I had a feeling something bad was going to happen soon.

It seemed to be a reoccurring thing for the last three days since I felt Zabuza's chakra. I was constantly on edge. But the feeling was stronger than usual. Now. I wasn't weak. I didn't consider myself weak by any means. Back in my old home I'd be considered a god. But here and in this situation specifically? I'm the only sensor they had for the mission and my strongest attack is channeling lightning chakra into a ryo. And I imagine a good shinobi would dodge it easily.

My stats in dexterity were decent too so I could throw fast.

[Name: Kukui Tanku

Age: 11

Title: Defector of Kiri

Chakra: 160/160

Stamina: 160/160

Strength: 27

Dexterity: 29

Constitution: 28

Chakra: 16

Chakra control: C+]

Dexterity had quickly became my highest leveled stat in the last few weeks due to all the blocking I needed to do. This meant I had gotten pretty fast. But not as fast as Ito who had claimed she was a turtle compared to Zabuza. And she was the fastest genin alive. I'm sure of it. If she was slow to them what did that make me? I was probably the weakest person here.

I was fucked if we got attacked. Unless Zabuza got cocky and I managed to play dead I'd be dead within a second... The fact that running away wasn't my first thought worried me. I had gotten a bit too crazy in the last year haven't I? I blame Himiko. She rubbed off on me.

Where was I? Oh yeah. I was dead meat if we were attacked. Zabuza was able to hold Kakashi to a standstill and he won. He had to be a bit out of practice too. So this was prime Zabuza here. Not some chump. 'Focus on the mission Kukui.' I continued to pay attention to my surroundings. My range had increased by a lot too. I was still mediocre at best but if I could help us not be killed. Then I'd help in anyway possible.

"Feel anything yet brat?" I glanced to the side at the only swordsman I was happy to see today. And the only one I saw today so far. Ameyuri Ringo... She was terrifying to be around but a good teacher... Maybe if I beg she'll teach me something more. Going back to the question asked I shook my head, "Nope. Nothing." We were on our way to collect the third package and so far nothing.

Ameyuri sighed, "Damnit why won't they attack?" Why did she want them to attack? It was like asking for a death wish, "We could easily kill them or just that Zabuza bastard but no. They're plotting something." We were fairly sure it was "They" instead of just Zabuza. And we were sure Jinpachi was the one with him. The exploded bodies at that store suggested so.

He sounded easier to fight.

Ito nodded at Ameyuri's words, "Yeah and then we can take their swords back to the rebellion!" Ito was oddly enthusiastic again. That was good. It felt weird seeing her so... scared... I wouldn't admit it but after so many times losing in spars she seemed unbeatable.

Suddenly I felt something... Something somehow more evil than Zabuza's chakra. "ITO ON YOUR RIGHT!" An explosion barely reached where Ito was as I grabbed her and Shunshined. Damnit Ameyuri spoke too soon. I glared at where the chakra came from. Jinpachi was here but where is Zabuza?

"Thanks for the save." Ito then unsheathed her false Nuibari and the wire came to life. "Now where is he..." Ito looked around before pointing. "Over there!"

Ameyuri unsheathed the Kiba blades And Urahara his Katana, "You spoke too soon, Ameyuri," The man's sword ignited in a beautiful crimson. Urahara of the Crimson Blade. Or rather Crimson swordsman of the mist. He lived up to his title.

The woman waved him off, "Yeah yeah sure." She then narrowed her eyes and looked at the approaching figure. "So Jinpachi... We were right all along. Where is Zabuza and do you still have that ugly beard of yours?" The Kiba blades crackled with Lightning.

The man emerged and laughed. He looked like how I faintly remembered him. And god was that beard ugly. "Oh Zabuza? He's taking a break whilst I do the heavy lifting." Someone was confident. I didn't sense Zabuza near by... he wasn't lying. "And my beard is glorious thank you very much."

