Class had just ended, and Kenji was walking through the village like a man on a mission. In a few hours, he had been tasked with a second chance to pass the academy exams which he failed. It was a completely unfair situation, but he felt like he had no choice but to play along despite how weird Mizuki was being about it. Kenji had most of his plan for infiltrating the Hokage Residence ready but there was one crucial item that he needed for. He was pulled from his thoughts when a cool hand cupped his cheek. He looked up to see Fu gazing at him with stern eyes.

"Seriously Kenji, what's the matter? You've been distracted all day and I know that means you're thinking of something" Fu voiced very concerned with how Kenji seemed

Kenji contemplated lying again to Fu but knowing that they were all the other hand, he knew this was something he could not keep from her.

"Don't freak out but I failed the academy graduation exam" Kenji said with a hint of sadness in his voice

"YOU WHAT?!" Fu shrieked before looking around and blushing when realizing she was causing a commotion in the village square

"How is that possible? The exam was really easy and the majority of students aced it" Fu asked in a lower tone so no one could hear other than Kenji.

"I think Mizuki-Sensei gave me a different test that would be impossible for me to pass" Kenji said with certainty

"But why?"

"I don't know but he offered me a chance to graduate if I stole a scroll called the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage's Mansion"

"Well you aren't going to do it right? We can go to the Third Hokage and clear this up. He's obviously using you to commit a crime punishable by DEATH" Fu said with emphasis

"I am going to do it not because I trust Mizuki but because I want the scroll"

"WHY would you want the scroll, you don't even know what's in it!" Fu said with an increasingly loud voice.

Fu was irritated that Kenji would risk everything Hisen-Sensei did to get them into the Leaf Village and she damn sure was not going to let Kenji ruin it because he got too greedy. She was about to give him a piece of her mind before she felt his hands grab hers.

"Relax, I have a plan, but I need your help so can you please help me? I promise I'll owe you one" Kenji pleaded.

Fu groaned before facepalming. "Alright what's your plan?" Fu asked. Kenji smiled before detailing what he had planned for Mizuki.

Fu observed the sign of the shop she stood in front of. She had passed by the shop with her friends on her way to Dango Shop or the training grounds, but she never needed to enter until now. She strolled inside the shop and made her way to the counter.

"Hi how may I help you" The older man asked happy to see a customer in his shop

"Hello, I have a request for a scroll" Fu replied while handing a scroll consisting of the dimensions and the design of the scroll.

The man read the scroll for about 10 seconds before nodding. "No problem, it'll be 500 ryo and it will take me about an hour to design"

"That's no problem, I'll pick it up when you are finished" Fu said smiling before turning to leave the shop.

She knew that the chances of this could go wrong very quick, but she still had faith that everything would go well. She wondered how Kenji was doing in his task before making her way to her apartment.

Kenji took a hard-deep breath before knocking on the door. He hadn't been to this part of town in his time of the village as this was considered more of the affluent part of the village where more of the wealthier, more prestigious clans lived.

The door opened to reveal Naruto who was grinning from ear to ear. "Hey Kenji!" he said happily.

"Hey Naruto, how'd your exam go?" Kenji asked not really concerned about how Naruto did, but he wanted to make Naruto feel like this was just a social visit.

"I did pretty good! I heard that everyone passed except for one idiot" Naruto said with a chuckle

Kenji had to hold back a scowl. "Yeah that test was super easy, I wonder who it was that failed"

"Who knows? Oh, hey since you're here maybe we could have a spar" Naruto said joyously while cracking his knuckles.

"Maybe another time, is Karin here? Kenji said going to the point.

"Uh yeah she's in her room, it's upstairs and the second door to the left" Naruto said while pointing to the stairs"

Kenji took off his shoes and walked upstairs while Naruto walked to the kitchen and began making some celebratory Ramen. Kenji looked around and noticed the framed pictures on the wall. It was no secret that Naruto and Karin were the children of the Fourth Hokage but the details of his demise were cloudy.

