Naruto: Tails of the Four

Written by DivineGuidanceAlpha

Requests and private comments may be sent to HitoSorrelius

Synopsis: A re-writing of Naruto, beginning just before the Chunin Exams. Four shinobi trained to be assassins find themselves without a home. A kind offer from the Third Hokage aligns them to the Hidden Leaf Village, where they try to make a new life for themselves...but old ghosts and new enemies threaten their new home already, and it may take losing each other to gain the strength to save it.

Arc 1: Arrival; Chapter 02: "Be Friendly"

"...Yup, that's a dome alright," Tenso said, the muscles around his eyes relaxing and the color slowly returning to his irises and pupils. "People on the ground without Hidden Leaf headbands are walking into it, but the moment they do, they are intercepted and interrogated by shinobi."

"So, what's the plan, Shiden?" Koen asked, cracking his knuckles; he was ready to bust a head or two to make sure they got in quietly.

"...Tenso is expected. We will escort him. When the shinobi come, he has his letter to explain our presence. Then, I'll go and request an audience with the Hokage. With any luck, he will be willing to help us."

"Why would any Kage be willing to help us?" Rai asked, picking his nails with a kunai. "Our Village was the cause of more unexplained deaths among shinobi than any other, and I'm pretty sure everyone else knows it."

"Doubtful," Koen replied, leaning on their leader with a light smirk. "Leave no trace, remember?"

"I know this feels wrong, brother," Shiden began lightly, "but it isn't the same as running to seek shelter because we're under attack or something. We are homeless. We don't even have any other clothing, all of our food for the past week has been caught or found, and even with rivers, I'm sure we all stink of the road. All we have is what we had when we left on our mission, and I don't think I want to try eating a kunai again." Koen snickered, remembering the only time he had gotten their leader to do something just plain dumb.

Rai and Shiden locked glares, fighting a silent battle. Rai eventually gave in, sighing heavily. "...Fine. I still don't like this, but we'll do it your way and play nice with these people."

"Good. Now, remember: be friendly, and don't go picking fights. We're not citizens or even civilians of this country." The four hopped down the tree they had been observing the Hidden Leaf Village from, and set out on ground level.

Ten minutes later, they were inside the perimeter of the barrier and continuing at a slow pace towards the Hidden Leaf. As Tenso and Shiden had expected, a patrol group was upon them in an instant.

"Stop where you are! Identify yourselves!" The four paused, Shiden in front, Tenso and Raizen in the middle, and Koen bringing up the rear.

"We are the last surviving shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Hallowed Grounds," Shiden said, his voice loud but calm.

"I am unfamiliar with that Village," the leader said, and Koen snickered again, Rai chuckling under his breath.

"We are...were...rather secretive about our location, but we were located between Lightning Country and the Land of Iron. The Village is no more, however." The four Leaf ninja looked askance at each other, nervous muttering beginning. "One of us has been expected by your Lord Hokage, to take place in the Chuunin Exams. We have a letter from our...former...Village leaders detailing it all." Tenso moved forward, letter extended. The leader took it, reading it over silently. "However, as all four of us no longer have a home, we came with him to seek an audience with the Lord Hokage, to ask him if we may be welcomed here." More nervous whispering. Shiden could have sworn he heard the word "spies," but he held his tongue. Before Rai or Koen could catch it, he continued. "We are willing to be taken into custody, if that will help appease you. We will not fight." He could feel three sets of eyes boring into his back, but he didn't let it stop him from raising his hands.

"That won't be necessary. I'm going to send one of my men to check this intel back at the Village. If it checks out, you may enter. If not, we will take you into custody, and our Intelligence Division will get the truth out." He handed the letter back, and one of the men disappeared into the trees, a faint thud every few feet saying he was moving quickly back towards the Leaf.

"So...what do we do while we wait?" Tenso asked Rai and Koen, who just shrugged.

"Meditate," Shiden answered simply, flopping back to the grassy ground and crossing his legs. The other three followed, while the Leaf shinobi watched warily. Arranging themselves in a square, the four closed their eyes and clasped their hands together, breathing slowly and easily. If the Leaf ninja thought this weird, they said nothing of it, just stared blankly while the four meditated.

