IV The Enemies of Konoha

Aburame Shino loved shinobi rule twenty-five. This law was intended to prevent ninja from becoming emotionally involved and making mistakes. He had become the model of objectivity among ninja in the Hidden Village of Leaf, and sometimes his comrades wondered if he had completely divorced himself from his emotions. His voice was almost always low and monotone, and he employed a speaking style that Naruto had mocked on several occasions.

Perhaps his consistency came from his upbringing. The Aburame clan prided themselves in never underestimating any one… even some one as small as a bug. It was especially appropriate since they housed large colonies of insects in their body, and using their chakra, controlled the swarms to help them accomplish missions. The bugs needed relatively stable environments in which to thrive, and perhaps this need helped mold Shino into the enigmatic master of stoicism that his comrades had come to respect.

All of the training and consistency that he had ever known was undone in a single moment. Though the sun had finally burned several holes in the thick cloud cover above and the rain had ceased, Shino's face wrap was getting wetter. Tears tricked down his cheeks from underneath his dark sunglasses. He could not help but weep as he stood at the broken entrance to the Hidden Village of Konoha and saw the broken bodies of about a dozen ninja academy students. Among them was a little girl with small bugs crawling and flying around her body. He knew that these were not flies hovering over rotting flesh, but rather these insects were the same kind that lived in the bodies of his clansmen. The sounds of fire crackling among the nearby buildings filled the air. In the distance, Shino perceived the sound of weapons clanging together. His heart mixed an awful blend of wrath and anguish. He slowly tried to dry his eyes and catch his breath. He knew that he would not be useful unless he calmed down.

"Where are Naruto and Hinata?" came a voice from behind Shino. There was great urgency that laced the question. He whirled around and trying to pretend he felt nothing. He saw the face of the strongest ninja in the village.

"Hokage-sama…" said Shino, still attempting to mask the grief in his voice. Tsunade's stern expression softened slightly as she looked at Shino. She had never seen him emotional, and she could not help but feel compassion for one of her suffering shinobi. The attack had not been totally unexpected, but the number of attackers was not something they had been prepared for.

"Hokage-sama!" shouted another ninja as he ran to meet their leader. "That was the last of them…" He panted to regain his breath.

"Very good," replied Tsunade. "Let's get as many ninja as we can find help move the wounded into the hospital…"

"Yes Hokage-sama!" he replied. He immediately began running off.

"Shino…" said Tsunade softly. "Where are Hinata and Naruto?" Shino cleared his throat before responding.

"We were ambushed by Akatsuki," said Shino. "They took Naruto. Hinata decided to follow after him, and I came here to get backup. Hinata is carrying one of my bugs so I should be able to track her without much difficulty."

"Most of the jounin are quite some distance from here," said Tsunade. "We were hoping that the three of you would provide us with help." She sighed in disappointment. "I will be forced to recall some of our other ninja in outlying countries to help with our defenses then, there is no other choice."

"What would you have me do?" asked Shino.

"Help with the injured before gathering a few free ninja," replied Tsunade. "Then go ahead and bring Naruto and Hinata back. This mission is not a win at all costs scenario Shino… We have lost enough lives already." Shino nodded. Though he tried to dismiss the pain in his heart, his eyes could not withhold from shedding another pair of tears.

Tsunade turned toward the hospital. She had longed to escape the heaps of paperwork that were laid before her, but this was not the method she had had in mind. Hundreds of warriors in dark robes had rushed through the entrance and overpowered the guards there. She especially felt bad about the small class of academy students that had been taking a walk by the village entrance. She wished that she might have been there. The attacking ninja were mostly chunin level ninjas, and she could have prevented most of the carnage that they inflicted. Their self-sacrificing nature bothered her deeply. It seemed a very foreign idea that they were willing to give up their lives to kill only a few leaf ninja. She kept her worries to herself as she sped toward the hospital. She would not let what might have been done differently in the past prevent her from making a difference here and now. That was the wisdom she had gleaned from Uzumaki Naruto when Jiraiya had found her three years before and offered her the position she now held.

"I will go with you," said Sakura as she hurried with Shino to an injured shinobi crying for help. Shino had managed to get control of his emotions again.

"Thank you Sakura," he said. "A medical ninja will be vital in a mission against Akatsuki." Sakura did not need that reminder. She thought back to her first mission after Naruto had returned from his training with Jiraiya. Her skills had helped both her own team and her Sand allies defeat a vicious Akatsuki opponent named Sasori.

