It was dark when Shiro woke. From his bed, he could see the radiance of the moon outside his window. Checking the clock on his nightstand, he saw it was nearly the time he had planned to wake.

He got out of bed already dressed in his shinobi clothes. His vest, with all his equipment lay neatly spread out on a table. With a sober face, Shiro quickly equipped himself. He slipped into his green vest, and zipped up the front. Most of his important items were already sealed into scrolls pocketed in the scroll pouches. The large pouch, containing basic medical supplies, and standard ninja tools he attached behind him to the clasped buckle belt. A couple of smaller pouches he attached on either side of his waist. Then he wrapped a pair of bandages tightly around his legs, and around his right thigh before slipping into his sturdy shinobi sandals. His shuriken holster he strapped over the bandage on his thigh. His favorite weapon, a straight tanto with a blade of gleaming silver he strapped above his main pouch. Within its sheath, it appeared nothing more than a short stick. Afterwards he slipped on his black gloves with metal plating protecting the knuckles. Finally he wrapped his bandana around his head. The symbol of the Leaf Village was proudly etched into a piece of metal stitched onto the front of the cloth.

Shiro exited his room suppressing a yawn as he did so. It was only three hours sleep. A light was shining from downstairs. A touch suspicious, he cautiously went down the stairs, and found Naruto seated despondently at the kitchen table. The boy looked up at him, and his expression brightened as he smiled.

"Nissan!"

Shiro gave the boy he had come to love as a little brother a gentle smile. Naruto hurried over to give him a tight hug, and Shiro felt his heart clench as he moved his hands to return the hold.

Naruto was an outcast of the village, despised, and alone for something he had no control over, or even knew. Many years ago the village had been attacked by the Nine Tailed Fox, a being of pure chakra. Many shinobi died in the attack, and a great part of the village was devastated. Being a creature of pure chakra, the Nine Tails was impossible to kill. It was defeated only when the Fourth Hokage sealed it into a newborn child at the cost of his own life.

After the Fourth's death, the retired, and aging Sarutobi, the Third Hokage reassumed his role, and passed a law that no one was to ever speak of this. He hoped that people would be able to see past the pain the attack had caused, but alas, the villagers only saw the demon in the boy. Though they obeyed the law, with those who didn't being severely punished, they despised Naruto, and treated him thus. Naturally their children took up the views of their parents, and Naruto found himself alone, and shunned for a reason he knew not.

Shiro at first hadn't cared about the boy, but one day upon encountering him in a store and observing the cold treatment he had to endure, sympathy rose up. It was a rare feeling. He spent the next couple of days observing the boy, before deciding to befriend him.

Naruto had been at first suspicious for no one had ever treated him normally, but upon waving a fat purse along with the offer to treat him, his defenses had pitifully shattered. That was the start of the bond that would bind the two together like family. Delighted to find someone who didn't shun him, Naruto had taken to seeking him out each day. One night Shiro was woken by soft knocking on his front door. Upon opening, he found Naruto standing there. The boy had shyly asked if he could sleep with him, and with a smile, Shiro let him in. He fell asleep again with Naruto snuggled against him. It was shortly after he offered Naruto the opportunity to live with him. He had been tackled with a flying hug, and his vest was dampened by tears.

"Good morning, Naruto," Shiro said quietly as the boy released him. He noted his worn features. "Why are you up so early? Did you sleep?"

Naruto shook his head. "I couldn't sleep. I'm scared… I wanted to say goodbye."

Shiro tenderly ruffled the blond hair. "I'm happy that I can say goodbye. I have to go, come with me Naruto."

Shiro opened the door of his house, and stepped out into the slumbering streets of Konoha. The moon was still bright, and vigorous in the night sky. He softly closed the door. Naruto slipped a hand into his gloved one, and the two proceeded through the snoring village to the gates.

