South of the Land of Fire, in one of the towns closest to the border with the Land of Tea, a typical middle-aged woman appears to be returning home after shopping at the market, carrying a bag of groceries, among which vegetables and many other objects can be seen. Her face appears normal, and a slight smile seems to escape her lips every time another person crosses her path. But there is something strange about her walking, something impossible to hide from the most experienced eyes, because her steps are firm and her posture leaves very few openings, as if she were prepared to defend herself or take off.
Upon arriving at one of the more ordinary residential neighborhoods, the woman stops in front of one of the residential buildings, climbs the stairs to the second floor, and proceeds to enter one of the apartments. Once inside, the woman's face changes completely, showing panic, she immediately drops the bag of groceries and proceeds to perform the genjutsu kai, to get rid of any genjutsus, in case she were a victim of one, and then quickly heads to the next room.
Once in the next room, the woman encounters a man sitting comfortably in one of the armchairs, peacefully reading a small handheld book, his appearance as ordinary as that of the woman who just entered.
"We have a problem," the woman begins, her face still panicked and sweat pouring down her forehead.
The man snaps his book shut and turns his full attention to the woman. "How serious?"
"Very serious. My two informants were found dead in their homes, hanging, as if it were a suicide," the woman says nervously.
The man immediately executes the genjutsu kai and then makes a strange whistling noise with his mouth, a high-pitched sound difficult to detect by the human ear. A few seconds later, a dog appears through the window—a small brown lapdog wearing a blue vest, strangely wearing a Konoha forehead protector.
"Pakkun, have you sensed anyone strange near the building?" the man asks the dog.
"Not at all, we haven't sensed anything out of the ordinary," the dog replies.
"Stay alert, we may have trouble. If you sense we're under attack, send the signal and disappear immediately. Tell the others the same," the man orders the dog, who nods and disappears back out the window.
The man then turns his attention to the woman, who has just sat down in another of the room's armchairs, visibly affected. "Tell me what happened."
"I went to the market as usual. The owner of a shop, my informant, was going to give me important information about a group that operates in the city and controls the black market… but this morning he was found dead, hanged, with a suicide note… I immediately went to my other informant, the owner of a hair salon, but she also woke up dead, also hanged and with a suicide note… This is wrong, none of this makes sense, someone is behind us, I can feel it, the looks, everything… I've felt like I'm being watched for a while now. This is far from a normal mission, especially with the constant fear of falling prey to a genjutsu. Tell me, what are we up against?" the woman says, on the verge of mental collapse.
"Calm down, breathe deeply, don't let this affect your judgment," the man says calmly, and the woman begins to perform several breathing exercises.
Suddenly, the sound of the doorknob slams, making the woman jump in fright; the man, however, remains calm. Two men appear in the room, both dressed as street vendors, carrying a variety of sweets in enormous baskets.
"Problems?" asks the man next to the woman.
One of the newly arrived men nods, while the other reveals a piece of paper, which he immediately hands to the apparent leader of the group.
"Konohagakure ninja, you have two hours to leave the city. You are not welcome. You have been warned," the leader murmurs as he reads the note.
"The note appeared out of nowhere in one of our baskets, less than 15 minutes ago… What's the next step, Squad Leader?" One of the men says in a cold voice, the other, however, shows clear nervousness.
The group's leader proceeds to sit down in one of the armchairs, while an explosion of white smoke reveals his true appearance, a young man, wearing a characteristic Konoha Anbu uniform, with white hair and an appearance that many would immediately recognize. Hatake Kakashi, with his characteristic mouth cover and one of his eyes covered by his forehead protector.
Kakashi stares at the ceiling of the room for a few moments, then looks at his subordinates and orders, "The mission is compromised, leave the city immediately. Escape protocol, split up and return to the village."
At Kakashi's words, the three individuals immediately reveal their true appearances: all three are Konoha ninja, all Anbu, who stare at their leader for a few moments, then move. Two of them immediately retreat, while one of the men remains.
"What are you going to do?" the man asks, seeing Kakashi with no intention of moving.
"My mission is to find out what's happening in the region. What better opportunity to find out than when someone directly involved is knocking on your door?" Kakashi replies calmly.
"Our mission isn't to confront anyone, but merely to gather information. We must report this to the Hokage," the man says.
"My mission is to find answers, and that's what I'm going to find. People have died, and even though it might not seem like it, I'm pretty angry. Besides, it seems like whoever wants us out doesn't want to confront us, so this is a perfect time to have a conversation," Kakashi says.
"You're putting yourself in unnecessary danger. We should leave that decision to the Hokage," the man insists.
"My decision is final. I have my reasons and the confidence to escape if necessary. Retreat, that's an order," Kakashi finishes.
The man reluctantly leaves. Kakashi, for his part, takes a deep breath, removes the same book he'd been reading from his clothes, and calmly waits for the threat in the note to be fulfilled in some way.
Minutes pass, and Kakashi seems to be deeply engrossed in reading, but anyone who looks closely will notice that the man hasn't turned a page in his book since the beginning. And just as the two-hour time limit seems to have passed, Kakashi's gaze lifts from his book, his hands rapidly execute several hand seals, and something very subtle changes within the room.
"It seems you don't take us very seriously, dear colleague." A woman's voice makes itself heard in the room, a little synthetic, clearly modified by some kind of instrument.
Kakashi's gaze immediately shifts to the window, where a person is already sitting on the frame, staring at him. The woman in question is wearing a black cloak that covers her entire body and head, revealing only a white mask with red-tinted eyes.
Kakashi's eye focuses on the guest's chest, never seeking her gaze. "I stayed a little longer to look for a couple of answers"