward conversation most people attempt after a bit of a show of kindness.

The bandits were only ten men – scrappy, really. That they could take out a small merchant's delivery is believable. But that they had been able to survive in these parts on a relatively frequented route is concerning. Fujiouka should have done something about them months ago. Then again, they must have moved around a lot. Sometimes they know to cover their tracks well – well enough for civilians. But these ones didn't. Sakurai wants to keep an ear out for similar stories as this one. If there are enough, then Fujiouka has some serious explaining to do. It might also be that Frost really has sent civilian infiltrators to the mining towns.

That might make it harder to quieten the rebels. Vigilantism doesn't happen often, but if the citizens feel they have to take their protection into their own hands, then paying taxes becomes much less attractive than it already is.

He tries to remember if there's any other valuable resources in the area that would make long-term sabotage lucrative. Hot springs, tourism. Mines, tools and weapons manufacture. There's only one larger forge in the area, in Raishu.

The latter perhaps. He wants some of the mining reports when they get to Raishu. He's definitely stopping by a tavern in Oshuraki to hear out the workers and maybe the market for merchant gossip in the morning.

It's all peaceful where he scouts, he even doubles back in a larger circle to see about more bandit tracks. Perhaps an anomaly. But those… well. They don't tend to happen to him. Then again, this is his first real jounin mission. He was only ever ANBU escort as a genin for this sort of thing, and he did most of the fighting then. Not the thinking. And when he was Captain, that usually meant clear targets, in and out, leaving behind a bloodbath – or just a puddle with the corpse sealed away.

The civilian pace gives them the option of halting for the night, or pushing on for another two hours to reach Oshuraki. He decides to let the women make the decision.

"Onwards," the dark haired one says. "I want to get home."

The other nods. And so they don't make camp, but Sakurai does give out some of his snack bars that he keeps on hand for missions. Akimichi has his own high-calorie ones, though.

They escort the women home, each left with two horses.

Then they turn in at an inn for the night. Two rooms, one for the jounin, the other for the younger members. They all get dinner before calling it a night.

Sakurai heads out to find a good tavern.

.

[Shikamaru POV]

"He knows some medical ninjutsu," Ino tells them, tone admiring, "That means really good chakra control. So it runs in the family, then. And he's got decent reserves, too. He can do three different elemental jutsu, two of them without handseals. And he was really good with the women when he healed them. Super professional and gentle."

He sighs. He hopes she's not getting a crush. That'd be troublesome. He remembers the fangirl phase all too well. He sets some traps while she chatters on and gets ready for bed. Chouji snacks a bit more, since dinner was alright, but not too filling.

He knows part of Team Ten's mission parameters are to observe how well Haruno can lead a team in a non-combat environment that focuses more on information gathering than the high stakes tracking and assassination that Haruno's resume consists of. Well. His classified one, anyway. And even that doesn't cover all of it. ANBU often only has verbal reports. Haruno's officially gone on quite a few out-of-village C Ranks as a courier or escort and the like. He got his chunin promotion on one of them after taking down a missing nin and his apprentice. Completely drunk, was what his team leader's report stated. He was still recovering from some injury, too. Otherwise he'd not have been on that mission.

So Shikamaru knows all that, and this is technically Ino updating them on her information, so he doesn't say anything, but he can hope that she won't get her hopes up. This is a man almost one and a half decades their senior, around Asuma-sensei's age with twice the combat experience.

Trauma probably doesn't even begin to cover what lays behind that calm, friendly façade. He suspects what they witnessed on the return journey from the Danzou mission was slightly more genuine – the running commentary provided as a distraction from their and his wounds. But it had been at a low enough volume that it had still been easy to keep an ear out for potential enemies. Shikamaru doesn't really want to know too much more, though. That man is a puzzle he can leave alone, if only because the man's so obviously slightly crazy. And if it's that obvious, then he must be bonkers.

The man can pretend normal rather well, though. That's a thought he'll put in his report.

He'd been slightly surprised at the decision to track down the bandits, but he can see the reasoning.

