How did this happen?

The thought repeated itself multiple times in his head as Inari forced his way through the crowd of people. Swarms of villagers pushed past him toward the border of the town, knocking him off balance and nearly shoving him to the ground by the sheer mass of bodies. If it hadn’t been for his determination, he’d have been trampled a while ago.

He had already lost his grandfather in the crowd behind him, but he was pretty certain the old man was still tailing him. Both were set on making sure Tsunami was alright before-

“Inari, move!”

The boy only had time to blink his eyes in confusion as he suddenly felt something slam into him from behind, pulling him to the ground. A split second later, he felt the earth shake beneath him, and he looked up to see a building smashing to the dirt road. Wooden planks littered the path in piles, creating a blockage in the middle of the street. It was the market building, Inari noticed with despair; the woman who ran the store lived upstairs, just above her business.

A firm hand yanking on the back collar of his shirt forced Inari into a standing position, and he whipped around to cast his frantic gaze upon his grizzly grandfather. Tazuna, while keeping a strong grip on his grandson, shoved his cracked glasses up his face as he turned in the direction of their home. The collapsed grocery market was no longer the only thing blocking their way, the two noticed as they peered over the wreckage.

Many buildings across town now appeared as heaps of broken wood. The water that surrounded the island was rising noticeably, already spilling over to leave massive puddles at their feet. Bodies of the unfortunate lay crushed beneath their fallen homes, their blood leaking to stain the dirt-paved roads and splatter the crumpled walls of the buildings.

Tazuna quickly shoved his grandson around toward the border of the village, where nearly every other surviving citizen had gone. “Inari, get out of here! You have to get to safety!”

The eleven-year-old gawked, throwing his hands to his sides in shock and anger. “But what about Mom?”

“Inari! Dad!” a shrill voice screamed from behind. Both males turned around to see the woman of the family scurrying over to them in a panic. Her dark hair frazzled and her dress torn in several places, she grasped both of her family members by their arms and pulled them with her. “We need to go! The Suiheisen, they’re-”

Another eruption of splitting wood fell upon them, and the elderly man pushed his relatives to the ground, shielding them with his body. Inari heard him groan in pain as another building rained in pieces upon them.

As the last portion of the structure fell, the group pulled themselves up to see that the salty water on the farther side of the their small island was rising into a wave. The blue-green water lifted high like it was being pulled by puppet strings. The trio stared in horror and awe at the surreal sight.

Inari was the first to snap out of his gaze, and he violently nudged the older people of the group, urging them toward the bridge that would lead them to safety. “Grandpa! Mom! Let’s go!”

His shouts seemed to be enough to snap them out of their dazed states, and almost instantly, the family sprinted through the ruins of their town toward the border. The sound of crashing waves followed them as they ran, devouring what remained of the village and pushing further towards its prey. The wetness below their feet rose within seconds, reaching first up to their ankles and then slowly heightening until they were wading through the water at the level of their hips.

Just as they had forced themselves through the flood toward the bridge that could lead to their safety, several things happened at once.

A wall of rock burst through the water, halting them in their attempts to swim across the bridge toward the mainland. Before Inari could comprehend where it had come from, he felt the murky liquid around him suddenly tighten into a squeezing grip at his waist. Then he was forced under the surface, as if the water had pulled him down. He gasped as the oxygen was unexpectedly ripped from his lungs, causing him to choke on the dirty liquid.

Thrashing against the invisible hands the water held him with, he looked to the rising surface to see shadows standing above him. His eyes widened, the salt mercilessly stinging his pupils. The last of his air left him as he watched the strange figures force his grandfather and mother away. It was hard to see what was exactly going on through the water that was now tainted with blood and decay, but he could hear the muffled screams of his family above the surface. That alone was enough to make the boy lash against his watery bonds even more.

Just as his vision began to blur from the burning salt and lack of oxygen, a piercing grip seized him by the shoulder, yanking him fiercely from his watery prison. The world above was a blur of distorted shapes and fuzzy images. As Inari blinked away the black spots flooding his sight, he felt the hand that had pulled him up now clutching him across his shoulders, the stranger’s forearm pressed tightly to his throat.

“Stop struggling,” a firm tone said from a few feet away.

Whatever resistance the boy had been about to put up against his holder was immediately halted by the cold and bitter voice. He made an attempt to twist his head around to see who the mysterious figure was, but the burly man grasping him had a tight squeeze around his upper body, keeping him frozen in position.

The water that had delayed their escape was now receding away from the land, slowly dipping back to its home. It seemed unnatural, Inari noticed, how the seawater moved away. It was as if it really was listening to the orders of its puppeteer. A master who commanded it to do his bidding.

Opposite him, Inari saw his mother and grandfather being bound by their wrists and forced to their knees. The woman behind them, their jailor, grabbed each by the back of their heads and shoved them to the ground. Tsunami whimpered in pain as her hair was pulled and then pushed against her head while Tazuna merely huffed and moaned in defiance, attempting to keep his already bruised face up. Inari heard the woman sputter something in irritation, and with a violent shake of her faded gray head, she slammed both of their faces into the dirt.

The eleven-year-old shouted then, screaming unintelligible words and sounds until he could form a real sentence. “Stop it! Leave them alone!”

The woman paid him no mind as she continued to push his relatives’ faces into the ground until soggy soil stifled their noses and mouths.

“I said to st-”

Inari was instantly cut off as a sharp shooting pain hit him in the cheek, the force strong enough to whip his face to the side. The shock was worse than the injury, though he could almost feel the red mark appearing on his skin.

He turned around to see a new figure standing beside him and the man holding him. The person was mostly covered, shrouded by a midnight-colored cloak. Shadows from the hood clouded the stranger’s face; Inari could only make out the person’s mouth, which was thinned into an emotionlessly straight line.

With a quick jerk of the head, the mysterious figure turned and stalked toward the two older Wave Country villagers. In a swift motion, the person threw the hood back, allowing a shower of cerulean to cascade against the darker blue of the wardrobe.

Inari’s eyes widened a fraction when he realized he was staring at a girl. A girl who appeared to be only a few years older than himself. From his position, he could only make out the right side of her face, but he could practically feel the power radiating off her. So much anger and maliciousness in such a young person, it felt almost wrong and unnatural to witness.

Shoulders straight and back braced, the leader crouched before the gray elderly man, fixing him with a deadly gaze. “You are Tazuna the bridge builder.” It was phrased as a statement, a statement laced with icy bitterness that made Inari suddenly fear deeply for his grandfather.

“I am,” Tazuna muttered to the ground, his head forced into a bow.

“Good,” the teenage girl replied. It was hard to tell if she was actually happy or if that was simply her nature, to be so sour. “You’ll be fulfilling a task for me.”

If he had been able to, Tazuna would have whipped his head up in a jerk with surprise. As it was, with the vicious woman behind him still shoving his face downward, the jolt of his neck only knocked his glasses from his nose. The already broken lenses shattered completely against the path, spilling crystal shards before him. “What do you want from me?”

The girl cocked her blue head to the side, drumming her black-gloved fingers against her knee. “You’re rather famous, you know. Quite a popular figure to represent the Land of Waves.”

“What does that have to do with-”

The woman holding Tazuna’s head kicked him in the side, the pointed tip of her boot stinging him harshly in the ribs. A cry ripped from his throat as she hissed, “Do not interrupt the Captain when she speaks!”

“Ayame,” the leader said. “I need him alive and well.”

Inari could not see the captain’s face, but he could hear the emotionless tone in which she spoke to her underling. He guessed it was her way of scolding her crew, for the woman instantly slumped into her shoulders like a turtle, fearing what must have been an intimidating stare from her higher-up.

With a short flick, the captain looked back to the old man kneeling before her. “As I said, you’re very well known for the bridge you built. I think you’d make for a great political partner when I go to speak with your daimyo.”

This time, when Tazuna snapped his head up, he was able to shove off the woman’s tight grip on his spiky graying hair. “P-Political partner? What in the name of Kami for?”

“I need to win the daimyo’s approval for setting up a base here. The Land of Waves has quite a bit of trading power amongst the nations, and I want in.”

Before Tazuna could even exhibit his disbelief in this proposal, his grandson beat him to it. “That doesn’t even make sense!” Inari shouted, once again squirming against the bulky arms of his captor. “If you can take over a village, why do you need permission to set up a trading base?”

He wished the girl would turn around to look at him, cast her frightening gaze on him so he could stare her down. She didn’t even move.

“Hayashi,” she simply said, her monotonous voice only barely audible for the others to hear.

The man clutching Inari, supposedly named Hayashi, slid his forearm up until it threw the boy’s head back against the man’s strong chest, displaying the clear skin of his neck. In a quick flick of his wrist, Hayashi removed the katana from its sheath at his waist. The blade of the weapon, reflecting with the fading sun, glinted with a golden ray. With the sword pressed against his Adam’s apple, Inari locked his lips together to keep his throat from moving.

His need for air defeated him, and oxygen streamed through his nose and into his lungs, expanding his grateful windpipe. Hayashi’s weapon pushed against his skin, and a thin yet painful gash formed to leak his blood on the silvery metal. Crimson stained the shining gray as Inari let loose an unwanted whimper, and his mother and grandfather gawked in horror.

