"I hope you know what you're doing."

Kakuzu stopped himself just short of snorting at Minato's warning.

If this had been said under any other circumstance, he would have gladly let the younger man know just how amusing and meaningless such words were to the jaded Takigakure native.

These circumstances were much too heavy to allow a moment of amusement.

"Believe me. I do." With a frown, the older man crossed his arms over his chest. Then he looked over all of the monetary reports scattered around his desk, a mess he would normally have kept rather tidy.

"You're not leaving any paper trials. You haven't used any maps or written up any possible ideas- are you sure that this is the best way to complete a mission you know will have a large impact if you're found?" Minato shifted to the right on his seat, eyes scanning the rather tame information currently on his advisor's desk.

"Nothing's outside of my mind. There won't be a paper trial to follow. I can't risk any of this being traced back to Konoha... Or to you."

He didn't want to see Minato's face. He was very much aware of the stupid emotion it would be wearing now- and he wanted nothing of it. So Kakuzu stood up from his desk and turned around, facing the only window in his office.

Because he had the good luck of having an office on a relatively high floor, he was able to overlooking quite a stretch of land. At the moment, he was able to see civilians walking to and thro, unaware of the danger that loomed directly over their heads- blissfully ignorant to the pain their fellow natives suffered to allow them that ignorance.

The job of a ninja was a horrible one. A shinobi's duties were overwhelming and all-encompassing. A blacksmith could retire whenever he wished to and become a farmer. With Konoha's retirement reforms for public servers, there were now a great number of professions that received pensions after thirty years in the service of the Village and their ninja- now specific could retire with even more ease. But most ninja didn't have the skills to retire and take on another job. A great number of them couldn't even leave the job because of how horribly it had damaged their mental faculties.

Theirs was not a glamorous job. Few people walked out of if relatively unscathed. Kakuzu had spent most of Minato's life trying to keep him safe of the fate that awaited many of their shinobi- dead by either an enemy's hands or their own.

There was a joke that his family would tell him before he became a ninja. It was always accompanied by a swig of some alcoholic drink and a bitter laugh: What do you call a ninja that makes it to old age? There would be a long pause then as the family member drank their preferred poison. A coward and fool!

The number of ninja like him had gone down in recent years, mostly through the vehemence most Hidden Villages had shown against starting anymore needless wars. There were still a large amount of ninja that threw themselves into their work with the subconscious need to die on the next mission, but there were less of those. There were many more now that preferred to return, take part in some mildly self-destructive recreational activities, and then throw themselves into molding a new generation of ninja that were even more hopeful and resilient than them.

This existence of his... It was not for the faint of heart.

"What are you going to do, Kakuzu?"

'This is the first time you've ever called me by my name. It was always Kuzu… This pain I have brought you... I would avoid it if I could. But I cannot.'

Kakuzu huffed bitterly, more than aware of how heavy his shoulders felt. He wanted nothing more than to slouch... But he couldn't afford such a moment of vulnerability when he was in front of the only person that could completely and legally veto his plans. Instead, he squared his shoulders and tensed his body to seem even harsher and colder to Minato.

"Don't worry. It won't come back to the Village. I'm making sure of it."

"I don't care about that, Kakuzu! I want to-"

There was a knock on his door.

Minato immediately shut himself up.

Kakuzu sighed in relief and dispelled the sound-proofing jutsu he had cast when Minato had stormed into his office. "Come in." He called roughly and the door opened a second after.

"Uh, hey, Mr. Kakuzu... Should I... Uh... Should I leave?"

Ah, Tenten.

"You're late."

He could imagine the young girl's face as he heard her huff- her lips would purse, her cheeks would hollow just minutely, and her eyebrows would draw in as the beginnings of a glare took over her youthful features.

Innocence.

How he had wanted to ensure Konoha's innocence...

If he wanted to improve his chances of completing this mission, he would need to destroy Tenten's own innocence. He loathed this and yearned with all of his heart to find another possible solution... But the possibilities he had come up with that did not utilize the small girl all had too high a chance of failure. Hell, even the plan with her had a high enough possibility of blowing up in his face... But it was lower than the rest.

There was just no way to complete this without sacrificing the child.

He had thought that after having accomplished so much in Konoha, he would never have to think in such a manner ever again... After having left Takigakure, he had promised himself that he would never think in such an unyielding way ever again. He had promised himself that he wouldn't look at the world in black-and-white as he had been taught.

He was just breaking another promise in his life.

Unfortunately, he was an expert in this.

"Sorry. Sakumo-sensei was explaining to us how his summons worked so he could teach us how to summon them in case we're ever in an emergency during a mission and he can't help." Tenten offered with a huff, and Kakuzu imagined her crossing her arms in a defensive stance.

So young... So young.

With a heavy sigh, Kakuzu refrained from turning around and looking at either person within his office. Instead, he made a point of continuing to look at the flock of innocents that lived their lives as if everything was fine and nothing was wrong within the world.

He wanted Konohagakure to keep this innocence. It was an innocence that had survived all the way from the First Hokage's reign... It was one of the few things he still had left of the man... He didn't want the citizens to lose this peculiarity Hashirama had worked so hard to accomplish.

As long as there were still ninja out there, fighting the good fight to ensure their borders' safety, then Kakuzu would do his best to ensure the best results for their Village.

"That's... Actually a pretty huge step, Tenten. I don't think Sakumo's ever given control of his summons to any of his students before."

Bless her soul, Tenten was distracting Minato.

"Yeah, he told us that. But he explained that this is because we're his last group and I'm such a liability. I also think it's because we're part of his favorites, and Naruto would throw a fit if anything happened to me. And because Itachi and Hana's parents would raise hell if either of their precious heirs were harmed in any way out of stupidity."

