Chapter 3:They Came From The West
Islands of Yoshimaru
To the Elemental nations the islands of Yoshimaru was simply a deserted archipelago far off at the edge of the world, but to the people who lived there the islands were known as Lū dào.
The farmers and fishers who had lived on the islands arrived here over 60 years prior, originally as miners sent to colonise the islands and search for precious metals. Needless to say no gold or silver was found but instead the people were able to find a peaceful life far away from the wars of their homeland.
Today the people proudly count themselves as citizens of the Empire, in fact the islands were the first region to join the Emperor in his conquest and many had followed him east to conquer the many warring factions .
The current Lord of Lū dào, a man of 23 years whom was named Cheng Jian, he was well respected as a leader and a warrior by the people of Lū dào and so had no trouble governing the islands in the name of the Emperor. Cheng Jiang was currently sitting in his office in his modest two story home. He wore long golden robes that all nobility wore and had his black hair tied in a bun as was the custom for men.
'Let's see here… food shipments will arrive next week, the beach has been cleared and tourists seen to be coming in… we're gonna need more housing soon' he thought to himself.
Despite the relative isolation of Lū dào every year upon the winter solstice thousands of people flock to the archipelago for the annual Dōngzhì festival to commemorate the founding of the Empire. The islands of Lū dào had special significance for the festival for it was here the soon to be Emperor was swept up onto shore and found by an elderly family. The islands had since gained a semi mythical status as the birthplace of the Empire ever since.
Having finished his work the young lord decided to inspect the festival preparations personally and so began to walk through the small town that served as the islands' capital.
As he walked through the streets Cheng was greeted by a multitude of locals and tourists alike who all gave the young lord short bows as he strode past, soon he came upon the village centre and gazed up at the great bronze statue that stood there.
The statue was of a young teen maybe 15 years old, he wore armour and his sword drawn pointing east out to sea. The boy had long spiky hair that went to his back and whisker marks adorned his cheeks.
Cheng chuckled as he gazed upon the statue, for he knew that the man the statue resembled is still embarrassed that the people of Lū dào went to such an effort to immortalise him. The statue was in fact of the young Emperor at the beginning of his conquest when the people of Lū dào had declared him as their ruler after the young man had ousted a corrupt lord who ruled before him.
Cheng still remembers when all the islands' inhabitants cheered his name and how the young blond squirmed under the attention. Cheng was one of his biggest supporters and had fought alongside him through the entire war. As a reward for his loyalty Cheng Liang was made the lord of Lū dào.
"Lord Cheng! LORD CHENG" a man yelled as he rushed to the startled Cheng.
"A fleet of ships has been spotted to the west *huff huff* they're circling the island" the man said between breaths.
"Fuck" was all Cheng could say 'we're not expecting any shipments till next week' he thought to himself
"Are they pirates?" Cheng asked the man.
"I'm not sure lord Cheng they don't have a flag and I don't recognise the ships design" the man said.
"Well then..." said Cheng as he paused to regain his thoughts "...have the women and children head back to their homes, order all soldiers to meet me here in less the 10 minutes, any man of fighting age is to go the armoury and grab any weapon they know how to use" Cheng ordered as all the people rushed to their homes
'Who are these people' he thought as he hurried to his own home to gather his own armour and weapons. The people here were long accustomed to pirate raids but since the war the Imperial Navy had long since destroyed the many pirate fleets that had harassed the islands, this made Cheng especially wary. He could only hope they were just pirates.
Durai was considered to be a very calm person, rarely showing his emotions and taking a very bored outlook on life, but when he saw just how many people were inhabitanting the islands that he had been ordered to clear out, he felt extremely conflicted.
Kumo shinobi were instilled with an extreme sense of loyalty at a young age and were always taught to follow orders to the letter. Yet he had never been ordered to do anything like this.
The words of the Raikage echoed in his head.
