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Chill air blew around, making the passersby tug at their warm clothes. The streets of Konoha were draped in snow. The month of December and its festivities brought a joyous atmosphere to the village despite the bone-chilling cold.
People moved with renewed vigor as they went from shop to shop, completing their festive shopping.
A perfect peaceful morning.
Suddenly, on this calm morning, a loud voice came from the Senju compound, startling the people nearby.
"Hime-sama!!!"
A short black-haired woman burst out of the giant doors of the Senju compound. She looked around the door to find someone before breaking into a sprint toward the Hokage building.
People didn't look shocked by the scene. Instead, they laughed and greeted the secretary of their Fourth Hokage, Senju Tsunade.
The scene was all too common; they had seen the pranks of their mischievous princess many times. She was a big troublemaker, but despite that, they all loved her.
As this scene played out, the said troublemaker was running in the opposite direction through the village. Her destination after fooling her aunt Shizune was the Uchiha compound.
She reached the compound in seconds and entered its gates without a care. The Uchiha guards stationed there could only helplessly shake their heads and greet the Senju Princess.
Ayame didn't stop to greet them she just nodded while running toward the house of her teammate.
Reaching the house, she saw him cradling his newborn brother.
"Itachi!!!" Ayame shouted from a distance, causing the calm boy to turn and look at her. He gave her a deadpan look as she came closer.
"What is it now, Ayame?" Itachi questioned plainly. He didn't even bother to ask how she had entered the Uchiha compound without permission. It had happened too one many times for him to ask such a question.
"Itachi, I got us a mission! A real one!!!" she shouted with glee on her face.
A look of concern appeared on Itachi's calm face. He felt a sinking feeling as he questioned her.
"Mission? But Sensei gave us a week off after our last mission."
"Yeah, I know. But this mission, I got it from my mother's office. It's a real mission not like the chores Uncle-Sensei gives us all the time." Ayame waved the scroll she brought out of her Matrix.
"You mean you stole the mission scroll from your mother's office?"
"Pateto-potato! Don't mind the minor details. So, are you in or not? And before you answer I will be completing this mission with or without you."
"Uaahh…" Itachi hesitated. He was a good boy who abided by the rules and didn't want to take on this mission— a mission he was sure would get him trouble and a good earful from his father. But on the other hand, he knew Ayame and her stubbornness. If she had decided to do the mission, she sure as hell would do it no matter what.
Itachi fell into a dilemma. On one hand, he didn't want to break the rules. On the other, he didn't want one of his only friends to go on a dangerous mission alone.
"What are you hesitating for?" Ayame interrupted Itachi's chain of thoughts. He focused back on her excited, molten eyes as her cute lips pouted.
"Mou~ let's do the mission, no? It's the only way we can get our respective fathers' attention. Didn't you say your father stopped coming home due to clan meetings these days? If we complete this mission, our fathers will have to include us in their adult activities," Ayame said with an innocent face. Not knowing incendo in her sentence.
'Father's acknowledgment?' Itachi's thoughts churned as recent events in his clan came to mind.
After careful consideration, Itachi nodded, Ayame's teary eyes and pouting did help his decision though.
"Okay. Let me give Sasuke back to my mother."
"Okie~" Ayame agreed as she cooed at the little Uchiha, making him giggle and grab her finger.
A smile appeared on Itachi's face as he pulled the reluctant Sasuke and headed into the house.
Itachi returned after a few minutes, and both he and Ayame began making their way toward the exit of the village.
"So, how do we exit the village? I'm sure the guards won't allow us to leave, not to mention the dozens of Anbu always trailing you," Itachi asked as his eyes turned into the familiar scarlet with tomoe.
"Heh! Simple." A devilish grin appeared on her face. Her pale arm raised and touched the shoulder of the Uchiha. The matrix on her arm flooded out and covered his shoulder. And as it did, both disappeared.
A moment later, hundreds of Anbu appeared, clad in black. They surveyed the surroundings before dispersing throughout the village. Immediately, the whole village was thrown into chaos.
And the culprit behind all the commotion obliviously appeared in one of Konoha's underground tunnels.
"What was that?" Itachi asked, alarmed.
"Flying Thunder God," Ayame answered as she led him deeper. "I marked this place a few months back."
"Where are we?"
"Under Konoha. This place was the teleportation platform connecting all our bases during the Third Shinobi War."
"Why are we here?"
"To use the teleportation platform to sneak out of Konoha."
"They still work?" Itachi asked once more as they finally reached the platforms.
Hundreds of small pillars were raised, each marked with the Thunder God seal. Ayame jumped to the center of the pillars and placed her palm on the ground.
"No, the Thunder God marks are sealed with fuin seals. But my matrix will take care of all that." At her words, the dragon tattoo moved and covered the whole platform.
"Come, it's done."
Itachi jumped onto the platform and placed his hand on her shoulder. Immediately, both disappeared, teleported to their chosen location.
A few minutes later, the whole platform was flooded with Anbu. They all stared at the place, not knowing what to do.
"Agh! This girl will be the death of me!!!" An angry Tsunade stormed through the Anbu and took down the seals before ordering them to find her daughter.
The Anbu immediately disappeared, and a nationwide search began.
At the same time, in an unknown dimension, on a ginormous tree, a green cocoon hung. In it, a man floated peacefully. At a rhythmic pace, bubbles appeared near his mouth. He looked to be floating in a medical chamber.
Suddenly, the serenity on his face broke. His left eye twitched for a moment before calming down.
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