Unexpected Guest

"Naruto, curious about their destination, queried, "So, where exactly are we heading?"

"Patience, Naruto... You'll learn soon enough. Let's move," Jiraiya responded, and together, they vacated the village.

Not long after their departure, two mysterious figures approached the entrance of Konoha.

They were clad in long, dark cloaks with a crimson interior, adorned with scarlet clouds and a high collar... Their faces were obscured by straw hats, with small decorative torques and tassels hanging over their faces. One of them had a massive sword strapped to his back.

As they ambled past the gate, a guard called out to them, "Hold on, you two!" The guard's eyes met one of the strange men, and he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness before falling unconscious.

The strangers proceeded into the village, unhampered.

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Meanwhile, the Sand ninja, having failed in their assault on Konoha, were returning to their home.

Midway through their journey across the desert, one of them noticed a disturbance in the distance. He alerted his comrades, and they advanced towards the anomaly.

They discovered a cave, from which crows were emerging...

One of the ninjas moved closer, peeked inside, and then beckoned his comrades over. "Come, see this..."

The sight that greeted them left them speechless and aghast.

"No... Lord Kazekage..." one of them uttered, his voice heavy with dread and disbelief.

"They've been dead for some time... My estimate is since before the Chunin exams began..." the ninja who had discovered the cave speculated.

Understanding dawned on the leader of the Sand ninjas. "So, that's what it was... Damn you, Orochimaru," he growled, anger simmering in his voice.

"Following the demise of the esteemed Lord Kazekage, either Orochimaru or Kabuto took on his identity..." the man seethed with anger. "It was our negligence..." he lamented, his tone filled with regret.

...

...

In Orochimaru's base, Kabuto assisted Orochimaru in sitting down, his arms heavily injured from the previous battle.

"Sarutobi..." Orochimaru gasped, catching his breath. "You didn't think it would be easy, did you? Although we didn't need to face that Naruto kid... If he had been there, it would have been much more difficult. But you did fairly well," Kabuto remarked.

"Shut your mouth... I won't be patronized by you, do you understand me? I'll kill you..." Orochimaru growled in anger.

"Forgive me, I never intended... But let us not forget our other objective... Sasuke. Although we failed to place the seal on him, I've heard that Naruto will be away from the village for some time, and Sasuke harbors jealousy towards him. We just need to ignite that jealousy and lure him with the promise of power... and he will be ours," Kabuto explained.

"I know it cost me my arms and much more... If our initial plan had succeeded, we wouldn't be in this mess. But it's too late now... That dream has died. Itachi is stronger than I am, which is why I left that organization," Orochimaru admitted.

Meanwhile, in Konoha Village...

"Do you know where he is?" one of the mysterious men asked.

"It should be relatively easy to find him," the other man replied.

"Let's go..."

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Meanwhile, Kakashi stood outside a shop, engrossed in reading his special books, while Kurenai and Asuma approached him.

"Hey guys, you two seem to be getting along," Kakashi remarked, closing his books and looking at both of them.

Kurenai blushed slightly and looked down. "Idiot! Anko just asked me to pick up some rice dumplings for her," she explained.

"What are you doing here besides catching up on your reading?" Asuma asked Kakashi.

"Uh... I need to buy something to put on a grave, and I'm also meeting somebody here. I'm waiting for Sasuke," Kakashi replied.

"It's unlike you to be waiting for someone... Is it for Obito?" Asuma questioned.

"Obito?" Kurenai spoke in a confused tone.

"Yeah, kind of," Kakashi replied.

Meanwhile, inside the shop, the two strangers who had entered the village were eavesdropping on their conversation. Kakashi glanced back, catching a glimpse of them out of the corner of his eye.

As Sasuke approached the location, he remarked, "So you have learned some discipline, I see," with a mocking voice.

"What can I say? It's never too late to learn... somebody said," Kakashi replied.

Sasuke glanced inside the shop but found no one except two cups of tea on the table.

"Let's eat somewhere else," Sasuke suggested.

"Hmm, is that so..." Kakashi said, looking at Kurenai and Asuma and subtly hinting at them. Both of them nodded in understanding and swiftly left the place.

Sasuke felt a little confused but chose not to speak up...

...

As Asuma and Kurenai stood in front of the two strangers by the lake, Asuma questioned their presence. "You guys aren't from around here, are you? What are you doing in this village?" he asked.

"It's been a long time, Asuma and Kurenai," one of the men responded.

"The fact that you know our names makes me think that you're shinobi from the Leaf Village," Asuma remarked.

One of the men started to remove his hat over his face, revealing two glowing Sharingan eyes. Asuma and Kurenai frowned at the sight, recognizing the Sharingan. "You're..." Asuma began to speak, but before he could finish, the man removed his hat and adjusted his collar, fully revealing his face.

"Well, what do you know, Itachi! Itachi Uchiha," Asuma said, recognizing him.

The other man also removed his hat, showing his face. He had a tall and muscular build, pale blue skin, white eyes, and carried a scale-covered sword. He introduced himself as Kisame Hoshigaki.

"Is this your friend, Itachi?" Asuma inquired.

"Well then, I suppose I need to introduce myself," Kisame spoke.

Asuma, Kurenai waited for Kisame to reveal his name.

"Hope we can get acquainted later. The name is Kisame Hoshigaki," Kisame introduced himself.

