Awai looked up at the soaked genin. He swayed from the underside of a tree branch, held up only by his blue little sandals. She grimaced. "Yuuji, why do you look like a wet mutt?"
Yuuji huffed. He crossed his arms. Below him, Takeki yipped and clawed at the mud surrounding the base of the tree. "Me and Kaza-chan, we're training!" he shouted down.
Disgusted, Awai called out for Kazahi. The training ground was near flooded with a multitude of puddles strewn about. If the Uchiha didn't know any better, trying to navigate the chaos would have been one heck of a headache for her teammate.
"Kazahi! Hey! Sensei has a mission for us!"
The Inuzuka's nose twitched. He dropped from the tree branch and proceeded to shake violently, spraying his already wet ninken. Then he cupped his hands and shouted, "Oi! Kaza-chan!"
The leaves from the trees above rustled. From the overbrush, the genin in question appeared and peered over from his spot in a crux between two hefty branches. His upper lip was pulled back as he glared at Yuuji and the irksome face of Awai.
Kazahi's brow pressed against his eyes. "Did you have to shake the water off? I felt that from across the training grounds."
"Waah!" The comment did not miss Yuuji. The Inuzuka's fangs lit up as he beamed. "Kaza-chan! Ain't that great! That means your all training out here's paid off!"
"Hm? What training?" Awai frowned. Her hand on her hip, she looked at Kazahi with pointed eyes. "Something you want to tell your teammate?"
Kazahi balked and avoided her glower, whereas Yuuji chose the less than subtle approach by zipping his lips and furiously shaking his head.
"Nope, nope, nope! This is super secret stuff! Nobody but me n' Kaza-chan can know 'bout it!"
Awai refused to abandon her glare. But after several minutes of both the boys not budging, she sighed, no longer caring. "Fine, keep your secrets." She raised her hand and pointed at Kazahi who jerked back. "Anyways, I was supposed to get you, not argue with the wet dog. Kumo-sensei wants us. He has a mission for us, a C-rank."
"Uwahh! I want to go on a C-rank! All Sensei has us do are boring D-ranks like delivering papers or cleaning homes. Totally boring stuff! And lately between missions, she's been making us work on our team communications! All the time! Whatever that is," Yuuji whined.
"It's not like this mission is any better," Awai grumbled. "According to Sensei, all we're doing is delivering some letter out west.
"If it's a delivery, why isn't it a D-rank mission?" Kazahi asked. He jumped over the grass-turned-wetland and carefully picked up Takeki before she could shake off the water like her master.
The Uchiha's frown deepened, this time taking on a more hostile tone. "I said west, didn't I? You know," She waved her hand around. "Iwa territory," she hissed.
Yuuji cocked his head. "I thought Suna was west of us?"
"I meant we're going to Kusa, stupid idiot!" Awai plucked the dog out of Kazahi's hands, returning her to her owner. "Now leave the dog and come on! Setsumi is already waiting at the gates."
But the Uchiha paused as she looked at the lake around them, troubled, her bothersome teammate with his inconvenient bloodline following obediently.
"Where did you even get all this water?"
Yuuji snickered, holding his finger to his lips. "It's a secret!"
"Arf!"
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.
.
At the gates of Konoha, Setsumi stood and waited for her other two team members. The sensei of Squad 6, Kumo Aburame, instead chose to kill time by mulling over the current assignment with the chunins on guard duty. It was a cloudless day, but the higher level ninjas kept their words low and out of range of any ignorant civilians.
"So it's true?" one of the chunin asked. "There's going to be war with Iwa?"
Kumo grumbled. Being in charge of a genin squad was bad enough alone. "If there is, I'm defecting to Suna."
The other chunin standing guard snickered and elbowed his partner. "That's Kumo Aburame for you. He never remembers anything he's told." The chunin waggled a finger at the jonin. "I heard from the other jonin. There's talk of Sunagakure joining in, isn't there?"
Kumo scowled. "Tell me which idiot spread that stupid rumor."
"Why, so you can forget about it later?"