And he doesn't mind escorting two hurt women home. He never likes clean-up of the corpses after, but that's part of the job.

But the bandit presence is concerning if it's been going on for as long as the women claim it has, in other areas. Well. He's sure Haruno's concerned. And if he doesn't bring it up, Shikamaru will.

Part of their observation is how well he considers outside factors to their mission. Judging by how well Haruno remembered Kurenai-sensei's teahouse preference from one meeting, Shikamaru figures there won't be much for him to add to, on this mission. Which is a nice feeling, really.

And with that thought, Shikamaru drifts off.

.

They meet Asuma-sensei in the jounin's room and hour after daybreak. "Morning," he greets, looking well-rested.

"Morning, Asuma-sensei," Ino says, "Where's our team leader?"

"Haruno's gone to the market, he wanted some gossip on bandit activity from the merchants."

Ah. Shikamaru smiles slightly. He won't have to bring that up, then.

"He also went to the tavern last night, to hear about some of the mines. Nothing suspicious recently, but he definitely wants me to check the records in Raishu. He's got some suspicions about Frost having sent in civilian infiltrators."

Asuma notes Shikamaru's interest. "He said he heard a colleague mention that sort of thing about Frost. Konoha does it, too, so it makes sense."

"Konoha has civilian infiltrators?" Chouji asks, surprised. Shikamaru is, too, but it makes sense. Jiraya has an extensive network. Some of that has to be civilians. Konoha has large numbers of ninja, but most of them are stationed in the village. Intel has to come from some sources that are permanent plants. It seems he has a bit more to pay attention to.

Ino seems even more intent on finding out more than they're required on this mission about Haruno.

"Yes. Every village does," Asuma says. "But only some of them are trained to recognise ninja under henge and that sort of thing. If Haruno's concerned, then Frost probably has a more extensive curriculum for their infiltrators."

"Troublesome."

"Indeed," Haruno suddenly says from behind them. He must have shunshined in, but even Asuma seemed surprised for a second. That's impressive stealth. Shikamaru can't feel a trace of chakra out of place. His entrance wasn't this smooth in Konoha. So, basically, they've not seen the true extent of his abilities yet. Which makes sense. This isn't a high combat mission. Team Ten's missions rarely are.

"There's been some higher concentration of bandit activity targeting food supply," Haruno continues, "Nothing too drastic, but the specificity of the targets does concern me. Suggests intel from inside the towns. But bandit groups of this calibre don't usually have that level of organisation, so when we arrive in Raishu, I want none of us seen or heard of, except for Sarutobi-san. The rest of us will keep out of sight or disguise ourselves well enough to pass long-term infiltration muster."

Chouji looks a bit confused. Right. They've never had to discuss henges of that detail. Shikamaru suppresses a sigh. And here he was, thinking with this kind of team leader there'd be fewer concerns for Shikamaru. He supposes there are, but maybe it's about how the man assumes they have skills that they haven't had to learn yet. The man has likely interacted with very competent mission partners before and his standards might be different.

"We should decide on disguises before getting there, then," Shikamaru says, "to recognise each other more easily."

Haruno's eyes meet his and there's a slight furrow between his brows. He can probably pick them out of a crowd easily. So maybe he hasn't considered that they can't do the same. Or maybe he assumed they'd have that sort of disguise ready before leaving on this kind of mission. The latter seems more likely for an observant man like Haruno.

"Alright. Do you need more time to decide on something adequate or shall we do that now?" their team leader asks them, no judgement in his voice or posture. Shikamaru gets the feeling that this mission is as much one for them to practise gathering information on a very guarded man as it is a means for him to gauge the average genin and chunin for skill levels.

"Now's fine," Ino says and begins to chatter to Chouji about how he'd look great with red hair and won't he try that sort of casual kimono with it?

Shikamaru settles on changing the structure of his hair, but not the colour or style. He'll go with unobtrusive casual clothes and figures that should be enough.

Asuma-sensei does nothing because he's going as himself. He probably has a few disguises down if they become necessary, though.

