Author's Note:

In an earlier version of the story, I conducted a poll on who should be a future jounin sensei for this story. At the conclusion of the poll, the readers decided that Anko Mitarashi should be a sensei, with Hayate Gekko being a close second. Shizune finished third and Genma Shiranui finished in fourth place. Because of the results, I decided to adjust plans for Hayate in the future as well.

I also note that if people wish to submit their own jutsu, look at the end of the chapter (or any chapter where jutsu is used) for more details.

The next chapter is shorter than the previous two, but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless!

x X x

Chapter 3: Tragedy, Whispers, and Secrets

Early in the evening, as a man entered his home, a teenager wandered on the streets. Frustrated, the teenager picked up a rock and twisted his arm with the object, testing the weight of the rock. Unfortunately, he didn't have a good grip on the rock, as it flew through the man's window, breaking the glass pane.

"What are you doing?" the main said in a raised voice after he opened his shattered window, holding the offending object in his hand.

"Sorry about that Yazaki-san," the teenager yelled in a sincere voice, with his arms at his sides. "My hand slipped while I was whirling my arm." The man closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Go home," he said, dropping the rock in the house. "Before the police find you and fine you."

"Yes sir," the teen stammered as he sprinted away. "Have a good evening!" The man slammed the cracked window shut, causing more glass to fall.

Fifteen seconds afterward, an explosion spread throughout the home. People closest to the scene ran as debris scattered in random directions while people from afar watched the raging inferno in disbelief or awe.

Meanwhile, the teenage boy ran until he slipped behind a building. The boy released his henge, revealing himself as Hayaji. He smiled, thinking about how he accomplished this part of the mission with relative ease.

Several hours beforehand, he spread an odorless, combustible gas inside the home. When he saw Keito nearing the home, he transformed into a teenager using a basic Henge, and hurled a rock through the window. The rock looked normal, except for one exception.

An explosive note was inside the rock, triggering the blast the moment he used a tiger seal.

"Two down," he whispered to himself, watching as several Konoha police officers and ANBU operatives ran toward the explosion. He took out his list and crossed off Keito Yazaki from it. "Four to go."

x X x

Daichi sipped sake from a ceramic glass on the roof of his home as he looked at the fiery explosion, noting the blast was in the same area as Keito's home. The portly restaurant owner grinned as he realized another enemy died.

When he learned about Shiori from Keito, he believed she would implicate everyone if Konoha captured her. To ensure success, he hired Hayaji to kill those targeted by Shiori, and everyone with knowledge of the plan. If Heisuke jumped ship, it's conceivable that Kazuo and Keito may do the same, as neither man showed respect towards him, despite that the assassination was his idea in the first place.

Furthermore, with three vacant council seats, he can fill them with individuals that followed his lead without question, increasing his sway in Konoha politics. Perhaps he could reap more profits with his enterprise as a restaurant owner. It would also aid his illicit business, provided the repeal of certain laws blocking his progress.

"Are you ready Kuroyama-san?" a young woman asked with reluctance, breaking the thoughts of the portly man.

"The usual tonight," Daichi responded with a grin as the woman glanced to the floor, moving slowly as she reentered the house. "Hope you like it rough," he added, as he slapped her butt.

Daichi believed there were many forms of power, and having one would lead to others. In this circle of power, he included political influence, increased wealth, and, most importantly, women. Why seek the hand of a woman for a miserable marriage with no intimacy, when he can arrange for a woman to sedate his physical urge with a few ryo notes?

x X x

Earlier that morning, two members of the Konoha Police Department informed the Mikata family that Kazuo Natsugawa died from an assault the previous night. Heisuke stayed awake at his desk, contemplating the last conversation he held with Kazuo. He reveled in his profession. Many people remained uneasy after the Kyuubi disaster, but Kazuo remained in Konoha, stating he wanted to aid the families that lost close ones the days after the attack began. A vacation at this time seemed extremely illogical.

He also remembered the conversation with Kazuo, Daichi and Keito at the Marena a few days ago. Although Keito stated they wouldn't kill him, he knew Daichi Kuroyama played dirty, as he suggested the assassination.

He remembered three years ago, that Kazuo said not to trust Daichi. However, Daichi threatened to ruin their reputations by spreading rumors about them stealing taxpayer money from the council unless they followed his orders and votes. Heisuke never stole in his life, but he knew people would take the word of a senior council member over a recently appointed one, so he complied.

Realizing Daichi probably ordered the shinobi to kill Kazuo, he knew he was in clear danger. If the assassin went after the wife and child of the Yondaime, then Yuriko and Asuka were not safe either.

Understanding the circumstances, Heisuke wrote a last will and testament, giving control of his perfume business to Yuriko and his personal assets to her and Asuka. He left the will on his desk in plain sight. Afterward, he walked to his bedroom, looking at his family as they slept.