It was only said in the textbooks that he died fighting valiantly against the Nine Tailed Fox during its assault on the Leaf Village. He never mentioned it to Naruto or Karin because he felt like it would be too much for them. He also was curious about why Naruto and Karin had different last names. His thoughts were stopped when he made it to the door. He knocked on her door.

"Naruto for the millionth time, I am not going to wash your clothes" Karin said absentmindedly while opening the door to scold Naruto

"….Oh Kenji" Karin said with a blush appearing which was not unnoticed by Kenji

"Hey Karin, can I come in" Kenji said calmly

"Of course," Karin said motioning for Kenji to enter the room before closing the door

Kenji walked in her room and noted the pink walls along with the giant plushie of a giant Fox. He looked around to see the girly accessories she had on her dresser. He turned to see her sitting on her bed.

"Nice room"

"Thanks, but did you really come here to talk about my room?" Karin said. She had been curious at why Kenji showed up at her house. This was the first time he had came and it was also the first time he was in her room. She felt a little giddy at the fact that he was there, but she tried her best not to make it show.

"You're right, I need your help with something, did you hear about the academy exams?"

"Yeah, I heard that everyone in our class passed except for 1 person" Karin said before adjusting her glasses.

"Yeah, it was me" Kenji said plainly. He felt annoyed at how many times he had to say it but at this point, he felt he was getting really used to saying it.

"That's impossible, that test was really easy, and you were definitely prepared for it" Karin said shocked that Kenji failed the exam. If students like Choji and Kiba could pass the written exam, then there was something going on with the grading.

"Long story short, Mizuki has set me up to try to steal the Scroll of Sealing from the Hokage Mansion."

"Are you insane?!" Karin screeched before being shushed by Kenji

"You're the second person to have that reaction" Kenji said frowning

"Maybe that's because attempted robbery of the Hokage's mansion is…."

"Is punishable by death, yeah, yeah I heard the speech already. Will you help me?"

Kenji could see that Karin was deep in thought so he decided if there was any chance to convince her to help, it would have to be now.

"Please Karin, it's his word against mines and who's going to believe the new guy who isn't from the village" Kenji pleaded

"If the Hokage finds out…."

"He won't, I just need you to go pay him a visit around 11 PM. You and Naruto go see him all the time, right? Just go see him and make sure the coast is clear. Nobody gets hurt and I get the scroll for Mizuki" Kenji explained.

Karin thought about her options and although her mind told her it was a bad idea, her heart hoped that doing this would help Kenji realize that she was there for him whenever he needed it. She bit on her lip which made Kenji realize that he was putting Karin in a bad spot, so he had begun to tell her that she didn't need to help but she interrupted him.

"I'll do it but if it goes too far, I am going to tell the Hokage what happened, and you OWE ME BIG TIME" Karin emphasized.

Kenji smiled and leaped at Karin embracing her within his arms.

"Thanks Karin, I won't forget this!" Kenji said hugging Karin. Karin could not process what had happened and before she knew it, it was over. Kenji had run out of the door and she was alone in her room once again.

Sarada was just making her way back home from shuriken training, her thighs ached as she walked up the stairs to enter her apartment building which she shared with Sasuke. He decided to continue his training, so she was alone for the time being. She paused when she heard a woman call her name.

She turned to see Fu walking up to her. She immediately tensed when she saw her as flashbacks of their fight in the training grounds 6 months ago, they proceeded to be friendly, but she still felt like Fu held something against her for standing by her brother. She could just feel the awkwardness between them, but she fought her nervousness and spoke up.

"Hey Fu, how's it going"

"Pretty good, do you mind if we talk for a minute?" Fu replied in her normal cheery tone but Sarada noticed the nervousness in her voice but decided to hear her out.

"Sure" Sarada answered while opening the door of the apartment complex for Fu to enter with her and for the first time, she noticed that Fu had a large bag with her.

Kenji looked at his wristwatch as he began to prepare to make his way to the Hokage Mansion. The time was 10:45 and this would be around the time where the village would start to appear as a ghost town as the vibrant populated village during the day appeared near desolate when it was night.

