The appointed day came all too quickly for her, heralded by a night of intermittent periods of complete consciousness and fitful, restless bits of sleep.
And so here she stood, at five in the morning, with the sun just barely beginning to cast the sky into a shade of smoke gray amidst a blue backdrop, the morning dew still not fully settling yet.
And standing ten feet away from her, was the strongest man in the world, dressed in simple white clothing, his hands clasped behind his back as he waited for her to get ready.
She did not think she could find a much more prominent and glaring definition of the word awkward as she took off some of her heavier clothes, until she was left with nothing but the thin training clothes she'd put on under those.
Finally, standing infront of him, she stood there, feeling more awkward and foolish as his silence stretched on.
Apparently, she should know what to do already.
Still, that wasn't the case, so she opted to ask.
"So..."
Or at least try to.
"You're going to attack me." He cut her off, speaking as though to a child, too stupid to understand that two plus two was four.
Still, she nodded, taking it in stride. It wasn't as though she expected anything less.
She bowed, then took the stance of the Juuken.
She stared at him for a moment, not needing to activate her Byakuugan, she'd fought so many people already she already knew where to strike an opponent. Tenketsu are always generally in the same place on the body after all.
When she attacked, she didn't expect the blow to land, even with all her speed, she could recognize the distance in power between them.
And she was right. The Juuken strike was deftly cast aside with a mere wave of his hand, the simple force, deceptively gentle, was fast enough and precise enough, to push her aside at just the right moment to avoid damage with the minimal amount of effort.
"Slow." She heard him say.
She ducked, spinning with a sweep kick, that slammed into the Kage's shin with enough forced to leave her bruised, feeling as though she'd kicked a metal bar.
"Weak."
She felt a spark of chakra against her skin, more surprising than painful as she reeled back, spinning smoothly back to her feet.
She stood, blinked, and then, more through reflex than conscious thought, bent backwards narrowly avoiding the fist that would have cracked her nose.
It took her only a second to act, reaching up, she grabbed him by the wrist, fingers searching for the Tenketsu there and sealing it as she lashed out with one foot, kicking him just below his arm as she twisted outstretched wrist with her whole body, in a move that would have dislocated his arm from his shoulder and cracked his wrist at the same time.
She felt his wrist just barely reach the breaking point when it sprang back like some elastic band of corded muscle.
She lost her balance, barely keeping her footing as she released him, backing away with a grimace as she almost fell before recovering.
"I did not expect such innovation in Taijutsu from one who was trained solely in the rigid arts of the Juuken."
She almost took it as a complement but his next statement overshadowed whatever backhanded praise could be found there.
"But the attack before that, left you open, it was foolish and reckless. Now, activate your Byakuugan." He said. "Do not think you can fight me with anything but your best."
She nodded, and with a thought, the veins around her eyes bulged, the blood flow maximizing as she activated her Clan's coveted bloodline...
And gasped with horror. "Na-Naruto-sama you're-"
"Ignore it." He interrupted, his voice as flat as she'd ever heard it, not the least perturbed as he beckoned her with his hand. "Fight me with all your strength Hyuuga. I must know your limits."
It took her a moment longer, but she nodded eventually, easing herself into her stance again before the first day of training resumed.
With her trying to ignore what only her eyes could see.
Kisame sighed; the sound emerged as a frustrated huff through his nostrils. "This is hardly a medical thesis I'm asking you to do dammit! How in the hell are you struggling with a basic water Jutsu when all it does in this miserable place is rain!"
To be perfectly fair to the former Kumo/Suna kunoichi, there were two major factors that were the cause of her slow progress.
The first was the water element itself.
Her prime element, lightning, was a rush of energy, one needed to catch and hold onto the flows and eddies of chakra at every moment, it was like trying to catch a hundred fireflies with nothing but your hands in a rush of movement. It was a crackling, sporadic power, where one's mind and chakra needed to be in constant motion to keep its form stable and contained, explosive energy in a glass bottle.
Water however, was almost the exact opposite. One needed only small nudges and shifts to control its form and power.
Conditioning herself to this new form of manipulation was like trying to condition a reflex. Extremely difficult and extremely slow progress.
Once she got it down however, her progress would move steadily. Or at least, they hoped so.
The second factor that was making this even slower was a simple fact:
Kisame was a horrible teacher.
Literally, the first lesson he'd assigned for her was to throw a bucket, an empty bucket mind you, and ordered her to fill it with the moisture in the air outside their cave.
Even she knew one first needed to know how to move water in a puddle, or a pond, or a full bucket at all before that could happen.
