The office of the Third Hokage was thick with smoke. Not from burning, but from the ceremonial pipe Hiruzen Sarutobi nursed between his fingers. He looked out the window of the tower toward the distant streets...quiet for now. But the silence of Konoha often concealed the roots of its problems.
Before him stood Itachi Uchiha, hands at his sides, eyes cast forward in respectful focus.
"You've come far, Itachi," Hiruzen said, voice low and contemplative. "But you know strength alone isn't enough to enter the ANBU."
"I understand," Itachi replied. "It's about loyalty. The village. The Will of Fire."
"Correct," Hiruzen said, nodding approvingly. "Which is why I'm sending you on a solo mission outside our borders."
He slid a scroll across the desk. It bore the red wax of a diplomatic seal.
"Your task is to protect a merchant named Gennosuke Mugen. He's being targeted...by whom, we don't yet know. But Fire Country's economy is tangled with his routes. If he dies, so do several of our covert supply lines."
"Understood," Itachi said, accepting the scroll without hesitation.
"There's more," Hiruzen added, his eyes narrowing. "If you fail, the Fire Daimyo might interpret this as Konoha's weakness. But if you succeed... this will serve as your final evaluation for full ANBU induction."
And with that, Itachi turned and disappeared into the morning haze, heart steady, mission clear.
**
A large ferry creaked into port. Gennosuke Mugen stepped out with a smug grin. Behind him, several crates marked "Silk & Glass" were offloaded. Unknown to onlookers, they held chakra-treated weapon parts smuggled in pieces.
Hidden in the crowd, cloaked in a trader's garb, Itachi watched every move. He had already neutralized one assassin...an Amegakure shinobi disguised as a cook... just the previous night.
But the threats were evolving.
**
Neji as Yamamoto Shion stood atop a dirt plateau, watching two young figures below him... Aya and Riku, breathing heavily after their sparring session. Their chakra control had improved considerably. Aya could now hold water on her palms. Riku's fire release could flicker for five seconds longer than when they began.
Yamamoto called out: "Enough for today."
The two stopped instantly, collapsing to their knees, faces red with exhaustion.
In the last few days, something had changed. Neji A, the shadow clone he had left in konoha in his place had perished. And with that, the memories came flooding back:
He had a weeks time before the Konoha Academy began asking questions. He couldn't waste any more time.
"I will leave in a week," he said plainly.
Aya looked up. "That soon?"
"I'll show you how to send me information," he added, tossing Riku a small etched crystal. "Once a month. No more. Never write names. Never give location."
"What if something urgent happens?" Aya asked.
Yamamoto turned. "Hide. Then you endure. You're not soldiers yet. You're my eyes and ears."
**
Yamamoto met once again with Yugo, son of Gennosuke.
The attempted assassination had shaken the boy. But Yamamoto saw it for what it was... a cleansing attempt by Gennosuke himself. Greedy men rarely spared even blood.
"You'll front the new merchant business, a trading company between hidden nations" Yamamoto said. "I'll remain unseen. You speak. You build. I fund and inform."
Yugo, still desperate to escape his father's shadow and his subordinate shin has saved him, nodded.
**
The two-tomoe Sharingan user. A rogue whose eyes burned with growing confidence, who had witnessed Aya and Riku's chakra from afar during the river ambush weeks ago. Neji had traced him thrice. But he was cautious, slippery, and possibly tied to the Red Ring Scroll operatives.
Neji knew this would be his first kill in this world.
A fight to the death. For all his knowledge, he still hadn't tested himself under true mortal pressure. The chakra pathways, the muscle reactions, the countermeasures...all had been theory.
Until now.
He spent the next two days in silence, entering a meditative trance beneath a waterfall cave, rotating his chakra to keep his nerves razor-sharp. He visualized the fight. Timed his reactions. Calculated failure and how to escape.
**
Meanwhile, Itachi's mission had taken a new twist.
Gennosuke, The old man was preparing to eliminate his son for the second time—this time with the help of hired bandits claiming Uchiha ties.
That night, Itachi slipped past twelve guards and entered Gennosuke's personal quarters. The old man sat with a pipe, surrounded by paperwork and weapon schematics.
"You're not my guard," Gennosuke said, without turning. "You're a shinobi."
"I'm your protector," Itachi replied. "Even from your own family."
"Then protect me from my own ambition," Gennosuke laughed bitterly.
Itachi considered the implications. If this man truly fell, his empire would fracture, and Fire Country's underground trade would ignite into chaos.
"Your son should not die," Itachi said simply. "He is your only legacy."
But Gennosuke only smiled. "Legacy means nothing without control."
**
As dawn approached, finally located the two-tomoe user... alone, near the border town forest. He didn't look older than fifteen. But his Sharingan was active, and a red band marked his arm...Red Ring scroll carrier.
Neji as Shin stepped into the clearing.
"You've seen my comrades," he said. "That was a mistake."
The boy grinned. "You're not from around here, Young Boy."
"No," Shin replied, activating the Byakugan.
--
A/N: Neji's first fight begins and it will not be good for neji.