It's time for this Leaf Village to wilt.
"Take one last night to sleep peacefully, take one more breath of relief, and say 'Goodnight' to your loved ones one last time, Konoha."
He stood on the Hokage Monument, and spat in disgust. He, too, took one last look at the soon short-lived stability of the Leaf Village. The bug specialist felt the cool night wind tug at his cloak, and used the light of the moon to trace an intricate sign on a large sheet of paper, in his own blood.
He smiled as the smoke from his summon cleared, and as he gave his insects their command to go forth.
"Get ready, Konoha." He thought with a renewed sense of vengeance. "This parasite will eat your village inside and out."
Haruno Sakura walked swiftly down a corridor in the Hokage Residence, towards lady Tsunade's office. She glanced at her blonde teammate, who was barely keeping up to her pace.
Naruto put his hands on the back of his head and frowned. "Why does Grandma Tsunade want to see us anyway?"
"I don't know, maybe it's a mission or more information regarding the Akatsuki." Sakura shrugged.
"Sakura!" Ino called, running towards the duo with a hand raised. Trailing behind her were Shikamaru and Chouji, Shikamaru wearing his usual expression of boredom.
"Sakura? Naruto? You're here too?" Chouji asked, finally catching up with Ino and standing outside the Hokage's door.
"Yes we got called to go—"
"Oi! Sakura, Naruto, Chouji, Ino, Shikamaru! What are you doing here?" Kiba took his hands out of his pockets and petted Akamaru as he and his team drew near the other shinobi.
"Well everyone's here except Sai and Team G—" Sakura started again, only to be interrupted for a second time.
Rock Lee was running down the hallway…on his hands. Tenten and Neji's temples throbbed with aggravation.
"If I cannot run 2000 steps on my hands, then I will do 3000 sit-ups!" Lee asserted.
Sakura put a hand to her forehead, "Okay, that's everyone but Sai. Let's just go in."
Once inside, everyone was surprised to see Sai, already talking with the Hokage.
"Is everyone here? Good, close the door." Tsunade leaned back in her chair and let her eyes fall on everyone in the room. "There's been an epidemic, which may be linked to the Hot Springs." The Hokage waited a moment so as to let everyone digest what had been said.
"Several visitors to the Hot Springs have later come to the hospital complaining of severe pain in their upper arms, to the point where the screaming was so overwhelming that they had to be sedated. Consecutively, about an hour after admission to the clinic, patients begged to be released and set free. Further denying their requests led to some getting violent, we've even had veteran Abnu members attack the medical-nin." The Hokage shifted in her seat.
The Konoha 11 exchanged looks ranging from horror to minor shock amongst them.
"Then, what happened when patients were allowed to leave?" Tenten asked.
"We don't know." Sai said with his cheery fake smile.
"He's right. They just disappeared, and were unable to be found the next day. A lot of our resources have been lost this way, so we're making use of every capable shinobi we have left."
"So, what exactly is our mission?" Neji inquired.
Tsunade grabbed a file off of her desk and handed it to Shizune, who passed out papers detailing the events and mission information.
"We've found a lead, and we're following it." Tsunade said bluntly.
Abe Fusachiko grabbed her towel and climbed out of the Hot Spring. She had enjoyed her soak, but was confused. Shouldn't the steam have gotten rid of the pain in her arm? As she dressed and left the spring, the pain in her arm intensified. She fell on her knees, outside of her apartment. The 'Welcome' doormat wasn't so welcoming. She was in agony. It felt like something was gnawing at her flesh, her arm was searing with pain.
Fusachiko laid outside her apartment for an hour, then suddenly felt the urge to stand. The pain hadn't subsided, but she ignored it. All she wanted to do was find this man, the image of whom kept appearing in her mind.
Fusachiko knew where to find him, she was sure of it. She needed to find him. And so, blinded by her goal, she exited the Hidden Leaf's gates.
*Fusachiko means 'misfortunate child' because well... poor Fusachiko.