The leader of the Suiheisen stood up suddenly, her movement so fluid it was almost unnoticed in the swish of her cloak. “Perhaps now you shall listen?” she asked amusedly.

“Please!” Tsunami sobbed as she strained against the hand on her head. “Please don’t hurt my son!”

Tazuna’s mouth opened and closed like a fish on land gasping for water. “Alright,” he croaked out. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

“You’ll be writing a letter to your daimyo,” the girl replied. “Tell him to come here so we can have a formal meeting.”

The old man bit his lip, hard enough to draw blood, though he barely noticed the thin drops trickling down his chin. “Why do you need him here? Why do you even need to meet him?”

He flinched after he asked his questions. The look on her face was frightening enough that questioning her motives seemed like a death wish. However, she merely crossed her arms over her chest, staring him down. “Without an official’s permission to set up a base here, there will be no nations willing to trade. And if I were to create an unauthorized trading center, it’d be easy for anyone to destroy it. I want your daimyo’s approval so that my base will not be touched. I’m not going to be like that idiot, Gato, who got himself some enemies because he didn’t get official permission.”

“If you wanted to speak with the Wave Country’s daimyo,” Tsunami murmured through her tears, “why go through the trouble of destroying our village just to get a conference with him?”

Hands planted on her hips, the girl bent over so that she was leaning in front of the mother’s face. “Because if there was no destruction, how persuasive would I really be?” she inquired, her voice dripping with amusement. “Ayame will supervise you both while you write the letter. She’ll be watching you until he arrives.”

“But what if he doesn’t want to come?” Tazuna asked desperately. “What if-”

The cloaked girl cut him off as she hissed, “You better damn well make sure he comes. Learn to be persuasive. Because if he refuses to meet with me…” She took this moment to gesture a gloved hand in Inari’s direction. “The boy dies.”

Hayashi took this as his cue to drive the blade a little bit further into Inari’s throat, slicing another gash in his skin to spill more blood. The eleven-year-old squirmed in pain as he bit down on his lips to keep from screaming.

“Please stop!” Tsunami shrieked as she shoved her body against Ayame’s grip on her.

“Then I expect a formal letter to be sent to your daimyo by tomorrow,” the blue-haired girl said. “Tell him the Blue Tiger of the Mist of the Suiheisen is waiting for him. And if you fail in getting him here, the runt is dead.”

Turning on her heels, the girl stalked away, holding herself in a proud and professional manner as she elegantly stormed away. Hayashi followed, dragging Inari with him. From behind, the boy could hear the sad whimpers of his mother and the hoarse croaks of his grandfather. After only a few moments though, he could no longer hear them, and his holder kept him from turning around to see them.

Inari gave up on his struggling against the blond muscled man. His throat felt sore and raw from the wounds there, and his body felt weak and scrawny in Hayashi’s hold on him. The Suiheisen captain led the way to the harbor, where Inari saw, for the first time, a large midnight blue ship sitting in the dock. A strange symbol was printed on the black sail: a blue circle with three golden slashes running diagonally through it. Tiger slashes, Inari realized.

Seeing the majestic ship in his village’s dock angered him. It was such an intrusion, an unwanted presence. The vessel seemed far too comfortable for Inari’s liking, resting in the harbor like it belonged there. The Suiheisen were here to stay, they were going to set up a base here to manage. The very idea of these criminals having a station here infuriated him.

“You’re not going to get away with this!” Inari shouted at the captain’s back.

For the first time since she had arrived, she turned her head to look the boy in the eyes, face to face. Her eyes were charcoal black, so dark that it was as if someone had painted them to match the night sky. But it wasn’t the shadowy color of her eyes that frightened him. It was that there was nothing in them to show her thoughts. Her whole face, the thin line of her lips and the barrenness in her eyes, showed nothing. The emptiness in her expression was more intimidating than if she had been glaring at him.

She smirked at him, a little tug at one side of her mouth to create a dry smile. Even that seemed deprived of real emotion. “I’ve gotten away with a lot of things, kid. I don’t expect this to be any different.”

“You’re just a bunch of thugs! Someone is going to stop you!” Inari yelled as he attempted to keep his voice from wavering under the captain’s stare.

The girl turned away to continue her trek to her ship, Hayashi following suit as he grasped the boy. “We prefer the term ‘pirate’. Be wise when you insult us,” the captain said as she walked ahead of him.

Inari frowned as they boarded the ramp that led onto the ship. He saw some of the other pirates at work on the deck, and then he started to worry. How many pirates were there? How strong were they? If they set up a base here, would it be like when Gato was running the village?

How did this happen?

Lord Juro Arakaki was normally a very rational man. It was what made him a decent daimyo, or at least in his own eyes. He had a lot of support among the people of the Land of Waves, and he had been praised for being the one to help the country out of its poverty after the Gato incident. He had taken over after the previous daimyo had been impeached for his lack of authority over his own nation. Now, almost four years later, Juro could say he had done his country honor by helping it to prosper again. The success of the Wave Country was all he could have hoped for after moving to this land.

But after reading the letter he had received from Tazuna the bridge builder, the daimyo felt sick to his stomach. He folded the scroll and placed it back in its round container, unable to look at it any longer, for fear of his nausea getting the best of him. His fingers clenched the cylindrical message, his knuckles turning a startling white against his lightly tanned skin.

I had heard the rumors, but… Juro bit the inside of his cheek in thought. I had hoped they weren’t true. He glanced at the tube that held the bad news, his hand still squeezing it to the point of breaking the metal container. I haven’t seen the Blue Tiger of the Mist in years…

“M-milord?” a nervous voice piped up.

The country leader blinked in surprise before casting his dark blue eyes on his now anxious assistant. Miu was obviously waiting for him to give her an order after she had delivered such stressful news to him. How long had he been sitting there lost in his thoughts that he made his subordinate so worried?

Juro swallowed in an attempt to calm his own growing concerns, and after rubbing his chin with his wrinkled hand, he stood up. Patting down his light blue and gray silk robes in an effort to summon up his levelheaded authority, he looked to his frowning white-haired secretary.

“Miu, I need you to send out a request for me,” the daimyo ordered. The command seemed to flow out of him; he had hardly had time to think of this, but he knew it was possibly the most sure way that he would actually live if he went to meet with his old acquaintance. “Send a mission request to Konohagakure. Alert them of the situation. I’m going to need shinobi, and plenty of them.”

“K-Konohagakure, sir?” muttered Miu in confusion. “But… rumor is the Blue Tiger hails from Kirigakure… Shouldn’t the Mist Village take care of-”

“No,” Juro snapped immediately. “I don’t want information of this invasion getting out to all the other countries just yet. The Leaf ninja have already proven to be our allies during the Gato event, so I trust them. I want their shinobi here as quickly as possible.”

The assistant seemed shocked at the demand, but with a firm nod of her head, the fair-skinned young woman dashed out of the office to begin writing the letter to the Leaf Village.

Once the door had closed quietly behind her, the robed man turned to stare out the lone window that rested behind his desk. Being the daimyo of the Land of Waves had its perks in scenery, for his view looked out over the shore, the vast ocean spread out before his eyes.

However, unlike most stressful days, the sight of the sea did not seem to quell his distressed thoughts. He couldn’t seem to get rid of the idea that she definitely was out there, sailing those waters and committing crimes. It disappointed him immensely to imagine her like that.

With a sigh, he crossed his arms over his chest, his lips pulling his slightly wrinkly face further into a frown. This sudden situation seemed to be adding on extra years to his forty-year-old self. He could feel his body wearing down already, though perhaps that was just because of the idea that he would be meeting with the Blue Tiger of the Mist.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the mantelpiece that sat on the left side of the room. It was a simple mahogany bookshelf where he kept his scrolls, files, and books, but it was what rested atop the ledge that his eyes fell upon. Juro scratched his head, his fingers running through his cropped black hair. His nose twitched in contemplation, almost as if he was afraid to approach the sacred object that sat upon the shelf.

Letting out a sigh, he shuffled over to the mantelpiece and rested a gentle hand on the item. Its sheath was filmed with dust, which made him grimace at his own neglect. He carefully picked up the long, lean scabbard and pulled at the grip of the weapon, revealing a shining silver blade.

Just as it had been years since he had spoken with the Blue Tiger of the Mist, it had been years since this katana had actually been used in combat.

Juro pursed his lips as he sheathed the sword, gripping the weapon’s casing firmly in his hand. He’d be needing this, if nothing more than to have it as encouragement. But he was almost sure sentimentality wouldn’t be the katana’s only use at the assembly with the Suiheisen. It was never that easy.

**********************************************************

“Granny Tsunade!” a furious jumpsuit-donning boy groaned, throwing his arms to his sides in outrage. “Can’t you give us a real mission?”

Across the room, behind her elegant wooden desk, the Slug Princess laced her finely manicured fingers in front of her face, only partially hiding the scowl she was sending toward the orange blob before her. “Naruto, need I remind you, you’re still a genin. You’re barely in a position to be demanding any mission, let alone a higher-ranked one.”

The blond boy grimaced at this, clenching his fists in frustration. “That’s not fair. I’ve still been training since I left. I’m stronger than I was before.”