At the gates there was a small procession waiting. Shiro was surprised to see Iruka, and the Third Hokage waiting alongside Izumo Kamizuki, and Kotetsu Hagane, his two best friends and teammates. A little way off leaning against the guardhouse was the jonin the Hokage had assigned to protect him. Shiro recognized the shock of white hair, and masked features immediately. It was Kakashi Hatake, the copy cat ninja, and one of the top jonin of the village. Shiro was hardly surprised. It would make sense the Hokage would pick someone like that concerning the nature of the mission.

Shiro walked up to the group, and looked at them silently. There were hardly any words to be spoken. The mission was clear.

Iruka Umino was the first to speak. Iruka was a brown skinned chunin with a scar across the bridge of his nose. He had done his fair share of bloody missions, but now worked as a teacher at the Academy due to his gentle nature which was more suited to handling children than spilling blood.

"It's a long mission, Shiro. Come back alive. Naruto, and I will be waiting."

Shiro smiled at the scarred chunin, and briefly clasped his hand. Iruka returned the smile, and moved to stand beside Naruto where he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. Initially Iruka had been wary of the boy, but he had soon come to regard him much like a surrogate brother. He was the only teacher at the Academy that treated the boy fairly and kindly outside of class.

"I'll take good care of Naruto," Iruka promised solemnly. Shiro felt his heart lighten at the words. He trusted Iruka to look after him. If he never returned, he was certain Iruka would look after Naruto much like he had done.

Shiro knelt down, to face the blond boy. "Goodbye, Naruto. Just wait, I'll be back in a year at least. Listen to Iruka, I want to see you have graduated when I return."

Naruto's eyes were moist; the boy struggling to hide his tears, but instead he gave a cheerful smile, and a thumbs-up. "I promise Shiro-Nissan. I will be the best ninja in the village, believe it!"

With a smile, and a chuckle, Shiro gave him a final hug. Naruto's hold around him tightened, and he felt the boy's hands clench around his vest, then he released him, and stood up.

"Lord Hokage," Shiro said with a brief dip of his head to the Third Hokage who stood silently watching. The aged man smiled wanly at him.

"Come Shiro, you have known me long enough to call me Grandpa. A squad of Outside shinobi will assist you for the duration of your mission. They will be under your command. One of them will meet you upon docking." Sarutobi's voice hardened. "Do not let the past interfere with your judgement. Your primarary focus will be the mission you have been assigned, and you will fulfill it your best capabilities as a shinobi of the Leaf Village."

"I understand Lord Hokage," Shiro said in an orderly tone. He cast a glance at the overlapping shadows of the gatehouse where Kakashi lounged. The white haired jonin hadn't moved a muscle.

"Ready, Shiro?" Kotetsu asked as Izumo looked at him expectantly.

Shiro nodded. Kakashi finally pushed himself away from the wall, and the group stepped outside the gate. Shiro glanced back one final time. He took in the sight of Naruto standing besides Iruka, and the Hokage. Behind them were the buildings of the village; his home. It would be more than a year before he would ever see it again, if at all. With one last smile to Naruto, he turned away, and shot off down the road flanked by his team.

They kept the fast pace all the way into dawn, and through the morning. For a while they kept to the road, but after many miles, turned off into the wooded terrain. They soared swiftly through the forest from tree to tree; leaping over rocks, streams, and flowing rivers until they reached the harbor town of Irushaki at noon.

The docks were a scene of heavy bustle. Brawny workers were unloading the contents of merchant ships, and storing it besides the piers. Shiro swept his eyes across the ships moored until he saw one that stood out from its wooden brethren. Constructed of metal, and operated by steam, that would be their transport, and cover. The gangplank was in place, and the captain was ready to meet them.

"So are you the shinobi I was paid to ferry to the Outside?"

"We are," Shiro responded. "Is everything ready?"

"Shipshape, and ready!" The captain responded with zeal. "We can leave the moment you are on board."

"Do so."

The captain spun around, and proceeded down the deck bellowing orders. The gangplank was removed, and bellowing great gouts of black smoke, the ship was steered away from the docks, and out of the harbor into open sea.