Another ten to twenty minutes of waiting brought the other ninja back. "They're cleared," he said, breathing heavily, cluthing his side; he had practically sprinted there and back. "The Hokage himself cleared them...and he wishes to speak with whichever one is the leader."

Shiden glanced up, while the other three looked to him with a range of looks: Rai was jealous, as usual, Koen was amused, and Tenso was happy that they were getting to go in. The four stood, looking expectantly at the patrol leader. "...Come with us," he said gruffly, turning and taking to the trees. The other three Leaf ninja did as well, and the four Hallowed Grounds shinobi followed.

A few moments later, they were coming to the great wall of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The main gate was wide open, as if waiting in welcome for the Gods instead of the boys. They passed through, and the four patrol ninja bowed their heads. "Lord Hokage is waiting at his mansion," the one who had gone ahead said. "He said for the others to...make themselves comfortable, get to know the place."

The leader of the group sighed. "He must know your people well, to be so trusting. So, I will follow his judgment, and not leave you with an escort. Just...try not to get arrested. I don't want to be brought in to take the rap for you guys." He bowed, and Shiden returned the gesture.

"They will behave while I speak with the Hokage." He whipped around, glaring at the three like they were known troublemakers. "WON'T you, guys?" All three gave vigorous nods, attempting to give winning smiles. That just seemed to make the patrollers a bit more nervous.

"Riiight...Well, welcome to Konohagakure." With that, the patrol vanished back into the forest.

"Okay, you three," Shiden began, adopting his mission tone, which sounded so like his dad, even at thirteen, that it gave him shivers. "I'm going to go talk to the Hokage. You three explore, find us somewhere to eat, any available hotels or apartments, and don't do anything stupid. If we get arrested on our first day here, I will break arms, legs, skulls, and necks. In that order. Dismissed!" The three immediately snapped a salute, then turned and ran in different directions, eager to see more of this foreign Village. Shiden sighed to himself, wondering what kind of hell he had just unleashed, and walked on.

Koen tracked down a gym the instant he was out of Shiden's sight, eager to get in some proper workout and stress relief; running and jumping and meditating were fun and all, but nothing beat punching something until it was no longer able to even resemble what it was. Within the gym were two boys around his own age, and a little puppy dog.

Deciding against kicking the dog and starting a fight like the serpent demanded he do, he ignored the others altogether and went to a punching post. Clenching his hand into a fist, his knuckles seemed to pop out a bit, swollen and thick from pounding rocks into sand as training. He went against all of his normal training methods and didn't channel chakra to his fists, but the first punch still put a dent into the thick wood, and the sound was loud enough to reach the other two and dog. The canine sniffed a bit when it heard the sound, and started growling in his general direction.

He was quite content to ignore it, until a human voice called, "Hey!" His second swing was a few centimeters off from dead center, but the sound and dent were just as expressive of his strength and frustration as before. Koen's head snapped around to see who had spoken, and it was the more normally dressed one, a kid in a grey hoody and brown shorts. He had a pair of red marks on his cheeks, sort of triangle-shaped.

"What?" he asked, his voice a little more bass and a little more threatening than he would have normally intended, but he really wanted to let his frustrations out, not talk.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" the stranger asked, the dog jumping into his arms.

Koen considered him for a moment, before turning back to his post. "It's a little rude to ask such questions before introducing yourself, isn't it? I didn't stick my nose in your business and ask you anything." He swung again, and the wood cracked.

"Rude?! I live in this Village, and I've never seen you before! I want to know why." The voice had gotten closer, and a bit more threatening itself. Koen turned to see the boy almost within swinging distance.

"Perhaps once you've learned proper manners from your daddy, I'll be polite enough to answer your annoying questions. Until then, back off, please. I am in a mood to put someone in the hospital, and I'd rather it be this post than you."

Before the dog-boy could retort or take a swing, a new voice spoke. "Leave him alone, Kiba. His fists have great youthful power, and he looks quite stressed." Koen's eyes now traveled to the other boy, and he almost laughed; while dog-boy was at least a bit ninja-like, in dark colors, this other guy was dressed in a green leotard with orange leg-warmers and white bandages around his hands. His haircut looked like his mother had put a bowl over his head and cut, then never bothered with cutting it again.

