Sumire's POV

Almost three years have passed since my training started, and a lot has changed since then.

I'm turning sixteen in a few months and very happy with how my progress has been so far. I already had a few techniques in my arsenal, most of my skills became impeccable as my sensei trained me to the ground almost every single day. My sensing ability might need a bit of refinement though, I knew I needed more practice in that area.

I rarely have rest days anymore since I became so busy with all the training that I do.

My body also felt more tired and heavier because sensei asked me to ingest a purple liquid daily for the past year, he never mentioned what exactly it was and just told me that it was to train my body's endurance. However, I barely noticed its effects anymore as time went by and felt my body adjust to it already.

It was already nightfall and my training for the day had just ended, so I decided to drop by the apothecary shop to get some herbal products for myself. I badly needed to apply some healing balms to ease my aching muscles from the bruises that I had from today's training, and grab a couple of the calming tea blends so I can relax for the night.

Kaito-sensei stopped his work as a fisherman and just focused on making the family business even bigger by delivering our products to other villages in smaller nations, it was more profitable and he only needed to sail out of our island a couple of times in a month. The elder couple would still be at the shop at this time since preparing the products for delivery was scheduled for today.

I was walking towards the apothecary with my hands tucked inside my sweater's pockets, briskly striding onwards, so I could arrive at my destination sooner and finally have warmth on my body. The wind has been chilly lately, the island's coast looked gray and bleak. It is mid January and the winter season is in full swing. The ambiance in the village didn't look lively since the streets looked very empty, and with the daylight gone, it's like the place had turned into a ghost town.

I could sense a few chakra signatures lingering around the area, but I ignored them since it was probably some of the villagers who were going about their businesses at the last minute before turning up for the night.

I saw Keiko-san's bookstore and was about to head towards my destination when I noticed a faint light illuminating through her shop's front door. She was closed by sundown on most days and it's rare for her to stay in the shop at this hour, that's why I decided to stop by and ask if she needed help with anything so she could go home sooner.

But as soon as I entered the door, I was horrified to see the whole place wrecked to the ground. Some of the bookshelves were thrown around, hundreds of pages have been strewn in the area. Even the artwork I gave to Keiko-san was also lying around the mess, its frame and the pieces of the broken glass scattered on the floor. It was a painting of the gardens from a home that I saw in my memories and I gave it to her last year as a gift.

I proceeded inside and sensed that Keiko-san was still within the premises. A very grisly sight welcomed me when I looked behind the checkout counter, there was blood all over the woman's clothes with her face barely recognizable. She was badly beaten up and a couple of wounds were visible on her body.

Fortunately, she was still alive but her breathing was very weak. I haven't done any training as a medic and only knew how to administer first aid, so I don't know how much I could help her since was in a very bad condition.

Suddenly, I sensed a presence entering the bookstore. I immediately asked the person for assistance to save Keiko-san, but the newcomer just stood by the door motionlessly. Her gaze was firmly locked on me and she did not speak a word. It was a woman with short blonde hair, she had a very rugged appearance since her clothes were soaked and dirty. I realized she looked like a shinobi because of the way she was dressed and how she carried herself, but her chakra was a bit suppressed.

I stood up and decided to confront her and readied myself in case she made any attacks, "Who are you? What do you need?" There's a very calm expression on my face, but my chest was pounding with nervousness as I questioned the strange woman because this is the first time I encountered another shinobi aside from Kaito-sensei.

The woman just gave a smirk in response to my questions before she attacked me relentlessly.

I was already prepared for her assault when she threw a forceful punch directed to my head. I stepped backwards and leaned sideways so I could counter-attack with a kick, but she was able to block my leg with her arm. The continuous strikes we threw against each other did not stop for a few minutes, but she was able to finally land a hit on me by giving me a powerful kick to my gut that threw me out the door.

The chill of the wind brushed against my face as my body rolled outside of the bookstore, but I ignored the coldness that I felt slowly seeping into my skin and prepared to defend myself against my attacker. I could find warmth after this woman had been dealt with.

I spat out blood from my mouth as I stood up and readied my stance again.

