Veiled Schemes

Red Spider Lily (Minato's Point of View)

Minato just stood there, trying to understand what the hell was going on. For some reason, a third of the Hyuga Clan had covertly exited Konoha without authorization. Now, if they were just clan shinobi, it wouldn't be his business. However, over half of them were part of his military forces, making their actions illegal.

Not only that, but there was an entrance that he fully expected led straight under the Hyuga compound, an entrance to the village without his authorization. Regardless of what permissions they may have received to build it, knowingly keeping him unaware of its presence was also illegal.

In fact, without even asking for permission, one of his ANBU captains took a small team to map out the passageway. That was how overtly illegal this situation was; his troops didn't even need to ask what he wanted them to do.

'And they used to complain about the Uchiha…' he thought mockingly, finding it ironic that Konoha's previous leadership was so wary of the red-eyed clan when the Hyuga were just as bad. At least the Uchiha were upfront with their arrogance.

Another annoying part of this situation was simply that they didn't have time for it. For most of the day, he had been preparing for the Kazekage's arrival to the village. They were to discuss their plans for the joint chunin exams in a couple of months. Normally, these conversations would be held remotely, but that was always troublesome with how poor long distance conference calls were. Therefore, since the villages had been at peace for so long and with the sand village being one of Konoha's longest allies, they decided to have this conversation in person.

Minato especially appreciated the fact that the man proposed this in-person venture himself; this was proof that his sensei's dream wasn't a mistake. For a man as old fashioned as Rasa to suggest this was miraculous to say the least. If that weren't time consuming enough, he recently had another pressing matter added to his plate.

He had received word an hour ago that his daughter would be teleporting one of Orochimaru's bases to Konoha intact. He wasn't sure whether to scold her for the silliness of the idea or applaud her for giving their forensic analysts the chance to examine one of these facilities in detail. This would be the first time they would have the opportunity to do so. Sure, Kamui said she was able to read the scientist's memories, but there were clues even those scientists weren't aware were in that compound. Researchers typically didn't know forensics after all.

In normal circumstances, he might request that she not do that. Instead, he would teleport the team toward the base so clues could be analyzed in the surrounding area. However, from everything he's heard about the island so far, that's not realistic. The island itself was too dangerous to send them there like that. Therefore, bringing the base here was the best option. Between that and this new 'contract' his daughter mysteriously acquired, Orochimaru might even come to them, rather than having to be hunted as originally planned.

Speaking of his daughter's new subordinate, he needed to start registering her into the village system. He already had preliminary records for the Kocho Clan from Reina. Now, he'd need to create one for her too. While there wasn't much he could do before she got here, he could at least begin talks with the clan heads in advance. His daughter's letter made it clear that she wanted the girl to be part of Team Yugao.

It was a highly unusual request to say the least, but if she assumes the risk for the girl's actions, it shouldn't be too hard to get through. Despite being partially raised by Orochimaru, his daughter seems to trust her, and Ibiki will provide a professional opinion which will supply the village with a tangible form of evidence. Beyond that, she had Kocho blood and the support of the future clan head; there was definitely precedent for taking in people with clan blood born outside of the village. The only clan who took a hardline approach to these things, was the one that was causing the current situation. Speaking of…

"Minato, what happened?" Hiashi, his old friend, asked with feigned surprise. Despite the shocked expressed on his face, Minato could see a different story in his eyes. His friend wasn't really surprised; it was a well-veiled façade.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking? While we don't know who did this, we do know they likely defended themselves. What were this many Hyuga Clansmen doing outside of the village without my consent?" Minato asked, his eyes narrowed.

Hiashi's feigned surprise faded into stoicism.

"That's clan business Minato. I can't tell you that." He stoically stated, eliciting a powerful flair of chakra from his Hokage.

"Oh, is that how you want to play it? Fine. Let's focus on village business. What were my men doing out here conducting an operation without my consent? Specifically, the ones part of Konoha's shinobi forces. Why is there a passage running under the village that I, the Hokage, wasn't informed of?" Minato authoritatively asked, not allowing the standard political excuses to keep him from the truth.