"...You're lucky this time, punk," the one that Koen had to assume was Kiba said, walking back to his side of the gym, while the other came forward. Koen resisted like hell against just knocking the smart-ass down and beating his face into pulp.

"I apologize for him. He is...rather hot-headed," the bowl-head said, and Koen noticed that some of the hair was actually his eyebrows. He couldn't hold back a bit of a chuckle.

Covering it up quickly, he replied, "No, I apologize as well. I've had...a very trying week. All I want is to punch my frustrations out for a while."

"That is understandable, for that is the power of youth. I am Rock Lee, a Hidden Leaf Genin! And you are?"

Koen raised an eyebrow, but decided, what the hell? "...Koen Enryuu, a Hallowed Ground Chuunin by our standards, a Genin by yours. Our Village normally doesn't...didn't...enter the Exams." Though he was across the gym, Koen could tell the dog-boy Kiba was listening, too, and neither seemed to miss the hesitation in his voice.

"Hold on, 'didn't'?" Lee asked.

"...Our Village was destroyed last week. Wiped clean off the map without a trace. Myself and the rest of my team are now homeless." He turned and swung as hard as he could, and the post snapped clean in half.

"...I am sorry to hear that. What would bring you to the Hidden Leaf, though?" Lee pressed, and Koen could feel his anger lessening. Maybe talking it out actually did help.

"One of my team was going to be entered in the Chuunin Exams, along with some of our other Genin, then be exchanged to the Hidden Leaf for some kind of alliance bond. However, now that he's the only one left a Genin in our group, I'm not sure what's going to happen."

Lee looked down for a moment, then looked up with a grin. "You need to train with me! Our youthful spirits can expel all of that sadness!"

Koen looked the boy up and down, fighting back another chuckle. "Uh, heh, thanks, but I'm afraid I might hurt you if I fight for real."

"Nonsense! Pushing one's limits is what the power of youth is all about! Just because I can't use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu simply means that I can put all of my focus into Taijutsu! I can take whatever you throw at me!"

Koen smirked, the kind of smirk he always got when he was fighting with Shiden or Rai. "A pure Taijutsu user? You wouldn't happen to be related to the Beast of the Leaf, would you?"

It was Lee's turn to smirk. It was almost unnerving when his teeth gleamed in the light. "Gai-Sensei is my teacher. He has taught me a great deal."

"Even better. You're hired." Koen went to the center of the gym, as did Lee. The two went through the formalities, even bowed to each other, then entered two quite different stances; Lee had one hand flat and facing upwards, the other clenched into a fist behind his back, while Koen stood very loose and relaxed, but with both hands curled into fists at his sides.

Lee moved first, seeming to vanish from one spot and appear right behind Koen, spinning with a roundhouse kick that would have hit clean into the side of the head, if Koen hadn't ducked and lashed out with his own leg, taking Lee's balance and knocking him on his back. Spinning to his feet, he vanished again, this time swinging low with a punch...only for Koen to vanish and appear above, his foot coming down towards Lee's head. Only quick thinking saves him from kissing the ground hard, back-flipping to the edge of the little ring.

"You fight quite like myself. Are you also a Taijutsu-only fighter?" Lee questioned, before darting in to start a flurry of blows.

Koen dodged most of them, blocking those he couldn't, and replied, "No, but I studied the Eight Gates, as well as my clan's physical techniques." He dodged back out of Lee's immediate range, his hands a blur. "For example..." He finished his signs, and suddenly his arms and legs seemed thinner, but more defined, like any fat had just been siphoned off of him. He disappeared, and when his foot came down and Lee avoided it this time, it left a crack in the ground.

"That is awesome!" a voice from the sidelines called, Kiba and his dog watching intently. "I've seen someone grow bigger, but never smaller, to get stronger. What's that technique called?"

"That's my clan's Mass Compression Jutsu. Supposedly, we're distant cousins with the Leaf's Akimichi clan, but we don't exactly get bigger. We force ourselves to shed all fat in this state, but it makes us extremely tired and hungry after a fight. Just what I need to burn off steam."