Both the chunin erupted into laughter. The chunin who spoke wiped a tear from his eye. "Man, you need to get out more, Kumo. Spending all day sleeping really takes the fun out of you Aburame."
Suddenly, Setsumi, who had been calmly keeping a close eye on the street, perked up.
"Awai! Kazahi-san!"
Squad 6 had finally gathered, and now they were set to leave the village. With a formation comprised of their sensei in front, Setsumi taking up the rear, and the other two in between, they took to the high of the trees outside of Konoha. Once the ninja had found a steady pace, Kumo relayed the details of their mission.
"We're to deliver a letter to an outpost on the Konoha-Kusa border." He patted one of the pockets on the front of his flak jacket where the scroll was held. "You'll be on your best performance. It may not be your first, but this is a C-rank mission, after all."
"Yes, sensei!"
"Kumo-sensei?" Setsumi called out, "Who are we to entrust the letter to?"
The other genin looked at their sensei eagerly, all the while keeping up the fast pace.
"Um... that's, uh..." The Aburame squinted in an attempt to recall. "You'll know when we get there."
Awai lowered her voice and said in the usual Uchiha fashion of distaste, "I told you he has short-term memory."
"He probably never pays attention during briefing," Kazahi added, never one to miss a beat.
"Awai! Kazahi-san! Stop being rude, you two," Setsumi scolded. She spared their sensei a pitiful glance. "Sensei can't help it if he has a poor memory."
Up ahead, Kumo grumbled and picked up his speed, leaving his blabbering students behind.
On the second day, the team reached the outpost along with clear skies and a gentle breeze that pet the grass country. As their mission was purely a carrier duty, the three genin were very relaxed and goofed around with each other, despite their sensei's earlier warning.
Unlike his students, Kumo's eyes never left their swivel. There was no telling where a foreign ninja might hide to intercept the seemingly harmless message. He took note of the rickety crow's nest up ahead. The outpost was manned by a trio of chunin. Since it lay on the border between Konoha and Kusa, the three shinobi's alligence were split; one for Kusa, the other two from Konoha. It was a display of alliance between the two lands, but the genin of Squad 6 wouldn't know any better and would think it was a normal arrangement. Kumo knew better. Alliances in the shinobi world were as rocky as the supports of that outpost.
"We're here from Konohagakure," Kumo announced. "We have a letter for you from the Hokage."
A worrisome glint, at least to Kumo, appeared in the eyes of the genin. They held back and whispered amongst each other, far more interested in gossip than their mission.
"The Hokage?! I didn't know this thing was so important," one of them whispered.
Another hissed, "We're almost out of the country, of course it is."
"Oh yeah? Who are you? Tell me which one of us you're supposed to hand that scroll over to!" the lone Kusa chunin called out from the crow's nest. He looked young, perhaps a few years older than the genin.
"Yuka!" one of the Konoha chunin yelled. He grabbed Yuka by his jacket and tugged him back. "Sorry! I'll come down, just stay there!"
"That Yuka guy reminds me of Shiki," Awai mumbled. She was unimpressed.
"No, Shiki has a fouler mouth," Kazahi retorted.
The Konoha chunin accessed the ladder built into the floor of the outpost. As he was climbing down the first couple rungs, the ground underneath the genin's feet began to shift, as if the dirt was sliding overtop itself layer after layer. At the same time, Kazahi let slid a whimper, his head starting to pound.
Setsumi's keen eyes were not blind. "Awai, is there a water source nearby?" she quickly asked.
The reason behind the sudden question evaded the Uchiha, but Awai answered almost immediately. "Yeah, there should be a river less than a hundred meters west of here. Why, what's wrong?"
But Setsumi had no time to explain. The earth erupted into splinters, an enormous tremor ripping through the outpost and the surrounding area. The genin were knocked down to the ground, failing to hold themselves steady as the dust around them lifted, spiraled and blinded the ninja.
Kumo fell to a knee, but he called upon his kikaichuu to help him scan the area while he couldn't see. To increase the team's vision, he called out to his Hyuuga student. "Setsumi! Use your Byakugan!"
