"Kankuro, duck."
With the warning of his thirteen-year-old little brother leaving no room for hesitation, Kankuro immediately dropped into a crouch, even as the massive desert ant before him lunged forward to catch the puppeteer in its pincers. Despite the threat, he wasn't worried in the slightest, and Kankuro's faith was rewarded when he was quickly spared a grisly death by a concentrated blast of bright green flame that burned the insect before him to a crisp.
As the chitinous monster writhed, Kankuro withdrew Basilisk, a serpentine puppet several feet long that he'd finished earlier this year. With the fighting over and done with, he began to wrap it in linen so the battle machine could be hoisted on his back.
"Nice one, Ash. Looks like that was the last of them."
Stepping up beside his older brother, Ash folded his bare forearms over the short-sleeve, solid white jacket he wore. Sturdy, lined with pockets, and great at reflecting sunlight: the best of all possible worlds.
Even years after his initial adoption into the Kazekage's family, Ash's hair was the same as always. His bangs remained long enough to shield his dreaded Kōkaigan from the outside world. Ever since the experiment, he'd never been seen without that eye well and thoroughly obscured.
With the kunai in his hand having found no use in this battle, Ash quickly deposited it back in the holster on his right thigh, tied to typical navy blue shinobi leggings. "Yeah, it looks like it. I can't believe these things are getting so close to the village these days. Just imagine what the whole nest must look like..."
Rising to his feet as he shouldered Basilisk, Kankuro cocked an eyebrow at his brother from beneath his black, cat-eared hood. "That sounds awfully pessimistic of you."
A few years ago, he might have instead said that it sounded typical of the blond, but these days, Ash was quite different from his old self. More often than not, he was the voice of optimism on the team, and without a doubt, he smiled far more than he used to. No one was quite sure when such a huge shift in the boy's personality had occurred—probably because it had been very gradual—but no one really cared when it happened; they were just glad it had.
Of course, that wasn't to say that no aspect of his former self remained. But most of those negative facets were kept well-hidden under his wit and charm. Even now, he easily managed an easygoing smile at his brother's comment. "Well, I wasn't saying it would be a problem. I don't think the Hidden Sand would have trouble repelling an ant invasion."
"I hope not. We'd really be a laughingstock if we lost against ants. You think Temari is done with her sector yet? Should we join up with her or just head back to the village?"
Ash shrugged, not too worried about his older sister. "With her and Maki together, I'm sure they finished up long before we did. Let's just head back to the village and report in. I'm sure there will be more work to do when we get back."
Nodding, Kankuro jogged back towards the village alongside his brother, fondly recalling the days when Ash would never have suggested they actually set themselves up for more work. They could have avoided a second task if they just went to join Temari and Maki. Four years could really do a number on somebody—nobody stayed the same for long, it seemed.
"Man, if we had short-range radios, we could just check in with Temari instead of having to guess..."
Ash said nothing to that since he didn't disagree. Instead, he took some satisfaction in sliding down a sand dune, glad that, unlike his siblings and many other shinobi in the Hidden Sand, he was not wearing sandals. He wore close-toed black boots—idea of sandals never made any sense to him. It left a ninja's feet exposed to flames, caltrops, frostbite, and a number of other things. It also let sand get between your toes much more easily, and no matter how much he'd changed over the years, that was still something he detested.
"Psh, yeah. I bet even Chunin aren't getting those handed out for every mission these days."
Kankuro scowled. Recently, it was becoming harder and harder to ignore the state of poverty in the Hidden Sand. It was getting worse every year. "I bet those bastards from the Hidden Leaf have them for everyone. What a waste of all that money they're taking from us."
"Maybe, but it's not really anything to blame their ninja for. I mean, it was our own Daimyo who signed that treaty, right?"
"Yeah, but it's easier to be mad at foreigners."
"Personally, I find it easier to be mad at politicians."
After this quip, Ash remained quiet as the duo made their way back to the village. They hadn't been that far away in the first place, since those massive ants had been getting closer lately, so they managed to make it back in fifteen minutes.
Still, while returning home always brought some sense of familiar comfort to the two of them, it was also depressing to lay eyes on their rapidly decaying village. The moment you stepped through the gates, you laid eyes on crumbling buildings and poorly paved streets. There was always something broken, and not enough time or money to go around to fix it all. It wasn't like the whole village was wallowing in homelessness, but for one of the Big Five, it was an absolute disgrace. There was nothing to be done about it, though—the Hidden Sand just didn't make enough income to keep everything properly maintained. They had to pick and choose what mattered and leave the rest to makeshift repairs at best.