The two swung at the same time this time, and their fists collided in the air. Both recoiled, clutching their arms, but Koen was quicker to recover, thanks to his training to endure just about any pain. Then he swung again, a backhand this time, and Lee was caught off guard. He flew back, sliding as he landed. "What youthful power! I shall have to make this a more even fight, then!" He closed his eyes for a moment, and Koen could almost feel as his opponent opened the First Gate. The next time the two collided, they could both certainly feel their joints pop and something crack.

"Force can't beat force," Koen said simply, rotating his wrist and popping it back into place as Lee did the same. "Especially when my frustration is equal to your...youthful spirit."

Lee grinned, giving a light bow. "Then I shall have to use the power of youth to grow stronger, for the next time we fight! Farewell, fellow youth!" With that, the odd boy flipped back onto his hands, and started walking out of the gym.

Koen glanced at Kiba with his eyebrow raised once more, the dog boy smirking. "I use a different kind of force, but I'm not stupid. If you want to fight me, let's do it at the Chuunin exams. Your friend needs two teammates to get in, right? And there are four of you, if I didn't hear wrong earlier." The dog boy left it there, walking out and leaving Koen to contemplate such an idea.

A crazy, wonderful, terrific idea...

Raizen was all about the food. As soon as he had the scent, he was off, and when he found a small ramen shop for all his trouble, he was certain he was going to be disappointed. Still, he slipped past the little curtain in front, and took a seat at what could essentially be considered the bar. "One bowl of shio ramen, one bowl of shoyu, and two tonkotsu, please," he said in a bored tone to the back of the large man up front.

"You paying for Naruto, son?" the man asked as he turned around, smiling in a way that would reassure anyone frightened by his size.

"Nope, just myself," Raizen answered, figuring that he meant a person rather than the little swirlies that went in the soup. "I've been traveling for a week, and the best I've had to eat was dried mushrooms and whatever I could catch."

The man adopted a slight pitying expression, then smirked more. "Four Ichiraku ramen, coming right up!" With that, he was off, the girl working behind the counter with him already getting the broth and noodles started.

Rai had just closed his eyes to try and gather himself for the meal when a loud voice shouted in his ear, "Old man! Six bowls of everything!"

"Right on it, Naruto!" the man shouted back, and Raizen glanced at him. Immediately, he had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing; a short kid with spiky blonde hair and an orange jumpsuit was sitting next to him, looking like the poster child for the worst ninja in the world. Rai wouldn't have even assumed he was a ninja, except for the headband that he was wearing so proudly. "How was your first real mission outside the Village?" the old man asked as he worked.

"It was awesome! We fought some Hidden Mist ninja on a bridge, but they turned out to be the good guys, so we fought some yakuza guys instead, and I kicked some major ass!"

This time, Rai couldn't help but laugh, and laugh hard. Naruto stopped yammering and stared at the newcomer. "I-I'm sorry, but you? A shinobi? There is about as much chance of that as there is of me sprouting wings and flying off."

"Shut up, whoever you are! I'm gonna be Hokage one day! Believe it!" This caused Rai to laugh even harder, falling out of his seat.

"It's not polite to make fun of people's dreams, you know," a less grating-on-the-ears voice said, and Rai looked up to see a man with a scar across his face and his hair pulled into a knot at the top, though it kind of made his head look like a pineapple.

Rai got to his feet, his face becoming serious. "When I hear something as amusing as that, I have to laugh. If that kid is going to become Hokage one day, then this Village is already doomed."

"Say that to my face, ya jerk!" Naruto hopped off of his seat, fists clenched tight.

Rai turned around, sneering. "Fine. If you think you're skilled enough to claim that you're going to become the leader of this Village, then you won't mind proving it, right now. No Ninjutsu, no Genjutsu, just you, me, and our fists."

"Bring it! Where would you like to take this?" At least he's smart enough to know better than to fight in here... Rai thought to himself, still smirking a bit.

"The next building over, up on top. It looked flat enough for a fight when I was coming here." The blonde idiot raced out and up the side, while Raizen took it at a more leisurely pace, walking up the building. The pineapple-head followed, looking more than a bit concerned.

"I don't think I know you, stranger, and I would know, since I teach at the ninja academy."