"Yes, sensei. Byakugan!"
Once Setsumi completed the handsigns, she became aware of a much different world. There was the steadfast chakra of her sensei, the uneasy but eager blue of her teammates, and two afamiliar chakras by the outpost.
Thirty meters to the northwest was bundle of chakra unlike any Setsumi had ever seen. It was dark and muddled and unnervingly vigorous.
"There's an Iwa nin thirty meters northwest of here."
Then the dust settled and the outpost was clear in view again. Bits and pieces of dirt scrapped their eyes as Awai and Kazahi scrubbed their faces clean. At the bottom of the ladder lay one of the Konoha chunin. A leg was twisted and his eyes rolled back, but deep in the skin of his neck was a kunai.
Kumo blinked the dust from his eyes, and he almost missed the tag that settled beside the body, attached to the kunai by a string.
"Shit—it's a paper bomb!"
The paper bomb attached to the kunai exploded. Burned. The impact incinerated the wooden legs of the tower, causing the rest of it to crumble down. The two chunin left inside jumped out and regrouped with Squad 6 on the ground.
The remaining Konoha chunin spat, "Damn it, why's Iwa here? This is still the Land of Fire, don't tell me they invaded."
"Iwa better not have invaded," Yuka growled and jerked a kunai from his holster, holding it so tight it drew blood from his palm. "That'd mean they've already passed through the Land of Grass."
"It won't do brooding on this any longer."
The only jonin was quick to act. Earlier, Kumo had sent out his kikaichu to track the Iwa ninja, and now he relied on Setsumi and her Byakugan to watch the enemy's movements. His genin squad, although undoubtably in poor taste for any kind of physical assault at the moment, would have to be protected by the chunin. As there was no way to determine the enemy's strength, he'd have to take care of them himself.
Then after, once Squad 6 returned to Konoha, he'd remember to drill them to the ground as preparation for war.
Kumo looked to Setsumi. "What's the status of the enemy."
"The enemy is making hand signs," Setsumi relayed. "Dog, ram, and, um—"
"Got it." Kumo looked pointedly at his two remaining students, distrust casing his frown.
"Don't do anything stupid, you three. You're not ready for this yet. I already have enough to worry about," He ordered. He raised his hands and proceeded to execute a number of hand signs.
The genin grumbled at his quick dismissal.
"But sensei, Kazahi always says stupid stuff," Awai whined.
"Awai, you're getting extra taijutsu practice when we get back." Kumo finished the last hand sign and slammed his hands against the ground. "You need it. Earth Style: Mudslide!"
The ground built up under their feet, and the mounding pressure forced out a rippling wave. The mudslide surged forward and tore down everything in its path, indiscriminatory of earth or tree. When it met with the enemy's own jutsu, the effect was resounding. The sound caused an earthquake of its own.
"Chunin, protect the genin!" Kumo yelled above the deafening reverberation. He leapt away in the direction of the Iwa nin.
The Konoha chunin nodded, composed, but Yuka frowned.
"Hold on, I want to fight too!" he shouted, but Kumo ignored him, already out of earshot.
Taking charge, the Konoha chunin turned to the genin, resolute in his words.
"You three," the Konoha chunin directed, "Keep vigilant. You don't know what other enemies may be out there. If your sensei doesn't come back in half an hour, we head to Konoha. Yuka, you can head to your village. Tell them that Iwa has invaded."
"No way! I want to fight that bastard! I'm not leaving."
Yuka took a step forward and challenged the other shinobi as he tightened his grip on his kunai. The Konoha chunin grit his teeth, reaching his limit with the rebellious ninja.
"Enough, Yuka! You are a chunin, now act like one!"
"You're right, I am a chunin," Yuka shot back, his mouth set in a snarl. "That means I can make my own decisions!"
With that, the Kusa nin ran off, following the path Kumo had taken. The Konoha chunin was red and steaming from his ears at being ignored, and he shouted at Yuka to come back, despite how futile. With a sigh, the chunin turned back to the genin.
Only to find no young ninjas in sight.
.
.
.
