A/N: Since this IS a ninja story and IS from Japan, I'm going by the original Asian style of introducing characters by their last names first and their first names last. (Confused? Think of instead of saying Naruto Uzumaki, say instead Uzumaki Naruto. Easy, no?)

By the way, if you haven't seen Naruto or any other Anime show in their original Japanese language, then some, if not all, of the Romaji words you'll read here will be unfamiliar to you. I intended for this story to be read by an Anime-enthused audience so if you don't know what any of these words/phrases mean, I suggest you go look them up in an English-Japanese dictionary because I don't want to waste time explaining each one in every chapter. I will, however, make an exception for the ninja techniques. Other than that, you're on your own.

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Chapter 1: Mysterious Stranger

It was another nice day in the Hidden Village of Leaf, otherwise known as Konoha. Hatake Kakashi was taking a casual stroll through the village interlocking roads and reading a very intriguing book titled "Flirting Girls." He passes by a noodle diner and the smell of ramen broth encourages him to have some lunch.

As he makes an order, three figures watch in their hiding place close by. One of them stirs eagerly in anticipation.

"Yes, this is our chance to finally catch him!" exclaims Uzumaki Naruto.

"Move your head, baka!" spat Haruno Sakura, who smacks the blonde boy upside the head.

"You two are so annoying," complains Uchiha Sasuke with a frown.

The three genin level ninjas have been following around their sensei, Kakashi, for some time now in hopes of catching the man with his mask off. Ever since they were grouped and assigned to Kakashi, the jounin-level ninja has never once taken off his mask in their presence. The three of them have always wondered what his face looks like underneath the mask and occasionally speculates on what it might look like if the mask was taken off. But today, their investigative efforts just might pay off.

"Oi, oi, he's taking it off!" chirps Naruto with a grin.

"Let me see!" yells out Sakura, pushing Naruto's head down so she could have a better look.

Not wanting to physically get involved in the romp, Sasuke tries to look over his two teammates in hopes of catching a glimpse of Kakashi's mask-free face.

"Hey, where'd he go?" wonders Sakura.

The three of them stare at the diner to find their sensei gone.

"Where'd who go?"

The surprised genins jump at the sound of the voice coming from behind. They turn around to find Kakashi bent over at their level.

"Ah, Kakashi-sensei!" screamed Naruto.

"What were you three doing?" interrogated the masked jounin.

"Uh, bird-watching," stutters Sakura.

"Yeah," Sasuke adds hesitantly. "Bird-watching."

"Honto ni?" said Kakashi. "Since when does one bird-watch from within a thickly-dense tree?"

"Uhm, well… you see…" stutters Sakura. It seems she won't be able to talk herself and her teammates out of this situation.

"Kakashi-sensei! Why don't you just show us your face?" yelled out Naruto.

"I thought I already satisfied your curiosity," responds Kakashi.

"A mask underneath a mask doesn't show anything!" replies Naruto.

"Heh, I guess that was anti-climactic, wasn't it?" chuckles Kakashi, scratching his head nervously.

"Won't you please show us your face, Kakashi-sensei?" pleaded Sakura.

"Allright, allright," conceded Kakashi.

The three genins look on eagerly as Kakashi dramatically and slowly pulls down his mask. Just before he pulls it down past his nose, a small brown-eared white dog dashes through them followed by a familiar brown-haired genin wearing a hooded jacket.

"Whoa!" exclaims Kakashi after letting go of his mask and dodging out of the way of the perturbed pooch. "Ah, I'm going to be late for my mission briefing. I'll see you three later. Ja ne!"

With that, the white-haired jounin disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving his subordinates with disappointed, open-mouthed faces.

"AHH! AKAMARU!" screams Naruto. "KIBA!"

"WE WERE SO CLOSE!" whined Sakura.

"Eh?" exclaims Kiba with a confused look on his face. "What's with you, Naruto?"

Naruto clenches his fists and grits his teeth as he tries hard to retain his composure while Sakura slumps down to the ground, tears waterfalling out of her eyes.

"Figures," sighs Sasuke.

Akamaru gives a cheerful bark.

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Outside the walls of the village, a figure slowly advances towards the skyscraper-like architecture. The person looks up towards the top of the wall, allowing the sun to reflect off the forehead protector worn above the eyes.

"So this is Konoha Village," exclaims the person.

The stranger takes the fingers of her right arm and caresses the completely smooth metal of her forehead protector, for there was no symbol etched into its surface. The blackish blue cloth of the forehead protector almost completely blends in with the 12-year-old kunoichi's deep black above the shoulder long short hair. A gentle breeze blew through the area, animating the stranger's black tank top and slightly loose black pants. Over her tank top, the kunoichi wore a white, hooded t-shirt jacket that possessed black lines on the shoulder, complementing the entire unique outfit. If she had not been wearing her blank forehead protector and the black gauntlets on her forearms, she would have been mistaken for a traveler. The kunoichi had no intention of creating such an impression. She wanted people to regard her as a ninja the moment they set eyes on her.

"What big walls," exclaimed the kunoichi. "Wonder if they're compensating for something."

The young girl leaps into a nearby tree with a powerful thrust of her legs and uses her Chakra to effortlessly scale the manmade structure. Once on top of the wall the girl scans the village, looking for anything interesting.

"Such a nice-looking village," commented the ninja girl. "If I'm not disgusted by the peacefulness, I'd probably consider living here."

She jumps off the wall and falls down towards a nearby roof. Landing gracefully and gently on the shingles, she leaps off onto another roof and travels silently through the village.

