Shikaku Nara knew a lot of things.

He knew where the herds were probably grazing.

He knew the formula to the Akimichi food pills.

He knew his son was smarter than him.

He knew Yoshino would murder him if she ever found his porn stash.

He also knew that seeing Momiji appear in the Hokage's office twice in one week was a very bad sign.

"Hokage-sama," the dog said with a bow of her head. "Princess sends urgent news."

Sarutobi smiled a little around his pipe, no doubt glad to be freed, however momentarily, from the small mountain of paperwork the dog was now sitting on. "Report."

"Hai! Princess and her team retrieved the team from Suna and began their return trip a few days ago. However, they have been attacked. I don't know why or by whom, but she sent me here to inform you, regardless."

Shikaku straightened from his slouch. "Is she ok?"

The dog turned big brown eyes on him. "Yes. She and one of the Sand genin were together when I left. They had been separated from the others, but she sent out Sano and Tetsu to investigate. They also managed to apprehend one of their attackers using one of the Sand boy's techniques."

"How far are they from here?"

"Two days' travel, maybe one if you hurry."

Shikaku turned to the Hokage, ready to ask for permission to go to his student's aid, but the older man was already nodding, waving a hand dismissively.

"Go, go," he said grimly. "Those genin are the Kazekage's own children. We would be remiss if we didn't react accordingly."

Shikaku bowed quickly and left the office at a decent clip, mind whirling. The click click click of nails on wood had him looking down at Momiji.

"Princess told me to accompany any relief forces," she said, probably reading his mind with the power inherent in all females.

He hummed, then stopped. "Can you find Kakashi? I'm pretty sure his team is still in the village. Have him meet me by the gate if you can, come alone if you can't. I'll wait for ten minutes."

"Hai!" She disappeared in a puff of smoke and he wondered idly if poofing in and out of existence ever got tiring.

He left the building through a conveniently open window and leapt across the rooftops toward the village gate. Who would attack a joint team of Konoha and Suna genin and their jounin senseis? While higher ranking ninja could probably take on one team, two posed a unique challenge. According to Momiji, Hanako was ok, but there was no word on Guy and his students. While it was highly unlikely that Guy would be brought down—by anyone—the genin were a different story. The Hokage said the Sand genin were the Kazekage's kids, but that didn't really mean anything to him. What were their abilities? How old were they? What skills did their jounin sensei have?

There were too many variables.

"Yo!"

Shikaku looked up, only just realizing that he'd made it to the gate. Kakashi was standing under it, his hand raised in greeting and his expression deceptively casual. Momiji was sitting on his shoulder, looking for all the world like she belonged there.

"Kakashi," he said, coming to stand beside the younger jounin. "I assume Momiji told you?"

"Yep! Is it just us?"

"Do we need more?"

Kakashi huffed a little laugh. "Mah, I guess we are a bit overkill as it is, huh?"

Shikaku smiled grimly. "Oh, definitely."

They said little after that, launching themselves into the trees without hesitation. The silence and repetitive motions lulled his mind, and he found himself thinking again.

Who would attack Might Guy? He was a well-known figure with entries in most Bingo Books. His bounty was certainly high enough to be tempting, but there was a reason no one ever tired to collect it. Could someone be after Neji's Byakugan? Kumo had tried for it once before, and they were sending a team to the Chunin Exams this year, too. Would Kumo risk a war with both Konoha and Suna, though? A was an ass, but he wasn't stupid. Could the Kazekage's children be the targets? It would make sense if someone was trying to stir up tensions between Konoha and Suna. If anything happened to those kids, the Kazekage would be within his rights to demand compensation and the Hokage would be hard pressed to deny him. That being said, it was no secret that Suna also desired kekkei genkai of their own. They may also be trying to get their hands on the Byakugan and stir up trouble between Konoha and Kumo while they were at it.

Of course, there was another option, but he was loath to truly consider it.

After serving as Hanako's sensei for a year, Kakashi had finally deigned to tell him of her true origins. It had left him with more questions than answers, if he was being honest, but it also raised some troubling possibilities.

Someone had hunted her mother down. He'd read the autopsy report, and many of her injuries were already old when she died, made worse by continued stress and movement. Kakashi also admitted, after another year or two, that Hanako was still afraid someone would come for her.

Had they? Was this attack meant to finish what her mother's killers had started? It wouldn't be hard to figure out where she was, if someone looked. According to Kakashi, she looked almost exactly like her mother. Was that why she wore the mask? To hide from her enemies? Had it even made a difference, if they found her anyway?

There were too many variables.

For now, all he could to was postulate. He'd accomplish nothing by thinking himself into a corner. Better to wait until he had more information before latching on to any one idea.

Forcing himself from his introspection, taking ion his surroundings. The sun was low on the horizon, purple sky peeking through the canopy. The breeze was cool with the promise of night and autumn, with the hesitant beginnings of insect song rising up beneath their feet.

"Mah, you sure took your time," Kakashi drawled beside him, Momiji still perched neatly on his shoulder. The other man wore an expression Shikaku might have called amused, if his daughter's life weren't hanging in the balance. "Think up anything useful?"

Shikaku scoffed. "Nothing I can confirm."

Kakashi didn't reply, instead turning his head to listen to something Hanako's summons whispered in his ear. He nodded, then met Shikaku's eyes. "This way."

Shikaku changed direction without complaint. Two days of standard travel for genin level shinobi typically amounted to around two thousand kilometers of distance covered. For two elite jounin, that distance was easily covered in half the time, if not less.

Soon, all the variables would be laid bare and he could actually start planning.