Chapter 1
Rise of the world class shinobi.
The First Shinobi World War ended with an armistice treaty, but also left the Five Great Shinobi Countries seriously wounded. The treaty led to a period of peace, however after about twenty years, the economic disparity between the countries had become a serious problem. The nations began to form factions and under the pretext of expanding fair rights, the countries started using military force to expand their territories. Hence, a world war started. Renan's story with Konoha starts during the second shinobi world war. Konoha officials required as many shinobi as possible, no matter what country or origin; they needed extra fire power in the front lines. At age 14, Renan was the most talented of the Amegakure young shinobi who have been trained since birth to be thrown into a dangerous and life threatening war. Amegakure, strong allies of Konoha and the land of fire, became the battlefield during the war for the five great shinobi countries. It also became the training ground to aid Konoha in the never ending fight for world peace. Shinobi trained at the Amegakure training camps never used their names, they were forbidden to, they used numbers instead, numbers given to them as they entered the camp. Renan, was given the number 171080, her surname was discarded as was her name and she became nothing more than a number to the Konoha shinobi. Nothing more than a number and the amount of skill she possessed.
The life of a shinobi was a tough one to lead, especially during the first few months of the war as thousands of shinobi died during that period. Ninja such as Renan had no identity and no families, they were not treated as people; they were weapons. This challenging life has scarred many survivors of the war and has made them lead a peaceful and violence free life. Some of the survivors turned to work for criminal organisations or became criminals themselves, not knowing another life it made them feel safe to lead such a life. Renan is amongst those people. She decided to join a group of young Ame shinobi who decided to form an organization to fight all world wars and the contributing factors to such an event, organization which later will become, Akatsuki. Pain was a born leader, only 3 years older than Renan he accepted her offer to join him, and his right hand Konan. He informed Renan of all the tasks she will be required to complete, explaining in minute detail every mission and the potential risks she will have to eliminate to ensure the success of the mission.
She led Pein's troops to victory against several small countries during the Third Shinobi World War, as they were fighting for territory. By exterminating them, she has proven loyalty to Pain and became more than a weapon; Akatsuki member, who later will begin the search for the tailed beasts. Uchiha Madara consistently hid in the Akatsuki shadows; he guided them to be the most notorious organization in the world and has trained Renan ever since she was admitted as a member. He found her skill at a very high standard and wanted to see how far he can push her until she reaches her maximum potential. Under intensive training which took place over 10 years, Renan has become one of few to reach immortality. Immortality has granted her extraordinary gifts; improved senses, increase in physical and mental capabilities, as well as turning her into the most powerful weapon the world has seen. Madara, still hiding from the world, has decided to send Renan back to the Akatsuki to test her skills in scenarios which do not require her to use her full capabilities. Scenarios which will require limitless mental strength, planning, leading groups into battles and pushing weaker areas of her strength to reach their maximum potential. After years of low profile tasks, she has been given a task that will change her view on life forever.
On a dark rainy night, Renan stood leaning against the frame of her balcony door looking out at the village which she took such delicate care of over the years. She was a tall woman with light brown carnation. She had long, dark brown hair which flows gently onto her shoulders. Her eyes had little white dots on the edge of the iris which was of a very light azure; they held a strangle sparkle to them which usually indicated excitement or an amazing idea. She was wearing black trousers and a deep blue jumper that reached past her wrists and stopped at the end of her palms. She had bandaged ankles as well as both thighs with ninja tool bag strapped to each thigh. She wore standard ninja sandals and equipment bum bag. Akatsuki cloak which belonged to her was put on top of her bed. Her room was at the top of, what the villagers call, the god's tower. It was a subtly decorated room with light blue walls, the door frames and the bottom frame painted white. There was a large king-size bed positioned against the wall with two bed drawers on either side of the bed and small, modern lamps sitting atop of them. A large bookcase was decorating the opposite side from the bed, it stretched out to cover the entire wall; it contained books many of which were rare and last editions. In the middle of the bookcase was a rectangular board with pictures of people, newspaper cut outs, maps and data sheets pinned on it. Two armchairs and an ottoman finished off the corner of the room next to the balcony door, they were light crimson and caramel finished. Renan suddenly turned away from the balcony and cautiously turned her sight to the person who just entered the room.
"Oh, it's only you," Renan whispered, "What do you need, Konan?" She turned to look at the village.
"I need you. I've got a mission for you, and you're not going to like it" Konan answered gently, carefully trying not to set Renan off as she would. She sat down on the armchair and leaned back in it making herself comfortable. "You're going to Konoha; they've been struggling recently with the forces and getting missions finished in time. Your mission is to get to know them, live their misguided life and gain their trust, get close to Tsunade; Pain might have some form of plan with her later on as soon as you give us intel on her."
"Konoha…" Renan repeated with a hint of curiosity. "How fascinating. Will I be on a team or…working as an individual shinobi?" Renan turned to Konan watching her with increased interest. She didn't like the thought of leaving the village behind however she's never had to play an active role in the life of a different village for a long period of time. It intrigued her that this is the mission Konan assigned her after years of assassination contracts and sneaking and stabbing.