"Raizen. I hail from a Village that no longer exists, and I'm here to look after someone important to me. He was invited here. I would rather be anywhere else, if all your students are like him."

"He's no ordinary ninja," the man said, smiling faintly. "I'm Iruka Umino. Not that you'll care."

"It's an honor to meet a Leaf Chuunin. I've never been this far south, so it is a nice change to meet someone polite." Then the two were on the roof, and Rai was facing five of the kid he had challenged.

"Already forgetting the rules? Fine. Watch and suffer, kid." Before any of the blondes could attack, Rai was upon them, his whole body sparking with electricity. In one roundhouse kick, he dissipated the clones, which he was slightly surprised to find solid, and sent the original sprawling. "Shadow Clones, huh? That's actually very interesting."

Naruto was up again in no time, again using the Shadow Clones. This time, he tried something different: "Sexy Jutsu!" And all five clones turned into chicks with nothing on. Rai hadn't cared much about girls in the Village, being distantly related to them all, and he wasn't dumb enough to forget that this was a dumb kid with a pathetic wish.

"I think I'll borrow that other trick of yours," he said calmly, and crossed his fingers the way the kid had. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He created a single clone, and clapped one hand to one of its. The two darted to either side of the group, and began making hand-signs in unison, until the transformed kid realized what was going on. The next thing that happened was a blur, with a lot of loud static filling the air. When it was done, Naruto was on his knees, a pair of kunai digging into the front and back of his neck respectively.

"W-what the heck was that?!" he asked, looking between the two.

"That, kid, was my Lightning Style: Static Thread Jutsu. I learned from another clan in my Village how to make chakra threads at a young age. When I touched my clone, I connected my hand to his via these threads, and they were so faintly charged at first that they were invisible. When I used Nature Manipulation to turn it into lightning, it basically fried you and your clones."

It was obvious the explanation was lost on the blonde, but Iruka was awed, stunned even. Someone so young had figured out not only how to copy the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but they had also planned ahead like this?

"But...It took me a whole day to figure out how to use Shadow Clones! How could you do it in one try?!"

"Simple. I watched your movements, and I already know how to make Lightning, Water, and Wind Clones." Iruka's jaw dropped further.

"Ehhh?! But you're a kid like me! How can you be so strong?"

"...I was forced to become strong, or die." His clone banished itself. "Now, I'm hungry, and fighting you only made it more. Let's go eat before someone takes our food." That instantly cheered up the kid, as Rai suspected it would. He put away his kunai, and hopped down the building. Back inside, Rai's order and the first four bowls of Naruto's order were lined up, eight bowls in all.

Rai paid for his meal before he even began eating, and he was not disappointed; from the first bowl to the last, it was good, and his stomach was temporarily satisfied.

"Hey...would you train with me?" Naruto asked. "I mean, if you're going to be here for a while, I could use someone strong to fight with, so I can get stronger, too."

"...I'll have to think about it," Rai answered.

"I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Raizen Shippuu. Pleasure." The two shook hands, and Rai felt the chimera stir inside, roaring in anger at something. He ignored it; the beast was always pissed at something, this was probably no different. Still, it was unusual for a handshake to do something like that...Oh, well. It's probably just me.

The two ate in relative silence, save the slurping of noodle and soup.

Tenso had let himself get lost in the sights and sounds of the new Village, getting acquainted with the streets and ground view for a good little while. Then, he smelled something. Something...unique. He followed his nose to a flower shop, and went in, smiling happily. Here was something entertaining he could do to wait for Shiden.

As soon as he entered, the smell of flowers hit him, and he started looking around. The shopkeeper wasn't in, or if they were, they were in the back. He wandered a bit, sniffing at flowers here and there, smiling as he remembered his mother's garden.

"Perhaps we should plant a garden here, if we're accepted," Ren said in his mind.

"We shall fertilize it with the corpses of whoever destroyed our home!"roared Chaindorias.

'We will fertilize it with fertilizer. If we are accepted here, this is our home now.' Tenso smiled sadly as he saw his mother's favorite flower, a blue violet, symbol of faithfulness. Despite their location in the cold, she could make anything bloom; part of her talent, he supposed. A talent she had tried teaching him many times, but Ren got it better.