Kenji zipped up the all black camo jacket he recently purchased and looked at the mask on his bed staring back at him. The mask was all black which normally would be used for when the village had a celebration going on, but it would be used to conceal his identity. Next to his bag was a pouch of ninja tools which consisted of 14 shuriken, 9 kunai, 2 smoke bombs, a match and a paper tag which Kenji hoped he wouldn't have to use. Ninja tool were forbidden to be sold to anyone who wasn't a graduate of the ninja academy and in the active shinobi ranks so Kenji had to use what he brought and saved from when he initially left the Village Hidden in the Waterfalls.

He attached the pouch to his belt and put his mask on. He looked in the mirror and smiled at how good the outfit was. He lifted his hood up to cover his hair and then looked at this watch again. It was now 10:50 and he was ready to go.

He had to make sure that no one saw him, which was simple enough, however given the plans that Mizuki gave him, the shift change would be at midnight, but he knew Mizuki would be watching and could probably assist. He just hoped that Mizuki wouldn't catch on to what he had been planning in addition to the current plan.

Kenji opened his window and hopped out before shutting the window. He poured some chakra to his feet and proceeded to hop between rooftops. As he made his way to the Hokage mansion, he noted how empty and quiet the village seemed. He felt like he could hear every sound he made while hoping on the roofs even though he knew that no one else would hear the sounds.

Eventually Kenji was a block away from the Mansion and it was 11:30. He could have got there sooner but he wanted to be extra careful in making sure he did not run into any patrolling chunin around. He took a deep breath before lunging into a bush nearby the rear entrance of the mansion.

From there, all Kenji had to do was wait until midnight during the shift change before he could make his move. The 30 minutes dragged on and seemed like an eternity to the point where Kenji felt like he was going insane. He nearly began to doze off until he heard people talking and he looked out of the bush. From what he could see, he counted eight shinobi all dressed in grey vests and white masks with various red markings. He immediately recognized them as the ANBU Black ops which they vaguely discuss during class. He knew enough to know that they were the covert tactical ninja squad normally tasked with the highest caliber missions and the defense of the most powerful village heads. They were heralded as one of the most efficient black ops programs even outside of the village. He also knew that it would be extremely bad if he were to be caught by one of them. He continued to look until the group proceeded to break into two groups of four and they all vanished. He took this as confirmation of the shift change.

He looked at his watch only to see that it was finally midnight and he wondered how the hell he was going to be able to sneak into the mansion without alerting 4 members of one of the most elite groups in the entire village until something caught his attention. He heard a slight clink of metal and at first, he thought he was hearing things until he saw a body fall from the sky only to be quickly caught by someone hidden within the shadows. He immediately recognized the stranger as Mizuki and the fallen ninja as one of the ANBU members.

Kenji was astonished at the amount of skill it would need to kill one of the members but he shifted his focus and realized Mizuki was clearing out the security and he took it as a signal for him to proceed.

Kenji poured some chakra into his legs and quickly began climbing the Hokage building before climbing through one of the upper-level windows which happened to be open to Kenji's advantage.

The mansion/office was extremely dark due to the lights being out and there was no one in sight. Kenji vaguely remembered the layout of the mansion, but he wanted to be precise, so he took out the scroll Mizuki gave him and proceeded to make his way to the room hoping he wouldn't have any resistance on his way.

He walked into a room that had bookcases full of scrolls but the scroll he was interested in was in open display in the centerpiece of the room. Kenji quickly made his way to the scroll and put it on his back before beginning to make his way out of the room and back to the window he entered the building from.

He grinned to himself thinking how this felt way too easy and then his heart dropped when he heard a deep voice laughing down the hall.

"Such memories of growing up we've had together Karin" the voice echoed through the halls.

Kenji smiled at the realization that Karin was in the building and then his heart dropped when he realized that the Third Hokage Hiruzen was nearby and in the room that was across from the window he needed to leave from. He took one step back and immediately realized it was a mistake when the conversation paused before continuing.

"Excuse me for a moment Karin, I have to go to my office to check something," Hiruzen said
before walking out of the room.

