Chapter 1 Setting Accounts
The Mist hung thick in Kirigakure. The tall cylindrical buildings rose several stories into the sky. Through the mist a tall slender woman with red calf length hair bound from shadow to shadow. She moved through the mist barely making a sound.
The humidity was especially heavy that day causing her to sweat. Her long blue outfit perfectly showed off her ample bust and did nothing to combat the effects of the humidity. The slit down the side revealing shinobi mesh armour and black skin tight shorts.
The woman with the red hair came to rest in an alleyway nestled in between two of those cylindrical buildings. She quickly looked around to see if she had been followed. Behind her ice began to form on the wall. It slowly crept out forming a full body mirror of sorts. The woman seemed oblivious to this as she scanned her surroundings.
All the sudden a hand emerged from the ice mirror. Creeping closer and closer to the womans neck. As the hand was about to seize her the woman spun around while simultaneously grabbing the arm.
She quickly ripped the individual out of the ice and threw them down the alley. The person came into view. She could see the mask clad ninja wearing a normal shinobi outfit consisted of the standard Kirigakure pinstriped outfit which stopped at his knees. Over this he wore a green haori with white trimmings, and around his waist a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped around his waist twice.
He landed effortlessly rising. She stood up from her ready stance and smiled at the young man. She quickly stepped through the mirror and the boy followed in a flash.
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Around a table sat the Konoha Council.
The head of a table was dominated by the Hokage.
Minato Namikaze sat at the head of the table. A tall lean shinobi with spiky blonde hair. Minato wore the same outfit he's worn for his entire career. The simple Jonin uniform with his Hokage jacket overtop.
Behind Minato stood a masked ANBU with silver hair. His standard ANBU uniform could not hide his identity as most shinobi knew of the Hokage's Killer Kakashi Hatake. A jonin of incredible renown who was known far and wide as a dangerous man.
Next to Kakashi stood the ANBU Commander. He wore a dog mask with three triangles on it. His brown hair could be seen behind his mask. He proudly displayed his white cloak identifying him as an ANBU captain. He had a large leaf symbol on the back which indicated his rank of commander. While known to a select few this was in fact the second son of the Third Hokage.
To the Hokage's right sat Hiruzen Sarutbi the previous Hokage. Once retired he took a place advising the current Hokage. He was trusted with much of the regular forces oversight. His grey hair was receding and liver spots now covered much of the old man's balding head. He wore his simple robes of red and white. His frail appearance hide the fact that well into his 70's he was still a powerhouse.
Behind him stood Shikaku Narra. A seasoned veteran and the jonin commander in charge of the day to day operation of Konoha's Military. His stoic face was covered in scars. The man had his black hair pulled up into a pony tail like most males from his clan. He wore the standard attire of a leaf Jonin with one addition. He wore a deer pelt as a liner for his flak jacket.
Next sat Tsunade Senju. She appeared to be a blonde hair woman in her mid thirties. She used a jutsu to appear younger than no she was. She wore a green blouse with black pants and high heeled shinobi sandals. Tsunde sat on the council as the elder in charge of the medical services in the village.
This included alll medical ninja, the hospitals and the training of medical ninja. She also over saw various speciality units including the infiltration and reconnaissance corps, the tracking corps and sensor/barrier teams.
Her aide Shizune Senju stood there quietly. Her black eyes seemed pined on the ANBU behind the Hokage. She held a small pig in her arms. The pig hid much of the black kimono she wore.
Jiraiya sat directly across from the Hokage at the other end of the table. His huge frame seemed out of place in such a meeting. He had slumped his head into his hands and his white hair fell all over the table as he did so.
He was the elder in charge of all intelligence services. Inoichi the caption of the intel squad stood behind him with his arms crossed behind his back. A large black over coat fell to his mid shin over top of the grey uniform of the intel corps.
Koharu Utatane sat opposite Tsunade. She had been a member of team Tobirama back in the day and was the elder incharge of the village internal affairs. She over saw the mission department, the treasury, ninja training and development as well as the budget of the village. Her strength of organization was second to none. Many say her strength lay not in the battle field but in administrations. Her grey hair was held up in a bun by a zenbon and she wore simple robe of grey and white. Her eyes never seeming to open.
Behind her sat an aged man. Torifu Akimichi was in his 70's much like the rest of the council. He served as commander of the mission teams. He would over see the day to day operations of the entire roster of ninja who would under take missions. He held this role since its inception. The man was clearly an Akimichi just based off his size alone. He had tattooed swirls on his cheeks. His breathing was laboured and he seemed to doze off frequently.
Many in the younger generation felt the aged man should retire. Most of his work was now handled by Civilians and his deputies.
Homura Mitokado was the last. He was seated at the Hokages left. He wore glasses and a traditional rob. He had much more impressive skills than his old partner Koharu. He was known in the village as the grandfather of Konoha's Buikjutsu. He was a weapons expert of some renown and carried his weapons in sealing scrolls. His power has wain considerably in his old age though. He over saw the security of not just the village but the whole of the fire county.
