(Warning: The following is a non-profit fan-based product. Naruto and Naruto Shippuden are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo. Please support the official release of the manga and anime series)

Chapter 1: The missing piece

"Years ago, a nine tailed fox attacked the village of Konohagakure no Sato. With one lash of its tails, it could topple mountains, and cause tsunamis. To fight the demon, the people assembled all of the shinobi of the village. One brave shinobi was able to seal up the demon, because of that he lost his life. That shinobi was called the 4th Hokage."

-Hiruzen Sarutobi, the 3rd Hokage

It was a late afternoon in the rugged mountains of the land of fire. Nestled in between two particularly large cone shaped mountains was a monastery. This sanctuary was known among the people as the fire temple, for it's location in the land of fire. The temple was the sacred training ground of the ninja monks, a group of sohei who were well known for the powerful abilities known as the gift of the heavenly sages.

Within the fire temple the monks had begun their daily prayers in the spacious courtyard of the monastery. Every monk congregated in the courtyard, and sat in prayer position, ten monks in each row out of 1 hundred rows, making approximately 1 thousand Monks! In front of the congregation was a particularly old monk. He stood north of the monks on a platform overlooking all of them, and leading the prayer service.

This monk was one of the few survivors of the previous fire temple, which had been destroyed by two horribly powerful ninja. He recalled as a young man watching helplessly as his fellow monks were killed, and the temples rafters being demolished by their powerful ninjutsu. It had seemed that with the destruction of the temple, that the faith of the order had as well been destroyed. But when all hope seemed lost, he and his fellow survivors renewed their faith, gathered new followers, and built a larger and greater temple. And when the eldest of all the monks died, he chose this monk as the new abbot.

This old monk looked happily over his congregation of followers, his eyes aglow with a mixture of happiness and wonder. Every day before his service he loved counting the faces of his humble followers, some were young apprentices, and some were masters. He counted 1 hundred rows, each with ten monks. He scanned each row quickly examining each person. But as he reached the 1 hundredth row he noticed something very odd. He adjusted his thick-rimmed glasses. He counted and recounted the row again but each time he counted only nine monks.

Out of the corner there was an empty plot. Like the missing piece of a child's jigsaw puzzle.

(Meanwhile)

Elsewhere within the confines of the temple, a tall sinewy man was scouting a large corridor with tall wooden pillars that supported the roof. The man had a small spiky brown beard that matched the hue of his scruffy brunette hair. He wore a grayish green vest with many pockets and other compartments, and a red spiral badge on the back. This was usually worn by a Konoha chunin or Jonin to denote their status. To prove his allegiance to konoha he wore a metal forehead protector with the symbol of a leaf on it, the protector spread across his brow and came down to protect his face and chin.

This man was apparently searching avidly for someone else. Calling out his name as loudly as he could. "Tatsumaki-kun! Tatsumaki-kun! Get out here right now. If you think you can skip out on prayers again you're sorely mistaking." He said loudly in his deep nasally voice. Because this man was focusing on the rafters of the ceiling where he expected to see him hiding, he did not notice the thin, almost transparent steel wire that lay beneath him. Once he tripped the wire his attention was focused on the sound of a cleverly placed trap being triggered.

The man looked to his horror at a plummeting bucket of icy cold water. It came down faster and faster; it's momentum giving it speed, until the bucket landed on his head, splashing ice water all over his face and clothes. From the darkness of the corridor came a sinister snickering laugh. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! You sure are a big idiot Tenzo-sensei. You must be a real bad ninja if you couldn't see such an obvious trap." The source of the voice came from an immature boy of about 15. He wore a black jacket with an upturned collar. He also had a long blue scarf that reached down to the floor. His wrists were covered with multiple bracelets that clinked and clanked as his arms moved. But probably most prominent was his spiky ebony hair, and two patches of scotch tape that covered his cheeks.

"How could I have seen it in this darkness? Now get down from there and get to your prayers!" the man named Tenzo responded angrily. "No I don't have to sit through that crap. It's boring as hell!" The boy named Tatsumaki said irritatingly as he stuck out his tongue. "Alright then," Tenzo said calmly, "if you're not coming down willingly, then we'll just have to do this the hard way." He then weaved a rat seal to prepare to cast a jutsu. Meanwhile on the wooden pillar that Tatsumaki had climbed to avoid capture, branches and shoots of leaves began to sprout, interlacing and branching out reaching for Tatsumaki.