"I can't promise my safe return," Heisuke whispered quietly to his wife. "But I must do this." His lips caressed hers for a short moment, then he walked to his daughter, careful not to make a noise.

"Daddy has to leave," he said, holding her miniature hand in his palm for a moment before releasing them, noting that Asuka clearly favored him physically. It probably helped that in his youth, many people confused him as a girl. "If I don't return, please follow your heart, and become a remarkable individual."

He quietly left the house, walking to the village gates as he hoped to survive long enough to return to his family. He abhorred abandoning his family, and prayed they would forgive him someday. However, if he didn't, he would put their lives in direct jeopardy. If they died, he would never forgive himself.

Before he walked toward the exit of the town, he decided to warn Kushina about the impending threat. Growing up, Heisuke held an obvious crush for the kunoichi. However, he never spoke with her – or any woman for that matter – on a romantic level until he met Yuriko five years ago. This time, it's not about "undying love," but to keep her family safe as well.

Meanwhile, someone noticed his presence, and followed him along the rooftops.

x X x

Shiori traveled on the rooftops of Konoha. Her messenger bird returned, with instructions to abort the mission and leave Konoha immediately. She planned to escape over the northeastern wall, avoiding the Konoha patrols within and outside the village gates. Not to her surprise, the patrols appeared weak for the second consecutive night, as she saw the fire from the explosion from her hotel room.

As she walked, she noticed a man in a light jacket and pants. She saw the face of the man, and trailed him, wondering why he is out in the open with a killer seeking his life. She trailed him for several more streets before making her presence known. She sprinted further ahead, before she took on the appearance of a tourist again.

"Excuse me sir," she asked with a polite tone as he walked toward him. She caught her breath before she continued, "Are you Heisuke Mikata?"

"Depends," he said as he folded his arms across his chest. "Why are you following me?"

"Excuse me?" she stammered as she looked around the area. "I'm not a stalker!"

"Really?" he asked as he folded his arms. "Why were you out of breath? Seems you ran here to catch up with me."

"How did you know?" Shiori asked, scratching the back of her head.

"Studied at the academy," he said. "Parents pulled me before I could become a ninja." Glancing at the woman from head to toe, he added, "Judging by your demeanor, I'd say you're a ninja also."

"I am," she stammered, understanding she couldn't deceive him. "But I don't have a reason to hurt you."

"Okay," Heisuke said as his posture relaxed. However, his eyebrows raised as he continued, "What's your name? Why talk to me?"

"Shiori, and I need information," she said with a serious tone, her hands at her sides. "As you know, Kazuo Natsugawa is dead. However, about an hour ago, Keito Yazaki was murdered in an explosion across town."

"I heard about it," he snapped as his eyebrows drew closer to his eyes. "Did you kill them?"

"No," she said with an even tone with her eyes locked into his. "These murders are the work of another shinobi."

"Daichi must've ordered it," Heisuke muttered, with the name seething through his teeth. Shiori nodded as he continued, "There were four of us discussing what to do with Naruto. However, I bailed when they considered killing both him and Kushina. I had my disagreements with Minato Namikaze, but I don't believe his son is Kyuubi."

"Those are my thoughts as well," she said with an even tone, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I can't kill a child, and Daichi planned to blame Iwa by having me do the dirty work."

"I'm glad you didn't. That assassination will start the fourth Ninja World War," Heisuke stated as he looked at the woman in the eye. As she glanced back into his eye, he asked, "What will you do?"

"First," Shiori stated in a calm tone, "I need to leave town." She glanced around before adding, "You need to leave too. Before I cancelled the mission, I was also hired to assassinate you as well. I'm certain that the same shinobi that killed Keito and Kazuo will be after both of us."

"I understand." Heisuke said, "I'm leaving to protect my family, but I must warn Kushina. She doesn't know how far they will go, or how far the conspiracy runs."

"Good," she smiled. She remembered telling Kushina to leave, but she never stated the reason. "When you're done, get out of Konoha." He nodded as they traveled in separate directions. Her smile turned into a frown, wondering if he could survive long enough.

She received her answer moments before she decided to trail him.

After walking a few feet, she noticed the businessman drop onto the street, clutching his neck, unable to speak. She spun and noticed he had wires wrapped around his neck.

Before she could grab a shuriken and free him from the wires, a kunai appeared from the shadows, which pierced Heisuke in the back of the skull. The blood flowed from Heisuke's head, as he collapsed, unconscious.

She walked to the body and tugged the kunai from his head as she watched the shadows. As the wound bled profusely, she realized the man showed no signs of vitality.

"So you're Niwano-san," a male voice stated. "Seems you're not up to the task."

"Who the hell are you?" Shiori said, as she pulled the kunai from the holster with her gloved hand, after dropping the bloodied one onto the ground. "Show yourself! Now!"