"You're not bad for a civilian.", said the woman while giving me another mean smirk. She added, "You might know a bit of fighting for self-defense, but you're not good enough for my techniques."

She began forming seals in her hand and then called out an attack, "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu". Several balls of fire were hurled towards me.

"Suiton: Mizurappa '', a torrent of water gushed out of my mouth to counter the fire release heading my way.

I was already able to master several low rank water techniques, like the wild water wave I just released, to a point that I only needed one handseal to produce them. It's all thanks to Kaito-sensei's training and my high affinity for water jutsus.

The blonde lady was a bit startled that I was able to defend myself from her using ninjutsu, she probably thought that this village was only full of defenseless civilians. The smirk on her face disappeared as she dodged the rest of the water that went past her fireballs and headed towards her.

I continued to attack her while she was still distracted, "Suiton: Teppoudama". The large spherical water bullet I spewed towards her landed on her chest, making her lose her balance and tumble from the force.

"Suiton: Suiben", I called out a water whip to wrap around the woman so she wouldn't be able to break free.

She was struggling violently, trying to get out from being bound by my water whip, but her efforts weren't able to release her from the water whip holding her in place.

I channeled a good amount of lightning chakra towards the water I was holding her with to make her still and stop her unnecessary movements, this was effective since the shock paralyzed her and she became motionless afterwards.

Her eyes widened and I could see her face slowly turned from calm and collected to uneasy and worried. I began questioning her, "I will ask you again, who are you and what's your purpose here?" I never knew I could sound this intimidating.

"I have intel that my target was here on this island and I was told that the bookshop owner knows where my target would be. I was not the one who attacked her though since I just arrived, it seems like other people received the same intel that I did." I could tell she was telling the truth since her chakra did not waver while she answered my questions, but I was still wary of her.

I was a bit nervous about the situation but I tried to be calm while I interrogated the blonde woman, "Who is your target?"

She gave me an evil smile before answering my question, "A teenage girl with purple eyes and silver-blonde hair, and her sketch looked exactly like you." The girl chuckled and added, "My instructions were only to bring you to my boss and not kill you, and you're fortunate that it was me you ran into. I advise you to come with me while you still have time, your other pursuers might not be as kind as I am. You'll probably be tortured or killed by those people, so you better choose wisely."

A sudden chill ran down my spine and my hairs stood up from her words.

The people targeting me already had some knowledge about my whereabouts and it's endangering people I am close with like what happened with Keiko-san. I tried to hold my emotions in place as I further questioned the woman, "Who sent you?"

The blonde-haired woman didn't answer though, she just gave me another statement that made my emotions ramp up even more. "You don't need to know that if you're not planning to come with me. People were already after you even before my team arrived here, another group was following me on the way here and they're probably trying to get to you as well. If I couldn't capture you, then somebody else would." She had an evil look on her face as she said the next words, "I don't know why you are targeted, but I would start running now if I were you. They are coming for you."

I noticed Kaito-sensei's sudden arrival in the area together with Mariko obaa-san. They looked disheveled and anxious, Kaito-sensei looked like he had come off from a fight judging by the blood stains on his clothes and bruises on his face. I heard sensei tell obaa-san to head inside the shop to check on Keiko-san.

My hand was still holding the blonde woman with my water whip to keep her tightly bound as Kaito-sensei approached me. He looked very serious and upset, the man probably heard what the woman said to me and he looked like he had very disturbing news to impart with me.

"Sumire, let me handle this. Go home and pack your stuff. Take all the jutsu scrolls we use for practice, and all the items inside the black bag that I prepared for you. It's hanging behind the master bedroom door." I stared at Kaito-sensei dumbfounded, it's like he anticipated that something like this would happen and was already prepared for it.

He looked at me sternly before sternly ordering me to move, "Quickly, go now! I will head home as soon as this is settled then I'll tell you what to do afterwards."

I ran home as fast as I could after that.

The black bag contained several storage scrolls, a weapons pouch with new shurikens, senbons and kunai, some cash, a small bag containing a medical kit and some of my medicinal products, and a black cloak.

I took an empty storage scroll to quickly seal my remaining belongings. I packed some of my clothes, my research, the few books I have, painting materials, and some of the artworks I created.

