Chapter 1
The Village Hidden in the Road
All is silent as dusk descends upon the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The occasional stirring of the wind agitates the trees and their leaves, causing flickering shadows to dance along the dirt path that leads up to the gates. A normal man may jump as a shadow passes over him, concerned that some creature is hidden, waiting, to pounce upon him. However, the ninjas guarding the entrance are battle-hardened soldiers. They are not startled by the trick of the moonlight. They should be.
The silence remains unbroken as a shadow passes over one of the shinobi. His partner happens to look away at that time and doesn't notice his fellow's disappearance until a kunai is embedded in his chest. Sometimes, the shadows aren't just shadows. Sometimes, you should be scared of what you cannot see or hear. The bodies, of course, disappear into the surrounding shrubbery.
The objective of killing these two Hidden Leaf shinobi is not something as simple as gaining unnoticed access. It is more a message than anything else. A declaration of something to come. The night continues on in silence, the entirety of Konoha unaware of the blood spilt. For now.
"Aw, come on, Tomomi! Why do you always get to choose?" Four shinobi were walking through the forest around mid-day, along a dirt path. The speaker was a boy, roughly sixteen years old, well built, with unruly blue hair. He wore a simple brown tunic and pants with a dull yellow vest. A headband could be seen tight around his forehead, with a simple pair of parallel diagonal lines.
"I'm the leader, that's why." The girl who responded, Tomomi, was at the head of the small group, purposefully leading them with a small smirk on her face. Perhaps seventeen years of age, her long red hair was pulled into a ponytail that swayed with each step. She was clad in a brown tube-top that exposed her mid-drift and a short, low riding skirt. She wore an identical yellow vest. Her headband was also around her forehead. "You really should stop complaning, Takeru, we're all tired of hearing you."
A boy with short, shaggy pink hair put an arm around Takeru's shoulders. He was clad in a sleeveless brown shirt and shorts, also with a yellow vest, however his headband was nowhere to be seen. "You know you always enjoy yourself, anyway, Takeru! Do you remember that time in the Cloud Village..."
Takeru blushed and pushed the boy, Daiki, away. "Nobody asked you!" He clenched his fists and glared at the path as it passed beneath his feet. Daiki smiled and quickened his pace to catch up with Tomomi and walk beside her.
The fourth member of the group walked along silently, a few paces away. Her hair is black and falls down to her shoulders and she is clad in a brown tunic and shorts, but with no vest. Her headband is on her forhead, and she is staring nervously into the trees to her right. Her name is Kazuko.
Several minutes pass with noone speaking until Takeru finally looks up and begins to voice an inquiry. "So, when are we-"
Tomomi turns around, smiling, and puts a finger to Takeru's lips. "No need to finish that question! The truth is, it should be in sight any second now!" Takeru gently pushes his sister's arm away and forces himself to smile.
"Finally. Why are we walking anyway? We would have been there by now if we-" This time, Daiki silenced Takeru by putting a finger to his lips. Takeru's smile quickly vanished and he bit Daiki's finger. Daiki's eyes narrowed in anger and he pulled his hand away, backpedaling to catch up with Tomomi, who had turned and begun walking again.
A few moments passed before the Hidden Leaf Village's gate came in to view, towering over the travellers. Several shinobi were just outside the gate, searching the nearby area while two more stood guard. As soon as one of the shinobi noticed the four newcomers, he abandoned what he was doing and approached them. "Greetings, welcome to Konohagakure. May I ask what business you have here?"
Tomomi made it obvious that she was looking past him at the other shinobi. "What's going on over there? Did you lose something?"
The shinobi cleared his throat. "I am not permitted to answer that question. I am, however, allowed to deny you entrance into the village."
"Oh, right, sorry," Tomomi playfully tapped herself on the forehead, "um, we are here on a mission from the Village Hidden in the Road. Is it at all possible that we could speak with Lady Hokage?"
The shinobi stepped aside for a moment, speaking into his headset. Takeru leaned toward Tomomi, whispering, "do you think we might have come at a bad time?"
Having finished his conversation, the shinobi returned to the four. "Right this way." He led the four just inside the gate, to the guardhouse where two other shinobi were seated. "Kotetsu, could you take these travellers to Lady Tsunade?"
Kotetsu nodded, taking the place of the previous shinobi and leading the four through the village. As they walked, the four marveled at the sites around them. Each village had its own distinct style, and Konohagakure was essentially the New York of the shinobi world. People lived their lives amongst the dozens of shops, schools, and restaurants. A sense of constant movement could be detected just under the gentle buzzing sound that people living their daily lives made. Truly, Tomomi, Takeru, Daiki, and Kazuko had never seen anything like it.
After several minutes, they entered a building and traversed up a few flights of stairs until they found themselves outside of a door. "Wait here." Kotetsu ordered as he slipped through the doors.
"Wow, this place is awesome!" Takeru said, smiling.
"See, now aren't you glad I chose this as our next destination?" Tomomi replied, smirking. Daiki leaned up against the wall and slowly slid down into a sitting position.
"Hm...I wonder if the rumors are true..." Takeru thoughtfully stroked his chin, looking up at nothing in particular.
Kazuko glanced down the hall nervously. "Which ones? The ones that say the Leaf Village is always under attack or the ones that say their Jinchuriki likes to go on random rampages?" Daiki looked up at her, an eyebrow arched curiously.
Takeru smirked, slowly turning his head to look at her. "Well, naturally, those. But I was thinking of-" The doors opened again and Kotetsu stepped out.
"Alright, you can go in now." Daiki stood up and the four arranged themselves in single file, Tomomi first, then Daiki, Kazuko, and finally, Takeru. Regaining their composure and painting on straight faces, the four teenagers marched into the room, where, across from them, Tsunade sat at her desk, with Shizune standing back and to the right and Sakura standing back and to the left.