"Of course," he said in a monotone voice, as he stepped out of the shadows. "My name is Hayaji Teisei," he said, with a bow. He jumped onto a rooftop, and added, "But that doesn't matter. You'll be a corpse after I'm done with you."

"There's one problem," she said as she jumped onto the rooftop where he stood. "I'll kill you first."

She tossed the kunai, but he deflected it with a kunai in his hand.

"If that's all," he said, flinging the kunai at the Iwa Kunoichi, "this will be as boring as killing those businessmen." The Kumo ninja flashed a smile as he added, "That explosion is keeping Konoha busy."

"I see," she said as she dodged his kunai, which embedded into a wall behind her. Withdrawing another kunai from her holster, she ran forward, speaking "You're the one Daichi sent."

"You're as smart as they detail in the bingo books, Niwano-san." Hayaji stated, as she swung her kunai toward his face. He deflected the blow with another kunai, making hers fly off the roof.

He tried to stab her chest, but she evaded it by using her momentum of her swing to roll to her left, away from him. However, the glasses fell off her face in the process.

"Yeah," Shiori said, revealing a third kunai. She twirled it by the handle on her finger as she added, "and you're just an idiot."

"Are you sure," he stated in cheerful tone as he gripped his weapon. "I trailed you since you left the hotel. You didn't realize it until I slaughtered that man."

Refusing to show any hint of surprise, she moved in to attack him again.

Hayaji flashed through four hand seals before he uttered, "Jishaku Miwaku!"

Her kunai flew out of her hand, landing several meters away from both fighters.

Her mouth dropped open as she noticed all of her kunai and shuriken ripped away from the holster, following the initial kunai she held into the same space.

"What's the matter?" he said in a mocking tone, as Shiori widened her eyes. "Did you lose your weapons?"

"Don't need them," she said as she shifted her body to a defensive stance. "I can beat you without them."

"That wouldn't be a fair fight," he said, shifting through four hand signs, "You can have them." Afterward, he whispered, "Jishaku Hanpatsu!"

All of the weapons in the pile flew toward where she stood. Although she dodged the brunt of the attack by rolling away to the right, two shuriken grazed her upper right arm.

Scrambling to her feet, she held her arm tightly for a second. Glancing at her arm, she noticed blood seeping from open wounds.

Her eyes shifted toward Hayaji, who completed five hand signals. As he whispered "Rakurai!" his hand glowed for two seconds.

Recognizing the jutsu, she used one hand sign to counter the attack.

At the same time, a bolt of lightning flashed from his hand to her body. He smiled, believing he killed his target with the attack.

He widened his eyes as he saw a wooden log with a large burn mark in the place where Shiori should be.

Before he could glance around to find her, she went behind him and twisted his arm behind his back, forcing him to his knees.

"I see," he strained through his teeth with a bland tone. "You used Kawarimi to dodge the attack, and Kasoku to get behind me."

"Maybe you're not so stupid," Shiori rejoiced with sarcasm as she added more pressure to his shoulder. "But now I have some questions."

"Screw you," he yelled, resisting the pain his arm. "I'm not telling anything!"

"If that's how you want it," she said in a polite tone. Both her hands gripped his forearm, locking his shoulder in place, and she pressed her knuckles against his radial nerve.

"Tell me, or I'll rip your arm off," she shouted as he screamed.

He bit his lip for ten seconds attempting to resist the pain. However, it was too much for him to sustain.

"What do you want to know?" he said through his teeth.

"Where can I find Daichi?" she said in a venomous tone, her eyes narrowed while intently looking at him. "He and I need to speak one-on-one about our contract."

"He's home," he stammered. "He said something about being busy tonight."

"Did you kill the woman and baby?" she asked as she narrowed her eyes.

"What woman and baby?" he stammered.

"Don't play stupid," she stated with a blunt tone as she increased the pressure on his forearm, causing him to scream again. "Kushina is a woman in her mid twenties, and Naruto is a newborn infant born only a few days ago."

"I didn't know," he bellowed. "I had no information on their age, just names and locations." She listened as she remembered her report didn't reveal their ages either. "I have a daughter of my own! Only a scumbag would kill a child!"

"Well, we worked for one," Shiori said as she released some of the nerve pressure. She sighed as she thought about the situation. Hayaji was an idiot, at least when it foreign affairs, but she realized he told the truth.

"Judging by your jutsu," she said, "you're from Kumo, correct?"

He nodded.

"Kushina is the widow of Minato Namikaze, better known as Konoha's Yellow Flash, and Naruto is their son." He nodded slowly as she continued, "Daichi wanted one of us to kill him so either Iwa or Kumo could take the blame."

"The last thing Kumo needs is trouble from Konoha," Hayaji said as he stared at the ground. "Another war with them would finish us."