She glared at the former Kiri ninja.
He glared right back.
And so, with deliberately slow movements she grasped the bucket in her hands, picked it up and walked outside where sheets of rain were still falling from the sky.
Returning less than a minute later, she planted a full bucket of water at his feet, right next to the fire pit before she sat down her clothes speckled with rain water from the brief moments she'd been outside to place and take back the bucket.
"If you're doing this you're starting from the basics." She said.
Kisame's upper lip curled in distaste.
She panted and wheezed her breath between her teeth sucking in air that burned her lungs as she leaned on her knees. Her hair was matted to her skin with sweat and her muscles ached.
Infront of her, Naruto stood, as impassive as ever, barely even looking as though he'd become mildly winded. She'd deactivated her Byakuugan long enough ago for the sight she'd witnessed to vanish from her immediate thoughts. It would return at a later time certainly to haunt her mind.
But for now he seemed untouched, neutral, and utterly devoid of an opinion on her performance at the moment.
The reality was, that the Godaime Hokage was very much deep in thought, and it was only the fact that he normally kept his features expressionless that sheer force of habit kept his brows from crinkling and his lips from tilting downwards in a thoughtful frown.
The girl was...or had been, of adequate enough strength and skill for her station. She was innovative, resourceful, and disciplined.
But she needed to be more than that now. Hinata was her greater in every sense of the word, and it had still not been enough to keep her safe.
No, if she was to take his former teammate's place, then she would have to become better than Hinata, stronger, able to compete with any ninja.
And he would have to make sure that happened soon.
"Get up." He said. "We are done for today."
Hanabi stayed where she was for a moment, deigning to continue catching her breath. For the time being.
Finally as Naruto was reaching the edge of their sparring ground she spoke up.
"So what exactly do you have in mind for the next training session.
"You will have to learn much." He answered simply.
"I cant be that bad!" She protested, glaring at his back.
"It is not enough." He shrugged his shoulders. "You must be better."
Sparing her a glance he could see the mild disappointment in her face. No doubt she'd expected some positive note on her performance so far, which had been better than average certainly.
But he wouldn't give it today. He'd make her crave it, make her work hard for it, even if she hated him by the end of this, she would still value his respect enough to value his congratulations long after their training was done.
"How much better?" She asked and regretted it soon therafter, knowing the answer already.
She needed to be as good as Hinata.
Naruto paused, correctly guessing her train of thought. He wondered for a moment what to answer her, when words from a past long left behind him pulled themselves up from the shifting sands of memory.
"You will be the tip of the sword." He said.
She looked at him oddly, and he turned to face her fully, as he remembered another person doing so long ago.
With his stare he captured her attention, with his voice he ensnared her, subtle techniques preying on her senses making him seem all the greater to her.
"You will be the edge of the blade."
The breath of his voice would slither into her mind, and bury itself there, an idea to be planted, a thought to be controlled.
"You will be my shield."
He stepped closer, and Hanabi found herself suddenly face to face with him as she felt pinned by that cold gaze.
"My teachings shall be your armor."
These words and so many others snaked through his thoughts, the rules and oaths that served as the seams to his person, flashing through memory before being picked and discarded in favor of the ones that would best serve him here.
"You will be, a true Shinobi...of Konohagakure."
And then, Hanabi knew, that these were not empty words, that this was no simple speech to reassure her.
He meant every word; As though she had never even fully stepped into the shoes of a Shinobi and had not been treading that path already.
As though she'd been doing nothing but playing a game, and now it was time to get serious.
And then...Hyuuga Hanabi felt cold, crawl down her spine.
Kakashi paced slowly across the room waiting for the Godaime of Konoha, he'd been summoned here by an Anbu earlier in the morning for his next orders.
It was business as usual it seemed.
He was told by one of the servants that Naruto was attending someone else, and to wait here. He wasn't sure who exactly could occupy so much of his time though. He'd been here almost an hour already. Normally Naruto spoke three words to any one person followed by a very pointed and deliberate 'Leave.' or 'Begone' or something else to that general effect.
Whoever it may have been, he was fairly sure it wasn't Jiraiya. The rumor mill placed him as storming out of this house the other night and drinking himself to a stupor in one of Konoha's seedier bars before returning to his home.
If they had some kind of argument, or worse, then it boded ill. Jiraiya's pride would not let him apologize even if he eventually regretted what he may have said or if he realized he wasn't in the right in their argument.
And Naruto...
Yea, he wasn't even going to bother giving the absurd notion of the Devil King apologizing a full thought.
When the door finally slid open the person standing there was hardly whom he was expecting.