"You'll be assigned a team there, whether you'll be the leader or not, I do not know however you won't be put in a team with a bunch of morons. Or at least I hope not." Konan stiffened. Oh no, there's more, Renan thought. "You are to meet Hatake Kakashi at the border of Ame and the land of fire…In 5 hours' time."
"5 hours? You are having a laugh. Unless you've prepared equipment and scrolls for me which is unlikely…" Renan drifted off. She began thinking what Kakashi is going to be like and more importantly what he is going to think of her. She has read about him and his accomplishments before when there was a slight chance of getting into a fight with him not that long ago however it was a great opportunity to see how she compared to the elites of other villages. Konan looked at her sternly and pinched Renan's thigh to get her attention as she's been talking to herself as Renan escaped to her own mind.
"Renan! I was talking to you. I've prepared anything you may need," Konan growled at her and threw a bum bag on the bed next to her cloak. "Go as you are now or change into civil clothing, you are not an Akatsuki from now on. I will give you regular info on what we are doing and the plans but don't worry about it. You are a Konoha shinobi now. Get your shit and get going." Konan stood up and put her hand on Renan's shoulder and winked at her "Do your best, we're counting on you." With that she left the room leaving Renan's thoughts in a blaze.
Renan looked over the Konoha records and shinobi history, it turned out they have indeed lost a lot of the military force. Over 4500 shinobi reported dead, ill beyond healing or missing. Some deaths were rather poetic, one fella died sacrificing himself to give two of his team members an opportunity to escape. Another man got himself captured and tortured in order to let the rest of his squad to silently deal with the enemy. They slowly but surely killed an entire enemy base, recovering their squad leader from the torture chambers. Great achievement, but at what cost? A man's sanity? Was that really worth the risk and all the pain and misery that man had to go through? I would never let any of my squad members get themselves into that situation, Renan thought, But then again, I wouldn't try to be quiet about it, I'd just blow the place up. She continued to read what she could until she noticed the time. She spent an hour and a half reading on the most preposterous ways people got themselves killed and she had to be somewhere is less than four hours. Packing her backpack with all the necessities and throwing it on her back she set off into the night, ready for what's to come in the next few hours.
At the border of the two countries there was nothing but forest, with just one difference. There was an obvious line stretching across the horizon, separating the two countries. One side had torrential downpour and the other clear skies with stars brightening up the dark night sky. Renan was leaning against a tree on the, not so rainy side. She was holding a book with one hand and with the other she flipped the pages as she sought out the meaning behind the words she read. As her watch ticked by minute by minute she began getting a bit impatient. She's been standing there for over an hour and she is yet to see the infamous sharingan Kakashi. The curious side of her began thinking over and over what she has read about him, in her research all those years ago it was said that he was calm and confident, strong and patient, ambitious and knowledgeable, not to mention quiet and reserved. He appealed to Renan as a person who does gain his respect in honourable means without using chains and whips to force respect out of his peers and minors.
"Good day, I'm sorry I'm late. I have lost my way" she heard a gentle chuckle, a voice, coming from above her, it was a deep voice with a lazy tone to it and as gentle as the little chuckle.
Well, let's add 'Bad Liar' to the list too.
"I find that very hard to believe, Hatake Kakashi." Renan spoke softly as she normally would. She looked up to see just the man himself; he was wearing a typical jonin outfit accompanied by a metal Konoha forehead protector. His white spiky hair was flying all over the place in the cold wind. His left eye was covered by the protector and the right eye was half closed as he was still pretending to be 'lost'. That bloody mask, she thought, I cannot get a good look at him.
"I'm Renan, I was told to come over and meet you here about half an hour ago. However you didn't turn up so I'm at a loss on what action I should take." She joked; he sensed the joke and smiled behind the mask. He leaped forward and landed about three feet away from her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Renan. I apologize. I try not to make a habit out of being late. Now, I need to get you to Konoha safely and without any troubles." Kakashi insisted with a gentle, forcefulness to his voice. She couldn't agree more to be quite honest.
"Of course, lead the way boss." Renan chimed, following him as he jumped from one tree to another all the way to the village entrance where he abruptly stopped and walked through the gates, walking towards the Hokage quarters. She followed and walked beside him, she's been to Konoha before but never daring to go out in the open like she's doing right now. She was glad to have finally been able to explore another village in a non-hostile way.
"So, Renan, how come you're here?" Kakashi asked her as they made their way towards the headquarters.
"You should already know the answer to that, you're a smart guy," Renan muttered thoughtfully, "I'm here as an aid to Konoha. You're running rather low on military force, I'm here to lift some of that weight off your shoulders and fight with you, for you." Renan explained, she appreciated him making a conversation as she herself was a little socially awkward when around others. "I must ask, will I be a lone shinobi or will I be put into a team? Or are you not aware of Tsunade-sama's intentions", she asked smoothly.