Sakumo was bluntly honest.

But he had not told the girl the whole truth.

Kakuzu had asked Sakumo to give the girl a failsafe- a possible escape route- in case anything went wrong during a mission her team went on. He had made sure to make it sound like he was just trying to protect an eight year old genin- Naruto's best friend. He had done his best to make it seem like he was merely protecting an investment and had not alluded to anything else.

Sakumo had not given anything away, so Kakuzu had enough evidence to believe that Sakumo had not suspected him after he had asked such a thing. But the reality of the matter was that he had wanted Tenten to have some kind of escape route in case this mission went south.

If nothing went according to plan and his team was captured, then at least the only Konoha-native would be able to run away and reach safety thanks to Sakumo's teachings.

Undoubtedly, the man had decided to teach his two other students the same skill to not accidentally make it seem as if he was favoring Tenten over them.

Smart ma-

Pain.

Searing, burning, all consuming pain.

His very essence was on fire.

His chest caved inwards just as his knees splintered against the ground. A mere second later, every single bone that was supposed to have been within his chest broke through his back, gnashing and shattering every bit of skin they came in contact with.

Chanting. Chanting. Chanting.

Takigakure took everything from him.

Takigakure had to pay.

Kakuzu opened his eyes suddenly and found the peaceful blue Konoha sky staring back at him. The civilians were still walking around, living their lives without a single worry on their minds.

'The streets aren't running red... Not anymore.'

"... Well, I guess I'll leave you to discuss whatever it is you need to discuss."

Minato's voice sounded far away, as if it was coming from a hollowed out room rather than directly behind him.

The older male grunted as he closed his eyes, forcing his mind to focus on the now.

"I'll see you tonight, Tenten."

His heart was crashing against his chest- his sternum was beginning to ache just like it always did whenever his past caught up with him. Had his hands been that sweaty before? No. They had not.

Balling up his hands into fists and crossing his arms over his chest, Kakuzu forced himself to focus.

The door closed behind the Fourth Hokage and he was left in his office with only Tenten.

There was darkness consuming the edges of his vision. He needed to end this conversation as quickly as possible if he didn't want Tenten witnessing a horror she would never bounce back from.

"I called you in here to inform you," He breathed in- his bones creaked and groaned beneath the pressure building within his body- and tried to relax his vocal chords. "that our mission is set to begin in two weeks. Finish preparing what you have not yet completed until now."

She may have told him something after that. Or not. All he could hear now was his heartbeats crashing into his ears.

"Leave."

It took her a couple of seconds. But eventually the girl was outside of his office again.

Five hearts beating within one body: a forbidden jutsu to escape death itself.

But to escape death, one must first get to know it. Intimately.

He was only just able to start back the sound muffling jutsu before he lost all control.

Takigakure.

Must.

Pay.

"I would just like you to know, kids, that you're both idiots."

Inoichi's eyes widened as soon as he heard Hidan's decree. "Hidan!"

"What?" The Jashinist immediately responded, clearly surprised by being called out. "I'm stating a fact! It's just like saying the sky's blue, the Inuzuka's are insane, or Lord Jashin is the one true savior."

It had been years since Hidan had come into the Yamanaka's life and many things had changed because of this... But there were some things that would never change. And, apparently, Hidan's blunt way of being was one of those constants that would never evolve.

"Ooh! We should tell your mom Hidan insulted us, Ino. Maybe she'll give us cupcakes again for tellin' on 'im!"

The children's eyes lit up at the idea of earning a sweet treat by getting Hidan in trouble. And Hidan's own eyes widened at the idea of getting scolded by Yasuko- yet again- for being rude and mean to children.

Inoichi merely smiled as the children bolted up from their respective seats on the living room floor and went in search of Yasuko Yamanaka, all the while Hidan shouted out at them to not do anything too drastic. He also attempted to rise up from the ground, but tripped over his own feet and ended up sprawled along the floor... Leaving Inoichi to chuckle at his actions.

"Shut up, you mind fucker!"

"Ooh! He even used a curse, Kiba!"

"Jashin damned-"

Hidan's angered yells were cut off by a knock on their front door, leaving both him and Inoichi wondering just who would be knocking so late at night.

Because Hidan was still not allowed to answer their door- as per their agreement with the Hokage-, Inoichi stood up and made his way towards the front of his house to see who wanted to speak with them at such an hour. For a fact, he knew it wasn't any of his friends because they usually always informed him that they would be passing by before heading over.

Behind him, he heard his wife stirring in the second-story of their home, along with the pattering of small feet.

Those kids...

With a small smile of contentment, Inoichi opened his door.

"Oh, hello."

His smile was sobered into a smaller, confused type of smile upon seeing the masked face of the Fourth Hokage's favored advisor.

"Yamanaka." He grunted as he jerked his chin in a single, stiff attempt at a nod. "The Jashinist is around."

It was worded as a question, but it was said as a statement.

Inoichi nodded, taking a good look into the dark eyes of the advisor.

There was something... Not right.

Unhinged.

"You and him are to be in my office, tomorrow at 12 p.m.- not a second later. Have I been understood?"

Kakuzu was an enigma to most in Konoha. He was only actually known as an active force of nature on the battlefield by the shinobi population. Most civilians didn't know that he was one of the most important shinobi within their village; they merely saw him as one of the oldest and most private villagers. And even though there were rumors of him having been an advisor to the Third Hokage, there were many events about his history that were not public knowledge. Not even Inoichi, the Head of the Torture and Interrogation unit himself, knew much about this man.

