Hiya, I haven;t written a story in a while so this may be a little rusty at first.
Alright, first of all there are a few of things you should all know :
1) Nothing in this story should be considered as canon as it doesn't relate to the anime or manga. Anything I write in here that have to do with the story are not true and are figments of my imagination. With that in mind, there ARE spoilers in this story such as the names of characters and some background info on them.
2) I wrote a little history lesson here at the beginning and again, it is not canon.
3) Hope you enjoy the story!
DISCLAIMER : I do not own Naruto, it is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.
For nearly a thousand years, the Ninja World has existed, founded by the legendary Sage of Six Paths. The foundation, the core of the Ninja World that allows such strange and fantastic things thought to be impossible is a powerful energy, Chakra.
This amazing energy is formed by the five elements, each contributing it's own properties to make a new and great element.
Fire, the element which gifted chakra the ability to be released for techniques.
Earth, the element that granted chakra the ability to affect it's surroundings.
Lightning, the element that gave chakra the power to restore itself when diminished.
Water, the element that allows the ability to manipulate chakra.
Finally, Wind, the element which blessed chakra the most vital thing of all, the ability to flow, without which the other gifts would be rendered useless.
It is said, that to create the Ninja World, the Sage of Six Paths made a contract with the Five Elemental Gods. They granted him the power to realize his dream of creating a new world that would forever change the direction of humanity, but in exchange he was to become the vessel in which the Gods would reside in, in other words, their Avatar.
The Sage of Six Paths married and had four sons, each to carry on as the avatars of an individual element. These four were known as the Apostles of the Gods, each soon had their own families, which in due time evolved into four clans with the power of an element.
These clans were known as Uchiha, the wielders of fire, Nara, masters of earth, Uzumaki, warriors of water and Hyuuga, kings of lightning.
The Wind Element had not been passed on and vanished, or so it seemed.
The Uchiha clan had great skill in the fire arts and were known as the strongest clan of all. With the Fire God's gift of an eye able to read chakra and copy techniques. It was called, the Copy-Wheel Eye, Sharingan.
The Nara clan were amazing earth ninjas and were known to be the most intelligent of the clans. Granted the gift of using shadows to control people by the Earth God. It was called the Ultimate Darkness, Shadow Mastery.
The Uzumaki clan possessed excellent water techniques. Often in competition with the Uchiha, the Uzumaki clan were the most determined and charismatic clan there was. The Water God gave them an unbelievable amount of chakra, easily equivalent to that of three ninjas.
The Hyuuga clan were the most skillful ninjas out of the four clans and easily the most elegant in battle. The Lightning God gave them the power to see extremely well, through walls and all around them in a specific area. They called this power, Byakugan.
For 300 years, the clans lived in peace with other clans possessing their own unique traits. Among these clans were the Inuzuka, the Aburame, the Yamanaka, the Akamichi, the Haruno, the Hatake, the Sarutobi and the Kaguya.
Then on the 3rd day after the 300th year mark of the Ninja World, disaster struck and the Ninja World found themselves in the first ninja war, known as the Black Sun Wars.
It began when the Kaguya Clan and it's sister clans, the Ubiyome and Katsikume, invaded the Hyuuga Clans territory, slaughtering a total of 19 Hyuuga Clan Ninjas including the heir of the main branch.
The reason for the Kaguya Clan's invasion was jelousy of the Hyuuga Clan's prosperous lands that were bathed in sunlight. The Kaguya Clan, however, lived at the foot of many mountains and were shaded all day from sunlight making it nearly impossible to grow crops.
Not a day after the first invasion, 104 members of the Kaguya Clan crossed the river into the Hyuuga mainland. Needless to say the Hyuuga Clan easily annhialated the war-like invaders, thus successfully repelling their first attack.
The Hyuuga Clan then attacked their former settlement, now belonging to the Kaguya Clan, sending them back to their home, but not before the Kaguya swore vengence against the Hyuuga.