"I can't believe Kumo-sensei is giving me more taijutsu training. I hate taijutsu," muttered Awai.
Running alongside her, Setsumi activated her Byakugan after giving her friend a disappointed look. "How will you become police chief without taijutsu?"
"Um, well—I can use my Sharingan!" Awai pointed her thumb at her dark eyes. "My papa says the Sharingan is the perfect tool for genjutsu. I won't ever need to even touch any bad guys!"
"But you don't have the Sharingan."
"Shut up, Kazahi! And stop avoiding looking at Setsumi when her Byakugan is active!" Awai yelled at Kazahi, who turned his head the complete opposite of the Hyuuga.
"I bet the Sharingan looks creepy, too..." he mumbled.
Setsumi intervened before Awai could strangle their intrepid teammate. She skidded to stop, her arm held out to prevent them from moving any further, and released the jutsu that fed chakra to her Byakugan. The three genin nodded and hid in the trees.
From within the confines of the trees burst out their sensei. His sandals dug into the ground leaving long, drawn-out tracks, but the Aburame's arms were held stern. His frown had a degree of seriousness the genin had never seen on their teacher, not once since their initial meeting months ago.
Following Kumo was a lumbering beast built from stone and a harsh country.
Faster than the children's eyes could follow, the two shinobi traded blow after blow. Each punch echoed through the forest. A sickening crack of what could have been bone broke apart the exchange. The shinobi sized each other up. Their eyes were dark, far darker than the inky black of Awai's. Grisly in his stance, the Iwa nin hoisted his fists. Thick trails of blood hung from his knuckles.
Kazahi looked down. His owns hands were shaking.
"Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm!"
The Iwa nin sped through his hand signs, and the ground rumbled and broke apart. Kumo leapt into the air and threw some shuriken at the enemy before devolving into a series of hand signs himself. A swarm of insects, although smaller than the average Aburame, zeroed in on the other shinobi. Quick to react, the Iwa nin erected a wall of earth to evade the sudden surge of kikaichu.
It was at this moment that Kumo acted.
The Aburame rolled up his sleeves, and beneath were dozens of inky black spiders all clinging to, festering on the jonin's pasty skin. They skittered and chirped and wiggled, feeding off the steady reservoir of Kumo's chakra Setsumi saw through her Byakugan. Awai's sickly-looking skin turned even paler.
Without unneeded words, the spiders migrated.
Because he was too preoccupied with the kikaichu, the Iwa nin missed the army of arachnids speeding his way. The spiders scurried up the large ninja, and it was only when they started to spin around him, did he notice the newcomers. His lips curled back, he tried to swat away the spiders, but the thread they spun was unusually resilient, and soon his legs were tied together by the web of several dozens of quick-footed, ninja-bred spiders.
"Incredible," whispered Setsumi in awe with a newfound respect for her sensei.
"I'm going to be sick," mumbled Awai, pathetically weak.
The Iwa nin fell to his knees. Kumo approached the constrained ninja, a kunai in hand. It was then that the forest rustled, and the Kusa nin, Yuka, broke out into the clearing, a fury deeply etched into his face.
"You Iwa shinobi!" he cried.
Kumo, caught off guard, cursed. "Dumb kid. I told you to stay back!"
"Like I'd let a Konoha shinobi deal with Iwa! He invaded my land!"
The Iwa nin took advantage of the situation. He shimmied his legs out far enough to access his kunai. Then, he cut himself free, fending off the remaining spiders and kikaichu. The leftover web dropped to the ground.
All the while, Kumo's eyes had missed the Iwa nin making his escape.
"You Konoha shinobi must think so high and mighty of yourselves!"
Yuka took a step forward, prompting the already tense and frustrated Kumo to redirect his kunai.
"I don't have time to deal with you, Kusa!"
"It's only ever Konoha this, Konoha that!"
"Enough—!"
"SENSEI!"
The shout startled everyone.
Setsumi looked at Awai, terrified that she had given away their position, but instead she was looking to her left, just as bewildered.
Kazahi huffed, his face strained. His chest rose and fell. He let his cupped hands fall slack as their sensei looked up into the trees.
