Chapter 1: Version 2

"Shit! I'm glad that those two monsters are on our side," a Suna genin said as he looked at the battlefield in front of him.

The genin's superior was supposed to reprimand him but even he could not deny what the other ninja had just said. All of the Suna shinobi at the scene agreed with his thought.

The scene in front of them was a large portion of the desert dyed red in blood. Countless corpses of Iwa shinobi were on the ground in front of them. There were at least a thousand shinobi from Iwa that had tried to infiltrate the wind nation. The only people standing among the corpses were two individuals.

This division of three hundred Suna Shinobi was dispatched to repel the force or at least hold them off until reinforcements had arrived but to their surprise, the reinforcements arrived before the battle had even started.

They were expecting hundreds more shinobi but instead it was two teenagers with red hair that appeared. The Suna shinobi did not look down on either because both had made names for themselves during the war.

The first was called Sasori. The young man had just turned 17 but was already given the moniker, Sasori of the Red Sand. He had produced scenes like this several times before with his puppetry and poison skills. Many in Suna were already talking about he had secured the next generation for them even if the 3rd Kazekage were to die.

The other person was called Kotaro. This young man was even younger and was going to turn 13 this year. He had earned the title, Fuma Kotaro or Demon Wind Kotaro. Even though he was only 12 his skills with kenjutsu and his wind release techniques made him one of the most dangerous jonin in Suna.

By themselves, each of them was a top-notch jonin. But when they worked together, it was said that even Kage had to be on their toes.

"Kotaro. Do you ever wonder just how strong the Kazekage is? He is supposed to be the strongest Kazekage so far, after all," Sasori said while standing in the middle of the bodies.

He watched as Kotaro went from body to body, stabbing them through their hearts to confirm their deaths.

"Hmm," was all that Kotaro gave in reply

While he was indeed curious, Kotaro did not think about it too much. He knew that he could absolutely beat the Third Kazekage in another 2 years. Even with his current strength, he was confident he could at least make the legendary man sweat during their fight.

Seeing his lack of interest, Sasori dropped the topic and walked away. But as he turned his head from Kotaro, murderous intent flashed across his eyes.

Kotaro felt a slight amount of killing intent but thought nothing of it. Whatever Sasori was planning had nothing to do with him unless he personally saw it or was ordered to intervene. He spent another hour confirming all the Iwa ninja were dead.

After confirming that all of his kills were done, Kotaro began his journey through the desert to return to Suna from the edge of the desert. A task that would take most over a day, Kotaro was able to complete it within a few hours.

He soon saw the giant wall of rock that surrounded and protected the village. The wall not only defended them against other villages but also the natural environment and storms that occurred within the desert.

After climbing over the walls, the first place that Kotaro went was the Kazekage residence. Knowing Sasori, the man had either already returned to the village and hidden away in his lab or was still on his way to the village.

Either way, it was Kotaro's job to report that their mission was completed.

So Kotaro jumped from roof to roof until he landed on top of the roof of the Kage building. He then made his way down to the office.

When he entered, he saw the 3rd Kazekage sitting in his chair while writing on several documents. All Kotaro could see was his black hair as the man's entire focus was on the papers before him. This was the man known as the 'Strongest Kazekage'.

Next to him were the Honoured Siblings, Ebizo and Chiyo who were also handling paperwork. Both of them were important members of the Suna Council while Chiyo was also Kotaro's teacher in regard to medical ninjutsu and poison.

"So the task is complete?" Sandaime asked without turning his attention away from the paperwork

Kotaro kneeled like his teacher always warned him to do when he met a member of the village with a higher position.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage. All the enemies were eliminated while we sustained zero casualties. Is there anything else that you need?"

"No. You are dismissed, Kotaro," Sandaime continued to work even as he dismissed him.

Kotaro nodded before he stood up and prepared to leave the room. Not once, did the pair exchange glances with one another.

Seeing that both of them were acting like this, the siblings shook their heads before continuing their own work. The two were so similar that it was hard to tell that they were not related to one another.

"Wait," Sandaime commanded

Kotaro's hand was already on the door. He didn't pull it open but he also did not turn around to face the Third.

"Come back here tomorrow at noon. I will have another mission for you."

Kotaro made a grunt of affirmation before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. He then started making his way to the basement of the building next door where he lived.

Kotaro was not like many Suna villagers that lived in clay huts within the village. Although he had a home, he usually slept in his underground training room. This way, in case he ever got the inspiration for a new jutsu or technique, he could try it out immediately.

Inside the basement, the walls, floor, and roof were littered with scars. Some were burns while others looked like they had been smashed against but most were cuts. Kotaro's skill with the blade could be attributed to his natural talent but also due to his diligence.

Kotaro walked over to the small bed on the side of the room before instantly falling asleep. Due to being on the battlefield so often and experiencing sleep deprivation, he had developed the habit of sleeping as much as he could when he was not training or on missions.

Kotaro slept from 7 pm to 11 am the next day. For 16 hours straight, he was able to sleep without an issue.

The moment Kotaro woke up, he picked up his odachi before starting his morning workout. After performing over a thousand cuts, slashes, and stabs, Kotaro proceeded to wash his body off quickly before getting dressed in his standard attire, a black sleeveless shirt, pants, and the standard Suna flak jacket. After putting his headband on, the young man left his home to reach the Kazekage's office.

Without knocking, Kotaro just walked into the room. Since he had arrived on time, he didn't think there was a reason to delay by simply knocking.

When he walked inside, the Third Kazekage was sitting behind his desk as he was yesterday but was actually looking up. Instead of Chiyo and Ebizo being there, there were actually 3 other individuals in the room.

Besides Sasori, there was also a young woman with green and orange hair that appeared to be around 20 years old and an older man with auburn hair that looked to be in his late 20s. Kotaro was familiar with these two as well since they would occasionally go on missions together.

The young woman was Pakura. She was given the moniker 'Pakura of the Scorch Release' due to her powerful Kekkei Genkai which allowed her to evaporate all the liquid in her opponents' bodies.

The man was Rasa. He was the only living disciple of the 3rd Kazekage and had inherited the former's Magnet Release. But instead of controlling iron sand like his teacher, Rasa created and controlled gold. This allowed him to stimulate the economy of the village while also battling with a unique style.

These 4 were collectively called the Four Horsemen (Or some other name you guys wanna create for them) and besides the Kazekage, they were the strongest ninja in all of Suna. For all 4 of them to be called together, something major had to be occurring.

"Now that you are all here, I shall give you your mission. There have been rumors that Roran was planning to rebel. At first, I ignored but then more and more rumors started cropping up.

I sent several different teams to investigate and they all came back with the same evidence. The people of Roran are harboring Iwa Shinobi and planning to ally with them to take over Suna.

Before they are able to do so, I want the 4 of you to wipe out their kingdom. Rasa will be the squad leader in command for this mission. Leave for Roran now."

"Understood, Teacher," Rasa replied

The others gave grunts or single words of affirmation before they walked out of the room. Knowing what they were going to do, the group went towards the village entrance in order to head to Roran and return as quickly as possible.