Low murmurs filled the air on the rooftops of the Hokage’s building. Groups of shinobi were clustered together, whispering to each other about why Hokage-sama called them there. The only ones who weren’t partaking in the bets being placed on the real reason for their gathering were Midnight, who was leaning against one of the pillars, staring stoically ahead, all while listening to Scarlet chattering about some nonsense. Crimson was besides Scarlet, laughing half-heartedly at certain intervals to give the guise that he was listening. On the other side of the Hokage building’s roof, Breeze was polishing her fan while rolling her eyes every other second at the agitated crowd of shinobi. She refrained from scoffing at them, but silently criticized them for the fact they, as full-fledged jonin, had no patience. When Breeze couldn’t bear it any longer, she spoke her criticisms aloud for Azure to hear. Upon hearing Breeze’s rant, Azure smiled.

“Well, you know Hokage-sama,” Azure replied, “He’s always late.”

Breeze huffed, “He shouldn’t be late for important things. I think this classifies as important if he called all the jonins to a meeting.”

“He’ll be here soon,” Azure said, staring off into the sky, “I feel his chakra signature.” True to her word, Kakashi appeared a minute later in a puff of smoke. His hand was held up, palm outward, his typical greeting to people who knew him. Kakashi did not bother to make a silly excuse this time and no one bothered to comment on the fact that he was late. The situation might have turned out differently though if Naruto had been present.

“Let me frank,” Kakashi spoke, commandeering the entire crowd’s attention with three words. If the shinobi didn’t have respect for him as Hokage, he certainly gained their respect as a notorious jonin and ANBU Black Ops member, “We’re going to war.”

“What?” someone asked from the crowd, “I thought we have established peace after the Fourth Great Ninja War.”

“Among the Five Great Nations and the Land of Iron,” Kakashi corrected patiently, “However, we received intel that there will be an invading force in all 6 lands at once. I have spoken with the other Kages and have agreed that we will send a team to the Land of Iron. The rest of you will be in charge of defending the Land of Fire.”

‘Who’s going to be sent to the Land of Iron?” Scarlet asked, raising his voice above the chattering that had already begun. The crowd fell silent once more when Kakashi raised a hand.

“It has already been decided that Scarlet, Midnight, Crimson, Breeze, and Azure will be going to the Land of Iron. The five of you, please come to my office. The rest of you will stay here and listen to our defense strategy from Shikamaru.” With that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Muttering “troublesome” under his breath, Shikamaru emerged from the crowd of jonins and took Kakashi’s vacated spot.

Azure and Breeze exchanged questioning glances before they followed the three guys to the Hokage’s office. Scarlet was muttering something about how cold it was in the Land of Iron, while Crimson just gave him a good-nature pat on the back. As usual, Midnight just took in the new information without batting an eye.

“Why us?” Scarlet questioned once they were in the privacy of the Hokage’s office. Kakashi was leaning forward onto his desk, hands clasped together with his Hokage hat placed in front of him.

It was a tactical decision made by Shikamaru and I agree with him. Between the five of you, basically all shinobi arts are covered. Scarlet, you possess a strong fire affinity and a knack for genjutsu. Crimson has a strong earth affinity, along with his shields, as well as some senjutsu of the first Hokage. Midnight has a strong lightning affinity and is highly skilled in kinjutsu. Breeze has a strong wind affinity and is highly proficient at shadow clones. And Azure has a strong water affinity, sensory abilities, and medical ninjutsu,” Kakashi explained, “You know I would go myself, but unfortunately I am needed here.”

Midnight killed the urge to scoff at Kakashi; he settled for a *hing comment instead, “Of course you are. You’re the Hokage, what do you expect?” The corner of Kakashi’s eyes crinkled in response.

“Midnight will be leader of this squad. Meet with Mifune and he will go over battle plans with you all. Do Konoha proud.”

“Why does Midnight get to be leader?” Scarlet protested, “We are all qualified, if not more qualified than him. Is it because you’re biased towards family members?” If Kakashi was asked this question twenty years earlier, he would have sent a death glare at Scarlet, but he mellowed out after teaching Team 7.