"Sabaku?" He greeted, somewhat uncertainly as she marched towards him, a determination in her face and walk. He felt for a moment, like fodder caught in the warpath, he half expected her to attack him by the time she opened her mouth.
"I need to talk to you."
'Really? Because it looks more like you want to punch me in the face or something.' He thought, lifting a single thin eyebrow. "About?" He ventured carefully.
She crossed her arms, glaring up at his single exposed eye. "You need to do something about Naruto."
Kakashi figured that this conversation would involve his estranged former subordinate/student but this was hardly how he thought she would voice it. "Sure, lemme just walk up to him with a kunai and punch it through his throat. It'll be easy. And I'd be more than willing to do this just because you asked nicely."
"I don't mean it like that you idiot!" The Suna princess snapped, ire and frustration had been eating away at her since she'd witnessed that little exchange between Naruto and the Toad Sennin Jiraiya. "I may be a prisoner here but even I can see that he needs help right now!"
Kakashi jerked his head up a bit, caught more than just a little off guard by this. Though, considering that she'd gone to help them when Naruto had been captured, maybe he shouldn't be.
His mind returned to his little encounter with Kurenai at the memorial stone for a moment before pushing it away.
"And just what makes you think I can do anything? What makes you so sure anything needs to be done at all?" He asked
She looked at him as though he were crazy. "Are all of you Konoha nin this dumb or is it acquired while rising in rank?"
He shrugged, exerting a significant effort to hold back a sigh. "Look Sabaku, I don't know what you may be thinking right now, but Naruto is fine, trust me." In all truth, if she was putting up this much of a fuss, he suspected Naruto may even be manipulating her, putting on some show to get her sympathetic so he could use her more effectively later.
The fact that he may have been exploiting Hinata like this...the fact that he knew him to be capable of such a thing, filled him only with an aching sadness.
Was that why he and Jiraiya had fought?
Had to be.
Jiraiya may have been many things, but he was, firstly, a man of rare honor in this profession, who would feel sickened at the very thought of this.
He may have been able to accept the necessity of this in some extreme cases, but this was hardly an extreme case. And this...this was Hinata...
And that...made this wound cut deeper than it should.
He focused back on the captured princess as she shook her head. "What the hell is wrong with you? Do you even care at all?"
"Nothing is wrong with me? Or anyone else really." He said, meeting her eyes. "You really think he cares? That he's even capable of it?"
She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off, he'd picked up momentum, and he wasn't really trying to stop.
"Don't you think we've searched for it? Again and again hoping we'd find something. Years and years of watching and fighting at his side. And we've never even seen a flicker behind those eyes, or a moments remorse for anything that he's done!" His voice was never raised, but it was severe, hardened with grief and simple truth. "We hoped for something long before you ever showed up here Sabaku, so don't you come now, at the end of this road...and think that you can preach to me! Because I care enough, to stay, and fight by a leader who would just as easily see me dead by his own hand as he would see me made a general if he thought it would serve his war effort well enough."
She swallowed, biting her lip as she shook her head. Behind closed eyes Kakashi could not tell if she was fighting back her anger, or her sadness.
"He isn't heartless as you people think." She finally said. "And if he is...you have only yourselves to blame for that.
The copy cat stared at her for a long while.
"Somehow...I doubt even you believe that Sabaku."
Footsteps down the hall was their only warning before Naruto stepped through the doorway, his white Kage robes billowing behind him as he entered the room, hands clasped behind his back.
He stared at both occupants before looking pointedly at Temari.
She got the hint, and with deliberate steps, she slowly marched out of the room, keeping a wary eye on Naruto, who didn't even deign to look her way after she'd begun to leave.
It was the first time she'd been face to face with him since his little...explosion...She'd honestly expected more, yet she supposed with Kakashi here, he was holding himself in careful check, and it was best not to push her luck.
As she left the room, Naruto walked towards the older male, hands clasped behind his back, Kakashi got a strange sense of dejavu, standing there. His walk wasn't nearly as severe, nor his expression as open as Temari's had been, but the feeling of being the fodder caught in the warpath of some beast was still there.
Never the less he nodded, and stood at the blond's side as the man leaned on the railing of the balcony.
There was silence only for a few, lengthy seconds before Naruto broke it after, what seemed like, a moment of contemplation.
"I'm sending you to Kiri."
"Why?" The copy nin asked. "They got a new Overseer last month, another one isn't scheduled until-
"I know. But we cannot afford for anything to go wrong. With Ginchiko and Guan both dead, Kiri is looking to new leaders, Guan's adopted son amongst them. You are to go and make sure that our holdings there are secure and that those of influence within whatever separatist factions are kept muzzled and barking at walls. Kiri is too valuable to the war effort to be lost now because of neglect and overconfidence."