It was strange to hear such an order from the Hokage's advisor, but Inoichi was still very much aware of the chain of command within their village. At the very highest, one would find the Hokage. And directly below him was his most trusted advisor- whatever order this man gave, it was to be followed almost as loyally as if the Hokage himself had given it.

"Of course." Inoichi nodded, earning a final stiff lowering of the man's chin before he turned around and walked off into the night.

There was something about the air... It left Inoichi feeling unsettled, even as he heard his wife shouting for Hidan to come upstairs and apologize to the children.

Something was very off about this night. And this caused worry to burrow its way deep into Inoichi's mind.

Hiashi had been accompanying his daughter and her 'best friend'- a missing-nin from Kirigakure that still had no idea why the girl liked him so much- to the market when they came across the Hokage's advisor.

"Hyuga. Nanashi." The man nodded at them both, making Hiashi sigh.

Clearly, his daughter had gone against his orders- yet again- and hidden within Nanashi's robes if the man hadn't greeted her as well.

Even though he was going to scold her yet again for this, he would wait for this conversation to end.

"I have need for the both of you to come into my office tomorrow afternoon. Be punctual."

Hiashi kept his face devoid of the curiosity he felt upon hearing such words. Being called into the Hokage's office was not a new occurrence ever since Kisame had become a ward of his clan. But being called into the advisor's office certainly was novel.

Kisame cleared his throat, "Wanna give us any kind of heads-up?"

The masked man's oddly colored eyes narrowed just slightly. But before he said anything, Hiashi was horrified to see, from the corners of his eyes, a small hand appearing from within Kisame's robes with a banana peel clutched amidst tiny fingers... But he was outright enraged when the hand allowed the peel to fall onto the ground below.

"Hinata!"

Kakuzu, to his credit, didn't seem all that perturbed upon having Kisame take a step back as Hinata opened up the space between his cloak to look up at her father.

He was so taken aback by his daughter's uncharacteristically crass actions that he could not properly think of anything to say.

"What have I told you about littering, guppy?" Kisame groaned, only to have the young girl shrug and close the cloak back up, hiding both his legs and her whole body.

"It's compost." Was the muffled reply.

Hiashi was absolutely mortified.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." Kakuzu cleared his throat, directing a stern glare at Hiashi. "The child is not to accompany you."

He wasn't able to stop himself from frowning with displeasure. Mostly, it was because of the fact that his oldest child was so far-gone from his wishes for her that he did not know what to do anymore. But, in part, he was also frowning over the fact that the Hokage's advisor was being much too withholding of information for his liking.

"Today is the day you begin to repay your debt to Konoha."

It didn't surprise Inoichi to see that Hidan's initial reaction to the stern words was to tell Minato's right hand man off with creative cursing.

The other Konoha natives within the room, on the other hand, had clearly not expected such a reaction from his supposedly fully rehabilitated charge.

"Hey! No cussing! Only bad people talk like that."

The levels of odd people were willing to tolerate were certainly rather unusual to the head of the Yamanaka clan. They were taken aback by Hidan's rather tame insults- if he was being honest with himself, these insults were childish, even for Hidan's standards- but did not blink a single eye at the fact that there was an eight year old girl inside of what was undoubtedly a classified meeting.

Hidan blinked at the young girl, then asked, "What're you doing here, pipsqueak? Ain't you supposed to be in class?"

The sound of coiling metal filled the room for a brief moment, making everyone turn to look at the man the young girl was using as a make-shift chair. Even with the weight of the girl on his hunched back, he didn't seem to be moving- even his gaze remained fixed on Kakuzu. But there was no doubt in Inoichi's mind that the sound had come from him.

"Do not talk in that manner to her. And if you wish to cease from irritating me any further, you will desist from speaking." The man's voice was husky and grainy, as if speaking while rocks scratched at his throat. But, even with the oddity to the voice, Inoichi couldn't help but feel that it was somewhat familiar.

Hidan frowned upon hearing the threat and Inoichi could clearly see the gears in his head working to prepare a retort. From the way the hunched man turned to actually glare at him, the blonde could also tell that it would be a big mistake on Hidan's part to egg him on. Even though he knew nothing about this hunched man, he wasn't a fool- if the people within this room he did know were powerful shinobi, it was only fair to assume that he too was skilled.

"There's a child in here that I doubt is old enough to be a genin. I don't like this idiot, but he's not wrong in pointing that out."

The Hyuga's own charity case was certainly an oddity to find in Konoha. But Inoichi guessed that he was not completely unique within this room. There was more the Yamanaka did not know about this man that what he did- but what he knew pointed to this man being a native from a far off land, much like Hidan and, undoubtedly, the hunched man with Tenten.

Speaking of Tenten and the stranger that was clearly defending her from Hidan's obscenities...

"Tenten," Inoichi called to her, making the young girl look at him with curious eyes. "Where is Seita? Shouldn't he be here with you?"

Before she could answer him, Kakuzu interrupted their small conversation. "Like Hidan and Kisame, Tenten is here for a reason."

Minato's advisor didn't sound pleased with the way this small meeting had gotten off track. But Inoichi could not feel too sympathetic towards him- he should have expected a minimal amount of chaos if he had asked for Hidan to attend. Wherever the Jashinist went, chaos followed. The man could not have called on him without expecting at least a handful of outbursts.

"What's the fucking reason?"

Inoichi gave Hidan a pleading look to try and guilt him into silence.

Yes, it was odd Tenten, who was only one year older than Ino, was in this meeting. Yes, Hidan was still prone to acting before thinking, even after years of being with the Yamanaka. And, yes, there was something incredibly off with this whole situation. But Kakuzu was still very much the Hokage's right hand man and Hidan was still, again, very much, under strict probation.