I thought of the remaining paintings I wouldn't be able to take with me, like the few that were displayed at the apothecary shop, and felt bad about leaving it behind. One particular artwork I was sad to leave behind was the painting showing a sunrise with a breathtaking view while a boy gazed at the horizon.

The scene was very captivating and almost dreamlike.

When Mariko obaa-san saw that, she was completely amazed by it and asked for it to be displayed at the shop. The skies were painted with yellows, blues, pinks and orange, with the mountains and nature on the horizon painted almost like a silhouette. The figure of a masked boy sitting by a tree looked very serene, his eyes reflected off the colorful sunrise hues and his hair was depicted to be moving with the wind. A very noticeable green scarf was on his neck and it stood out in contrast to all the black clothes he was wearing.

I just mentally made a note to recreate the artworks I would leave behind. All of those were part of the forgotten memories that I remembered, and I treasure all of my memories dearly.

Kaito-sensei shortly arrived afterwards with a distressed face.

He took the black bag and began putting out the items one by one on the table, "This scroll contains a tent, some blankets and other camping equipment. This one has the new clothes I got for you, take out the arm gloves and ninja sandals from it and wear it now. Then, strap this weapon's pouch on your waist quickly" He said as he handed me the items. "The new clothes might still be too big for you, but it would be useful as you grew older. Those are shinobi-grade clothes and would last you for a long time even when you're on the field."

I quickly put on the gloves and sandals as he continued his talk, "Put all the remaining items from the bag with your other personal stuff on an empty storage scroll." He paused, then reached out for the jutsu scrolls, "Take care of all the jutsu scrolls and make sure to learn from these as much as you can. I wouldn't be with you to teach you the rest of what's in there, but I know you would do your best to master everything. Remember, I want you to be the best so never settle for anything less."

I nodded but asked with fearful eyes, "Where would I go, sensei? Why aren't you coming with me?"

"You would run as fast as you can through the seas and head northeast to the Land of Tea, then proceed to any location you can see on the map afterwards. I trust your affinity with water would help you be in control in case any pursuers came after you while you escaped. The sea would protect you and give you plenty of water resources for your techniques." He paused and held my hand, "I would remain here with Mariko, and hold off whoever tries to look for you. I already took care of the blonde woman and some of the men who attacked the apothecary and the bookshop, but if they were able to find you're here, others would soon follow."

I nodded with tears dripping from my eyes and gave the man a hug, "Thank you for everything Kaito ojii-san." I couldn't help my sobs as he returned the hug and patted my back comfortingly.

"I've been noticing several unfamiliar people wandering about the village for a few months now. I heard them asking for a girl with your description and I became aware they might be spies and people would come after you sooner that was why I kept training you to the ground recently. I already prepared an emergency bag in case you needed to escape and bought you new stuff for your travels." Kaito-sensei then handed me a scroll from his pocket, "This was supposedly my sixteenth birthday gift for you."

I took it from his hand and opened the large scroll, "Thank you, sensei. But what exactly is this?"

"That is my summoning contract and I am bequeathing it to you, Sumire." He gave me a very fond look before he continued explaining, "As your sensei and guardian, this is the last thing I could impart with you. It's a Salamander's contract, and it's time you knew of my identity before you departed."

My eyes widened as I looked at the scroll in front of me, sensei told me that it was very rare to get a hand on one and he never mentioned that he possessed a summon.

"I come from Amegakure, the Village Hidden by Rain, and that summon was passed down to me by my brother. He trusted me to look after the scroll since I was the only one who signed the contract after him." He had a sad expression on his face as he told me the rest of the information, "He was the village leader and a very strict man, he did not take betrayal lightly. He may be able to spare enemies from time to time on the battlefield, but he is very authoritarian when it comes to his men and always liked to be in control. You may have read about him, his name was Hanzo of the Sanshouo" He explained truthfully to me. I was speechless for a moment by the sudden revelation but I managed to force out a response.

"Thank you for giving me this contract, sensei. I promise to use it to become an excellent shinobi like you taught me to be. But won't your brother know about me if I started to summon the salamanders like him?" I asked with a perplexed look on my face.