Urahara rolled his eyes and sent a wave of crimson at the man to which he swung his sword and an explosion negated it, "Yeah, yeah. Now how about we just kill you already? If you did come alone which it looks like you did because our sensor isn't mentioning a second person we are going to absolutely kill you and it won't even be fair. Its a four versus one." I saw a crazed smile on his face.

Jinpachi laughed like this was a joke to him. "Really? You think you can kill me. Your barely an A-rank whereas I'm a High A-rank. Even higher than Ameyuri was when she was with our cause." then saw the man look at me. "And oh look at what we have here. Fresh blood. Your sensor seems very green eared. Look at how much he's shaking! Did you just get him yesterday or something?"

I looked down and yes I was shaking. Out of fear? Probably. 'He's monologing...' I grabbed a ryo coin and began to charge it in my pocket. If I could land one. Just one. Shot on him... It'd be game over for him. I could use a Thunderclap Arrow but that wouldn't be as effective and it'd be way bigger.

Ito wrapped an arm around my shoulder, "He's not green eared! He's probably better than you, you old fart!" Yeah real mature, "Don't insult my friend!" I felt both touched and scared at the same time. I elected to feel touched as I continued to charge my coin. I was going for maximum power.

That made Jinpachi's face contort into a twisted grin. "Really then?" Before anyone could react he was infront of me and Ito and I felt a massive explosion impact my chest. "Aww he didn't live up to the hype." Suddenly I was sent flyng and I hit a building.

'Pain tolerance don't fail me now...' Why couldn't I get a skill for this? I looked at my chest which was now revealed and yeah it looked bad. Not even gonna think about it. Blacked and charred bits with blisters is all I could say.

If I had a health stat it would probably be very low.

I began channeling lightning chakra into my chest... In the scroll I got from nowhere it said it stimulated healing. Albeit slowly. Medical jutsu was simply far superior but this... it would work. I grabbed the coin in my pocket. It was full.

I saw Ito scream something before she, Ameyuri, and Urahara rushed at Jinpachi who sent a wave of explosions at them. 'This is my chance.' They probably think I'm dead. Looking at my chest would make someone assume so. I've come back from worse... Way worse. Not even death can stop me.

Urahara and Ito sent a massive crimson wave at Jinpachi from one side. He quickly dodged and parried a blow from Ameyuri and exploded a part of his sword. Sending her back a bit. He then rushed at Ito. and tried to do the same thing he did to me to her. Ito quickly raised a bone from her arm to stop the attack.

Jinpachi's grin only grew even more sick and twisted. He blocked a sword strike from Urahara and kicked Ameyuri back. Ameyuri in retaliation sent a lightning beast at Jinpachi to which he dodged and it barely hit Ito. Ooh that wasn't going to feel good.

'Damnit. He's moving around too much.' He relied on his sword. Shibuki too much. I looked down at my chest which was starting to look a bit better already. 'I think I can move again. " I sat up in a much more comfortable position. I pulled some Ninja wire from my pocket and grinned.

I had a plan.

One that'd turn the tides of the fight in our favor.

[Ameyuri Ringo]

The bastard Jinpachi was a lot faster than she'd remembered. He was fast enough that he took the brat out of the fight right away. He likely wasn't having a good time right now or we was deader than Jinpachi was about to be. She was taking a liking to the brat too.

Jinpachi dodge another strike from her Kiba blades. Urahara was helping Kushimaru's brat recover from her attack. Accidents happen. But this was a shitty time for one. The bastard laughed as he sent another explosion Ameyuri's way, "It seems your sickness is limiting you severely! I remember you being able to send massive lightning blasts bigger than buildings! Where's that vigor now? Did it die like your going too?"

He like a fucked up dancer weaved out of her attacks and blocked more of them with that damned sword of his. Shibuki. The most durable of the swords. Jinpachi sucked without the damn thing. If only she could get it away from him. Then the fight would be going swimmingly for her.

