Whispers are spread between information networks, quietly and secretly but with such a forceful surge that it ripples out.
Konoha captured a Kumo missing-nin with a blank headband. Just like Osanai, the missing-nin who threatened a Iwa scouting squad over a civilian caravan. Just like the monsters who had patrolled the border of Kusa as the whispers of war had circulated, ripping into anyone they caught.
The missing-nin escaped soon after, in broad daylight, half the on-call shinobi distracted with a childish joke of all things. A genjutsu or a transmuted clone or a henge. Or a child.
Konoha is weak, people assure themselves. This new organisation caught the village off guard, Konoha is too lax in their security. Has always been.
And while some believe that narrative, too many are worried. If Konoha, a village with countless sensory and tracking bloodlines, couldn't apprehend one supposed A-rank, what kind of monsters must this organisation be recruiting? Or was the missing-nin specifically trained to go against Konoha?
So people pause and look through their own files, find repeated mentions of the same handful of missing-nin, find people dead or missing or with a sudden change of heart.
Hanzo the Salamander of Ame is dead. Dozens of Daimyo advisors suddenly singing a new tune or quietly retired and vanished. Hundreds of bounties claimed. Uzushio being blocked off.
A small child was seen near the next prospective generation of the Seven Swordsman of Kiri. A girl near several up and coming Suna prodigies, a boy talking to the students of the Third Raikage, a lost orphan walking next to the jinchuuriki of the four-tails.
An unidentified organisation settled into a hollowed out island. A swath of A and S-ranks. Sightings during what can only be carefully planned out missions in every country in the Elemental Nations. Contacting jinchuuriki, meeting prodigies, moving as a uniform and cohesive unit.
"...playing with the clan heirs."
"The Jounin Commander is motivated..."
"-Kumo...behind this?"
"...watching the tailed beasts..."
"...could have been raising other children to..."
"...overthrew Ame..."
And it spreads, as it should, as the travellers planned. There is only so far they can give before they have to push back and this incident went too far, showed that the travellers could get hurt, could be caught.
Doing this won't stop them but it will give the travellers time to prepare and to turn their focus to this new threat.
The villages keep interfering, and it's better to be feared than hunted, after all.
The Ame kids are on the way to Uzu and someone had the brilliant idea to have Kakashi escort them for part of the way because they're already known as Ame's new leaders and might get into trouble. Kakashi is already in Hi no Kuni and needs to report and get a new mission from the base regardless.
Hopefully, by the time he gets back, the travellers have found someone else for the missions with the jinchuuriki and the Yu genius. Probably not though, considering every traveller has their own category of missions they specialise in and with his specialisation there were few other options among them.
Kakashi decides to 'escort' them by following the group from the shadows, high up in the leaves but dead silent as he passes through, leaving no trace for others to follow. Watching them travel is somewhat fun. They're rather idiotic at times and remarkably cheerful, for they only know what amounts to empty promises.
Regardless of the training and care the travellers have given them, for seemingly free, those kids are still untouched by betrayal and very naive in some ways.
Their time spent under the tutelage and training regimens of the travellers hasn't dampened their spirits or dreams of peace one bit. Watching as Obito laughs and teases the others, a firm confidence in his step, Kakashi feels his chest constricting. A bit.
Back in Kakashi's first run through, he had never seen Obito's potential, not with such a gap in strength between them. But with the encouragement of the travellers and their foreknowledge of what he could grow into, Obito is improving steadily.
Obito is rising in skill far faster and more well rounded than when he was in Konoha. Getting positive attention from so many has done wonders to the social and caring boy. Minato had tried but he was distracted by a war and was so young, with people pushing him to focus on Kakashi, the genius child who became chuunin at six when others his age were still in the academy.
Kakashi was angry back then, too. He was held back by the two new students, stuck with gardening D-ranks when he could be training or taking B-ranks and helping with the war effort. Minato ran himself ragged trying to keep everyone happy.
Kakashi lapses into a bit of nostalgic musing as he follows along behind the easily distracted children - and oh, look, Obito found a cute stick insect.
Kakashi's ninken get summoned at night to guard them, because as good as he is, his stupidly childish body still needs its rest. He sleeps frustratingly deep and with the recent missions, he really is pushing it. At least the children are around his age and need the time to rest as well.
He fortifies his sleeping place in the tree branches just out of hearing distance of the others, and marks their camp with various scent traps of cinnamon and basil that should alert him in case they take off earlier than he predicts or if something goes awry.
Urushi stands watch a few trees away with his heightened senses and Pakkun is summoned to be Kakashi's pillow. The ninken don't know the future, don't know Kakashi, but that's fine because he loves them too much to ever let go.
Pakkun grumbles a bit at being squished but at least they're in the temperate climate of Hi no Kuni. Kakashi doesn't want to think how Ame would have been. Disgustingly wet, he reckons.
Obito sprints through the trees, dodging left just in time to duck a kunai that sails over his shoulder. "Konan!"
"I'm fine, keep going!" Konan calls back and her paper streaks through the air, slicing deep cuts into one of their pursuers.
Obito's next jump takes him spinning backwards and his sharingan whirl to life. He lands on the next branch and keeps going, the shinobi behind him missing a step and free-falling down, his body limp. No one expects an Uchiha to come out of Ame, after all.
Yahiko's bright orange hair is a blur, stuttering as he flashes in and out of sight between the trees. A kunoichi leaps over the pillar of water Yahiko summons and throws one shuriken that multiplies into twenty.
Nagato barely manages to kick Yahiko out of the way, backflipping onto another branch, his dark red hair flaring out around his head. "Pay more attention, Yahiko," he worries.
Yahiko laughs as they join back up with Obito and Konan. "But I have you to watch my back, I'm fine."
"Great, but then who will watch Nagato's back?" Obito chimes in with a grin.
"We'll go around in a circle-" Yahiko begins.
A small shadow darts overhead, the four Ame kids ducking quickly, splitting back up again into different pairs this time.
Obito glances over his shoulder in time to see the bright sunlight filtering through the leaves glint off something like long strands of spider silk.
And then red lines appear on the adults' necks and faces and the sun-coated strings go taught.
The remaining two adults are ripped apart in clean, precise lines from the strength of their own momentum and the chakra-controlled ninja wire ravels itself up, obediently returning to the hands of the small boy who only just lands in a tree behind the adults.
Obito skids to a halt and the other three Ame stop with him, creating a well practiced diamond formation. "You! Your headband…"
The boy is silver-haired and masked, dressed in blues, greens and greys of no particular country, already looking down towards the forest floor. "Bold of Kusa to come this far down," he muses. "Are you lost? I can give you directions."
The Ame kids follow the line of sight to find three more adults waiting for them. They thought a group of four were chasing them, but it was seven?
The leader takes point. "What's your name, boy?"
The small child huffs out a laugh, looking the man up and down. "Tokubetsu jounin...you're not going to last long enough for me to bother introducing myself." He pushes up the slanted headband that covers one eye. "I've been told I'm A-rank now, shall we test that?"
Birds shriek and the trees light up with the harsh, icy blue light of crackling electricity.