His efforts were rewarded with a shit-eating grin from his charge... That, luckily enough, faded into a more docile and apologetic one in a handful of seconds. Hidan could be crass and immature, but he wasn't stupid or completely oblivious to truly worrying situations. If anything, at this point, his ignorance was a façade to make people underestimate him rather than an integral part of his personality.

"She is invaluable for the mission you will be embarking on."

Mission?

Inoichi's heart sank.

He couldn't mean...

"Hiashi and Inoichi, you are both here as a courtesy and a warning." Kakuzu straightened his shoulders and glared at both men, allowing the heaviness of his words to sink into the tense atmosphere of the room, before he continued. "You two will have your own mission to complete- equally as important as the one these foreigners will be going on."

Kakuzu grunted after he had finished speaking, then picked up a set of files that had been laid out on the Hokage's desk.

The Hokage who had not appeared during this whole time, even though the man was now speaking about a mission.

"Your mission will be an S-Rank, Hokage-level mission- it being classified is something unnecessary for me to point out. Unlike the rest of our ninja, you are all known to be loose cannons and traitors to your original homes. You are expendable."

No one was dispensable. No one was replaceable. Not in his book. Never in his book.

The feeling of something being off... Inoichi was now seeing that he had been completely correct to be wary of Kakuzu's intentions.

"Memorize your objectives. Destroy the files." The man turned his back on them after he had handed out all the files, "Keepers, stay. The rest are dismissed- wait in Minato's office."

Inoichi glanced over at Hidan and immediately felt his stress levels shoot through the roof.

His charge had been the one to receive his mission file first. And now Inoichi was able to see that his face was pinched with concern- an open book of blatant worry. Seeing how the file he had been given was open and he was staring directly at it, it wasn't hard at all to guess why it was that his charge looked so worried.

Hidan wasn't a person that showed his worry carelessly. He was the kind of person that preferred to keep smarter brain functions a secret to everyone but a select few. Because of this, many people mistook him as an impulsive fool that didn't think hard on much of anything. Because of this, there were a large number of people that fully believed he wasn't even capable of noticing the severity of most situations. But this was all how Hidan preferred it.

For the young man to so obviously transmit his unease with what he had read... It took a lot. And Inoichi felt objection to this unknown mission begin to bubble up within him- and he was prepared to fight Kakuzu, even if it meant possibly endangering his status within the shinobi world.

"Where is Minato?"

"Currently, he is in the Academy giving a speech on the importance of the shinobi chain of command and following orders."

Ironic. Inoichi was perceptive enough to begin to see that this mission Kakuzu was thinking of sending their charges on was unknown to the Hokage- completely undermining the man's power.

From her spot perched on the back of the hunched man, Tenten snorted in amusement at the news. Probably, she was happy that she was not in the Academy anymore to be subjected to the torture of Minato's more... animated speeches.

Hiashi squared his shoulders and set his jaw, "And what reason do I have to not denounce you for this abuse of administrative power?"

The advisor crossed his arms over his chest and straightened his back- now both men were adjusting their body language to read of power and control. Neither wanted to be the one to submit.

"I have been Minato's advisor since the beginning of his term. This is not the first time I have gone behind his back to ensure all odds being in my favor. Nor will this be the last time. The Hokage is more than aware of me going behind his back and he trusts me enough to not question my judgement. I know that he is aware of my transgressions. We keep quiet and act as if nothing is happening- and this arrangement works."

Ah, the double-faced subterfuge of bureaucracy. Disgusting. Inoichi didn't care if it was considered necessary- did honesty and integrity really mean so little to those that worked in politics? Although, he could understand how this may be taken as hypocritical on his part- seeing how he was a ninja- but he felt he was justified in his beliefs. Ninja required such tactics to survive on the field. Politicians didn't require such tactics within their cushy homes.

"I wish to know what you are planning to do with Kisame. He is under the care of the Hyuga clan; and unlike you wish to believe, he is not some dispensable tool that can be cast away."

Hmm... Inoichi would never have expected Hiashi to have spoken up against the callous way of thinking. Maybe this Kisame fellow was just as important to his family as Hidan was to Inoichi and his own.

"The less people that know about this, the less the risk of disastrous consequences. I simply asked you all here so you know that these men will be working for Konoha and you will be acting according to the best interest of their safety- and the Village's own." Kakuzu just about growled back at Hiashi, sending yet another wave of alarm through Inoichi.

He didn't wait to hear Hiashi's retort to what had been said by the advisor this time. It was about time he spoke up.

"Alright, our cooperation is necessary because it is a matter of Village Safety. This undoubtedly means that this mission you are preparing for is one that must be kept quiet, no matter the circumstance, because it will heavily impact Konoha and our way of life if it came to light." He spoke with all the composure that was asked of a Clan Head, even though internally he was completely beginning to freak out over the perilous nature of this mission. "You must believe we must partake on this mission vehemently if you are willing to endanger potent Village Resources. Because that is what these men are: three powerful shinobi that you have chosen to invest time and energy on."

Kakuzu's eyes hardened at the clear probing Inoinchi was taking part in. But the Yamanaka was not about to leave without raising any objections- even though he wasn't being as straightforward in expressing his discontentment as Hiashi.

"Precisely. The less people that know of this, the more protected our Village is. Now, whatever else you wish to discuss, we will do so after they have left this room." The advisor's tone made his own irritation with the situation apparent all the while leaving no room for any further arguments until his demands were met.

Inoichi frowned and looked at Hidan.

The younger man looked back at him with saddened eyes... And his heart tugged horribly when the Jashinist nodded slowly and turned to leave the room.

He did not like this. At all.