'If there are people on the islands, the Lord of the land of lightning has ordered them to be removed… one way or another.'
"Teams 3 to 7 storm the village and clear the harbour, teams 1 and 2 keep circling the island and prevent anyone from escaping, capture and subdue as many as you can, if you identify any shinobi then you may use deadly force." He yelled to his men as they began to run across the water towards the island.
Despite his years of experience something just made Durai feel off about the whole situation, he had a hundred high ranking Kumo shinobi with him, and Kumo's fastest ships along with them and yet he felt as if he were a fresh genin on his first mission, like he had no clue of what he was doing.
"This is such a fucking drag" he said as he to drew his massive cleaver and charged with his fellow shinobi.
Konohagakure
Shikamaru Nara was not a proud man nor was he a weak man, when he was young all he wanted in life was to marry an average women, have an average career and have a son and a daughter before retiring when they came of age. Sadly nothing like that came to fruition, instead he married a strong and stubborn women by the name of Temari, they hadn't any children yet, instead they cared for their adopted daughter Mirai, his late sensei's daughter who lost both her parents in the war.
In the fourth shinobi war he earned himself great distinction when he took command of the allied fourth division and broke the siege of Konoha, pushing the enemy from the land of Fire and giving the allied shinobi their first major victory.
Now he was one of the leading shinobi of Konoha with the rank of Jounin and the head liaison of the great alliance for Konoha and the land of Fire.
His father had died during the war as did many of the clan heads, being prime targets to cripple Konoha's war effort, so along with his many other responsibilities Shikamaru was also the head of one of Konoha's most influential clans.
After the siege of Konoha Shikamaru was tasked with leading the search for Naruto Uzumaki, being that he was a known friend of Naruto when they were Genin and for his keen strategic mind. He lead his teammates Kankuro of Suna, Hinata Hyuga and Samui from Kumo as scoured the entire continent finding no trace of the whispered blonde. To this day Shikamaru still ponders on where the troublesome blonde could have disappeared to.
After he abandoned Konoha Tsunade thought it prudent to let Naruto's friends know of his status as a Jinchuuriki as well as his hard life growing up in the village. To say the least any thoughts of Naruto being traitor disappeared and in all honesty Shikamaru could completely understand why the blonde left. But some of his comrade such as Kiba and Ino didn't share his sentiment.
'Now's not the time' Shikamaru thought to himself as he proceeded to walk down one of Konoha's many streets on his way to the Hokage Tower. He wore the new standard black Konoha shinobi vest with the black pants, sandals and a navy blue shirt with his shinobi headband tied around his left bicep.
He looked around gazing upon the many newly constructed buildings the made up the village centre.
Since the end of the war the hidden leaf had undergone a massive rebuilding project and made great efforts to modernise and defend the village. The walls stood twice as high with tall guard towers looking over the forest, larger apartment complexes dotted the village centre and all the clan compounds had been moved to the outer of the village make space and maintain privacy. Despite the relatively low population of the village compared to other villages Konoha has been able to steadily replenish its ranks.
Soon Shikamaru found himself inside the Hokage tower waiting outside the Hokage's office. He knocked on the door and entered upon hearing a firm "Enter".
"Lady Tsunade you wished to see me?" Sad Shikamaru after he respectfully bowed to his Hokage.
"Yes I did, could you close the door" The Hokage replied giving him a stern look.
'wonder what's happened' thought Shikamaru as he saw the look Tsunade gave him
As soon as he closed the door the room lighted up with an array if inscriptions and seals covered the walls and ceiling. Now Shikamaru realised how serious she was as he recognised the special seal that was place under Tsunade's desk that sealed off the whole office, preventing any would be eavesdroppers from snooping in.
"Yesterday Kakashi reported to me that Kumo has sent a hundred high caliber shinobi to the islands of Yoshimaru" said Tsunade as she finished signing a large ornate scroll.