Sensei shook his sideways as he replied, "He is dead, Sumire. I saw his name fade in the contract a few years ago. If you inspect it closely, you will notice that my name looks clearer and easier to read." He pointed at the scroll as he explained, "His name became less visible, so it meant that he already passed on. Now, quickly sign your name on the scroll with blood and leave your fingerprints too."

I nodded and did as he instructed. Then, I did the summoning hand seals he taught me and channeled a bit of chakra as I slammed my hand to the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu", black marks appeared underneath my hand and began to spread out. With a puff of smoke, a salamander the size of a house cat appeared in front of me. It is turquoise in color with yellow markings on its body, and its eyes were bright yellow with black slits on it.

"Greetings, aspiring summoner. I am Dokubi of the Sanshouo." The spirit animal greeted me with a very soothing voice.

"I am Sumire, it's nice to meet you. I hope we can work well together." I respectfully bowed my head as I greeted the talking salamander.

Dokubi seemed pleased with me, "You're very well-mannered shinobi, but Ibuse the chief salamander or his partner Shiori, would test you first before we officially accept you as our summoner."

"I would summon Shiori. I am familiar with her since I used to work with her alot when I was still a shinobi of Ame." Kaito-sensei went outside and began his summoning jutsu.

A large white salamander appeared with blue markings on its body. Two intimidating obsidian eyes stared between me and Kaito-sensei for a while before she spoke, "Kaito, it's been a while since you called for me. I see you have taken an apprentice."

"It's been a long time, Shiori. This is Sumire, she signed the contract a while ago and would like to be officially accepted by the Sanshouo." Sensei explained as he gestured for me to approach the giant newt.

"It's nice to meet you, Shiori-san." I bowed my head again to show my respect. "I hope I will be able to pass your test and be accepted as a summoner."

"You look very promising, being respectful and honorable is a good attribute for a shinobi to possess. Skill can only take you so far, but character and principle would take you farther." I was glad that Shiori-san had a nice first impression on me. She continued further explaining the summoning to me, "Salamanders specialize in poisons, so our summoners need to be able to withstand our toxicity. Even a touch to our glistening skin is lethal as well as the poisoned techniques that we have at our disposal." She looked at me intently while she explained, "If you will be able to handle salamander poison, then you will be accepted by our kind as an official summoner."

Kaito-sensei put a hand on my shoulder and said, "I've been preparing her for this during the past year. I've been giving her the purple liquid to ingest, which is salamander poison, and she's been slowly building resistance against it."

"Very well, then I must test the girl now." Shiori then produced a purple mist and directed it towards me and Kaito-sensei. It splattered against my skin and dampened my clothes a bit, but I felt nothing happening to my body upon contact with the lethal poison and breathing its deadly vapor.

"Good idea to prepare the girl beforehand, Kaito." The white salamander looked pleased with the result, she continued saying her train of thought as we all listened to her. "Both of you did not have the same lethal ability that Hanzo managed to acquire, as he was able to produce a similar toxin like us with his breath, but being able to withstand the deadly poison is commendable enough."

"Yes, Shiori. My brother was a unique case, he only prepared me to be resistant to the poison the same way I did to Sumire." Sensei gave a soft smile as he explained it to me and Shiori-san, but I saw uneasiness in his face because of our current predicament.

"On behalf of all the Sanshouo, welcome to the family Sumire. I will tell the others about this exciting news. I am sure they would be happy to have a new summoner after losing Hanzo a few years ago", said the large salamander before returning to their summoning realm.

I quickly sealed the summoning contract that my sensei had bequeathed to me along with my other stuff.

"Go now Sumire, I already gave you all I could to help you with your journey. Just send a message to me using the summons whenever you can. Be safe, okay?" He said as he gave me another hug before I left.

I felt the turquoise salamander jump on my shoulder as I said my farewell to my sensei. "Take care of yourself and Mariko obaa-san, give her my love as well. Please say goodbye to her and Keiko-san for me." I said as the tears built up on the corner of my eyes and I turned towards the direction of the sea.

Kakashi's POV

After eliminating the remaining shinobi at the shore upon our arrival on the island, Genma and I proceeded to look for our target, the woman under Orochimaru's command.

