Twenty years ago:

The night's sky was as black as ink, the moon hidden behind the packing clouds of a thunderstorm, a rare occasion in Konoha. The leaves on the trees in the village rustled in the strong wind, branches swept frol side to side, moved by an invisible force.

Inside the large house, behind the stained glass windows, an tall, slender man was gazing at the arrival of the storm, when a sudden flash of light tore the sky apart for just an instant, revealing a shadow behind the slender man, an eerie omen of what was about to happen.

When another flash of light ripped through the night's sky, the man noticed a glistening, sharp blade being held in front of his throat, yet he gave no reaction, only giving a soft sight when closing his eyes. "It seems I should've expected this to happen?"

When he had said these words, the blade made a swift, agile movement away frol the window, which suddenly turned red by a spray of fresh blood, followed by the sound of a collapsing body and a sickeningly calm and collected voice answering the dead man's question: "Sacrifices for the benefit of the village."

The morning afterwards, with the storm having subsided into a mild, rainy weather, the children of the Ouroboros clan's leading Orochi family were shocked to hear the news of the assassination on the clanhead and his wife, with no evidence to who was responsible for this brutal and cruel act, except for the knowledge that the person who had managed to do this, was a well trained assassin or spy, for the deaths of the two were precise and quick, the perfect murder.

In the days after this assassination, the clan's council of elders convened to decide on who of the children would be the next clanhead. With a lot of votes for the older son, the choice still fell upon the younger daughter, who beared the clan's kekkei genkai and therefore was more suited to become clanhead.

"Congratulations, sister," Orochi Enaka said to his beloved sister, when they heard the result of the votes, with Orochi Aori thanking her brother and hugging him, requesting that he would remain her advisor in contrary to the elder council of the clan. "As long as you're the clanhead, I will serve you."

Thirteen Years ago:

"While I do respect you, hokage-sama, I still believe you are wrong," The ANBU captain said to the man wearing the traditional clothes that came with the title of being hokage. The man simply sighed deeply, nodding his head swiftly from left to right, after which he looked straight at the masked man who stood right across the other side of the hokage's desk. "No way a simple peace treaty with those barbarians from Kirigakure would benefit Konoha. It is a sign of weakness, we should send our forces to them and anihilate their entire existence. Send me, milord and Kirigakure will fall into our control."

The man behind the desk stood up and stared through the window at the Leaf village below. Holding a pipe in his hand, the man simply sighed again, before turning around and taking a blue map from the stack of papers that had cluttered upon his desk.

"This is the treaty, Enaka," The man said calmly, placing it back on the pile of papers and documents. "I will accept their offer and you will follow my decision, or do you want me to relieve you from your duties and dismiss you from the ANBU? It would be a pity to no longer be relying on your advice my friend."

The masked man took a step back and made a bow, retreating himself almost instantly, when he suddenly noticed that the hokage looked straight at him.

"As a matter of fact, Enaka," The hokage spoke with a stern voice. His eyes showing that he was no longer in the mood for any meaningless discussions. "I'm contemplating what I should do with you. You have served me well, but just like the legend of the third hokage and his three students, I fear the path you are taking. Hereby I promote you to the advisory council of our village and relieve you of the burden of being an ANBU captain, your sister will take over command of the entire division in your place, is that clear?"

The masked man took his mask off, revealing two black, cold eyes, his lips not moving at all when he placed the mask on the hokage's desk. "So you have commanded, so shall it be, hokage-sama."

783/???

thirteen years ago:

A man was seated on a large, thronelike chair, listening to the murmurs in the hall, the half a dozen men talking to eachother, all wearing the usual Konoha ANBU outfit. Most of them he knew by name and face, having worked with them for over ten years, others were selected by their records, their skills and their standing within the village or with the hokage.

Even though he had been forced to resign as an ANBU captain, his influence had only been growing in Konoha, his scheles and plans had only become larger, encompassibg much more than only his own family, clan or village. He had decided to change the future, by making sure everyone could live their lives in peace, while he did what he had to do, no matter the cost, Konoha would become the beacon of power that it should've been: the village to rule the entire shinobi world.