Shiro leaned against the side rails, as he stared across the ocean. He was a young boy of eighteen with short dark hair mostly hidden by his bandanna. A few stray bangs peeked through underneath like unruly children. His face was pleasant, and smooth with high, slightly angular cheekbones. His eyes possessed an unnatural hardness, and often raked whoever they fell upon with a cynical gaze.

He had been born near the end of the Third Great Ninja War. His parents had both been shinobi. His mother retired from the fighting when she gave birth to him. He never knew his father except from the stories she would fondly tell him every night when he was little. Often when he was young, his mother would take him to his father's grave, and stand there with tears slowly trickling from her eyes.

Perhaps this affected him in some way. As a child, Shiro possessed a seriousness rarely seen in children his age. Inspired by his parents, he declared his intention to become a shinobi. His mother refused at first, but he persisted day after day, month after month. He sought advice, and training from other shinobi. Most laughed at him, but there were a few who provided help. When his mother caught him practicing chakra control one day, she was furious, but Shiro faced her down, and again stated his intention to become a shinobi. It was a battle of resolve between mother, and son. With the greatest reluctance, Mitero eventually gave her consent, though it was a decision she would come to regret for the rest of her short life.

She began to train him in preparation for the Academy. When he joined at six, he was far ahead of his class, and his instructors praised him often. By the year's end before graduation, Shiro was by far the top of his class. But on that fateful day before the graduation ceremony, his class was taken outside the village on a survival training exercise.

Overseen by Tanaka Okido, a jonin level academy instructor who had taught his class the whole year, none suspected danger. And when Okido suddenly drove his sword into the heart of one of the two accompanying teachers, as masked shinobi burst from the trees, Shiro stood frozen in shock.

The other instructor cried out a frantic order to run, before he clashed with the enemy. There was brief clang of metal upon metal, and then he fell upon the soft grass never to rise. By the time, Shiro recovered, he and his classmates had already been incapacitated.

Blindfolded, they were taken to an unknown facility, and thrown into cells where they were given ample food each day. However every few weeks, their captors would fetch a few of them. They were dragged off, and never seen again.

Shiro was young, but he was well trained. When the day came where they approached his cell, he launched an attack on his three captors. Not expecting a child to be so ferocious, Shiro was able to seize a weapon from one, and stab the man through the heart. His two cellmates immediately joined, and together they overpowered, and killed the remaining guards. But the clamor had aroused the base.

Shiro fought fiercely, and when one of his classmates, a girl he had taken a strong interest in during his Academy year was viciously impaled, he lost focus, and allowed his rage to consume him. This lack of focus made him an easy opponent to subdue.

When he regained consciousness, he was again in his cell, but now alone. A tall pale faced man, with slit eyes was standing outside observing him. Shiro would later come to know him as Orochimaru the Snake Sannin. A former student of the Third Hokage, the man had betrayed the Leaf Village for his own goals.

The Sannin must have been impressed by him, for he was well treated thereafter, but when they finally came for him, Shiro would wish he had died. The fates of his classmates were revealed in the form of painful experiments carried out by a sallow, thin faced man known as Doctor.

It was eight months of hell as a lab rat, before the experiments ceased. The Sannin was delighted that he had survived, and had gained an artificial bloodline as a result.

Orochimaru ordered him trained, and this task was taken on by his former traitorous instructor. The man was kindly, and treated him much like a stern father, perhaps through some sense of guilt. For the next three years, Shiro played the game of deception. He was often sent on missions alongside his captors, and tasked to carry out gruesome deeds to test his loyalty. He never hesitated. His captivity had hardened him to what a ninja's life was like. If he was to have any chance of escape, he would have to gain their trust.

Despite his seeming loyalty, he was kept under sharp watch, but one day the hideout was discovered, and attacked by three squads of passing Leaf ninja. During the fighting, Shiro saw an opportunity, and much like the moment three years ago, turned on his former instructor, and drove a blade through the man's body.

Okido only gave him a small smile filled with regret. The man pulled him close, and whispered some words into his ear before collapsing. Shiro regarded the corpse before breaking away to surrender to his compatriots.

The Leaf shinobi regarded him with suspicion, but agreed to take him back to the village under the condition he was to be restrained with seals.

