Chapter III

New Comrades

The sun rises and starts a new day. Many said that it is the sign of new hope. Sakura woke up early. She was excited to meet Jiraiya, Kin and the new comrade.

"Sakura, you're awake already? Isn't it too early?" asks Tsunade.

"It's alright. I want to meet them. Tsunade, can I ask something?"

"What is it?"

"How can we save Abrazul? We are not like those mages and we don't know how to fight." Said Sakura.

"You are far more powerful than you think, maybe even powerful than the mages. You just need to discover it. And about fighting, Lee can teach you." Answered the smiling Tsunade.

Sakura replied with a smile.

A few moments later the door opens. Sakura was about to greet the person when she saw who it was.

"Sakura, who is it?" Lee asks.

"Oh my! Isn't this coincidence?" Said Ino with her eyes sparkling like diamonds.

"Aren't you the one from last night?" asks Shino.

"You know each other?" asks Tsunade.

"Yeah…He saved Sakura from the bandits last night." Said Hinata.

"But we didn't have his name 'coz he just disappeared." Added Chouji.

"Well meet Neji; he's also a guardian like us." Introduced Lee while Neji took off his mask revealing his face.

"Wh...What?" Sakura cannot believe it. The person she likes the most is also a guardian.

"Neji!" exclaimed the excited Hinata and Ino.

'What's the matter with these girls?' Shino and Chouji thought.

"Well, what's happening here?" A voice came from behind.

"Master, you're back!" said Lee.

"Are they the guardians? Then the time has come. Prepare yourselves tomorrow and I'll train you, I'll awaken the powers within you." Said Jiraiya.

"Oh grandpa, you're not that strong anymore. I'll train them." It was Kin, as Ino said she was indeed nice and beautiful.

While having dinner everyone decided to learn more about each other. They shared their likes and dislikes. They all have the same thing on their mind that they should get along well with each other because they will be spending most of the time with each other.

"Tsunade and I became good friends. We protected the village from all the enemies. Moreover, we got many praises because of that. Some also said that we'll be a good couple, but we both fell for another person." Said Jiraiya laughing and making faces.

"Lee, how about you? Tell something about the one you like the most." Teasingly asks Chouji.

"Do you like Kin?" asks Hinata.

"Ha! Ha! I like her but I do not love her like what you think. She is ten years older than I am and already has a son. But I do like someone and I'm not going to tell who it is." Answers Lee.

"When did you like someone and not telling your grandma?" Tsunade asks jokingly. Lee just smiled at his grandmother.

"How about you, Sakura?" Lee asks.

Everyone looked at her seriously. They stared at her. This makes her embarrass to say what she should.

"Hey, I don't have that much secret to tell so please don't look at me like that." She said.

"Tell us about the place where you've been." Said Kin.

"In that place I am just an ordinary girl." She said.

"I really didn't think of having an adventure in another place because everyday is always the same."

"Its must be boring to stay in a place like that." Said Lee.

Then Hinata asks, "Kin, where is your son?"

"My son's training with his father in the place where the most of the people are knights. He's name is Genma, grandpa chose that name." She said.

"How about you Neji?" Asks Shino.

"I don't differ from you guys. I am a son of a swordsman." Said Neji.

"Our parents must be worried about us now. We just disappeared and they didn't know anything." Said Chouji.

"You shouldn't be worried, time in Abrazul travels slower than in the place you came. A year here is only about an hour there." Smiled Tsunade.

"If we didn't finish this mission fast, we'll be very old when we go home!" said the very worried Ino.

"When that happens Lee will be the first one to be that old." Said Kin.

"Why is that?" asks Sakura.

"The way time flows here won't affect you." Explained Jiraiya "Anyways, you won't need that much time to gather all the guardians."

"How can you say that?" asks Hinata.

"The curse took place fifty years ago. If it took more years, Abrazul might be totally destroyed." Replied Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya, do you know who would be our enemies? Aside from hose monsters and bandits." Shino asks.

"You're now getting serious, huh? Well, I have this feeling that my brother and his son will be." Said Jiraiya.

"How could they fight of they're already old." Asks Chouji.

"They are Mages; they can do things that are impossible. They live for hundreds of years and can also restore their youth." Replied Jiraiya.

"Aren't you one?" asks Ino.

"No, Sarutobi adopted me and taught me how to be a mage." He answered.

"We don't know how to use our powers yet. How can we beat all our enemies?" Asks Shino.

"You'll learn about it tomorrow. For now, let's call it a night." He replied.

In the Mansion of the Great Mage, a message from the spies arrived to inform the Great Mage about the guardians.

"Great Kabuto, seven of the ten guardians already appeared in a forest in Abrazul."

"Finally, the day that the mages will rise again is near. My son and I will soon combine all our might with Orochimaru, my grandchild. It will be the day of our death and the birth of the most powerful mage. No one can stop him, not even the ten guardians combined." Kabuto said while laughing.