"The Iwa nin, he's on the river! He's following it upstream!" Kazahi continued to shout.
Kumo blinked, then shook his head. No time to be confused.
"How far?" Kumo shouted back, already on the move.
Kazahi jumped from branch to branch above his sensei until they hit the edge of the forest where the river ran. "Over 150 meters! He's moving fast. Now he's 200 upstream."
Awai and Setsumi caught up to their teammate.
"He's incredible," Awai said, astounded. "So this was what he was training for."
Setsumi smiled sweetly as she activated her Byakugan to reaffirm the Iwa nin's movements. "It's amazing what you can accomplish when you train hard, isn't it, Awai-chan?"
"Hey, stop that, Setsumi."
Kumo sprinted on ahead, pressing his speed as he ran upstream on the water. Above, in the trees, Kazahi followed and relayed the distance after every interval.
"50, 40, 25, there! He's in sight!"
Kumo had to bite back a rare grin. Who knew he had such a promising, valuable student on his squad? He really would have to start training them when they got back to the village.
But first, he would have to take care of the Iwa nin.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A massive wall of earth sprouted from the river, blocking off the Iwa ninja. The ninja spun around, ready to attack another shinobi, only to be sorely mistaken when he found himself face-to-face with a swarm of kikaichu. The insects clouded his face, making him drop his kunai and his guard. Kumo took the chance and darted forward. He stabbed his kunai in the Iwa nin's side and proceeded to knock him out cold with a jab at his neck, catching him before he fell in the river.
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Kumo tapped the head of the bound Iwa nin with the back of his gloves. "Seems he came alone... pretty unusual for a ninja from Iwagakure."
The Konoha chunin examined the ninja's headband closely, a grim expression forming on his face. He was embarrassed to admit he had failed to sense the ninja earlier when the border team clearly had the advantage, before the outpost had been destroyed. Ashamed, he looked back at the jonin who had settled against the trunk of a tree.
"The message is still the same, though," Kumo continued. "Invasion paired with assault isn't going to be taken lightly."
"Will you be bringing him back to the village?" the Konoha chunin asked.
Kumo hummed thoughtfully from his stance against the tree, beside the knocked-out Iwa nin. His genin were standing guard as they kept a close eye on the clearly upset Yuka.
"Whether he's dead or a prisoner," Kumo begrudged, "It won't matter with war nearly upon us." He sighed and dropped his head.
"Hm... I feared it was going to happen." The chunin spared a glance at the rubble. "I'll stay and take care of our fallen comrade. And as for Yuka..."
"Quit staring at me like that!"
"I can't," Kazahi pressed on. Awai and Setsumi were shaking, tears forming at their eyes. "Kumo-sensei said to keep a very close eye on you. He said you might turn against a Konoha shinobi while you are so drunk on rage."
The Kusa nin turned bright red.
"Sorry," Awai managed out between giggles, holding up a hand in apology. "Kazahi can't help but speak everything on his mind."
Yuka sputtered, but his reaction only caused the girls to break down further.
"Awai! Don't forget about your taijutsu training!" Kumo called out. The Uchiha choked on her giggles, satisfying the Aburame.
The Konoha chunin smiled politely. "Yuka can report back to his own village. And that leaves you and your squad to head back to Konoha. With the body of course."
"Right, got it." Kumo patted his vest, then pulled out a scroll. It was the letter from the mission. "Oh, almost forgot. Here."
He handed the scroll over to the chunin who wasted no time in unravelling and reading it.
After a moment of silence, the chunin blanched. "Oh no..."
"Hm?" Kumo peered over and glanced over the contents of the letter. "Oh..."
In the contents of letter was a missive by the Hokage, explaining the cause for recent unease amongst the shinobi of all the villages. Written for the team manning the outpost on the Konoha-Kusa border, it called for its defenses to be increased as the war with Iwa, and possibly Suna thereafter, would now be underway for the indefinite time to come.
"Just great," Kumo muttered, his heckling students of Squad 6 innocently unaware that the dawn of the Third Great Ninja War had broken.