Note: The time period is after Pain is defeated and the village is recovering. In the anime, this time period would be around Naruto Shippuden Episode 190-200ish. This story contains most, if not all the characters in series(that are alive). Tsunade never suffered the coma.
Chapter 1: Mission to the Summer Village
"Neji, Tenten, Shino, you three must head to the Land of Summer. There seems to be trouble and we must put an end to any disturbance that could lead to danger." Tsunade, the fifth Hokage said. "Neji, you will be team leader."
"Yes, my lady." Neji said politely.
"This mission was sent to us by the Hikage, the Sun Shadow, greet him as if he were any other kage."
"Does the Sun even have a shadow?" Tenten asked.
The three headed out, swiftly moving through the forest as smoothly as the fish glide through rivers.
"What is the Land of Summer anyways? Isn't summer just a season?" Tenten questioned.
"I'm not sure, I suppose we'll find out." Neji answered.
"I hear it is the land where the sun shines brightly everyday." Shino added.
"Wow! Wouldn't that be beautiful!" Tenten exclaimed.
The three continued their journey across the land, eventually crossing the border from the Land of Fire to the Land of Earth. Noticing the beautiful scenario as they ventured out into the new land. As they scoured this strange area, they began to speed up their pace. They were having second thoughts about this land and wished to bypass the forest quickly. It was strange however, for they had always moved through forests with no sign of fear, or any kind of suspicion. However, this time they felt different, as though all the Land of Earth civilians had peered into their souls. Nonetheless, the journey must continue, and the three held back their instincts to push through this seemingly endless obstacle.
"We've made it, it looks similar to our village." Neji said.
The shinobi walked into the village filled with many civilians, the village was smaller than Konoha, however it was just as beautiful. There were food stands everywhere like in the Leaf Village, with many bright faces attending to the food. They walked to a large building, in which the Hikage was located in. Before they stepped in, they heard the Hikage speaking with his advisors. He had a large, deep voice, and spoke very clearly. Neji listened carefully, hoping to find any indication of the man's character. He concluded that the man was definitely educated, at a high level as well. Neji had previously thought the Village of Summer was a small village of rogue, barbaric shinobi, but it seems his hypothesis was wrong. The door opened and an old man and an old woman walked out, probably the advisors. The Hikage, a tall, built man, with fairly light skin and a beard.
Note: I will give you characters that the created characters resemble, but don't assume the character will be the same.
The Hikage's build was similar to that of Zabuza.
"Welcome! You must be the hidden leaf shinobi, welcome to the Land of Summer."
He was dressed in his kage attire, similar to the attire of the five kage of the five great nations. He dressed in a white cloak, with the Sun's emblem neatly placed on the center of the cloak. The three shinobi bowed to the Hikage.
"We are humbled to be in your presence, Hikage." Neji replied.
"Please, no need to be so polite. Allow me to get you situated right away, I shall explain the issue." The Hikage said. He then sat down at his desk and covered his face with his right hand and let out a sigh.
"Alright, the Land of Summer is a small nation, with few civilians, therefore we have few shinobi. However, lately the shinobi of our village have been following Kuroji, a rogue ninja of our village. He claims to be part of the Akatsuki, but I doubt it. Seeing as the man from your village has defeated them, it is questionable. He is influential, seeing as he already gained the support of our young shinobi, he must be stopped at once." The Hikage said.
"I understand, but how strong is this Kuroji, if he claims to be Akatsuki, he must be very powerful, correct?" Neji asked.
"He is very strong, he is a proficient fire user, like many of our village, he is an expert in ninjutsu of fire nature. In all honesty, even as Hikage, I do not believe my skill match even his." The Hikage stated.
"Very well. Thank you for your honesty." Neji replied.
"However, I know a shinobi who may be of use, but to be honest, we have no idea he is. This shinobi is known as Tai of the Natsuryu Clan, he is a skilled shinobi, mysterious, but skilled nonetheless. He may be of use for you three, that is if you approach him for help." The Hikage added.
"Thank you." Neji said.
They left the office, making their way back to the main part of town.
"I suppose we should look for this Tai person." Neji said.
"Pardon me for observing, but what is this village's definition of strong? If they were truly this strong then I'm sure the other villages would know of it." Shino said.
"Your right, but, I still cannot put us in danger by rushing to find this Kuroji." Neji said.