A week later, the Kaguya Clan recieved word that the Hyuuga were preparing for an invasion. It was here that the Kaguya Clan revealed their trump card as 572 rogue ninjas and a further 276 bandits marched from the east to assist the Kaguya Clan. At the same time, the war-loving Oyure, Abanokoa and Junshiro Clans came from the mountains to offer their help to the Kaguya Clan.
What happened next was a military disaster for the Hyuuga Clan, though far more skilled than the opposing forces, they could not win against the sheer numbers and were eventually overwhelmed.
When news reached the Uchiha Clan, they wasted no time and immediately assembled an army of ninjas to aid the Hyuuga Clan. The Nara Clan decided on a more tactical approach and would attack the Kaguya Clan while they go off to war. The Uzumaki Clan was the first to arrive in the Hyuuga Clan's territory to help with what was almost, if not all of their clan ready to fight.
When the two great armies clashed in battle, they seemed evenly matched with the Kaguya Clan staying strong with their superior numbers. The battle, known as the Last Battle of First, lasted for 7 days.
With the numbers of the Kaguya Clan slowly diminishing, they realized they couldn't win and retreated, only to be met by the Nara Clan. The Kaguya Clan was spared the punishment of extinction, but were forced to have a population never exceeding that of 100, thus ending the first ever Shinobi War.
The Black Sun Wars was the trigger to a long chain of wars which lasted until the 900th mark of the Ninja World, where the first ninja village was established consisting the four elemental clans, the Inuzuka, the Sarutobi, the Haruno, the Yamanaka, the Aburame, the Akamichi, the Hatake and the Umino among many others.
Eventually, other clans united to form four more villages and the Five Shinobi Nations were established.
Right after the establishment of the Five Shinobi Nations, the Ninja Villages formed a secret organization, hidden from the rest of the world called the Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai.
The Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai or ANBU for short was an elite military force formed to guard and police the Ninja World by destroying threats that may one day lead to it's destruction. ANBU agents were known by experienced ninjas as the Anbu Black Ops.
However, even with the ANBU policing the lands, war was inevitable as the Great Nations began to participate in war for resources in order to keep it's populations from starving. The ANBU were rendered useless, eventually dividing and serving the Nation they were each loyal to.
There were two wars before the Nations stabilized, the First and Second Great Shinobi Wars. They had been the bloodiest battles the Ninja World has ever seen. The ANBU were re-established, but their purpose was no longer to serve and police.
A hundred years after that, in the present time, the Hyuuga Clan suffered a humiliation in the form of a child. This child was incapable of controlling lightning and worse yet, he was a member of the main branch, the future clan head.
When the child turned 12, he was to display his abilities to the other clans to show them the power of the next Hyuuga head. The show was simple, he was to control a bolt of lightning by summoning it from the sky, he failed. After that, the child was forsaken and abandoned by the Hyuuga Clan, banished from their household. The child's name was Neji, Neji Hyuuga.
Five Years Later - Konohagakure
"It's been 5 years since I was left this place, huh?" said a teen with pale white eyes and long hair with a forhead protector covering his entire forehead. He was wearing a black cloack tied by a gold chain around his neck and behind him were seven boys dressed similiarly.
"I still can't believe the pervy sage just left us there with a letter saying he had 'business' to attend to. Man, he's probably at some spa, spying on girls." a yellow haired teen said with his arms behind his head.
"Well, we were just a few more kilometers to here anyway, so it's no big deal." said a vicious looking teen with a white dog looking out from his cloak.
"Alright, let's get going. We didn't come here to reminiscence the past." a calm and analatycal looking teen standing beside the white-eyed one said.
The other seven boys nodded in response and in the blink of an eye, they vanished.
Hyuuga Clan Territory
The wind flew harshly above the Main Hyuuga Household while a bun-haired girl ignored the wind and ran quickly inside the house.
"Sorry I'm late, Lord Harashi, I was out with some friends of mine and w-" the girl explained to the elderly man smoking a pipe in front of her.
The man looked up at her, "No need to explain, Tenten." He gestured her to sit on a velvet cushion placed directly in front of him. The girl sat obediently and without question.
"What is it that you need, Harashi-sama?" Tenten asked the elderly man who any normal person would take as a man at the footsteps of death, but this was no ordinary man. This was Harashi Hyuuga, the head of the Hyuuga Clan.