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"Kuso!" Naruto yells out in frustration.

He crosses his arms and frowns in frustration as he sat on a rooftop landing with his teammates and close friends.

"He's late again," sighs Sakura.

Sasuke remains silent as he too becomes frustrated with their sensei's habitual tardiness. It's getting late in the afternoon as still their teacher hasn't arrived yet.

"If he ever gets here, I'm going to give him a good beating," growls Naruto.

Suddenly, Sasuke takes out a kunai and shoots it at an unknown target behind him. The weapon pierces the wooden deck post behind the group and becomes stuck into the structure.

"Eh?" exclaims Naruto in confusion. "Why'd you do that, Sasuke?"

In an instant, an unknown stranger appears behind the Uchiha boy and stands there back to back with the young ninja. Sasuke stands his ground as Sakura gasps in surprise.

"Forgive me," apologized the stranger. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I wanted to observe in order to get a sense of what Konoha ninjas are like."

Naruto gets up off the ground and glares at the seemingly threatening kunoichi. From the looks of her outfit which seems to be dominated by the shade, black, this stranger doesn't look like she was from around here. Her response confirms that theory.

In almost an instant, Sasuke spins around and aims a punch at the target behind him. The kunoichi reacted quickly, leaping out of the boy's combat range and avoiding the attack.

Now that she was away from Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura gather near their friend and the three of them prepare for a potential fight.

"Who are you?" demanded Naruto.

The girl puts her gauntlet-wearing hands into her pockets and coolly looks at the young shinobis before her.

"Name's Senko; Tora Senko," introduced the kunoichi.

"What do you want here?" asks Sakura.

"I'm merely a wandering shinobi, nothing more," answers Senko.

"Wandering shinobi, eh?"

Senko gasps as she turns around to find a white-haired jounin suddenly behind her.

"Ah, it's Kakashi-sensei!" cries out Naruto.

"Kakashi?" Senko repeats quietly.

"Konnichiwa," greeted Kakashi with his visible eye indicating a smile underneath his mask. "Would you like to join us?"

Senko remains silent, though Kakashi gets the feeling she's willing to stay with them.

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That evening, Kakashi and his subordinates gather around a campfire with their new companion after introducing themselves. It seems they wanted to learn more about the wandering ninja.

"Your forehead protector is blank," noted Sasuke. "Where did you come from?"

"I was originally from the Hidden Village of Flame, Kouengakure no Sato," Senko answers him after a moment of silence.

"Kouengakure?" repeated Sakura. "I've never heard of it."

"That's because," began Senko gravely. "It no longer exists."

The members of Team 7's eyes open wide with astonishment. How could a village, much less a shinobi village, no longer exist?

"What do you mean it no longer exists?" exclaims Naruto. "You came from that village so of course it should still exist."

"But there's one thing I don't really quite understand," Sakura speaks up. "Why is the metal plate on your forehead protector empty? Shouldn't it have the symbol of your hidden village?"

"In Kouengakure, ninja promotions work differently than other hidden villages," explains Senko. "When an Academy Student graduates, he or she receives a blank forehead protector. It is only when a genin gets promoted to chuunin status when the village symbol is etched into the metal. In my village, we have a higher standard for our ninjas. We want to show the other hidden villages that we were the strongest and fiercest of all ninjas."

"I see," spoke up Kakashi.

"In my village, when a genin gets promoted to chuunin status, the village symbol is etched into the forehead protector while the owner is still wearing it in a special ceremony," added Senko.

"Nande?" exclaims Naruto. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"It is," replies Senko. "If a genin is not tough enough to handle the etching process, there's a possibility that the mechanism we use to etch the forehead protector will slip and kill the genin."

"That's so horrible," commented Sakura.

"It is that possibility that motivates all of our ninjas to be as strong as they can be in order to survive the promotion ceremony," explains Senko. "It's to ensure that only worthiest and strongest ninjas have the honor of carrying the village symbol upon their head."

"So," said Kakashi. "Why is Kouengakure no more?"

"I was only 10 years old at the time," began Senko. "I had just passed the chuunin exam the day before and was preparing myself for the promotion ceremony. It seemed like an ordinary day. Promoted genins, including me, were all lined up for the etching ceremony. Everyone in the village was there to observe the event. It was a happy day for everyone… My family was so proud when I got the village symbol etched into my forehead protector… Then, that night… The village was attacked."

"A night assault," noted Sasuke.

"I had been away at a mission when the attack began," continued Senko. "When I returned, my entire noble family was slaughtered. My team and I soon discovered that the village was attacked by only one person… Tora Kagerou… my older brother."

Everyone in the group was shocked by the revelation, especially Sasuke.

"My team and I tried to stop him but they were all killed in the battle," continues Senko as a teardrop fell to the ground. "I was the only one left… The only survivor of the former great Kouengakure."

Everybody was silent. No one knew what to say in such a situation.

"Because I wasn't strong enough to stop my brother, I've decided to flip my forehead protector's plate around so it would show nothing," explained Senko. "I vowed I won't display the symbol of my village on my head until everyone knows of the story of my village. That's why I became a wanderer; to spread the story of my village. I may not be able to rebuild my family because I'm a girl, but I can at least try to revive Kouengakure."

"You're welcomed to stay here as long as you like," offers Sakura.

"Arigatou," thanked Senko.

Sasuke looks at the girl with a mutual feeling in his heart.

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A/N: Kouengakure (Hidden Village of Flame), or Kouen, is a shinobi village I made up on my own. This is not a known village that exists in the Naruto world. If it appears in Naruto later, it's strictly coincidental.