Haruno obviously changes his hair colour to dark brown, his eyes, too and layers on a bit of a more round facial structure that also hides his scar. He looks a bit like a tourist from the northern part of Fire Country with loose trousers and a tight button-up shirt that shows off a small muffin top and rounder shoulders than his real body has. He looks nothing like himself. And nothing like a ninja, with his face in a guileless expression of stupid, unjustified confidence.

He looks at Shikamaru then, and even his voice is different when he speaks, "Give your eyes a rounder shape, Nara-san," he suggests, smiling as though he were giving grandiose advice. Shikamaru has a feeling that if he were forced to interact with this man's disguise all of the time, he'd come to hate the man easily. He does as told, though. Looking in the mirror for a moment, he realises that even when scrutinising something closely now, he only looks curious. That was good advice.

Ino and Chouji decide to be redheaded siblings with a bit of money, but not too much. Enough that strolling down the market will be a profitable sort of endeavour while merchants engage in chitchat to keep them there and interested in the wares.

Haruno suggests no changes to their henge and lets his fade away back to his normal pink-and-intimidating-facial-scar ensemble. Shikamaru watches his eyes turn back to their normal, sharper squint. He looks tired still, hasn't been getting too much good sleep recently. Even the naps only help a bit. He knows it's because his father has been training him more thoroughly recently, what with the war approaching.

When Shikamaru had gotten the orders to move out, he'd been having dinner with his parents. He'd asked his father for some basic tips about Haruno as a team leader. 'Clever. Looks out for his teammates. Knows a lot about foreign village's tactics. Doesn't like people trying to wheedle information from him too much.'

He knew that last one from Ino's previous attempts to befriend Sakura's elder brother when they visited their fathers at the office. But it's not that the man dislikes her attempts, Shikamaru thinks, it's that he thinks she's doing it poorly.

That would be a funny observation to make, but in the end, that only speaks to the kinds of mind-games he must be used to to think Ino's tactics are inadequate. Considering what their team's specialty is, perhaps he's right. Maybe. It's always been good enough on previous missions. But good enough is only good enough for so long. This mission is not only practise for him to assess their competency, it's also practise for them dealing with very shrewd opponents. This man is a comrade, so he will forgive things that the enemy won't. He will also be of no help because he's not their teacher.

Shikamaru glances at Asuma. There was nothing in his mission scroll to see if Asuma was to evaluate their progress, help them or whatever else. He wonders, what does the Hokage intend as Haruno's role in the war? A simple jounin? He doesn't think so, with him being in command. He doesn't think so, with him having been put in charge of the Root survivors.

Ah. And just minutes ago, Shikamaru didn't even want to know.

"Good. That's done," Haruno says, and there's something about his demeanour that remains grandiose. Shikamaru thinks it's the tone of voice and inflection, even though it's hardly any different from his normal speech pattern. Well. Normal since his retirement from ANBU. "I want you all to do your parts as soon as we arrive. Word will soon reach Raishu that ninja helped rescue two women from bandits, so we don't have that much time. If the ninja there aren't too powerful, then Nara-san and I will engage them alone."

Shikamaru thinks that that's probably an acceptable plan, for Haruno. He could take down Danzou on his own, took on multiple sharingan, even if they were implanted. Still…

"Have any of you," team leader asks almost carefully, "Interrogated enemy nin before? Sat in on questionings in T&I?"

Ino freezes. Chouji stops snacking. Asuma doesn't look surprised. Shikamaru thinks, for just a moment, that he should have seen this coming.

"No. This would be their first mission involving capture and interrogation, Haruno-san. All they have experience with is civilian-level information gathering," Asuma explains.

"Then, I want to know, do you wish to observe, participate or learn in the village?" Haruno appears normal, nothing more than a superior wanting to know if his subordinates wish to partake in a learning experience. Shikamaru looks at Asuma, then, and thinks that their teacher has perhaps kept them from this kind of thing purposefully. It's not their first mission like this… well. Without the rebellion and foreign nin involvement. Perhaps this was carefully chosen. Perhaps this was why they were individually summoned for their missions per scroll, no mission debriefing beforehand, the members chosen by the Hokage.

