"HE'S LATE AGAIN!" Naruto yelled stomping his foot on the bridge angrily.

As he curses inwardly, he turned to his other two teammates. While Sasuke sits on top of the handrail with a blank expression as he agrees with a 'hmph'. Unlike for Sakura sitting on the ground holding her knees to her chest and lightly leaning on the handrail. Her expression was her usual look when she in deep thought.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Naruto asks tilting his head to the side.

"Oh, it's nothing, I was just wondering why sensei is always late?" She replies before pausing which both boys gave her the look of 'keep going', "have you guys noticed that Kakashi-sensei seems to be spacing out more?" She asked not really suspecting an answer.

Silence spread over the group, but when Sasuke was about to answer a sudden poof of smoke revealed Kakashi.

"Sorry I'm late, I saw this old lady struggling with her groceries, so I had to help carry them for her," Kakashi explained rubbing the back of his neck.

"LIAR!" Naruto and Sakura yelled in unison, while Sasuke glared at him.

"Anyway, let's go we have a mission and we can do some sparing afterward," Kakashi stated as he starts walk where their mission was located followed by his three students.

"Are we going to be catching cats again?" Naruto asked in announce.

"Perhaps," Kakashi answers in a mocking cat tone. Which lead to the three students groaning from confirmation of having to chase cats again. Kakashi chuckled at his three genin complaint. But stopped and stared at the distant trees to the right sensing multiple small chakra signatures before they vanished.

"Sensei are you okay, you seem to be spacing out a lot?" Sakura asks as they all stared at their sensei with concern.

"Yes, I'm fine I just have a lot on my mind," Kakashi answered with his usual eye smile as he gently ruffles Sakura's hair.

After the mission was over the team got lunch and finally got to the training field. Kakashi had them practice their chakra control while sparing with each other as he surveyed the area unable to shake this uneasy feeling. Until he noticed something moving slowly through the trees.

Kakashi concentrated his chakra to sense for other signatures. 'Three, four, five, six'. He counted inwardly while before taking a deep breath. 'No seven, they're circling us but for what reason?' Kakashi questioned as he continued to observe his students sparing. 'Wait I know these scents,' he realized as bolted towards his students located in the center of the field unaware of the incoming danger.

Naruto and Sakura teamed up to fight Sasuke, but it was mostly Naruto and Sasuke fighting and Sakura getting a kick in whenever she had an opening. Just when Sasuke was about to block another punch from Naruto when dozens of shuriken flew out of the trees towards the students.

"What the-," Sasuke whispered and started raising a kunai to block but wasn't fast enough.

"Get Down!" Kakashi yelled at his students as he appeared in the middle of the group as Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke dive to the ground taking cover. They watched as Kakashi block all the shuriken with ease. Kakashi remained in his fighting stance with two kunai at the ready.

"Everyone alright?" Kakashi asked with a serious tone, as he stood over his students his lone eye-skimming through the trees.

"We're fine Sensei," Sakura answered nervously still covering her head.

"Kakashi-sensei, who are attacking us!" Naruto yelled angerly starting to rise to his feet, same with Sasuke.

"Naruto, Sasuke, stand down," Kakashi warned firmly, making his students slowly lower back to the ground.

Team 7 watched Kakashi formed several hand seals within a blink of an eye and whispered the Jutsu's name silently. Just as three Kakashi clone appeared next to his students in a fight stance.

"Alright come on out, I already know who you all are so there's no need to hide anymore," Kakashi ordered calmly.

Six figures in green uniforms and wear porcelain masks entered the clearing and slowly edged closer to the Sensei and students. Their speed started increasing the closer they got and unsheathed their katanas' before coming at the group at full speed.

'Why are members of the foundation doing here, and where's the seventh member?' Kakashi questioned internally as he meets the attack head-on.

Naruto and his teammates watched in awe as their Sensei moved so fast that he practically vanished and reappear when his fist collided with one of the attacker's gut sending them flying back into the tree line. Causing one of the trees to fall when the attacker's body smashed into it. The rest of the attackers circled Kakashi ready to strike.

"A... amazing, I never have seen Kakashi-sensei fight like this." Naruto stuttered as he watched his Sensei dodged another swipe from the katana and grab the user's wrist and kicked the white masked person in the side of their head hurling the attacker into one of their comrades. Kakashi sidestepped another attack and hit another enemy in the base of the neck sending him a few inches into the ground. Sasuke and Sakura agreed with a silent nod unable to take their eye from their teacher. Four of the enemy regrouped, while the one who got side kicked and the one that neck chopped, lay limp on the ground.