When Kisame returned to the Hyuga's compound, it was with a grim frown on his lips. He did not talk to anyone that tried to start up a conversation with him. Instead he walked straight into his quarters and barricaded himself in solitude and did not come out until well into the night. At that point, the children were asleep and Hiashi had begun to prepare himself for the following day.

He respectfully knocked on Hiashi's door and asked to go on a walk with him. The Hyuga agreed and left his wife within their room, leaving her with an unspoken yet very necessary conversation hanging over them.

Both men walked for a while. They even walked out of their home and into the surrounding forests- it was only when they were far from the Hyuga home that Kisame stopped walking and turned to him.

"We're going to Takigakure. The mission is set to last up to three months; could go on for longer, though." With this, the younger man sighed heavily. "Am I too young to be feeling this old?"

The man was not even thirty years old. But the world had a way to make one feel much older than they actually were.

"What can you tell me of this mission?" Hiashi questioned softly, not wishing his anger at the advisor and this situation to appear when Kisame was so very clearly perturbed.

"Aside from what I already said?" Kisame clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, keeping his gaze on the trees surrounding them. "Not much. If the information gets into the wrong hands... Not worth the risk, Hyuga."

Kisame Hoshigaki was a missing-nin from Kirigakure with an almost revolting pile of corpses looming over him. He was a violent killer with an unquenchable thirst for battle. And he was his oldest daughter's best friend.

"I will defer to your judgement, then." Hiashi decided after a couple of seconds spent in contemplation. "When will you be leaving?"

Kisame grunted as he stretched his shoulders, curving his spine inwards as his hands landed on his hips. "Two weeks."

Hiashi frowned; this whole business left a horrid taste in his mouth. Deception and manipulation both played key roles in the life of a shinobi. But there was a time and a place to use such tactics... Within your own Village was no such place.

"What will you tell the children?"

"Damn kids..." Kisame groaned as he relaxed his posture and raised his hand to scratch at the back of his head, "Can't I just ignore them? Not tell them anything and hope nothing happens?"

Hiashi actually smiled at the forced irritated tone. Kisame didn't say it explicitly, but he didn't have to: he didn't want to think about leaving just yet.

"I do not see why we cannot ponder our options tomorrow."

Kisame growled, a soft, barely energized tone. And Hiashi could not stop himself from worrying over the dangerous mission that been lined up for the shinobi and genin. If Kisame sounded this grave and worried... Then it must have been a daunting objective they had to complete.

"I'm worried, Kushina."

Of course he was. She was too.

While her husband had close ties with his advisor, Kushina felt as if she had familial ones. She had never worked too hard strengthening such ties, but she had never ignored them either.

"He's planning something big. I don't know what it is. But he's taking Tenten with him. Why would he need a genin so young?" Minato continued to pace before their bed, fiddling anxiously with the kunai within his hands.

Her husband had already explained everything he knew about his advisor's secret plans to her. And what he knew was, essentially, as little as she knew. All her partner knew with complete certainty was that Kakuzu was doing something that was undoubtedly self-destructive. With the way he had assured the Village's safety so much... It meant that whatever he was doing might jeopardize not only himself, but their whole Village. And because of this, he was taking all precautions necessary to not allow that to happen.

"As Hokage, you could force your position onto him." She hummed noncommittally, successfully gaining his attention. "Forbid him from leaving the Village and demand he stop whatever he's going to do."

She expected the glare she received. Just like she expected the exasperated groan. "That would only piss him off, Kushina! That's a horrible idea and you know it."

Softly, the woman smiled. As her husband frowned at her, she stood up from their bed and made her way towards him. And once she was in front of him, she grabbed his hands and looked him directly in the eyes.

"Then allow him to go through with this mission."

Once again, she expected the look of pure shock.

"I can't- he might get hurt!"

Ignoring her husband's lack of volume control even within their bedroom, Kushina pulled his hands behind her so they rested on her back. She, in turn, wrapped her arms around his neck. And finally she melted into his embrace, even though he remained stiff for a couple of seconds.

"Kakuzu is one of the most capable people on this planet, Minato. Not only is he a competent shinobi and stellar advisor, he is also one of the oldest people we know. With age comes wisdom. If Kakuzu believes that this is something he must do..." With a small sigh, she began to rub circles into his shoulders. "Then you should just trust him. When has he ever steered you wrong?"

Even though she had her face pressed up to his chest, Kushina knew that her husband was pouting. He had the bad habit of adopting the facial expression when he knew he had lost in an argument against her, even when he really wanted to win.

"Never, but... Habanero... You didn't see what I did..."

The overwhelming worry in his voice twisted Kushina's heart. So she tightened her grip on Minato before she grabbed onto either side of his face, pulled him back, and looked him directly in the eyes.

"You're worried about Kakuzu. Believe me, I understand. But if there was one thing Lady Mito told me about Kakuzu, it is that he is one of the most level headed and intelligent shinobi that has ever lived. He earned Lord Tobirama's respect, Minato. That has to count for something." After having said this, she quickly pressed a kiss to his lips.

He blinked in stupefaction for a second, then pulled away with a dissatisfied huff.

"Of course it does. But he's never done anything like this. I worry."

Kushina felt her eyebrow twitch momentarily, all the while slight irritation began to build up within her. Her husband was pone to overdramatic ponderations, she knew. She mostly accepted them. But sometimes she grew tired of having to repeat herself.

With a soft sigh, Kushina turned away from her husband and walked towards their bedroom's door. When Minato asked where she was going, she quickly answered that she was going to check up on Naruto before making sure the dough she had made earlier was rising.

She did all those things, so she hadn't lied. But the main reason she had left the room was to get some fresh air. Her husband was frazzled enough already. She didn't want to blow up at him for being an idiot- even though he was being one, she didn't have to shout at him because of it.

