"You know, you could at least pretend like you're not bored to be here" Tsunade muttered to Kakashi who glanced at her with boredom in his eyes.

The two currently stood in a large conference room within Konoha with the other nation leaders, strategizing and planning for the war.

"The Akatsuki have been known to operate out of the Village Hidden in Rain. If we place our shinobi around their perimeter, they won't have a chance of escape" Onoki stated as he glared over the Nations Map on the table.

"We have no way of knowing that's where the enemy will come from. It would be best to prepare each village for an attack by dividing our numbers evenly" Kakashi stated with dull eyes.

The others glanced at him as they grew silent, thinking over his strategy.

"See, I'm paying attention" Kakashi muttered to Tsunade who glared at him.

"It seems like the best strategy we could take without knowing the enemies' movements" The Raikage stated with a crossed arms and, what seemed to be a permanent, glare on his features.

"There's still a risk they could attack all at once in one location. We have no way of knowing which villages are safe and which aren't" Mei, the Mizukage, stated in concentration. 

"That seems like more reason to spread our forces" Gaara spoke up.

"Very well, it's decided then. We will spread and combine our forces and prepare to defend ourselves. We will drive the enemy back until the final battleground" Tsunade stated as she eyed each Kage.

The Tsuchikage scoffed "You want us to combine our forces? After what you did to Amegakure?!" Oniki yelled.

"If I remember my history correctly, it was Iwagakure who captured Amegakure and waged war on Konoha before involving the other nations" Gaara stated calmly. 

Oniki glared at the redhead "With good reason!-"

"Enough" Kakashi interrupted, drawing their attention to him again "If we continue to dwell on the past, we might as well kill each other now. I lost my entire team in the Third Shinobi war. I won't let you disgrace their sacrifices by starting the whole thing again." He said with a deadly aura around him.

"He's right. As much as I don't like any of you, bigger things are going on around us and for the sake of our village, we need to work together." A agreed as he, too, glared harshly at others, Oniki in particular.

"Very well" Oniki muttered as he stepped back. Gaara simply nodded with the others. 

"Now then, on the matter of the tailed beasts. As you know, the Akatsuki have been collecting the beasts and now we know Madara plans to use them to awaken the Ten Tailed Beast. Seeing as Konoha, Suna and Kumo are the only ones left with their Tailed Beasts, we should focus our attention on hiding them for protection." Tsunade explained.

Kakashi glanced at Gaara who seemed surprised "You want to send away the Jinchuuriki's?" Gaara muttered in confusion.

"It would give us an advantage if Madara can not find you should all else fail" The Raikage stated as he eyed the young Kage.

"Seems a waste to send away a Kage when he could be the deciding factor in a battle" Kakashi muttered.

"I refuse" Gaara stated with a frown.

"Kazekage-san-"

"No" Gaara interrupted Mei as she tried to soothe the decision into his head.

"Well, I won't try to force you." Mei sweetly smiled. In truth, she did not want to get sand all up in her-

"Then we send the other two away" Oniki stated, throwing a glare Gaara's way.

"As much as a pain it'll be to listen to Bee's complaining, I agree" The Raikage stated before glancing at Kakashi. He was still the leader of the United Nations and, whether they liked it or not, still needed his approval.

Kakashi seemed to think over the matter before sighing "It can't be helped, it's our best move for them. I doubt they'll stay out of the battlefield for long though" He muttered.

"They must not enter the battlefield!" Oniki exclaimed with a glare at the Hatake.

"You'll be too busy fighting to make sure they don't, Tsuchikage-san" Kakashi stated bluntly.

"Hm...And I suppose you'll let them join?" A questioned.

"I personally trained the Jichuuriki of the Leaf. I know his abilities and limits. Trust me when I say he can handle himself. Can Bee?" Kakashi turned to the Raikage.

A fiercely glared at the man "Bee has full control of his beast, that's more than what I heard your Jinchuuriki has" He snapped.

Kakashi smiled "Well then, it shouldn't be a problem. The two will be hidden until the final battlefield is revealed at which time they will be allowed to join" He ordered.