Everyone made do as best they could. Much to Ash's great delight, the past four years had seen the creation of a civilian volunteer labor force, and their members were out and about every day doing whatever they could to make repairs with the village's limited resources. The woman who'd organized the force looked vaguely familiar to Ash, but he could never quite recall if he'd seen her before.
Still, new Genin weren't exempt from doing their part to keep the village intact. They often performed the labor jobs that were significantly easier with the use of ninjutsu, such as window repair or sand removal from the streets following storms. In fact, Ash spotted a particular trio of Genin at work right now, and he couldn't help but say hello.
"A wonderful day for back-breaking manual labor, isn't it, Matsuri?"
Easily recognizing both his voice and his light sarcasm, Matsuri turned from the first-story cracked window she was trying to fix, her headband wrapped around her neck. She gave Ash a cheerful smile, matching his sarcasm with a bit of her own. She'd learned a thing or two from him throughout their years together. "As a matter of fact, it is. I mean, it's only ninety-five degrees today, which is practically balmy. Beautiful weather too, nice and sunny."
Before he could muster any kind of response, Ash was sandwiched between Yukata and Sari, a long-haired brunette wearing her headband as a bandana, who'd been chosen as the third member of Matsuri's Genin team when they all graduated. Ash didn't know the latter nearly as well as Yukata or Matsuri, but he knew the girl was a big fan of his, likely because of her teammates' influence. Despite the fact that the only heroic mission he'd partaken in was four years ago, Sari still held him in regard equaling that of a war hero.
Ash didn't mind in the slightest. He would never complain about being squished between two cute girls, regardless of circumstance. "Hey, you two. How's window repair service going?"
Always rushing to answer him whenever he asked a question of her, Sari was first to respond. "Oh, it's going well, but it's so dull! Nothing like the exciting mission you must have just returned from..."
Ash noted the unwarranted admiration in the girl's hazel eyes. She really had no idea what Baki's team did these days, did she? Playing exterminator was hardly a glorious mission. Not that he would do anything to diminish her opinion of him. "Don't demean your own work, Sari; your mission is important, too. In fact, keeping the village in one piece is the most important mission of all, don't you think?"
Kankuro rolled his eyes as the young girl giggled and blushed. If there was one thing Ash had improved over the years aside from his shinobi skills, it was his ability to charm girls. Honestly, Kankuro had no idea how the blond was so good at it. It was almost like he'd been learning it from a book or something...
As for Matsuri and Yukata, they had a more realistic view of Ash's missions, as they had known him much longer. Even the black-haired Yukata, as much of an airhead as she was, didn't fall for Ash's praise that easily. "Still, it's so hard! We can't just cut the broken window out of the wall in ten seconds like you can, y'know." She then pointed to the bag of glass panes slung on her back. "And this stuff is really heavy!"
From the window she was working on, Matsuri frowned at her best friend. "Hold on now, I'm doing all of the work here..."
Yukata wrapped her arms around one of Ash's own as she tried to nail him with the biggest puppy eyes she could muster. "You know, Ash, it'd be really easy for you to help us finish up real fast. No trouble at all for an experienced ninja like you, right?"
Though he was greatly affected by Yukata's adorable countenance, Ash managed to resist her. He knew manipulation when he saw it. This girl was going places, guaranteed to wrap boys around her finger with ease in the future. "A few years as a Genin doesn't really equal that much experience, Yukata..."
Lacking the patience to further prey on Ash's weakness to girls, Yukata simply pouted. "Oh, c'mon, you have A-rank mission experience, don't you? How many Genin have that? Can't you just help us with this one window, please~?"
"You're begging awfully hard considering that Matsuri is the one actually working on the window..."
Yukata frowned at him as cutely as she could manage, destroying the last of Ash's defenses and forcing him to submit. "Alright, alright, but just this one window, okay? Kankuro and I really need to report back to the Kazekage."
With her efforts successful, Yukata jumped up and wrapped her arms around Ash's neck as she squealed in delight. For a twelve-year-old girl and ninja, she was a little childish at times. "Yay, alright! Thanks, Ash, you're the best!"
Despite her lack of verbal assent, the look on Sari's face said that she agreed wholeheartedly. She simply watched her blond idol with adoring eyes. Ash couldn't help but wonder what type of nonsense she actually thought about him. He got the feeling that Matsuri and Yukata had filled her head with a far overblown opinion of him. As long as it remained harmless, he supposed...
