Departure

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"Get out of bed, Naruto! Geez, I don't understand how you ever managed to be on time for missions."

Naruto cracked his eyes open for the third time that morning as Sakura came around yet again to wake him up. This time, he pulled himself up from the warm embrace of sleep the best he could, sitting up slowly and blinking at his teammates, who were fully clothed and ready to go.

He wasn't completely awake until he had showered and dressed and they were in Tsunade's temporary office hearing the mission briefing.

Neji was already there, and Tsunade was drinking tea and reading papers. She looked up when they came in.

"Took you all long enough. I have to hear a report on the reconstruction in half an hour, so let's get this over with." She held out a scroll and Neji stepped forward to take it. "The four of you are to rendezvous with the delegation from Suna on the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind in two days' time. The coordinates are in your scroll. From there, they will escort you across the desert into Suna. If for some reason you aren't able to reach the meeting place on time, have Sai send a message ahead with your ETA."

"Will the Kazekage be there personally, Tsunade-sama?" Neji asked.

"Maybe. That was his intention, but it depends on what comes up for him between now and then. Regardless, whoever they send will be more than qualified. Send word once you arrive in Suna, and wait there for further instructions. I may need everyone except Naruto to come back soon after, since our chuunin and jounin can't be spared for long."

"When do I get to come back?" Naruto asked despondently.

"I don't know." Tsunade rested her elbows on the desk and linked her hands. She sighed. "It's time you're made aware of something. The true leader of Akatsuki, who calls himself Uchiha Madara, has declared all-out war on the Allied Shinobi Force. That's the real reason we teamed up in the first place. We aren't sure how he intends to do it, but knowing how powerful he is, and given the recent evidence that they're using the Edo Tensei... all of us are preparing for war. Where you go will depend on the enemy's movements, and how safe Suna can remain."

"What... war?" Naruto felt himself wake up very suddenly. "How can one guy declare war on entire countries? And who the hell is Uchiha Madara? I thought all the Uchiha were... you know."

"I don't have time to go into the details right now, but your teammates will bring you up to speed about that on the way." Tsunade held up a hand when Sakura looked like she was about to protest. "No. This much is necessary. Suna is in the midst of preparations just like everyone else, and keeping company with the Kazekage will make it impossible to hide the war any longer. Naruto, when you can come back depends entirely on the war. You might not be able to come back even if Suna becomes unsafe. As you've seen, we're hosting many small communities from around the Land of Fire. Our broken-down village is of the least strategic importance right now, and it can only stay that way if you are somewhere else."

Naruto pressed his lips together tightly, fighting down the horror at what he was hearing. The storehouses stocked with supplies, the patrols, the cancellation of all regular missions, the Alliance... it all made sense now. He thought it was a little unusual that regular missions had been stopped when the opposite had been the case after Orochimaru's attack in his time. Now he knew why.

"You are right," he said finally. "It's probably better if I'm not here. But... there has to be something that I can do to help! I can't just hide behind people forever and let them be in danger for me, whether it's Suna or Konoha, or anyone!"

Tsunade chuckled darkly. "You don't have to tell me how you feel about it, Naruto. I know. You forget: I've been dealing with you for far longer than you have been dealing with me. But what do you want me to do? Even if the enemy hadn't specifically targeted you, do you think I'm going to send any 12-year-old genin out to war any sooner than absolutely necessary? Would you have me throw Konohamaru and all the others into it, too?" she looked at him over her clenched hands. Her eyes burned with a fierce fire, and Naruto remembered suddenly that her little brother had been killed in war... the same age as him. He swallowed.

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