Behind the angry teen stood his teammates. Kakashi merely sighed as he read his little orange book, hoping to give off the impression that his old student was not acting under his sensei’s approval. Sai stood off to the side, his pale face an impassive mask of emotionless observation as he watched the argument. As opposed to her two comrades, pure rage seethed from Sakura’s entire being, and her gloved fist trembled in anticipation, just waiting for the moment to pound the knucklehead for his lack of respect to the Hokage.

With an aggravated sigh, Lady Tsunade rubbed her now aching temples. “Naruto, all of the upper-leveled missions are being taken care of by our higher-ranked shinobi. So as of now, all of the lower-leveled assignments need teams to complete them.”

Naruto gawked, clearly offended at the village leader’s words. “So you gave all the better missions away? How come we never get the good stuff?”

“Almost everyone is away on those missions, so you either take what I give you or do nothing,” the woman countered as she leaned back in her swivel chair, arms crossing over her large chest.

“Gahhhh…” The Uzumaki slumped his shoulders in defeat. “This is so unf-”

He was interrupted by the door being thrown open, slamming loudly against the wall. A frazzled Shizune stumbled into the room, a letter clutched in her hand. Her dark eyes fell right on her master, completely ignoring everyone else in the room, even though all stares were on her now.

Waving the scroll over her head as she shoved her way towards the Hokage, she panted out, “M-milady! Urgent news and a mission request from the Wave Country’s daimyo!”

The three original members of Team 7 became suddenly alert, eyes widening and backs straightening, eager to hear more. “Wave Country?” Sakura murmured.

“Like Inari and Tazuna?” Naruto asked, his blue eyes alight with recognition as memories of his first big mission came back to him.

The robed woman nodded frantically as she came around the desk to thrust the scroll in front of the older female’s face. Without looking up to the other ninja in the room, the assistant said, “The Suiheisen have attacked a village in the Land of Waves and have taken Tazuna the bridge builder and his family hostage. The daimyo is requesting as many Leaf shinobi as possible to accompany him while he meets with the Blue Tiger of the Mist.”

Simultaneously, Naruto and Sakura’s mouths fell open in horror. “Tazuna’s family is captured?” the young kunoichi gasped.

“Inari’s in trouble?” yelled the Jinchuuriki. “Who are the Suiheisen?”

Tsunade ignored the two teenagers’ outbursts. Her hazel eyes skimmed over the page, her teeth chewing on her ruby lips in contemplation. Knitting her brows together, she glanced at the brunette. “Shizune, how many jounin and chuunin are available for dispatch?”

“What? Wait, no Granny!” the orange-clad ninja shouted, leaping forward. “Send me! Send us! I want to help Inari!”

Lady Tsunade cocked an eyebrow at this, giving the boy a skeptical look. “How do you… Why is this so important to you?”

“Well…” Kakashi drawled, rubbing the back of his silver head in his lazy manner, “Team 7 had a mission in the Land of Waves a few years back. It was during the Gato thing, and we helped take care of it. Needless to say, Tazuna and his family are good friends of ours because of it.”

The big-breasted woman eyed the masked man curiously before she turned to look over the entire squad. She bit the inside of her cheek, actually considering giving into Naruto’s demand, before she shook her pigtailed head. “The Suiheisen are not a group to be taken lightly. No, sending you four won’t be enough.”

“Just who in the hell are these Suiheisen punks anyway? I’ve never heard of them before!” Naruto hollered defiantly as he slammed his hands on the desk in frustration, leaning forward to get into his leader’s face.

Scowling into his cerulean gaze, Tsunade stood from her desk and leaned her hands atop its wooden surface. She opened her mouth, prepared to exert a verbal lashing on the disrespectful genin, when an unemotional voice cut her off.

“They’re pirates,” Sai informed. Naruto instantly turned around to gape at his newer teammate, his lips falling into a befuddled pout. With a tilt of his head, the Root member continued with, “Rogue shinobi, really. The group started only a few years ago, but they’ve become rather well known as bandits. Usually, they stick to the sea, but they’ve caused chaos deep in the mainland also.”

Inhaling slowly, the Hokage nodded in confirmation. Turning away from Naruto, who was still leaning on her desk, she began to dig through her drawers and flip through her files. “We can really only go off of rumors about them. We really don’t know the identities of any of them except for a few. No one has ever been able to get close enough to actually figure out who any of them are.”

“How many of them are there?” Tsunade’s youngest apprentice asked.

“Meh…” Kakashi uttered thoughtfully, cocking his head to the side, “about twenty or so, rumor has it. But there’s also a myth that there’s five captains in charge.”

The fox boy rubbed his chin considerately. “Pirates can have five captains?”

Sai shook his head. “No, not five captains. The myth is that there are five highly ranked missing-nin, most likely S-class, out of the twenty. The rest are mostly just underlings.”

The female Sannin straightened from bending over various folders, finally picking the one she had been searching for. With a nod of her head, she opened the file to show two different pictures. One was of a large dark blue ship with black sails gliding away from the camera holder. The Midnight Thief was elegantly scrawled in the wood on the side. “There is only one captain. The Blue Tiger of the Mist. No one knows anything about this person except that they hail from Kirigakure.” Tsunade pointed a red-nailed finger at the second picture; it was of a person shrouded in a midnight blue cloak, the same color as the pirate ship.

As Naruto stared at the photo, his curious expression gradually fell into a piercing look of severe outrage. His fist collided with the desk, making the wooden table shake. “This punk thinks he can mess with old man Tazuna and Inari? I’ll punch him right in the face!”

The Fifth Hokage gazed at the now angry ninja before her, her eyes wide with surprise. “Naruto… I can’t send you, it won’t be-”

“Granny Tsunade!” the genin shouted with another punch to the table. “You just said everyone else was out doing missions. Send me instead! I have to help Inari.”

Lady Tsunade watched him, sizing up his set shoulders, his clenched fists, his determined expression. He didn’t waver under her calculating light brown eyes. He remained as strong-willed and stubborn as always, his signature determination seeping through his entire being.

Finally, the Godaime broke the staring contest to glance at her assistant, barking, “Shizune!”

“Y-yes, milady?” the other woman stuttered as she straightened her posture into a professional stature.

“Find me whoever is available to accompany Team Kakashi on this escort-and-protect mission,” Tsunade ordered.

**********************************************************

The sound of boots clopping against the wooden floor echoed off the hollow walls below deck. As the young man climbed the steps that would lead above, the rhythmic claps of the soles of his shoes on the ground melded with the loud hollers and the busy bustling of his crewmates. His emerald eyes glanced up as he only partially listened to the conversations going on around him, his mind mostly focused on his task.

He turned away from the rest of the crew to enter the large cabin that sat below the helm. It was a portion of the captain’s cabin that served as a conference area.

Looking up, he noticed he was the last one of the four to arrive. His crewmates scoffed at him. “Last one here? How unlike you, Masaru,” the tallest one of the bunch sneered.

The man named Masaru shrugged it off. “Someone had to check on the prisoners. Seeing as the actual guard never got around to actually doing his duty. Hayashi.” He let his jade eyes drift to glare at the blond burly male.

Hayashi guffawed at this. “I’m the one who brought the runt in here. Stupid little kid was a pain in the ass to hold.”

“Aww, a little five-year-old boy was too much for big Hayashi to handle? How pathetic,” a young woman snorted, flicking her long ponytailed black hair over her shoulder to smooth it out.

The blond man, dressed in his dark green leather, growled as he rested a calloused hand on the katana at his waist. “I bet if I cut that pretty hair of yours, Tsubame, you wouldn’t be such a bi-”

“Could you two seriously just make out or something already?” the third person in the room uttered impatiently. He ran a hand through his untidy crimson hair, shaking his head all the while. “You two bickering, it’s obvious you want each other.”

Hayashi blanched while Tsubame shrieked in disgust. “Rikuto, you perverted little-”

“All of you just be quiet,” a voice snapped from off to the side.

The four pirates immediately ceased in their bantering as they looked to see their captain emerge from her private quarters. Her signature cloak was draped over her arm, revealing her to be in simple black garb to match her shadowy eyes. She ignored each of them as she stalked over to the table that her comrades had already surrounded themselves around. Laying her midnight-colored covering aside, she rested her hands on the table and finally made eye contact with each person.

“Alright, we’ve been in this harbor for two days. Updates,” she demanded.

“Well the prisoners are still alive for now,” Masaru said, giving his blond cohort a sidelong glance. Hayashi blatantly ignored him. “Probably a good idea to have someone there all the time though instead of just random checks, the little kid is starting to get antsy.”

The captain nodded her blue head. “Fine, place two guards down there for four hour shifts.”

“Tazuna’s letter was sent out early yesterday,” Tsubame said. “The daimyo should have gotten it approximately yesterday afternoon, so I would think he’ll be coming by tomorrow.”

The young leader pursed her lips as she fingered her chin. “Not likely. He’ll be requesting shinobi assistance. That could take a day or two in itself for them just to meet with him.”

“Citizens of this village who managed to escape this raid have probably gone for help by now, Captain,” Rikuto said. “We should be expecting some shinobi any moment who’ll be trying to get rid of us.”