Kenji immediately postured himself behind a nearby bookcase that was there and hope to all that was good in the world that he would just walk by and go to his office but Hiruzen walked out of the room and closed the door. He immediately walked towards the bookcase before stopping.

"Who are you and who put you up to this?" He said with a deep authority's tone and Kenji felt shivers go through his spine. He was now in panic mode.

Kenji opened his mouth to speak but then felt a surge of chakra build up from Hiruzen and Kenji immediately responded almost in reflex to drop a smoke bomb and make a dash straight to the window but as the bomb detonated and Kenji took one step, he was greeted with a knee to the gut that felt like he was being speared through the stomach. He flew across the room and slammed into the wall.

Hiruzen began weaving through multiple handsigns faster than what Kenji could process and he felt like his life was going to end until a door right next to him opened to see a nervous Karin coming out of the room and he realized the Hokage stopped his handsigns.

"Is everything ok?" Karin said after deciding to open the door after hearing noise outside of the room.

Kenji immediately lunged up and grabbed Karin pushing a Kunai to her throat. Karin could do nothing but freeze at the sudden realization that a masked assailant was holding her hostage. She knew that this was probably Kenji and she mentally cursed him for getting caught and herself for deciding to go along with this. She realized that Kenji wouldn't hurt her, but she was worried about his safety.

"Let her go and let's just talk about this" Hiruzen said in a lower term while lifting his hands in order to defuse the situation.

Kenji realized that he had the edge and reached into his pouch. He mentally cursed himself when Hiruzen made a dash towards him. Kenji pulled out a paper tag and pushed Karin towards the wall. He leaped back and immediately detonated the paper tag which created a shockwave throughout the building.

An echoing ring was all Karin could hear, it all happened in a second. She was being held hostage by a thief who she knew was Kenji and suddenly, she was shoved, she saw Hiruzen dash towards her and he was able to wrap his arms around her before a huge explosion went off. Her glasses must have fallen during the shockwave because her vision was blurry and there was no sound but the ringing she heard in her ears. She tried to feel the ground to get a sense of where she was and find her glasses but her search was stopped when someone put her glasses on for her.

She looked up to see Hiruzen looking down at her with a look of concern. He spoke but she could not hear the words. It took a little bit for the ringing to slowly recede and before she knew it, she could hear again.

"Are you alright?" Hiruzen said concerned that Karin could have been hurt.

"I'm fine" Karin replied before going into a small coughing fit. She had inhaled some of the lingering ash and it got in her lungs. She couldn't help but cough after feeling the burning ash down her throat. She composed herself and then she began to panic as she realized that Kenji could have gotten hurt. She looked around but she could not see anybody for and for the first time she realizes that there was a giant hole where one of the walls had been.

Karin began to stand up as 4 ANBU black op members appeared in the hallway through the hole that opened the Hokage residence. Hiruzen immediately focused to the topic at hand and turned to the ANBU members.

"We have an intruder in the village, they have the Scroll of Sealing in their possession," Hiruzen said in his normal authoritative tone.

"Three of the ANBU patrolling the residence were found dead" One of the members spoke

"The person who infiltrated was good enough to get in without immediately alerting me but he was sloppy. He wouldn't have been able to kill a member of the ANBU" Hiruzen analyzing the situation before beginning to speak again. "Find them and disarm them but deadly force is authorized"

"Wait!" Karin screamed attracting the attention of everyone in the hall.

"What is it Karin?" Hiruzen asked curious at why the girl had an outburst.

"I have something I need to tell you"

Kenji felt like his heart would explode from the speed of his heartbeat. He currently was leaping from tree branch to tree branch to get some distance from the mansion. It was a miracle that the blast from the paper tag he detonated didn't harm him. He only hoped that Karin was not hurt from the explosion.

He felt exhausted but he could not stop, he was currently on his way to the rendezvous point where he would meet Mizuki and hand him the scroll. He looked at his watch and realized that he had enough time to make a quick stop. He leaped on to a tree branch but dropped off the branch to fall into a bush. Kenji quickly took the scroll off his back, placed it between the bush before kneeling in a bush. He put his hands to his mouth in a clasped motion before blowing a whistle at small intervals. To the untrained ear, it would appear as if a crow were in the area but to Fu, it would be a signal that he was waiting for her.

