A hawk was seen flying high over Konoha.

Not many people knew this, but this sign heralded the beginning of their war.

Tsunade, already knowing what was in the letter attached to its leg, and already having sent for the required ninja, simply watched as the bird flew into the tower on top of the Intel Division's building.

At this moment, she knew there would be several decoders working on the message, and she would receive confirmation within a couple of minutes.

Official notices of this kind were not usually hard to crack.

Before then, however, some others appeared in her office.

Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Inoichi, Ino, Shikamaru, Shino and Sarutobi.

Now all they needed was Kakashi.

Suddenly the door burst open, and a panting young woman entered the room.

"Tsunade-sama, the elders of Suna have elected Sabaku no Gaara as Kazekage, effective from two days ago."

Tsunade made a noise of acknowledgement, and the woman dismissed herself.

Silence settled around them, and a sense of quiet determination filled their hearts. Even Naruto, the most boisterous of them all, wore a solemn expression.

They heard Kakashi approach, and all glared at him as he entered through the window.

"Gomen, gomen," he apologized casually as ever. "There was an old lady-"

"Now that we are all here," Tsunade cut in, "Sarutobi is mission leader. You will all go to Suna to congratulate the Kazekage. From there team seven will return, and team Saurtobi will continue. I expect you all to be gone within half an hour. Kakashi, I expect a full report the moment you get back into Konoha or you will forfeit your entire pay packet."

The silver haired man slumped, but accepted the Hokage's ruling.

The ninja all dispersed to put their gear together – most of whom only needed to grab pre-prepared bags – and headed to the gate.

It took no more than ten minutes for everyone to assemble.

Sakura took a final look over her shoulder at her village, and then took to the trees.

A/N:

This has been a long time coming, and is a short introductory chapter to what will be the epic finale... Which might also take a bit longer to complete... I won't make any promises as to a time span.

I know many of you will be somewhat disappointed with the shortness of this contribution, but at least you will know I'm alive and intending to finish this.

I've gone back and fixed up the chapters a bit to raise the quality of the writing, although I'm sure I've still missed things. Go back and have a look if you want, and share your thoughts but I (probably) won't be changing them any further.

Anyway, I hope you like it :)