Two weeks remained until the Chunin Exams.

All preparations had been set into motion. The village, still lacking a majority of its villagers, began informing shinobi teams of their upcoming invasion of the Leaf Village. One by one, starting at the rank of jonin, groups of ninja were summoned to the Kazekage's meeting rooms to be briefed. The first of these was a jonin squad of genin squad instructors.

Instead of the war council room they were being escorted to the Kazekage's statue room.

The table that resided in the room was headed by three ninja. The Kazekage took the middle position. The chairs to his left and right were filled with the elder ninja Enma and the specialized ninja Anari, respectfully. They were sitting quietly, waiting for the Jonin team to arrive.

"These people will be giving orders to the genin. Be weary of your words." The Kazekage ordered, with his eyes flashing to his left side. The advisors simply nodded and continued to look forward.

'Anari… a man unknown to the world… yet this experienced and influential in the Hidden Sand Village. Please continue to entertain me.' Orochimaru thought to himself.

"These jonin are especially important. They are leaders of the genin squads that just graduated from the Sand Village Academy. We must be careful with the information we allow to be passed down." Enma chimed in slowly. The elderly man's outfit had changed. The wealthy garments that he had been wearing previously had been changed into a fishnet shirt that was left exposed from the chest up by his Jonin vest. His pants were the standard green shinobi pants with the shinobi sandals.

"I agree. I have plans for certain Genin teams during the mission." Anari added with a low tone. This took the Kazekage and Enma by surprise. He hadn't mentioned it beforehand. This had been decided on all his own.

Before any questions could be asked the door swung open. Standing in the light of the outside a group of ninja. A mix of men and women. Standing at the forefront was none other than Sora, her big bright eyes shining in on the room. Sora laughed as she walked into the room.

"What's going on everybody!?" She said as she looked around the table. The first person to catch her attention was Enma, who had a grumpy look on his face.

"Oh! If it isn't old man Enma! How you doing Gramps?! I heard that you had gone into retirement and had resorted to a life of crawling to those old dirty magazines you used to read all the time." Sora said loudly, letting off a healthy, strong laugh. Enma looked at her with a strong annoyed face, raising his hand in the air as a fist.

"I NEVER WENT INTO RETIREMENT AND MY KNEES ARE STILL GOOD! I ALSO NEVER READ ANY SUCH MAGAZINES YOU IDIOT!" He yelled angrily. Sora simply laughed as she pointed at him.

"Don't make me laugh! You were caught with them on missions! I heard it from Senka-sensei myself! HAHAHAHA!" She barked back. Enma's face turned red as he was about to retort back as a hand balled into a fist and hit the woman on the back of the head. Sora leaned over and gripping the wound.

"Stop joking so much in the presence of the Hokage." The voice ordered. The origin of the punch was a tall, skinny, man who's strong bright eyes pierced into the eyes of anyone he met. His bright red hair was long enough, even in the ponytail it was pulled back into,curved in between his eyebrows and flowed to the side of his head. It spiked out slightly while also being surly. His outfit was simple. His shinobi vest was zipped up completely that covered his black, long sleeved shirt. The only design on the shirt was the Sunagakure village symbol etched into the shirt's shoulder. His hands were entirely covered by black gloves. His long black pants were tucked into his shinobi symbols. His ninja tool bag was wrapped around his left leg.

"You're always playing around like this. At least show some restraint when it comes to official meetings." He ordered. Sora jumped up and waved a fist in the man's face.

"Pull a stunt like that again and I'll send you flying! You hear me Tetsu!" She yelled at the man loudly. Tetsu raised his fist again and went to throw down another punch before Baki grabbed his arm from behind.

"Cool it, Tetsuyama. Take your own advice. We're in front of Lord Kazekage." Baki ordered. Tetsuyama looked at the head wrapped ninja with a blank face before sighing and dropped his hand.

"Whatever." The red eyed man said before walking forward and kneeling. All the other shinobi walked forward and followed suit. The three leaders looked down on this, all with small sweat drops of embarrassment on their heads, responding with a nod.

"You may stand." The Kazekage said calmly. The ninja stood up. There were six in total. That was the number of teams that had graduated from this year's Academy course. The other three leaders were silent as they watched what was gainin happening.

"I want to give all of you my sincere praise for the care you're taking with your squads." The Kazekage said firmly as he looked down to the papers that were sitting in front of him. Enma was the next to speak, as he too looked down on the papers that were provided to him.

"Though not all of your teams were recommended for the Chunin Exams, they've all been recognised for their efforts in their most recent missions," Enma started," As you know, since the graham defunding of the village, being able to complete all of the mission requests that comes to us is hard to manage, but all of your teams have been able to step up and take on not only D, but C rank missions. This has been noticed by everyone and your team's efforts are appreciated." The Genin instructors all lowered their heads.

"We don't deserve your praise, Lord Enma." Baki responded quickly.

"But, as you can all surmise, we didn't ask you to come only so we could praise you" Anari chimed in. Baki simply nodded.