The village was much like he remembered it. The Third Hokage had given him a sorrowful look when he inquired eagerly about his mother. Mitero had passed away due to sorrow a year after his disappearance; leaving behind a letter should he ever return.

Shiro broke down, and cried bitterly as the village leader embraced him tenderly. Like any child, he had loved his mother dearly, and she was the sole occupation of his thoughts when he was in captivity. With nothing left, his life seemed meaningless.

After recounting his time of captivity, Shiro was given the option to live as a civilian or rejoin the shinobi ranks. He opted for the latter as that was all he ever knew, and would be good for. Plus it gave him a purpose. The Hokage tested him personally, and declared him jonin level, but Shiro requested the rank of a chunin with the exception that he could take any higher level mission without his rank barring him.

Despite wanting a simple bleak existence, he became known as one of the best solo chunin in the village. He completed all his missions spotlessly, but with a cold unfeeling demeanor, and ruthless precision. Worried about his mental state, Sarutobi decided to assign him to a team with two other chunin whom he had informed previously of their new teammate's past.

Kotetsu was a loud brash individual who often favored the direct approach while Izumo was milder, and more reserved. Together the pair made it their personal goal to drag their new teammate from his shell. Shiro detested them, and the day he flew at them in a murderous rage after being subjected to one of Kotetsu's particularly disruptive pranks was the day they declared their mission a success. The pair high fived each other as they fled from the furious chunin.

Granted they were now both thoroughly detested by their new teammate, but that could easily be worked around. As time went by, Shiro couldn't help but form an attachment with the two, and eventually they became his closest friends. But some scars run too deep to be cured. Though Shiro became noticeably lighter, and more open with expressing his emotions around those he trusted, he still possessed a merciless outlook in his work.

It was evening when the ship approached the barrier which hid the Shinobi Continent from Outside nations. Shiro could see the fleet of the Land of Fire forming a blockade. The barrier only had a few access points. Each of these gateways was heavily guarded by the Feudal Lord of the respective territory.

The barrier was a mystery to all. No one knew how it worked; it was said the Great Sage of Sixth Paths had created it to hide the Elemental Nations. Some theorized it was a massive illusion, others said it was a space time jutsu that pocketed the entire continent in another plane. Regardless of what was true, the world beyond the barrier was frightening. It showed them just how small, and vulnerable they were. The countries that existed beyond were superior in technology and size, but they lacked utterly the mystic power of Chakra.

Like a parasite, the Hidden Villages were quick to worm themselves into this new frontier. Shinobi acting as spies integrated themselves into the workings of this new world; from the lowliest worker to the highest seated politician. But the manpower required was just too much, thus forcing them to find allies who held seats of power in which they could confide in. These Outsiders were strictly watched, for if word was ever leaked about the Shinobi Nations, the result would be catastrophic.

Not long after gaining a foothold, a new world was discovered. One that was not all that strange to the shinobis; The world of Magic. The magical society operated much like the shinobis. They concealed themselves, and lived among their normal counterparts. They used an unknown energy source to perform feats much like chakra, but they could manipulate it in ways outside of combat which shinobi were unable to imitate. It didn't take long for the Hidden Villages to send in their spies. Already spread thin among the modern nations, this stretched their resources even more. Thus the presence they were able to establish was minor. It was a war of espionage on two fronts.

Shiro was somewhat acquainted with the Outside. A missing ninja had stolen valuable information from one of Konoha's couriers. Shiro was given the order to recover the information, and eliminate her. He tracked her to a harbor town, and interrupted an exchange between her, and some shinobi from the Hidden Stone. By the time he had cleaned up the foe, the rogue nin had escaped on a ship. He had the information, but the other part of his mission was still incomplete. Eliminate the thief.

It was then Shiro made the brash decision to pursue her on the spot. There was no time to waste on getting the permission papers to cross over the Outside. He left the information with a shinobi courier, along with a message of his whereabouts and goal. Then he found the captain of a smuggling vessel to ferry him past the blockade. He had managed to discover the name, and destination of his target's ship beforehand, and that was his first foray into the Outside.