“Because he is level-headed during missions and is possible the only one who can keep your rambunctious attitude in check. Plus, his leadership experience in the ANBU is very much needed on this mission. Maintaining peace rests on our shoulders, don’t forget. You’re dismissed.” Surprisingly, Scarlet did not say another word as he walked out of Kakashi’s office.

“We’ll meet at the gates in two hours. Pack for an extended trip. Dismissed,” Midnight ordered before he flickered out of sight. The rest of them followed, except for Azure, who was running the list of medicinal herbs that she needed to take with her through her mind. She took her time to slowly walk out of the Hokage building while humming a cheerful tune under her breath. She received odd looks from a few chunins that were on guard duty, but she paid them no attention.

the Gates:

“Well it was a good thing that you weren’t team leader,” Midnight was saying when Azure joined the group, “Otherwise we all would be under supplied.” Curiously, Azure glanced over at Scarlet’s backpack, which only looked about half full. The rest of the team had full bags and scrolls in their flak jackets, no doubt containing extra weapons and provisions. As for Azure, her scrolls were full of medical supplies.

Predictably, Scarlet opened his mouth to protest, but Midnight cut him off, “We’re pressed for time. Let’s move out.” With that, five figures darted into the Konoha forest, hopping onto the first tree branch. Wordlessly, Midnight and Azure took the lead, while Scarlet took the rear. Breeze covered the left side and Crimson was on the right side. From there on, all they could hear were the birds chirping, the wood snapping beneath their feet, and occasional huffing from Scarlet.

As the group neared the Land of Iron, Midnight called for a quick break. The five of them munched on ration pills before using the remaining minutes to catch some much needed sleep. All too soon, Midnight signalled for them to get moving. Normally, Scarlet would have let out an exasperated sigh, but he was too cold, tired, and still hungry to bother. Azure fished out a cloak from her bag, wrapping it around her shoulders before taking out her extra to give to Scarlet. He looked at her with a mix of astonishment and gratefulness, and she returned a look that read, “I got your back.” The other three followed Azure’s example, putting their cloak on before hopping back into the branches.

At Land of Iron:

Immediately when their feet touched down onto the snow, a group of samurai appeared before them, with their hands at the hilt of their swords.

“State your business,” one of the samurai said.

“We come from Konoha,” Midnight replied, “We’re under instructions to meet with Mifune-sama.” The samurai who had previously spoken nodded his head in understanding and made a “follow me” gesture with his hands. He took the lead, while the rest of the samurais formed a circle around the five of them. Azure shivered when a large gust of wind came their way; she pulled the hood over her head and gripped the edges of her cloak, pulling it closer to her body to secure her warmth. She even shifted so she was walking directly behind Crimson, who would block the wind.

Azure almost cried when they finally entered a warm building, but she kept her composure. The samurai led them to a briefing room, where Mifune was seated with a large map hanging from the wall. Azure noted that it was a map of the Land of Iron, divided into different zones. As she continued to study the map, she missed the pleasantries that were being exchanged.

Azure jumped when she heard a voice behind her, “It seems you have taken an interest in the map.”

“Are these the battlefields?” Azure asked.

Mifune nodded grimly, “These six places are the ones that we need to protect the most. At the last Kage Conference meeting, the Hokage has already given your files to me so I have already divided you all into teams. He expressed that all of you would be fit to lead a team of shinobi while I lead the samurais. Scarlet will be in zone 10, Breeze, in zone 8, Midnight, in zone 7, Azure, in zone 6, and Crimson, in zone 5. I will be in zone 3. It will be critical that we successful protect all 6 zones.” Mifune eyed the each of them carefully before continuing, “ A Yamanaka travelled here earlier. He will create a link in our minds that will keep all of us in contact. Any questions?” All five of them s* their head no.

“Good, the rest of the shinobis should already be in place. Now we wait.” When the five of them turned to walk out of the briefing room, Mifune stopped them, calling them back to gather around the table. He pulled a scroll out of his pocket and unrolled it, laying it flat on the table for all of them to see.

"A summoning scroll?” Breeze questioned, reading the kanji for “serpent.”

(Continued in comments)