With a shake of her head in Yukata's direction, Matsuri stepped aside to let Ash use his abilities to help her team real quick. For him, the task was no problem—after all, in all of his years as a Genin, his fire abilities had landed him with hundreds of window repairs. He was kinda famous around the village for it, though that fame usually just had him recognized as 'that kid who does windows a lot.'
That being said, he handled it very quickly, using a concentrated needle of flame from his index finger to cut the glass in question so it could be removed wholesale from its frame. His quick and professional work earned him a grateful hug from Matsuri. "Thanks, Ash. I appreciate it. Now go on, get back to the Kazekage. We'll handle the rest. It is our mission, after all."
Sari didn't look happy about the idea of Ash leaving so soon. "But, Matsuri, he could help us with the rest, it'd be no problem for him..."
"Sari, Ash has more important missions to do! If you try and keep him here, you'll be holding him back."
The look on the brunette's face immediately transformed to exaggerated horror. "Oh, I didn't think about that! I'm so sorry, you should go right now!"
Sari practically shoved Ash away from the group, somehow afraid that she was hindering his progress as a shinobi. Seeing that he was about to leave them, Matsuri and Yukata were quick to utter their goodbyes. "Later, Ash! Come see us again sometime!"
Kankuro scowled as he followed Ash towards the Kazekage's office. "Why don't they ever say goodbye to me?"
His brother smirked at him. "Because I'm the cuter brother with the great personality and unlimited charm. Isn't it obvious?"
Unable to necessarily deny any of that, Kankuro's scowl deepened even further. "Man, what a load... you and Temari get to be the most popular kids in the village, and what do I get? I'm the creepy brother, the 'other' one. Chopped liver!"
Ash shook his head in amusement. "Don't worry, Kankuro. One day, I'll help you out with a girl. Granted, we have to find a girl who can tolerate you first, but still."
"Your hilarity never fails to make me smile."
Chuckling at the complete lack of amusement on his brother's face, Ash led the way back to the Kazekage's office, where he was, as always, greeted by a cheerful Sohara. A few years hadn't done anything to change her really, though she had cycled through several pairs of glasses in that time.
"Oh, hey, Ash! And you too, Kankuro. Done dealing with those ants?"
"Yep. I'm kinda worried about how close they're getting to the outskirts of the village, but they aren't all that tough... did Temari and Maki make it back yet?"
Sohara nodded, a pleasant smile on her face. "They got back about an hour ago. In fact, they're with Lord Kazekage right now. I think they're waiting for you."
"They're waiting for a report on such a minor mission?"
At the mention of it, Sohara frowned. "Well... I don't know if anything is really going on, but... a lot of the higher-level ninja have been bustling around the building today. It seems like something big might be going on, but I don't really know."
Ash and Kankuro exchanged worried glances with each other. Nothing 'big' had gone down in the Hidden Sand since the Land of Water rescue mission. "Alright, then we'll head in immediately. Take care, Sohara."
Sohara nodded as the two Genin stepped into the Kazekage's office. The moment they laid eyes on the occupants of the room, the two brothers acknowledged that something was definitely up. Aside from their sister and Maki, the room also hosted Baki, Pakura, and several other Jonin, all with grave looks on their faces.
Ash cocked an eyebrow at all of them, willing to speak up even in the face of such an intimidating gathering of people. "Did someone die? Or did we get invaded or something?"
While he was only joking, the lack of a good reaction from anyone made Ash think that maybe he was right. "Crap, did we really?"
The Kazekage sighed, seemingly fatigued, though not by Ash in particular. "On the contrary. There is an invasion to discuss, but we are not the victims."
This only cemented the look of confusion on Ash's face. "Wait... we're going to invade somebody? The Hidden Sand is going to attack another nation? That's a joke, right? Because unless you're talking about the Land of Claws or something..."
The Kazekage leaned back in his chair. "Everything will be explained to you shortly. Since you arrived last, your Sensei will explain things to you. That being the case, everyone is dismissed. Everything we've discussed here is to be carried out immediately."
Every ninja bowed to the Kazekage before dispersing to do whatever they'd been told. Ash and Kankuro followed Pakura and Baki out—at this point in his life, Ash was never sure which one to consider his primary teacher. They were each important to him in their own way, though admittedly, he spent more time doing specialty training with Pakura these days. Baki taught him more general stuff, which Ash didn't need to learn often.