"Welcome to the Yaminaka Flower Shop!" A feminine voice broke him from his reverie. "How can I help you?"

He looked up to see long blonde hair, vibrant blue eyes, and a smile that could lift most spirits. He grinned a bit. "Just looking for the moment. I'm new in town, and I was thinking of doing something...unique."

"Oh?" She cocked her head to the side, still smiling lightly. "Well, tell me when you're ready, okay?" She returned to the counter, watching him out of the corner of her eye. She was about a forehead taller than he was, but he didn't mind that. She seemed a kindred spirit: bountiful energy and a smile for every situation. Maybe that was first impressions, but he had a good eye for telling that sort of thing.

"Hm..." He found another flower that had been in his mother's garden, but he didn't really know what it was. It was a soft purple, with five petals and a long stamen. There were many of them, so he grabbed about six or seven of them and brought them up to the girl.

"Hibiscus, hm? They are a lovely flower. Do you know what they symbolize?"

"Not in the slightest," he replied happily, despite the almost annoyed look on her face. "My mother grew them in her garden, though, so it can't be anything bad."

"It symbolizes a rare and delicate beauty," she said with a forced smile, like she was slowly and surely getting sick of explaining flower meanings to men.

"Perfect for my plan, then," he countered, paying for them with that smile still in place. Once she had bound them and handed them over, he pulled a single one from the bunch, and handed it back to her. "It goes with your eyes and outfit," he said, walking for the door as the blush began at the bridge of her nose and widened.

"H-hey!" she said, quickly shooting around the counter and to the door before he could get there. "Who the heck are you, kid?"

Tenso felt Ren twitch at being called "kid," but he was used to it for a number of reasons: he was shorter than average, even for his Village; he still had that youthful, adorable-cute appearance that girls went nuts over; and judging by the fact that he assumed she was a Genin, he was probably younger than her by about a year. "I'm Tenso Kuga. Formerly of the Village Hidden in the Hallowed Grounds, now...just Tenso." His smile remained in place, but his eyes reflected the sadness within.

She must have sensed it a bit, because she patted his shoulder gently. "Well, I'm Ino Yaminaka. Welcome to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Tenso. I hope you enjoy it here." She suddenly got a bit shy. "And...if you want, I could show you around after I get off work. I've only got another hour here."

His eyes were still sad, but his smile widened. "I think I would like that. I'll meet you at the Village Gate?" She nodded with a grin, and held out her hand for a proper welcome. He took it, kissed the back of it, and sidestepped around her before she realized he had done so. When she turned to see where he had gone, there was no trace.

"She was...nice," Ren said, chuckling, as Tenso hopped along the rooftops of the Hidden Leaf.

"She was a distraction. We must focus on the mission at hand."

'You say that, my lord, but you liked her too. She is like me.'

"All the more reason to stay away from her. I know the name Yaminaka. It doesn't bode well for you. She will try to peek into your mind at some point, and when she finds out what kind of monster you are, what kind of monster you hold, she will not be so happy to be with you."

'You know, I have to wonder if you're like this because you've never met a girl of your own kind. I mean, every one of your so-called "children" I summon are definitely male, if their voices are any indicator. Maybe we could hook you up with a nice snake girl.'

Tenso chuckled to himself out loud as the metallic hydra roared and raged in his subconscious.

"What are you going to do with the rest of those flowers?" Ren asked, also amused at the raging serpent.

'There are bound to be other girls in Konoha. I intend to meet a few of them.'

Tenso hummed to himself as he walked along, wondering if the others were having as much fun as he was.

Shiden was sick of waiting. The moment he'd arrived, they had demanded he wait. Then they frisked him, took away all of his weapons, examined his headband, even questioned him about the Hallowed Grounds. Then he was allowed into the mansion proper, and told to wait for the Hokage to be able to see him. That had been half an hour ago. Now he was just sitting in a chair, watching a door with dead eyes while his brain replayed his last mission, wondering. 'If I had finished the job faster, if I had killed that man sooner, would my family still be here? If I had killed them all with your power, would I be waiting outside my father's door, instead, for another mission as a Jonin of the Hallowed Grounds?'

