Violet Beast in Konoha

Tsunade sat a her desk in silence, staring grimly down at the bloodied headband on her desk, gleaming with the village's symbol, though the cloth was tattered all the hell and back. LIps pressed in a tight line, she looked up at Kakashi, who looked unusually serious and pale behind his mask. "The body?"

"Ripped apart. Torn to shreds. They almost couldn't identify him. " Kakashi responded quietly, his single eye lowering to the metal plate as well. "Hatoro Amabure, of the Anbu Squad."

Her face tightened and she cursed violently, slamming her hand down on the desk---careful to check her force. "Damn!... I knew it. There's someone taking out anyone that enters that part of the forest."

"Lady Hokage?" Kakashi said questioningly. She took a breath and looked up at him, lacing her fingers in front of her and glaring at him--though her anger wasn't for him, of course.

"Over the last three weeks we have had four ninja go missing. Two chunin, and a jonin---now even an Anbu. The first three went missing for two weeks before we discovered their corpses. The jonin.... he went missing on a courier mission that shouldn't have taken him more than three hours. We found him the next day, every limb torn from his body and scattered across a field. There were too many cuts to be able to tell if he was torn apart by hand or if a weapon was used to sever his limbs..."

"And the Anbu?" the Jonin asked quietly, feeling a strange, cold sensation forming in his gut.

"I sent him to try and secretly locate whomever was doing it. As you can see, not even an Anbu is enough to take care of whatever is going on." she answered curtly. "There is something going on in our own back yard, but without more information, we cannot do anything about it."

"Why not send a team?"

"What team would you suggest? Who is skilled enough for this?" Tsunade asked curiously, wondering what the clever ninja had up his sleeve.

"....Shikamaru as team leader. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Kiba, Hinata, Neji and Lee." Kakashi said with hesitation.

She blinked. "That's a rather large team. Why so many, and why those ninja?"

He took a breath, beginning his explanation. "Simple. This enemy, whoever it is, is strong enough to take out an Anbu without much of a problem. There was no sign the enemy was hurt at all, so we need numbers to counter its immense strength."

"But why all of the ninja you said? I know they're all either Jonin or Chunin---except for Naruto, of course---but we have more experienced Ninja." she countered.

"True. But there isn't anyone that can beat Shikamaru's analyzing and strategizing skills. He's perfect for combating an unknown enemy." He watched as she reluctantly nodded, waiting for him to continuing. "Sakura and Ino for medical reasons, of course, as well as Sakura's immense physical strength would be a bounus. ino has her mind controlling techniques. If they find them, she could easily take the enemy over and force him to comply. Sasuke is a master of the Sharingan, so the enemy would be hard pressed to make a move that would surprise him, or that he couldn't counter. Lee would be an asset for his speed, strength and capabilities in hand-to-hand combat."

"Why both Neji and Hinata?"

"Because we don't know if its just one person or more doing this. Having two sets of eyes that can see traps before they happen would be an asset."

"And Kiba?"

"He and Akamaru would be able to track an foreign scents and hopefully lead them to the enemy's base of operation, allowing them to set up an ambush themselves, if necessary."

"But why Naruto? I know he's done a lot for the village but..." she hesitated, then looked down at the head band.

Kakashi understood. Everyone loved Naruto now, he was their hero...but to Kakashi, he was almost like a nephew. And to Tsunade, a grandson. "He's too strong not to send on this mission, Tsunade. The clones, the Rasengan, not to mention his ability to summon toads are useful. He can be an army in his own right."

She took a deep breath and nodded, bringing her thumb to her mouth and biting down on her nail. She was perfectly silent as she considered it and any other options she had...before giving a hard sigh. "Izumo!" she called, scowling fiercely. As the second ninja appeared, she eyed the both of them. "You two. Find Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji and Hinata. Bring them all to confrence room one right now." she ordered. They bowed and vanished puffs of leaves and smoke, leaving her alone.

-----------------

A half hour passed, and there was a small crowd of ninja walking down the hall, following the forms of Izumo and Kakashi. Naruto, hands behind his head, grumbled at the summons, scowling. "So what's this all about, Kakashi-sensei, huh? I don't get why you can't tell us anything."

"I know its frustrating, Naruto, but I think its best you hear it from Lady Tsunade."

Shikamaru absently toyed with the cigarette dangling from his lips. "It must be a top-secret S-rank mission, if you're this hush hush about it." There was no answer, so Kiba spoke up next.

"Man, I can't wait!" he grinned, eyes gleaming. He'd left Akamaru sitting outside, waiting from them to return. "I wonder what's so important it needs so many heavy hitters?"

"You'll see." Kakashi said quietly, opening the door to the conference room. Inside, Lady Tsunade sat at the head of the table, and told them all to take a seat. The assorted group quietly took their seats, though it was clear they were all really eager and curious about the mission. With that, she began, briefing the on the mission and giving what detail she could. They were, of course, horrified and angry at the thought of the village's ninja being torn apart so...viciously.

"I don't...don't understand...d-don't you have any idea what could be doing this?" Hinata asked timidly, eyes wide and fearful.

"That's right, its so...crazy. What could tear them apart so easily?" Sakura agreed, looking at Tsunade intently.

The older woman only shook her head. "No. We know nothing. That is your mission. You will go into the forest and discover who is doing this. Then, you are to subdue and capture them. If you can, find out how and why---if not, transport the enemy back to the Village. I will have the interrogation squad take over. This is an S-Rank, top secret mission. You must understand that you have to accept this mission--you cannot go running your mouths about it. I don't want to cause a panic." Tsunade said sternly, meeting each pair of eyes intently to emphasize her point. They all nodded seriously.

They have all grown so much, she thought with pride. They were all between 17 and 19, all very strong fighters. None of them were useless---though some might say that the still-Genin ranked Naruto might be stupid. She just knew it was because he had trouble with the written Exam, poor guy.

"You have one day to prepare, but I want you to set out by tomorrow, alright Shikamaru?"

He nodded. "Right. We'll be leaving at 6 am. Meet at the front gate, alright?" he said, switching his gaze to his team. They nodded and waited until lady Tsunade had dismissed them, then solemnly made their way out of the Hokage's Mansion. They all sort of stood around for a moment, then quietly dispersed, each wrapped up in their own thoughts of fear and uncertainty, as well as anger.

What could this monstrous enemy be?