Hiashi shook his head, unfazed by the man's commanding tone.

"If you want to know more about that tunnel, we're going to need to bring lord third into the conversation. It was built during his administration. As for this operation, I am physically unable to tell you. Instead of answering that question right away, I would like to propose a compromise. Why don't we discuss it over tea? You can even bring your wives to help validate my story." Hiashi proposed.

Minato's narrowed eyes widened at the suggestion. If validation was what the man wanted, Ibiki and Inoichi would be better choices. No, this is about him being physically unable to talk; Hiashi's suggesting that he's been sealed. It can't be the caged bird seal though, since that needs to be on a specific area of the body, the forehead. As the registered clan head of one of the most prestigious clans in Konoha, Hiashi being sealed in some way was absurd. This needed to be investigated immediately.

"Fine. However, let me be clear. I am formally ordering the officially registered clan head of the Hyuga Clan, Hiashi Hyuga, to attend a meeting to discuss this matter further in a private setting of my choosing. You may bring anyone you feel can help explain the story, except for other members of the Hyuga Clan. Should anyone in the village make any attempt to stop you from attending or compel you to falsify information, they will be guilty of treason against Konoha and will be handled accordingly. Is that understood?" Minato formally ordered, giving his friend the excuse he needed to come clean.

There were a lot of restrictions on the Hokage's power when dealing with the clans, but a lot of those didn't apply when Konoha forces were involved. In this case, he was using the fact that Hiashi was still registered as the clan head to get him in a private setting. Regardless of who was really running things behind the scenes, they didn't have any official authority in the village unless they were registered in a clan position. That and any seal Hiashi might have on his person could be removed by either Kushina or, in the worst case, his daughter when she returned.

"Understood." Hiashi nodded in stoic approval, glad that his friend was astute enough to read between the lines. He had to be very careful with what he said, or he wouldn't even know when he died. He would never say this out loud, but seals like these were the reasons why the Uzumaki were annihilated. They were terrifying to those who weren't educated in their workings.

"Now, the ANBU will continue to investigate this scene. As Hyuga clansmen were involved, a report will be sent to your clan. We will also brief everything to the shinobi council upon completion. Is that clear?" Minato asked, this time in a calmer tone.

"It is." Hiashi replied.

"Good. I'll talk to you later then. I have to get back to the investigation. By the way, remember to arrive on time tomorrow for the Kazekage's delegation. We'll be discussing the proceedings for the Chunin exams." Minato said, ending the conversation.

Nodding, Hiashi gazed at the final expression on the late Clan Matron's face, let out the first smile he's had in the past few hours, and walked away. Despite the tragedy that must have happened to cause Mami to do all of this, he was thankful that the Hyuga could no longer hide behind 'Clan Business.'

Quickly though, his smile faded back into a stoic façade.

'Father, I hope you are prepared. Regardless of how the politics play out, we will have no place in Konoha once public opinion sets in. We will all pay for our sins.' He thought somberly. A few moments later, he realized something that brought out a light chuckle.

'It's like the Uchiha situation all over again.'

Kocho Village (The Next Morning) (Kamui's Point of View)

On the northern shore of Shinobu Island, a small village stood prominently in a large clearing. The buildings were cylindrical and primarily composed of brick and stone. They were grouped into four quadrants that made up a circle. Separating each quadrant were small canals that fed into a central garden where the Kocho raised batches of poisonous plants for various purposes.

To say the village bordered the island wouldn't be truly accurate. In truth, it was a man-made island built on top of the ocean and simply bordered the northern edge of Shinobu Island's Coast. By being separated from the main island in this way, the village structures were safe from most of the island's non-human residents. However, while the village may have been beautiful before, now it looked miserable.

The buildings had shards of earth wedged into them. The streets had visible traces of dried blood caked on. Even the smell of the nearby water was muted by the faint stench of blood. The deary scenery made it clear how the sound four established their dominance.

