Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters, nor the story line, with exception of the characters you've never heard of.

A/N: Thank you all for your reviews. I'm really glad you're enjoying it. Now sit back and grab some popcorn and enjoy the show.

Chapter 1.
Years later

The sun was shining brightly above Konoha Village, letting the pearly white clouds roll over the sea-blue sky. The day was a beautiful one. The Hidden Leaf Village was just about the same as it was every day. Merchants were making their everyday sales, children were either playing together or at the Ninja Academy doing their lessons, and the Shinobi nins were training or on missions for the village. It was a normal day for Konoha Village.

At the #Number 4 training grounds, the former Team 7 members were training together once again. The three young Chuunin nins, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha were practicing on Tanto throwing at the three wooden posts staning near the Memorial Stone where their Sensai had his nose stuck in his favorite book.
Of course, Naruto was actually cursing badly as he missed the wooden posts and very much like a child, he jumped up and down with frustration before storming over to get his Tanto back. Sakura wasn't faring any better but at least she kept her head. She just kept trying harder and was slowly getting better at it. Sasuke, of course, was doing the best. He had always been the better thrower of the team, other than their Team Leader and sensai. He only missed a few times but kept his cool as he tried again.
Kakashi Hatake was sitting on the Memorial Stone, calmly reading his book as he did always. He never did anything else. He had instructed his young students to continue with their Tanto throwing until he decided it was enough. A few times he glanced up when Naruto started swearing but then he shook his head, smirking to himself. Sometimes that boy was so unusual. It wasn't easy trying to figure him out.
Occassionally, Kakashi would glance over at the other two and see how they were doing. And to his satisfaction, they were doing just fine.

It was amazing how much they've grown now. And how much they have learned. There was almost nothing else he had to teach them. And better yet, the Jounin Exam would be coming up soon and they were qualified to taking it. And when they did, he, Kakashi Hatake would cease to be their teacher. They would be the same rank as he was; equals. He really looked forward serving a mission with one of them in the future. He trusted them almost more than he trusted anyone, as it was the same for them. He couldn't help but feel proud for Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. They were becoming very powerful Shinobi.

And what made him more proud, Sakura was becoming an elite medical nin. She was getting better with every lesson she learned from the 5th Hokage, Tsunade.

As for Naruto, he was becoming an elite ninja. He was learning so fast and using the power of the demon fox, Kyuubi with great aspects of control. It amazed Kakashi on how much control Naruto had learned over the demon.

And Sasuke...well, he was a powerful enough nin. He was learning a lot faster than the other two and had learned a lot of techniques, thanks to his own pair of Sharigan eyes. But out of all three, it was him, Sasuke, that worried Kakashi the most.
In the beginning, when Kakashi had first met the boy, he had been trying to keep an eye on Sasuke. He watched as Sasuke progressed, reminding of an old friend of his. He had watched the struggles the boy had gone through, the pain he went through, only to become stronger every day.
It made Kakashi smile to himself every time Sasuke succeeded.
But then Orochimaru had to come along and attack the village and Sasuke hit rock bottom, and hard. Kakashi had watched in pain as Orochimaru used Sasuke for his wicked deeds and had watched Sasuke turn his back onto Konoha Village just to use Orochimaru for more power. It hurt the silver-white haired Shinobi to watch Sasuke turn traitor to Konoha. But what was done was done.
But then Naruto left to find Sasuke and brought him back to repent for the sins he had committed. Kakashi had been angry with Sasuke for what he did in the past but he still vouched for the boy, trying to keep him alive and not to be executed for his crimes. He had told Tsunade that he would take full responsibility for Sasuke, due to that he had failed as a teacher to him, not teaching him better than he should have. Kakashi told Tsunade that if Sasuke was to be executed, he would do whatever it took to keep him alive, even take his place. He refused to let Sasuke die and not to go back to learn better.
To their luck, Tsunade decided to grant Kakashi his request, leaving Sasuke in his hands. She told him that he was to keep an eye on Sasuke and make sure he never repeated his actions again. So, pretty much, Kakashi had became Sasuke's probation officer.
But as the month's slowly rolled by, Sasuke worked hard to gain the village's trust and Kakashi's respect, no matter how harsh his new training would be.

"OWWW!!!" Naruto exclaimed as he dropped his Tanto onto his foot and cut his small toe. He began jumping up and down on one foot while hugging the other. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Both Sakura and Sasuke stopped what they were doing and stared at him with big, fat sweatdrops on their foreheads. Kakashi snorted from where he sat as he watched the energetic blonde whinning and crying because of his own silly mistake.
With a sigh of frustration, Sakura went over to heal her team mate. "Naruto! You blockhead! Watch what you're doing!" She told him sternly. She made him sit down while she healed the cut on his foot, while Sasuke watched through heavy lidded eyes and shaking his head.

