Tenten and Satori stood outside of a restaurant that serves sesame dumplings. They had just come out when they saw Kuma and Rikku walk up.

"Hey, what are you two up to?" Satori asked.

"We were supposed to meet up with Shuji but he never showed."

"That's strange."

"Let's go see if we can find him." Tenten said.

The four of them walked off in search of their comrade.

Shuji stared at the stranger who had turned out to be his father.

"So you are Kiokumaru?" Shuji asked.

Kiokumaru nodded.

"I only have one question. Why weren't you around when my mother died?" Shuji asked.

Kiokumaru hesitated for a moment.

"Well, what happened was I came to Konoha all those years ago it was during the Third Great Shinobi War…" He began

Flashback:

It was nighttime in the Country of Fire. A stranger stumbled towards the large open gates of the Hidden Leaf Village. He had just walked past the doors before he collapsed upon the ground. The two traffic reporters leapt from their station to aid the fallen stranger. The stranger slightly opened his eyes to see the two Jonins standing there, then his vision blurred and he closed his eyes again.

He awoke the next day in a hospital room and to a woman standing at the foot of the bed looking at a clipboard. Her eyes were an olive green color and she wore her brown hair in a pony tail with her headprotector around her forehead. The forehead protector had pink straps instead of the standard blue. She had a very slender look to her face. In his opinion she was beautiful.

She looked over to him and realized he had awoken. She came over to his side and checked his vitals.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"A little dizzy but other than that I'm fine." He replied.

"Good to hear. Can you tell me your name?" She asked.

The stranger thought for a moment. He thought hard as if he was asked a difficult question. In his current state it was a difficult question. He looked at the nurse with trepidation in his eyes.

"I can't remember."

"Ok well, just rest here and I'll retrieve the doctor." She said as she started towards the door.

"Can I ask you your name?"

She stopped after she slightly opened the door and looked back at her patient.

"It's Uchiha Nohara." She replied with a smile.

The stranger laid his head back down on the pillow and relaxed a bit. He repeated the name to himself.

A few days later he was released from the hospital. The Hokage asked to see him, so he was escorted by two Jonin. The three of them were walking up the stairs to see the village's strongest ninja. He looked up at the mountain side and saw two carved faces of the first and second hokage. After they reached the top of the stairs they began another long walk down the hallway. After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached the doors to the Hokage's office. The stranger walked in to see an elderly man in a white robe and a hat with the fire symbol on it sitting behind a desk.

"You asked to see me?" The stranger replied.

The Hokage nodded.

"I called you here to see how you were doing and to see if you could give me any information on what happened to you before you arrived." The Hokage replied.

"I wish I could, sir, but I don't remember anything about it. I don't even remember my name."

"It will all comeback in time."

At that moment a Jonin appeared next to the stranger without warning.

"Hokage-sama, I just received word from the front lines. Team Namikaze is beginning their mission to destroy the bridge."

"Very well. Keep me informed."

"Yes, sir." The jonin said before he vanished.

The Hokage's attention returned to the stranger.

"In these unfortunate times of war, a village needs all the help we can get. Until you get your memories back, I'd like to offer you place to live in the village."

"I would be most grateful, sir." The stranger replied.

"We can't really go around calling you 'stranger' all the time. So how about we call you Kiokumaru until your memories return. If you need anything at all don't hesitate to come to me."

"Thank you, sir."

Later that day, Kiokumaru walked down the streets of Konoha with a slip of paper in his hand. He looked a bit lost. He hadn't the foggiest idea where he was going. Then he saw the pink tails of a forehead protector among the crowd. His pace quickened to catch up to the Kunoichi.

"Excuse me, Nohara-san?"

Nohara turned around to face Kiokumaru. "Oh, hello again."

"I was wondering if you could show me where this place is." He asked.

"Sure thing. Just follow me."

Nohara led the way as Kiokumaru followed her.

End Flashback