"Stop!" The gate guards halted the trespasser who was dressed in a black cloak with red clouds decorated on it. The infamous Akatsuki's signature cloak.

Izumo and Kotetsu were alarmed, seeing the criminal wanting to enter their village. However, why would he allow himself to be caught so easily? Certainly, he would know walking through the main entrance meant meeting the guards; thus, exposing his unwelcome presence.

His onyx eyes gazed at the pair without any emotion. Both of them gulped nervously, they knew they were no match for this S-class criminal, a prodigy of a noble clan.

"I must see the Hokage." He stated.

"What business do you have with him?" Kotetsu inquired.

The other said, "We will not allow you to pass through!"

Both of them got their weapons out and prepared to fight the Uchiha, but they were stopped by the pink haired heiress.

"Hold." She ordered. "I received instructions to escort him to the Hokage's office."

"A-Alright." They muttered, wondering what the Hokage wanted from the criminal. They also doubted the man, fearing for the worst. What if this was a trap and he would attack the Hokage when she least expects it? But they looked at the pinkette and thought if anything happens, she would intercept. Moreover, she has more of a fighting chance compared to the both of them combined.

The criminal walked past them and stepped on the ground of the Leaf Village. He slowly walked towards Sakura who wore a mask of impassiveness. She turned around on her heels and headed for the red tower. His eyes trailed after the large sword strapped onto her back; for all the years he had known her, he never knew she was one to carry such a large tool as it can be annoying. Sakura loved agility, but wouldn't that weapon hinder her? Well, he did leave the village, her, for so many years. People change.

Now that her back is facing him, he could scan the weapon in detail. He had seen it back when they met in Jomae Village, but he was far too fixated on his task at hand which he failed in. He shrugged at the thought, unhappy about his first failure.

The pinkette looked at him over her shoulders, "I don't know what business you have with Lord Hokage, but don't try anything funny."

He only stared at her as a response, something he had always done since forever. He was never one to talk.

She knew that look, that he agreed with her. Sakura returned her gaze onto the streets and greeted the villagers who smiled at her.

"Ah, good morning, Lady Sakura!"

"Good morning!"

"Oh dear, good morning honey."

The villagers were much friendlier to her compared to the members of her clan. She managed a tiny ghost of a smile when she nodded in acknowledgement and occasionally saying a simple 'good morning'.

When they moved their eyes to Sakura's company however, they shivered in fear. Not a lot of them know about criminals, but the aura he gave out was quite intimidating. His onyx orbs stared down at them, but he was thinking about the pinkette. She had grown and the people loved her, respected her; he wished the same for himself but he has taken another route for the sake of the village and the entire world.

His eyes flickered back to the heiress he had known since childhood and attempted to spark a conversation. "Since when did you favour such a large weapon?"

She hesitated to reply because he is a criminal after all, so she gave a short answer. "It's an experiment."

This sword was created by the Scientific Ninja Weapons Team from the Leaf Village which enables a non lightning chakra user to use the element by flowing the owner's chakra into the hilt of the sword. It was introduced to the Hokage while Sakura was in the room, reporting about her solo mission which resulted in her testing out the weapon.

Their walk to the tower had been quiet, their minds filled with memories of each other. It was similar from before when a little Sakura followed him around. He was a highly respected shinobi and she learned from him with her father's permission. Both of them quickly grew close, but she stayed away from the Uchiha compound because their clans are rivals. She was far too young to handle any encounter with them; a mistake would lead to a dent in their name.

Sakura knocked on the door before entering the Hokage's office. Shikamaru and the elders were already inside. When the Nara heir caught sight of the S-class criminal, his eyes widened just a fraction. Something was happening and it was important. Seeing Shikamaru's expression, the pinkette knew she was not the only one in the dark.

"Everything discussed in this room will stay in here." The Hokage announced. "Itachi has something very important and serious to inform us."

He nodded. "As I've spoken in the message I've sent you, the Akatsuki revealed their plans for the Fourth Ninja War."

Shikamaru and Sakura's eyes widened at the news; however, why was he informing them of their plans? Was he..?

"As of now, we will hunt for the Tailed Beasts to extract their immense chakra. The locations and identities of them have been filed." He said and placed a rather thick file on the Hokage's table. "They are in talks with a gang of rogue ninjas to assist them in their plan."

"Rogue ninjas? Are they the ex-trio prodigies?" Sakura inquired.

Itachi nodded.

She pursed her lips and frowned.

Finally, Shikamaru decided to step in. "Hold on. Why are you telling us all these?"

While the older Uchiha of the main house stared at him, Minato decided to speak for him.

"He is in a top secret mission to spy for us in the Akatsuki. When the organisation was established, we figured they would become a serious threat, so Itachi volunteered to become a spy."

"So he did not betray our village after all?" The pinkette whispered, disappointed in herself for not believing her brother figure. Of all people, she knew how passionate he was as a shinobi of the Leaf Village. She knew of his loyalty and love for his village.

He further explained, "It was planned since the ruling of the Third Hokage and executed when I stepped up. We made his failure in becoming the Hokage a factor to his betrayal."

"And we're here because both of us have the highest IQ." The Nara heir concluded.

Minato nodded his head to confirm Shikamaru's theory.

"While they begin their plan, we will also have a plan of our own to stop their goals." He said. "With that said, we mustn't allow them to suspect they have a mole."

Sakura casted her emotions away and remained a calm mind to the best of her abilities. She must be a professional; the pinkette straightened her back and her face was void of any emotions.

"Since the Tailed Beasts are involved, I think it would be wise to hold a meeting with all Kages. Let's make an alliance, at least for the sake of the war." Sakura suggested.

Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "I'm sure they will tighten their security and protect their Tailed Beasts. We'll send teams to find the rest of them."

"Even if the Tailed Beasts are able to be saved, who is to say they wouldn't start the war anyway?" One of the elderly said.

"That is true. We aren't clear of who leads the Akatsuki. The existence of Pein aren't found in records." Homura agreed.

"About that, I may know." Itachi spoke. "Madara could very well still be alive."

Gasps filled the room and it fell into complete silence. The council furrowed their eyebrows and exchanged looks with the Hokage.

"Our suspicions may be right." The fourth said.

"It has come to the worst..." Koharu sighed with a face of worry.

==

Dedicated to yukihime164 for actively voting on my Naruto fanfics!

Recently, I've realised I made a huge mistake. In the early chapters, I mentioned that Minato is still alive and is the Hokage. However, I completely forgot about it during the Chunnin exams arc and so on. So I'll go back and edit those, that he's still alive.

About the third Hokage though, he'll remain dead. He's still the one who battled with Orochimaru. I sincerely apologise for my mistake!

Also, I've decided to extend this story a little because it doesn't make much sense if I rush straight into the war. I really didn't think much about the plot back then :') I've also made Itachi a spy because Danzo doesn't exist here(I hate him) so there would be no reason for him to betray the village.

~Joelle

Published: 14 June 2018