It was a dogged four month pursuit, and Shiro was ready to give up several times. He chased her to a nation called Japan. The similarities between their cultures had astonished him. Could these people have voyaged from the Shinobi Continents Centuries ago? The new world had floored him, but he was fortunate that his shinobi outfit had immediately earned him the attention of friendly forces. He was filled in on the new functions of the modern world, and after a month was able to acquire with their assistance the location of his target; only for her to vanish upon storming her apartment.

Shiro tracked her across Japan, and finally in desperation she took a flight to a collection of nations called Europe. It was there Shiro was ready to admit defeat. The place was just too vast for him. But his stubbornness prevailed. It took him two months to get a good grasp on English, and while he studied, he searched for every possible clue to pick up his target's trail. No matter how good one was, there was always something overlooked, and eventually Shiro found her again. This time he had her. She was now living in a simple house in the countryside. Shiro cautiously infiltrated the homestead, and stopped dead. The little girl he found inside wasn't the one he was tracking. She screamed shrilly, and he felt a presence speed towards the cry.

Shiro turned in time to prepare himself as his target burst through the front door, and with murderous eyes clashed against him.

"Why can't you leave us alone?" she screamed at him, tears of rage, and desperation trailing from her eyes.

He gave no answer as he calmly deflected each blow patiently waiting for the opening that was sure to come in her emotional state, and when she lunged again, he sidestepped and slashed her wrist. As her sword clattered to the floor, he thrust his blade into her side. Not a fatal blow, he thought apathetically as he pulled the blade out, and aimed it at her heart.

"Leave my sister alone!" A young voice screamed at him tearfully. Shiro felt the little girl throw herself at his waist where she clung desperately, and beat him with tiny fists. "Please don't kill her. Don't hurt my sister," she begged, her words almost unintelligible.

Shiro stared down at the short form attached to him. He quickly placed a foot down on the discarded blade preventing his target from acquiring it during his distraction. The sight rustled the cold strings of his heart. Looking at the tearful face of the little girl, and the defiant one of his target, Shiro was reminded of the relationship he had with Naruto. The boy had filled the hole in his heart which his friends couldn't, the hole left by the death of his mother. He now had someone he could consider family.

With softened eyes, Shiro unclasped the fingers of the little sister, and retreated. "The information you stole, and attempted to sell to the Hidden Stone was to support your sister wasn't it?"

The older sister glared at him, but at last relented. "My sister had a bloodline, and my village was going to kill her because of it. I couldn't let that happen so I grabbed her, and we ran. It was chance when I came across your courier. I saw an opportunity to make the funds that would support us."

Shiro stared at her silently for a long time, before heaving a sigh, and giving a mirthless chuckle. "I chased you for four months in this strange world, and now I'm letting you live. This was not worth it."

He turned, and headed for the door.

"Wait!" The call stopped him at the doorway. He looked back to see her embracing her sister. "Thank you."

Shiro gave no response, and left. He made his way back to the Hidden Continents where he gave a falsified report to the Hokage. The old man had merely chuckled, and reprimanded him on it. Unknown to Shiro until now, the Hokage had tasked an Anbu level shinobi to shadow him in the Outside. The ninja had reported the entire event to him. Shiro flushed in embarrassment before straightening with concern, but the Hokage assured him that the girl he chose to spare had been left alone. Sarutobi asked him for his reason in sparing them, and listened quietly. Seeing Shiro still in possession of his humanity had filled him with gentle pride.

Now this would mark his second foray into the Outside, and into world he was unfamiliar with. Shiro felt the scroll in his vest that stored all the information it could hold regarding the Wizarding world. He looked back at his companions. Izumo was talking to the captain, and getting their papers ready to show the blockade officials. Kotetsu was lounging by the rails a short distance away, and finally Kakashi was seated on the deck, nose buried in an orange book. A slight smile crossed his face. Having his two friends with him eased the homesick pangs he felt. Would he return from this mission? He would try his best. He had no intention of leaving his foster brother alone like his mother had done to him.