As sunlight draped over the sleepy village of Konoha, some of its more active residents had already arisen to start with errands. Already the bustling ambience that filled the village day after day was growing while mothers busied themselves by getting their children ready for school.
Stores began to open and pedestrians walked the streets with an air of ease, as they beheld yet another clear day in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. At least, the sky was almost clear. More and more of Konoha's villagers were becoming aware of the increased population of avian that seemed to have decided to reside here.
Many of the people were becoming fascinated as to the unusual behaviour patterns of the birds; flying to and fro – with many claiming to see varieties of birds they'd never knew existed before. The Konoha Bird Watching Association felt as if they were having their own little festival as they marked down points for so many exotic and rare species of bird.
On older member of the association recognised that the birds were nesting behind the monuments of the Hokage; and deducted that so many species couldn't nest in the same area without annihilating each other over territory, unless they were tame. He was never privy to any of the ins and outs of the Shinobi that guarded this village, but he knew air travel was the fastest way they communicated.
"I'm guessing those hawks are from the land of Earth, you see the way their beak is bent?" He commented pointing to one of his friends as they gazed through their binoculars.
"You're right, there's no way birds like that would migrate here; it's too humid for them. And look, those vultures – I saw them when I travelled to a town in the land of Wind." His friend replied, equally astounded.
"You know, both those nations have ninja villages too. And I'm going to go out on a limb that all these other birds; they're from even more villages. I'm telling you, this isn't natural, and some of the guys here may be excited to see this many birds in one place, but I'm not." He sighed.
"Why is that?" His friend asked, still trying to catch glimpses of the flocks of birds entering the border.
"Because they're carrying messages to the Hokage, and I don't know if you've noticed since you're eyes are fixed to the sky but for the last day and a half, I've seen no headbands. All the ninja are gone."
His friend lowered his binoculars.
"You're right, I haven't seen any either." He mused.
"If those birds are messengers to the Hokage, and she's sent all our Shinobi out, then it means something bad is happening. People are calling these birds a pretty sight. I'm calling them an omen."
"Akatsuki! Akatsuki! Can't you say anything other than that!" Tsunade shrieked; her voice echoing around the village, even causing a local dog to awaken from his tranquil dream of bones.
Koharu and Homura stood resolute before their Hokage.
"We have already met with Danzo on the subject, and the manner of the assassination attempts points to ninja of the Akatsuki's calibre." Homura yelled.
"You're arrogance and ego are slowing you down Tsunade! The Akatsuki will be using these assassination attempts as a challenge. We must act now!" Koharu added.
Tsunade brought her hands to her recently mended desk, catching their attention.
"There is NO evidence they're behind this, got that? None of the targets are recorded as Jinjuriki nor are they sheltering any so there is no need for abduction, Each nation involved – even the Wind nation – has had little to do with Akatsuki cases of late so there is no cause for them to attack out of offence, and frankly speaking if any of them had tried to assassinate the Feudal lords, all three would be dead long before anyone got a whiff of it!"
Tsunade's point was accurate on all accounts; Akatsuki just didn't play games like these, not with so much attention being drawn to them over recent months.
"How do we know they aren't just being employed by someone with a grudge against the Feudal lords in question?" Koharu asked sceptically.
"Grrr, I...Just...Said! Because they'd have got the job done! Whoever did this wasn't wearing a Red Cloud, let me tell you." Tsunade retorted.
"Actually...he was." came the calm and ominous voice of Danzo, stepping back into the office and carrying a scroll.
"W-what did you say?" Tsunade asked, taken back completely.
"I said he was wearing a trench coat fashioned by the Akatsuki. I have here a statement made by one of the guards in the Land of Vegetables; it says how the man was tall, wearing a coat bearing the Red Cloud, as well a straw hat. The guard engaged him but was incapacitated by his sword...wrapped in white bandages...ring any bells?" He asked, gloating in the air of victory over Tsunade.
