"Where could he possibly be?" the fifth Mizukage muttered to herself.
Mai Terumi (the fifth mizukage) is a slender woman now in her forties. Who has ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herringbone pattern at the back, a top-knot tied with a dark-blue band, and with four bangs at the front. Two bangs are short, with one covering her right eye, and two are long, crossing each other on her chest, just below her chin. Her eyes are light green. She sat at her cluttered desk in her traditional outfit, a long-sleeved dark-blue dress, that falls just below the knees. She also wears shorts in the same color as her dress and, underneath those, mesh leggings reaching down over her knees. Around her waist, she wears a belt with a pouch attached to the back on the left. She also wears high-heeled sandals and shin-guards reaching up over her knees. Mei wore her usual dark blue makeup and nail polish.
"You wanted to see me Lady fifth?" Asked a boy who couldn't of been older than fourteen.
"Oh Hitoma, come in!" The fifth mizukage said happily.
Hitoma closed the door to the mizukage's office and approached the leader of the village.
"Hitoma, you just got back from your first attempt at the chunin exams."
"That's correct Lady fifth but the results have already been announced and I didn't make chunin." Hitoma said dejectedly.
"Hitoma?" Mei said amused. "I wasn't there to witness your fight in the final round of the exams but you and I both know that what you did exceeded expectations. So I'm here to promote you past chunin to jonin."
"What!" Hitoma said in disbelief.
"That's correct because of your special skill that you showed during the chunin exams I have decided to assign you a mission that you can start next month." The mizukage explained.
"Thank you lady Mizukage! I will not fail!"
About one month later
Hitoma walked into the fifth mizukage's office clad in a typical Kiri ninja uniform. He wore his forehead protector on his forehead and his all gray ninja uniform included the distinctive gray flak jacket of Kirigakure ninja to finally receive his S-rank mission.
"Hitoma." The Mizukage said happily "Because Kirigakure is still apart of the Allied Shinobi Forces most of our Jonin ninja are tasked with the reconstruction effort to help fix the damage caused by the fourth shinobi world war. This being said I have assigned you as a squad leader of three academy graduates."
"What?" Hitoma said in disbelief. "But I thought I was going on a important mission for the village! Not coaching a bunch of children!"
"Hitoma, This is a very important assignment! You should consider it an honor." The Mizukage replied. "Besides these "kids" are only a year younger than you are."
"Forgive me Lady Mizukage." Hitoma said. "I'm just disappointed because I thought I was being deployed to find "Him"."
"It's okay Hitoma. Because I knew you would take it this way I've taken the liberty of compiling files on every graduate student. You have about a day to figure out who you want on your team."
Mei motioned towards a stack of about thirty brown folders.
"Thank you m'lady." Hitoma took the stack of files and exited the office.
Hitoma angrily threw the stack of files down on the desk in front of him.
"Stupid mission!" Hitoma muttered.
He pulled the first file out of the stack and began to read.
Later that day
Hitoma threw the last file down on the cluttered desk.
"Damn! I can't decide!"
After hours of reading over each graduates file Hitoma had narrowed the candidates for his squad down to about nine.
Hitoma closed his eyes and cleared his mind. Then he thought to himself
"Who would you chose."
Deep in the recesses his mind Hitoma and an ominous figure clad in a black robe came face to face.
The figure finally spoke.
"So you've made it to the rank of Joinin?"
"Yes I have… All thanks to you sensei." Hitoma replied with a deep bow "Now I need your help in deciding a squad to suit my ultimate goal."
"Ah!.. You wish to assemble a squad to fight "Him" and the three others!" The figure said amused
"Yes that is what I wish to do Itachi." Hitoma replied.
"Very well, who do you have in mind?" Itachi Uchiha asked.
The next morning
Hitoma burst through the door of the Mizukage's office.
"Hitoma! Have you decied?" Mei asked.
Hitoma threw down the three files he had been carrying.
"I took the liberty of dropping the rest off at the academy.
The Mizukage took the three files and opened each one carefully like the contents inside were explosive.
"You're positive about these three?" Mei asked.
"Yes m'lady this is squad 13, Team Hitoma ."