New Enemy: Akatsuki! - 1

It had looked like rain all morning.

The sky was overcast and miserable, loomed over a crowd of shinobi clustered together below the Hokage monument. Genin, chunin and jounin stood collectively, all grieving over the passing of the Sandaime.

The funeral could have been a more pleasant affair had they not lost their leader during the invasion. Many had expected someone his age to die peacefully in his sleep, but it appeared that all of the past Hokages, Hiruzen included, could not avoid the destiny that all the leaders of Konoha shared: dying for their village.

Naruto stood between Haku and Gaara and watched stone-faced as his peers placed white flowers on the shrine dedicated to their late leader. Something inside him had changed. His understanding of what he believed the Hokage to be had deepened.

'I'm looking at me, I know it. This is what I want...' The more he thought about it, the less far away the whole idea seemed, 'When I become Hokage I'm going to die one day too. Everyone dies…but this is how it is. When I die it'll be just like this…a hero's farewell.'

He could sense that Gaara and Haku had realized it too, finally able to accept the fact that what Naruto wanted was to be a noble leader who would ultimately die in battle. Though they feared the notion, there was always the underlying fact that once that day came they would be there with him, fighting by his side.

That softened the entire notion considerably.

The ceremony had proceeded even while thunder rolled threateningly overhead. Hiruzen's remaining family stood at the front of the crowd beside the genin, many crying openly without signs of stopping.

A fierce wind knocked a few petals from the flowers that had been left in front of the Sandaime's memorial, scattering them across the platform. After a long eulogy and a silent prayer for a safe journey to the afterlife, the attending ninja began to file away from the lookout. All expressions were dark.

The genin left the ceremony together quietly, some reorganizing back into their squads just to spend the rest of the day with each other in hopes of lightening the mood.

Lee looked up as a crack of lightning illuminated the sky. He frowned disapprovingly up at the coming storm and then looked to Tenten, "Shall I walk you home?"

She, like all the others, was dressed in black. It was the same dress she had worn at her parents' funeral, as a matter of fact. Tenten noted the umbrella in Lee's hand and silently commended him for thinking ahead, "I'd appreciate it, Lee."

She brushed her hand against Neji's arm to snap him out of his disconsolate trance. He glanced over to her, looking defeated. Tenten gave him a hopeful smile, "Listen, Neji, I'll see you tomorrow…we have a lot of training to catch up on."

He nodded, "I look forward to it."

Lee raised a furry eyebrow at Neji's response as the Hyuga prodigy joined up with the rest of his kin on their return trip to the compound. He fell in step beside Hinata and Tenten's smile widened approvingly.

"I believe your positive attitude is beginning to rub off on him, if it is not too bold to say." Lee observed, opening the umbrella which was a deep cobalt blue. Tenten had half expected it to be green but she shooed the thought away.

"I hope so," Tenten answered, joining him beneath the shelter of the umbrella as rain drops began to plop down to the concrete, "He's not so bad you know. His feelings get hurt too, he just doesn't show it." Her friend nodded in understanding, seeing her point.

The walk to her apartment building was relatively short since it was nearby. She was outwardly glad that Lee was generous enough to keep her out of the pouring rain. He left her on the front steps of the complex beneath an overhang and she couldn't help but hug him.

He laughed at her expression of gratitude and told her to be prepared for a long day of training tomorrow. Lee scurried off down the sidewalk as the rain became increasingly worse.

Tenten had nearly entered the building before a crash in a nearby alleyway attracted her attention. Curiosity getting the better of her, she darted around the corner to check, finding a very drunk, very depressed Genma loitering around.

She had actually met him once before at a briefing with Gai-sensei. He hadn't been the most outgoing person she had met, but Tenten was sympathetic enough to offer to bring him home.

Before setting out, she removed the senbon from his mouth for fear of him choking on it. He had protested in mumbles and broken phrases, but allowed the strange kunoichi to get him out of the rain.

*

Iruka had volunteered to clean up after the ceremony was over and was not surprised to find Naruto and his teammates had not budged since the service had ended, 'I should have expected as much. They owe a great deal to the Third…I doubt it will be easy for them to say goodbye.'

He walked over to the three boys, blinking in wonder to see rain avoiding them as it poured down, 'Haku's Kekkei Genkai, I forgot…'

Still, he wanted to get them out of the storm.