"Hoshigaki! But, but, why? No offence to their guards but that would've been a massacre! Are they sure it wasn't someone fashioned on him? As far as villains go, that monster is pretty admired by opportunists -"
"No more excuses Tsunade! The evidence is right in your face! Your inability to act immediately has meant we may have lost a faint trail of finally catching those criminals. Send a letter immediately to the other villages! They must know of the culprit's identity!" Homura ordered.
Tsunade couldn't think straight. All past experience screamed at her that the Akatsuki weren't guilty of this crime, and if she didn't find a way of stopping these three war-mongers then the villages would be lured into incurring the Missing-Nins' wrath – and none of the five were fully capable to withstand that yet.
By midday, Konohamaru just couldn't take it anymore.
"Come on, say something." He yelled.
"..." Hanabi just stared straight as she walked.
"I said I was sorry about the sleeping bag, now say something!" He yelled again.
"...something." Hanabi responded plainly.
Konohamaru just growled, "Oh, ha-ha, so you can make jokes, huh?" He shot a venomous stare at her, but she didn't turn.
"I've been known to. Anyway, I'm trying to concentrate, and your noise is putting me off." Hanabi continued to stare ahead, and it was at this point that Konohamaru noticed she hadn't been blinking often.
"Err, what are you doing?" He asked.
Sighing, she finally turned, "If you must know I'm training. Neji nii-san told me about how he'd try and tell how many birds were in the sky through the use of his Byakugan. I'm doing the same thing."
"Well, now isn't the best time for you to be doing that, y'know," Konohamaru commented, looking up, "There's too many birds coming and going for you to really focus on them – unless you're giving up on paying attention to what's ahead of you."
Hanabi stopped, stunned by this criticism from a loser like him, "Err, Excuse me! Where'd you get the brains to judge how effective or not my training is?"
"Hey, Hey! easy there! All I'm saying is the messenger birds are still coming in flocks so you'll be spending most of your time trying to just find out how many there are, so you'll lose focus on the path ahead."
Hanabi was about to retort but just couldn't find the words.
"Grandpa always told me that you had to look forwards on your missions and that all your skills mean nothing if you don't put them to use."
"...your grandfather said that?" It was then that the reality of Konohamaru Sarutobi's lineage fully hit her; he may be act the street-urchin, but he must have a tome's worth of wisdom he'd heard from the Sandaime.
"And anyway, why train right now? You said that your family made you train for years. This mission is your first excuse for you to not train."
"Actually, it's the best time to train; father said -" She began.
"Who cares what your dad says? He isn't here, so there's no need to be so strict on yourself. Come on, the time will pass faster if we talk more. I mean, what do you do after you train?" His grandpa's wise words had taken her social defences away momentarily, now was the time to get her to open up.
"Err, well, I don't really know. I finish in the evenings and I usually clean myself up before having dinner. Depending on their duties, my sister and cousin may join us. I, well I do like to listen to their stories – all their missions. I can even recall Hinata's adventure in the Land of Vegetables, you know."
"Oh yeah? What happened?" Konohamaru urged.
"She, Naruto and another Shinobi called Choji were escorting a group of caravans – and wound up defending one of their clients, who was actually the daughter of the Feudal lord, and helping her ascent to her throne."
"You like it when they tell you these stories?" He asked.
"Yeah, it always felt like it was a goal, you know? I wanted to do the things those two did, and I would always imagine that I'd have adventures like that too."
"Well...you're on one now, aren't you? I mean we haven't even reached the border and we've already had our fair share of action." Konohamaru smiled.
Hanabi hadn't looked at it like that. When she heard her sister's and cousin's tales, she saw them as liberating experiences full of fun and action, despite what the cynical and oppressed side of her conscious told her. Now that her teammate had said this, she realised she was walking on the same path her siblings had before her. Why was she still so tense? This was her first chance to be herself.
Stunning Konohamaru in the process, Hanabi smiled back at him.
"I never looked at it that way, but you're right." She paused, "Well, what about you Konohamaru; what are your hobbies?"
