CHAPTER ONE

A NEW MISSION

Growing up as the heir of the Uchiha Clan, Fugaku had no time for frivolous endeavors. His father expected the very best of him. No... his father expected him to be far superior to all those around him. He had to outshine his classmates at the Academy. He had to be the model Uchiha. He had to obey the Clan Head's – his father's – every command without question. He... he could write a book... no not a mere book... He could write an entire series of all the things that were expected of him as the Uchiha Heir. With such high expectations, he never got around to making friends or forming bonds outside of the clan.

Today was just another one of those days were his father made more plans for the future of the clan. More specifically, more plans for his future. When he had left the district early that morning to go training, his father had told him to report back in time for breakfast.

He let out a sigh as the large wooden gates to the Uchiha District came into view. Another thing that had always bothered him was the fact that it seemed as if the clan was shut off from the rest of the village, although he never put much thought into it.

The dark haired teen's footsteps were silent as he walked through the gates that always seemed to be opened. As he made his way towards the Uchiha Manor, he was greeted by warm smiles from the women, silent nods from the men, stares of admiration from the girls, and slight scowls from the boys. Finally reaching the entrance to his home, he entered through the back door, removed his shoes, and quickly made his way to the kitchen.

As he neared the dining room, he could vaguely make out his father's voice along with two others his didn't recognize. Upon entering the room he was greeted by the sight of his father and three others sitting around the table that was only used for special occasions.

His father – whom everyone said he was the spitting image of – sat at the head of the table. The man looked more relaxed than usual as he spoke to the man who had taken a seat to his left.

He recognized the man as Uchiha Takumi. The man had his straight shoulder length black hair and dark eyes much like the rest of the clan. His skin held a warm tan much like Fugaku's, and he wore the traditional uniform of Chunin and Jonin, the only difference was on the sleeves of his shirt where it had the police force symbol rather than the Uzumaki crest. If Fugaku remembered correctly, the man was of Jonin status. He even tried enlisting in the ANBU, but was rejected when he failed to meet the requirements or impress the Sandaime with his skills and ended up working for the police force instead. The man was also quite proud and was quick to lose his temper. He was also one of the strongest members of the clan, and was almost on equal terms as his father.

Sitting beside Takumi was his wife Hikaru. The woman was every bit like her name. She was radiant. Her long black hair flowed down her back in soft curls, and her dark eyes seemed to shine even in the dim lighting of the dining room. Her lavender colored kimono seemed to shift with every movement of her body, and like the majority of the women of the Uchiha Clan, she was tall.

Sitting opposite the woman was another figure he acknowledged as Uchiha Shizuka, the daughter of Takumi and Hikaru. Shizuka took more after her father in looks and personality than she did her mother. She wore her black hair up in a tight bun held in place by two senbon, and her eyes held the same cold and distant look as her father's. She was a loyal member of the clan and was of Chunin rank. She was tall like her mother and wore a light blue dress that reached about mid-thigh. Fugaku would be stupid to not consider the girl attractive.

When he had left the manor at five that morning, he was slightly confused as to why his father stressed her be home on time for breakfast which was always served at seven. As soon as his eyes landed on Shizuka, he knew why it was so important he be on time.

"Ah Fugaku, take a seat," his father stated motioning the seat to his left, which also happened to be the seat next to Shizuka.

The next hour passed in a flurry of conversation and preparations. Fugaku and Shizuka's engagement party was to be held in six months from then, and their wedding was to take place sometime in early to mid-January. All other things discussed were lost on Fugaku. He didn't care for flower arrangements or cakes or anything to do with planning those two events in particular, and decided to leave those decisions up to his fiancé and her mother.

Fugaku calmly walked down the path towards the Missions Office. His hands were tucked deeply into the pockets of his pants. He was hoping to be sent out on another mission to pass the time; if only to get away from all the planning and congratulations from the other members of his clan. It was a strange thing for him to be the center of attention for something that really didn't mean anything – to him at least. I suppose marriage is something to celebrate, he thought distantly with a mental shrug.

It was at that moment as he rounded the corner that he collided with a solid object. Said solid object fell down on the dusty sidewalk with an 'ooff' while the Uchiha remained standing. He looked down and the only thing that came to his mind was red.

Sprawled out on the ground before him was a girl about the same age he was. She wore a simple pale yellow short-sleeved yukata that reached about mid-thigh with black spandex shorts underneath. Black ninja sandals stretched up and over her knees. Her bright red Uzumaki red hair was spread out around her.

"Sorry I wasn't looking where I was going," the girl apologized, looking up at the boy. He had shoulder length black hair and dark eyes. He had a nice tan from what she could tell. He wore dark gray pants, black ninja sandals, and a white short-sleeved shirt under a black jacket.

"Hn," Fugaku merely grunted before walking around her not even bothering to help or acknowledge her. His body stiffened as he felt a spike of deadly chakra coming from behind him. Slowly he turned his head around and was met with the sight of a fuming redhead.

The girl felt anger coursing through her veins at the way the boy had treated her. It was only polite to help someone up especially if he was the one to knock that someone down in the first place. She felt her eye twitch in annoyance as the stranger merely turned his head to look back at her with a bored expression on his face. Her right hand formed a fist out of rage. Just as she was about to hit him, he jumped out of the way, landing on the rooftop of some random building before leaping away. That ASSHAT!