Ash noted with interest that Temari looked incredibly sullen. The fifteen-year old blonde usually would have greeted her siblings in some way or another, but she seemed entirely distracted right now. Even Pakura and Baki said nothing as they led their students out of the Kazekage's office. The two Jonin led their Genin all the way back to the rooftop of the family residence before saying anything at all. Maki was more than welcome there by now, even though she wasn't family.
Baki started off the conversation, though not very well. He often picked the worst place to begin. "Pack your bags. We're heading to the Hidden Leaf."
Ash couldn't keep a look of confusion off his face. "Just skip past all the buildup, why don't you?"
Deciding to explain things more clearly than she knew Baki would, Pakura addressed the only two boys who were out of the loop. "Alright, let's start from the beginning. You all know that the main reason any of you haven't been promoted to Chunin is that no exams have been held in the past few years, and there's been no basis for field promotion outside of the Land of Water mission, right?"
Ash and Kankuro nodded, unsure of where this was ultimately going. Kankuro spoke for both of them on this. "Yeah... what does that have to do with an invasion?"
"The Leaf announced about two weeks ago that they wish to hold Chunin Exams soon. Being one of the five major villages, we've been invited to participate, and recent events in other countries have urged the Kazekage and the council to action."
Kankuro folded his arms. "What kind of action?"
Ash piped up beside him. "What kind of recent events?"
Looking a little irritated with the topic itself, Baki took the reins from his comrade. "We're going to use the Chunin Exams as cover to infiltrate the Hidden Leaf and sabotage its defenses prior to a cooperative offensive with one of our allies." He then glanced over his three students. "The focal point of this operation's success lies with all of you."
At this point, Ash couldn't have been more confused. It didn't help that his teachers weren't giving a very good explanation of the bigger picture. "Why are we doing this? The Hidden Sand is in bad enough economic shape as it is; there's no way we can afford a war right now."
"That's why we won't be fighting a war. The plan is to decimate the Hidden Leaf in one strike. There will be very little prolonged combat after the battle."
"And we're going to decimate them with what? Our vastly smaller force of shinobi, less than half of which have ever even fought a battle? The Hidden Leaf outnumbers us militarily almost three to one. We'd never win with odds like that even if we managed a really good first strike."
Baki normally would have snapped at the blond for objecting so much, but he couldn't deny that Ash was raising good points. Besides, he was glad to know that Ash even had the interest to consider strategic concerns. "Ash, I assure you that all of this was taken into account already. It's not as if the Kazekage doesn't know these things. As I said before, we will not be attacking alone."
"Who's helping us? I can't think of anyone willing to get into a fight with the Hidden Leaf with the world's current state of affairs, besides us, apparently."
"The Kazekage has informed us that no one below Jonin rank is to know who we will strike with until he deems it necessary."
Ash folded his arms, not pleased with this piece of news. "So even though we're the 'focal point' of this operation, we don't even know who our allies are?"
Pakura sighed as she swept one of her bangs out of her face. She didn't disagree with her pupil's perspective. "Lord Kazekage is worried that, if you are aware of who your allies are, you may compromise the operation by not competing with them as believably as required. We have to make sure no one in the Hidden Leaf suspects any treachery whatsoever. Other than what healthy paranoia will demand of their security, that is."
This time it was Kankuro who voiced his confusion. "Okay, but why us? We're just Genin, but we're supposed to be the key component of an invasion plan against one of the most powerful ninja villages in the world? What the heck are we supposed to do?"
To everyone's surprise, Temari answered this question. "Because we're the only Sand shinobi who can get inside the Hidden Leaf without raising suspicion. Think about it—why risk undercover agents when we could walk right in with our enemy's permission? To them, we'll just be Genin looking to participate in the Exams. They'll have no reason to think we're undermining their defenses in preparation for an attack."
Silence fell upon the group as Ash and Kankuro absorbed this information. After a few moments, the latter was the first to speak. "Shit, we're really doing this. We're really going to invade the Leaf..."
Temari glared at him, still a stickler even after all these years. "Hey, language."
Ignoring his two siblings, Ash focused his attention on Pakura and Baki. He'd become pretty well-read over the past four years, allowing him to raise some insightful questions. "But why? An invasion is a huge commitment of resources and manpower. And with the current state of our village... if we're defeated, there might not be a chance to recover. We'll either be economically devastated or destroyed by the Leaf in a counter-attack. Why is the Kazekage taking this risk now?"