“Right…” the Blue Tiger grimaced slightly. “Repeated attacks should be expected… not to mention the daimyo’s escort team…”

She straightened up, latching her hands to her hips as she contemplated her strategy. Masaru noted how she could seem so serious when it came to planning yet appear nonchalant about it, as if this was no big issue for her.

“I want you four to split the crew into groups and act as the team leaders. Hayashi, Tsubame, and Rikuto, I want you to station your cells around the village. Masaru, you and your squad will remain on the Thief to protect it.”

She paused to ensure that they understood their roles, and they nodded their heads in affirmation. The girl smirked, an emotionless pull at her lips, as she turned away from her crewmates. Her comrades watched her as she marched toward the wall behind her. She tilted her head up, staring at the old piece of her past that was held by two hooks on the wall. Her gloved hand easily pulled it from its holding. Even after so long, it balanced perfectly in her grip. The katana slid from its sheath, showing off a shining silver metal to gleam in the dim lighting of the room.

The pirate leader grinned, a maliciously evil smile to grace her normally stern lips. “And if any of you see a ninja…” She pulled the sword fully from its covering , and with a swift flick of her wrist, the blade pierced the center of the wooden table, startling even her S-class comrades. “Kill them.”

“Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura called out to her former teacher.

With a slow tilt of his head, the jounin glanced over at the female member of the team, never once halting in his leisurely pace. The Haruno quickened her stroll to walk beside her team leader, glancing behind at the group of shinobi following. Naruto was far beyond his comrades, running ahead to get to their destination sooner, yet always having to slow down to wait for the others to keep up with his eagerness. Sai was strolling behind Kakashi and Sakura, seemingly uncaring and nonchalant about the entire thing, though the medic did notice a slight confusion in his eyes as he observed his orange-loving teammate bouncing around in the distance, beckoning them all to hurry up. Behind Team Kakashi were the rest of the ninja that were partaking in the escort-and-protect mission: the other teams of what was the Rookie Nine.

“What’s up, Sakura?” Kakashi asked as he peeked over at her out of the corner of his unshielded eye. He watched her stir out of her thoughts as she looked back to him from staring at their teammates. “Something troubling you?”

The girl bit her lip nervously as she lightly scratched her pink head. “I was just thinking… We’re going up against an entire crew of pirates. Are we going to be enough to stop them if they attack us?”

The masked man shoved his hands in his pockets as he continued to walk. “You’re doubting yourself and your teammates before we even get there? That’s not very encouraging.”

Emerald eyes widened in a panic as Sakura suddenly started frantically waving her hands in disagreement. “No no, it’s not that. It’s just…” After a moment of calming her nerves and chewing on her bottom lip again, she continued with, “This Suiheisen… They’ve never been caught before so… How are we supposed to do that?”

“Our mission isn’t to capture them,” a lazy voice drawled from behind. Kakashi and Sakura turned to see Shikamaru walking idly up to stride beside them. “We’re supposed to protect the Wave Country’s daimyo, and that’s it.”

“There will still be pirates to deal with,” Sakura countered. “We’re going to have to engage them in battle, that’s pretty inevitable.”

Shikamaru huffed at this before he sighed and slumped his head back in an attempt to look at the clouds through the dense forestation. “Yeah… that’ll be a drag.”

“You mean awesome!” Kiba barked as he dashed up to run ahead of them. Seated atop his large mangy hound, the wolf-like boy turned back to look at the shinobi in their serious conversation. “Taking on a whole pack of pirates, this mission is gonna be sick!”

Sakura’s lips pulled into a frown as she watched the overly exuberant Inuzuka. His excitement was comparable to her whiskered teammate at most times. “Kiba, this isn’t a game. Take this mission seriously.”

“Bah, you’re such a stick in the mud, Sakura,” the tattooed boy laughed loudly as Akamaru galloped a little further away. “Fighting some worthy opponents, this is the kind of stuff I’ve been waiting for! They’re not gonna stand a chance against us.”

Kakashi shook his head at this. “You shouldn’t be so enthusiastic, Kiba. You don’t know what you’re going up against. These pirates are infamous for-”

“OI! SLOWPOKES!” Naruto’s obnoxious voice interrupted from in the distance. His arms were waving frantically back and forth over his head to gain the attention of his comrades. “Hurry up! We need to get this daimyo so we can get Inari back! Let’s go!”

Shikamaru sighed as he watched the brightly-colored figure ahead of them. “Pirates… Hostages… Daimyos…” he uttered as he and the rest of the large group picked up the pace to carry on with their assignment and reach their destination, “this mission is too troublesome.”

**********************************************************

A light knock on his door made Juro look up from the paperwork on his desk. With an absentminded “Enter,” he watched as his assistant strolled into his office, a slightly nervous expression etched into her delicate features. “What is it, Miu?”

“The Leaf shinobi have arrived, milord,” she murmured as she looked up at him through her downward-tilted face. Her green eyes were hooded by her bangs, and even though her posture was formal, her head was pointed to the ground as she watched him.

The daimyo nodded and stood from his seat, brushing out his elegant robes so that he was presentable for his guests. He could feel his katana tucked snugly against his side beneath his flowing silk robes; he wanted to be sure the fact he had a weapon went unnoticed.

As he strode toward the door, he noticed that Miu was still standing to the side looking downward, her hands fidgeting anxiously in front of her. Juro frowned at this as he turned to the young girl. “What’s wrong, Miu? You look like you still have something to say.”

The fair-skinned woman whimpered slightly at this. “It’s just… I wonder if asking Konohagakure for assistance was the best choice…”

Juro cocked an eyebrow at this. “Do you question my judgment, Miu?”

The poor girl instantly went into a panic at this, waving her once uneasy hands in front of her frantically. “No no, of course not, milord!” At her leader’s expectant gaze, she calmed herself, her voice returning to its quiet tone. “It’s just that… I don’t think the Hokage sent enough teams to protect you against the Suiheisen.”

This only made Juro frown again. However, not wanting to send his young assistant into another nervous frenzy, he gave her a reassuring smile. “Even if there are not enough shinobi to accompany me, do not underestimate my own ability.” He clamped a wrinkled yet strong hand on her shoulder and winked at her. “This geezer ain’t that old yet.”

Miu blinked at first at his comforting behavior before she gave him a small smile in return. “As you say, Lord Juro.” With a bit more reassurance now, the assistant left the room and led her employer down the hall. The daimyo followed her until she stopped in front of a large sliding screen door. The beige transparent screen was intricately designed with the shapes of waves washing up on the shore and the vast ocean melding with the horizon. Juro nodded to the female, sending her away, before he pulled back the screen himself and stepped into the throne room.

On the left side of the room rested the daimyo’s seat, a simple wooden yet overly cushioned throne elevated by a large mahogany platform that stretched from wall to wall. Laid out before the wood stage were several tatami mats, each providing a seat for one of the Leaf shinobi Juro had hired. Each ninja immediately bowed forward in respect, touching their chins to the ground. As the daimyo proceeded up the steps to his throne, he kept his eyes trained on the squads that had come to Wave Country. He was starting to realize why Miu might have worried so much. Three teams of four, only three of those twelve being adults; hopefully those older ninja were jounin. But the remaining makeup of the teams were all teenagers. Juro wasn’t exactly sure how much faith he was willing to put into a bunch of kids.

The Blue Tiger of the Mist must be this same age though, he thought in an attempt to reassure himself. But then again… she was a prodigy in some ways…

Swallowing his disdain at the selected shinobi, the man seated himself in his chair and looked out to his audience. He set aside some hope that the Hokage had picked at least some formidable ninja for him on this mission.

“Welcome to the Land of Waves, Leaf shinobi,” he said politely, sweeping a calloused hand in a formal and friendly gesture.

“We’re honored to have the opportunity to assist you, Lord Daimyo,” Kurenai said with a bow.

Juro nodded. “As I’m sure you all know, I have hired you to escort me into our main port village while I convene with the Blue Tiger of the Mist of the Suiheisen.”

“We were also told our job was to protect you should it be evident that the pirates wish to harm you,” Asuma commented.

At this, the lord frowned, rubbing his stubbly chin as he slowly shook his head. “You may strike the Suiheisen if that is what it comes to. But you all are not to touch the captain.”

The latter statement seemed to shock the ninja, as most of them gawked and uttered words of surprise, questioning his reasoning and wondering about his logic. A few of them loudly voiced their astonishment by yelling at him, asking what it was exactly that he was thinking.

With a sigh, Juro held up his hand, quietly demanding silence, and instantly, the ninja fell hushed out of respect. “I am to meet with the Blue Tiger, but I wish to be alone when I do so. And I want any attempt of an attack on the captain to be by my own doing.”

“Lord Juro, as your hired escort team, we cannot allow for you to be alone with such a dangerous criminal,” Kakashi said with a shake of his head.

The daimyo stood from his throne, his back braced and shoulders strongly set as he stared down at the shinobi from his higher position on the platform. “I hired you shinobi, and therefore, you are to follow my orders. I appreciate your dedication to helping, however, I am demanding that you all stay away from the Blue Tiger.”

The Leaf ninja glanced about uncertainly amongst one another, trying to decipher the situation and whether this was a good idea. The jounin shared pointed looks between each other, having a silent conversation with only eye contact. After a few quiet moments of the squad captains attempting to arrive at a decision, they turned back to their client.

