First Mission

Early the next morning, Uchiha Kei was still playing chess with Duke Zhou's daughter when an excited Naruto dragged him out of bed.

"Kei, didn't you say you'd take me out of the village today? Come on, let's go!"

Naruto tugged at Uchiha Kei's blanket, letting the cold air seep into his warm space.

"Let me sleep a little longer. Just a little longer."

Uchiha Kei struggled, trying to reclaim the blanket.

"No way! Come on, hurry up!"

Naruto wouldn't let up, looking determined not to stop until Kei got out of bed.

"Argh!"

Uchiha Kei scrambled out from under the covers, his hair a mess, and glared furiously at Naruto.

"I really regret yesterday's decision!"

"I just wanted to sleep in! What did I do wrong?!"

He grumbled and complained, but in the end, Uchiha Kei couldn't withstand Naruto's relentless pestering.

After washing up, Uchiha Kei was dragged off to the Hokage Building by Naruto.

"Good luck! I'll wait outside!"

Naruto clenched both fists, his eyes sparkling.

Under Naruto's expectant gaze, Uchiha Kei trudged into the Hokage Building.

As he pushed open the door to the Hokage's office, a cloud of smoke billowed out.

"Cough, cough, cough."

Uchiha Kei nearly choked and fell over.

"Oh, it's Kei. What can I do for you?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat up straight, lowered the pipe from his lips, and looked at him with a beaming smile.

"Lord Hokage, you might be a little too addicted to that."

Uchiha frowned and waved away the lingering smoke.

"I'm getting old. It's one of my few pleasures."

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave an awkward chuckle.

Danzo had said the same thing when he came in earlier, though his tone had been much less polite.

"Lord Hokage, I'd like to take a mission outside the village."

Uchiha Kei didn't want to waste time. He stated his purpose plainly.

"Hmm?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brow, leaned forward, and scrutinized Uchiha Kei.

"You've only just become a Genin, and you've just joined Anbu. A mission outside the village isn't suitable for you."

For Anbu, missions outside the village were perfectly routine.

Most Anbu missions took place beyond Konoha, since the Hokage's personal forces primarily handled matters outside the village.

However, he didn't want Uchiha Kei to leave the village.

There was something about the boy he couldn't quite figure out. Once he left the village, many things would slip beyond his control.

For someone with such a strong desire for control, that was unacceptable.

"Lord Hokage, I want to grow stronger quickly. The comfortable environment in the village won't help me do that."

Uchiha Kei's expression was calm.

He'd already expected Sarutobi Hiruzen to refuse when he decided to leave the village.

But he had a plan of his own.

"I understand your desire to grow. After all, you're the future of Konoha. I hope you can grow quickly and take over my burden."

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled warmly, a kindly expression on his face.

"But forcing growth isn't a long-term solution. Konoha can shelter you from the storm right now, and I can help you grow in a stable environment!"

As he spoke, an air of authority emanated from Sarutobi Hiruzen.

What a performance. I'd give you 99 points. Any more, and you might get conceited.

Uchiha Kei pursed his lips inwardly, but kept an admiring expression on his face.

"Of course I believe in your abilities, Lord Hokage. I believe in the village, too."

"But true strength has never come from growing up under someone else's protection. That was true of both the First and Second Hokage!"

"Only by becoming as strong as the First or Second Hokage can we truly bring peace to Konoha!"

Uchiha Kei's eyes shone brightly, fierce ambition rising in their depths.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand paused as he studied the boy before him.

That spirit...

That ambition...

It felt so familiar.

Once, he too had been just like the boy before him, full of passion and fervor.

He'd dreamed that one day, through his own strength, he could bring peace to his village.

But...

Power was the greatest dulling stone. It had worn away his edge and his passion...

And his ambition, too.

"Lord Hokage, please assign me a mission outside the village!"

Uchiha Kei bowed deeply.

A long while passed.

"Very well. I'll let you leave the village."

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave him a long look, as though seeing his own lost youth.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage!" Uchiha Kei said, deeply moved.

Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up one scroll after another from his cluttered desk. He glanced through them, then shook his head and set each one aside.

Uchiha Kei stood quietly, without a word.

He wasn't in a hurry. As long as he could leave the village, any mission would do. He wasn't picky.

At last, Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up a scroll and held on to it for a long time.

"Lord Hokage, is there a problem?"

Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen's troubled expression, Uchiha Kei asked.

"It's not a problem, exactly."

Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered for a moment.

"This mission is somewhat unusual."

A mission the Hokage called unusual was either particularly significant or extremely difficult.

"Have you heard of Twilight Ninja Village?"

Uchiha Kei furrowed his brow as he tried to remember. He had a vague recollection of it.

Twilight Ninja Village had never appeared in the anime.

But it did exist in the real Naruto World.

Twilight Ninja Village was a little-known settlement with only a little over twenty ninja. Most were Genin, and only Twilight Shadow had reached Chunin rank.

Konoha could wipe out a village like that with just a few Anbu.

"Twilight Ninja Village may be small, but they're friends of Konoha."

Sarutobi Hiruzen relit his pipe and took a deep drag.

"Two days ago, Twilight Ninja Village was wiped out. All 133 villagers were killed!"

Uchiha Kei froze.

Wiped out!

Wars happened all the time in the Shinobi World. Small villages were wiped out one day, then another the next.

But the destruction of Twilight Ninja Village was different.

When ninja villages fought, they usually tried to avoid harming ordinary people. In other words, wiping out a village generally meant that its ninja had all been killed.

Twilight Ninja Village was different. Most of its 133 residents were civilians.

That kind of massacre was unacceptable in the Shinobi World.

"I sent people to investigate yesterday, but they came back empty-handed. They only found a mask."

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a mask from under his desk and placed it on top.

Uchiha Kei quickly examined it.

It was a plain white mask with no markings except for the character "Yang" written on the forehead.

"Could this have been an internal conflict?"

Uchiha Kei frowned and picked up the mask from the desk.

It was feather-light. Cheap white powder rubbed off onto his fingers.

"I don't think so."

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe.

"Twilight Ninja Village is a small settlement. It has no real power, and there's nothing to be gained from it. Its twenty-odd ninja shouldn't have any reason to fight among themselves."

"Could it have been a family vendetta?"

Uchiha Kei considered the possibility.

"The twenty-odd ninja in Twilight Ninja Village are all orphans, trained by Konoha. There's no family vendetta to speak of."

"Then that's strange..."

The Hokage's office fell silent. The old man and the young one were both deep in thought.

Wars in the Shinobi World were generally caused by either internal or external conflicts.

For a small village with no ambitions and no future prospects to be suddenly wiped out was strange in every way.

As he looked at the mask in his hand, Uchiha Kei fixed his gaze on the character "Yang" on its forehead.

"My initial assessment is that an evil organization was responsible. The motive was probably related to ninjutsu."

Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped his pipe and refilled it with tobacco.

"Will you take this mission?"