"So, where have I seen you before, Fish Sticks?"

Kisame growled at the stupid and completely unoriginal nickname he had been given by the annoying silver haired brat. Even though he was, supposedly, an S-Ranked Criminal, all he had done during their whole journey to Takigakure had been annoy him.

Thankfully, the only other person as annoying as this idiot was the little girl. Seeing how she was a child, though, Kisame excused some of the stupid shit she said. And seeing how she mostly stayed quiet, he had no actual need to be bothered by her as much as this brat.

He didn't answer the man's question.

This didn't dissuade him from continuing to speak.

"Probably the Bingo Book, then. You must be from Kiri or Ame- sharks live in the water, so you gotta come from one of those depressing as fuck places."

At the beginning of their journey, this man had been entertained by reading from his religious book. But a week had already passed and he had apparently grown bored of only reading the same material. So now he had moved on to annoying the people that were stuck on what could almost be considered a suicide mission.

"Hidan," The hunched ninja with a bandanna covering the lower half of his face growled out, causing the annoyance to stop bothering Kisame for a few blissful seconds. "Shut up."

"Or what, puppet fucker?"

Sasori of the Red Sands was not someone that Kisame wanted to actively fight. Even though he loved a good fight, he knew that there were more chances of losing this specific fight than winning. And Hidan, if he truly was the S-Ranked danger Kakuzu had told them, should have at least enough a brain to contemplate the danger of this man.

"Or I'll test out my newest batch of poison on you. You might live, but I cannot assure you how much pain you will undergo before it completely flushes out of your system and your immortality kicks in."

Hidan scoffed behind Kisame, but seemed to decide that talking wasn't worth pissing Sasori off any further.

After a couple of blissful minutes in silence, the advisor that had forced them onto this mission returned from wherever it had been that he had disappeared to.

"Starting from here, you are to mimic my every move."

Kisame looked behind the man to see exactly where it was that they would be going. He found an unassuming cave burrowed deep within a mountain and nothing else of interest. He didn't sense any traps or enemy ninja.

"Why the caution?" The waste of oxygen immediately challenged.

Kakuzu's dark eyes narrowed, but he soon answered with, "Because these tunnels are more than one hundred years old and have undergone very little maintenance. They're unstable and one wrong step can send the whole roof caving in." Finally, he growled, "If you don't feel like dying a slow death from oxygen depletion, you'll do as I say and stop questioning my every order."

Quite frankly, Kisame didn't like any of his supposed teammates. But if there was one person he hated, it was the man that was clearly abusing his power.

"Any other unnecessary interruptions?"

Hidan growled but mercifully kept quiet.

"Good."

The man turned around and stalked away. Kisame followed with a frown, all the while eyeing the tunnel they were supposed to enter... It was small and uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, it seemed that having left Samehada in Konoha had been the right thing to do. Fitting through the narrow tunnel was uncomfortable for him, seeing how large he was. Having tried to do such a thing with a sword strapped to his back would have been outright daunting.

Takigakure reminded Hidan of Yugakure because of one stupid, annoying, hateable aspect: there were too many villagers and the ninja that were strutting about were weak.

"I'm hungry."

Kisame rolled his eyes at him and continued to focus his chakra into fishing their dinner.

Hidan felt like sticking his tongue out at the surly guy, just to see if that childish action would get some kind of response out of him, but decided against it. Even though he was bored and hungry, he didn't think that picking a fight with the Shark Oaf from Kirigakure was a good idea. The Kakuzu bastard might get pissed at them if they were spotted because of a stupid fight.

Even though their orders were clear, Hidan couldn't help but feel like there was still something they didn't know about this stupid mission.

His file had told him only what he needed to know. He would be working with Kisame and they would set up camp, hunt for a meal, and get some sleep. In two days, they were set off to gain the attention of the whole Village.

Get rid of the remaining members of the Sunadori clan. Divert all shinobi attention to their district. Leave no survivors.

The Yamanaka Clan Head will not be investigated for possible involvement in the Jashinist-related murders of Mikazuki and Manato Hitotose, and Saki Tanabata.

The threat hadn't been stated explicitly, but Hidan wasn't the idiot everyone thought he was. He knew very well that Saki Tanabata was the ANBU bitch that had orchestrated a murder to get him jailed. The other two dumbasses mentioned were the idiotic genin teammates that had helped her do this.

There was no space to mess up. There was no room for failure. The instructions handed to them were clear. The threats were more than just convincing. He couldn't allow anyone to harm Inoichi Yamanaka. Not after everything he had done for him. Not after everything the whole Clan had gone through because of him.

He didn't like it- but he was stuck doing everything this deranged psychopath wanted.

"Oi, what'd that bastard blackmail you with?"

Kisame wasn't a talkative guy. Hidan was. Kisame seemed to hate his guts. Hidan wanted to see how far he could push before that breaking point before the breaking point.

Amazingly enough, this was the one question that got a response from the blue oaf.

Kisame growled as he finally pulled out a fish from the stream, then threw it at Hidan so he could begin to work on preparing it to cook it.

"That's none of your business."

Ooh. That struck a nerve.

Hidan smirked at this development, shrugged, and set about gutting the fish. "Not like you're the only one with family on the line. That blonde idiot that was with me in the first meeting, Inoichi? He'll be framed for murder if I don't succeed."

Give a ryo, get a ryo. He wasn't a fan of opening up to jerks like Kisame, but he truly was bored. And if this got him talking, then he would gladly say some things. Not all of them. He wouldn't let the guy know just how important Inoichi truly was for him. If he asked, he'd just play it off as a thing of honor, not actual emotion.

