Hope from the Shadows

Chapter 2: Home of Shadows

Disclaimer

When he received the report on Kitsune and Karasu's condition from his medic-nin, the Sandaime Hokage promptly shoved aside what he was doing and began to skim through the pages. He sighed in relief once he realized that while their injuries were quite serious, both shinobi would pull through.

Coming to a certain page of the report, the old leader chuckled lightly, it seemed no matter his age Kitsune still had the endearing habit of mumbling in his sleep. While the act was amusing, the words said were certainly not...

Madara...

Juubi...

Dead...all...of them...

Deserted Konoha...

Aliendel doesn't own Naruto, all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto...

Chakra drained...

Sakura...

Kaka-

Wait, what? Turning to his medic-nin the Sandaime asked in a sharp voice, "Is this report accurate?"

If Nezumi was offended that her leader questioned her abilities, she didn't let it show. She simply replied "Yes Hokage-sama" in a blank tone.

"Then how do you explain this weird sentence he mumbled? I didn't see any mention of brain injury in your report."

"Because I didn't find any sir. Would you like me to do some more tests to make sure?"

"Please do so and I want to see the results as soon as you get them" ordered the Sandaime, his fear making his tone harsher than it should.

"Yes Hokage-sama" once again replied the female ANBU before bowing and leaving the office.

Sighing, the old man reluctantly returned to his endless Paperwork but his mind was still on the injured shinobi. He really hoped Kitsune didn't suffer from permanent brain damage or else he would never be able to forgive himself. He should definitely have stopped the blond man from leaving on his reckless self-assigned mission six years ago.

Home of the shadows

The location of the true ANBU headquarters was one of Konoha's most well-guarded secret. Of course there was another official building with the same name and any shinobi could find it with some probing and a few well placed questions. It was mostly a facade, a fake to keep both allies and enemies alike away from the highly classified world of ANBU. The official building served as living quarters for the black ops members, meeting place for the Squads as well as storage for unimportant files and information the village wanted to leak out.

The important things all took place in the true headquarters and its security was a work of art. For one, it was located under the Hokage tower so if someone wanted to get in, they had to first infiltrate the building which was not an easy feat. Then they would have to pass all the guards, seals and traps set by Konoha's best experts since its founding. Among the seals in place, some were from the Yondaime and Mito-sama herself. However, before even attempting to sneak in, one had to know where it was located. The higher ups of the village and the ANBU members were the only ones privy to the information. Even amongst the black ops, one had to be in service for at least a year before being told and once they retired, a Yamanaka would erased their memories of it.

As if that level of security was insufficient, the last level of the headquarters was even better guarded. There were enough fingers on both hands to count the number of people with access to it. On that basement floor, there was a room in which only the Hokage himself and his most trusted medic Nezumi could enter. The room was where the two mysterious nins found by Inu's squad were currently recovering from their injuries.