“Alright, Lord Juro,” Asuma said, “we’ll do as you say. We won’t touch the Suiheisen’s captain.”

“Are you sure you won’t at least have us with you when you meet with the Blue Tiger of the Mist?” Kurenai asked with a bit of concern.

The old man answered almost immediately with, “Yes, I want this meeting to be just between the captain and me.”

Even after his decision had been made final, Juro noticed that some of the ninja still looked a bit weary at his words. As foolish as it may be on his part to take on an S-class criminal on his own, he would be damned if he let these strangers, no matter how much faith he was putting in them to protect him against the Suiheisen, near his old acquaintance without him having his piece with her first.

“Well then,” the masked jounin began lazily as he stood up, “shall we begin our departure? I’m sure the Blue Tiger of the Mist is already waiting on our arrival.”

**********************************************************

“I’m not sure the daimyo is as smart as he’s made out to be,” Naruto complained loudly as he threw his hands behind his head. “I mean seriously, what’s he thinking, wanting to talk to this pirate captain alone?”

His short-tempered teammate knocked him in the head with a gloved fist, glowering at him. “Hush up, idiot! He can probably hear you!” Sakura hissed at him as she pointed toward the horse-drawn carriage in front of them.

Rubbing his golden head, the boy pouted as he stared at his long-time crush. “You didn’t need to hit me so hard, Sakura. I’m just wondering why he’d hire us if he doesn’t want us to attack the captain.”

Her annoyed expression slowly loosened into a small frown as she stared at the back of the wagon. “It is a little strange I suppose…”

“We should not question the person who hires us,” Sai said from the other side of Naruto. “It’s his decision, and we must follow his demands as he gives them.”

“Feh, he’s just some old geezer,” the orange-loving boy scoffed. “Don’t know why he’d want to risk being around a pirate without help.”

“Oi,” a voice barked from ahead of them, and Team Kakashi looked up to see Kiba staring back at them as he walked beside his own squad. Team Kurenai was traveling along the left side of the carriage while Team Asuma took the right, leaving the old Team 7 to bring up the rear. “I don’t know why you’re complaining so much, Naruto. It’s not like having you in there during the meeting would be much of a benefit to the daimyo.”

Naruto’s face contorted into a rage-filled expression as he wielded his fist at the dog ninja threateningly. “You better shut your yap, Kiba! I could totally take on any of those pirates, including this flashy Blue Tiger person!”

“Heh, that’ll be the day,” the Inuzuka chuckled as he turned around to face forward again.

With a loud, irritated grumble, Ino shook her head in exasperation. “You all need to be quiet,” she whined as she turned to glare at Naruto and send a fierce look at Kiba through the stagecoach. “Your bickering is so annoying.”

“You’re one to talk…” Shikamaru murmured quietly, earning a sympathetic glance from Chouji yet an annoyed look from his female teammate.

With a scratch to the back of his silvery head, Kakashi eyed the loud conversation going on between the younger ninja. “You realize you all aren’t being very professional, right?” This earned smiles from his fellow jounin as they chuckled at the antics of their students. Even after years of training, they still bickered as they did when they were rookies.

“Thankfully, we’re almost at the rendezvous town, so-”

Kurenai was cut off mid-sentence by a sudden flying arrow launched her way. Eyes widening, she jumped back and threw her arms out to block her team from moving further. Only too late did she notice the explosive tag attached to the tail of the arrow. With only a split second’s worth of time, she shrieked, “Duck!” just as the bomb went off. The explosion shook the entire area, rocking the ground and creating a huge crater in the dirt path where the shinobi had just been traveling. Smoke flooded the area in large clouds, filling everyone’s lungs with dusty air.

When the fog finally cleared, the Konoha shinobi were pulling themselves together, picking themselves up from the ground after being thrown from the impact of the explosion. The daimyo’s carriage had fallen onto its side, the horses whinnying in pain at being tossed and burned from the bomb and then weighed down by their harnesses, unable to stand up. With much effort, Juro threw the door of his wagon open, struggling to gather his bearings after having been just flung about inside his cart. The Wave Country’s daimyo coughed the filthy air from his lungs, and his eyes widened when he took in his surroundings. As the Leaf ninja finally became aware of their situation and fell into battle stances, their enemies were already surrounding them.

“I didn’t even sense them…” Kurenai mumbled as she glanced around, appalled at herself for not seeing the explosive tag coming her way sooner.

A young woman stepped forward, clutching her bow tightly while her free hand hovered close to the quiver at her back. “Well well… look at what we have here,” she smirked as she grabbed an arrow and loaded her elegant bow. “We’ve been awaiting your arrival, Lord Juro.” Her lavender eyes were trained on the daimyo, but she aimed her arrow at the closest shinobi to her, which happened to be Hinata, who was still too stunned to react quickly even as she reflexively fell into her Hyuuga posture.

“You’re members of the Suiheisen?” Naruto inquired viciously, eyeing up the group of eight that had now formed an entrapping circle around the shinobi.

“Got that right,” a tall lean man replied as he held is katana up at the orange ninja. “And we have more of us on the way, so you’ll be wanting to take the easy way out now and just surrender.”

“We’re under orders to dispose of any ninja,” a younger girl said, gripping her tanto blade. Flipping her brown hair over her shoulder, she pointed toward Juro, who was now fully pulling himself out of the wreckage of the carriage. “We only need the old man.”

“Well that’s just not going to happen!” the whiskered boy shouted as he drew a kunai.

The pirates seemed instantly enthused at his words. “Always nice to have some fun,” the katana-wielding man grinned excitedly.

“Hold it,” the Wave Country’s leader yelled out over the crowd of ninja and pirates. His deep voice attracted the attention of each fighter, all eyes suddenly training on him. “If your captain wishes to meet with me, then you will not touch my shinobi. We are to all be allowed into town and onto your ship together.”

“Sorry, your highness,” the archer sneered as she gripped her weapon, “but that’s just not going to happen. Any ninja in our way need to be dealt with.”

Each member of the Suiheisen readied themselves, crouching into battle-ready stances and preparing to lunge at their prey. Just as the pirates appeared ready to attack and the ninja ready to counter, the metal shink of a blade being swiftly drawn from the center of the battle ring caught everyone’s attention. Instantly, everyone turned to see Juro holding his sword in a tight grip, the point positioned at his stomach.

“The Blue Tiger of the Mist wants to meet with me,” the daimyo huffed out as he clutched his katana at his gut. “Well, if your captain insists on seeing me alive, then the shinobi come as well.”

“He won’t do it!” the blond pirate shouted, swinging his own sword in a challenge. “He’s bluffing!”

“Am I?” Juro taunted as he pointed his blade a little closer to his stomach. “The Blue Tiger of the Mist needs me alive if she wants to make a trading base in this land. If I die before giving consent, and the Suiheisen have stationed themselves here, it only puts more of a bounty on your heads. Your gang will have all the countries coming for you no matter where you make port.”

The woman holding the bow and arrow eyed the lord cautiously before she lowered her weapons, yelling, “Stand down,” to her crewmates.

The other pirates slowly and grudgingly loosened from the intensity of the upcoming fight, glaring harshly at the ninja and the feudal lord. The male pirate seemed especially angered at this command as he spat, “The captain will have our heads for allowing these Leaf brats onto the Thief.”

“Shut it, Hayashi,” the archer hissed. “We need the old man alive. And besides,” she jeered as her pale purple eyes swept over the shinobi, “we can take care of these ninja when the captain gives the order.”

“If we go with you, you are to not threaten my shinobi or me until the Blue Tiger and I have settled an arrangement,” Juro ordered.

“Well that’s up to our captain to decide,” the woman said as she placed her weapon to its holster on her back.

The daimyo considered this as he warily sheathed his katana in his robes. Turning to the jounin of his ninja escort team, he mumbled, “Do not engage in battle until I give the order or they strike first.” The higher-ranked shinobi seemed wary of this command but nodded nonetheless. Juro looked back to the pirates, and with a sigh, said, “Alright, let’s go then.”

**********************************************************

“Right this way, your highness,” Hayashi smirked as he motioned toward the captain’s cabin upon the pirate ship. Juro kept a straight face as he glanced back at his escort squad, who were standing together uncomfortably amongst the many pirates. The Suiheisen stared at the ninja hungrily, waiting for their chance to pounce and destroy them. Meanwhile, the shinobi huddled together uneasily, giving the pirates cautious yet threatening glares.

With a deep breath, the daimyo walked inside the dimly lit cabin. The door shut behind him, seemingly sealing him inside his own jail cell. Once his eyes adjusted to the candlelit room, he saw his company seated behind a wooden table facing him. With her arms crossed over her chest, her coal eyes staring him down, her face an emotionless mask of power, Juro couldn’t feel the aura of the kind girl he once knew. A sudden sensation of guilt and disappointment swept over him.

“Juro,” the Blue Tiger greeted as she gestured to the seat on the other side of the table.

The feudal lord sat himself opposite the pirate, looking her up and down, taking in her appearance. She looked almost as she did the last time he saw her, albeit older and more mature, but the feeling radiating off her was not what it had been. This hostile and unemotional atmosphere she gave off was not something he could say he had ever experienced nor ever expected to experience with this girl.

