Chapter One:

Under the light of the full moon a platoon of three shinobi ran, swiftly and silently. In a few minutes they would reach their objective, a small village only a few kilometres from the border of Earth Country. The night was cold, as it was most nights. The country of Wind was known for its harsh conditions, but many foreigners had come to an untimely end in the desert by being ill prepared. Concerned only about heat and winds, many travellers have perished, neglecting to pack for the chill of the desert’s nights.

As the shinobi entered the village, the leader raised a hand, signalling to stop. The village was silent and dark. No torches or lights were on in the entire village. The jounin sighed, hoping that his fears were unfounded. With another hand signal he commanded his comrades to begin searching. With a nod they swiftly disappeared. The jounin leader began running along the main streets. He stuck to the shadows, making sure to stay hidden. In his left ear he heard one of his team members.

“Kankuro, can you hear me?”

“Yes. What have you found?”

“I’m afraid we are too late, whoever did this is long gone. These villagers have been dead for several hours now.”

Kankuro pinched the bridge of his nose. Damn. “Okay, let’s search the rest of the village for any signs of survivors. Be careful and keep an eye out for any traps. There is a good chance we were expected to investigate. Let’s do this quickly.”

Kankuro picked up his pace. He had a bad feeling and didn’t want to stay here any longer than needed. Suddenly he felt a presence. It wasn’t far. He stopped to listen for any sounds. If someone was nearby he should be able to hear them. The village was silent, except for the sound of the wind blowing through the buildings, the occasional slam of a door or window. There it was! A whimper, in the alley about 200 meters away! Kankuro ran swiftly to the alley.

“Hey, is anyone here?”

In the corner of the alley was a child, Kankuro could only guess his age to be around 10 years. His eyes were wide open in terror. Kankuro walked slowly towards the child.

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m a ninja of the Sand. I’m here to help you. My name is Kankuro.” Kankuro spoke calmly, knowing he couldn’t afford to frighten this kid.

The boy nodded slowly, but still didn’t say a word. Kankuro slowly grabbed the child and picked him up. It wasn’t until he had exited the alley that Kankuro realised what was about to happen. As if by instinct, Kankuro grabbed a scroll from his back and summoned his puppet Sanshouuo. Before the flames and debris from the explosion reached them Kankuro and the boy were inside Sanshouuo. Kankuro swore to himself. How could he have missed that trap? No, it was definitely an advanced technique. They had left the child alive and in the alley. The trap would allow anyone to enter the alley, but the moment they left it the trap would activate. Kankuro chuckled to himself. That was definitely too close.

“Kankuro-senpai, are you alright?”

Kankuro groaned as he opened Sanshouuo’s guard and climbed out. “Yeah, fine. It was a good trap, no doubt about that. I didn’t notice until it was too late.” Kankuro picked up the child, who was now asleep – most likely from exhaustion and trauma. “We need to return to Suna immediately. Did either of you find any other survivors?”

Both chuunin shook their heads.

“It’s just as I thought, this was the only one they left alive. They needed bait for their trap.” Kankuro’s anger began to get the better of him.
Calm down Kankuro, calm down.

“Let’s go.”