"There was nothing more you could have done," the giant bird within him said, preening itself. It was such the opposite of Shiden himself that he was surprised it had chosen him. "I am the God of Logic and Reason, boy. Your father correctly called me the God of Apathy, too. I cared not for worship, I just sought to protect the humans that respected me. You are the last, and so, I will protect you. Even from your own self-doubt."

Shiden grit his teeth, ready to snap back in his mind, when the doors opened. "Lord Third will see you now," a voice said, gesturing for him to come inside. Shiden stood, took a calming breath, and walked in.

The Hokage was waiting for him, his hat on, pipe in one hand. "Welcome, young Arashi. Please, sit." Shiden sat across from the man, arms by his side as he watched the elderly man puff his pipe. "You look like your father, you know. I met him three times in this very room. The news told to me by my patrolman, that your Village is gone...is it true?"

"There's not a trace left," Shiden replied, voice amazingly even. "The people, buildings, animals, shrines, gardens...Everything, gone." The Hokage sighed, covering his face with his free hand for a second.

"...I know this is a bad time, but I must know a few things. Such as why you and your three comrades, the 'Gods,' were spared."

Shiden's hands gripped the edge of the seat tightly, eyes narrowing a bit. "...We were on a mission. I have the ticket still, because it was my Jonin Elevation Examination." The Hokage held out his hand, and the boy passed over the ticket, as well as the small bag holding his confirmation. He had a moment of satisfaction when the Hokage opened the bag and recoiled.

"That's an eye!" he said in protest, pushing it away.

"That is a Sharingan-activated eye," Shiden corrected with a light smirk. "It was exactly what the client asked for as confirmation. The leaders were going to send it out as soon as I returned with it."

"...Who was this client?"

"It's on the ticket, some Danzou guy or something." The Hokage looked at the ticket, frowning slightly as he looked it over.

"...Well." He stood, pulling open a drawer, and drawing out a Hidden Leaf headband. "...It's not much, but since you did go to all this trouble to bring the proof with you, I would be willing to induct you into the Leaf at the Special Jonin level."

Shiden stared at the headband, feeing his own in his back pocket. "...What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that, as a friend of your father and grandfather, as friends to the now-gone Council of the Hallowed Grounds, that I am extending my home to you and your team. The Hidden Leaf can be your home."

Shiden continued staring at the headband, silently debating with himself.

'He is offering us a home...he doesn't know us, doesn't know a thing about me in general, and he is offering me this.'

"He is wise to extend his trust, but there is an underlying current to the reason; if he gives you and your family a new home, then you will earnestly work hard for him. You will willingly fight for him, be willing to die for him. It is a good deal. A good plan."

"..." Shiden suddenly smirked a bit. "...I would like to prove myself to you, sir, before I accept that headband. Prove myself as a Jonin shinobi."

The Hokage smirked right back, drawing deeply on his pipe. "And I have a feeling you have a way to do so, don't you boy?"

"I do, sir. I would like to fight one of your Jonin. Not a serious fight, but serious enough to prove my skills."

The Hokage laughed. "Well, then. I will have to arrange it to happen. My son will do, I believe."

Shiden nodded; Asuma Sarutobi was a great shinobi, known in the Hallowed Grounds for his trademark cigarette and the chakra knives that were quite lethal. "It would be an honor to fight him."

"Excellent. I'll send for him, and you two can have a little training bout tonight." Shiden nodded again, thinking. Night was a few hours away...if he knew where the battlefield would be, he could set it up to his advantage ahead of time. "Let's see...the training fields will be empty by that time. Out the gates, and head east. You'll come to a clearing with a fence around it and a creek running through it."

Shiden bowed. "I'll go now, so I can get some practice in."

The third Hokage chuckled. "It's been a long time since I've seen the Storm Style of the Arashi Clan. I hope my son doesn't get complacent." Shiden bowed again and stood, turning to go.

"Oh, and about the other three...Young Tenso needs two partners to enter the Exam. Remember that." Shiden didn't verbally respond, but he knew what the Hokage was getting at.

"The old man knows more about you than you thought."

'Shut up.' Despite the situation, Shiden couldn't help but grin; it had been a long time since he'd embarrassed an adult. He couldn't help but look forward to it.