He stood up from his chair, demanding all attention from those in the room by simply scraping his throat softly, after which he walked to a simple table at the center of the room, which had been covered by a large piece of cloth the entire time, removing it, he revealed the dozen masks, black ANBU masks that were laying on it.

"When you adorn this mask, you lose your identity," The man said calmly, but loud enough for all in the room to hear. His fingers slid accross one of the masks while he pauzed for an instant. "When you take on the role of ANBU, that is what has been told to you by the hokage, but I wont repeat his words, because what I will demand is not your identity nor your name or face. What I demand is your loyalty, your ideals and beliefs. When you trade your mask for these, you will no longer be a man or a woman, you will no longer be a servant, you will become a tool, a necessary piece of the grand puzzle we call the future. When you take the mask, you will be part of the Central Intelligence Division, you will obey me above the command of the Hokage, you will act to what I say, you will follow to my guidance and you will be the knife that cuts through those who dare to stand in my way...Konoha's way to the future."

In silence, the men and women in the room accepted these terms by taking their respective masks and placing them in front of their faces, becoming part of Enaka's own private organization and for the first time in centuries, Konoha had yet again gained a Shadow of the Hokage, for that was all people could see in Enaka's black eyes: an everlasting shadow, the blood of all those who he had put aside staining the darkness behind him and within him.

Wc: 488/1271/????

Eleven Years ago: Tragedy of the Naka river

A team of Koniha ANBU was running through the trees, keeping close to the Naka river, checking the surroundings for the missing nin they were supposed to track and destroy. The Hokage was quite specific with the details, telling his most trusted ANBU captain, Orochi Aori that these missing-nin were to dangerous to be left alone and that one of them was a former ANBU himself, who knew a far to great deal of secrets the village had kept silent over the past decades.

One of her teammates came closer to her and nodded towards her husband, who was part of the same team. She noticed him signaling her to come closer, which she did immediately, always relying on his good senses.

"They're close, just a few hundred meters ahead," The man would say, holding his left index and middle finger in front of the mouth of his mask, which depicted that he was actually using one of his many sensory jutsu to expand his senses so that he would even be able to hear the beating wings of a fly at half a mile's distance. "They've stopped, Aori. What are your orders?"

She simply gave a sign, telling her entire team to keep vigilant and off the radar, not knowing if any of the group of missing-nin had activated a sensory jutsu or not, also believing it was best not to risk fighting in the open, as the former ANBU she had been warned about, was known for his area changing jutsu.

After just a few seconds, the team of Konoha ANBU had reached a clearing, where the missing-nin had apparently some sort of meeting with an unknown oerson or organization. It was Aori who first noticed the three ANBU-like shinobi arrive at the spot, all wearing black masks similar to those of her own team, all wearing outfits that were in a way twisted copies of her own uniform, but she could not see who these men were, except that she did notice that they were from Konoha and that they had the exact same tattoo as she did, the tattoo stating that you were part of Konoha's ANBU.

This was quite a shock, because it was proof of the rumor about the so-called Black ANBU, a subdivision which operated by its own rules and with its own leader and management, but they had never been seen and yet, here she was, looking at a meeting between a group of highly dangerous missing-nin and the rulored Black ANBU.

"We're supposed to wait...Lord...coming," She couldn't hear everything, but she noticed the tension both in her own team and the meeting down there. The chances of succes had dwindled with the arrival of those Black ANBU, but with what she heard, it appeared not everyone was at the meeting yet. She had the difficult task of deciding how to continue her mission or report this to the Hokage for further decisions on their actions.

516/1785/???

Because it had already turned evening, the forest clearing bathed in the pale moonlight, with the group of missing-nin and the illustrious Black ANBU waiting for the arrival of someone who apparently had been pulling the strings all along, but Aori, who was watching the entire situation with her team, still had to make a decision on what her team would be doing: Act there and then or fall back to report the things that occured to the Hokage.

Before she could even think about her choices clearly, her husband drew the tanto he carried on his back, slicing it through the air to deflect an incoming kunai, which was quickly followed by a dozen more of them.