It seems more and more likely that this is a mission meant to prepare them for what they will do in the war.

As gently as possible. As protected as possible. With a team leader who leaves them choices. But only ones with delayed outcome. They will learn, here or in Konoha. Shikamaru thinks that for Ino, it would be both worse and better to do this in the village. Her father could help her. He would also have to observe her practising torture. She would have to observe him doing that.

Chouji looks like he doesn't really want to learn, ever. He's nice like that.

It's Shikamaru who Haruno looks at. He knows the others will probably follow his lead. They always do. No judgement, just waiting. Unbidden, he remembers what Sakura's face looked like after Team Seven returned from their first out-of-village mission with Sai. Heavy. Concerned for her teammates.

They're very different, the Haruno siblings. Where Sakura is straight-laced, Sakurai seems to follow the rules only when it suits him, especially when in company that cares for social graces. Finds their reactions funny. Where Sakura is kind hearted, soft, most of the time, her brother does not flinch. Where she would judge, he waits.

Shikamaru thinks that if they do this here, they will make some unpleasant self-discoveries. They will do it outside of the village, away from their social network and parents. Shikamaru always likes coming to terms with things on his own. Ino could be alright with that. Chouji… so long as Asuma keeps talking to him, maybe. They should all speak to a Yamanaka when they're back in the village.

"I'll observe. I'm not sure about participating, though," he decides.

"Same," Ino agrees, having waited for his answer.

"Alright," Chouji says, going along with them as he always does.

"I suppose I'll take the lead on that, then," Haruno accepts with a glance at Asuma. "If possible, we should be done getting that intel within two weeks at most. We'll use the base near the northern Raishu mining shafts. That means you can join us within minutes if you manage to get something out of Fujiouka that could be relevant to our interrogation methods."

"There's a base there?" Ino asks, "There was nothing about that in my scroll."

"The Hokage knows that I know of it," Haruno explains, so it would be a waste of paper and ink to put it in their scrolls. "It has the proper cells and quarters for our needs. It's not ANBU exclusive, so you can tell people the next time you come to the area."

"So we'll be staying the nights there?" she questions.

"Just Nara and I. You have civilian disguises to keep intact. Sarutobi-san will use the quarters provided for him."

And somehow, this mission, that looked so pleasantly simple beforehand, has turned into something more serious. Their first time capturing and interrogating, maybe torturing. The first mission where they will be split up at night, reconvening only once a day. Maybe more once they've captured the nin, but he thinks that will go faster than Ino and Chouji's part of the mission. He's not sure about Asuma.

If he's entirely honest with himself, he's not sure about staying with only Haruno for company himself.

But that's how it goes. At least, they're within quick response distance from the others.

.

[Sakurai POV]

Nara's apprehension is relatively disguised. Not nearly enough not to be noticeable, what with his normally sleepy mannerisms. But Sakurai thinks that that's to be expected.

He remembers the first time he had to extract information from a prisoner. That was… really rather gruesome and messy, but it had been about a teammate's whereabouts. The most important part of it is really that you have to keep in mind what you've confirmed beforehand. That any lie can still lead you where you want to go. And most importantly, it's about making the other believe that you really do have all the power. There is nothing they can do against you, and mercy is preferable to the punishment for giving false information.

This is why it is always good to finish within the first or the second week. After, starvation becomes an easy way out, and unless you keep an eye on a force-fed prisoner at all times, that's a bit detrimental to your finding out what you need to know.

The good thing is, most villages only really train jounin to resist interrogation for long. They have the most valuable information, so it has to be protected the best, but it's also the most attractive information. This is why, sometimes, Sakurai likes to capture the enemy without alerting them to their status as captured. Genjutsu is such a finicky thing, but he's perfected it for this sort of thing.

Then again, he's already decided not to do that this time. If this is to be a learning experience, he well make it one that can be used. Altering people's perception of time is easier within a dark cell with only one source of light, making the hours tick by more quickly, making the questions worse. No matter the rank, young people struggle more with that. The worst to trick are med-nin, though. Good chakra control, good knowledge of the body's common reactions to this sort of thing can break a genjutsu like that. Frost, like Kumo, doesn't have the best medical nin, not that many of them, either, so it's unlikely they'll encounter one here.