Noticing this Tatsumaki began climbing the shaft of the pillar to escape but to no avail. One of the vines ensnared his shin. He tried to cut himself away with a concealed kunai, but the rough wood was to hard to slice so he just gave in to the force of the branch. The branch, which complied with Tenzo's demands, brought Tatsumaki face to face with tenzo, suspended upside down by his ankle. "Nice try, but I'm afraid you couldn't have escaped this. Now, why do you always try to skip out on training?" "Meditation doesn't count as training sensei!" Tatsumaki yelled, his face red from the blood rushing into his head. "When are you going to give me some real training?" "Tatsumaki, training isn't just about being strong physically. Meditation can improve your patience and increase your mental-" "That's a big load! If I'm ever going to be a ninja I need to become stronger and learn new techniques!"

Tenzo had become frustrated. He was beginning to think that nothing he could say would get through to him. "Huh." he sighed deeply. "Alright, if you insist. I didn't want to do this until you were a little older, but if you're going to be so impatient, then I guess I have no choice. Go back to your room and pack your things, we're going on a trip" Tatsumaki was ecstatic at this news. He had been waiting for this opportunity for so long. "Really? You're going to train me! Where are we going?" "Don't worry, you'll find out soon. Just go pack the essentials, you'll need them where you're going." Tenzo said almost ominously. "By the way, one more thing." Tenzo then proceeded to tear off one of the patches of scotch tape off of his left cheek, earning a painful "yow!" from Tatsumaki. "That's for skipping out on meditation." Tenzo said as Tatsumaki rubbed his reddened cheek. A cheek with three horizontal lines, almost like a foxes whiskers.

(Meanwhile)

Meanwhile, in a country that was farther north of the fire country, known to its inhabitants as the land of iron, a malefic force was gathering. It was within a large compound at the summit of three gigantic mountains known as the three wolves. Named so for the mountains' shapes, which resembled the snouts of three enormous wolves, and their rigid cliffs, which bore the appearance of sharp fangs. The compound, which rested upon it, was formerly an iron processing plant. The factory would smelt and forge iron ores into weapons that were provided to the countries' samurai military. It was very successful until the mountain was mined of its rich iron resources after the last Great War, rightfully earning the country its name. But although it was supposedly abandoned, the bellows of the forges were smoking.

Within the stronghold of the factory, which samurai sentries guarded, there lay a massive room that had been converted into a spacious bedchamber, for unknown purposes? Inside the chamber, the walls were lined with oil lamps that had been bolted to the walls. Draped over the windows-as not to let in any light-and doors were elegantly patterned drapes and rugs of every hue. Relics and artifacts from many foreign lands packed the shelves, and fine silk robes filled the dresser drawers. Finally in the center of the chamber, there was a fine queen sized bed, with cushy pillows, and silken covers, almost as if fit for royalty. On this bed lay the silhouette of a sick bed ridden man. Every few moments, the man covered in shadows hacked and wheezed as a sign of his weak condition. Little could be seen of him through the darkness, except for a small portion of his face, which was illuminated by a wax candle. Within the small pool of light, a grotesque bump protruded from his brow, almost taking the appearance of a homely wart.

At the ill mans' bedside, a man sat at a work bench behind a wooden desk, feverishly blending medicine in a bowl, seemingly for the sick man in the bed next to him. Also spread on the desk was an assortment vials, vitamins, potions, Bunsen burners, and all sorts of medicinal herbs. He also wore a starch white lab coat with pockets filled with surgical tools and medical equipment, accented by a surgical mask, symbolizing that he was a senior medical ninja. The metal badge on his bandana bore the symbol of the leaf. But the insignia was scratched out, symbolizing his defection from his village.

As the medic sat fixing medicines, the ominous figure on the bed coughed and hacked, trying to squeeze out a sentence. "Cough! Cough! Hack! Cough! Obisso," the man said in a hoarse whisper, "We will begin the meeting now." Obisso stopped pounding the powder in his bowl, his glasses caught the reflection of his master. Stoically he said, "Yes leader-sama." He compliantly followed his superior's silent commands, almost as if he could read his thoughts. Obisso strode over to one of the oil lamps that dangle from the walls on a curved hook. Obisso paused, almost quizzically, gathering his chakra to cast a jutsu. He then rapidly weaved his hands in and out of a series of hand seals, ending in a ram seal. Upon the completion of this ritual, wispy hazy images began to drift from the light of the lantern. They began to grow and expand, until they began to take the shape of humans. Not actual humans, but more like projections, dark projections whose facial features were impossible to see besides their eyes.