"Damn, an ambush," She said aloud, while gritting her teeth, noticing that the missing nin at the clearing had also prepared themselves, though the three Black ANBU shinobi just simply stood by and watched the spectacle without moving an inch. A moment later Aori would know why, as it were Black ANBU who had been besieging her team. "For the leaf!!"

She quickly made some handseals, releasing a thick mist from her mouth, which should've covered her team and provide a good way out, yet the ex-ANBU she and her team were tracking and who had allied with the missing nin and the secretive leader of the Black ANBU, apparently knew how to get rid of that pesky mist, when just an instant after it had appeared, he completely dispersed the mist with a massive air displacement jutsu, throwing her team from their trees in the process.

"Damn you," The ANBU captain would yell, while attacking the ex-ANBU, her own team struggling to maintain their ground against four Black ANBU shinobi and the four missing nin, making it a two versus one ratio for them and even though they were well experienced in teamwork, these opponents were of the same, if not of higher level than their own.

Using her meshed gauntlets, Aori managed to defend herself from the ex-ANBU's katana, deflecting it every time it managed to get in range, making sure she would not be losing strength from pesky cuts. After a few trades of blows, she suddenly jumped backwards, formed a few handseals and in an instant, two massive snakes made out of mud were launched at her opponent, but he seemed to hardly even bother himself, as he swiped them aside with sudden bursts of electricity coling from his hands, troubling Aori, as now she knew that her opponent had a complete elemental advantage over her.

"Who would've thought I'd be pitted against the White Snake of Konoha one day," The man laughed, when he was swinging at her with his blade, surprised when he suddenly saw her break the blade with her fists. "Ah, the famous hardening snakescale jutsu...I am impressed, it is just like he said, you and your team are good, but we have won."

Aori didn't realize what he meant with those words until it was too late, screaming in agony when she saw one of the missing nin decapitate her husband, his tanto dropping right in front of her feet.

In a fit of rage, she grabbed the weapon and vanished from sight, reappearing thrice around two missing nin, lashing out with the tanto, so fast, that when she stood still again, it took those two a few seconds to realize that all their artiries had been cut, spraying the air with their red, warm blood, covering the furiated Aori with their life itself. "I will kill you all."

The ANBU captain, mad out of sorrow and pain, ran towards the ex-ANBU, but slowed her pace for just an instant, a fatal moment, when she heard a sound, the sound of sandals stepping on the grass, after which she felt a surge of chakra through the tendons in her knees, dropping down to the ground because the tendons had been cleanly cut, without even leaving a trace on the surface. She knew that jutsu: the chakra scalpel. "Who, who are you?"

The sandals came out of the shadow, the black and purple haki covering a black jumpsuit and a purple obi appeared, yet the face of the mysterious person still remained hidden in the shadows.

"I am surprised that you did not figure it out yet, my dear little Aori," A smooth, yet icy cold voice spoke from out of the shadows, chakra visibly surging through the man's black gloved hands, touching both shoulders of the ANBU captain, severing the muscles that held her arms. "Here your era ends and I will reign supreme over the clan, the village and maybe one day...all of creation."

Aori looked up and just when she could gaze in those eyes, black as the darkest of nights, colder than the north or the south pole's icy climate and more terrifying than the eyes of an Uchiha, just when she could realize who the actual puppetmaster was, she could feel a blade of chakra sever her main artery, cutting off her lifeforce, drowning her body in its own blood. "E-naka...ni-sa...ma."

870/2675/???

Four years ago:

It had been raining all the time, not even willing to show a little sunshine during the summer, the weather had really taken an abysmal turn for the worst, when Hamada-sensei's team was send to the land of bridges to get materials and two engineers for the construction of windmills at the south of Konoha.

This mission had been granted to Hamada by the advisory council of the Hokage, as they were quite certain that he as a jounin, combined with the three rookies of three following years, would be more than suitable this simple task of getting the supplies and escorting the two well known engineers.

The team had already reached the land of bridges, surprised because of the fact that it was now constantly raining, unlike in the land of fire, but this had a simple explanation, with the fact that a low pressure field had gone over the land of bridges, it was normal to have rain in the first place, certainly after having had weeks of severe heat and draught.