Pakura shrugged dismissively even though the gravity of the situation demanded otherwise. "Who can say? He doesn't have to tell us why. But if I had to guess, it's because we have to do something, and soon. As long as the Hidden Leaf maintains its prominence and power, the Hidden Sand is being strangled. We're getting fewer contracts from clients each year, which in turn makes us look incompetent, which gets us even fewer contracts. This vicious cycle is crushing our economy, and people are trying to get away from it. Our population is dropping, we have fewer shinobi candidates each year... another decade of this, and the Hidden Sand as a powerful village is going to be nothing but a memory. We have to cut off the Leaf's monopoly of clientele in the west, one way or another. The Kazekage believes the time to do this is now. If I had to guess, he may have chosen this time because he's found allies willing to support us."
Ash shook his head, finding it hard to wrap his mind around this. Trying to nab clients from other nations was one thing, but to attack another ninja village directly? That was an entirely different scenario. They were discussing acts of war here, something that could spark another world conflict if it went to hell. Plenty of people had a bone to pick with the Hidden Leaf after the third world war.
"Will there be any other Genin teams coming with us?"
Baki nodded. "You guys included, we'll be sending ten teams. However, only yours knows the true nature of this event. Everyone else will think they're going to take the Exam, and that's all. You won't receive any help from them."
Pakura gestured to Maki. "Of course, if Maki had her own team, she would come along as well, but she doesn't. In the end, only your team will sabotage the Hidden Leaf. Needless to say, you can't afford discovery. You three and Baki will hardly be able to escape if the Leaf finds out what you're up to."
Feeling an unfamiliar weight settle on his shoulders, Ash looked out over his destitute village, figuring there was only one more question to ask. "When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow. Pack your things today—because the most important mission of your lives is right around the corner."
---
Despite the serious and sobering nature of their expedition, Ash was admittedly quite pleased to travel into the Land of Fire for the second time in his life. They'd departed from the Hidden Sand three days ago and had already left the Land of Rivers behind. They weren't traveling at the same breakneck speed as four years ago, but since the Exams would be held in two days, the team was still moving quickly.
Ash, for one, was happy to escape the suffocating heat of the Land of Wind, and ecstatic to see trees and grass once again. His outright bitterness for the Hidden Sand certainly wasn't what it had once been, but he still had no fondness for the desert. It was where he lived, but it wasn't exactly a wonderful place to call home.
They got to travel alone right now, as each of the teams assigned to participate in the Exams was free to move at their own pace. Unfortunately, Pakura was not with them, since she had no reason to be. Ash assumed she'd have other matters to focus on regarding the invasion.
Currently, they were rapidly approaching the Hidden Leaf village by way of the main road leading to its gates. According to Baki, they would arrive in a little under an hour. That being the case, the man took it upon himself to bring up some of the more delicate aspects of the invasion plan.
"Alright, listen up, you three. There's no doubt that, as foreign ninja, we'll be housed in designated quarters that will likely be bugged and monitored. As such, we will never, under any circumstances, discuss anything related to the invasion while we're there. So I'm going to inform you of our first steps now, before we arrive."
No one interrupted him.
"As you know, your primary objective will be to undermine the enemy's defenses in preparation for the attack. That's a wide umbrella that involves many things, but at the most basic level, it will mean placing explosives at key points throughout the village that will be detonated at the beginning of the operation. The walls are our primary target, but we'll also lace the Hokage's tower, major pathways, the hospital, and their Academy. I'll handle sabotaging heavily guarded locations."
Temari frowned in dismay, already foreseeing how dangerous it would be to pursue these objectives. "That's a lot of tags to place. If we get caught with even one, it's over. Besides, who's to say that they won't discover them after being placed?"
Ash glanced over at his sister, wondering what she thought about this entire situation. He'd yet to ask her, since she seemed to be bothered by it. Right now, he just answered her question instead. "If anyone discovers the tags afterwards, they'll have far too many suspects to single us out immediately. That's the advantage of having a ton of foreign ninja to blend with."
Kankuro nodded as he ran. He lagged just a little behind, but only because Basilisk was heavy. "Ash is right. As for getting caught, I'm sure I can deploy a lot of the tags in hard-to-reach places with some of my smaller puppets. That'll be the safest way to do it."
Despite this assurance, Temari's frown only deepened further. She didn't enjoy talking about this at all, mostly because it was a topic that included the potential for their deaths. "What else are we supposed to do besides plant bombs? Surely that isn't all?"
