"Danzo-sama had his own branch of the ANBU, to run missions the Hokage could not be known to have accepted. I know of operations dating back to the Second War. The Hokage was not officially aware of the existence of ANBU Root, but tacitly permitted Danzo-sama's actions, until the date of the Uchiha Massacre. The Uchiha were spying on Konoha, planning a coup. Danzo-sama had Uchiha Emi as an informant, and acted unilaterally to remove the threat. Sarutobi-sama ordered the disbandment of Root afterwards; Danzo-sama reduced our activities, but continued the program in order to protect Konoha from exceptional threats."

"We have documents on almost all missions carried out, except those seen to personally by Danzo-sama. Danzo-sama also operated his own spy network, which reported solely to him. Not all of the information was passed on. I... Currently know only of myself and two other living Root operatives; Uchiha Emi and Uchiha Rian killed all other members present in Konoha when they defected. Presumably most of the spy network and external operatives remain in place, but we have been unable to contact them."

Black ops: remain a terrible idea. The fuck was her predecessor thinking?

(Also, she is sorely tempted to offer Uchiha Rian a fucking medal for killing Danzo. She won't, largely because the Uchiha is a missing-nin allied to Orochimaru, but also because it's partly the Uchiha's fault Yasumi's inherited this mess in the first place.)

"When were you recruited?" she asks.

"I no longer remember. I was raised as an operative, as were the other two I know of, operatives 607 and 611. Danzo-sama had some further recruits being trained, but I don't know their status - the facilities weren't within Konoha, and aren't responding to attempts at contact."

"They will respond to me. Thank you for bringing this to my attention; I will need the records and to meet the other two tomorrow, as early as possible." She'll have to call a meeting with Shikaku and Kakureki, and start trying to entice in or smoke out the rest of Danzo's rot.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Dismissed," she says, and waits for the girl to acknowledge and leave, then considers her schedule - she can't cancel her meetings with the various civilian portions of government without raising alarm - so she orders her secretary to put Shikaku and Kakureki in for after her current meetings. It shouldn't be suspicious for a new Hokage to work long hours, after all, though she suspects she'll be up far into the night from this debacle.

The meetings with the civilians are horribly tedious, and reveal several problems that the Third was barely addressing. She's spent long enough in the courts to pick up on the undercurrents of discontent, even though no one expresses it out loud.

They don't have faith in her ability to steer Konoha. Not yet. That's okay; they'll learn soon enough.

Shikaku and Kakureki arrive right on time, the Jounin and ANBU Commanders standing in front of her and saluting.

"You called for us, Hokage-sama?" Shikaku asks, returning to his apparently habitual slouch.

She nods. "Earlier today I received some disturbing news, about activities Danzo carried out under the previous two administrations..."

(She is, indeed, in for a very, very long night).

Satomi arrives early the next morning with Sai and Tetsuma in tow, all of Danzo's records they could scrounge sealed into simple scrolls. (There were a lot, but none of the three are sealing masters, so.)

She notes with some trepidation when she enters that both the Jounin and ANBU Commanders are present, standing at attention behind the Hokage.

All three kneel.

"Hokage-sama," she says. "I brought my comrades and the records, as ordered."

She gestures for and receives the scrolls.

"Are you aware of the location of the training facilities?"

"Yes, ma'am, they were in the records." And they name the location they're most certain of - there's several that are used on a rotating basis.

"Very well. To your knowledge, what are the full capabilities of the operatives stationed there..."

And the questioning continues.

Once she's gotten all she needs to know in the immediate term, she turns to Shikaku. "Get them settled in. You are all dismissed." Kakureki will be returning to plan out moving on Danzo's bases, but the kids don't need to know that.

Shikaku gestures for the kids to follow him. They do, eerily obedient. (He has never liked nor trusted Danzo. This whole debacle only reinforces that.)

"Do you have names you prefer, beyond your designations?" he asks.

The three glance at each other, then by silent consensus Satomi speaks up. "Yes, Nara-sama. I am Satomi, and these are Sai and Tetsuma." She gestures to each in turn.