Forming a perimeter around the village was a large group of mindless ogres that seemed to bumble in place. It wasn't overtly obvious, but based on what's known about Tayuya, either she got an upgrade to her skill set or these creatures acted in response to proximity.

On the outskirts of the western quadrant, four Kunoichi peered out from one of the collapsed buildings. After teleporting Orochimaru's base to Konoha, they quickly packed their belongings and teleported to one of Kamui's buried marked kunai.

The clone that chose this location selected a collapsed structure with no utility to either the village's residents or the sound four. On the building's walls, she placed a seal that cast a subtle genjutsu that made it harder for anyone to put their focus on it. It was the same one Danzo used on the journal section of the library all those years ago, just with a few tweaks. Without any dojutsu users in the sound four capable of seeing chakra, it was extremely hard to detect. Even if Tayuya was a capable genjutsu user, detecting one that fooled all of Konoha was beyond her skill set. This helped prevent the kunai's discovery and gave them a starting point for their infiltration.

"All things considered, Jirobo really must have been conservative with this." Naga casually commented, surprised at how much architecture was still standing.

"Naga." Yugao angrily spat out; while the volume may have been muted, anger saturated her tone. "Be a little more sensitive. This was Reina's home."

Naga shrugged in response. She wasn't trying to be hurtful; it was just the truth of the situation. Jirobo would normally level any structure he was assaulting. The fact that this place was still in as good of a shape as it was told a great deal.

"No, I agree with her assessment. Thank you though." Reina evenly commented, agreeing with Naga's assessment of the situation despite its lack of tact. It wouldn't do to waste time sugar coating the situation when they should be focusing on her clan's salvation.

Yugao nodded from her position, ignoring the smirk that had found itself on Naga's face.

'She's definitely Orochimaru's daughter….' Yugao tiredly thought to herself.

"Anyways, Kamui, have you located the Kocho Clansmen? What's their situation?" Yugao asked, drawing the attention of Reina, who had a similar question, and Naga, who was confused why Kamui was being asked that question. She knew Kamui had a powerful dojutsu, but she knew it didn't have the byakugan's ability of omnipresent sight.

Hearing the question, Kamui turned to her sensei and answered, "It doesn't look like much has changed since my clones were here. Everyone seems to be going about their business. Occasionally, Kocho Clansmen are ordered to go to the bunker Jirobo created in the gardens area. If I were to guess, there's either something being injected into them, or something's being extracted." Kamui summarized her clones' findings.

The group went silent for a few moments, pondering on what their objective would be.

"Blood…." Reina inaudibly mumbled to herself.

"What?" Yugao asked, being the only one, aside from Reina, without supernatural hearing.

"They want our blood. Although our poisons are similar, part of our bloodline's ability is absorbing external toxins to augment our internal poison. We even have techniques to store different types. If I'm correct, they're harvesting us." Reina explained, her eyes narrowed in fury at the prospects of being milked like cattle.

Naga nodded at Reina's guess.

"That's what I thought as well. With how brutal those four normally are, it seems odd that they went to the trouble of allowing the Kocho Clansmen to go about their business like this. There's also the fact that there isn't much more they can learn that they don't already know from their experiments. I'm sure Kamui can speak to that." Naga explained her thoughts, receiving a grim nod from Kamui, who experienced the scientist's memories. Naga continued, "I think they're trying to collect as much poison as possible for an attack of some sort. By keeping the clansmen calm, they can ensure their bodies recover the lost poison faster, which speeds up the collection process. I don't know what would demand this overt of an operation, but it must be big."

Hearing this, Kamui's eyes widened in realization. Everything came together as her mind finally connected the gathered puzzle pieces.

"They're planning to use this against Konoha." She muttered.

Yugao's eyes widened at the statement, now seeing the connections between the mass aggregation of rogue Iwa shinobi and this poison collection effort. In reality, the only reason Kamui thought of it faster than her was because she was more involved in the village's efforts to investigate this than Yugao was.