Hidan waited patiently for Kisame to answer back, more than sure that he would say something.

"The shinobi careers of three kids. They'd make genin, but they won't necessarily get promoted after that."

Beside himself, Hidan winced.

That... That was terrible.

He could just imagine something like that happening to Ino or Kiba... And that pissed him the fuck off. He couldn't believe there were such manipulative dick heads in power in Konoha. Wasn't that place supposed to be nice and shit?!

"So I guess you'd better not fuck up." He eventually retorted, but the smirk on his lips and the confidence in his voice didn't feel convincing even to himself.

"Just shut up and cook that."

Mr. Kakuzu looked like he was struggling.

"Are you okay? I could-"

"I'm fine."

He wasn't. Even Tenten could see that, and she was only eight years old and had no preparation in medical ninjutsu.

His shoulders were slumped and his spine seemed as if it was curving inwards, giving him an almost hunched look. Seeing how this was a man that usually walked with his back completely erected, it was worrying for Tenten to see him like this.

Yes, she was doubting how good of a man he was because of recent developments... But she still knew this man as the first adult to treat her as an equal, rather than a lesser. She still respected him. And now, she worried about his health.

Sasori wasn't anywhere near them, but she could feel his presence in the tree canopy above them.

They continued to walk for a few more meters before Mr. Kakuzu froze. Tenten looked up at him, eyes going wide when she saw black liquid oozing from the corner of his left eye.

"Mr. Kakuzu..."

His eyes were closed. His body was trembling.

He still refused to allow her to help.

"The house is two clicks in that direction. You know your mission. Go."

Tenten didn't want to leave him there. The small blob from his eye was beginning to fall with more force, running over his dark mask. There was even some liquid beginning to pour out of his other eye.

"Whatever you do, do not question Kakuzu. Complete your task. Fly under his radar."

Sasori's wise words rang in her mind like a mantra.

Even though she didn't like it, she left Mr. Kakuzu in clear pain to complete the task she had been given.

~/~

Befriending the girl named Fū was, in a way, even easier than gaining Naruto's own friendship. She had been even more eager for a friend than the blonde had ever been and she didn't even question Tenten's foreign whereabouts. She was just overjoyed at someone having gone up to her to ask for play, rather than run away as soon as they had locked eyes.

"Yup. My family's the Sunadori Clan, but Shibuki's my guardian. The Clan said they couldn't possibly take care of me without endangering their lives. So... Here we are..." Fū admitted softly, kicking her feet from her spot seated on a suspended log.

Tenten frowned at the information, but felt somewhat... happy? about it.

Fū was, in essence, an orphan like her. Unlike Naruto, she could understand the loneliness that came from knowing that your blood family wasn't around to help you.

"They still bring me clothes and food every week- this really nice old man called Ōsama even brings candy sometimes. He's the Clan Head, so he's got too many responsibilities to help me out too much, but it's still pretty nice whenever he gets the chance to visit."

Tenten didn't really know just how real Fū's claims of a chakra monster living within her were, but she did know an orphan when she saw one.

"Well, don't worry, Fū, cause now you've got me too!"

Nausea crashed into her when the other girl smiled broadly at her. Fū was so trusting... Much like Naruto... But unlike the situation with Naruto, Tenten highly doubted Mr. Kakuzu would call off this mission.

Sasori had never seen anything of this calibre before in his life.

In a way, he was fascinated. In another, he was absolutely disgusted.

"You are sick."

Kakuzu had collapsed on the ground after Tenten had rushed off. Sasori knew very well that the girl would complete her mission efficiently, so he decided to check on the mastermind of this mission rather than follow her.

Thick black ooze trickled below the man, who had yet to rise after he had fallen face down onto the ground.

"You are a liability to this mission."

He heard a groan from the man, then his right arm began to move... Well, it began to jerk and spasm, the cloth of his sleeve bulging rhythmically as sick sounds of squelching began to fill up the forest they were within. In the spot where his hand was supposed to be, Sasori could now see black tendrils.

"Follow... Her."

It was clear that Kakuzu was in pain from the way he struggled to speak.

If Sasori had held any compassion within his heart for the man, he would have stayed and helped him with whatever was affecting him. But seeing how he didn't particularly care about this man's well being, he left him on the forest floor, writhing in agony, without ever looking back.

~/~

By the last day of the third phase of their plan, Kakuzu seemed to have gotten better. He looked a lot like he once had in Konoha- powerful and in control. But Sasori could see the minute trembling of his body; the barely perceivable hunch to his shoulders; he could hear the struggling of his voice whenever he spoke. This was an injured man that was trying to pass off as fully capable.

He was an idiot.

Sasori didn't care.

"So we are going to massacre a whole clan, along with an entire shinobi force... for a child?"

Below their spot perched in the trees, he could see Tenten and her target playing ninja tag. It was a dangerous game, but both girls maneuvered expertly around one another and barely received any blows completely.

"Not just a child- a weapon." Kakuzu's voice was strained as he spoke, but when he said the last word, regret seemed to ebb into his words.

Hmm, interesting.

"Takigakure cannot be allowed to keep such a weapon. They are irresponsible and overconfident- if we allow her to stay here any longer, there will undoubtedly be disastrous consequences."

Sasori didn't fully believe what the man was saying. There was undoubtedly something more to his reasoning. But he didn't ask- he would eventually figure it out, he knew.

"Hn." He grunted, eyes narrowing when he found that Tenten's use of a chakra string on a kunai was absolutely horrendous. He would scold her on such a thing later.

"Hidan and Kisame must be setting up." Kakuzu murmured, but Sasori paid him little attention. "We should get moving."