Keeping a lookout for Leaf patrols, Baki answered her query. "Suffice to say that your other objectives will have to wait until the invasion is closer. For now, your only focus is to make sure the initial assault goes as easily as possible. When you need to know what else to do, I'll tell you. Other than that, simply participate in the exams to the best of your abilities. Trust me, your performance in them won't matter if this operation is successful, but it has to look like you're taking them seriously."
Ash glanced down at the ground as he contemplated the mission. There were a lot of details they weren't being told. The danger they were heading into was unreal. And the possibility of success was honestly as frightening as failure. How many of their people were going to die on the day of the invasion? The Leaf was currently the strongest ninja village in the world, closely followed only by the Hidden Cloud. The number of Jonin and ANBU in the village made this incredibly dangerous, not to mention the Hokage himself...
Lost in thought, Ash remained oblivious to any conversation that may have been shared between his team as they advanced towards the Hidden Leaf. In fact, he hardly noticed their arrival at the place until its massive walls were before them. "Whoa... they're even taller than our walls..."
Baki scanned the fortifications with a critical eye. "Perhaps, but not nearly as thick. Now, all of you need to stop looking so sullen. We're approaching the gate—don't give the guards any reason to think you're contemplating something unsavory."
Temari rolled her eyes behind the man as he led the way towards the gates of the Hidden Leaf village. "Oh yeah, that's easy. Let me just think of puppies and kittens now, no problem..."
Seeing that his siblings were going to have trouble getting the sullen looks off their faces, Ash took it upon himself to derail their thoughts. "Did you guys know that Chiyo is looking to get remarried?"
Being Sasori's personal student, Kankuro reacted the most urgently. "What?! Are you kidding me? That old lady is looking for a hookup? She's like, seventy!"
Knowing what Ash was trying to do, Baki turned his head to face his team. "Seventy-six, actually. But she's stubborn, so she probably still has twenty years or so. Maybe she doesn't want to spend all of it alone."
Temari didn't seem to be nearly as shocked as Kankuro. "Yeah, Kankuro, just because she's old doesn't mean she can't find love again. After all, it's what's on the inside that counts."
The puppeteer cocked an incredulous eyebrow at her. "If you honestly believe that, I feel sorry for you, Temari."
As expected, this earned a swat from the older blonde. "Of course it's not true for a shallow pervert like you. Take some pointers from your little brother, why don't you?"
Kankuro rubbed the back of his head, miffed that Temari hit him as hard as she always did. "Hate to tell you this, Temari, but Ash is way worse than me! He's just much more secretive about it!"
The look of absolute disbelief on Temari's face made Ash feel a little guilty. The Make-Out Tactics series he was now an avid fan of had done nothing to mitigate his hormonal fantasies. He knew he was beyond saving, but it was unfortunate that Temari had such unshakable faith in his purity.
The team was completely distracted by this conversation as they came to the gates, making them look like nothing more than loud teenagers to the guards at the security checkpoint. Baki presented all the required documents for his team. The suspiciously intimate-looking pair of Leaf Chunin thoroughly looked over everything presented, and, after determining that everything was in order, waved Baki's team through the gates. They weren't suspicious in any way, as several foreign teams had already come to the Hidden Leaf for the upcoming exams.
When they were past the gate, the first thing Baki did was let his gaze roam over the Hidden Leaf village. It was their ultimate objective to destroy the place, after all. "Alright, as your sensei, I have to report to the Hokage for instructions. You three... feel free to roam the village. Don't do anything rash. And take these. They're your identification if any Leaf ninja ask."
Baki handed his students three cards with their names, appearances, personal information, and clearance on them, then headed off on his own, leaving his team to their own devices. Of course, this meant they were supposed to look around for things they would have to target in the future. There was no need for Baki to explicitly say that.
Still, they needed a direction to go, and Ash figured that there was no way to really know which direction would be the right one. All they could really do was wander, and he took the lead without any dissent from his siblings. It wasn't like it mattered if they just followed Ash's whim at first.
The Leaf was an extremely nice village. Everything appeared to be in top condition as far as housing and public roads were concerned, and the village had plenty of trees and even small rivers within its walls. The people in general appeared to be happy, and there were no blatant signs of poverty, homelessness, or any of the many other afflictions currently affecting the Hidden Sand.