Ameyuri growled as an explosion hit her arm. Not a powerful one but it fucking hurt. "Oh when I get my hands on you I'm stuffing Ninja wire through every hole in your body. And I'm going to make some extra holes with my blades too for the brat," He'd have been a decent ninja too. A ]real shame really.

Jinpachi's laugh was starting to get really annoying as he laughed once more, "That brat was weakling. I can't wait to go to his corpse and piss all over it." Jinpachi then sent a massive explosion Ameyuri's way.

Ameyuri quickly placed the Kiba blades into the ground, "Lightning style; Lightning wall!" A massive lightning wall raised in her defense and stopped the explosion in its tracks. Greatly pleasing Ameyuri as she grabbed her Kiba blades.

Jinpachi then grinned as he held his blade in a very familiar way, "Now you've given me time for my ultimate move. Remember this one?' Oh that sick bastard. The one he used in Hauth... Ameyuri needed to stop them. Ito and Urahara were still distracted. Jinpachi raised his blade

'Damnit. I won't be fast enough!' She was boned. Not in the way she'd like either. She'd see Jinpachi in hell one day but she wished she'd be the one visiting him. Not the other way a-

"RAILGUN!"

A voice she thought she wouldn't hear again called out the attack and Ameyuri saw a small projectile hit Jinpachi's hand, absolutely destroying it. The one that Shibuki was held in at the moment. Shibuki flew out of Jinpachi's hands and before he could grab it some wire did.

"Ito?" Ameyuri knew that the one fond of Ninja wire should still be out of it. Lightning attacks weren't something one walked off. Ameyuri felt a grin on her face as she saw the other genin with them walking toward her. Well, Limping. He looked like shit. But he also looked like a badass that crawled out of hell. He was now holding Shibuki.

The boy also had the biggest grin on his face possible, "No but I took a page out of her book." She'd thank him later for the save. For now they had an idiot to pulverise... Now that Jinpachi was swordless. Jinpachi still looked like a fish. "Yeah I'm keeping this asshole. Consider this payback for what you did to my chest," The boy looked like he healed... Must have used the Raikage's trick somehow. Would he be allowed to keep Shibuki? Likely not but this would probably get him considered to be the next user of the blade if he wanted too. Not many people stole the blade from its former user.

Jinpachi clenched his fists. One of which was bleeding heavily and appeared to be barely working, "HOW ARE YOU ALIVE? I THOUGHT I KILLED YOU!" That sounded cliche as fuck and Ameyuri was disappointed in Jinpachi for that one.

Ameyuri also looked at the brat. That blast should have healed him even if he used the Raikage's trick beforehand, "The Shinigami just really doesn't want to see me at the moment, man," He then raised his new sword and looked at Ameyuri, "Uh... how do I use this thing?" Oh yeah the idiot didn't know how to use it. The sword didn't fit the brat anyways.

Ameyuri grinned, "Just swing and channel chakra into it. Now!"

The boy simply swung the blade as Jinpachi tried charging him. Suddenly he was gone. "Zabuza..." As soon as he said that he collapsed, "Holy fuck that was terrifying." But badass. That was badass for a genin, "I'm not gonna get to keep this, am I? He pointed to the Shibuki still grasped in his hand.

Ameyuri shrugged as she walked over to the boy. She'd probably need to get Urahara to patch him up, "No but how about you use it for the rest of this mission? Jinpachi and Zabuza are still about so we need to kick their asses and Kushimaru's brat and the idiot have their own swords. You could adapt to the Shibuki for the rest of the time here."

The boy grinned, "Sure... I can't wait to brag to my friends about this. I get a cool story out of this at least and hopefully a cool scar," That got a chuckle out of the woman.

Now they seriously needed to get him some burn cream.