I tried to extend the range of my sensing ability to find the blonde woman's possible whereabouts here in the town center, but I wasn't able to track her down. I was certain she was still on this island because her companions were still at the shore when we arrived a while ago, and the only probable explanation I could think of regarding her sudden disappearance was that she had been eliminated already by another party.

It was a bit dark and only the small flicker of street lamps illuminated the area. The shops in the village proper were all closed and there were no people out in the streets, they probably barricaded themselves inside their homes upon noticing the sudden arrival of numerous strangers in their town and the battles that happened in the surrounding area. We finally saw the bookstore along the main street and went inside to check the premises, the place was ransacked to the ground and it was clear that a fight happened here judging from its ruined state.

Books, furniture, and broken pieces of glass were all over the place.

My eyes accidentally landed on an artwork lying on the floor, making my heart skip a beat,as I recognized the place depicted in the painting. It was the garden at the Hatake house, the one by the engawa where Sumire gave me a poem on my birthday. I picked it up and inspected the artwork closely, and was shaken to my core as I stared at the realistic painting in front of me. It almost seemed like I was looking at a photograph since the artist was able to capture every little thing I could remember from the garden; the lines on the walls, the stonework laid on the pathwalk, and the colorful plants that surrounded the area.

Looking at it was like being taken back to that place that haunted me for years, so my hands trembled uncontrollably as I held the artwork in my hands.

On the bottom right corner of the page was a purple mark with the artist's signature written next to it, a very elegant handwriting next to a familiar drawing of a dainty purple flower.

Sumire.

She was here and she painted this amazing artwork.

I felt my emotions go haywire as I connected the bits of information regarding the gruesome sight in front of me and the mysterious girl being pursued by numerous people.

"It was her, Wolf. They were looking for Sumire." I was sure my killer intent flooded the area while I told Genma the grim news.

I heard him gasp with my revelation. I knew he would recognize Sumire's name since he attended the academy with me and Sumire back then. Additionally, I mindlessly call out her name in front of my team whenever I would send or receive pulses from the necklace and everytime I dream about her, so Team Ro knew the name of the mysterious girl plaguing my thoughts on a daily basis.

"Let's check the apothecary shop, captain. Maybe we could find a lead about her there." Genma responded while I was sealing the painting on a storage scroll. I don't know who owned this artwork, but this was something I couldn't leave behind.

We found the apothecary after a while.

It was also damaged but not to the extent of what happened to the book shop. My teammate called out to me as he gestured for me to look at a large display on the wall, "Captain, that masked boy looks like a younger version of you."

My knees trembled to the ground as I looked at the very familiar scene in the painting. It was the day I first met her on the Senju grounds, my sitting figure next to a tree was painted gazing at the breathtaking sunrise on the horizon.

This was what she saw that day and she made this from memory, but it looked more like a dream.

She was really good at painting.

That's for sure. Because how can a mere drawing with splashes of colors on it be able to make me break down like this?

My heart was beating wildly as I thought about her being in danger once again, and couldn't help the overwhelming emotions I felt at the moment. I could probably find the girl I love here, but reuniting in this damning situation is not really what I had in mind everytime I imagined that I would finally be with her again.

I tried to gather my composure and be calm about the situation. Sumire is in danger now and I need to do something about it. I would be able to find her soon enough, but I need to eliminate her pursuers first so she could be safe.

I suddenly felt numerous chakra signatures belonging to shinobi arriving at the shores of the island. They were all unfamiliar to me and I felt their negative vibe from afar. Probably more of the people pursuing her, just how many people or villages knew about her location and for some reason Konoha had no idea?

Are we living under a rock for fuck's sake?

Or does someone from the village know about this and manage to keep the information out of the hokage's knowledge?

Just how many enemies were out to get her now?

I mentally cursed the current situation at hand and ordered my teammate, "Wolf, more enemies are approaching from the shore. They are coming for her, kill everyone on sight!" I found it challenging to control my emotions as we made our way to the shore to confront the numerous chakra sources that I had detected.

I am sure "Cold-blooded Kakashi" will be on a rampage tonight and a bloodbath will probably take place on this island.