It was an unusually grey day in Konohagakure. The color of the sky reflected Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandime Hokage's mood perfectly. He had not received any messages from Namikaze Minato and his team for a week. He considered the possibility of the team going rogue but it was preposterous. There was no reason for Konoha's Yellow Flash to abandon his village, and his students were too young to entertain the possibility. His troubled thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his office door.
"Come in," he said in a weary voice. A copper-skinned woman with dark braided hair entered. Her painted lips were set in a troubled frown.
"Ah, Akira-san. What can I do for you?" he asked, sitting in his chair. She presented a scroll to him.
"You remember that command to keep an eye on Eldarion the foreigner?" she said as Sarutobi unfurled the scroll.
"Indeed I do. The Uchiha clan is doing a splendid job, as is Minato. Why, is there a problem?"
Akira gave her superior an impatient sigh. Sarutobi-sama still hadn't looked at the scroll.
"My husband had informed me that Team Minato had recently gone missing,"
The Hokage gave her a look.
"And what does this scroll have to do with anything?" he politely asked.
"Just look at the damn thing!" she snapped. After sending a glare to the insolent Tokubetsu jōnin, Sarutobi turned his attention to the scroll. On the scroll was an incredibly detailed map. However, it displayed some foreign land, and the names of the places were written in a strange language.
"I suggest sending someone after them," Akira interjected with a hopeful tone in her voice.
Sarutobi looked up from the map. "Why should we do that? From the looks of it, they somehow ended up in a completely different world. While the disappearance of Team 7 is a great loss, we cannot afford to lose anymore shinobi. Our ranks are stretched thin and Iwa has been making threatening moves. No, we cannot do that!"
Akira's face colored with anger. She slammed her well-manicured nails onto the desk.
"What if their only hope of getting back is because we send someone through?" she roared. "The scroll can only track them for so long and we need to establish a form of communication. Send Jiraiya after them, or better yet, Orochimaru!"
Sarutobi rubbed his temples. "I see that she has taken after Tsunade quite well" He thought, idly noticing cracks in the windows.
Akira seemed to calm down. "I would suggest Uzumaki Kushina for the job due to her competence in Fūninjutsu. But I doubt the elders would release her from the village, let alone another world."
The Sandaime Hokage released a heavy sigh.
"I will consider your request," he said wearily. "But there is a lot of preparation need for this mission," He looked at the excited kunoichi. "And I expect you to do your part, understood?"
The foreign woman eagerly saluted him. "Understood, Hokage-sama!"
Sarutobi had to give her a small smile. With a chuckle, the rolled up the scroll and handed it back to her.
"I understand you have work to do, Akira-san," he said as she took the tracking scroll.
Akira laughed and gave him a deep bow before leaving the office.
After she left, Sarutobi stood up to look out the large windows. He noticed the clouds breaking apart, and the sun shining through.
"I need to get these windows fixed," he thought. "And this time they would be shatter-proof."