From his rock, Kakashi just chuckled, watching as Naruto continued to whine and cry. Some things just never change and it was amusing.

Far from Konoha Village, a caravan of travellers were making their way through the small woods, heading away from the Land of Mist. There were eight armed men surrounding the cart full of supplies and trading goods.
There was also a young woman sitting on a pile of blankets in the back of the cart. She had long black hair which was pulled up into an elegant bun. Her eyes deep brown and hidden under a long strand of bangs, which fell to her chin. For someone wearing a merchant's clothing, she looked out of place. She was no doubt the kind of girl who didn't spend too much time outside, especially in a forest. In fact, out of the entire band, she was the cleanest.

A man stood in front of the cart, pulling it with the help of a dark haired woman. He was quite tall and dark brownish-black hair, which was cut short, other than a small, long braid hanging behind his ear. He was wearing dark grey pants and a deep brown forest tunic, almost like a forester would wear.

The woman had long dark brown hair which fell to her upper back, but was pulled up into a loose braid. Her long bangs hung over deep brown eyes, the color of chocolate. She was wearing a deep lavendar colored Gi with black pants and a travel bag hanging at her hip.

They were a band of traders, or at least that's what they were claiming to be. They were all looking around nervously, as if waiting for an attack to happen but out of everyone in the band, the woman was the most alert. A few jumped at the slightest noise, hands on their weapons and ready to fight if they needed to. They did not want to be caught off guard by the bandits.

"Hey," One of the armed men spoke. "Are you sure this is the way? What if those murderous bandits catch up to us?"

The woman turned her head towards him, giving him a serious but kind look. "Yes, this is the way. I know this forest well. Don't worry. If they come, I will take care of them." She promised. She turned her head to look at the terrified looking girl in the cart, who only wrapped her arms around her knees.
The man beside her shook his head as looked around, eyes narrowed suspicously. "I don't like this. It doesn't feel right." He shared his opinion. "We should have gone to the Land of Sand. I have connections there and it was closer." He told the woman.

The woman gave him a soft but firm look as she gently patted his arm. "Just trust me, Chiro. I know what I'm doing. I was hired to protect Sen and protect her I will. I won't take any chances to put her life in danger." She told him. Chiro sighed as he gave her a sideglance. His eyes softening just a little, but not enough. "I do trust you, Ling. I know how much you care for Sen and I so do I. But the thing is, I don't know anything about your village. How do we knew we can trust them? You haven't been there for how long? Ten years?"

"Hmm." The woman, Ling hummed. "Fourteen actually. But you must trust me. My people would help us if we asked them too. Especially if the people I once knew are still around. They would do anything to help."

Again Chiro sighed before turning his attention back to the road. "I hope you're right, Ling. Because we're a long way from home and in the middle of no where. If we were turned away, we would be in so much trouble." He told her. Again, Ling gave his arm a gentle squeeze as she smiled up at him. Then she looked back at the road.

But then the attack came.

They were passing under a tree branch when there came shout from above and large Kunai fell from above, right in front of the caravan to stop them from going on. All of the guards jumped and immediately had their weapons out and ready. Chiro quickly set down the cart and pulled out a long scimitar, his eyes glaring around. Ling was the only one of the group that stayed calm.
Suddenly, all around them, shadow like nin stepped out from behind trees and fell from the branches high above their heads. They all were dressed in dark clothing with black cloaks over their shoulders. Each had a forehead protector with a single black stone embredded in it.

"Oh great." One of the armed men said as looked around at the ambushers. "They've caught up to us."

No one spoke as they waited for something to happen but Ling turned slightly to the side just as another dark cloaked man jumped down from above, landing hard on the ground with a loud thud. Her eyes hardened when she saw him but kept a calm look on her face.
The man, like the others, wore dark clothing with violent red markings on his formfitting pants, almost in the design of fire. He had black hair which fell to his jaw line and over his deep amber colored eyes, almost glowing red. He was quite a handsome young man, the age of 30 at least. On the end of his chin, he had a small goatee. This was obviously the leader of the band.

"Well, looks like the dark prince decided to follow us himself." Chiro said coolly upon seeing this man. He glanced at Ling when she placed her hand on his arm to shush him. Ling then stepped forward, as if to greet the leader, who eyed her coolly. "Hello, Sei Zangetsu."

Sei Zangetsu took a step closer but not by much. He just lifted his head a little and his eyes narrowed on her. "Ling." he said in a deep monotone voice. he then looked past her at the frightened young woman hovering in the cart. "Do yourself a favor, Ling and just hand Sen over to us. That way, we can kill you quickly and painlessly."

Ling frowned but kept a brave look on her face. "You know I won't let you take her, Sei. I've sworn to protect her from you and your brother and I will do whatever I can to keep her safe." She warned him.
Sei gave her a very cold look as he lowered his head again, almost as if he was threatening her. "Then you are a fool. One way or another, we will have her. Even if that means killing you." he then smirked coldly. "Which I plan to do anyway."

