A few days later, in Konoha.
Though the village had lost the Third Hokage, its guiding pillar, the two respected senior advisors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, stepped forward in this moment of need.
They directed the villagers and ninja in rebuilding their homes with measured, steady calm.
The wounds left by the invasion a few days prior could not simply be forgotten, but those who remained had lives that had to go on.
The sky that day was heavy and overcast, with a soft, drizzling rain.
The weather matched the mood of Konoha's people.
Morning. The hour of mourning.
The Third Hokage's funeral was held on the rooftop of the Hokage Tower.
Led by Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto made their way to the rooftop with troubled, heavy expressions.
By the time Team Seven arrived, the space was already filled from end to end with ninja dressed in somber black, their faces grave.
Looking out across the crowd, there had to be close to three thousand in attendance.
Everyone who could come had come, save for those stationed in other parts of the Land of Fire or already deployed on missions.
The ceremony was presided over by Koharu Utatane. Both her position as a senior advisor and her role as the only woman among the leading figures of the village made her the most fitting choice.
"Wherever leaves flutter and dance, fire will burn. The shadow of that fire will illuminate the village, and from it, new leaves will take root and grow. The Third Hokage and those comrades of Konoha who fell did not die in vain. They left something behind of profound importance. That is the Will of Fire."
"It is the very will that the Third carried and upheld without wavering from beginning to end."
"May the Third rest in peace. May our comrades rest in peace."
"The ceremony is concluded."
The three members of Team Seven stepped forward in turn, faces solemn, and placed white chrysanthemums before the Third Hokage's portrait, pressing their hands together in a moment of quiet.
Once the service was over, Sakura and Naruto remained visibly weighed down, unable to shake the heaviness on their faces.
After a long silence, Naruto spoke. "Teacher Kakashi, where the hell did that bastard Sasuke go?"
Sakura said nothing, but she turned her gaze to their teacher as well, the worry in her eyes plain to see.
Sasuke had said he was going into isolation to train a month ago, and had not been seen since.
With everything that had happened during the Chunin Exam, he still hadn't appeared.
After the Hidden Sound and Hidden Sand forces had been repelled, Sakura and Naruto had gone straight to the Uchiha district. They had searched everywhere and found nothing. No trace of Sasuke at all.
He had vanished as though he had never been there, and the two of them had been sick with worry ever since.
Kakashi was quiet for a long moment, then shook his head. "I don't know. But don't worry. With Sasuke's strength and his mind, he'll be fine."
"Yeah."
Sakura and Naruto could only nod. Naruto clenched his fist and said under his breath, "If I ever see that bastard again, I'm going to give him a good thrashing for making us worry this much."
Sakura let out a quiet sigh. Her lips parted slightly, but in the end she said nothing and went still.
... Sasuke, don't tell me you went and...
A knot of dread tightened in her chest. She thought of Orochimaru trying to lure Sasuke away in the Forest of Death, and of the deep, terrible grudge Sasuke carried within him.
The worry sat there, unresolvable.
Kakashi watched both of his students quietly, wanting to say something to ease their minds, but the words reached his lips and wouldn't come.
He was just as troubled about Sasuke himself. Part of him was afraid that somewhere during that month, Orochimaru had gotten to him.
'Please be alright, Sasuke.'
Kakashi sighed inwardly.
By afternoon, the clouds had cleared. The sun hung high and sharp.
"You really can't fault the girls of Konoha. Look at that figure..."
From a rooftop, Jiraiya peered through a handheld telescope with complete absorption, a low, creepy chuckle escaping him every so often.
"Still as pointless as ever, Jiraiya. Just like your teacher."
A steady voice came from behind him. Jiraiya's eyebrow went up. He turned around.
"Uncle Homura, Teacher Koharu. What brings both advisors out here?"
"What for?" Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado looked at him with matching gravity. "You probably already know without us telling you."
"No need to be so serious about it. Is this about the negotiations with the Hidden Sand?" Jiraiya gave a light laugh and played dumb.