The first of the projections took the shape of a busty woman, another transformed into a bulky muscular man. And still more shapes formed, such as a dark skinned man with razor sharp claws, and a man carrying an extremely heavy object in a cylindrical case. Once all the images had taken shape, there were ten men in the room in all, including Obisso and the bedridden man. "Men, thank you for coming at such short notice. Cough! Cough!" said the sick man in a dull monotonous groan that was less then audible. "Cut it out already sir. We all know why you called us out here. You're just finally giving us the signal for us to go get what you're too lazy to." The voice came from the apparition of a young man with six rows of piercings on each ear, with his hair tied up in a spiky ponytail. The man in the bed glared at him, making the bizarre wart on his forehead quiver. "You'd best check your tone young man." Obisso responded sharply, "There is no reason for someone as young as you to address your superior in that manner." "Shows what you know old man! The only reason I pledged allegiance to this pantywaist is because he promised me power and status. I couldn't care less about his motives." "How dare you-"but Obisso was cut short by a threatening "Silence!" from the ill man on the gorgeous bed.

"I want the two of you to cease this countless bickering, Atakei, Obisso! Cough! Cough! Hack! Hack! Cough!" He said as he went into a violent spasm of coughs. The men were thoroughly silenced by their leader's command. "The sole reason I have called you here," the sickly figure continued in his bass voice, "Is that I believe it is time to set our long awaited goals into motion. 15 years of waiting is clearly enough. We will make our presence known to the rest of the ninja world." "Then what is the first thing we do?" said the muscular man in a gravelly voice that sounded as if it was a great avalanche. "Our 'first' action is to determine the location or locations of the hosts. Once we obtain their chakra...." He paused, deeply contemplating his next words, as if his very own life depended on them, "Then nothing will be beyond Akatsuki's reach, not even the nine tailed fox! Cough! Cough! Cough! Hack! Hack! Hack! Cough! Hack! Hack!"

(Days later)

It took three excruciating days for Tenzo and Tatsumaki to reach their destination. Taking hidden routes and passageways, they finally reached their destination; a large jungle covered range of volcanoes enclosed within the land of earth. This area, closed off by its warm volcanic atmosphere, held no civilization, making it the ideal secluded training area. As Tatsumaki, tired from his long-winded journey, traveled deeper into the dense rain forest, he noticed that the foliage gradually began to become larger. Such as a monstrous tiger lily that even dwarfed Tenzo in size, and the tightly packed palm trees, whose trunks towered so high that their leaves blotted out the sun.

"Sensei, what is this place?" "This is a remote area in the earth country called Hana Sanbutsu no Kuni, the land of fruit and flowers. The plants here grow so large because of the fertile volcanic soil." "Volcanic? You mean like the erupting kind?" Asked Tatsumaki with the slightest hint of fear in his voice. "No. Most of the volcanoes here are dormant, but there's no telling when one might erupt." Tatsumaki was now trembling with fear with a vacant look in his eyes, imagining a field engulfed by fire and lava. "But it's not only the plant life that grows large around here." "Wait, w-what does that mean?" Shortly afterward, the ground began to shudder. The gargantuan bananas in a nearby tree began to sway with the vibrations o the earth. Then, bursting out of the forest, knocking over trees and trampling ferns came a monster wild boar, about the size of a house, with fiery red hair and a row of horizontal stripes on its hunched back.

Not noticing the two humans that were stocking through his jungle, the boar went on about his day inconspicuously. Tatsumaki was left in a disoriented state, from the aftershock of the tremor, and the horror of the monster he just witnessed."Tenzo-sensei, did you see the size of that thing!? What the hell was that?" "That was just one of the mountains many inhabitants. Since there are no humans around to hunt them, the animals have grown to exponential heights. That's why it's sometimes called Obakeyama. Monster Mountain. Tatsumaki then looked out at the pink outline of the sunset against the rocky ridges of the smoking cliffs. "So what kind of training am I going to do out here?" "That's simple. You're on your own here. For three months.

End of Chapter 1:

(Well that's my first chapter. Congratulations for those of you who are still reading this. And if you liked it, feel free to comment on it. Please refrain from sending any hate mail, if you didn't like it that's your own opinion and I respect it, but other people don't have to know that. And again, this is a fan-based product. Naruto and Naruto Shippuden are property of Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo. Please support the official release of the manga and anime.)