[Jinpachi]

Jinpachi glanced back at Zabuza as he finished taping his hand back together. That fucking brat pulled a fast one on him. He somehow nearly obliterated his damn hand and then stole Shibuki from him. Yagura was gonna have his head for this. In a rare moment of calmness, Jinpachi looked at Zabuza, "Yes you can say it," The man sighed. He had convinced Zabuza to let him attack them alone. Even if the man thought it was a horrible idea. By the time it was looking bad for Jinpachi Zabuza couldn't do much or risk getting evaporated by Ameyuri and the rest of the bunch.

Jinpachi could almost see the smirk under those damn bandages Zabuza had for a mask, "I told you so." Jinpachi would punch the man but the hand he uses for that is probably not going to work nearly as well for the rest of his life. It'd work even less if he damaged it more now.

Jinpachi rolled his eyes, "So what the fuck are we gonna do now that Shibuki's in the hands of the rebellion freaks?" Jinpachi doubted the brat didn't have the blade. Urahara couldn't use Shibuki and that Kaguya bitch had a Nuibari look alike. So that left the brat as the user of his sword. It disgusted Jinpachi greatly.

Zabuza began pacing around the room.

He was thinking and that scared Jinpachi. Zabuza thinking for long periods of time meant bad things. Zabuza then stopped, "We'll ambush them when their guard is at its lowest. Right before they leave the town we'll ambush them. I'll take Ameyuri and the brat. You take Urahara and Kushimaru's brat. Your still stronger than both even without Shibuki. And you can't risk fighting both Ameyuri and someone with your sword,"

Jinpachi hated that Zabuza was right.

Zabuza tended to be right most of the time and it pissed Jinpachi off greatly. Why couldn't he be the intelligent one for once? Why couldn't mindless fun be the solution to everything?

Jinpachi would forever hate logic and reasoning. He was a shinobi and one of the swordsman of the mist. But he was a killer at heart. One who loved it more than anything else. He liked... No loved to mindlessly murder the weak. But if he had too he'd plan.

Jinpachi finished putting some adhesive on the last bandage, "Okay. Try to capture the brat alive. I want him for myself," That brat was going to be his own personal toy for what he did to his hand. Jinpachi was just lucky Zabuza knew enough medical jutsu(Which was very little) to allow him to keep his hand.

Zabuza nodded, "No promises though, Jinpachi. Now go to sleep before the pain killers wear off. Your a seasoned veteran but that pain will come eventually and it will be a bitch to deal with." Another fucking thing he had to deal with thanks to the brat. Forever cronic hand pains. Jinpachi would be sure to explode his dick for that.

Jinpachi flipped the other man off with his better hand, "Oh fuck off your not my wife," Yes Jinpachi had a wife. Hard to believe but he found someone who loved murder almost as much as him. Very wonderful woman but she was very bossy. Jinpachi then sighed at Zabuza's pointed look, "Fine I'll go to bed. What are you gonna do while I'm out?" He was half convinced Zabuza ould kill him for losing Shibuki. He wouldn't blame him either.

Zabuza grabbed the handle of the legendary Kubikiribochou, "I need to divert attention from us to other things. Since they have a sensor they can just kill us here if they wanted too. By the way sleep as soon as you can. At least you might die in your sleep if they come,"

"Yeah thats reassuring, Momochi. Don't lose your blade. We cannot afford a failure here," Zabuza wasn't going to lose his sword. Jinpachi damn well knew that Zabuza would sooner sacrifice an arm then let someone take it.

Zabuza chuckled, "Me and you both know that they'd die trying to take it," Zabuza gestured for his brat to come with him. They then left Jinpachi alone.

'I will kill that little brat. And when I do I'm going to bathe in his blood.' His favorite hand was pretty much useless now. He'd make a mockery of that child and he'd enjoy it thuroughly.

For now he had to sleep.

Oh joy.