And yet, despite all of those nice things, Ash was mildly confused by the maze of wooden fences he eventually found himself in. Presumably, they were used to section off private property, but somehow, there was so much of it along the walkways that the panels formed a confusing labyrinth with no apparent end. Ash couldn't help but comment on it.
"This whole thing seems really poorly thought out. This is, like, an absurd amount of fencing so close to public walkways."
Kankuro shrugged, equally clueless. "Maybe fences are a sign of affluence...?"
This comment earned a look of disbelief from Temari. "Kankuro... that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Fences, a sign of wealth? Really?"
"Well, how many fences do you see around the Hidden Sand, huh? Isn't spending money on frivolous things because you can exactly what wealthy people do?!"
Ash was about to acknowledge that Kankuro had a good point, but the discussion was instead interrupted by the loud, obnoxiously high-pitched voice of a child from somewhere nearby. "I don't even think she's human! Did you see how wide her forehead is?!"
This rather rude question was soon answered by cries of terror from several individuals, all of whom seemed to be coming closer. This earned confused expressions from the entire Sand team, all of them turning to face each other in silent query.
Unfortunately, this meant they momentarily turned away from the oncoming disturbance, and somehow, it managed to approach them with startling speed. Kankuro turned to face it first, but before he could even identify what it was, something roughly four feet tall bounced off of him. The puppeteer glanced down at some short, brown-haired kid with a goofy face, a long blue scarf, and green goggles.
"Uh..."
The runt was quickly bumped into by two more around his age behind him—a boy with huge glasses and a snotty nose, and a girl with some gravity-defying orange hair. "Konohamaru, are you alright?!"
Unable to muster a response, Kankuro and his siblings stayed speechless as the three little kids were followed up by two girls much closer to their age—an orange-clad blonde with waist-length hair in twin-tails and a girl with locks the shade of cherry blossoms. Panting and slightly bruised from a punch or two, the blonde called out to this Konohamaru kid. "Hey, you've gotta be more careful! I mean, I know Sakura is scary and all, but you ran right into... uh... this creepy guy. See, if you don't watch where you're going, you'll get kidnapped by some weirdo."
Still a little stunned by the event now taking place, the pink-haired girl, 'Sakura' apparently, pushed the blonde out of the way. "Narumi, don't be so rude! At least apologize first for running into them!"
The blonde, whom Ash now saw bore strange stripes on her cheeks that didn't look like makeup, turned to face the girl next to her. "But, Sakura, Konohamaru is the one who ran into them, not me."
Ignoring this truth, Sakura quickly bowed in Kankuro's direction. "I'm so sorry about this. This is my fault, so please don't get angry at them."
Kankuro clearly didn't know what to say. Since he wasn't going to make a timely reply, Ash stepped in for him. No need to let things get more awkward than they already were. "It's no problem, don't worry about it. No one got hurt, after all."
Sakura quickly rose out of her bow. Narumi, on the other hand, jabbed a finger at the Sand Siblings. "Yeah, yeah, alright, but seriously—who are you guys? You're obviously not Leaf ninja."
Sakura punched her companion in the back of the head, though it seemed like it was more pent-up frustration over something that had gone down between them earlier. "Don't you know anything?! They're Sand ninja! You idiot, you should at least know the insignias of the Big Five!"
Narumi slumped to the ground as she cradled her head in pain. She was quickly surrounded by her miniature admirers. "Gah! Boss, are you OK?!"
Ash saw a sympathetic wince from Kankuro. His brother knew too well how it felt to have that happen, courtesy of Temari.
The girl reminding Kankuro of Temari regained her decorum almost instantly. "Of course, since you are Sand ninja... what are you doing here? As far as I know, our countries aren't enemies, but foreign ninja shouldn't be in the village. I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave without an explanation."
Temari flashed the ID card Baki had provided them with earlier. "We're here for the Exams. Shouldn't that be obvious?"
"Of course. You can never be too careful. Sorry to be a bother."
Narumi indignantly shot to her feet. "You'll apologize to strangers for being rude but not to me for punching me in the head?!"
Before Sakura could answer, a boy's voice echoed into the street from behind the Sand siblings. "Quiet down, Narumi. If you keep acting like an idiot, you're going to give all Leaf ninja a bad name."
All eyes turned to the newcomer, a dark-haired boy with a blue top and cargo shorts. His reclined pose on the upper branch of a tree oozed confidence as he appraised the foreigners in his village. "So you guys are Sand ninja, huh? Hmph... you sure you're up for these Exams? You don't look very impressive to me."