After a brief journey they arrived at the hospital. Medical ninja were busily rushing back and forth tending to the wounded.

"I will meet you in two hours Shino," said Sakura as she rushed to help the other medical ninja. As Shino turned to leave he found Lee approaching the hospital carrying a wooden beam draped with about a dozen injured Ninja.

"Lee!" said Shino. He gently placed the beam down and flashed a smile at the bug user. "Let me help you…"

"Thanks Shino," said Lee as he began carrying a pair of injured villagers into the hospital. It was not long before they had brought them all into the building to receive medical treatment. Ino and Sakura rushed to help the injured villagers.

"I wish I had been at the gates," said Lee softly as he turned to Shino. "There were many opponents, but the strength of my youth could have stopped them!" Shino had never understood Lee's love for the 'springtime of youth' pontification that Maito Gai loved to recite. In fact, no one else understood the philosophy of these taijutsu masters, but even though they seemed obnoxiously over-enthusiastic, no one could deny their great strength and determination. They were by no means the greatest strategists in Konoha, but they were the most tenacious hard workers in any hidden village.

"Lee," said Shino. "The Fifth has asked me to assemble a few ninja and go after Naruto and Hinata. I would like you to come with us..." Lee did not seem to notice the hint of emotion in Shino's voice, or the small tear that had just appeared underneath his sunglasses. Shino also longed to have been at the gates, but he knew there was nothing that could be done now.

"Naruto-kun?" asked Lee. "Of course I will come with you!"

"This mission is not without danger..." said Shino. "Naruto was captured by powerful Akatsuki agents. Hinata is keeping on their trail, but even with our combined strength..."

"There's no way they can keep up with us in the springtime of our youth!!" shouted Lee energetically. Shino fought the impulse to sigh.

"We will be meeting in a couple hours at the gates," said Shino. "I want to see about recruiting another ninja to join us..." Lee nodded and rushed off.

Shino turned and headed further into the village. Even behind the cloud cover, the sun was growing closer to the horizon. He wondered how Hinata and Naruto were faring. A mental picture came into his head of Naruto getting knocked unconscious from fighting ninja far stronger than he was, and Hinata falling unconscious because she was near Naruto. His worries caused him to walk a bit quicker to his destination.

"Shino!" came a voice from nearby. It was Tenten. She was helping to remove a pile of enemy corpses from the road ahead. Sino could not help but notice the large number of axes, kunai, and shuriken that were still deeply embedded in these ninjas' bodies.

"Tenten..." said Shino softly. "I would like your help with a mission..."

Sakura and Lee were waiting by the gate when Tenten and Shino appeared. The sky had darkened considerably, though most of the clouds had been swept away by a strong breeze that had kicked up from the south. The brightest of stars began to reveal their shine as the light of the sun waned away in the west. As the group gathered together and checked their equipment, a strange sight appeared on the horizon.

"What is it?" asked Lee. The low light made it difficult to see precisely what approached Konoha. It almost looked like a leafless, branchless walking tree at first, but after a little more time had passed, they realized that it was a man carrying a large wrapped item over his shoulder. Tenten shuddered as she suddenly remembered the silhouette.

"Hoshigaki Kisame..." she whispered. The others turned to face her. "He's a powerful ninja from Akatsuki..."

"You've fought him before?" asked Lee. Tenten shot Lee a look of confusion.

"You were there Lee!" she said.

"Was I?" he asked confused.

"You're just like Gai-sensei..." muttered Tenten.

"Look!" said Sakura pointing again to the horizon. Behind the swordsman they saw a large group of other ninja marching toward them. "It's another attack!"

"I will inform Hokage-sama!" shouted Tenten as she rushed back to the village. "Hold them off until we return!" Shino nodded. He was glad that Tenten had volunteered for that job. He knew it had to be done, but he did not want to have to do it. He wanted to stay here at the gates; he wanted to be the first to meet the enemies of Konoha. Sakura tightened her gloves. Lee leapt up and down to stay limber. Shino lifted his arms, and his constant allies began pouring out his sleeves and flying around him. This time, the shinobi of Konoha would be prepared protect their beloved home.

A/N: I wish to thank every one who has provided reviews thusfar. I thought I would be able to squeeze a little more action into this chapter, and I apologize to those that were hoping for this, but I thought it was important to set up the plot direction here. As always, your reviews and input are valued both for suggestions and for motivation to keep typing when my eyesight blurs. Thank you.