"That is not why we're here." Koharu shook her head, her voice firm. "The village is severely weakened. The Third Hokage is gone. We need a strong, trusted leader to step into the role of Hokage, someone who can steady the hearts of the villagers."
"The Hokage, hmm." Jiraiya murmured it under his breath, then said, "Surely there are others in the village better suited for it than me?"
"There are not." Koharu's eyes narrowed, and her expression turned hard. "That day, beyond the Third Hokage, Danzo also died."
"We have not made that information public. Danzo's existence alone was one of the things that kept the other villages at bay. If word gets out that not only did the Third Hokage fall in battle, but that Danzo is gone as well, it will put the village in very serious danger."
Danzo!?
Jiraiya's expression shifted slightly. Homura picked up where Koharu left off. "We suspect his death was also Orochimaru's doing. And for Orochimaru's invasion to have gone as smoothly as it did..."
Homura left the rest unsaid, but all three of them understood perfectly.
The early collaboration between Danzo and Orochimaru was something they had never been able to hide from one another, even if others had been kept in the dark.
Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha had almost certainly required Danzo's assistance at some level.
As for his death, something between the two of them must have broken down, prompting Orochimaru to turn on him in the end.
After all, neither of them had ever genuinely trusted the other. It had always been mutual exploitation.
"There is also the matter of Uchiha Sasuke's unexplained disappearance. I believe that is closely tied to Orochimaru as well." Homura continued. "At this point, Uchiha Sasuke is either dead, or he is with Orochimaru."
"Alright, I understand." Jiraiya let out a long sigh and nodded, his expression notably more serious than before.
"I'll go find Tsunade. Between the two of us, she's more suited to be Hokage than I am."
The two advisors were quiet for a moment, then nodded.
The three of them discussed the details for a while longer.
Once Jiraiya had committed to finding Tsunade within a month and bringing her back to assume the position of Hokage, the two advisors allowed themselves to settle, and the three went their separate ways.
Night.
A gentle breeze drifted through the dark. Kakashi leaned against the railing in his usual unhurried way, letting the night air move around him.
"Lord Jiraiya, coming this late, is there something on your mind?"
"Kakashi, I'm leaving tomorrow to find Tsunade and bring her back to Konoha." Jiraiya's voice was heavy. "Given how things are, I don't feel right leaving Naruto alone in the village. I want to take him with me. We can work on his training while we're at it."
"Going to find Lady Tsunade. I see." Kakashi gave a slow nod. The reasoning was clear enough.
"I'll leave Naruto in your care then. And..." Kakashi paused, as though something had just come to him. "Would it be possible to take one more with you?"
Jiraiya smiled. "You mean Haruno Sakura?"
"Yes. Lord Jiraiya, you have years of experience that I don't. I think you'd be able to guide her in ways I can't, honestly."
"That should be no trouble." Jiraiya stroked his chin, the corner of his mouth curving slightly as he murmured to himself, "A girl with talent like hers might just be the kind who'd make a fitting disciple..."
"Lord Jiraiya, if it's not too much to ask..." Kakashi hesitated briefly, then spoke. "Could you also keep an eye out for any word on Sasuke? Whatever happened to him, he..."
He trailed off with a sigh.
If the village weren't in such desperate need of capable hands right now, with threats pressing from every direction and requiring its elite jonin to hold the line, he would have already gone looking for his student himself.
"Understood." Jiraiya's expression went serious. He nodded and answered with quiet gravity.
__
The next morning. A heavy mist had settled over everything.
Led by Jiraiya, Sakura and Naruto passed through the gates of Konoha and set out on the journey to find Tsunade.
At that very same moment, just as the three of them were leaving the village, two uninvited guests arrived through the mist from the opposite direction.
They wandered through Konoha for a full day but found neither any sign of a Jinchuriki nor anything of use.
And Uchiha Itachi learned nothing of Uchiha Sasuke's whereabouts. He didn't even know that Danzo was already dead.
The two came in silence, and left in silence, without disturbing so much as a leaf.
___
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