"Regardless of who they're coming for, Her Highness is here. We cannot let them pass."
"Let's move, Kakashi!"
"Since we are here, we won't allow anyone in this compound to be harmed."
Might Guy dropped into a combat stance, his eyes fixed intensely on the shifting shadows in the thicket. Kakashi nodded solemnly, lifting his forehead protector to reveal the spinning Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a puff of smoke, several ninken appeared before Kakashi.
"Work to do, Pakkun. Coordinate with Guy and me. Find the enemies lurking in the woods."
"Got it, Kakashi," Pakkun barked, leading the pack as they dispersed into the brush.
Kakashi and Guy exchanged a final look and charged in after them. Clashes of steel and muffled shouts soon echoed through the trees.
Boom!
An explosive tag detonated, the shockwave jolting Raizen awake.
"Ah!" a feminine voice gasped.
"Princess, you—" Raizen stared, eyes wide, at Tsukihime.
Was this girl trying to stage a midnight raid on him? He opened his eyes to see her standing over him with a devious smirk.
"Hmph! Consider yourself lucky. I'll get my revenge next time!" She huffed and flickered out of the room instantly.
"She's still holding a grudge about earlier today..." Raizen shook his head, quickly rolling out of bed.
The rest of the household was now awake. Lights flickered on in the various rooms. Raizen threw on his clothes and stepped out into the hallway.
"Raizen-kun!"
The women gathered around him, looks of worry on their faces.
"There's a fight outside the compound walls. Stay inside and don't come out. I'm going to check it out. If there's danger here, fire a signal flare immediately; I'll be back in an instant."
"Be careful, Raizen-kun," Kurenai urged.
Raizen nodded. "I will. You all stay vigilant as well."
With that, Raizen used a series of Flying Raijin markers he had placed around the clan grounds to teleport closer to the source of the blast. Under the pale moonlight, he saw Kakashi and Guy engaged in a fierce struggle with several masked figures.
"Lightning Blade!"
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
Guy's kick sent two enemies flying, while Kakashi used the opening to pierce the chests of two others in rapid succession. The remaining two, seeing the tide turn, attempted to flee. Guy intercepted them with a lightning-fast strike, slamming them into a massive tree.
Kakashi retracted his hand. "Guy, don't kill them! We need at least two alive for interrogation."
The two captured ninjas looked at each other, bit down on poison capsules hidden in their teeth, and collapsed.
"Dammit, they're suicide agents!" Guy cursed.
The battle ended, leaving six corpses on the forest floor.
Shunshin!
Raizen landed nearby. Guy and Kakashi started for a moment, then relaxed when they realized it was him.
"You're here, Raizen!"
"Mhm." Raizen walked over to one of the bodies and pulled off the mask. It was an unfamiliar face. "Guy, Kakashi, do you recognize any of these men?"
They knelt down and shook their heads. "No. I've never seen them before."
Raizen checked every single body. All of them were strangers. "Do you think they broke into the Uchiha district for the Princess, or for us?"
"There's no information to be sure," Kakashi said. He had a suspicion, but he kept it to himself. When the six had first entered, he had sensed a much larger perimeter force surrounding the district—far more than six ninjas could manage. Once these six were defeated, the external presence had vanished.
Raizen's face darkened as he pried open one of the corpses' mouths. He looked at the tongue. Sure enough, there was a mark.
Is it you, Danzo?!
I truly underestimated just how far you would go.
"A seal?" Guy frowned, leaning in. "What kind of seal is this?"
Kakashi looked but didn't recognize it either. He had been in the regular ANBU, not the Root, so the Cursed Tongue Seal was unknown to him.
"I have to thank you both for tonight," Raizen said, giving them a slight bow.
Guy laughed. "Don't be so formal. We were the ones on watch tonight anyway. These enemies came right after the Princess arrived; they must have been after her. Protecting her is our duty."
"Regardless, thank you."
Kakashi spoke up, "Let's clean up these bodies. Pakkun, go to the Hokage Building. Report this to Lord Third and ask for reinforcements."
"Understood, Kakashi." Pakkun barked and took off.
"I'll leave the cleanup to you," Raizen said. "I need to go back and check on the Princess and the others." He was worried there might be more infiltrators, so he wanted to be at his wives' side.
Once Raizen was gone, Guy turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi... do you think Raizen knows something?"
"I'm not sure," Kakashi replied, his eye fixed on the path Raizen took.
A Secret Room
Danzō Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane were waiting for news. A Root ninja flickered in and knelt.
"The operation failed."
The three elders stiffened. Danzō's face was thunderous. "How could it fail? What happened?"
"Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy were there. They eliminated all six members of the entry team."
"Kakashi and Guy? What were they doing in the Uchiha district?" Koharu asked, bewildered.
Homura's brow furrowed. "Did Hiruzen see through our plan? Did he send them there specifically to obstruct us?"
Danzō shook his head. "Impossible. We have been here since the plan was finalized. There was no way for the information to leak to Hiruzen."
"Could there be a mole in your Root?" Koharu suggested.
"My men bear my seal. They cannot leak information."
"Then how do you explain Kakashi and Guy being in the Uchiha compound in the middle of the night?" Koharu pressed.
"Could it have been a coincidence?" Homura mused.
Koharu narrowed her eyes. "With the plan failed, a second attempt will be much harder. Both Raizen and Hiruzen will be on high alert now."
Danzō's expression was cold and murderous. "Alert or not, it makes little difference. It will just take time to rotate in more unfamiliar faces from the outside. Hmph! That brat Raizen got lucky tonight. Next time, I will ensure he meets his end."