They found an inn to stay at, resting after the long trip. The innkeeper was nice and
At dawn, Neji left early looking for leads to Kuroji. He managed to find two men claiming to be part of Kuroji's recruitment team, and Neji himself joined Kuroji's gang. He wanted to find knowledge on Kuroji, but he knew a leader would keep himself concealed. Upon arriving at the main camp, he and the other five who were recruited were placed on 3 on 3 teams. A fight to the death. The two on Neji's team rushed impatiently towards the others only to be kicked down. Neji came in behind using his Gentle Fist to defeat the enemy. Once the competition had finished, a large, built man revealed himself.
"Well done..." Said the mysterious man. "Leaf Shinobi!"
The man knew Neji's goal and rushed in using Taijutsu. The man then used Fire Style: Flame Blast, a large blast of fire flew at Neji. Neji used Eight Trigrams Palm Revolving Heaven, and a large amount of chakra rotated around him protecting him from the blast.
"Kuroji, is that you?" Neji said.
The man chuckled, "What if I was... You can come out now."
Out of the forest, came out Tenten. Shino quickly arrived soon after, beating down a few of Kuroji's men.
"Neji, this is not Kuroji, it is one of his henchman only." Shino said.
The man then used another fire attack, Fire Style: Fire Sweep Jutsu, sweeping the floor of any sign of life. Neji jumped up, with Shino doing the same and using his insects to carry Tenten. They returned to the Village of Summer.
Many Summer Shinobi came to their help, seeing them hurt. A senior member told the lower rank shinobi to bring the leaf ninja to the hospital while he report to the Hikage.
"They seem quite beat up." Said the senior shinobi.
"Yes, even they are no match for Kuroji's gang." Said the Hikage.
"My Lord, allow me to contact the Natsuryu. It will help us tremendously."
"No, it is pointless... They have no care in this world."
The leaf ninja arrived in the office.
"Hello, I see you are recovering well." The Hikage said.
"Yes, thank you." Neji said.
"This is Shinosuke, he will be helping you now. He knows all there is about the village, he may be of use to you."
"Yes, it will do us no good if we have limited knowledge."
The four then left the office and made way to the main town.
"Shinosuke is it? What do you know of Kuroji?" Neji asked.
"He is a shinobi that trained in this village, he is quite young as well. He is undoubtedly the greatest fire style user in this village. He is fair skinned, thin and has long orange hair."
"Vey well, we needed a description of his appearance."
"This issue would be solved easily if the Natsuryu clan would help."
"Who is this Natsuryu Clan?"
"Natsuryu, the Summer's Dragon, an old fashioned clan, still living in the days of war. They have changed little from the days of warring clans..."
"That must mean they are devoted to the way of shinobi."
"Yes, we know only of a warrior named Tai, who came to our protection years ago when the tailed beast attacked. A warrior like no other, we only hear stories of his feats, but never have we seen him."
"Then we must gain his support... He will be of use to us."
"He supports no one, or at least no one aside his clan. Natsuryu men are stubborn."
They left to find Kuroji's hideout, searching for any of Kuroji's men. They move swiftly through the dense forest, keeping an eye out on their surroundings.
"Ha ha ha ha!" A voice came out.
Neji and the others looked out, a man that matched Shinosuke's description appeared.
"I am Kuroji Ankoru, welcome to my land!"
All four then got into battle formation, preparing for any battle.
"Stay back... Kuroji is unbelievably strong when it comes to large scale attacks." Shinosuke said.
"Fire Style, Phoenix of the Sky!"
A large red bird flew from the sky, behind Kuroji, flying towards the four shinobi.
"Eight Trigrams Palm Revolving Heaven!"
Neji protected the shinobi from the serious attack, Kuroji's men rushed to attack. Shino and Tenten attacked the enemy with various Justus, while Shinosuke attacked Kuroji.
"Your are unworthy!" Kuroji says as he blasts Shinosuke away with a fire blast. Shinosuke counters with substitution Jutsu.
"Earth Style, Flying Pebbles!"
Shinosuke sends multiple Boulder sized earth and flings it towards Kuroji. Kuroji gets hit, but gets up and smiles. He begins to do many hand symbols, revealing his plan to use a large attack. Shinosuke rushes in to stop him, but Shinosuke is kicked back by Kuroji's henchman. Tenten is beaten and is thrown to Shinosuke, who catches her. Shino and Neji begin to lose as well, being pushed back to the others.