Temari scowled as she prepared to snipe back at the stranger, but Kankuro's wit beat her to the punch. "This coming from a guy wearing a duck's tail feathers on his head...?"
Narumi burst out laughing, pointing a mocking finger at the boy in the tree. "See, Sasuke? It's not just me, everyone sees it!"
Sasuke scowled at the blonde before leaping down from his perch to stand across from Ash's team. The look of disdain on his face only intensified. "There's only one person here hiding under a hood and behind makeup. I don't think you've got room to judge anyone's fashion sense."
Kankuro didn't have a comeback ready this time, though Sakura tentatively spoke up. "Sasuke, maybe we shouldn't—"
Temari completely bulldozed over whatever Sakura had to say as she shot Sasuke a heated glare. "If you're so confident, go ahead and try us. We'll see if you Uchiha live up to more than your arrogance."
The mention of the Uchiha name earned a curious look from Ash. He may have been from another village, but the Uchiha were known just about everywhere. Now that Temari had mentioned it, the crest on Sasuke's back did look a bit familiar.
Sasuke smirked at the trio of foreigners. "It's pride, not arrogance. And we earned it. I'd be happy to prove it to you right now."
Ash noted both Kankuro and Temari growing agitated. He didn't doubt they would take Sasuke up on his offer if no one intervened. Fortunately, Ash didn't feel nearly as annoyed that Sasuke was talking trash. He didn't even know the guy.
"Sorry, but fighting here would no doubt cause a lot of problems for all of us. If you really want to cut us foreigners down to size, come find us during the Exams. We can settle it there."
Sasuke's expression contorted in displeasure for a moment, but quickly evened out. He could see that Ash had a point. "Fine. But don't expect me to go out of my way to fight weak opponents."
With that, Sasuke turned on his heels and left. Temari and Kankuro quickly turned in the opposite direction to do the same. Only Ash stayed behind. He wanted to make a good impression on the girls, after all. "Sakura, Narumi; it was a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry for the commotion."
Sakura, halfway through a turn to call out to Sasuke, was too caught off-guard to say anything. Narumi had no such issue. "Yeah, same to you! You guys look tough, so I hope we can fight in the exams and see who's stronger! Don't mind Sasuke. He's a jerk to everyone!"
"I'll take your word for it. Anyway, I'd better not be left behind by my team. Good luck in the Exams, Narumi. You too, Sakura."
Narumi waved as Ash turned on his heel and headed towards the retreating forms of his siblings. Before he was even out of earshot, the whiskered blonde was harping on her teammate. "See, Sakura? Even strangers are nicer to you than Sasuke is! You should seriously rethink your love life."
"Shut up, that's not true! Sasuke doesn't ignore me, he just isn't as outwardly emotional as you. Maybe it's a blonde thing?"
"But, Sakura, even Rin thinks it's a lost cause..."
Ash was soon too far to overhear anything else, so he stepped up his pace to catch up with his siblings. Upon reuniting, he noticed that Temari seemed especially irritated, while Kankuro was intently dwelling on something.
"Suddenly the two of you are in bad moods."
Temari huffed in annoyance. "Of course I am! Who does that duck-hair bastard think he is, just assuming that he can take us down like it's nothing? What an arrogant little twerp! You shouldn't have stopped him, Ash. Would have loved to kick his ass right there..."
"For all we know, he might actually be some ninja prodigy or something. Maybe he wasn't wrong."
"How can you say that? Of course he's wrong! Right, Kankuro?"
Temari frowned as Kankuro muttered something. "Man, I've gotta think of a good comeback for the makeup thing..."
Rolling her eyes, Temari turned to face Ash again. "What were you doing back there anyway? That brat didn't have a parting shot, did he?"
"I was just saying goodbye to the girls. Don't want to leave a bad impression."
This earned a frown out of Ash's older sister. She liked to convince herself that girls would be out of Ash's mental scope until he was much older, even if that was a willful delusion. "Don't be ridiculous, that pink hair looked stupid..."
"I thought it was pretty. Really matched her eyes, too. I wonder if it's natural?"
"Of course not, how could it be? Look, is it really a good idea to think even remotely fondly of anyone we meet here? I shouldn't need to tell you why it's a bad idea."
The mention of their ulterior motive put a sour look on Ash's face. For a brief while, he'd truly forgotten about it. "Yeah, you're right... c'mon, we should keep exploring."
With nods of assent from his siblings, Ash once again chose a random direction and led the way for the trio of infiltrators.