"Me? Well, I don't know. I just do whatever I feel like doing at the time. I guess you could say competing with the boss is something I do a lot." He noticed the quizzed look on her face.
"I mean, I try and outdo him from time to time, you know? We're both gunning for the Hokage spot, and there's no way I'm letting him get it so easy!" He felt himself get fired up at the thought of beating Naruto.
"By boss, you're referring to that Genin Naruto again? Why do you call him 'boss'?"
"'Cause he's the one that taught me that being Hokage is something you have to earn; and that it doesn't matter what people think of you, as long as you believe in yourself." It was Konohamaru's turn to stare ahead, he didn't really know where to look as he said this; it felt like the anthem for all the great Shinobi that fell for the Leaf Village.
Hanabi didn't expect to hear this. Her opinion of Konohamaru had changed slightly. He wasn't some obnoxious failure whose ego was too big that he couldn't see how bad he was; she felt he was aware of his limits, but was going to try and break through them no matter what anyone said.
"And Naruto Uzumaki taught you this?" She enquired; that ninja didn't strike her as a good role-model – a point she had made all too clear on this mission already.
"Yeah, Boss is as determined as I am to get the respect of this village, and look how it's paid off. He's one of the coolest guys in Konoha now, taking on S-Class ninja, making new Jutsu and teaching me a thing or two too."
"Oh yeah? Like what?" Hanabi asked with suspicion.
Konohamaru stopped walking and glanced around, as if he felt he was being watched.
"Oh come on! I can't see anyone, so there's no need to get all secretive. What did he teach you? And it better not be that perverse transformation." There was a tone of menace in her voice, but Konohamaru had no intention of using the Sexy Jutsu.
Konohamaru summoned a Shadow Clone.
"...Is that it? I already knew you could do that. Impressive for a Genin, but not enough to stop our walking like this." Hanabi went to turn away when Konohamaru told her to stop.
"I just need him to help me do it, that's all." With that he held out his arm, his hand open. With intense concentration, he focused on his palm as a blue light began to resonate before him. Hanabi stood back, this was interesting.
At this point the Shadow Clone began to rotate and pick at the shapeless light, at first she thought the clone a hindrance to the technique, but she soon saw he was giving it structure, he was maintaining the balance that the original Konohamaru was creating through his chakra.
Activating her Byakugan, Hanabi gasped as she saw the resonating levels of chakra the shape was holding; this ball he was forming was more powerful than anything she'd seen. Just as it began to expand, the light suddenly dimmed and the ball imploded into nothingness. Taken aback by the abrupt ending, Hanabi noted her comrade sigh and recall his clone.
"W-what happened? Where's the move?" She asked, full of interest.
"That's it for now. Boss calls it the Rasengan. It's a move made by the Fourth Hokage. Only he, Boss and the Sannin Jiraiya know it." He explained.
"Well why didn't you do it properly?" Hanabi felt cheated out of seeing a Jutsu used by a Hokage and Sannin.
"Because I haven't perfected it yet. Boss says it takes a lot of practice to control the shape of the chakra long enough for it to be used as an attack. But when you do, it's one of the best moves to have in your arsenal!" He held his chin up high.
"Huh, I guess you could say that you should be the one doing more training then." Hanabi teased. Konohamaru's chin dropped as he shot a glare at her.
"No need to worry; I'll get the move perfected when the time comes, just you watch!" With that he marched ahead, with Hanabi running to catch up.
Dusk had arrived by the time the two travellers had reached the border of the Fire Nation. Glancing around, Konohamaru noticed it was too quiet.
"Hey, can you see any of them?" He asked.
"Yes. Fifteen in front of us, twelve behind and six to the left and right," Hanabi responded before stepping forwards and declaring loudly, "I am Hanabi, Kunoichi of the honourable Hyuga Clan that resides in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and I ask you -"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's enough girl, we know who you are." Came a voice to the right, and from the bushes emerged Shikamaru Nara.
Stepping forwards, he was followed by Kakashi Hatake. Both Shinobi stood before the two for a moment before speaking again. Hanabi felt a little sheepish; she was in the presence of two renowned Ninja and had hoped to impress them with her credentials, yet both looked on unimpressed.
