Death Incarnate

"An assassination mission?!"

We were in a secure briefing room in the Hokage's tower. Sakura was staring incredulously. "I don't even know where to start. Is it the fact that Naruto is on speaking terms with the Hokage and calls him Jiji?" Naruto scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "Or is it the fact that Kakashi sensei picked an assassination as our first C rank mission? Are we even ready for it?"

"You'll never be ready for it." Kakashi said stoically. "What did I say being a ninja was about?"

"Making tough choices." Naruto answered.

"Yes. You've been given a mission. You'll be making a tough choice. Today, you'll be deciding whether to accept this mission or not. If you accept it, you'll be taking your first real step into the ninja world. If you decline it, you'll be rejecting this life and going back to the civilian life with a clean conscience."

"Those are the pros. Now for the cons. If you accept it, you'll be taking the life of people who would may or may not be innocent. On the other hand, if you don't accept it, you'll be court martialed. Tough choice but it's yours to make."

An uneasy silence filled the room. We stared at each other. Court martial or taking a life? It didn't matter. I already made my choice the moment I enrolled in the ninja academy. "I accept the mission." I spoke firmly and Kakashi frowned. After a few seconds, the others echoed my words.

"Okay." Kakashi gave a single nod and turned to the board in the room. He began placing pictures on the board. "These are our targets." Three pictures. Two women and one man. "Two brothers started a business together. The Tachibana Casino. They named it after their last name. They got married and built their business into a very profitable chain of casinos."

"Everything was rosy until the younger brother discovered a terrible secret. His elder brother, his sister-in-law and his wife came together to conspire against him. He found out completely by chance. His wife had been slowly poisoning him in order to make his death look natural. They were planning to kill him and divide his share of the family business among themselves."

"To make matters worse, he discovered that they've all been having sex together."

"That's enough to drive a man mad." Naruto frowned. "Now he wants to kill his wife?"

"No." Kakashi crossed his arms. "Our client wants us to assassinate all three in a way that would not draw attention to him."

I sat up. That's brutal. Total revenge. He wants to kill them all and take their share. An eye for an eye. Or rather, a preemptive strike. I approve. My mind turned to the citizens of Konoha. A stone of resentment was lodged in my gut. I turned my mind back to the matter at hand.

"Their death must not have any traces of assassination. We'll be leaving for our destination today. Pack essential supplies only and meet me at training ground seven. All preparations must adhere to code seventy five. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" We chorused. Code seventy five. We'll be disguised, traveling, acting, speaking and moving like civilians.

"We'll be traveling as orphans on our way to pay a visit to the orphanage we grew up in which is in Wave country. From this moment, the couple will be known as Uncle and Aunt. The Lome wife will be known as Sister Mai. Sakura, you're in charge of Aunt. Naruto, you're in charge of Uncle. Yuji, you're in charge of sister Mai."

Kakashi sensei dropped a scroll each in front of us. "These is the dossier provided to us by our client and verified by our operatives. Memorise them. Burn then after memorization. No details of this mission must leave this room. Got it."

"Yes sir!"

*******

Miss Nao stood on a secluded, forested part of the Konoha wall, her eyes fixed on the distant figures of team seven as they departed on their first C-rank mission.

As she watched them disappear into the distance, Nao allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction. Her mission, at least for now, was complete.

As she savored the moment, Kabuto appeared beside her, almost soundlessly, his presence as discreet as ever. "Report to Orochimaru about Yuji's departure from the village," she instructed without turning to look at him. "Phase one is a go."

Kabuto chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm not a mule, Nao. Do it yourself," he declined with a dismissive air, his voice laced with amusement.

Nao sighed heavily, her satisfaction turning to irritation. "Young ninjas these days don't know the value of respect," she remarked, her tone laced with disappointment. Orochimaru should have taught his pet better.

"Maybe some people aren't worthy of respect," Kabuto retorted, his laughter fading into a cold smirk as his glasses glinted in the light of the sun.

In a flash of anger, Nao attacked, moving with a speed that was hard to follow. Kabuto was quick to react, his chakra scalpel glowing as he hit the reaching hands of Nao. Nao felt the damage in her muscles.

Flagging only momentarily, Nao surged forward. Kabuto spun, landing critical hits and cutting deeply into her hands, sending sprays of blood into the air.

Nao snarled, her severed limbs regenerating as thin, blood red ropes of flesh reformed and stitched themselves back together. With a quick burst of speed, she grabbed Kabuto by the neck, lifting him off the ground as he choked.

Kabuto rained down more chakra scalpels on her arm, cutting deep, but each wound healed almost as quickly as it was made, the flesh knitting together in a grotesque display of red ropes. Through it all, Nao gave a bloodthirsty laugh, her eyes wild with the thrill of the confrontation.

"You're a rat in front of a snake, Kabuto. What do you think? Would Orochimaru mind if I killed you?" she hissed, tightening her grip.

Kabuto's face turned a shade paler as his air supply dwindled, his body starting to slump from the lack of oxygen. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, Nao abruptly dropped him. He collapsed to the ground, gasping and hacking for breath, his hands clutching at his throat as he struggled to recover.

Nao towered over him, her expression cold and merciless. "Deliver the message," she commanded sternly. "And clean up this mess."

Without another word, she turned and walked away, leaving Kabuto on the ground. Ninjas were natural killers but some were death incarnate. Kabuto now knew which one Nao was.