[Hiruzen Sarutobi]

Kirigakure wasn't a place one got a lot of news out of normally. Even before Maito Dai's sacrifice that resulted in four of the swordsmen being killed which helped turn the tides of the war in Konoha's favor Kirigakure was very good at guarding information. The second Mizukage had made sure of that.

But in the place of civil unrest their defenses have been spread thin and weak. Yagura has also grown overconfident and complacent in the systems his predecessors have placed. Thanks to this and Yagura being out, his Anbu have gotten information from Kirigakure about the civil war.

The Civil war has two sides which was already known. The village and the rebellion. The village which was pretty much Yagura and his fanatics want to eradicate bloodlines across the entire world. The rebellion on the other hand is filled with bloodline supporters along with people with bloodlines that survived the bloodline purges.

A lot of Yagura's strongest ninja defected to the rebellion. Three swordsmen of the mist, Urahara the Crimson Swordsman, Yami the Headsplitter, Seiki the Flickerer, and Kanao of the Flower release were some of the bigger names that defected.

Yagura had been winning the war for a while. He had been having a lot of things go right for him in the war. One thing changed the tides completely. The thing that happened after the defection of Kisame Hoshigaki. The destruction of Kirigakure's academy. Yagura focused so much on his might that he never had more sensei trained. And Sensei took a long time to train. You couldn't have someone who didn't know how to teach a kid how to be a ninja be a teacher after all.

Once that happened everything began to fall into place for the rebellion. Prisoners of war were released and saved giving the rebellion more forces to work with, Attacks on encampments begun to go much better presumably due to those people being there, and most recently Kirigakure's water supply had been heavily poisoned.

Of course Yagura had some victories but none as substantial as the rebellions.

"So now would be the perfect time for us to step in it seems," Hiruzen looked up and at the Anbu who just reported to him. Not the people that were selected for the mission but Anbu because they more experienced in tracking and stealth missions of this... importance.

He of course didn't doubt the abilities of Shisui, Hayate, Anko, and Aoba but they were suited for different things. Like making the rebellion trust them enough to allow them to help more. They were al of course great for regular stealth missions but... There were people whom were simply better.

One of them being Jiraya but he was busy doing another assignment. One of more importance... He was hopefully not taking Naruto to peep on Woman. Kushina would kill him in the afterlife for that.

'The tensions with the Uchiha are at an all time high...' Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha are the spies they have in the Uchiha clan. As vital as both are Hiruzen knew that Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan was to dangerous to be in Konoha.

Not because Hiruzen didn't trust the man. No he trusted the young man wholeheartedly. He didn't trust his old friend however. He noticed the man had been getting... antsy since Shisui shared details of his Mangekyo.

That wasn't good at all.

That was the main reason why he was going to send Shisui on this mission. He wanted to both keep him safe and his eyes out of Danzo's hands. Hiruzen glanced at Tiger, "Go get Crow, Anko, Hayate, and Aoba. I believe it is time to send them on the mission."

Tiger left as soon as the words left Hiruzens mouth.

[Chapter end]

Didn't expect that now, didn't you? Well neither did I but my muse decided to go off track and have Kukui steal Shibuki. Now Jinpachi abslutely would have lost if all four of them were there but he would have beat Ameyuri solo. So Kukui did save her by pulling a fast one with Railgun and some Ninja wire.

Kinda the longest chapter in a bit. I liked writing it. Originally I thought I'd dislike this chapter but I was proven wrong. The part I liked the least is Hiruzen's part but I managed to sneak in some more world building which made me happy. I love my world building lol.

Also I just realized we know where we are in the timelime exactly now. Just before the Uchiha massacre. Thanks to Kukui being here in this universe it looks like I'll get to use Shisui in one of my fics! Oh that'll be glorious!

I am a professional Shisui supporter. Man deserved better than being a plot device and I will fight for that opinion if need be. Some people really hate Shisui for being a plot device but the dude from what little we see of him is really fucking dope... I'm just saying Shisui deserved better.

-Tobi