"Tenten, you probably don't know this since you weren't born into the Hyuuga Clan, but were adopted instead by one of the many other clans absorbed by the Hyuuga." Tenten flinched at the word 'adopted', she remembered the process of exchanging blood and injecting chakra all too well.
"You gained the power to control lightning through the process of adoption which normally grants only a fraction of the power a naturally born Hyuuga has. Needless to say I was quite shocked myself when you won the junior competition within the Hyuuga Clan to decide the next heir after Hizashi's son, Neji, failed to do so." Harashi continued, obviously forgetting the point of calling Tenten into the house and captured in his old memories.
"You mean the guy who couldn't even control a tiny thunderbolt?" Tenten tried to surpress a laugh, but a smile came out none-the-less. Who would've thought? A main branch Hyuuga, incapable of controlling lightning, it was...pathetic.
"Yes, that one. He was an extremely talented ninja, too, but he just wasn't born with the gift of controlling lightning." Harashi said and continued on with more stories from the past that was unrelated to the topic at hand.
"Um...Harashi-sama, what is it you wanted to tell me?" Tenten asked to get their meeting back on track.
"Oh...yes, of course. The meeting." Harashi said, but the look in his eye made Tenten think he wanted to tell a few more stories.
"Well, you see, it is tradition that the heirs of the elemental clans participate in the annual Konoha Battle Festival. The festival is held every ten years as a demonstration of the clan's power. In the main event of the festival, the four elemental heirs go up against four ninjas of the same age-range hand-picked by the hokage herself." Harashi explained.
Tenten grinned evilly, 'Finally, a chance to show everyone my skill.' she thought.
"Alright, so when's this Battle Festival going to take place?" Tenten asked eagerly with gleaming eyes.
"Exactly ten days from now, so you have ten days to sharpen your techniques. The respect of the Hyuuga Clan may hang in the balance so do your best." Harashi said and smiled, unlike his sons, Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuuga, he wasn't vain and could spare a smile once in awhile.
Tenten returned the smile before smiling and running off to tell her friends about the Konoha Battle Festival.
Town Centre (Middle of Konoha)
Birds chirped happily above Konoha as eight boys jumped from roof to roof, heading straight to the center of Konoha where the ninja headquarters and the office of the Hokage was.
The eight boys landed at the roof of a house directly in front of the main building.
"Bit old-fashion, don't you think, Sasuke?" a teen wearing black glasses asked a navy-blue haired boy beside him who had a sheated sword behind his back.
"We were gone for five years and this place hasn't changed a bit." the navy-blue haired boy replied bluntly with a small smirk on his face.
"That's a bit pathetic if you ask me." the vicious looking teen with a white dog from before said.
"Let us not waste anymore time." a teen with bushy eyebrows and a shiny bowlcut said.
Just then the door of the house the boys were standing on opened and a girl with pink hair came out. The girl waved to someone inside her house and started to walk away.
"Pink hair, blue eyes, a Haruno no doubt." the boy with pale, white eyes said and the tone of his voice gave away his unimpressed feeling.
"Oh, c'mon Neji, you still have a grudge against Konoha?" the yellow-haired boy asked with a cheesy grin stapled on his face.
"Naruto is right. One must not waste their youth trapped in the past." the teen with a bowl cut said.
"Actually I've never had a grudge against Konoha. I'll admit that four years ago, I wanted to show the Hyuuga Clan my fury, but my hatred has long since died." Neji said closing his eyes, the other two boys didn't say anthing more.
"Hey, who's up there?" the pink haired girl yelled as she looked suspiciously at the boys.
"Time to go." the boy with black glasses said and one-by-one they tok off, ignoring the pink haired girl's shouts.
"You're quite a loud one." Sasuke said emotionlessly and found amusement at the girl's reaction.
"What did you say?" the girl yelled, waving her fist in the air as Sasuke smirked and took off.
"Sakura, what's going on out there?" a woman asked coming out of the house.
"Mom! There were these ninjas in black cloaks standing on our roof!" Sakura said pointing violently at the red roof of her house.