"Neji! Shino! Stay away, Kuroji is going to attack!" Shinosuke yells.
However, Neji and Shino are forced back to Shinosuke by Kuroji's men, right to where Kuroji will aim his attack.
"I've had my fun, now you shall die!" Kuroji said with a sinister laugh.
"Fire Style, Wrath of Kuzuryu!" Kuroji yelled.
Neji sensed an immense amount of chakra.
"Byakugan!"
Neji saw Kuroji's chakra gathering in thin air, forming a dragon, a fire dragon. The dragon's head then split in nine different heads, a nine headed dragon! With a snap of Kuroji's fingers the dragon rushed to the four wounded shinobi.
"Sealing Technique, The Black Hole of Hell!"
Out of the earth, a large black hole sucked the dragon into darkness and it disappeared. Kuroji was shocked, he thought they were out of chakra.
"How dare you! Which one of you stopped my Jutsu!"
The four shinobi looked at one another in shock, not knowing who did it.
"I did." A man jumped in front of the shinobi.
"Foul beast!" Kuroji exclaimed. "You devil, how did you seal my Jutsu!"
"How I did this is unimportant, but how I rid this world of you is."
The mysterious shinobi wore armor similar to that of the first Hokage, but the armor was white rather than maroon. He also wore a white cape with the symbol of a dragon and the sun. The shinobi had his hair tied in a ponytail, with two strands of hair in his face. (Similar to the third Kazekage, but with two strands in his face.)
"Plasma Style, Beam of Life!"
A large, bright blue blast moving at the speed of sound zoomed its way to Kuroji, piercing him in the heart.
"You are not worth my time, nor my chakra." The shinobi said.
The remaining shinobi ran off, fearing for their life.
Shinosuke ran to the mysterious shinobi and bowed to the him.
"Great warrior, Tai Natsuryu, I thank you for your help."
The shinobi looked at Shinosuke with a surprised look. Neji finally got a clear glimpse at the mans face, but to his surprise, the man was so young.
"Ha ha ha! Me, Tai Natsuryu? You are hilarious, I'm Kenshin Natsuryu. Tai died a long time ago, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, ha ha!"
Shinosuke looked surprised.
"What? Tai is dead... You must be his son, or his brother?"
"No... I share his name, but I don't know him well. He died ages ago, my grandparents weren't even born yet!" Kenshin said with a smile.
"But... Who was it that saved our village?"
"It probably was Tai, he is revered as our hero. I'm sure it was him."
Neji walked to the shinobi.
"Thank you, we appreciate your help."
There was a sudden rustle in the bushes, all five were alert. Out came a shinobi dressed in green.
"I carry a message from the Hokage!"
"You idiot!" Tenten ran and knocked Lee right in the head. "Why did you scare us like that!"
"Ha ha... I'm sorry." Lee said rubbing his head.
"What is it, Lee?" Shino asked.
"Tsunade asks you to seek out the Natsu... Natsu-"
"Natsuryu." Neji finished his sentence.
"Yes, that is it."
"Good for you, I am right here!" Kenshin said.
Lee then bowed and introduced himself.
"Hello, I am Rock Lee from the Leaf Village!"
"Ok, hear ya buddy." Kenshin said covering his ears. "What do you need anyways?"
"Here, all the contents are in this letter. I made a promise to the lord Hokage not to open it!"
Kenshin opened up the letter:
Kenshin of the Natsuryu,
This message may be sudden, but it is important. I request your help, not as your superior, but as your ally. The Hidden Leaf village is in a state of turmoil, we need help throughout the realm. I, as Hokage, hereby request your aid.
Sincerely, Lady Tsunade
"Huh, seems your village is in a bit of trouble." Kenshin said.
"What? Tsunade revealed our village's condition?" Lee said.
"It is fine... Everyone knows of our destruction, there is a reason others do not attack." Neji said.
"So, Kenshin, what do you say?"
"Well... Why not? I am tired of this warrior lifestyle." Kenshin said smiling.
"Really? Shouldn't you tell someone before we leave?" Tenten asked.
"Nah, I think I'll be alright. Show me the way."
They then returned to the Leaf Village. After a long journey, they finally made their way home.
"Ah... So this is the revered Leaf Village."