"Yoshimaru? What's so important about there?" Came Shikamaru's reply
"Nothing really which is why I'm suspicious, I don't need to tell you that tension still remains between the great nations and for the Raikage to send so many shinobi to the edge of the world has me worried" said Tsunade as she lent back in her chair.
"I'm sending you to Kumogakure for two weeks on a diplomatic mission, officially you'll be there to renew trade agreements and support for the alliance" said Tsunade as she handed the Nara the large scroll.
"Unofficially you want me to investigate this Yoshimaru business and find out why Kumo has taken such an interest" said Shikamaru as he look over the contents of the scroll.
"Yes" was all Tsunade said.
"I don't think Kumo would take kindly to this" said Shikamaru as he closed the scroll and tied the silk bands holding it together.
"The rest of the alliance doesn't take kindly to Kumo colonising it's overseas territories and continuing to militarise" said Tsunade with a frown on her face.
"Looks like some people don't get the meaning of peace" the Nara said sarcastically.
"If there's nothing else I'll be on my way Lady Hokage." Said Shikamaru as he bowed low.
Tsunade simply waved Shikamaru out of her office and deactivated the barrier.
Now alone the Godaime Hokage opened the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out a bottle of expensive looking Sake and a shot glass.
'I'm too old for this shit' Tsunade thought to herself, deciding she was done with filing the mountain of paperwork that sat on her desk.
Being a shinobi wasn't exactly the safest profession a person could choose, from the age of 5 aspiring children were trained to become warriors and killers. Death was a part of the shinobi life and as such each shinobi village had their own customs for honouring their fallen comrades.
In Konoha all shinobi that died in action were granted a traditional military funeral with full honours. Traditionally their loved ones would share a moments silence at sunset on the day of the funeral in remembrance of the deceased.
The fallen Shinobi's names would also be carved into the memorial stone so that their sacrifice shall be remembered for future generations.
The Konoha cemetery was a quiet place with many people coming and going day by day to pay respects to their loved ones. On this particular day one could find a young women barely twenty years old wearing a sleeveless red dress with white trimmings and a white circular design and had the standard black shinobi sandals. She had bright pink hair that parted revealing a blue diamond marking on her forehead. The woman was carrying a large bouquet of flowers as she walked past the graves of Konoha's fallen.
The woman's name was Sakura Haruno, Jounin of Konoha and the apprentice of Tsunade the Godaime Hokage.
As she walk past Sakura placed flowers upon the graves of her friends and family that had died in the war.
Both her father Kizashi and her mother Mebuki, whom were both forced out of retirement during the siege of Konoha and sadly died defending the village. Asuma Sarutobi, one of the villages finest, who died fighting the Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakuzu at the beginning of the war. Kurenai Yuhi, a roll model for many young kunoichi, who died during the siege defending her daughter and other patients when the hospital was attacked not even a week after she gave birth to her daughter. These were but a few of the fallen shinobi people that she knew.
As she continued walking Sakura steered into the forest next to the cemetery until she found a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a small plaque carved in a stone buried in the ground. The plaque read the name of a person she wanted to see more than anything, a person she missed dearly.
Naruto Uzumaki
Traitors never had their names placed in the memorial stone nor were they given any funerary rights, still Tsunade had given her permission to have a small sanctuary for her lost teammate.
She knelt in front of the stone and placed her last flower, a rose, on the grass.
"Hey Naruto" Sakura said quietly. She paused for a moment as she gazed at his name.
"I've been promoted again to head of the village hospital…. Kakashi-sensei not long returned from his mission to the land of water, he's still the same as always" she said with a smile. "Other than that nothing's changed"
"Tsunade-sama still keeps your picture on her desk… she really misses you, I heard her talking to herself yesterday saying that you should be doing all the paperwork and not her." She chuckled to herself as she twisted her legs and sat down in the grass.