"We should've taken our winter gear with us, Hamada-sensei," The only boy in the team of three genin laughed, giving a gkance to his side, looking at the two girls of his team who seemed to have been smarter than the boy and Hamada sensei, because they both had their raincoats on. "Typical for girls to be packing everything for a year into a trip for two weeks."

Hamada-sensei simply smiled, gave the boy a nudge on his head and started weaving some handseals, after activating the desired jutsu, the rain stopped falling, as they were seemingly protected by a large hemispherical dome that stopped the rain abover them.

"This technique was tought to me by my former master, who was an expert in land and area altering jutsu, but especially with fuuton," Hamada sensei laughed, while showing off this simple technique to his students. "Now, just to teach you guys, this jutsu has no value in combat, as it makes everything easier for not only you, but also your opponent...which would not be slart, right?"

The three of them gave a nod in understanding, laughing and giggling when Hamada sensei stumbled over a tree's root and fell flat on his face just an instant later. The way to the supply depot of the land of bridges was a relaxing and enjoyable journey, who would've known that in the end...everything would change.

418/3000/3000 training element complete
93/??? Training

training completed:

"Hey Risu, what are you doing?" Hamada-sensei asked, when the group had come to the land of bridges and had found the engineers and the supplies they were supposed to pick up. The young sensei was looking at the Orochi prodigy, who was seemingly playing with a four feet long adder, which from the looks of it, had just found a good meal in the form of a fat rat, with the tail of the rodent still hanging outside the snake's maw. "If you want to take it with you, please dont put it anywhere near me...I've got a fear of snakes...sort off."

The young girl looked up, gave a swift, yet sweet smile, suddenly forming a few handsigns, after which a large snake made out of mud started to coil around Hamada-sensei's leg, making the poor shinobi scream in terror, followed by the laughter of the other gennin in his team.

"Damn it Risu, you really are a handfull," the jounin yelled, though not angry, when the mudsnake had returned to nothing but a pile of mud, with the girl laughing, when she was grabbed at her arm by Kaoru, the only boy who ever showed interest in her. "Kaoru, quit laughing...I wasn't lying about my fear of snakes."

The boy only laughed harder after that comment, hugging Risu a bit tighter, while whispering in her ear. "well, that does explain how you could get that bell so easily during our training sessions. You simply scare the heeby jeebies out of the poor guy."

This joke made Risu fall into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, at which Kaoru had to hold her tight, making sure she wouldn't lose her balance and fall to the ground while laughing out loud. "Come on sensei, I want to be home tomorrow. Let's make haste, I want to see the look on Risu's uncle's face when he sees we managed to fullfill this mission in less than a week."

Even though that comment was made lighthearted, it seemed Hamada-sensei was less happy with that comment. Nor Kaoru, Momo or Risu knew why Hamada had such a bad mood every time Orochi Enaka's name was mentioned or implied, as if he had some sort of secret that burdened his mind. So the group, along with the two engineers continued their journey in an awkward silence, during which Hamada-sensei came walking close to Risu at one point, whispering something in her ear: "When we're setting up camp, we need to talk, Risu."

3000/3000 element training completed
434/527/1000 B rank jutsu training/-20% wc clan perk.

It had become evening before the group knew it, with the moon giving a pale and eerie atmosphere to the surroundings of the place where the three genin, Hamada sensei and the two engineers had set up camp. They had already lit a fire and were bussy setting up the three tents that would act as a shelter in case of rainfall, when Hamada-sensei suddenly, while passing by Risu, Kaoru and Momo, whispered something in the young Orochi's ear, asking her to come with him, which she did immediately.

"Risu, what do you know about the death of your parents?" Hamada-sensei asked, when the two of them had walked a few dozen meters away from the camp, shocking the young girl in the process with such a blunt and insensitive question. "Apart from what you've been told, I mean."

The young girl thought about the question, not really sure how to answer that question, as her sensei seemed to imply that what she had been told was not which he wanted to hear.

