A New Mission
It was late the next afternoon when Naruto and Sakura arrived in Konoha. They could both tell right away that something wasn't right. The north gate, which had always sat open during the day for the past several years, had been sealed. Once inside they quickly noticed the greatly increased presense of ANBU everywhere they went as they made their way towards the Hokage Tower to report the success of their mission.
"What do you think happened...?" Sakura asked, thinking out loud more than actually speaking to anyone.
Naruto responded anyway, speaking in a carefree tone. "Who knows. It's probably not that big a deal though. We'll just ask Kakashi-sensei while we're here."
"Yeah...I hope you're right." Even as she said them she realized that those were words she'd never before said to her teammate and would probably never say again.
Without bothering to knock when they arrived Naruto simply burst through the door and shouted "We're back, Kakashi-sensei!"
The stupid grin vanished from his face when he saw the look on the Hokage's. Neither of them had ever seen their sensei so obviously worried. Before Naruto had the chance to say anything else Sakura stepped up in front of him and asked the question. "Kakashi-sensei...what's going on?"
He looked at her and stated plainly "Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone, and Hidden Mist have declared war on us and Hidden Sand."
"Eh!? What the hell are they trying to pull!?" The loud blond shouted over Sakura's shoulder.
"According to our contacts we've been framed for the assassination of the Raikage and Mizukage, and the attempted assassination of the Tsuchikage..." He paused for a moment, then continued. "I already have another mission prepared for the two of you."
Naruto just listened in interest, but Sakura started to protest. "Sensei...if a war's about to start shouldn't I be at the hospital to help the injured?"
"We have plenty of medics, very few of which are as skilled in actual combat as you are. You'll be more useful in the field." He responded.
She thought for a moment before realizing he was right and nodding in agreement, then waited for the order. As soon as Kakashi was sure neither of them had anything else to say he explained. "You'll be joining Nara Shikamaru's unit, along with Akimichi Chouji, and heading somewhere you haven't been since your first real mission...the Wave Country."
"Huh? Why would we go there? Shouldn't we be defending the village?" Naruto questioned, clearly confused.
"Even you should know that after we allowed them to finish their bridge, the country became a large importer of various goods to the Fire Country. If Hidden Mist is going to attack us, they'll probably try to cut us off from our supplies first." Kakashi explained.
"Ah...right." Naruto responded with a half-hearted grin appearing on his face.
"Anyway, the two of you should get as much as rest as you can tonight. Your team's meeting at the east gate at dawn."
After both confirmed that they understand, they took their leave of the tower and headed for home.
It was just slightly after midnight and Aburame Shino was standing in the Konoha Cemetary. As creepy as it was it seemed like a good place for a meeting that wouldn't be disturbed. He glanced over at the gate at the entrance as he spotted the two people he'd asked to meet him. "Shino, you're a freak. You know that right? Of all the places in Konoha..."
The speaker was his former teammate, Inuzuka Kiba. He was dressed all in black and was almost invisible in the darkness, as was the solid black dog that stood beside him. Akamaru had grown too old for combat and now remained at home while Kiba went out on his missions. This new dog, Kuromaru, had taken his place. Like the majority of the former Genin Twelve, Kiba was now a Jounin.
Directly behind him was Hyuuga Hinata. If any of them had changed since their Genin days, it was her. Not so much in appearance aside from the fact that she now carried a katana everywhere she went, but in personality. She'd finally done away with her shyness and had become a strong shinobi, reaching Jounin level only slightly behind her cousin Neji. "You should try being a little nicer, Kiba." She said in a teasing voice that was so unlike her former self.
"Hey, he's the one that told us to meet him at midnight in a freaking graveyard. Say what you want, but that's not exactly normal behavior." The canine shinobi said with a laugh.
However Shino didn't react in any way other than simply giving them each a nod and saying "Thanks for coming."
"No need to thank us. Even if it's not official, we're still a team. What's this about?" Hinata asked.
"I'm sure by now you've both heard the news. Konoha is about to go to war against three of the five great villages." He waited for them to nod, then went on. "What you probably haven't heard is that the Tsuchikage was attacked by a member of my clan."
"What? Who was it!?" Kiba seemed genuinly shocked, and the look on Hinata's face said the same.
"I don't know. That's why I asked you to meet me here. I need to find out who's behind this and I can't do it on my own. You're the only people I trust enough to ask. So...will you come with me to the Earth Country?"
Kiba couldn't help but laugh a little. "You know, I've known you for nearly fifteen years and I think that's the first time you've ever asked me for anything. Alright, count me in."
"Me too. You'd probably get killed without me around, Kiba." Hinata added.
"Yeah, yeah...whatever you say. When are we leaving bugman?"
"Unless either of you need to gather your equipment, we'll leave right away. It'll be best to go under cover of darkness and with any luck we'll be long gone before anyone realizes we're missing."
A minute later the group agreed that there was no reason to waste any time, and the three of them set out for the northeast corner of the village. From there they would cross the wall and begin their self-assigned mission.
Naruto was the last person to arrive at the east gate. In fact, he was the last one by about thirty minutes. If there was one thing he had picked up from Kakashi over the years it was his ability to keep a schedule. "Idiot, where the hell were you!? We were about ready to just leave you behind!" Sakura screamed the moment she spotted him.
"Sorry, I stopped for breakfast and lost track of time."
"Can't get mad at a man for needing his food!" Chouji said with a hearty laugh before Sakura had time to scold him anymore.
If one had to describe Akimichi Chouji in a single word, that word would be 'huge'. He was a little over six feet tall and had lost most of his fat, replacing it with muscle. He wore the Akimichi armor that had once belonged to his father instead of the vest worn by most Jounin. Beside him, Nara Shikamaru looked tiny. He also looked exhausted. He still wore his hair in the same style and had a hint of a stubble on his chin. The pouches on his belt were also so full of scrolls that some of them couldn't even close properly.
"We've been standing here long enough. Let's get moving before I fall asleep again." Their team leader followed this up immediately with a loud yawn.
"Oi! Open the gate!" Naruto shouted to the guards standing in the watchtowers on either side.
A moment later the gate creaked open and the four of them began their journey towards the Wave Country.
A lone ship of Hidden Mist rocked in the water many miles east of the Wave Country, gradually approaching it's destination. Ichira Tenryou, the man known as The Thunder of the Seven Swordsmen stood leaning against the railing of the ship looking down into the water. He was the only of the seven who was working without a partner, though he did have a team of five Mist Jounin with him as backup in case anything went wrong. His mission was fairly simple. Enter the Wave Country and destroy the bridge connecting it to the Fire Country. He doubted there would be any enemy shinobi to interfere and if there were...Well, they'd only be a minor inconvenience. As a man who had never lost a fight in his life, Tenryou feared nothing.
