Author's note: Blahblahblah review. :3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi sensei does.

Chapter Two: Worst Nightmare

The hours following the mission briefing went by extremely fast. At least it felt that way to Shikamaru. As soon as he got home he collapsed onto his bed, and before long it was morning. He opened his eyes to the scroll still in his hand, so he tugged the string keeping it rolled and read.

Mr. Nara,

Enclosed in this scroll is the information you will need to complete your assigned mission. Read carefully.

Suspected Informants:

Sakura Haruno

Hinata Hyuuga

Ino Yamanaka

The letters pointed to "young kunoichi of respectable heritage". The rogue has not told the informant of the letters, and he wants the person in custody, so he's doing everything but include names. His goal is to have Konohagakure crumble from the inside, and become vulnerable to attack. He's playing a game with us. We have reason to believe he is not alone, and very dangerous.

Remember that the suspects may or may not be aware that they are giving information. Each is innocent until proven guilty of being a traitor. Do not tip them off by acting like they are criminals. We have no verifiable proof. Only the letters written by a murderer.

Day One will be your training day. Oiroke no Justu will be essential to complete this mission, as you will need to force yourself into the social group that contains the three suspects.

Day Two you will be "introduced" to them via arranged appointment. They have been told that you and Naruto are visitors to the village, and will need to be shown around. You will be given a second scroll shortly before the meeting to touch you up on the background of your new identity. The rest is up to you. Report all findings, no matter how small and insignificant they seem.

Good luck.

~Tsunade.

5th Hokage of Konohagakure, Village Hidden in the Leaves

Shikamaru couldn't help but gape at the three names written in the scroll. He had known them all his life, so how could they be in on something like this? He thought for a minute, going through scenarios in his head. He decided that Tsunade was right in saying that they're innocent until proven guilty. What if they weren't involved at all? It could all just be a decoy to distract the hokage.

It was no use to sit there and think, so he got up and left, on his way to Naruto's small apartment. There weren't many people out on the street, which was odd at that hour. It didn't really bother him though. He preferred the quiet.

But his beloved silence was interrupted by an enormous blast of heat, coming from just up ahead. Screams of terror ripped through the village, and Shikamaru's pace jumped to a sprint. The heat got more intense as he got closer to the source, and he recognized the area as a guard's post. Oh boy.

A large crowd was gathering, and up above was a large man in a white coat, holding what looked like a charred body. The man's eyes were filled with blood lust, and anyone within a mile could feel his rage. He threw the body into the middle of the crowd and laughed, almost to the point of hysteria. There was no doubting the man was clinically insane.

"Who are you?" Came Tsunade's voice from the crowd. The man laughed again.

He squatted down and leaned forward to stare into the villager's faces. His face had several scars, some whitened with age, some red and fresh. His hair was short and close to his head, and unnaturally white like his coat. He looked like he was in his 20s, maybe younger. And his voice came out strong and low. "I, my dear Tsunade, am your worst nightmare."

Shikamaru was stunned along with the rest of the villagers in the crowd. And when he blinked, the man was gone.