He will explain to them his methods, and have them assess who of the captured – if there is more than one – should undergo this treatment. He figures that's a learning experience.

He also thinks that, if possible, he would have Sarutobi-san leave behind a shadow clone and be physically present for his students. Sakurai only gives hugs to people he likes and trusts. Same with emotional support.

"How good is your sensing?" Sakurai asks Nara when they've assessed the most likely location of the rebel's meeting places.

"I can find Asuma-sensei when he makes us track him down. That's with him keeping his chakra cloaked, but only when I'm within range of my shadows. About twenty metres."

That's good, for a Nara. He must be talented with his clan jutsu. But he must be familiar with his teacher's signature by now.

.

They scour the perimeter, even as they wait. Sakurai's sure they've found the rebel meeting place, so it's a matter of time if enemy nin will pass by. And he's right. They don't know of Konoha's arrival yet, so the enemy nin, a chunin from Frost, shows up to a meeting, just as the civilians – seven of them, who must be the leaders – have gathered.

In case this is bait, Sakurai summons his most stealthy little peacock and has them tag each of them to follow later.

Sakurai and Nara don't get close enough to listen in, but they follow the nin once he leaves. It's a familiar pattern of evasion in case someone tries to track him, even as he erases any traces of his passing. Sakurai can sense him from seventy metres away, so it's a comfortable distance that they follow him at. The Frost nin stops at a relatively well-kept farmer's house. There are three more signatures, all cloaked. One better than the others. Probably the jounin leader of the operation, then.

If possible, he wants them all captured alive.

Sakurai decides on a seal-laid barrier around the place once they've established that these are the only nin around. They mark the location, then Nara and he make another perimeter check. Indeed, there is a fifth signature patrolling. Also jounin, Sakurai judges.

Best to take that one down on his own, then.

He signals for Nara to remain hidden, closes in with a shunshin so smooth he's knocked the man out before he even registers Sakurai's presence. That's good. Not a sensor, then. He applies the chakra suppression seals, ties him up, checks his mouth for poison capsules. Strips him of his weapons. Leaves him there behind a large rock, and a layer of genjutsu.

He re-joins Nara in the trees. "We'll have to be quick now. I'll layer a seal-barrier outside the house, so no one can escape and no one will enter once we're gone. How many can you capture in a shadow bind at once?"

"Three, if they're not too powerful."

"The jounin?"

"Probably a lot of effort with two others. Maybe a minute, all of them. Three, if it's only chunin."

"Then we take the jounin, two chunin, and I will take the last one down. Be ready to tie and search them."

They approach swiftly. Sakurai orders Nara to stay behind for two minutes while he lays the fuinjutsu barrier. He does it quickly, with prepared seals. The chakra signatures inside remain calm. That doesn't have to mean anything, but Sakurai figures that they're not sensors, or at least not very good ones.

He returns to Nara's position, notes the twitch to the young man's kunai pouch at his sudden shunshin with approval. Not quick enough, but with time he'll have it out before Sakurai even starts the technique. "I want you to stay outside, if you can. Capture three of them closest to you, make sure you have the jounin. At my signal."

Nara nods. They shunshin closer, Nara forms the handseal, Sakurai gives his signal and shunshins inside. He's knocked out the unbound one immediately, with a blow to the head like he did the jounin. The next is the other jounin, easily subdued when unable to move. The other two don't pose a threat either.

He's already begun tying them up and sealing their chakra when Nara comes inside.

"Good work," Sakurai comments, "We'll take them to the base and come back here to take whatever useful information they have lying around."

.

[Shikamaru POV]

It's almost laughably easy, ambushing these nin with Haruno on his side. That man is fast and has obviously done this sort of thing a million times before. Shikamaru is a bit tired, after holding three of them still while they fight him, but… it doesn't even take a minute.

That kind of mastery of the shunshin should be forbidden.