“Kasumi,” Juro said formally as he looked into her impassive gaze. “It’s been a while.”

“It has,” she replied simply. “Sensei.”

Juro stiffened as the girl before him referred to him as teacher, for the tone of her voice made his blood run cold. She said it like it was a joke, as if his years as her instructor meant nothing. Though as he reflected on the consequences, he realized those times of knowing her while they both still lived in the Mist Village probably did mean very little, if not then nothing, to her. Except only a reason to hate his guts.

He tried not to let his guilt completely show through as he looked into her emotionless eyes. “So this is what you have become, eh Kasumi?”

“Why so judgmental, Juro-sensei?” she asked innocently. “You always told me that I had immense potential to be something great if I worked hard enough.” She gave him a sickly sweet smile, and it looked unnatural on her coldhearted face. “I’d say I accomplished that.”

The feudal lord frowned at this, his wrinkles pulling down to make him look older than his years. “This is great? Kasumi, this is not the you that I remember.”

“A lot of things changed that night, Sensei,” the pirate spat, her fake sugariness instantly gone.

Despite his efforts to remain calm, Juro flinched at her harsh tone and accusing words. “I wish you knew how much I regret what happened…”

“Your sympathy means nothing to me,” Kasumi retorted, narrowing her eyes at him as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Juro slightly cringed before he muttered, “I can’t tell if you invited me here to discuss past events or trading bases.”

Kasumi mockingly smiled, “I care very little for what you have to say about our history, and I am mainly here for business, but I am not so hasty that I would ignore anything you have to say.”

An uneasy feeling settled in his gut, and the daimyo felt close to vomiting for the first time in years. “Why did you want to see me after so long, and why do it the way you did? Why attack a town to get my attention?”

“Because I wanted to ensure that you knew who you were dealing with,” she replied. “I am not the innocent girl I was, and I mean for that to show. I have very little intention of reminiscing with you about the old days, but I do want you to know that after what happened, I am not some naïve little child.”

The daimyo looked into her coal eyes, and as much as he wished that he was just not looking hard enough, he could see that she truly wasn’t the same person. At least not the way she presented herself to him now. The little optimism he had left was placed in a hope that there were some remnants of his old pupil.

After a few dreadfully silent moments, she took a deep breath before plastering another fake smile on her lips. “As much as I missed your company,” she began sarcastically before placing both hands on the table, preparing for business, “I do require your cooperation for progressing trade with my crew.”

“I refuse,” Juro said immediately.

The Blue Tiger of the Mist didn’t seem the least bit fazed at his quick reaction. “So you mean you don’t still have a soft spot for me, Sensei?” she inquired. Her tone could have been mistaken for almost cute and innocent if it weren’t for the little smirk on her face and the growing bloodlust in her eyes.

“What you are asking for is unlawful, and I will not assist you in your criminal acts,” the lord said. He would not allow the hurt and sadness he felt for having to make his former student his new enemy show through in his voice.

“Then you have just declared a war for yourself,” Kasumi responded. Juro’s eyes widened at her blunt response, and the pirate captain grinned evilly at his reaction. “If you choose not to cooperate with me, then I will have my pirates strike this country until it falls. And you and I both know it won’t be terribly difficult, seeing as there are no shinobi to defend this nation.”

Juro openly blanched at her words, and he sputtered a little as he attempted to reply with, “You… You underestimate Wave Country’s allies.”

The teenager scoffed at this, her head falling back with a chuckle as she eyed him amusedly. “You mean that pack of brats you have cornered by my men on the deck? Oh yes, I’m very scared. Shivering in my boots.”

The old man could understand why she was so entertained. Even he did not know how much faith he held in his ninja guard, as he had not really seen them in action yet. And they were clearly outnumbered by his former student’s well-stacked crew. But he couldn’t let her see any hint of doubt, not now that she was initiating a war.

“You have fallen so low. You were once a well-respected prodigy. What has happened to you?” Juro asked sadly.

Kasumi stared at him, hard. “The Mist Village turned its back on me. That’s what happened to me.”

The feudal lord looked down at his hands tightly clenched together on the table so he wouldn’t have to look into the piercing glare she gave him. If only you knew why. And if only I wasn’t such a guilty coward so that I could tell you.

After a moment of deep silence, the criminal questioned, “So you still refuse my proposition of having a trade center here?”

The daimyo’s face crinkled with disgust, at both the situation and the girl he thought he knew. “Take your group of seadogs and get out of my country,” he said flatly.

Kasumi closed her eyes as she crossed her arms again, throwing her feet up on the table as she reclined back. The smirk on her face showed her amusement. “Have you forgotten that I hold Tazuna the bridge builder and his family?”

Juro scowled at this. He said nothing.

“Rethink your decision, Sensei,” the Blue Tiger ordered sweetly. “I don’t intend on releasing my hostages to you alive unless I get what I want. There will be blood if you refuse me, and it won’t be mine, I can guarantee you that.”

Conflicted, Juro could do nothing more but frown and stare back down at his hands. He hated himself for the fact that he could not act as the brave dignified feudal lord he was but instead a confused guilty old man.

Kasumi watched him a while longer as he contemplated before she said, “I’ll give you three days time to make your final decision. If you reject my offer, I will attack then and there.”

“Why delay this war you want so badly, huh?” the daimyo asked repulsively. The thought that he would most likely have to fight his criminal of a former student made him nearly sick to his stomach.

“My hands may be red with the blood of many,” she said, her voice almost prideful as if this was some kind of accomplishment, and it only made Juro sicker, “but I am not without respect for such a hard decision you need to make. That is why I am letting you mull it over.”

“And what will you do for seventy-two hours? Continue bringing in more hostages?” the man asked sarcastically.

The girl only seemed even more entertained at this thought. “No no, Tazuna and his family make good enough prisoners for now. In addition, I’ll even promise to keep my crew from harming anyone until we come to an agreement. I am not so soulless that I would add all this unnecessary pressure on you, Sensei.”

Juro’s eyes narrowed. He knew she was taunting him. She wasn’t doing him a favor by not kidnapping anymore villagers or starting anymore fights. She was creating tension and, in fact, adding more pressure on him to do what she wanted.

Three days of contemplating his options. Too much time to second guess himself repeatedly on what he would need to do but not enough time to call in more reinforcements for an upcoming fight. Meanwhile, the Suiheisen would be arming themselves and pointing their weapons at his throat until he agreed to set up a trading base or declare battle.

He stood from his seat, looking down at the girl as she relaxed back in her chair, feet still leisurely crossed at the ankles on the table’s surface. “Ta ta, Juro-sensei. I’m sure you’ll make the right decision.”

The daimyo glanced down at her one last time before turning on his heel, leaving her and her dark cabin and heading out onto the deck. He clutched the katana that was concealed in his robes. It brought him a nostalgic comfort, reminding him of what Kasumi used to be. Juro was glad he didn’t have to bring it out to fight her, but a part of him wished he had revealed it to her just to see how she would react, see if there was any hint of reminiscence in her eyes.

He made his way back onto the front deck to see the Suiheisen still surrounding his shinobi escort team. He was thankful to find that there had not been any physical fights, though he did notice that a few of his ninja seemed about ready to pounce on the taunting pirates as they jeered at his squad.

“Come,” he bellowed, catching the attention of both shinobi and pirates. “We’re done here.”

The daimyo turned towards the ramp that led down onto the port, his guard immediately forming a protective circle around him as they exited the ship. The bandits sneered and mocked them all until they had left The Midnight Thief, and even then, a few persistent hostile pirates shouted out insults to them. Juro closed his eyes, the fatherly part of himself that he held for Kasumi feeling immense disappointment as he remembered that she led this group of scoundrels.

**********************************************************

“Old man!” the annoyingly pushy blonde kept shouting as he jumped around and around, trying to catch the daimyo’s attention. “What happened? Where are Inari and the others? What are we doing now?”

The masked jounin grabbed his student by the collar, forcibly pulling him back away from the feudal lord. He scratched the back of his silvery head and crinkled his visible eye as he sheepishly smiled. “Sorry about that, Lord Juro. He’s a little…”

“Irritating,” Ino shouted from behind. Naruto glared at both his teacher and the female while Kakashi sighed at the loudness of both blondes.

Juro shrugged as he fingered his chin, his mind obviously elsewhere. The Jinchuuriki frowned as the feudal lord completely ignored him. “Oi! I wanna know what happened when you met with the Blue Tiger!”

Kakashi pulled him back by the collar again and whapped him in the back of the head. “Go help set up camp,” he ordered, tugging his student toward the other teens who were throwing up the tents.

The genin grudgingly obliged, stomping over to his teammates to finish arranging the campsite. The elder ninja looked back at the lord, who was just leaning back against a tree and staring off into space as if he did not even notice any of the shinobi.

“My lord,” the Hatake began slowly, startling the daimyo from whatever it was he had been thinking of. “It is important you inform us of what happened with the Blue Tiger of the Mist though.”

Juro looked him straight into his uncovered eye before he pushed off the tree and walked past him toward the near finished camping grounds. “I’ll tell you all now I suppose.”