Behind him was non other than Fugaku Uchiha. He was well know. By his moniker "Wicked Eye Fugaku" through out the ninja world. He was the Chief of the Military Police and head of the Uchiha Clan. He had long brown hair that framed his face and fell to his shoulders. His most remarkable features were the deep creases on either side of his mouth and his piercing onyx eyes. He wore the standard flak jacket of a Konoha Jonin with the Konoha Military Police Force symbol on the back, a black T-shirt with the Uchiha crest on each shoulder , shin-guards and a black and an open-front apron with white diamonds on the bottom.
Minato spoke first "Ah I see everyone is here shall we begin?" He asked as he shuffled papers in front of him.
"Yes let us begin. We have quite a bit to cover today" Koharu stated.
"Firstly we should discuss the Kage summit and the nessacary preparations." The Third said.
"I agree" Homura continued. "What intelligence do we have from the other villages regarding this matter?" Homura said as he shifted his gaze to Jiraiya.
"Oh I guess that me" he said in a jovial tone.
"Well it seems the other villages are on the up and up on this. They haven't made any moves that would make me think it's a trap. We have vetted and cleared the Takigakure as the location and since we share a border there isn't much risk to our Hokage enroute."
He exhaled deeply before leaning back in his chair. "I'm far more concerned with "his" movements and the movements of "that" orginization."
"I was under the impression there wasn't much intel on them at the present moment." Tsunade questioned.
"There isn't and that's what worries me. My men are the best in the world at what they do. And we haven't so much as heard a whisper about them for the last 3 months. They are planning something" Jiraiya answered.
"We can act if we do not know their objective" The Third counselled.
"We can't just sit back and wait Hiruzen" Homura snapped back.
"No" Minato whispered. "But we can prepare. Inoichi please connect with Fū and see if his assets can't help you with your hunt for information. In the mean time Shikaku I'd like you to look over all deployments security, military and ANBU and beef up any vulnerabilities you find"
"This is very prudent" Koharu added.
"I agree" Hiruzen replied in agreement.
"Have we established the reason for this summit yet?" Homura asked.
"The Third Tsuchikage was not fourth coming with the reason he wanted the summit but I have been informed by our intel department the Mist was not informed nor invited." Minato replied as he frowned.
"What of your security detail for the summit?" Jiraiya asked
"Four of the five Kage in the same place makes for a tempting target" Lord Third added.
"Especially when the mist has been excluded" Tsunade replied
"Oh don't worry about that" Minato said with a dismissive wave of the hand. "Kakashi will be heading my detail" he said as he pointed at the man. "We have agreed to a four man detail including one aid."
"Who will be the remaining ninja" Tsunade questioned
"Tenzo of the Wood Style and Itachi Uchiha will round out my security and Fū will act as my aid."
"Is it wise to have so many big fish out there on the line like this" Jiraiya questioned.
"I agree. That includes nearly all the leadership of Black Platoon. We should select other shinobi to go in Fū and Tenzos stead" Homura added.
"No Lord Hokage has every right to select his escort. We must respect that." Hiruzen said.
Homura shot his old friend a fierce glare. Then backed down. "Very well, I have ordered patrols to be doubled in the area the Hokage will travel through. We have also increased boarder security. We have used many ninja who were brought home because of the summit for the extra man power"
The ANBU Commander stepped forward to address the council " I have assembled 3 teams from White Company that will accompany the Hokage to the border. They will then wait just inside the boarder and escort the Hokage back. My counterpart in Takigakure will have 12 shinobi waiting to escort the Hokage to the village"
"Excellent so the security is set then" Tsunade said.
"How have our missions been affected." Hiruzen questioned.
"We have seen a 40% drop in mission requests but this is to be expected. Furthermore we have reduced our mission allotment out side of the land of Fire to 30%. We also have recalled roughly 60% of all shinobi abroad which includes every one of our ninja in the other great nations. I estimate this summit will impact revenue by as much as 650 million ryō. Well within acceptable ranges" Koharu answered.
"How long will it take for the missions department to return to normal operations?" The Hokage questioned.
"If previous trends hold I expect us to be back to regular services in 3-6 weeks. We have accepted additional labour missions all around the land of fire and have sent out 100 genin teams to complete them. This revenue is expected to offset the losses. "
"Excellent I believe that close the first two iteams on our agenda. What's next?" The Hokage said.
"I believe promotion and transfers are next" Shizune added form behind her elder.
"Oh yeah those two brats are getting promoted." Tsunade said with a smirk.
"Yes Team 7 is due to be broken up" Koharu said as she shuffled some papers before continuing.
"I have Sasuke slotted to take over an Uchiha squad in the mission roster. Naruto on the other hand.."
"Naruto should not be leading Shinobi in the field. He should be assigned duties here in the village" Homura interrupted.
"That's not for you to decide That's the Hokage's call" Jiraiya said
"It's bad enough he lets the other one go where ever he please but Naruto is know to be a host. It's time he takes his duties seriously and stays in the village to protect it" Homura ended as he began to raise his voice.
Tsunade slammed her hand down on the table and it exploded into splinters.