The man can do that, fuinjutsu, some elemental manipulation and his sensing range is seventy metres… that's deserving of a title or something. ANBU Captain seems so bland, so non-indicative. Shikamaru hasn't seen Haruno in an outright fight yet, this was a planned and prepared ambush that would put most chunin to shame. He kind of wants to see it, now.

Asuma-sensei is very good with wind chakra, and no slouch in taijutsu or long-range combat. But he doesn't use the body flicker in quick succession to knock everyone unconscious within seconds. It's the more… ninja approach, if Shikamaru's honest. Quick and clean. He wonders what it would have been like, had Shikamaru not used the body-bind. Or had there been traps that Haruno would have sprung, even with how he just shunshined inside. Shikamaru stayed outside the whole time, just using his shadows and sensing. There was only ever the faintest disturbance when Haruno shunshined. That's incredible control.

It's not how Shikamaru would have gone about the ambush, but he'll definitely implement the strategy the next time he's with someone who is that fast. Shikamaru considers that once back in Konoha, Team Ten should practise the body-flicker technique a bit more. It's really useful, when the enemy doesn't have fuuinjutsu traps. And when they do, that's a job for ANBU anyway. Or specialised jounin.

The base is well-kept, if a bit dusty. The cells are in good condition, with only a small window, which are more like slits in the walls, each. It's been carved into the ground and parts of the jagged rock that form hills in the area. It hasn't been discovered because of fuinjutsu and its infrequent use, Haruno tells him. Although the man suspects that Sound knows of it, since Orochimaru is their Kage.

They strip the prisoners down to their underwear, tie them up, check the chakra suppressors, and shackle them to the walls. Best not to take any chances.

Then they return to the farmhouse.

This is all mostly done in silence, unless Haruno notices that Shikamaru has questions. He's observant. Shikamaru isn't used to strangers reading him so easily.

He's beginning to think the man's incredibly talented in everything, even for someone who has spent most of their career in ANBU. He must be something like a genius. And with that realisation, Shikamaru thinks, he figured out what everyone already knows. You don't survive ANBU for that long if you're not a little special.

Still, he doesn't want to know what the inside of Haruno's head is like.

It's a well-used house. Shikamaru notes the kunai marks in the wood where someone practised, probably bored. They go over the map of the area around Raishu on the table in the middle of the main room, which isn't marked, nor has it any indicators for stations on it. Not, that that's expected. Haruno does perform the dust-jutsu that makes fine earth particles stick where there's residue of fat, if someone touched specific points. Sometimes people aren't careful and trace out lines with their fingers. Nothing except for a few smudges at the corners where if must have been unfolded.

That it's folded tells them that it's not Konoha-stolen. Konoha rolls their maps and seals them away which keeps them legible and clean. It also makes it so it doesn't have to be coated and can be adjusted and corrected when there's new markings to be made. The ink can't fade or run even if it gets wet. It's quite detailed, too, with little markings for each farmhouse and borders for property.

"Do they make maps like this here?" Shikamaru asks, wondering if it might have been taken from the tax office in Raishu.

"We'll have to ask Sarutobi-san later," Haruno answers, inspecting the kitchen area. "Looks like someone kept it well-stocked. I figure this has been going on for a while, and they intended to run the operation for another two weeks at least."

"Did they not think Konoha would send a team to investigate?"

"The rebel fraction is small still, and Fujiouka would usually take care of it. We're here because his taxes are late and our information net reported some rebellious sentiment in the area. This has happened here before, so it's on the list for a routine check-up for this sort of thing anyway. If it weren't time for it, and we weren't to close to the start of a war, for which we need all resources we can control, especially on the borders, we wouldn't be here. I figure they expected us to concentrate on border patrols and the outposts rather than minor disturbances from farmers," Haruno says, bending over some drying plants. "Someone was intending to make paralytic poison, if I'm not mistaken."

"Ah," Shikamaru acknowledges as he moves to the sleeping area, four bedrolls and one larger bed. This must have been a couple's house before the Frost nin commandeered it. He searches them all carefully, no scrolls or hints at their mission parameters. Out-of-border missions don't tend to have those outside of the ninja's heads. There is no animal fur anywhere, so probably no summons with good noses. There aren't any big packs, just a few bundles full of changes of clothes and medical supplies. Weapons pouches.