"Uh... Kushina, are you okay," the voice of her best friend asked the redhead. Then it added, "Your hair is doing that thing again." By that thing, the newcomer meant that Kushina's hair was flying around like the nine tails of the fox she held prisoner within the seal on her stomach.

Calming down, the redhead let out a few deep breaths before turning around to face her best friend. "I'm calm now, but if I see that asshat again... he's so gonna get it, dattebane!" She exclaimed the last part while thrusting a fist in the air. "So did you get me a smoothie, Miko-chan?"

"Here," Miko-chan, better known as Mikoto Uchiha, said as she handed the cup filled with the pink strawberry-banana smoothie topped with whipped cream and strawberry pieces to the redhead. Mikoto had soft creamy skin and dark eyes that appeared to be black. She wore her long ebony hair tied up in a high ponytail with her bangs framing her face. Like Kushina, she proudly wore her Konoha forehead protector over her forehead. She wore a long sleeved purple shirt with wide sleeves and a black vest over it with the Uchiha crest on the back along with black spandex shorts and the standard black ninja sandals.

"You're the best, ttebane," Kushina exclaimed. As she was about to take a sip of the drink she paused and stared at her friend. "Did they make it with yogurt or ice cream?"

"Ice cream," Mikoto replied with a smirk. She held up her own cherry-mango smoothie and took a sip. "The guy assumed I wanted yogurt since it has less fat and is the healthier option of the two. I made him make them again and he even added an extra scoop of ice cream."

"You make me so proud, dattebane," the red haired girl stated while wiping a few imaginary tears. "Now let's go see that old man and get ourselves a mission!"

The two girls linked arms as they enjoyed their sweet treat and made their way in the direction of the Hokage Tower. As they walked they passed by a white haired ninja who was bent over at the waist trying to look through a hole in a wooden fence he had created. The wooden fence belonged to Konoha's hot springs and just so happened to be the one that blocked off the women's section.

The white haired ninja was rather large compared to most others. He wore a pair of gray pants that cut off a few inches away from his ankles with mesh armor that extended down to his ankles underneath, a gray kimono-like top with light green lining with mesh armor underneath as well and a pair of wooden sandals. His uncontrollable spiky white hair was tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck with hair framing his face. Two red lines – which he sometimes referred to as tears of blood – extended from his eyes.

A giggle, that could only be described as perverted, escaped the man's throat as he widened his right eye in hopes of expanding his area of view through the little hole.

An exasperated sigh escaped the lips of the boy who stood behind the white haired man. His skin was sun kissed and his deep blue eyes sparkled as he caught sight of something red in the distance. His spiky hair was a bright sunshine yellow. He wore a mesh armor shirt underneath an unzipped white jacket that had three green stripes running down the sleeves, a pair of black pants and black ninja sandals.

"Sensei, I don't think it's a good idea to be spying on the girls," the blond boy stated, looking over at his sensei with worry etched into his features. "I-"

"Kid, you worry too much," Jiraiya stated with a grin as he waved off his student's warnings, not bothering to look away from the women on the other side.

"JIRAIYA," a deadly voice called out to the man from behind. He turned around to be greeted by the sight of his female teammate. Tsunade Senju stood behind him with a look that promised certain death. As he walked towards the blonde haired beauty with a smirk on his face he was greeted by a dainty fist that packed a powerful punch that launched him to the entrance gates of the village. Whoever was stuck with gate duty that day was in for an awful surprise.

Minato looked at the fuming blonde haired woman. "I think..." he glanced in the direction Jiraiya had flown, "I think I'm gonna go see if there are any missions available." With that, he made his way towards the Missions Office.

Once he reached the Missions Office, he was surprised by the commotion. He saw his teammate, Mikoto, restraining his enraged girlfriend, Kushina. He couldn't make out the exact words coming out of the girl's mouth, but he knew that whatever it was is didn't sound all to pleasant. He then followed the gaze of the fuming redhead to where it was directed at a third figure in the room. He recognized the boy as his former classmate Fugaku Uchiha. Fugaku didn't seem like he noticed that there was an angry redhead screaming death threats directed at him. It was either that or he just simply didn't care. From what Minato knew of the other boy, he believed it to be the latter.

"Kushina," he called out, hoping to calm her down.

The redhead snapped her head in his direction. "What do you want, you sissy?!"

Minato blanched.

Sitting behind a desk at the front of the room, the Sandaime had the best seat to watch the drama unfold. He removed the wooden pipe from his mouth and released several puffs of smoke in the form of rings. He picked up a scroll for a B-ranked mission. Quickly scanning its contents, he nodded to himself.

"Silence," Sarutobi ordered causing the ninja before him to fall in line. The four stood side by side, about a foot apart from each other, giving the man their undivided attention. He nodded. "Just off the coast of Wind Country and Tea Country there is an island nation known as the Land of Sun. Over the last few months, there have been some rumors about a potential assassination on the Sun Daimyo's daughter. Luckily, Ryou-sama has kept his daughter hidden from the public eye. One of you will have to pose as the princess until the threat is neutralized. No one other than the Daimyo is to know of your identities. You will report straight to him and no one else. Your mission will be complete when the princess' life is no longer in danger. This mission can last from anywhere between six days to six months. After the six months have passed ,and no progress had been made, the mission will be over whether or not the threat is neutralized. I have no doubt in my mind that you will not fail. Pack your things; you will leave in two hours. Don't disappoint me. Dismissed."