A branch brushed slightly with startled Kenji but when he peered out of the bush, he saw a familiar face along with a tag along.

He smiled when he realized that Fu had come as planned with a giant replica of the scroll of sealing on her back and then his smile dropped when he realized that Sarada Uchiha was with her

"What the hell Fu." Kenji whispered in a frantic tone, shocked that Fu would bring Sarada with her without even telling him, "Are you insane? What if she decides to tell on us?"

Fu realizing they were short on time decided to cut Kenji off before he could give her a piece of his mind, "Look, I know you wanted to go make the exchange with Mizuki alone but I don't trust him and you shouldn't either" she pleaded, hoping that maybe Kenji would get some sense into him.

Sarada watched as Kenji ran his fingers through his shaggy hair and paced in a circle thinking about what he should do, Seeing her opportunity to convince him, she stepped up toward him, "You won't even know I am there, I'll just watch behind the scenes to make sure he isn't up to anything and then when he's gone, we'll leave without anyone knowing"

Kenji looked at his watch and realized that any chance of trying to dissuade either woman would waste too much time. He let a huge sigh from his lips, "Fine but he can't know you're there", he emphasized.

Sarada nodded while smiling happy that she convinced him to go with her. It would be a major drag for her if she had come all this way to offer her help and he had turned her down. Kenji picked up the scroll he had earlier and handed it to Fu who exchanged it with her replica scroll.

Kenji attaching the scroll back on his back looked at Fu who was getting ready to make her way back to the apartment, "Make sure you get it home safe and don't open it until I get back"

She said nothing but gave a passive wave to let him know she heard him and hopped away in the direction of the village.

Kenji patted the scroll on his back to make sure it was secure before looking back at Sarada, "Make sure you're a few meters back and whatever you do, don't do anything to make him think someone followed me". Kenji didn't wait for a response and instead leaped on a near by tree branch before fueling his legs with chakra and launching himself towards the direction of the rendezvous point.

"…Dick", Sarada muttered while rolling her eyes. Not wanting to waste anytime or lose him, she also powered some of her chakra to her legs and leaped in the same direction being sure to keep a good distance between them.

It was a quarter past 2 AM and Kenji was feeling the effects of maneuvering through the outskirts of the village trying to avoid being caught by ANBU but he had finally made it to the rendezvous point. He looked over his shoulder and although she was hidden from sight, he felt like Sarada was close which felt like a better idea as time went on.

He landed from the tree in front of a wooden house and Mizuki leaning on the house waiting for him. Mizuki fished out his lighter and cigarette pack from his back pocket, leaning against the wall. "Were you followed?" he asked while lighting a cigarette from the pack, placing the pack in his back pocket and making a stride towards Kenji

Kenji shook his head and took the scroll of sealing from his back to hand to Mizuki. "I got out of there before anyone co….". Kenji tried to finish his sentence, but he choked on his words. It had suddenly become extremely difficult to breathe and he immediately placed his hands on his throat. He felt a thick liquid and when he looked at his hands, he realized it was his own blood.

He stumbled and fell on his back, looking up at Mizuki and realized that Mizuki had a Kunai in his hand. He felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier until he could not fight it and his eyes closed. "Thank you for your service" was the last thing Kenji heard as the sound of the wind and even Mizuki's voice faded. He could see nothing but darkness and feel nothing but a cold chill.

'I should have listened to her', Kenji thought in his last moments before accepting the cruel fate that had been given to him. He laid in the darkness for what seemed like an eternity wondering whether he was dead or not only to be taken out of the moment when a warm embrace flooded his body.

A/N: Here is the second chapter that was promised this month. I had a little delay but here it is as promised with a cliffhanger. The story is going to pick up a bit in the next few chapters. Always remember to review and give your opinions on the story. The next chapter will release sometime next month. See you then.