While Konoha somewhat found peace in the past year, with fewer wars going on, fewer attacks, and a lower death rate, it was not long-lasting. It was just like the calm before the storm. But little did they know; nothing they did would have prepared them for this storm.

The sun had yet to rise, but Itsuko already found herself on the way to the Hokage's building. Unlike her usual, she was confused. Waking up to an empty bed was no longer normal. Kakashi had left without a word. She knew this would be the doing of Tsunade sending him on some mission. Nonetheless, it made no sense to her that Kakashi hadn't even left a word before leaving. It just wasn't like him at all.

"Tsunade, what did you make Kakashi do this time?" Itsuko stormed into her office, demanding an answer from the lady Hokage. As usual, she took no care for formalities and the fact that it was barely sunrise yet.

"Kakashi...Akatsuki..." Yawning, Tsunade managed to spill out a few words before she collapsed back into her dreamland. Knowing her, she probably had too much to drink again. This immediately put Itsuko on heightened alarm. Akatsuki? Tsunade should have known better than to send him or anyone on a mission against the Akatsuki after what happened to Jiraiya.

After rummaging through her messy pile of files, Itsuko managed to find a brief report on the mission she had sent Kakashi on. It was supposedly a tip on a good amount of Konoha ninjas that we all thought were dead, apparently still lived. There were far too many to be ignored. Of course, the catch was they were only willing to give more information if we met them in person. They had requested for Kakashi Hatake specifically, claiming that he would be able to meet someone he held close to his heart. Obito Uchiha.

This did more than put Itsuko on edge. She was worried, upset, and confused. Obito died! This was obviously a trap. He couldn't be alive. They were at his funeral. She needed to check this for herself and also ensure Kakashi's safety. She knew she would be able to handle the Akatsuki better than he could. With that, Itsuko left almost immediately. But was she already too late?

-

"Granny Tsunade! I don't know what Kurama is saying, but Itsuko-sensei seems to be in trouble!" Naruto said, partly panting as he sprinted all the way to the Hokage's office the moment he heard something weird from Kurama. While he was starting to get along better with Kurama, there were still instances where he didn't understand his perspective and the things he was saying.

Seeming less hangover now, Tsunade managed to process what Naruto told her. Apparently, Kurama had demanded Naruto to head over to Itsuko and stop her from whatever she was doing. Tsunade knew if even the nine-tailed fox was growing concerned, it would have to be rather serious. And the only thing that came to mind was Kakashi and the Akatsuki. But how did she know? She couldn't have seen the report. That was the moment she realized it was no longer in the hidden spot she placed it in. It was wide open right in front of her. Itsuko must have found it, and if that was the case, things were going to get ugly. First and foremost, she would definitely be upset with Tsunade for sending Kakashi on the mission. Secondly, her appearance may interfere with the meeting and hinder them from gathering the information they needed. But she had no time to deal with it at the moment. The peripheral guards had rung the distinct emergency siren. They've been infiltrated. But by who? It's been about a year since they were last under attack.

"Yoohoo~ Looks like the great Hokage made a grave mistake by letting their greatest fighter get away! So now we can finally make Konoha our playground!"

At that moment, his presence had answered Tsunade's question. This had been their plan all along, and they have played right into their hands. Indeed it was her mistake that Itsuko had escaped right through her palms in their times of need. "Naruto, regroup with the others. We will end this battle and take revenge for all those the Akatsuki has killed. We are not going to let their sacrifices go to waste!"

It was only until they were on the battlefield did they realize the Akatsuki wasn't their only worry. Many other strong shinobis were attacking Konoha. As unorganized as they seemed, Tsunade was almost sure that this had been planned by a mastermind way ahead of time. Though many others felt the same, they couldn't do anything about it. They were overwhelmed. There was just way too many of them. Some held grudges against Konoha, some wanted the bounty, and the rest just enjoyed slaughtering.

Counterattacks by Konoha only went on till noon until the village's minds had concluded that it was impossible for them to get the upper hand in this fight with their current power. There were already too many casualties on their side, and they were still losing. The Akatsuki members were strong, and they had numbers on their side. They needed to stall for time until their sword came back to them. It wasn't until this desperate moment that many shinobis realized that Itsuko alone had warded them against war with other villages. They had all feared her power and how brutal she was. She made up for the numbers in Konoha since she had more power than anyone else. Now that she wasn't here, they were more vulnerable, especially since the village had recently lost many of their strong and valuable fighters too. The newbies simply lacked in experience against opponents this strong.

Their best bet now was to go defensive to try to minimize the number of casualties. Many have gone into hiding under the protection of the Anbus, who were dealing with this better than the rest. After all, Itsuko never made their training any easier. Tsunade made her way around to save those who were heavily injured. The others who could still fight were put on guard to protect the weak.

They had no other choice, their offense was not enough, and their defense barely stood steady.