"Well, if you don't want to go get groceries, you should have just said so and not make up a story." her mom said going back inside the house leaving a dumbfounded Sakura.
Sakura growled, "If I ever see those guys again, I'll kill them, especially the guy who smirked at me!" she yelled to no one in particular.
Office of the Hokage
"And Ebisu has come back with his team from the mission in the Land of Greens." a woman with short, black hair reported in front of an agressive looking woman with blonde hair and a mark on her forehead.
"Thank you Shizune. You may go now." the blonde woman said and watched as Shizune bowed and left.
"Alright, you can come out now." the blonde woman said with closed eyes as eight figures appeared out of nowhere.
"Greetings, Lady Tsunade." the boy in the middle of the eight said as they stepped into the light.
"Welcome back to Konoha." Tsunade said and uttered a smile that the boys could tell was genuine and not fake.
"Thank you." was the plain response while Tsunade looked from left to right examining each of them.
"Before I called you here, I did some research on each of you. You all have quite interesting histories." Tsunade said while taking a bunch of folders out of a cabinet.
"Neji Hyuuga, Age 17, Blood Type O. Former heir of the Hyuuga Clan, but was incapable of controlling lightning and was abandoned. Left Konoha with a group of friends for five years." Tsunade read and looked at the silent Neji sympathetically.
"Sasuke Uchiha, Age 17, Blood Type AB. Left the Uchiha Clan after they refused to help you look for your brother, Missing-Nin Itachi Uchiha. Left Konoha with a group of friends for five years." Tsunade read and Sasuke nodded along.
"Naruto Uzumaki, Age 17, Blood Type B. Father was the 4th Hokage who died fighting off the Nine-Tailed Fox. Left Konoha with Sannin Jiraiya to train for the last 5 years." Tsunade read and emphasized some hatred on Jiraiya's name.
"Shikamaru Nara, Age 17, Blood Type AB. Forced by mother to leave Konoha with a group of friends to train instead of playing Shogi all day. Posseses an IQ of over 200." Tsunade said more calmly as Shikamaru's profile didn't involve any tragic history.
"Choji Akimichi, Age 17, Blood Type B. Begged father, Akimichi Choza, to allow him to train with a group of extremely close friends. Left Konoha with the group of friends after getting permission from father." Tsunade read and smiled at Choji who returned it.
"Kiba Inuzuka, Age 17, Blood Type B. Joined a group of friends on a journey away from Konoha in order to find a remedy for his sick dog, Akamaru. Reported to have found a remedy, but didn't return to the village, saying 'I'm going to train for a while with some friends.'" Tsunade said and her eyes shined when she saw Akamaru before continuing.
"Aburame Shino, Age 18, Blood Type AB. Was assigned a mission by the Aburame Clan to record some rare insects coming from the far east during the Great Migration every 100 years. Left with a group of friends to help accomplish that goal." Shino didn't say a word while his friends glared at him. Tsunade guessed that he didn't tell them about his mission.
"Rock Lee, Age 17, Blood Type A. Trained very closely with Jonin, Might Guy. Learned of his friends leaving the village to train and begged to come along so that he might get stronger as well." Tsunade finished and put back all the folders.
"Well, according to one of my ninjas, Kakashi Hatake, you boys have become exceedingly skilled ninjas after you left. I believe that you've met Kakashi on several occasions during your travels, correct?" Tsunade asked the stiff and silent boys.
"Yes, we met him while he was on missions and he sometimes spent some time with our group even after he finished his mission." Neji said in a respectful tone that Tsunade couldn't tell if it was directed at her or Kakashi.
"Well anyway, Kakashi told me that you boys have reached a level where you could put most of the ninjas in this village to shame. That's quite a feet, coming from him." Tsunade said and could tell that the boys were quite shocked to hear that Kakashi said that as well.
"Alright, we're strong, we get it already, Granny. So what did you call us back here for anyway." Naruto whined at her with a lazy look on his face that was completely erased when the so-called 'Granny' lunged at him.
Naruto fell on the floor with Tsunade standing above him with a look that said 'You-dare-piss-me-off.'
