Tsunade sat at her ever cluttered desk, fingers threaded through her wheat colored hair. Before her eyes was a missive, though poorly delivered in the form of an under aged, scraggly mail boy. As the boy left the office on trembling legs, which seemed to be from fear of the fifth Hokage, Tsunade observed the missive. It was only a piece of paper that was travel worn, creased in many places, as if made to fit into many different pockets, and the paper was now tinted to a vague shade of tan instead of pristine white. Tsunade slowly unfolded the missive, and saw that there was a single candle waxed seal, but no stamp. Frowning the blonde carefully broke the seal and opened to see what was written inside, her amber eyes squinting to read what was hastily scrawled across the page, while elegant brows knitted together.

The sound of wood scraping against wood was heard as the blonde pushed back her chair to stand up. Walking slowly around the desk she went over towards the windows, her eyes resting at the sight before her; her village. It was a sweltering summer day, and she could see merchants selling their goods to the few people that were out. Looking towards the left she saw the academy students, who were trying to stay cool during their training. Her reaction to that one missive could change all of this, all the peace in this village that they have just regained. "Shizune!" Tsunade yelled for her assistant.

The sound of heels clicking against tiled floors could be heard as she ran down the hall. Opening the double wooden doors, the petite raven haired woman entered the room. She glanced around to see that there was still more papers that had to signed then there were in the 'finished' pile. Warm, dark chocolate colored eyes roamed back over towards the one that summoned them, taking in the agitation in their stance. "Yes Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked.

"I need you to get me a list of all the available shinobi that we have at the moment." The Hokage said, her eyes still focused on the children at the academy.

"Right away, Lady Tsunade." The raven haired assistant said as she rushed out of the office to find the files, the doors shutting behind her gently. Once Tsunade heard the click of the door being fully shut, she let out a heavy sigh, and turned back towards her desk. Amber eyes fell back onto the missive, and once again her wheat colored brows knitted together.

A heavy knock was heard, the sound of the door opening reaching the Hokage's ears. Looking back up she sees Shizune walking into the room, balancing files in her left hand as she once again closed the door. "Here you are, Lady Tsunade." her assistant spoke softly. It seemed the the raven haired assistant ran to do her mentors bidding, since she was slightly out of breath, and a light sheen of sweat covered her forehead.

"Thank you Shizune." Tsunade said as she made room for the files. Shizune walked over towards the desk, gathering a pile of 'done' papers, which had the Hokage's seal on it, with her right hand. Once the papers were balanced properly, she laid the files on the shinobi that were available in the spot that she had just cleared. Glancing over towards the other end of the desk, she noticed that there were still many papers in the 'have yet to be done' pile. With a slight sigh she started to go back towards the double doors to file away the papers she had in her hand, when a voice interrupted her. "Is this all of the shinobi that we have left?" her mentor asked her.

"Yes. It seems that we mostly have chuunin, but there are a few jounin that are still in the village." Shizune said, turning around to look at Tsunade. She noticed that Tsunade didn't seem to be acting like herself, since she had yet to reach for a drink, and had not raised her voice. Her brows knitting together, Shizune voiced her concern. "Are you ok, Lady Tsunade?"

A heavy sigh was heard, and then "Yes Shizune, just a little tired." Nimble fingers ran through the pages, and once Tsunade found a shinobi she needed for the mission, she put the paper to the side. Once she had six papers laid out, she guestured Shizune over, since she had yet to leave. "I need you to call these six to come to my office within an hour."

Taking the papers, and scanning through them, the raven haired woman's eyes opened wide in shock. "Are you sure, Lady Tsunade?" she asked.

"Yes, now have them report to me." Tsunade said as she sat back and rubbed her temples. Shizune took this as her cue to leave, and walked out the door with all the papers and files. Once Tsunade heard the door click shut, she reached towards the bottom drawer of her desk, opening it to let her hands rummage around the dark recesses within. Once her hand connected with the smooth bottle, Tsunade grasped it, and brought it to sit before her.

Tsunade felt like she desperately needed what was inside the bottle, to help calm herself, but then also to take the edge off of her uneasiness. Foregoing the cup, she took a sip from the bottle, letting the burning liquid make its way down her throat to settle in her stomach. One sip was never enough, so the blonde took another, relishing the feel of the liquids effects. After her fourth sip, which for Tsunade was a gulp by many mans standards, looked back down towards the missive. Amber eyes once again reading over the words that were scrawled across the page.

Lord Hokage,

There has been an awakening of sorts.

Missing-nin have been seen banning together,

forming a village dedicated to taking out the

villages from where they came.

So far there are about thirty missing-nins

gathered together.

The reason for contacting you is

because this 'new village' is being made between

you, Land of Fire, and the Land of Earth, but

primarily on your land.

Not knowing if you knew about this new

turn of events, this missive was sent,

from your humble servant.

The missive was not signed, but Tsunade could understand the reasonings that could be behind that. If this simple piece of paper fell into the wrong hands, the writer of the message could be slain, as well as their family or clan. But then again, this could be a trick, having her send out some of her best ninja, only to have them slaughtered. Once again, wheat colored brows came together, Tsunade's thoughts contemplating the pro's and con's of this missive. A glint came into amber eyes, a glint that would have made onlookers turn and run away from the Fifth Hokage in fear.

A plan was made.

Im sorry that this chapter is so short. This is my first story on fanfiction, and I believe this could be somewhat of a prologue. I would love to hear your comments, both good and bad, on my story. :)

Thank you for reading! And hopefully my next chapter will be along shortly. (AND it will be much longer too :)! )

~InsaneStrawberry