"Konoha doesn't have many defenses against poison with Tsunade Senju outside of the village. I remember the snake talking about it at length. At first, he would laugh off the method as being too cowardly. Over time though, he slowly came around to the idea, especially whenever he was reminded of the Fourth Hokage's overwhelming strength." Naga commented, remembering her 'father's' opinions on the subject whenever his subordinates would ask.

The group once again descended into silence, each contemplating the ramifications from their separate perspectives. Kamui and Yugao considered the different scenarios from Konoha's perspective. Reina did so from her clan's perspective and the effects this may have on their bodies in the long-term. Naga mainly thought of where Orochimaru must be in his planning to be making these 'loud' types of moves.

"At least the sound four are still here. That means they should still be in the preparation phase at the very least. I'd be more concerned if they had left." Kamui commented, trying to find the positive in their grim situation.

"Agreed. Despite what we've learned, nothing changes in our approach. Kamui, how hard would it be to extract all these people and bring them back to the village? Would you be able to do it in one go?" Yugao asked, realizing that this mission just elevated in importance significantly.

"I should be able to. We'll need their help though. I'll need them to gather in one place, or at least as many as possible. The rest will have to be done individually.

"Alternatively, we don't have to gather anyone and just tag them with flying thunder god seals. I can have a few shadow clones turn into mice and make a marking run. I'll modify the mark to connect to a central node as if each were a shadow clone; it's a technique my dad came up with over a decade ago. It's intended purpose is to evacuate the village quickly in the event of a tailed-beast-level threat.

"Truthfully, I think option two's the most realistic. While my clones are making their runs, I'll take a vantage point and watch. When it's time for extraction, the scroll should have finished charging. Since I'm only teleporting everyone a few miles into the fog swamp, the chakra cost should be relatively low, even if we are teleporting the whole clan; at least, the scroll shouldn't take too long to charge." Kamui replied, trying to be as realistic as possible.

Yugao pondered on the suggestion. She knew what technique Kamui was talking about. She had been one of the ANBU the fourth used the technique on during tests. He even made it part of the village emergency protocols. All members of his elite unit knew how to implement that type of plan should he call for it.

In this situation, it'd be perfect. Kamui would be able to do it with minimal risk. They'd basically be able to tag everyone without worrying about untrained villagers exposing the plot too early, planted moles informing their employers, the change in behavior arousing suspicion, etc. The good thing about the teleportation marks is that they're invisible by default; they're only visible if the sealer intentionally wants them to be.

"It's a really good thing the snake never managed to learn teleportation. Just this plan and the mass teleport you used to bring that facility to Konoha proves that point." Naga muttered, shuddering at the thought of her 'father' gaining such a useful ability.

The others quickly nodded at that. Orochimaru being able to teleport between locations would be a disaster for everyone. He would instantly go from a disgusting nuisance to a very serious threat to the survival of the five great nations. That's just how much of an amp teleportation would give him.

"Agreed." Yugao stated to Naga. Turning back to Kamui, she continued, "As for the matter of the plan, we'll go with option two. Your clones will tag everyone in the village without their knowledge. The last thing we'll do before confronting the sound four is confront Reina's father. We need to know more about his relationship with Orochimaru and see if we can weed out any complicit moles before we bring them to the village."

"Right." Kamui acknowledged, the three nodding to Yugao's plan. Saving the confrontation for last made sense. They didn't know if Reina's father had some means of contacting the sound four or Orochimaru, so making sure the teleportation business was handled first would hopefully prevent any accidents from happening.

"Let's get started then. While Kamui's clones are doing that, we'll do some recon on the layout of the village. It'll likely be our battlefield." Yugao stated.

With that, the four made their preparations to scout the village. It was time to see what they were working with.

On her way to her own preparations, Kamui had a hopeful thought, 'All things considered, this mission's conclusion should be simple. We've considered everything we could up to this point and planned accordingly. What could possibly go wrong?'