"What have we been ordered here for, Chief?" Tetsuyama asked humbly. This caught Orochimaru's attention.

'Chief…' He thought, concealing his interest with the next statement.

"We know of the rumors flooding the village's people. We are here to confirm them. We will be attacking the Leaf Village while they are hosting the Chunin Exams." Rasa explained. Sora's face lit up with confusion while Testsuyama's eyes lowered in suspicion. The only one who didn't look surprised in the group was Baki.

"I can see that you are all confused and surprised. I can understand it." Anari said as he raised a stack of papers in his hand, stood to his feet, and reached his hand out, gesturing to the shinobi to retrieve them. Sora was the one to walk up, taking the initiative and grabbing the papers. As she walked back to her position she began handing out the papers to the group.

"Each paper is assigned to a leader. Everyone has been given a specific task." Enma stated.

"The village is undertaking the attack because of a want of vengeance. Because of our daimyo's decisions towards the Hidden Leaf Village, we have no choice but to retaliate." Anari continued to explain. Sora read her instructions. The plans were very detailed. Each member of the group had been given instructions, and they had even been given positions of the village and jobs based on their specialties in battle. This had been carefully thought through.

'They have my squad positioned in the infantry. We're supposed to fight one on the front lines… and Riku's supposed to be our attack force.' Sora thought as she began to look worried. Orochimaru observed her the closest, wanting to see her reaction to Riku's job.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask a question. As finely planned as this mission, there seems to be an issue with our plans." Sora stated.

"And what might that be?" Enma asked. Sora flipped her page over so that the leaders could see.

"You have Riku as the main force of our attack. If this plan is as thorough as it seems, why is he the front runner here? As you should know from the mission reports that I have given so far, he can't yet manipulate his Kekkei Genkai. His chakra control is not mastered." Sora explained. Enma's eyes closed, in thought. Anari nodded at her comment.

"I know that you're concerned about it but we planned for this. The reason he has been given this task isn't for naught." He said as he pulled another piece of paper, but this one with a different name on it.

"In regards to the battle, we looked at his peers' and siblings' progression. Though we know of his chakra control issues, in the battle plan we have assumed that in the month and a half between now and then, we trust your training methods to bring him to the mastery level that he needs."Anari finished. Sora looked at him for seconds, thinking about her situation.

'So… the boy is having trouble controlling his chakra. I read the reports of his training and had Kabuto trail him for a few weeks. So, it's true. He does have a monstrous amount of chakra that he can't control.' Orochimaru thought. He began getting excited about the new specimen that he'd discovered.

'They can't be serious. I just managed to get him started on mastering the wall technique. At this rate we won't be ready. Rika and Suna might have a chance to survive if we were to train every day until the battle, but Riku… I'm not sure if I can manage that.' Sora thought to herself. Enma noticed her deep in thought.

"You have not to worry," Enma began,"We are understanding of your worry about your students. So, too accommodate this we have given an option. If you do not think that your team will not be ready, we will give you the choice to not send them out to war." He finished. Sora looked at the man with slight suspicion in her eyes, though she was not the only one. Tetsuyama was also suspicious of the way the village was going about this.

'Since when are ninja allowed to resign from the fighting force when a war is being prepared.?' Tetsu thought.

"The council has already spoken it over. We do not wish to send the genin… no children, for that matter, to the battlefield. Especially those who have so much potential. So we've made exceptions, just this time." Anari stated.

"Those who have already been invited to the Chunin exams, current Chunin and all Jonin are required to participate in the mission. Any genin who are not prepared by the time of the invasion are exempt," Anari continued,"These conditions are solely for the genin's wellbeing. These are also precautions." Anari said.

'That makes more sense. These talks of invasion by this Hidden Sound Village.' Sora thought as she looked at Baki, who's name wasn't on a paper and who's face hadn't changed since they walked in.

'So, he's known already. I'm assuming his team has an important task. Most likely something to do with the beast entrapped within Gaara.' Sora thought to herself before asking another question.

"So, if the genin are to be left behind, what are the changes to the plan you talked about?" Sora asked.

"You will be tasked to take on all tasks that your team would have otherwise been responsible for on top of your targets." Enma answered.

"I only have one more question. When is the deadline to withdraw?" Sora asked.

"You have until one week before the invasion. By then, if you are still even slightly uncertain by the abilities of your genin then we will ask you to withdraw." Anari finished before retaking his seat. The jonin looked at each other.

'So, this choice isn't only about their abilities. Taking over the mission of the entire team will not be a problem. The true issue will be if they are left. If we were to leave them in the village while we're attacking the Lead and the Sound were to make their move, not only our students, but all of the villagers along with them, will be killed.' Tetsu thought before lowering his empty hand across his chest and bowing.

"There is one more point. Be very cautious with the information that you give the genin before the attack." The Kazekage chimed in once more.

"YES!" They all said in tandem.

"I accept." Sora said slowly. The other jonin followed in Tetsu's likeness and bowed, keeping their heads lowered, waiting to be dismissed.