"You're late." Kakashi pointed out.
"W-we know, sir, but I'm innocent. You see Konohamaru Sarutobi here foolishly slowed the mission down by -"
"HEY!" Konohamaru shouted, feeling (rightly so) sold out.
"Keep it down!" Shikamaru ordered.
"I don't want to waste more time by hearing excuses from you, but I will say that there were two people assigned to this mission, for teamwork to work you have to accept collective responsibility." Kakashi lectured. Konohamaru had been informed from the Boss that he was a real nagger for teamwork.
"We've been informed by the Hokage that the two of you are to go to the Land of Vegetables first. The village has already heard of a witness report on the assassins already, but we've a message from Lady Tsunade herself." Shikamaru produced a letter.
Konohamaru looked on in interest as Hanabi noticed the hidden ninja look away; plausible deniability. Clearly, the Chunin and Jonin before them were about to divulge in information she and Konohamaru weren't privy to – it excited her.
"The letter says that witnesses claim a man greatly resembling the Akatsuki member Kisame Hoshigaki was on the scene in the assassination attempt. Yet she – and us – are still a bit sceptical on the authenticity of this information."
"You think it was someone in disguise?" Konohamaru asked.
"Maybe; but that's for you two to find out. However, the trail of this assassin has been growing cold since virtually no ninja from the five villages are on this mission, and you're time wasting could mean you lose the trail altogether." Kakashi answered.
The two Genin nodded before the superiors, and felt as if enough was said and so went to go.
"On a personal note," Kakashi began, "My team was with Yamato during the assassinations; I haven't heard anything along the border that they were called back yet. If that's the case, it would be greatly beneficial for you to get their help. Akatsuki or not, having them help you will surely speed up the investigation. Now get going."
The two nodded and set off. They faintly heard Shikamaru call; "Say hi to that idiot Naruto for me."
Hanabi laughed slightly as Konohamaru looked back in anger, but before he knew it, the two ninja were lost in the forest they just left behind.
Glancing around; Konohamaru and Hanabi saw lengthily savannas stretching across all directions (except of course behind them). Hanabi, having never left the border before hadn't fully prepared herself for this image. She felt slightly apprehensive; as if a leafy cloak of protection formed by the Konoha trees had be harshly taken away, and she wasn't sure if she was ready for it.
Turning to her companion she saw Konohamaru's eyes light up at the natural spectacle.
"You ready?" She asked; hoping that taking initiative in the face of the unknown was the best course of action to shake off this nagging sense of foreboding.
"You bet! Let's get moving! We may even find the Boss!" Konohamaru roared, before marching off, leaving her sighing and shaking her head.
"There you go with that 'Boss' talk again; it's like me calling Neji or Hinata 'Boss'" She laughed.
"Well, it is, isn't it? Maybe you should!" He mocked as she caught up.
Taking another look into the sky, the two took only little notice of another eagle fly from above into the distance. Gracefully it tore through the wind, casting a sharp shadow onto the ground below, allowing any man or beast to admire its majesty.
Within several hours the great eagle began its descent into the Land of Vegetables when disaster struck.
An apparition halted anymore progress, much to the bird's misfortune. Out of the very air it was travelling through a ghastly wave of demonic crows flew into ambush it. The great eagle fought the hell-birds with a fiery destination, but all effort was in vain when an ember of charcoal black flames enveloped it.
Falling as if a grain of ash, the bird crushed into the floor, with only a few charred remains visible; one of which was a now-shabby piece of scroll. Two figures approached the dead bird.
"I still don't see why we're going into this much trouble." A rough male voice called from the larger figure, as his partner bent down and retrieved the scroll.
Opening it, the man – clad in black – read through the message and then engulfed it in the same demonic fire that had killed the bird.
Turning to his tall comrade, the composed voice of Itachi Uchiha spoke.
"You'll thank me for going into this much trouble when you hear what I've just read."