"What...did you call me?" Tsunade asked as she grinded her teeth and cracked her knuckles.
"Ma'am! I called you Ma'am!" Naruto pleaded, realizing that he shouldn't piss her off.
"I thought so." Tsunade said and let him get up while she returned to her desk and held out a pile of papers for each of the boys to take. When each of the boys had the paper, Tsunade continued.
"Anyway, the reason I summoned you here is because you boys have created quite a name for yourselves. Some of my top ninjas like Kakashi and Guy, who you frequently come in contact with, have often told me how powerful you were. I wanted to know if you guys were actually all that, so I sent an experienced ninja to spy on you." Tsunade paused and waited for a reaction that never came before continuing.
"Imagine my surprise when my spy came back here and told me that you boys had taken on Zabuza Momochi, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and won!" Tsunade paused again and again, no reaction. These boys didn't talk very much, did they?
"After that, rumors spread. Next thing you know, I'm hearing all kinds of stories about how your little group had done this and that. A recent story is about how you boys defeated Raiga Kurosuki, another Swordsmen of the Mist, is this true?" Tsunade asked and smiled when the boys lightly nodded. Everything she said was on the sheet she gave them.
"Excuse my interruption, Lady Tsunade, but we didn't come hear to talk about our feats in battle. You requested our presence and we complied obediently, but so far we have not done anything here that would be defined as anything else than a waste of time." Neji said flatly which kind of shocked Tsunade how he could talk with such formality, but with an angry side to it.
"Alright then, let's get to the point. Have you boys ever heard of the Anbu Black Ops?" Tsunade asked plainly to the boys while knowing that any self-respecting ninja would know about the ANBU.
"Ofcourse." Shikamaru replied before Naruto could say anything stupid.
"The task of the ANBU was once to guard and police the ninja world, but that task has long since faded. Now, the ANBU is an elite organization of assasins working for the Five Kages and their old duty is no longer in service." Tsunade said as the boys nodded along.
"Recently, there have been an uprising in rogue ninjas forming militaries, some even have entire nations at their command. The ANBU cannot act because they are best suited for assasination or hunting for small groups, not entire militias. If the Five Villages were to act against these militias who have made themselves very public then..." Tsunade paused.
"Then it will look like justice to the Five Villages, but slaughter to the public. It will give the impression that the Five Villages don't want anyone to threaten their power." Shino said.
"Exactly, therefore we came up with a solution, establish a group of trained ninjas as a fraction of ANBU that will act as a group of rogue missing-nin that will go around dealing with the militaries. This way it will look like the rogue militias are being taken out by missing-nin rather than the Five Villages." Tsunade ended happily.
"And...you want us to be this group? Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed as the others realized what he just said.
"Yes, that's exactly what I want you to be. You will become a fraction of ANBU called the Anbu S.T.R.I.K.E Force." Tsunade said taking a scroll from under her desk and opening it to reveal eight black boxes with the boys names on them.
"Strike? couldn't you come up with a more original name?" Sasuke asked with a mocking tone and a smirk to go along with it.
"S.T.R.I.K.E stands for Supreme Tactical Response to International and Key Emergencies." Tsunade answered plainly, but looked at the boys curiously when they looked a bit suspicious.
"What's in it for us?" Kiba asked and Tsunade sighed before responding. She knew they wouldn't agree without some reward being granted to them.
"Alirght then, in return the Five Kages will pay you a large sum of money for each mission you accomplish, not including expenses ofcourse. Also, we are willing to grant you access to all libraries, databases, top-secret locations, etc. that are usually only available to high-ranking ninjas." Tsunade said and watched delightfully as the eight boys considered it amongst themselves.
"Fine, we accept your terms." Neji said formally making Tsunade want to laugh a little.
"So we have a deal then, gentlemen?" Tsunade asked as the boys nodded.
"Well then, I guess it's official, from now on, you are known as Anbu STRIKE." Tsunade declared and gestured to the eight black boxes.
Lee was the first to reach over and grab one of the boxes with his name on it with the others following soon after.