He moves on to the bathroom, which is more of a small, added hut with a tub and a rudimentary construction leading to a water tank on its roof. Well. This is near the border to Hot Water, so there are probably nice hot springs nearby to take a proper bath. There is a small basin on top of a chest of drawers and an old, murky mirror. Shikamaru counts six toothbrushes.

He goes back to the main room, "There are six toothbrushes, Haruno-san."

Team leader sighs. "Well. Can you alert Yamanaka-san and Akimichi-san of this through the mind link?"

Shikamaru prods at them mentally, Ino opening the connection immediately. 'There's one ninja about whom we haven't captured. Keep an eye out.'

'Do you think they've noticed the disappearance of their team?' she asks.

'Maybe. But we took them out only an hour ago.'

'How many were there?'

'Two jounin, three chunin. I'm guessing they sent another chunin.'

'Okay. See you later.'

The link goes back to passive.

"My guess is they have someone stationed in the city, to watch for Konoha nin. If they're clever, they've already noted the absence of the patrolling nin and gone to report. But if they haven't noticed Sarutobi-san's entrance they're probably not near Fujiouka. We'll circle around the patrol route, and then the the town's side closer to Frost's border, look for signs of their passing. If there are none, we'll look near the town guard. If we don't find them, we'll make contact with Sarutobi-san before returning to the base."

"What about the civilian rebels?"

"We'll give their descriptions to your teammates later."

And so they go. The pace Haruno sets would be punishing if they kept this up for longer than half an hour. Where Shikamaru can feel himself begin to sweat, Haruno seems unaffected. He's beginning to think that the man is just monstrously fit and competent. Not Maito Guy like fit, but definitely above average for most jounin. Shikamaru isn't sure if ANBU does that for you, or if it's just Haruno keeping up a training regime that makes him able to keep up this kind of speed without breaking a sweat for a couple hours. He wonders if Asuma could do the same. They both smoke, and they've both had to cut down on A Ranks since they've had younger nin to take care of in the village.

But Shikamaru is getting distracted. He focuses back on searching for tracks.

There's no sign of a passing nin where they look, so either they took the time to cover tracks, or they're not there yet. Nothing by the town guard. Cloaking their chakra even more carefully, they make for Asuma's location where Shikamaru can just about feel him moving around at a civilian pace.

As they draw closer, ready to climb into the small castle-manour-hybrid, Haruno pauses. Enemy nin near comrade, he signs. Then he indicates that he'll capture them in a genjutsu and to be ready in case they break free.

Shikamaru follows his team leader cautiously, into a ranger where he can just about sense the tightly controlled chakra beside Asuma. Haruno's handsigns are quick and smooth. He's sure that if he were a better sensor, he'd only just feel the gentlest coating of chakra sinking into foreign coils.

It's an insane level of skill.

The only reason someone like that would be forced to retire from ANBU is that Konoha needs another big name to intimidate, to turn the tide of a battlefield. And that is why Haruno is in command. That is why he's here with them, getting experience working with nin below his rank and far below his ability. And, most likely, to get him to familiarise himself with those who will have to sit in positions of power, should the current clan heads die.

Shikamaru thinks that Haruno knows it, even. He acquiesces, but the reason he doesn't take more of a firm lead on this mission is because he doesn't want to be marked down as someone who is dutiful, or diligent. And he's given them a choice about the interrogation. That's not the kind of compassion you'd expect from an ANBU retiree. Those who Shikamaru's met are cold, and hard. They expect someone to step up and harden equally, because it must be done. And if they have the chance to push someone of sufficient intelligence in the direction, they generally will.

The problem for Haruno's approach is, Shikamaru's father has often said that the jounin who can't trust their subordinates to do what they deem best for the situation aren't ones that he wants in command. Delegation. Trust. Focus on one's own expertise. That's what makes a good commander. Shikamaru wonders whether Haruno wants that kind of position.