The enemy charged again, one fighting with Kakashi, as the other three raced passed them towards the students. The three Kakashi clones met them head-on, two of the enemy distracted the clones allowing one to slip by and reach the students that are scrambling to their feet. The enemy grabbed Sasuke by the back of his shirt collar and yanked him up under his arm as he carried Sasuke on his side and slammed his fist into Sasuke's gut knocking the wind out of the struggling young teen and started making a mad dash towards the trees. Just when they were within thirty feet to the tree line something broke out of the ground in front of them.

Sasuke saw a hand latched onto the throat of his captor and an arm wrapped around his torso prying him from the masked enemy's grasp and kicked the white masked person away as they land gently on the ground. Sasuke was still in shock of what happened and looked up to see Kakashi carrying him staring angerly at the would-be kidnapper that skid along the ground unmoving. When Kakashi set Sasuke down on his knees and gently grabbed the boy's shoulders making him face Kakashi.

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Kakashi asked with concern and noticed the stunned boy was not breathing and his eyes were filled with panic. "Hey deep breaths in and out," Kakashi states patting Sasuke on the back making him cough before taking deep breaths. "There you go, deep breaths, nice and slow, good just like that." Kakashi encourages calmly, rubbing his student's back to help calm him down while watching for more enemy attacks.

"Sasuke!" Naruto and Sakura yelled rushing towards their teammate and Sensei.

"Are you alright, Sasuke?" Kakashi questioned again with growing concern, and was answered with a short nod, "good what about you two, are you both alright?" Kakashi asked as Naruto and Sakura as they finally caught up to Sasuke and him.

"That was amazing Kakashi-sensei, believe it!" Naruto yelled with excitement.

"We're fine Sensei," Sakura answered with a sigh of relief.

Kakashi moved his gaze from one student to the next until he deemed them okay before he answered with an eye smile and a calm voice, "good, I'm glad."

Kakashi stood up pulling Sasuke to his feet as well and was watching three of the ROOT members regroup in front of the Kakashi and his students. He stood in front of his students making himself more of a human shield in case of another attack.

"Alright, come out Danzo, I know you're out there," Kakashi warned firmly glared at the remaining ROOT members and the tree line behind them.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura watched their normally lazy slouched Sensei stand straight and strong with an eye expression that literally gives the meaning of 'don't mess with me'.

"Quite impressive. You were able to discover me from the very beginning, correct? As expected of the Kakashi of the Sharingan." An old man wrapped in bandages commented slowly walking into view by the use of his cane.

The students looked at one another with a confused expression as Kakashi pulled his students more behind him as the man stood next to the enemy with porcelain animal masks. Naruto didn't understand why his instincts were telling him to run away, like when he could sense the angry villagers were looking for him to get rid of the 'monster'. Without even noticing it he stank more and more behind his Sensei. Sakura did the same not liking the look in the man's eye, like a lion that's cornered its prey but Kakashi is like a wolf that will fight to the death to protect its pack. Sakura glanced over Sasuke who is right behind Kakashi with a panic look his eyes taking quick shallow breaths with sweat still rolling down his face. What shocked Sakura the most was how Sasuke handheld onto Kakashi-sensei's flak vest as if it was a lifeline.

"Lord Danzo, why did you send your man to attack your foe leaf shinobi?" Kakashi questioned with a calm voice that almost seemed threatening. He could feel his students moving more behind him and he could feel Sasuke's holding on to his vest with a strong yet shaky grip and hear his irregular breathing pattern. 'He's having a panic attack,' he thought while studying Sasuke without removing his eye from Danzo.

Danzo look around the field and noticed three puddles that looked like blood where the clones were defeated. "That's an interesting clone jutsu you got there. I've never seen it before, where did you learn it?" He asked ignoring Kakashi's question. It bugged him how Kakashi was able to defeat some of his higher rank ROOT members without breaking a sweat or the use of his Sharingan.

"Why are you here, Danzo?" Kakashi asked in a flat tone with his hand near his kunai pouch just in case. He did not care that he was speaking with one of the village elders.

"I'm just surprised that you defeated three of the ANBU Black ops with ease without requiring your Sharingan." Danzo stated eyeing Kakashi, "and now you're willing to pull a weapon on a councilman, the nerve." He added firmly carefully watching Kakashi's stance.

"You and I both know you're not just some crippled old man." Kakashi retorted flatly watching the other foundation members collect their unconscious teammates, but still kept a close eye on Kakashi for any movement. "Now I'm going to ask you again, what is your business here?" Kakashi asked firmly.

"I'm want to recruit Sasuke Uchiha into the Foundation," Danzo answered with an eerie dark eye.

A/N: Picture is from Pinterest. So, what do you think? I know Sasuke is a bit out of character, but I think it works well for this story. Anyway, please let me know your thoughts on the chapter. I'm probably going to finish Alone No More before posting any more update for this story. This story will probably be a bit slower because I've been informed that I really need to work on my pacing, so please let me know if this is good pacing. Thank you for taking the time to read this update, and I hope you're looking forward to the next one! Thanks again!