Iruka runs through the village, afraid of what he just did. Only one thought runs through his mind: he needs to get out of the village for a while. This thought carries him the the Hokage tower and into the Hokage's office. He bursts in, forgetting about protocol. "Lord Hokage, I need a mission: I don't care what it is, just so long as I can leave now."
The Hokage looks up from his paperwork and says, "Ah, Iruka. I was about to send for you. Something has come up that you are needed for right away. I will brief you once I have assembled the rest of your team."
"My team?" asks Iruka, his mind refusing to comprehend what the Hokage means.
"Yes, your team. You will be leading this mission."
About half an hour later, Iruka's team is assembled in the Hokage's office. The team consists of Might Gai, Hana Inuzuka and Itachi Uchiha. The Hokage peers at them, as if to assure himself they are the ones for the job. "Listen carefully," he says. "This mission is important. About an hour ago, word came in from one of my spies that a scavenger is going around telling everyone that there is a heavily guarded treasure hidden in the ruins of the Hidden Whirlpool. He reported trying to enter a room with an ornate scroll on a pedestal at its center. However, when he tried to go in and get the scroll, a wall of fire appeared to bar his way. I need the four of you to retrieve that scroll before another village gets their hands on it."
"Why us?" asks Itachi. "Aren't there more experienced Shinobi you could send?"
"Maybe," says the Hokage. "But since this is Whirlpool business I need to send Iruka - he is probably the only one alive who could get past that barrier."
Iruka realizes at that moment that the Hokage does not know about Okami and Karin. They must be deliberately keeping out of his way. Iruka decides to talk to them at a later date and figure out why they haven't spoken with the Hokage yet.
"But what about the rest of us?" Itachi is asking.
"Well," says the Hokage. "If you must know: I am sending you, Itachi, because your Sharingan can pick up any genjutsu and I have a feeling that you will be needed. I am sending you, Gai, because there are traps in the ruins of the Whirlpool that stop people from being able to use ninjutsu, and such a trap would not affect you at all. I am sending you, Hana, because you can act as both tracker and field medic. Does anyone have any other questions?"
"No," says Hana.
"Our Youth will prevail!" says Gai enthusiastically.
"Can we leave now?" asks Iruka.
"Yes you may," says the Hokage. "Good luck."
Iruka and his team arrive at the border of the Land of Fire several hours after they set out. The ruins of the Hidden WHirlpool lie in an island off the coast of the Land of Fire, and in order to get to it they must cross a treacherous expanse of ocean. The Land of Eddies is well named: the ocean surrounding it is often pockmarked by whirlpools of varying sizes. Even if one was to walk across the water the whirlpools could still suck in the unwary. For this reason it is too dangerous to cross in the dark.
The team makes camp and takes turns keeping lookout for the rest of the night. When morning lights the sky, they set out to cross the treacherous waters to the Hidden Whirlpool. They make slow progress across the ocean, skirting around any whirlpools that appear in their path. After about an hour, they reach the other side. After that they take a short rest to rebuild their chakra before continuing on to the ruins of the Hidden Whirlpool.
As they make their way into the ruins, Iruka and his team hear the sounds of conflict. Shifting into stealth mode, the Leaf Shinobi make their way towards the fighting. Once they are close enough to see what is happening, the Leaf shinobi get a good look at the battle. Shinobi from several different villages are fighting, their ninjutsu flashes up a storm.
"They must all be here for the scroll," whispers Hana. "Are we the last to the party or something?"
"Maybe," whispers Iruka. "It is possible we got the information late. Now listen up: I have a plan. Remember what the Hokage said about the trap seals that disable Ninjutsu?" his team nods and Iruka continues; "There is one literally right next to us. If we set it off, everyone in the ruins will have their ninjutsu and genjutsu disabled. Taijutsu and fuuinjutsu - the main fighting techniques of the Whirlpool - will not be disabled. Then you, Gai will be at a massive advantage to that lot down there. Also, Hana, your hounds will be uninhibited by the trap. And before you ask, Itachi it will block your Sharingan so do not even try to activate it. The seal might make you go blind, depending on who made it - you don't want to take that chance."
Itachi stares at Iruka, a mildly horrified expression on her face.
"Okay, now that we are all on the same page I'll go ahead and leave you to it," says Iruka.
"Am I the only one who is confused?" asks Gai.