His voice was tight and near inaudible; Kakashi had to lean in slightly to hear every word before he followed the elder man to the center of the camp. As the forty-year-old approached the large group of shinobi, everyone stopped in their preparations to look up and bend their heads in respect.

Dark blue eyes swept over the huddle of ninja as he watched them, and a slight surprise to everyone, he tiredly sat down on the ground, dirtying up his blue and gray robes almost instantly. His eyes closed shut as he crossed his arms, his body slouching forward, showing his exhaustion. “S-sir, did you want a mat or something to rest on?” Kurenai said, shocked at how fatigued their client seemed so suddenly.

Juro merely shook his head. “There’s just… a lot to mull over in my head right now.”

Everyone furrowed their eyebrows at this but remained silent. Asuma stepped forward, hands leisurely stuck in his pockets as he asked, “What happened, Lord Juro?”

The daimyo’s tired body remained slumped over as he released a drawn out sigh. “I’ve been given three days to make a decision.”

A few whispers began going around amongst the shinobi team out of confusion as they eyed the worn out form of the proclaimed strong Wave Country daimyo. His voice came out weak and exhausted, his breathing sounding ragged and uneven. Sakura dashed forward immediately, asking if he was alright and letting her green chakra attempt to heal him before realizing that his weariness wasn’t anything she could help him with.

“What kind of decision are we talking here?” Kiba asked loudly. His squad leader sent him a disapproving glance for being disrespectful, but no one even really seemed to remember their manners as they stared down at the weakened-looking man.

This sudden tiredness made him feel much older than his forty-year-old self, and as he let out a strangled gasp, he glanced up to his guards surrounding him. He sighed in tired frustration at himself before pulling his body back up so that he was sitting with his back straight. “Kasu… I mean…” Kakashi’s eyes narrowed at the daimyo’s slipup but remained silent as he continued, “the Blue Tiger of the Mist wants to go to war with me if I refuse to allow a trading base for the Suiheisen to be established.”

“What about Inari and old man Tazuna and Tsunami?” Naruto jumped in, pushing through a few of his comrades to practically get in Juro’s face.

“They will be released if I agree to the captain’s terms.”

The orange-loving boy threw his arms to his sides angrily, thrusting his face forward until he was inches away from the wrinkled expression of the man who had hired him. “Then agree dammit!”

His team leader pulled him back, shoving him away from the lord until he stumbled right into his female teammate, who proceeded to bash him in the head for his rude behavior. Juro didn’t say anything to the impoliteness or the poor boy getting pulverized as he replied with, “It’s not that easy, kid. To allow a trading center to be set up for them, it would just be giving those criminals access to the country, in a nutshell.”

Naruto growled as he rubbed his now sore blond head. “Then we fight them.”

“Idiot,” Shikamaru uttered, tilting his head to the side as he lazily slumped his shoulders. “These guys have some S-class people in their crew, and no one has been able to defeat or capture them before. Just how are we supposed to fight them? It’s too troublesome.”

“We can’t just leave behind Inari and his family!” the whiskered teen yelled in frustration.

“No one said we would,” Kakashi commented, “but we do need a plan before fighting them head on. Shikamaru is right, they are not easy opponents.” Naruto gritted his teeth irritably but said nothing.

With a bit of effort, Juro pushed himself up off the ground and turned to head towards one of the tents. “This decision is my decision alone, and as my shinobi protection guard, you will merely do as I say and nothing else.” And with that, he pulled the opening aside and disappeared into his solitary tent. Many of the ninja gawked in surprise at his bluntness, and they stared in shock at his private shelter. It did not stir, and he did not return.

“Do you think that means we might have to fight those pirates?” Ino asked, a slight shiver going through her as she thought about it.

“More importantly,” Sakura began quietly, “do you think that means we might not rescue Inari and the others?”

A short silence fell upon them before the loudmouth Uzumaki erupted. “This old man thinks it’s okay to just leave them with those dirty pirates? That shouldn’t even be an option!” He made his way to the tent and looked about ready to barge right on in.

“Forget it, Naruto,” Shikamaru’s lethargic voice drawled out.

But Naruto didn’t stop until he felt a hand fall onto his shoulder, gripping him until he froze in place. He looked back to see Kakashi glancing down at him, a sad expression visible through his black mask. His squad captain shook his head at him once as he quietly said, “Our mission was to protect Juro. You are to respect whatever choice he may make.”

Slowly, the genin’s tense muscles loosened as he stepped back away from the tent, giving it death glares all the while until he turned around, storming past everyone. “If that old man chooses not to save them, I’ll do it myself,” he vowed. The others watched him as he stalked away to sulk or plot or whatever it was he intended on doing.

“W-what do you think Lord Juro will d-do?” Hinata stuttered out, breaking the silence and turning everyone’s attention away from the angry blonde.

“Who knows,” Kiba shrugged as he pouted his lip in thought, his fangs protruding over his bottom lip as he did so.

Chouji turned around to look down the path that Naruto had taken, but he was already out of sight. “Should someone go check up on him?” he asked as he pulled a bag of chips from his pouch, needing the snack to relax himself from all the stress.

“Hopefully he won’t do anything drastic,” Shino remarked, “but even he cannot be that rash.”

“Well,” Ino scoffed, planting her hands on her hips, “this is Naruto we’re talking about.”

As the chuunin continued to discuss whatever move they might have to make next, the jounin huddled together in their own mini group to talk about what needed to be done. “I’m going to talk to Juro,” Kakashi declared. “See if I can get any information on what he and the Blue Tiger conversed about.”

The other two nodded in agreement. “I think we should also station ourselves around the campsite and maybe even keep an eye out for the pirates,” Asuma added.

“Right,” Kurenai concurred. “I don’t trust them to wait patiently for three days until Juro and the captain come to a consensus.”

Scratching the back of his silvery head in thought, Kakashi finally nodded. “Alright, we’ll come up with a schedule for surveillance and lookout. Let’s get everyone back to work and stop with the gossiping.”

**********************************************************

Deep inside a dark tunnel, a man walked down a dimly lit hallway, the passageway paved with stone as they were carved from the underground wall. A few torches were set up on their hooks to hang on the cold stony walls, lighting only a few feet of the dark hall. Only the sound of the flames crackling and the person’s footsteps patting against the floor echoed off the hollow tunnel.

As he leisurely walked on, a large steel door came into view through the darkness of the passage. The man reached out and turned the handle, throwing the immense metal door open and stepping into the even darker room. This room was lit with a single torch on the far wall, casting a shadow on the pale face of the figure who sat in a large throne, facing the man as he walked in and bowed down before his master.

“Lord Orochimaru, I have some interesting news,” the young man said.

The third member of the legendary Sannin watched him before ordering his apprentice to rise. “Hmm, what is it, Kabuto?”

The ponytailed ninja straightened up, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he said, “It is about the Blue Tiger of the Mist.”

The snake man smiled at this, his long tongue nearly falling from his mouth out of evil glee. “Oh? What of our dear friend?”

Kabuto placed his hands on his hips as he relayed the news. “I received notice that the Suiheisen were seen in Wave Country.”

“Really?” Orochimaru’s serpentine tongue fell from his lips, coiling around eagerly.

“Yes, my Lord,” the medic ninja smiled at the excited reaction of his boss. “My source tells me that they attacked a village in the Land of Waves only a few days ago.”

“How very interesting…” Orochimaru purred to himself. His abnormally long pink tongue swished around as he tapped his chin in thought. “Kabuto, I want you to head there immediately. You might be able to find a lead if the Suiheisen have already left. I want you to track down those pirates and locate Kasumi Mayonaka. Once you do, alert me immediately.”

Kabuto tilted his head in amusement as he smirked. “You wish to be there for Kasumi’s capture?”

“No, I don’t want to just be there,” the serpent lord smiled excitedly, humming to himself as the very idea of finding her after all this time intrigued him more and more. “I want to be the one to finally take her and convince her to join my forces.”

“As you wish, my Lord,” Kabuto bowed his head in affirmation before turning to leave and prepare for his journey.

“Oh, and Kabuto,” Orochimaru called, finally sucking his tongue back into his mouth with a wet slurp to echo off the stone walls.

“Yes, my lord?” the apprentice asked, turning to face his master and bowing again out of respect.

“Take Sasuke with you. He needs a good mission to enhance his skills. And besides,” Orochimaru paused to slowly lick his lips that were painted with a sickeningly evil smile, “if you happen to find Kasumi, the two prodigies would make for a very entertaining battle.”

“As you command, my lord,” Kabuto said as he stood from his bowed position and turned to exit the room.

**********************************************************

The sun was finally setting beyond the horizon after such a lengthy and eventful day. Naruto had walked for a long while away from his comrades, following the path from which they had come before he finally decided to stop. He had made it to the top of a peak where there was a good amount of forestation, and from his spot, he was able to overlook the wooded area that eventually led back into the Land of Fire. On the other side down the hill was where his teammates were camping out and the village in which Inari and his family resided. From his resting point at the top of the hill, he could see the vacant town and the port in which the pirate ship was docked. It made him angry that even a few miles away from the village, he could look down and see the destruction the Suiheisen had brought upon the town. Many buildings were crumbled into mere pieces of wood, and the roads were dirty with blood and debris. Yet The Midnight Thief just sat there, nesting in the harbor like it owned this village.