"Come on you three, the funeral's over. It'd be disrespectful to overstay your welcome," Iruka found his voice had softened at the sight of Naruto's crestfallen face, "I mean…let Hokage-sama's spirit join the afterlife now. Let go. It's about time you all went home."

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto's voice was low, but somewhat optimistic, "I don't think his spirit's ever really gonna leave, you know?" He looked up at his former teacher, surprising him with eyes full of wisdom, "He's here to stay. He was an important part of this village."

Iruka agreed, "Yes, that's right, Naruto…I…" He couldn't find anything else to say. He could tell then, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this particular cell of genin was destined for great things.

"It was nice seeing you again, Iruka-sensei." Haku bade him farewell and followed after Naruto and Gaara who had nodded respectfully to their chunin instructor.

Iruka watched them fondly as they left, smiling even as the heaven's rained down.

*

Four Days Later

Fog descended on the outlying forest of Konoha. A guard near the entrance of a small gate to the village noted two dark figures trekking through the morning mist, only the soft singing of bells a testament to their presence.

The two cloaked men paused momentarily at the gate as the guard stopped them and politely asked for identification. He fell unconscious a second later and collapsed to the ground.

The pair of strangers entered the village unchecked, ready to begin their search.

*

"An announcement?" Naruto inquired his dark haired friend as he and Haku walked to their training grounds, "What has Ero-sensei got to tell us now that's so important?"

"I'm not sure," Haku admitted, "Gaara-kun should already be there, I think."

Due to the fierce rainstorm days earlier, their training area was still completely doused with mud and unfit for training. They still used it for team meetings, however.

As Haku had predicted, Gaara was already there waiting for them, as was Jiraiya. The grave look on their mentor's face notified them that there were serious matters that needed to be addressed.

"Alright squirts, I'll get straight to the point," Jiraiya took a drag on his pipe, looking clearly peeved, "Since yours truly here would rather not become the next Hokage, I've been appointed to find an old friend of mine who will take up the position as the Fifth."

The three of them were stunned into silence.

Had Jiraiya been notifying them that he had in fact been appointed the new Hokage, they probably would have all gone into anaphylactic shock…since combining the words 'Jiraiya' and 'Hokage' was allergen enough.

"I'm here to check if any of you three are up to coming with me on this trip," Jiraiya continued, ignoring their confounded faces, "It may take a while so think before you volunteer."

Gaara lowered his eyes in thought, "Temari and Kankuro will not be returning to Suna yet because of the quarantine on foreign shinobi. I don't think now would be the wisest time for me to leave them here on their own."

His sensei nodded, "You stay here with your brother and sister, kid. You won't be missing much."

"I'm afraid I'm not up to full strength yet as well," Haku said quietly, flinching under Jiraiya's knowing gaze, "The cursed seal had a heavy toll on my chakra…"

"I'm aware, Haku," He said snappishly, still slightly angry at his pupil for using the seal twice, "Don't let it happen again, understood?"

The dark haired boy nodded and the toad sage blinked down at Naruto, who appeared to have no complaints or health issues, "I'll go, Ero-sensei! How long do you think this will take maybe?"

"A few days in the least, and if we're unlucky, maybe a week or so," Jiraiya took another drag, "You up to it, squirt?"

"You bet I am!" Naruto folded his arms confidently, not caring if his mentor was particularly vague on the details.

Jiraiya was grateful for Naruto's new maturity level, being that he had anticipated the boy to have a fit upon finding out the next Hokage would not be him. Realistically speaking, however, Naruto was still mindful enough to know it was a burden he was not ready for and still aimed to train rigorously for the years to come.

"Get packing then. I'll meet you on the East bridge." Jiraiya concluded, then glanced at his remaining students, "As for you two, keep a sharp eye for trouble. With Konoha in this weakened state another attack is a possibility."

They took the news into consideration.

Naruto left alongside his friends but split ways with them to return to the apartment and pack supplies. Haku and Gaara continued down the main street, wondering what to do with their stolen time.

"So…where are Temari and Kankuro at the moment?" Haku asked cautiously, knowing Gaara was still touchy on the subject.

The red haired boy, in contrast, was already aware of Haku's positive change in attitude towards his siblings, and acknowledged it, "Sakura-chan volunteered to show them around the village this morning to get them better acquainted, she had said."

Haku chuckled, "I'm sure they're having fun then."