Her eyes were hard and filled with rage. The golden colour seemed to shimmer as she pinned her gaze at Homura menacingly.
Jiraiya looked on with a small smirk while Hiruzen had snacthed his tea off the table and was casually sipping it. Minato for his part sat wordlessly staring at Homura.
Homura looked on mouth a gapped.
"Please control your self Lady Tsunade" Koharu chided.
"Do not ever refer to Sai like that again. That boy is more than the container you designed him to be! He has grown into an amazing shinobi and a value to this village"
Tsunade practically hissed.
"Homura while perhaps not as tactful as he should have been is right." Koharu interjected. "Those of the younger generation may not understand but what we did was for the best of the village" she continued.
"Before anyone else says another word. Take care, I have taken Sai into my house as my son, neither of my boys are tools or weapons. They are the future and Homura" Minato paused looking into his councillors eyes. He shifted through them one. By one. "Sai does not go 'where he pleases' he goes where he is told." Minato said with a cold tone never breaking eye contact with Homura.
"Let us cool our tempers and take this conversation behind closed doors" the Third advised.
"Well considering the rooms a wreck now that might be a good idea." Jiraiya said as he looked around the room.
"Let's take this to my office. Non-Councillors are all dismissed." Minato said as he waved off all other shinobi present.
Minato shot a quick glance over to Torifu was now sound asleep. He shook his head disapprovingly before the shinobi in the room began to disperse. The Hokage signalled for Kakashi to come close. "Get the boys together and brief them on their assignments. As we discussed send each squadron on their missions. In terms of the escort no masks are permitted"
"Yes sir." Kakashi replied.
"I'll leave the armament up to you have the boys were their standard Jonin uniforms. They are not to conceal their identities in any way." Minato said.
"Understood sensei". With that Kakashi disappeared.
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Once through the mirror the woman saw a tall shinobi standing there draped in a black cloak covered with red clouds. He had black spiky hair and bandages wrapped around the lower half of his face. His Mist headband had one horizontal slash through it.
The woman with the red hair spoke first addressing the man.
"We are taking a huge risk Zabuza" she exclaimed. "Signalling me is one thing but transporting me from the village is a whole other level of risk."
"It couldn't be helped" the man replied in a gruff tone.
"Couldn't be helped?" The red headed vixen snapped back.
"Putting mine and Haku's life at risk for a chat? That couldn't be helped?!" She practically yelled as she motioned towards the masked boy who had previously transported her.
"Please Mei don't be mad at Zabuza. It was an order" The boy identified as Haku said.
"An order?" The woman named Mei repeated.
"It couldn't be helped" came a voice from the shadows.
Mei was able to make out the small slight frame of a woman stepping out of the shadows. Her green hair was up in a bun and her face was framed by two blonde bangs parted in the middle. The bangs transitioned from blonde to green as they flowed away from the woman's head. The woman's wore a similar cloak to Zabuza but it did nothing to hide her identity.
"Pakura of the scorch style. I presume?" Mei said.
"You would presume correct Mei Terumī of the famous Terumi corrosive style clan. Your legend precedes you" Pakura replied.
Mei eyed her warily. She knew she could take Zabuza but Pakura was said to be her equal. If thing went sideways she would be in trouble.
"Things are in motion. It's time to make good on your promises. We need you to deliver the 4th Mizukage." Zabuza said.
"This is sooner then you had said?" She replied.
"The time table has been moved up. We are starting now. " Pakura replied.
"The Fourth doesn't trust me. Plus he has 4 of the swordsmen loyal to him. I'd never be able to create the opening you need."
"Don't worry about that. You are going to use this big galoot as your bait. We just need you to thin the heard a bit." Pakura said as she causally tapped on Zabuzas chest.
"How so?" Mei asked
"I need most of the swordsmen else where." Zabuza said in his gruff tone.
"I need Kisame Hoshigaki and Ameyuri Ringo to be elsewhere. We can't battle them and the fourth." Zabuza added.
"He won't come alone. He will bring a large group of ANBU." Mei replied.
"How large?" Pakura asked
"It doesn't matter how many of them there are. Those two can't be there. Any of the others you can redirect would be beneficial." Zabuza replied.
"I'll figure it out. Where do you want them?" Mei asked.
"I'll take care of the where. I just need you to take care of the when. We will be making our move in 1 week when the Kage summit is taking place" Zabuza said.
"I hadn't heard of a Kage summit happening?" Mei said in genuine surprise.
"It because the Mist wasn't invited. The rest of the world thinks you are animals and are making plans to put you down like dogs" Pakura said in a joking tone
"Enough!" Zabuza shouted
Pakura sighed heavily and sat down on one of the rocks present in the cave they were in.
"Mei we need to do this now. She's right. The world looks at the village as a bunch of savages. We need to free our village and land if we want any hope of restoring the Mist to glory". Zabuza said in a softer tone.
"I'll be ready" Mei replied.
"Good. Haku send her back" Zabuza snapped.
Mei turned and walked towards the boy named Haku who had created an ice mirror.
"I must succeed. The Mist can't fall apart now" she thought as she stepped through to an uncertain fate