"What is there to be confused about?" asks Iruka. "I am going to set off that seal, you are going to beat the crap out of those shinobi and these two are going to back you up."
"What are you going to do?" asks Hana sounding annoyed.
"Oh that," Iruka shrugs. "I'm going to sneak past the fighting and retrieve the scroll from the Temple of Joe."
"The Temple of Joe?" asks Itachi, frowning.
"Yes, that's where the scroll we are here for is kept."
"Why is it called 'The Temple of Joe'?" asks Hana.
"Because 'The Secret Vault' sounded lame, so we called it 'The Temple of Joe' instead. Keep up."
"Who's Joe?"
"Joe is a shinigami," says Iruka, impatiently. "Now can you save the questions for later, when we actually have the scroll?"
"Fine, but you better actually answer them," snaps Hana.
"Good, then let's get this show on the road." Iruka creeps over to the seal trap and sets it off. A shockwave accompanied by white light shoots out of the seal, covering the ruins in an instant. While his team is still recovering from the blinding light, Iruka, who fully expected it, makes a dash for the Temple of Joe. Before the light clears, Iruka is already halfway there.
Moving quickly, Iruka makes his way through the ruins to the Temple of Joe. It is not hard to miss, especially since it is now surrounded by a wall of six foot high flames. The flames do not hurt the temple, but they will quickly burn away anyone without Uzumaki or Umino blood in their veins. Naturally, Iruka walks right on through without any problems. The temple is a circular building, with red and grey pillars on either side of the door. Above the door, perfectly centred between the pillars, is the carved face of Joe the Shinigami.
Iruka walks up to the door and pushes it open. It moves slowly, stiff from disuse. As soon as he is inside, Iruka releases the door and it swings closed with a thud. Iruka gazes at the inside of the Temple, certain it will be a long time before he is here again. The walls are lined with shelving, on which is stored the records and jutsu of an entire village. Every jutsu ever invented in the Whirlpool, be it ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu or fuuinjutsu, is recorded and stored in the Temple of Joe. In the center of the temple's one room is a circular dias. In the center of that dias is a pedestal upon which rests the most sacred scroll in the archive.
What is actually in that scroll has long been forgotten. No one has opened it since the days of the First Hokage. The Sacred Scroll of the Hidden Whirlpool is red and resides in a protective cylinder made of refined steel. The symbols of clans Umino and Uzumaki are engraved on the case, side by side. At the top of the cylinder is a silver cord, long enough to tie around a person's neck. Legend has it that the person who made the scroll wore it as a necklace.
But Iruka's look around the room is cut short when his eyes fall on a red haired person standing between him and the scroll. The person was about to take the scroll when he arrived, and is slowly turning to face him. But there is no doubt whatsoever as to who this person is. Iruka would know that chakra from a mile away.
It is none other than Mei Terumi.
High above the Village Hidden in the Rain, in a tall narrow building a man in a black cloak adorned with red and white clouds stares out the window at the village below. Behind him, sitting quietly reading a novel entitled 'Tales of a Gutsy Ninja', is another man wearing the same black cloak with red and white clouds.
"Yahiko, one of our scouts is returning," says the man who is reading.
"Good," replies his companion, Yahiko. "Which one?"
"I think it's Wind," the other man replies.
A few seconds later, Wind appears on the windowsill. "Yahiko, Nagato," she greets them.
"How'd your intel gathering in the Leaf go?" asks Yahiko solemnly.
"Our informant was very helpful," reports Wind. "It seems the two Uzumakis that came from the Grass are doing an excellent job of keeping their presence a secret from the Hokage. Our informant thinks they have some sort of special power that they feel the need to keep hidden. I've asked him to find out what it is. He is very good at finding out things. Also, word of the scroll in the Hidden Whirlpool finally reached the Hidden Leaf, and the Hokage dispatched a team straight away."
"Who did he send?" asks Nagato curiously.
"Mighto Gai, Hana Inuzuka, Itachi Uchiha and Iruka Umino," reports Wind.
"That should make things interesting," grins Yahiko. "They might stand the best chance of getting the scroll, but the other teams sent to retrieve the scroll might just surprise them."
"Especially the team we sent," adds Nagato.
"You sent a team?" asks Wind.
"Of course we did. I want that scroll."
"So… can I take my mask off now?" asks Wind.
"Of course you can," says Yahiko.
Sighing in relief, Wind takes off her mask, ceasing to be Wind and becoming who she really is for a while.