"Good names. Now, for what we're going to do with you - you'll have a choice between retiring from service or joining Konoha as standard genin. To become genin, you'll need to take some tests and participate in a physical, to establish where you're all at. We'll keep you three together if you all want, or not if you don't, and you'll be placed into standard teams under a jounin-sensei." Who they've already decided on - Inuzuka Sesshi isn't in high demand as a jounin, but is loyal and dependable and has a good track record with trouble teams, the most recent Team Seven notwithstanding, and has recently found herself without a full team. "If you prefer being in ANBU, you'll be able to apply once you reach chunin, same as everyone."

It's Tetsuma who speaks up first this time, sure in their decision. "I'd like to remain in service, Nara-sama. Those terms are acceptable. I'd like to stay with the others, if they'd like to stay with me."

Both the others agree after a moment.

"That simplifies things. We'll get you three set up in terms of accommodations, then arrange the tests."

The kids nod, and Shikaku leads them to an apartment complex commonly used for genin without other family. He sets them up with a single three bedroom - small, but most genin accommodations are, and they're likely used to much less - and an initial stipend, then sends someone to arrange the tests.

He'll be glad when this headache is dealt with.

Sesshi has made a mostly-full recovery, with just some healing left to do in her lungs. She's also just been informed of her new team.

At least all the D-ranks will give her time to fully recover, before testing if this team has the horrible luck of her last one.

She goes to check on her remaining students - Mariko's being secretive, so Sesshi sits with her a while and coaxes most of the story out of her. She's well aware there's parts missing, such as where Mariko learned the shadow clone - she strongly suspects Orochimaru, she doesn't know if he would but she knows Mariko'd be inclined to trust anyone with Rian's chakra signature - and how Mariko got a hold of Tsunade's forfeit in their bet. They part on amicable terms; Mariko understands about the new team, and is fine with officially being Jiraiya's apprentice, even though it'll involve a lot of self-teaching. Sesshi still extends a standing invitation to visit anytime, to train or talk or just hang out, which Mariko accepts gratefully.

She visits Sakura, next, who is shaping up to be the steadiest of her students. Sakura's apparently been trying to obtain lessons at the hospital, in the hopes of becoming a medic eventually, so she won't be left helpless next time a team gets in trouble. Sesshi promises to use her connections to get Sakura a proper mentor (Shikaku owes her one now), and extends the same invitation.

Then it's time to prepare for her new team.

This... Will require a delicate touch.

They all pass their tests and physicals easily enough, and report for duty before their future sensei at the ordered time.

Satomi's never interacted with an Inuzuka before; they don't make good Root operatives. This will be interesting, at least.

"Hello, team." She starts when they're finally gathered before her. "Now, to start out, why don't we all introduce ourselves? Just the standard introduction: name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, plans for the future. I'll go first, how about? Then right to left."

She waits for them to acknowledge, then: "My name is Inuzuka Sesshi, and this is my nin-dog, Chamaru." She gestures to the massive brown dog lounging beside her. "I like dogs, especially new puppies. I dislike people who hurt animals. My hobby is training my dogs. My plan for the future is to live an ordinary life and retire to run the Inuzuka kennels."

"Now, you on the right."

That would be Tetsuma, who is a) already miserable because body, and b) completely out of her depth. "I - ah. My name is Tetsuma. I suppose I'm part of the Senju? At least genetically... I like. Trees? I dislike... Mean people. My hobby is training? And, ah, my plan for the future is to serve Konoha to the best of my ability."

"Good! Now, the next one, to Tetsuma's left."

"My designation is Sai. I have no likes, dislikes, or hobbies. My plan for the future is to serve Konoha."

"Alright. Something to work on, then."

"I'm Satomi." She weighs whether to say anything more, but their sensei seemed more at ease with Tetsuma's list than Sai's. "I like meeting people. I dislike boredom. My hobby is observing things. My plan is to serve Konoha; I find I have talents in blending in, and feel I would be best served working among different peoples." A neutral way of saying she really, truly, desperately wants to see what's outside Konoha's walls.

"It's good you've given thought to your strengths." She clasps her hands together. "Alright, team. There's a second test. Usually for new genin it's to determine if they need more training; you three already have a record, so this will determine if I'm the right jounin-sensei for you. If you fail my test, you'll be able to try again with someone different."

She waits for their acknowledgement, then continues with, "Meet me at the Inuzuka compound at eight in the morning tomorrow. You'll have the rest of today to talk together and get ready. I'll give you the details on your test tomorrow."