Gaara and Mei nodded in agreement as A and Oniki agreed with a grumble.

"Shall we discuss leaders for the divisions?" Kakashi smiled.

___

Shikamaru sighed as he stared up at the clouds whilst sitting on top of a pile of wood. His team, team Guy and team 8 excluding Hinata sat around the area, taking a break from helping rebuild.

"Mah, It's so hot today" Ino complained. 

"It feels like without all the buildings for shade, the heat is getting to us all" TenTen sighed as she fanned herself.

"That's for sure, Akamaru is panting like crazy" Kiba muttered as he eyed his partner with concern.

"I wonder what Sasuke is doing right now" Ino sighed wistfully.

Choji drank some water before sighing blissfully at the refreshing substance filling his body "They're on the run still aren't they?" He asked.

"Tch, What a drag. They didn't even try hiding that they killed Danzo" Shikamaru muttered.

"Hey, Shikamaru" A new voice joined the group as said man looked down from his pile of wood to see his dad eyeing him "Can I talk to you?"

"Hm?" Shikamaru jumped down and walked out of earshot from the others with him.

"I'm telling you this because you're a Jounin now and my son" Shikaku stated as he cautiously eyed his son.

"What is it?" Shikamaru questioned, feeling the seriousness of the situation.

"Team 7 have returned with a temporary pardon for killing Danzo. Kakashi was chosen as the leader for the United Nations so it's really out of our hands at this point" Shikaku explained with a sigh.

Shikamaru's eyes widened at the news "I see..."

"Be careful around them, Shika. They're still our comrades but as of recent, their goals haven't fallen in line with the village" Shikaku stated.

Shikamaru frowned as Shikaku left. He returned to the group with a grim aura surrounding him.

"Is something bothering you, Nara-san?" Shino spoke up, bringing attention to the young Jounin.

"It seems Team 7 have returned to the village with a pardon for their actions." The Nara revealed to his friends.

"Huh?" "No way!" "Sasuke's back?!" "EH?"  Came the response from Choji, Kiba, Ino and TenTen.

Neji and Shino hummed in thought.

"I knew their youth wouldn't be dulled so soon!" Lee exclaimed with a shine in his eyes.

"Looks like this is gonna turn out to be a drag" Shikamaru looked off to the side with a thoughtful expression.

"What is?" A voice questioned from the sidelines. Everyone turned to see Sakura looking at them with a smile.

"Sakura!" Ino exclaimed with surprise at seeing her so soon after receiving the news of their return.

"Hi" She smiled softly and somewhat with an embarrassed expression. 

"So it's true, huh. You're back" Kiba muttered as he eyed her with distrust.

Sakura noticed but said nothing as she nodded.

"Why'd you do it, Sakura?!" Ino exclaimed, unable to keep her nose out of it.

"Eh?" Sakura tilted her head in confusion.

"Why did you kill an elder?" She seethed.

Sakura rubbed the back of her head nervously "Well technically, I didn't-"

"Don't lie! Everyone knows" Ino muttered with betrayal in her eyes.

"Ino..." Sakura muttered as she eyed everyone to see all of them looking at her with distrust and betrayal.

She hardened her heart as she stared at the group "It had to be done" She muttered.

This gained surprised expressions from all of them except Shikamaru "He was a traitor, wasn't he?" The Nara questioned as he watched the pinkette.

Sakura remained silent for a moment before sighing "While his intentions were to protect the leaf, we found substantial evidence that he'd been working with Orochimaru and using Root as a cover to provide him with bodies" The pinkette revealed with a glare. Not aimed at them but rather the dead man. 

More exclamations of surprise came as Shikamaru turned away with a sigh. He had suspicions as to why Team 7 had taken matters into their own hands but he never thought it'd be something this bad.

"Why doesn't anyone else know this information?" TenTen questioned.

"We told Tsunade but our only source to prove it was Orochimaru" Sakura said.

"And you killed him so the situation turned against you without proof" Neji finished.

"Thought you had substantial evidence?" Kiba grumbled.