"Then you best get started in killing me, Sei." Ling said just as coldly before positioned herself into a fighting stance. "Because you will not touch her. Not while I live."
Sei just smirked coldly as he undid his cloak and tossed it to the side. He shook his head as he too stood in a fighting stance. "Have you forgotten, Ling, that we've fought before? If I do recall, you lost the last battle." He told her cooly. Ling just glared at Sei with such fierceness. Her hands balled up into tight fists and raised in front of her. "I've been training the last time we fought, Sei. I won't lose again."

"Hmm." The bandit hummed. "We shall see." And he seemed to vanish in the shadows.

The band immediately tensed and looked around with alert. The woman was the most alert of them all before her eyes flashed and she turned around quickly, ducking as a black katana nearly sliced her in half. She moved back a little before snapping out her foot at Sei who possessed the blade.

"Oh," Sei said with dark amusement. " So you do have some moves after all." Before he lunged at her and they were suddenly locked into a deadly battle of fists and kicks. They began a dangerous dance of throwing deadly punches or kicks, or even trying to slice with one another with kunai or the black katana. The other bandits immediately began their own attacks, leaping towards the armed men and Chiro. Things were happening at once, and way too fast. While the armed men fought the bandits around the cart, Chiro kept an arm around the girl, Sen, while blocking kunai with his large scimitar. He was a very skilled warrior when it came to sword play, and even better when it came to taijutsu. But right now, he was too worried about keeping Sen safe and out of the bandits' grasps. He was doing well with just fighting with one hand and Sen in his other arm.

Ling wasn't.

She was surprisingly fast, of course, but not as fast as Sei Zangetsu. Every time she tried to attack him, he moved quickly like a black flash into the shadows and seemed to melt away into them. He would only appear behind her. She was lucky enough that she was managing to avoid his attacks. But their battle would soon come to an end. Sei seemed to be growing impatient during his battle with Ling, though. He wasn't smirking any more after nearly getting sliced by her kunai but it hadn't touched his skin.

Finally, he jumped away several feet and shoved his katana back into his belt behind him. Then without a word, he made unsual signals with his hands, snapping his wrists as he went.

Ling seemed to recognize the signs because she gasped and tried to jump high into the air to avoid the jutsu coming at her but it was too late. As she jumped about five feet up in the air, live shadows seemed to jump with her, wrapping around her ankles and wrists, yanking her back down to the ground. "No!" She gasped as she found herself trapped.

Sei suddenly appeared in front of her smirking coldly as he rose his katana. "Yes." And with that, he struck her with the cold metal, cutting right through her with a black flash. Ling gasped in pain as she was thrown back from the impact, hitting the ground hard.

Unfortunately, everyone else had seen it. Sen let out a horrified scream before jerking out of Chiro's arm and tried to run over to Ling. Chiro, however, kept a tight hold on her. "No, my lady! Don't!" he warned her. That was the que for a bandit to attack him. He swung a kunai and stabbed him in the chest, making him gasp in pain and release Sen. And as soon as he had, she was snatched up by Sei. He had moved over with breakneck speed and had her in his arms and his katana held up to her throat.

"NO!" Chiro gasped as he got back up to his feet, clutching the Kunai in his chest.

Sei just smirked as he held Sen tightly in his arms, the katana pressed against her throat, yet not cutting into her skin. "Checkmate. You lose." He told them before turning his cold eyes over to the heavily bleeding Ling on the ground. "It was nice to see you again, Ling, but as much as I would love to stay and catch up with you, I cannot. We have a deadline to meet." he looked around at all of his men still fighting the armed men. "Kill some of them but leave Chiro and three others alive. They will need to go back to the Shadow Village and tell the Shadokage that we now have his daughter."
And as ordered, the bandits struck several the of the men but three and Chiro. But they were heavily injured.
"Now, we take our leave." Sei said as he dragged Sen with him into the forest at an amazing speed. His men quickly followed, leaving Chiro and the three men to theirselves.

As soon as they were gone, Ling gasped in pain before her blood stained lips curled into a smile. "Checkmate. You lose, Sei Zangetsu." Then she weakly looked over to Chiro, who painfully got to his feet, while pulling out the long bladed kunai. "Stick to the plan, Chiro. Take Sen to Konoha Village where she will be safe."

Author's Note: Now before you ask, who and what is the Shadokage, I'll explain something for you. Before I started this story, I was thinking about the many villages and different types of nin in the Naruto world when I thought up the idea of Shadow nins and the Shadokage. I pretty much just invented up my own village and nin, and I hope you won't mind. You'll learn a little more about these Shadow nin later on either in the next chapter or the one after it.