A Thousand Years

The Woman

A figure crept silently across the village, ducking under branches and jumping over fences, they made their way to the training ground where three other figures stood.

"Finally, Kakashi's here." Obito whispered.

"Alright, let's go." The four shadows zipped across the field towards the village boarder. They stopped when the saw the lone house standing in the distance.

"What should we do?" Rin asked quietly, still not completely on board with the idea of sneaking around someone's property.

"Well we gotta get closer." Obito responded with excitement. "The windows are pretty small though, and high too..."

A minute later, Obito sat on Kakashi's shoulders, both of them leaning against the outside of the wooden wall.

"Can you see anything?" Kakashi asked sharply. "Stop moving!" Obito adjusted his goggles and whispered an apology.

"It's totally dark in there." He shook his head in disappointment. A soft creaking noise caused all four of the shinobi to turn their heads, their hearts stopped upon seeing what had caused it. The door to the house was slightly ajar and someone was peeking half their head out from behind it, their face completely shrouded in darkness, completely, except for the one eye that was glowing a deep red. The team took no time in bolting away at full speed.

The figure watched the retreating forms of the intruders for a long moment then slowly disappeared behind the wooden door, giving a small thump as it shut.

"Why... did we... agree to do that again?" Kakashi muttered between breaths. The squad of four were all huffing and puffing by the time they made it back to the training grounds, Obito, however, was not only out of breath but also shaking.

"That was scary..." He made an exaggerated shivering motion.

"Whose idea was it?" Kakashi retorted sharply.

"Guys, it's ok, no one got hurt. Do we all agree to never go near that place again?" Minato asked.

"Yes!" The three students nodded in unison.

"Alright. Go home and get some rest, and remember, nothing happened tonight."

The weeks had passed and Minato was officially named Hokage. He, however, did not inherit the title at a good time, there was a rumor going around, one that said Konoha was going to war again. Officials were doing their best to put down these rumors and ensure the public that all foreign relations were good, however, they could not convince themselves that the threats from Iwagakure held no water.

Minato was sitting in his office, brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to think of ways to get the village out of this rising war. A tapping at his window pulled him from his trance. A small pigeon pecked at the glass, asking to be let in, and upon closer inspection, a rolled up piece of paper was tied to its leg with a white string. Immediately opening the window, Minato pulled the paper from the bird and began reading it eagerly.

'I see the situation is getting severe, Iwagakure's threats cannot be dismissed, you must take action soon. I don't believe conflict can be avoided, but it can be contained.' The rest of the message contained battle tactics and formations that caused Minato's eyes to gleam with every word. It was at times like these that he truly appreciated being able to consult someone with so much experience.

'Your ideas are genius! I can see why Sarutobi-san respected you so much. I will try to get as much done as possible and keep the body count as low as possible. I realize this is quite the favor to ask, but I think meeting in person would be much more efficient. Please consider my request and thank you again.' Minato sent the letter off, though he was unsure if he should have asked to meet, after all, she wouldn't have hidden herself for so many years for no reason. He rubbed his temples as he tried to refocus on the problem at hand: how to get out of the war quickly.