"Given that I was still very young at the time of my parent's death, I only know that which I was told about it, Hamada-Sensei," She answered dilligently and truthfully, not really certain in which direction this private talk was going, because it was already strange in the first place for Hamada-sensei to mention it. "What I heard from my uncle, was that they were trailing a group of dangerous missing-nin, who had managed to ambush them and outnumbered them. My mother was certainly not weak, but the numbers of enemies were to great to be victorious. She died an honourable death."

The jounin silently listened to what his pupil told him, frowning slightly in the process and sighing a bit discomfortingly, which made Risu uncomfortable, as it felt like Hamada-sensei was about to tell her something she would not really like to hear, like some crazy theory in which her uncle would've killed her or something. That was one thing of which Risu was certain to never have happened, her uncle was one of the nicest people she knew, who supported her in everything she did.

"What I am implying is that there is more to your parents' death than what you've been told," Hamada-Sensei said calmly, patting Risu on the head to ease her tension a bit. "What I know,  i know from reliable sources, namely someone who used to be part of those missing nin, my old mentor."

This actually shocked Risu, because if what her sensei said was true, that he had heard the actual truth from his mentor, who happened to be one of those missing nin, than wouldn't that mean that Hamada could be the pupil of a potential murder suspect of her parents?

3000/3000 doton B to A training completed
476/1003/1300 training mud torrent, b rank jutsu

Risu couldn't fall asleep that night, still thinking about what her sensei told her, implying that he knew the truth hidden by the stories she had been told about how her parents both died valiantly during a mission. She wondered why Hamada-sensei started talking about this at that time, why didn't he say anything earlier? Maybe he did not know yet, but still, it was strange that he only implied something like that, after she had started talking about her uncle, as if those two had some history.

When they woke up early, Hamada sensei seemed to avoid looking into Risu's eyes, making the young girl even more agitated and nervous than she already was. The entire time they travelled the roads to Konoha, the Jounin was silent, only talking to Momo or Kaoru, even with the two engineers, but not with her, as if he forcefully tried to restrain him from saying solething horrible, solething which could tear her entire world apart, so instead he seemed to have decided to leave her be, to leave her with so many unanswered questions that it would eat her up from the inside, not so much of a gentle choice.

When the rain started to fall, Hamada-sensei finally turned around and slowed down his pace, so he could talk to Risu, his eyes giving hil such a serious expression, it even managed to frighten the young Orochi Lady.

"What?" Hamada-sensei suddenly exclaimed, grabbing Risu by her wrist and pulling her towards him, as at that very instant, a kunai burried itself at the very place she was standing earlier. The jounin shifted his weight when he noticed the tag on the kunai, throwing Risu backwards, while swiftly countering the exploding tag with a windwall of his own. "We're under attack, hurry and..."

Four men, he noticed four men standing in the trees around them, all four wearing black ANBU masks and a black ANBU outfit. He knew who these men were and in the instant he saw them, he knew who their target was. "Run Risu, Run to Konoha and alert the ANBU!!"

358

training:

Hamada-sensei sighed, when he saw his three students and the two engineers run away together, glad that they were not having to witness the brutality of a real battle to the death yet, after all, they were still to young to be pushed in such a situation. "Well, I think I'll show these so-called Black ANBU why I was once called the Streamwalker."

The black ANBU shinobis all took out the short tanto which came standard with their position in the organization, preparing themself to attack, while they at the same time still had to wait for their master to arrive. He was meant to decide on the lives of the targets, but this jounin squad leader had spotted them way too early, not a big surprise given his sensory affinity and his reputation.

Yet, before any of the Black ANBU could make a single move, Hamada sensei had vanished from his spot, moving as fast as sound, already behind one of the four en, shoving both his palms against the man's back violently, while the man's armor cracked at his back where the palms hit, propelling him forward by an immensely strong and pressurized wind. "Stream style-violent wind palm technique!!"

The first one to reach Hamada-sensei, was surprised to find his tanto blocked midway by a kunai strengthened with Fuuton chakra. It seemed they had severely underestimated this man and his abilities. Frol the looks of it, his Stream was almost equal to that of Ganryuu, the original Streamwalker of Konoha."If you can beat me, I've got solething nice to tell you."