Naruto growled in frustration, throwing his fists at his sides before plopping down onto the ground, sitting cross-legged and clutching his knees tightly. He huffed and pouted as he started at the dark blue vessel rocking carelessly in the marina. “Dumb pirates…” he mumbled angrily as he glared at the ship.

“You got a deal with pirates?” a curious voice suddenly asked out of nowhere.

The whiskered genin jumped up in surprise, spinning his head around as he turned for the source of the question. “Eh?” he uttered before finally turning to see another boy sitting in a tree a few feet from him. The guy was resting on a thick branch, his back leaning against the trunk of the tree. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and he flicked his spiky black bangs from his face so he could glance at Naruto from the corner of his green eyes. “Who are you?” Naruto asked suspiciously.

“A traveler,” the stranger shrugged.

“I meant your name,” Naruto pouted skeptically, crouching slightly into a fighting stance.

The boy simply brushed him off as he said, “Unimportant.”

He looked away from Naruto, who was beginning to fume a little from being snubbed so easily. The stranger’s emerald eyes fell on the horizon, staring at the orange sun as it gradually fell behind the ocean line. The sky was pink and orange from the lowering sun, and the normally bright blue sea was gaining a dark golden tint as the yellow orb began to disappear.

“Instead of ogling at me,” the unknown boy sighed, still feeling Naruto’s blue-eyed death glare on him, “you should be watching the sunset. This is a fantastic view.”

The ninja blinked in surprise before turning to see the sun near completely gone. “Yeah… I guess it is kinda pretty.”

Gazing out at the gold sun through his jet-black locks in his face, a small smile formed across the boy’s lips. “Sunsets like these are hard to come by, you know.”

“Huh?” Naruto looked up to the guy.

As the stranger wasn’t staring back, the shinobi was able to get a better look at his features, and he noticed that the boy only seemed to be a few years older than himself. He hid his mouth behind the crimson scarf wrapped around his neck, and a bandana of the same color covered his forehead, similar to Naruto’s ninja headband. There were no weapons on him, from what Naruto could see, so he concluded that the guy probably wasn’t much of a threat, if any.

Pouting in wonder, the genin remarked, “Eh, aren’t all sunsets the same anyway?”

The elder male tilted his chin forward before shaking his head. “When you travel the world like I have, you’ll find similarities. But each time the sun sets, it looks a little bit different. You also appreciate it with a nice view like this.”

“What do you mean different?” Naruto asked, scratching the back of his bright yellow head in confusion.

The stranger let his legs hang on either side of the branch, resting his hands on the bark as he leaned forward. He watched the orange sun eagerly, a small peaceful smile on his face. “Sometimes the sky is painted with different colors, sometimes the setting is different, and sometimes there are different angles to watch the sunset. And even if you watched the sun disappear everyday from the same spot, it still wouldn’t look the same.” The orange-clad shinobi looked about ready to protest at this, but the scarf-donning boy cut him off with a chuckle. “Just take my word for it, kid.”

“Kid?” Naruto yelled in outrage. “Hey, you’ve gotta be only a few years older than me, and-”

“Shh,” the boy hushed, putting a finger to his lips before pointing it at the sky, “watch. It’s almost over.”

The ninja stammered before turning back to the lavender and pink blanket of sky. There was little light left of the sun, the heavens beginning to darken into a deep blue. Naruto did as the strange boy said to him, watching until the sun finally disappeared fully beyond the horizon line. The sky fell dark, and the stars slowly began to pop out through the approaching night. Orange and pink bled into blue and purple, casting shadows over the land until everything looked black.

Crossing his arms over his chest and turning back to the strange boy, who was still staring at the spot where the sun had descended beyond the vast ocean, Naruto commented, “You sure do have an unhealthy obsession for sunsets if you watch ‘em that intently and notice differences too.”

The bandana-wearing guy finally tore his gaze from the dark sky and sea to look at his company. “It’s a hobby, not an obsession.”

“Pfft, right,” the ninja scoffed.

The boy leaned back on the tree trunk again, relaxing against the rough bark. His black clothing helped him to blend in with the darkening night, and if it weren’t for his piercing emerald eyes and red scarf and bandana, he might have really camouflaged himself well. “I used to watch every sunset, and sometimes sunrise, with a friend of mine. We don’t really get to do it together anymore, though. But I’ve been watching every one still.”

The Uzumaki went quiet then, frowning at the tone of the other’s voice laced with nostalgia and sadness and reminiscence, and Naruto couldn’t help but feel bad for him. “What happened?”

Shrugging, the stranger replied with, “Her priorities changed over time… as did her view on things that were important to her.”

Blond eyebrows raised in surprise before quirking suggestively. “Ohhh, a lady friend, eh?”

For the first time since meeting one another, the traveler seemed genuinely annoyed with the shinobi and his implication. “You don’t know anything.” Naruto kept his little smirk on his face as the boy swung his legs around and jumped from his perch in the tree, landing swiftly on the ground in a cat-like crouch before standing straight. “Well, with that, I think I’ll be on my way.”

The genin nodded indifferently before his eyes widened. “Wait!” he shouted as the stranger turned around to leave. “I still don’t know your name.” The guy turned his head around to glance at the Jinchuuriki as he continued with, “I’m Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki.”

Green orbs looked up at the Konohagakure metal plate on the ninja’s head, and the scrutinizing stare that he gave it made Naruto nervous as he subconsciously reached a hand up to touch it protectively. “Name’s Masaru. And don’t worry, Naruto. We’ll be seeing each other again.” The ninja gawked at this, but before he had a chance to question Masaru’s words, the traveler had disappeared into the woods.

**********************************************************

“Lord Juro?” Kakashi asked quietly as he entered the tent. The old man was seated on a cushion in his makeshift shelter, a cup of tea he had just brewed for himself in his hand and the kettle beside him. As he took a sip of his drink, he waved the jounin inside graciously. The Hatake nodded politely before sitting opposite of his client, declining an offer of tea as he sat cross-legged in front of the elderly male.

“So what can I do for you, Kakashi?” the daimyo inquired.

Placing his hands on his knees, the ninja leaned forward curiously, looking into the lord’s eyes as he spoke. “I was wanting to know what exactly happened between you and the Blue Tiger of the Mist.”

Juro frowned. “I told you. I was given a choice with a time span of three days to decide.”

“Not that,” Kakashi shook his head. “I want to know what happened between the captain and you. I want to know how you already know the leader of the Suiheisen.”

The feudal lord of the Land of Waves widened his eyes in shock, nearly stammering and stuttering in surprise before he composed himself. “What makes you think I know the Blue Tiger of the Mist?”

The shinobi held his hand up, counting off on his fingers as he began to share his mental list. “You insisted on speaking to the captain by yourself. At first, I thought it was just a business kind of thing, but you were so persistent on it that I grew a bit suspicious. Then you seemed immensely troubled after your conference. Nearly traumatized like you had seen a ghost from your past. Third, you had a bit of a slipup and sounded like you were going to say a name. ‘Kasu’, if I’m correct.”

Juro eyed the ninja intently before bowing his head and casting his gaze down at his cup of tea. He placed it to the side and looked up at Kakashi through wrinkled hooded eyes. “I did know her. Her name is Kasumi Mayonaka. She was my student when I was a shinobi for Kirigakure.”

Kakashi’s unveiled eyebrow quirked at the mention of the Suiheisen captain being a female and a previous apprentice; how old did that make her then? A teenager perhaps? “So how did she get to where she is now?”

Finally tilting his head up to meet the jounin’s curious stare, Juro said, in a weak and strained voice, “She was accused of killing her family and team six years ago.”

**********************************************************

Kabuto had finished preparing himself for his upcoming mission, for he would be leaving at dawn. Since all his supplies and materials were packed, all he needed to do was get his traveling companion to prepare for the assignment as well. Standing in front of the Uchiha’s room, Kabuto knocked on a wooden door that sat at the end of a barely lit hallway. When no one answered, he huffed in annoyance before walking in anyway. Two red eyes opened to stare at him just as he entered, their crimson color giving off a deathly feel in the pitch black room.

“I didn’t give you permission to enter my room,” a cold voice said sternly. “What do you want?”

The ponytailed man chuckled. “Where are your manners, Sasuke?” He received no reply, so he decided to explain his reason for visiting. “Lord Orochimaru is sending me on a mission. And he wishes for you to participate as well.”

“I have training,” the raven-haired boy replied, immediately declining.

“It’s not really optional when the Lord issues you a mission,” Kabuto snickered as if the entire situation was really that amusing. The silver-haired man pushed his glasses up his nose roughly as he turned to leave. “We leave tomorrow morning. Prepare your things.”

Just before Kabuto could leave the room, Sasuke called out to him. “What is this mission?”

Glancing back at the younger missing-nin, the medic replied, “We are to retrieve the Blue Tiger of the Mist.”

“Who is that?” Sasuke asked curiously.

Orochimaru’s first apprentice turned away so that he was facing the doorway, and he tilted his chin down in thought to come up with a good answer before he said, “Someone who is much like you, and yet, unlike you in many ways.” Kabuto then left the room to let Sasuke prepare for the mission.