"Why should we wait until later when I can just wipe the floor with you two now?" Asuma retorted with a smile.

"Ah, Itachi, it looks like they hate you as much in this village as they do in mine," Kisame remarked with a slight smirk.

"We know who you are, Kisame. We've heard all about you. You hail from the Village of the Mist, suspected of espionage and the murder of a feudal lord. You're a rogue ninja from the Land of Water, wanted in every nation," Kurenai stated.

"You're a high-level S-ranked criminal, prominently listed in the bingo book," Asuma added.

"Itachi, I gotta hand it to you. The fact that you've even shown your face in this village after what you did takes guts," Asuma continued, addressing Itachi directly.

"I'm warning you both, you don't want to interfere with me. It isn't my desire to kill you," Itachi spoke with an emotionless tone.

"You know, it's pretty hilarious, coming from a guy who murdered his own people. Now come on out with it. I know you didn't come here for no good reason. What are you after?" Asuma questioned.

Kisame suddenly brought out his huge sword from his back and struck it against the ground.

"This guy is getting on my nerves. Can I kill him?" Kisame said, eager for a fight.

"Well, I guess we're not going anywhere without a fight. Just try not to overdo it. Your moves tend to stand out," Itachi replied.

"They're as good as dead," Kisame confidently stated, putting his sword over his shoulder.

The four of them stared at each other with battle-intended looks, tension filling the air.

Kisame threw his hat to the ground and swiftly attacked Asuma with his sword. Asuma managed to dodge the strike, but Kisame followed up with another swing, which Asuma blocked using his trench knives.

Kurenai took a step backward and began performing hand seals.

"I see, Genjutsu..." Itachi thought to himself as Kurenai suddenly disappeared.

Meanwhile, Kisame continued to put pressure on Asuma with his sword, while Asuma struggled to keep the sword at bay using his trench knives.

"He's bearing down with just the edge of his sword. His strength is unreal," Asuma thought, realizing that he couldn't keep up with Kisame's power as the sword eventually landed a hit on his shoulder.

"My massively shark skin," Kisame thought, smiling slightly as he hit the sword towards Asuma, causing a wound.

"It doesn't matter, it cuts you to ribbons..." Kisame thought as he removed his sword.

Asuma placed a hand on his shoulder wound, which was bleeding. The battle had taken a dangerous turn, and the fight was far from over.

"It's time, Kurenai," Asuma said, holding his wound with a determined smile.

Suddenly, Kisame, who was standing beside Itachi, was grabbed by a tree emerging from beneath him. The same happened to Itachi, who remained expressionless as a tree ensnared him.

Kurenai appeared behind Itachi, her kunai in hand, ready to strike. "Alright, let's end this," she declared, swinging the kunai towards Itachi.

But to everyone's surprise, Kurunai herself was ensnared by the same tree she had used to trap Itachi. Itachi calmly revealed, "Genjutsu of that level doesn't work on me."

"He used a Genjutsu reflection...?" Kurunai thought to herself, realizing the trap had backfired.

As Itachi brought out a kunai, Kurunai closed her eyes to dispel the Genjutsu. However, as she did so, blood came out of her lips. Itachi swiftly moved towards her, swinging his kunai, but Kurunai managed to dodge, only losing some strands of her hair in the process. Itachi followed up with a powerful kick to her face, causing her to drop into the lake.

"Kurenai!" Asuma shouted in concern as he watched her fall.

"I wouldn't be looking at her if I were you," Kisame taunted Asuma.

Itachi suddenly appeared behind Kurunai at the lake. "You live up to your reputation, however..."

Before Itachi could continue, a voice interrupted him from behind.

As Kisame continued his relentless attack on Asuma, Asuma skillfully dodged and counterattacked with his trench knives. He managed to strike Kisame's face, leaving a cut as he channeled his chakra into the knives, making them more effective.

Kisame, surprised by Asuma's technique, commented, "What..."

Asuma's attack was interrupted as Kisame performed hand signs. "Water Style: Water Shot Pump Jutsu!" both Kisame and Kakashi exclaimed simultaneously. Their attacks collided, destroying each other in the process.

"He used the same jutsu as me," Kisame said, astonished.

"Not that I'm unhappy to see you, but what are you doing here?" Asuma asked Kakashi.

"Well, you know, I asked you to take care of those two earlier, but I guess I got a little worried," Kakashi replied. The real Kakashi stood behind Itachi, while his shadow clone stood in front of Asuma and Kisame.

"Kakashi, it's you..." Itachi said, looking back as their Sharingan eyes met.

Kakashi pinned a kunai at Itachi. "Now talk... What is a rogue ninja like you doing in this village?" Kakashi demanded answers from Itachi.

Itachi stared back at him. "Kakashi... Hatake..."

[So here's the deal, folks. Everything went down just like in the classic Naruto anime, no twists or turns. I started writing, got halfway through, and had this "aha" moment. It hit me - I'm just retelling the same ol' Naruto story. Nothing fresh, nothing new. Felt a bit silly, to be honest. But hey, I've put in the effort, so why not give it a read? Go easy on the swearing, yeah? Next chapter will be with Naruto and his journey I swear...

Now, if you don't fancy being caught in Itachi's infamous Genjutsu, better start dropping those Powerstones.

Oh, and you can catch me on Discord - I'm Hasnathh over there.

Catch you later!