"I'm glad we're on the same page now," Shiori said, releasing the hold she had on the man. Turning her back as she surveyed the area for Konoha shinobi as she added, "Before I leave Konoha, I want to take care of—"

She stopped talking as Hayaji struck her in the back with a hand covered in light voltage. The strike caused her body to collapse to the ground, her hand falling an inch within her glasses.

"Why," she whispered. "I want to—"

"Quiet. I won't kill you, and you have my word I won't kill the woman or the kid," he whispered as he leaned over her motionless body. She squinted her eyes as he added, "But I want to confront Daichi. You'll just get in the way."

"What about me?" she whispered as she raised her eyebrow. "I can't stay like this."

"Don't worry. The effect will wear off ... " he trailed off as he glanced around the area before adding, "Eventually."

She slipped into unconsciousness as he carried her in his arms and jumped off the roof. Placing her body on the side of the building, he took the rest of her equipment. Looking at Heisuke's body, he shook his head as a scowl formed on his face.

Clutching a kunai, he leapt to the rooftop. Noticing the kunoichi's glasses, he placed them in his pouch and sprinted away.

Fifteen minutes afterward, several ANBU and Konoha police officers found Heisuke murdered, and Shiori unconscious, albeit breathing and with two shuriken cuts to her arm.

Unable to find any weapons or identification on the girl, they considered her a victim fortunate enough to survive the attack. They sent her to Konoha Hospital to heal her injuries, and issued an order to question her the moment she awakens, as she is a potential witness to the crime.

Perhaps the only witness, as the police became baffled at how someone killed three council members without much evidence.

x X x

This ends Chapter 3. Hayaji realizes the true meaning of the mission, and rushes to confront Daichi. How will Hayaji handle Daichi? What will Shiori tell the police once she awakens? What will Konoha do after three of their council members were assassinated. Find out all the details in Chapter 4: Facing the Black Mountain. Until then, please review, and have a nice day (or night).

x X x

The Jutsu Library (i.e. a big author's note at the end)

These are the jutsu used in this chapter. They include both the name, the English translation, rank, (anywhere from E-rank for an academy level jutsu, to S-rank for a forbidden jutsu) and a description.

If you wish to have a jutsu creation in the story, submit it in a review or send me a PM with the same details as any jutsu below. If I like it enough, maybe I'll use it. If I use another person's jutsu, I'll give full credit to the creator.

Jishaku Miwaku (Magnet Attraction)
B-Rank supportive ninjutsu.
This pulls certain metals such as iron and steel towards a nearby area of the user's choosing. The more chakra used in the jutsu, the stronger the radius of the magnet attraction, and the more the metal(s) can weigh. Often used for disarming a potential enemy who uses metal weapons such as shuriken, kunai, or swords.

Jishaku Hanpatsu (Magnet Repulsion)
B-Rank supportive ninjutsu.
The stepsister to Jishaku Miwaku, it repels metals such as iron and steel from an area chosen by the user. This can disarm a person of a metal weapon if they're close enough. Combined with Jishaku Miwaku, this can cause massive damage as a user can take metal weapons away with Jishaku Miwaku, then bring it toward their directions with Jishaku Hanpatsu. The more chakra used in the jutsu, the further the metal travels, and the more the metal(s) can weigh.

Rakurai (Thunderbolt)
C-rank offensive ninjutsu
It takes two seconds to charge, giving the target time to counter the jutsu, and a distinctive glow to the palm of someone's hand. However, once charged, a bolt of lightning travels from the user's hands, to the target in less than one hundredth of a second. Efficient chakra control, or lightning affinity is mandatory, as overloading this jutsu may cause second or third degree electric burns to the palm of the hand.

Kawarimi (Substitution)
E-Rank defensive ninjutsu

The same jutsu in the canon series. With it, you can substitute your body with a nearby object, such as a log, or even another person within five hundred feet. An added twist in this story, is that the more chakra a shinobi uses in Kawarimi, the heavier the object he or she can swap with. Furthermore, as the chakra control of a shinobi improves, they less he or she needs to perform Kawarimi. (e.g: Sakura could probably use Kawarimi with a 50kg log without any chakra exhaustion after twenty uses. However, Naruto probably could swap with a five-ton boulder twenty times as well with his excessive chakra reserves.)

Kasoku (Acceleration)
E-rank supportive ninjutsu
A jutsu learned in ninja academies throughout the continent along with Kawarimi, Henge, and Bunshin. Chakra assists the muscles of the body, allowing the user to move with less restriction. However, the effect lasts for approximately five seconds (more or less, depending on the health and endurance of the user) before it dissipates. Efficient chakra control is recommended, as excess chakra into the jutsu goes unused and wasted, while insufficient chakra will decrease the effects.