The enemy nin who is henge'd as one of Fujiouka's advisors is talking to Asuma, standing where he was caught in Haruno's genjutsu. "No, they're here, I don't care how important this is, or how long we've been waiting to cut off this part of the Land of Fire, we need to fucking go! – no, this isn't a routine check like it's been before. This is the Hokage's son they've sent! And you can bet he's not alone. So- let's go! – Airi, now's not the time to-"

And then he breaks it, finding himself taken out of commission as swiftly as two jounin can manage. Which is to say, instantly.

"Anything interesting, before we got to hear him?" Haruno questions.

"Another name: Fan. Other than that, he appeared to be under the impression that he'd rejoined his comrades remarkably quickly. He must be good with a shunshin."

It turns out the nin was tasked with showing Asuma to the records room after his arrival, which was a surprise to Fujiouka. If no routine control ever checked the records room officially, they might have just broken in, but Konoha has no need for that. That makes it likely that whomever was sent here previously appeared to be under the impression that this was not at all a mission, and just a front for a holiday. At best. At worst, they have someone in the missions office who did not give out the proper information to the ninja sent previously.

"He won't be using it again," Haruno says and then looks at the record scrolls spread all over the large table. "Any interesting finds?"

"Nothing so far. I'm guessing interrogation will get us more."

"Yes, most likely. We have six Frost nin in total. Stop by tonight and bring your other students. Nara-san and I will search the area a bit more. It sounds like this place was thoroughly compromised without anyone's knowledge."

So they dump their next prisoner in another cell, check the others, of whom only the jounin have woken, but were unable to escape. Then they're back to scouring the land for signs of people passing through who shouldn't be. Which is easier said than done. It involves a whole lot of moving around, inspecting this trail or that farm without many findings, and what they do find could easily be attributed to civilian passing or the rebellion efforts.

Seems like they really will have to torture all relevant information out of them.

.

[Ino POV] TRIGGER WARNING for mentions of TORTURE

Ino hates the look on Chouji's face. Hates that slightly desperate determination not to throw up as they watch Haruno inflict minour wounds on his captive. He's using genjutsu as well, so he doesn't have to do much, but those whimpers…

And the choked off screams.

That animal keening sound from the back of the throat. Ino had to squash her impulses to stop Haruno more than once. That noise should never-

"You know I have the rest of your team to interrogate, don't you? So you know I'm not afraid to do a little… permanent damage, yeah?"

"Go to hell!"

"No need, we're already here."

"I'm not telling you shit, you-"

"But you already have, Ryu-kun. I just want a little more detail and then you won't be permanently maimed, nor will you be the first to be sent to our special Torture and Interrogation division back in Konoha."

"Please, you tree-fuckers don't have it in you-" A cut off scream.

"Don't we? I'm tempted to send you off now, just to show you how wrong you are, but alas… perhaps I can give you a taste of how well we manage to propagate our way to sunshine and rainbows."

And then there's a lot more screaming. Ino has to look away when the first peel of skin comes off.

Chouji throws up. The smell of his bile stings. But her eyes are already watering. Her throat is closed up, though.

Shikamaru presses his hands to his eyes. Maybe he thinks he can chase away the image. Ino stares at the wall because she knows he can't.

Asuma's knuckles are white from clenching his fists. The rest of him is in his normal posture.

And then Haruno comes out, looking no worse for wear, just carefully blank as his victim sobs and whimpers. "He'll talk tomorrow I reckon."

Ino hates that blankness more than anything. He just- he just tortured someone and-

Ino will never forget those screams.

The way they stabbed themselves into her memory-

Haruno wipes his bloodied hands on a cloth, like she would if she'd just been oiling her weapons. His henge melts away to reveal his normal features as he scrutinises each of them. Calm. Controlled. Almost casual.

That's-

"Get some rest for now, if you can," he orders them. "He's the only one I'm starting on tonight. Tomorrow I want you to give a fully detailed report of what you saw me do to either myself or Sarutobi-san. It will help you compartmentalise. And… you will not sleep separately tonight. I will share the night's watch with Sarutobi-san."