Kakashi glanced at her with a surprised look in his eye, he smirked gently "You're quite the intelligent one yourself, Renan. I was not made aware of her plans towards your person; however she would probably like you in a team. However," he drifted off warily before returning to his train of thought, "She'd like to see your ability first before assigning you with a team". He concluded as they walked through the main doors of Hokage quarters, the doors were at least 10 feet high and they opened to a large entrance hall with chairs and coffee tables. She followed Kakashi upstairs to the top floor. He knocked on the door and made his way inside inviting Renan in also.
"Tsunade-sama, I would like to introduce you to Renan" Kakashi announced. Renan walked out of his shadow and stood next to him, seeing for herself the famous Hokage sennin. She was a stern looking blonde haired lady; she had light skin with brown eyes and as Renan stepped into the light sparked with curiosity. She wore soft pink lipstick and a necklace in clear view on her chest. Tsunade was beyond beautiful and despite her age she looked as though she was in her 20s. Her hair was tied into two loose ponytails and she had a diamond shaped seal on her forehead. She wore a grass-green haori with a grey kimono style blouse underneath with a dark blue obi that matched her trousers.
"Renan, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I've heard a lot about you." Tsunade said pleasantly, doing the same as Renan did a second ago; examining her appearance and the way her new shinobi held herself.
"Tsunade-sama," Renan whispered gently bowing her head. As she tipped up again, she looked back to Tsunade, "It is an honour and a privilege to meet one of the sennins, and I will be more than happy to work under you." She concluded with faint admiration in her voice.
Tsunade smiled and turned her sight at the paperwork on her desk, "I've got the basics on you but nothing on your ninja skills and your survival abilities. I'm going to need you to fight under observation so I can assess your skill and assign you accordingly. This is by no means because I do not trust you but because that's the procedure I have to go through and the more accurate my assessment is the better team you'll be put into" she dictated in a bossy tone. This is suspicious; they don't trust me, she's lying Renan thought to herself.
"Of course, who would you have me fight?" Renan asked cautiously, she knew she's treading on egg shells.
"Well, we have plenty of jonin you could fight, alternatively you could fight Kakashi or one of other captains" Tsunade responded, smirking at something she did not voice out.
"How about you, Hokage-sama?" Renan suggested, smirking gently at the prospect of fighting the Hokage. After all she is able to read the strongest thoughts on the surface of others minds.
"Me? Are you sure about that Renan? I'm not going to go easy on you" Tsunade responded thoughtfully with a hint of excitement and increased curiosity in her eyes.
"That's precisely the reason I'd like to fight you. You have been trained at a higher level than most of shinobi alive. It would be a great experience to see how I compare to one of the strongest shinobi in the world."
"You must be very brave to challenge me Renan, and of course I will accept." Tsunade said not hiding her smile, "I expect to see you in 20 minutes at the top of the Hokage Monument, the area there should give us enough space for a safe fight."
Renan bit her lip unconsciously, her lips slowly forming a smirk. She closed her eyes for a second a bowed her head slightly as she opened her eyes she assured, "I will meet you up there. Do not be late." With that she left swiftly and made her way up. As soon as she got there she sat down on the edge of the gargantuan mountain with her legs gently dangling down. Renan turned her thoughts to the fifth Hokage whom she just met. Tsunade was certainly the bossy, attractive, youthful woman she has always been described however there was so much more to her persona than that. She radiated confidence and power in a manner which would frighten minors and make them obey her. Curious spark in her eye pulled a person in, creating an artificial obedience in the person. It also made one tell her more to satisfy that thirst for knowledge and information. There was a strange, magical presence about Tsunade which intrigued Renan beyond belief. It also strangely reminded her of the way she herself acts and responds, with the same determined curiosity and sparkle in her eye. She will have to ask Konan about this later because it's something that's going to bother her.
Renan looked out at the village noticing how alien her surroundings are, how different Konoha is to Ame. Different in every way, the people are all happy and free, the children playing games and laughing, the animals living at peace with humans, the ever constant sun casting its rays upon a lively village. It made Renan slightly angry that her own village was so very different from Konoha, scarred from the never ending war and suspicion from other countries, people working hard out of the reach of the everlasting downpour. It also made her happy and it brought strange warmth to her heart. This village thrived in life, everyone living in harmony despite the variety of different jobs and tasks they were set. She couldn't quite understand how it is that a village of this size and such incredible respect, is struggling behind this happy picture it portrays.
"I see you are enjoying the view…" Tsunade said, standing next to Renan. She too was looking out at her village, the same way a mother would look proudly at her child's achievement.
"Yes, it's incredible. Inspiring even," Renan murmured, she stood up and looked at Tsunade "You must be very proud of how the village has evolved under your rule."
"I am, it has undergone so many changes over the years and now we're stuck at such an unfortunate stop." Tsunade sighed and turned her eyes to Renan. "Shall we begin?" she asked.
Renan smiled, and turned her body towards the huge area that was in front of them. "It is after all why we are here isn't it?