"Evidence that Danzo was dirty. There wasn't enough evidence to prove Orochimaru and Danzo worked together. Naruto and I heard it from Orochimaru himself" Sakura stated with a glare at the ground.

"Jeez, you guys always find trouble. What a drag" Shikamaru sighed as he rubbed his neck in mental exhaustion.

"Where's Sasuke?" Ino questioned.

Sakura almost rolled her eyes at the blonde "He's with Itachi" She muttered. 

"Itachi? Does that mean he's still out of the village?" Choji questioned.

Sakura shook her head with a smile "Itachi has been given a full pardon after they proved his instructions came from Danzo. He's allowed to stay in the village and continue as a Shinobi for Konoha"

The group was once again surprised but silently cheered for the Uchiha's. Shikamaru smirked as he closed his eyes "What a drag"

___

Kakashi sighed as he stepped out of the conference room. They had finally adjourned and the leaders would return to their villages to further prepare. Tsunade was sure to give him hell once everyone left which is why he was the first to do so.

He took to the streets of Konoha, watching as the villagers rebuilt their homes. It was noisy but the atmosphere was warm. The villagers had surprised him when they banded together, their once cruel attitude seemingly dissolved for the time being.

As he walked, he came across Ichiraku's Ramen and glanced over to see if his team was there but instead paused as he saw Naruto and Hinata laughing together. The older Jounin smiled as he watched the two. It seemed Naruto wasn't as thick-headed as he'd thought when it came to women.

It reminded him of simpler days. He continued on and came to stop before the Kage stone faces, eyeing Minato's carving.

'Sensei...' He thought, thinking back on his memories with the old team 7. He wished they could see how far he'd come. 

A hand suddenly smacked his back, hard "Yo! Kakashi!" 

The Jounin straightened as Gai threw an arm around his shoulders with a grin.

"Looks like you got home safely!" He said before growing serious "How are you?" 

Kakashi eyed him for a moment, remembering how he turned against him before they left the village "Gai..." He muttered.

Gai seemed to remember his actions as well as he looked down with shame "Kakashi...Gomen. I thought you..." He trailed off before shaking himself "It won't happen again" He stated looking the Kage in the eyes.

Kakashi could see he meant it and truly didn't hold a grudge against him. He smiled "It's fine, Gai" 

Gai suddenly grinned before leaning back "In that case..." He quickly got in Kakashi's face "It's been a while, so why don't we have a match?" He grinned as and gave a thumbs up.

Kakashi stared at him for a moment, wondering why he forgave the man so quickly. If he had played it out for a bit, perhaps Gai would've left him alone.

"Why?" Kakashi sighed.

"Why?!" Gai repeated before looking away with a thoughtful expression "Why? What do you mean?!" He grabbed Kakashi's shoulder "Because you and I are eternal rivals, that's why!" He grinned again, shaking the silver-haired man's shoulders.

"We've had over 100 matches up till now!" He spun around with excitement "Let's add another one!"

Kakashi sighed "In that case" he held up his hand to play rock, paper, scissors. 

Gai chuckled as he stretched "No using the Sharingan now" he teased before holding out his hand as well.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" The two danced? 

"Wait, NO!" Gai exclaimed before they could throw out their hands "Not that! I don't want rock, paper, scissors!" 

Kakashi paused as his body visibly deflated. It was all too much energy for him.

"Our challenge will be...that!"

Gai pointed behind Kakashi, who turned to notice he was pointing at the Kage stone faces.

"I've set up a goal up there" Gai smirked.

"Really? When did you find time to do that?" Kakashi muttered underneath his breath.

"We'll race to there!" The spandex-wearing man stated with an aura of finality. 

Kakashi sighed "This is not the time for-"

"That's exactly why I want to have a hot challenge! You'll accept, won't you? my eternal rival?!"  

Kakashi eyed for a moment, understanding that he wanted to bring some light fun to an otherwise depressed village.

"You're right. No time like the present I guess." Kakashi smiled.

"Alright, let's do it!" Gai grinned as they smacked their hands together. 

One could only pray whoever got in their way would survive.