"I miss you too, I wish you were here with us as everyone grows up. Ino and Sai are getting married soon and Choji's been seeing a Kumo nin named Kurai, they seem real happy…" she picked up a blade of grass and fiddled with it, thinking of what else she could tell him.
"Everyone's getting married and soon there will be children running around…. Sasuke hasn't been around lately, he's still wondering the world looking for you" she lowered her head, her hair shadowing her face.
"I wish he'd come back home and find some peace, I mean if Hinata couldn't find you then I don't know you could." She spoke as she placed her hand on the stone
"You know as kids I was such a little brat, I wish I had the sense to see how hard life was for you, or notice how everyone glared at you… how did you cope with it… living so lonely, I wish I could've been there for you like you were for me... even if you were in a Henge." Her voice was noticeably quieter and a stray tear fell from her eye, she thought she was done crying over this.
Images flashed in her mid as she remembered their time in team7, she remembered when they took their true genin test and how Naruto was tied upside down to a post, she remembered when the fought Zabuza and Haku and how afraid she was, she remembered the time when her and her teammates tried all day to see what was underneath Kakashi's mask, and she remembered all the times the blonde had asked her out only for her to blatantly refuse and hit him over the head.
"I wish it didn't take you leaving and a world war for me to realise how important you were to me…" the words were caught in her throat as tears fought to burst from her eyes.
"I wish I could tell you how much you still mean to me, how much I miss you… and…. I wish I could tell you …that I lo…" her voice failed her as she began to sob to herself, guilt and sorrow getting the best of her.
Moments past as the pink haired women struggled to contain her emotions. When she had regained her composure Sakura wished the former comrade goodbye and began to walk home.
Despite how things had turned out she was thankful for what she had, she was lucky that none of her friends had died during the war, maybe the gods had taken pity or an author didn't know how to write a story without his favourite characters.
She was thankful that Sasuke had come out of his darkness. He helped a lot during the war to fight the Akatsuki and was able to kill his brother because of it. When he learned what happened to Naruto Sakura remembered how shaken he was, and still he blamed himself for it. As such Sasuke had exiled himself so he could search for his missing teammate
Who knew team 7 would become so fucked up.
Lū dào
These weren't pirates, these invaders were armed soldiers, they lite the buildings on fire and they took anyone they could, they ran across water and butchered the ordinary men that tried to defend their homes.
All day he had tried to defend his home but all he did was send good men to their deaths, he heard the children screaming and the women crying as they tried to run from the invaders. They were caught and simply tied up and taken away.
The twenty soldiers he had stationed on the island to police the village were able to help but they too were eventually overwhelmed.
It didn't take long for lord Cheng to realise that they had no hope of driving these people away. So here he was running through the trees with two soldiers in red armour and a young boy in tow.
They stopped when the reached a hidden beach flanked by two high cliffs and a small fishing boat anchored in the shallows.
Cheng turned to the young boy, his nephew, who looked as if he was going to faint.
"Gen listen to me" he said to the boy who had his hands on his knees and breathed heavily.
"GEN LISTEN TO ME" Cheng shouted this time getting the boys attention, he then took out a scroll from under his robes and held it out to the boy "take this scroll and take it too lord Huang Xiaoming in Xinjiang, tell him what happened and tell him to bring help" he said as he ushered the poor boy to the boat
"What about you? What about everyone here" cried the young Gen as he was lifted out of the water and placed into the boat.
"We'll stay here and do what we can, you need to get moving" was all Cheng could say as the two soldiers cut the rope holding the boat onto the shore
"It'll take you two days to get to Xinjiang maybe three, just remember to head east, follow the sun rise not the sunset, don't drink sea water and don't stop rowing" said one of the soldiers as he gave a strong push sending the boat carrying the crying boy out to sea
All Gen could see as he rowed away from his home was Lord Cheng and the soldiers head back into the trees and the column of smoke that rose from the village the into the evening sky.
He wiped away his tears and began to tow with all his strength, to think how excited he was for the festival tomorrow.