The copy cat slowly nodded. "This is a bit sudden..."
"You have three days to prepare. I will grant you the seal of authority, making you the Overseer of Kiri immediately upon your arrival. You may take four junior Jounin's and six veteran chuunin, as an escort of your choice."
"That's..." The sharingan wielder began, swallowing somewhat thickly with his surprise. "Quite a lot." He'd commanded groups of men this size before, but never a group that Naruto had just granted him free choice of who went and who didn't. With ten carefully chosen people who's skills could complement one another, he had enough potential power to do almost anything in Kiri as an overseer. Not that Kiri didn't have some exceptional ninja of their own, but many of those were on missions, and it was rare for any two of them to be at the village at the exact same time. Given the fact that every overseers duty was to try and avoid the strongest of their appointed vassal villages linking up for any potential time period if they could.
"As I said...Kiri is too important to lose now."
The sheer level of trust that Naruto was placing on him, the full implications of this, slammed into Kakashi like a club upside his head, and he actually felt as though he would be left physically reeling from the sheer shock of it.
The words from Kurenai and, more recently, Temari returned to him, and he wondered for a moment whether he should do as they asked and, at the very least...try. Even if it turned out to be a wasted effort he should at least...try before he cried defeat.
But before he could give voice to his sudden urge, Naruto straightened, pushing himself away from the mezzanine railing before he looked to the man. "You are dismissed, Kakashi."
"I...yes...Naruto." He said, loosing his nerve as he bowed his head before the man.
When Gaara walked into his office the morning after his talk with Kankuro, it was as though a great wind was sweeping into the building in his wake, it wasn't three minutes into his arrival before he was barking orders and sending messengers, administrators and paper pushers scurrying into overdrive and ordering every tactician, commander, strategist and officer he had at his disposal to meet in the council chambers, the most spacious room in the tower.
He'd taken Shikamaru's notes, read them, and wanted them expanded on. He wanted information, all the information they could get for him.
The Kazekage became a bloody machine by the time the first words had been spoken in the meeting, absorbing anything and everything the assembled group were telling him.
He was in command of a country...the last country, so to speak. And he left it in no uncertain terms that he was very serious about his command.
Preparations for the eventual siege had been underway for months, but estimates of enemy numbers were so overwhelming that few believed they could truly hold against the tide with the city intact.
The hours pass in blurs of statistical outlays, calculations, grafts, maps of the city, overviews.
The food supplies for the entire city, how long they will last once nothing can be brought in from outside the walls. Where the food is stored. The durability of these silos, buildings and granaries. What weapons and theorized Jutsu strength they can withstand. Ration projections. Sustainable food ration planning, unsustainable food ration planning with appended lists of estimated sacrificial casualties. Where food riots are likely to break out in the city once starvation is a reality.
Water wells, reserves and supply centers, how many are required to supply the entire population. Which one of these are likely to be destroyed first once the city walls fall, underground rivers and wellsprings under, or near the city that might be tapped when the need was greatest.
Estimates of disease once the city is finally attacked and casualties become too heavy to be dealt with effectively, types of disease, symptoms, severity, risk of contagion.
Lists of medical facilities endless endless papers of how each one is supplied, withering down to the most minute detail.
Numbers of conscripted civilians, crudely force trained in the arts of chakra and weaponry, training regimes and schedules, medical and food suplies for the civilian population.
Suna and Kumo remnant defence forces, who lead the individual squads, their weapons, tactics, specialities, assigning them in turn targets and districts to defend where they'd be most efficient.
Refugee civilian numbers, gods above what numbers!
Major roads and by-ways come next. Concourses to be used for effective civilian transport to the shelters and caves below the city and that could be used to supply the ninja and whatever militia forces would be on the walls.
On and on the simulations, calculations and predictions went.
And this, the Kazekage sat through for three days straight.
Three. Days.
At the dawn of the fourth day, barely an hour into the meeting the man stood up, startling his aides and advisers. It was the first real movement they'd seen him give since the meetings even started. Normally he would just sit there, eyes showing that he was listening to the speaker, but neither nodding nor speaking in turn.
As he finished standing, a young woman, sitting closest to him, who's name he could not fully remember spoke up to him.
"Is something wrong Kazekage-dono?" She asked.
And slowly, a smile formed on the red head's face, calm, sanguine even as he replied.
"Nothing's wrong...nothing at all."