The Yellow Flash and The Village of Mokugakure

[Minato Namikaze]

The village gates stood firm as the trio approached their home. Their return was early, and met with a rather strange amount of guards stationed both on top of the wall and on the ground in front of the gates. It struck Minato as an odd move for Tsunade to make under normal circumstances. But with the recent Makhel threat, he understood why the decision was made. The blonde turned his head, glancing at his companions, noticing that they had also observed the odd amount of guards. 

'Stop right there!' A guard called out before two shinobi landed in front of the group. They looked distinguished, scars on their faces and a disgruntled look to match.

'Sorry but we need to inspect your items.' The guard on the left spoke, holding out his hand expectantly. The former kage paused for a second, it was a rather strange policy for members of a village to be searched like this. Before too much time had passed Minato nodded as he unstrapped his small backpack and sleeping roll and handed them to the man. Kakashi and Kito followed suit, handing their things to the second man.

'You may head into the village now. Tsunade wishes to speak with you.' the seasoned shinobi spoke as they both stepped aside, keeping a careful eye on the trio as they passed through the gates. 

'Minato, that was odd.' Kakashi whispered, concern in his voice, as they walked through a newly built north district.

'Yeah.' Minato nodded as his two companions walked beside him in silence.

'Is this because of the Makhel?' Kito questioned, breaking their silence. The two men looked over at the construction site that the young shinobi had pointed out. It served as a reminder of Minato's first real challenge in this place. The two men grunted and nodded as they stared at the wooden frames of a soon to be shopping district. Signs labelled with the Aplisto clan's name branded the area. Clearly they wanted to let people know who it was that was funding the construction. 

'Let's go see Tsunade...' Minato spoke, his words trailing off as he nudged Kakashi out of thought. His two companions nodded as they turned and continued on their way towards the Kage's tree. It stood at the centre of the village, as if it was the very foundation of the village itself. It reminded Minato of home, if he were in her position, he'd have chosen it as well.

Their climb to the Kage's office had been short, they'd scaled the tree's staircase so often that they had stopped taking awe in the village as it's horizon unfurled before them. None of them spoke, they didn't really have anything to say, they just wondered what was so important that Tsunade had them called to her. Usually she'd insist that they spend a night or two in the hospital, even though primes heal faster than normal.

A set of firm wooden doors sat before them as they reached to top of the staircase. The blonde shinobi stepped forward to push on the doors but, before he could, they swung open and and a man stormed out of the office. He pushed his way past Minato and his two companions, making eye contact with none of them as he made his descent to the bottom of the colossal tree. 

Minato had taken a second to scan the man as he rushed by. He wore a high collared, long sleeved, grey button up shirt that he tucked into his pair of grey pants. A black belt sat around his waist, making sure to keep his shirt tucked away. He wore black boots that came up over the legs of his pants and up to the middle of his shins. His hair was neatly combed and he held an odd looking hat under his arm. A very odd outfit for being in the middle of the jungle. Minato turned back to the room, Tsunade and Galan watching the group as they entered Lady First's office.

'What was all that about?' he asked, Tsunade sighing in response.

'Every few months the Empire sends someone to try and convince me to give them some of the village shinobi. I keep telling them that we need them to protect the village and that, usually, makes them angry.' The Morikage explained as she shook her head and sighed. 'But that's not something for you three to worry about.' she finished, sitting back on the edge of her desk, rubbing the bridge of her nose out of slight frustration. The trio nodded, if she'd had something that they needed to know about then she would have told them.

'Anyway, I have another mission for you three.' She began as she pulled a piece of paper from a pile on her desk. 'The Miu family, what do you know about them?' Tsunade queried. Minato glanced at Kito, he could tell that the boy wanted to answer but was intentionally keeping quiet.

'Only what Kito told Kakashi and I when we went to that summit a while back.' He answered. Kito hadn't told them much though. 'They are a relatively quiet family, and they don't really like fighting.' he finished. The Morikage nodded her head at the man's statement before speaking up again.

'That was true... However, they've been pushing to increase the guards around the village recently. With the Makhel attack, and the chaos that it caused, I thought it to be a normal suggestion but...' doubt and suspicion filled her voice and the brief amount of silence that followed. 'They are still pushing for more and more guards, and of their own choosing.'

'Paranoia?' Kakashi cut in, Tsunade shaking her head in response. 

'No, it's too unusual for them to be paranoid like this.' Galan interjected, dismissing the man's question. 

'We think they are working with someone outside of the village.' the Morikage spoke up. She handed the piece of paper to the blonde and then sat down at her desk. 'I've given you a list of some Miu family members and their daily activities. You'll need to follow them and note down any suspicious activity.' she instructed, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she watched the group leave her office.

'Oh, and remember, a fight like the one with the Makhel family won't work this time.' She added, Minato and Kakashi nodding their heads in response. Her instructions were clear, gather information on any unusual activity and be discrete about it. They would do everything they could to follow her orders to the letter.

Continued Here