Inside the boxes were a neatly folded, completely black ninja outfit with pocketless pants, a thinly layered vest, long sleeves with small cuts on the end, leather shoes, gloves with a pheonix design on them, an oversized hood, a belt equiped with six compartments, forehead protectors with the Konoha symbol crossed out, a necklace with a golden kunai at the tip and a silver mask that covered the eyes with an interesting design on them.
Then, at the very bottom of the box were Ninja ID Cards with the name, age, birth, blood type and rank filled with question marks. The profile picture at the side was a grey shadow with the words 'CLASSIFIED' marked in the middle. On the top of the card were the words 'ANBU STRIKE' etched in gold writing.
"With those cards, you boys will have access to all libraries, labratories, databases and secret locations in the known shinobi world. It will also act as a passport that will allow travel back and forth borders of almost every nation as well as signify your rank to ninjas in the five villages. To top it off, these allow you access to the ANBU Banks and the Five Nations' national treasuries." Tsunade said the last part with a bit of bitterness.
"Whoa, so these little things can actually do all that?" Naruto asked looking over the small card.
"Yes, so anyway, since you boys accept my terms, you will have to report to the ANBU Headquarters for a briefing on your role and the types of missions you will have to deal with, after that you will have your first mission." Tsunade said as she walked over to a bookshelf and pushed an orange book in making the bookshelf move to the side revealing a staircase.
The boys or rather, Lee and Naruto made a small 'Whoa' at the staircase.
"This passage will lead you straight to outside the back of the village where you will find a pinecone tree which has a branch in the middle. Pull that branch and it will reveal an underground path to the ANBU Headquarters." Tsunade said as she ushered the boys inside.
Outside Konohagakure
A sound similiar to a mini-explosion was heard as the eight boys threw open the cover of the passage to find themselves at the back of Konoha.
"So where's the pinecone tree?" Naruto asked looking around.
"It's right there, moron." Sasuke said pointing to an aged pinecone tree.
"No, aren't pinecones those nut-looking thingimajingies." Naruto asked innocently.
"Those are acorns." Choji answered munching some chips he got from the Land of Birds.
"Alright let us not waste anymore time than we already have, my youthful friends." Lee said, but it sounded more like a salute than anything.
Sasuke pulled the branch of the tree which caused the ground beside it to crumble and reveal a stone pathway.
"How original." Neji said sarcastically and went in followed by his companions.
Underground Pathway to ANBU Headquarters
"Are we there yet?" Naruto asked for the tenth time in the last hour.
"No, we are not." Neji struggled to say calmly. Over the past four hours, each of them had taken turns to yell at Naruto. Sasuke did it the first 7 times, followed by Kiba then finally Neji to try and prevent the other two from strangling the blonde.
"Why the heck is ANBU Headquarters so far away from Konoha anyway? We've been walking for 6 hours! I haven't eaten anything since this morning." Naruto asked.
"Isn't it obvious, they placed ANBU Headquarters in a place where ALL the villages will have easy access to it. Moron." Sasuke muttered the last part.
"Alright, what do you guys say we take a break and continue on tommorow? I'm getting pretty tired." Shikamaru asked while letting out a yawn.
"Your always tired." Shino said plainly which earned him a small glare on Shikamaru's part.
"We should keep going. If we give up when we get tired then the flower of our youth shall cease to bloom." Lee said as he jogged in place.
"Alright. Let's eat some dinner and go to sleep. We'll wake up early to continue our journey." Sasuke finally declared after another hour.
"But the people at ANBU Headquarters are expecting us to be there." Lee complained.
"Well, not like they're gonna die from waiting a little longer." Kiba said as he slumped back.
"Besides when we get there, we're going to be assigned a mission after the briefing so we can't be so exhausted." Neji added which seemed to convice Lee.
The boys ate dinner and chatted a bit to each other before falling asleep one by one.
Finally, only Sasuke and Shino remained awake and after a few hours they too fell asleep.
From behind them, a pale white snake with glittering, black eyes slithered closer to them as if to spy on them.
So, how was it? Good, Bad, Horrible?
Well, please review and thank you very much for reading this chapter. : )