Hamada-sensei gritted his teeth a bit, taking a last glance towards the specks at the horizon, which ensured him his students were almost home safe. Good, all he had to do now was try and defeat these guys and report to the Hokage, though he knew he was still not hole free himself, after all, these were men equal to, if not better than the actual ANBU members of Konoha. "Than I will beat you, just so you'll tell me that nice thing."

357

training:

The battle had raged on for a few minutes, but Hamada-sensei, who had quit the ANBU two years prior to the events, had shown that he was still among Konohas strongest shinobi, not for nothing did the Hokage hold him in high regards, with even some people already forseeing a future with him as a hokage.

With the rain drenching his clothes, the Konoha Jounin breathed heavily, near complete exhaustion, while kneeling next to the last guy he had beaten down to an inch of his life, the one man who had spoken and who had made a bet with him. "You were going to tell me something interesting, so do tell."

The man lying on the ground laughed and coughed at the same time, his voice slightly muffled and distorted by the mask he was wearing.

"Ah...yes, so I did say," The wounded Black ANBU laughed, his eyes looking up through the mask at the angry expression on the so called Streamwalker, believing that he had to change his estimate on the man's level of skill yet again. "The funny fact is...those two engineers...they're on our side and have the same mission as we did...but you wont be able to save them. Because I sense the master has arrived."

Suddenly the man's mask cracked and showed a dead man's face, shocking Hamada-sensei for just a moment, but even more shocking, was the immense pressure the jounin could feel, a litteral pressure which forced him to stay kneeled on the ground. "What's going on...I cant move a single muscle."

The sound of wooden sandals on a muddy surface ressonated over the road, drawing Hamada's attention instantly. He could see the black robes which encompassed a rather large, yet slender person, but the face was hidden by a black ANBU mask, the black form of the snake mask, a mask only worn by few and Hamada knew that Orochi Aori wore it as well, yet he also knew who wore it before her.

He looked straight into the cold, black eyes behind the mask, his entire body going numb out of fear, when he realized who was hidden behind that mask. The prodigy of the Orochi family of a generation ago, the only Orochi who was permitted to carry the name without having the actual Kekkei Genkai; Lord Orochi Enaka.

"Why are you doing this, why are you working with the Black ANBU?" Hamada almost stuttered, while he could feel himself being lifted to his feet by the man, who had grabbed him by the collar of his vest, twisting it in his tight grip. "Why are you assisting in the assassination of your niece. Why did you kill those Hyuuga and why...why did you aid in the murder of your own sister?"

For a moment the masked man's grip loosened, but it was still to firm for Hamada to break free from. His cold, black eyes suddenly seemed to glisten a bit, while his slightly muffled, icy voice reached the Streamwalker's ears.

"Hamada, Hamada, Hamada Jin," The man suddenly started to chuckle, while nodding his masked head for just a single moment. "Do you not see? Do you not realize the holes in your own questions. I do not assist the Black ANBU, I AM the Black ANBU, I did not aid in the murder of Orochi Aori, I killed her MYSELF and I do not attempt to murder my niece, just her team. Poor young man, not knowing the reality in this world, not knowing the truth behind the lies...that is what makes you so inavertadly weak compared to me."

"Why...why are you doing all this," The Konoha jounin asked, while coughing as the grip on his collar made his troat to be slightly cut off, starting a slow and painful process of asphixiation.

"Simple, little Jin," The man said, drawing Hamada closer, while the sound of breaking bones, rupturing muscles and tearing skin could be heard, followed by Hamada coughing up blood. "I do it because it is necessary. I became Konoha's Shadow, just like Lord Danzo did so many generations ago, but I play it better. I seek to recreate the shinobi world, I will surround me with the strongest shinobi of Konoha and beyond, I will stir up the relations between all nations and when the tensions have been maximized, I will plunge the shinobi world into a new war, in order to make Konoha rise from its ashes like a phoenix. I will create order into the chaos of this world, i will create peace through stability and...domination."

783

training:

Finished