Once again, Tenten utilized horrible form to propel herself away from Fū and Sasori felt irritation well up within him once again. But he soon grunted and straightened up, jumping away before Kakuzu could take the lead.

He didn't have to follow someone so injured. In this state, he knew he could destroy Kakuzu with a handful of seconds. But he refrained himself from doing such a thing.

"In the event of a failure or harm coming to the leader of this team, consequences have already been decided for Tenten Akasuna, the mole sent to Konoha by Akasuna no Sasori, to destroy the White Fang's Legacy."

He wouldn't endanger Tenten, though. Not any further than he already had.

It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

Tenten was just the one that had actually questioned him about it after they had left Takigakure.

"Mr. Kakuzu... Some of those clan members... They had eyes just like yours."

Even though he had wanted to protect Tenten and Fū from the sight of the overwhelming death they had caused, the girls hadn't stayed away from the clan grounds. When they had heard about a commotion there, Fū had immediately wanted to go check up on her estranged family.

What she had found had been a wasteland desolate of life. Blood bathed the ground, falling in rivulets into the docks where her family had once kept mighty boats. Said boats were found in fiery messes, destroyed by him to make it seem as if this was an attack on the clan's illegal fishing practices, rather than a carefully constructed plot by one of their own, old, members.

He didn't answer her.

He would never admit to his greatest sin.

"This is what you must do for your clan, Kakuzu! You must prove to this new regime that we are stronger than we have ever been! You must undergo this-"

No.

His life had once been dictated by the woman he had once known as his mother. In the past, all he had done had been to ensure the happiness of those he had once called family. Never again.

The Elders of Takigakure had sent him on a suicide mission to destroy him. But it had been his clan to turn him into the monster he was today, forcing him to undergo a forbidden jutsu that had ripped his humanity away from him. And it had been the Village itself that had allowed such horrendous people to gain power and exert it without any regulations forced upon them.

The team he had picked had been a thousand times more efficient than he had expected. But that was mostly because Takigakure's defenses had grown so much weaker than he even liked to admit.

After almost a full century, he had expected the quality of the shinobi and fighting forces to drop. But he had never expected the quality to absolutely plummet.

Unlike Hidan, he hadn't rejoiced in the massacre of a full clan. He hadn't taken any joy in killing shinobi that had just been doing their job. But Takigakure's payment for everything it had put him through had been delayed for long enough. Now that he had finally enacted his revenge, he felt empty... Empty, but free.

"Blood does not dictate family." He relented as an answer, poking the fire he had built with a stick.

Hidan was off in the forest, supposedly completing some Jashinist ritual. Kisame was trying to sleep, but was obviously listening to him and Tenten. And Sasori was perched to Tenten's left, as if trying to threaten anybody from approaching her without utilizing any words. Fū, the reason they had undertaken such a horrible mission, was sleeping to Tenten's right, clutching at her friend's pant leg.

There were tear marks staining her dark cheeks.

He didn't have to see Tenten's face to know she was now looking at him with pure horror on her features. He finished making sure that the fire would hold for the night and grunted, "Go to sleep. We start early tomorrow."

She didn't answer him. Instead she burrowed close to Sasori's Hiruko puppet, as if seeking comfort within the contraption.

A metallic tail wrapped around Fū's sleeping form, bringing her closer to Tenten once more, before nestling in a loose circle around both girls.

Sasori may have wanted to make people believe he was still callous, cold, and incapable of human connection... But his love for Tenten was undeniable. It had been the right thing to allow those two into Konoha, even if Sasori had gotten much too close for comfort to having hurt Sakumo.

With a small sigh, Kakuzu stood up and walked away from their camp. He made his way towards a rushing waterfall, where all he could hear was the crashing of the water and the soft chirps of insects and bats.

Tenten was correct to fear him now. The other three shinobi were within right to distrust him. And young Fū would be forced to live within a lie by him, something he himself loathed to admit.

But for the first time in months, he was at peace.

His body was no longer trying to destroy him from within.

He suspected that the replacement hearts he had acquired aided in replenishing his self-destructive body. It had been almost a full decade since he had replaced one heart; it had been even longer since he had changed them all.

But his thoughts were no longer on his family. They were no longer alive to haunt him. He had completed his mission.

He was free.

Three weeks after Kakuzu had left with Konoha's three most dangerous refugees and Tenten, they all returned... with a young Jinchūriki in their midst.

Kushina was stunned when Fū introduced herself as Kakuzu's grandniece. But her surprise, as large as it was, did not hold a single candle to the surprise Minato faced.

Never in a million years had she thought Kakuzu would be capable of kidnapping another Village's Jinchūriki. If she had known that this had been what he had been up to all those days ago, she would have demanded Minato stop him.

Honestly, she didn't know what was running through Kakuzu's mind most of the time. When he introduced the young girl to the Hokage's family as his grandniece, she hadn't even been able to tell if he was telling the truth about their biological relationship. All she could do was agree that there were some subtle similarities, the kind that one would see in clan members.

As kept in the dark as she had been... Never had Kushina expected for Kakuzu, the Hokage's priced advisor, the most intelligent and resilient member of their chosen family... To do something like this.

..~..~..

And this is the end of the first chapter!

Do not fret, for there will be a second and final chapter to this story! So, it's a two-shot!

I know this is a pretty big change from the usual tone, but I've really wanted to write this for, like, a year now. And so I had to set up a universe where I thought this situation was plausible, which is how we got this series!

If you've got any questions, please write them in a review so I can answer them next chapter. Or PM me, if you'd like. The next chapter will definitely have a lot more information to truly tie everything together, promise, but review anyway so I know exactly I should answer in text or in an author's note.

Please review!