"You are free to leave." The Kazekage stated. The ninja all raised their heads and within seconds all disappeared in a flash of smoke. The three leaders were left to themselves.

"So… magazines, huh?" Anari asked. Enma became flustered. His face burned red from the accusations.

"There was never a time such as that." Enma said calmly with his eyes closed.

"Anyways, we have to prepare for our next group." Enma stated as he shifted around papers in front of him.

Hidden Sand Village Streets

The village's semi-empty streets were disturbed more by two puffs of smoke, with Tetsu and Sora stepping out.

"This mission… I don't understand it." Tetsu said as he walked. Sora listened to what he had said but didn't respond.

"Attacking the Leaf Village, at this time, under the stress of potentially being attacked by another Hidden Village. It's strange." He continued. Sora nodded.

"We won't have a better chance than now. The most vulnerable time for the Leaf, when they're openly accepting any and everyone into its village for the exams. We'll basically have a welcoming party." Sora said. Tetsu scoffed at the response.

"That's true. I have no idea what the elders have planned but this might be too dangerous for us." Tetsu said as he stopped walking. Sora walked a few steps ahead and only turned her head.

"Worried about your students are you? I'm assuming you're headed off to them right now." The woman said. Tetsuyama responded with a nod before flashing away.

"He has the right idea. I need to get my own squad together. We don't have a minute to waste." Sora said to herself before jumping away.

A Building in the Hidden Sand Village

The time of emptiness in the village had made the meetings between certain people and doing certain things easier than ever. No one was taking advantage of this more than Sento Maru.

The buildings of the village had been closed off and left empty from the evacuation and they had become the perfect place for the gathering of small groups who wanted to stay out of sight.

In this building there was no light to brighten the room other than a singular candle that sat on the table of a singularly occupied booth. The man sitting there was no other than Sento Maru himself. His eyes were closed and he was tapping his foot, anxiously waiting on something…

'The time has long since arrived. Where are they?' Sento Maru thought to himself. The building creaked and croaked from the blisteringly hot wind coming from the cloudless sky. The patience Sento was showing wasn't something he was accustomed to.

"Useless ronin ninja," He said aloud,"Where are you?!" He screamed out into the darkness, slamming his hand onto the table as he said this, forcing the candle's light to shake the shadows it created.

The shift in the atmosphere occurred, and the business man was forced to take notice of it. Sentomaru's head shifted into the air.

On benches, on tables, counters and stools, sat ninja of each and every of them had gathered in the room. The leader was made apparent, as the short man took the seat right in front of Sento.

"Who are you calling useless? I'll have your head right here." The man said, deeply. His voice rattled deeper than anything Sento Maru had ever heard. His face had been completely covered, only exposing his eyes. His only attire was a shinobi headband,black shirt, black pants, and black boots. The headband was particularly important. The symbol was that of Sunagakure, with a deep cut splitting the design straight through the middle.

Sento Maru's regular, sly smile returned to his face.

"Finally, you have arrived… Hiromachi Hachinibu." SentoMaru started by saying.

'When they said his presence was heavy they weren't joking around. I can barely breathe.' Sento thought to himself.

Hiromachi's eyes lowered.

"I didn't come here for introductions. What is the mission?" Hiromachi asked. Sento Maru nodded and reached under the table. Hiromachi's eyes watched every movement that Sento Maru made.

'He's watching me like a hawk. Not a single motion gets past him.' Sento thought, raising his arm above the table, showing a large, packed envelope. He placed it on the table and retracted his hand out of sight.

"This is the first half of the payment. Your orders are simple. There is a hideout in the woods of the Country of Rice. I want you to go there and destroy it." Sento Maru explained. Hirmoachi watched Sento Maru for a few more seconds before grabbing the envelope. Hiromachi nodded and, without turning his head, reached and gave it to the person behind him.

"When are we to attack?"

"Six weeks from now. That is your timeline. During the third trial of the Chunin Exams."

"Are there any conditions to this?" The ninja asked. Sento Maru nodded.

"There will be captives in the building. There is only one person in there that is of importance. His name will be Riku Natsume. Capture the child and bring him to me. Beware. There will be many captives. Retrieve the right one" Sento Maru declared.

"And the ones who aren't our target?" Hiromachi questioned. Sento Maru nodded.

"Do what you must." Sento Maru answered. A head nod was the sole acknowledgement that Sento Maru would receive.

In a singular moment every ninja disappeared. There was no sound, only Sento Maru's body being completely relieved of the massive pressure. Sento Maru dropped his smile and began breathing heavily.

"That was something completely different than anything I've ever experienced."

Some important notes/ fun facts from the chapter:

1. There are only 6 weeks left before the Chunin Exams' final stage.

2. Tetsuyama isn't always so cold. When there are wandering animals in the village he plays with them with a smile on his face

3. Enma used to get caught reading these magazines quite often during long missions. So much that his teammates would play pranks on him!

4. Orochimaru's interest in Anari is increasing by the day, now learning the Anari's is the Chief in the Sand Village.