Whirlwind Fighters (NaruTema)

#23 Tension

Naruto smiled briefly at the former Hokage as the group of shinobi moved out. The old man stood proudly next to his guards who were made up of the remaining Anbu, Shizune standing next to him, a lone tear rolling down her face. He knew that the young woman had begged Tsunade to let her accompany them, but the sannin had refused, saying that Hiruzen would need her and her medical skills, if it came to the worst.

Turning around, Naruto sighed heavily as the leaders of the group began to accelerate. A quick smile towards Temari and they jumped away as well, tension rising with every meter they travelled.

"Get a message out to every genin and ever jonin sensei that is in the village. I want them to assemble at training ground three, tomorrow at sunrise." The third Hokage ordered Shizune after the war party had left their sight. The black haired woman nodded, as she turned around and made her way to the Hokage's office to get started on the messages. Hiruzen meanwhile left the gates, wandering through the streets as he made his way towards the only place that could calm him down in situations like this.

He was surprised to see his grandson there, when he entered the clearing. Silently making his way towards the memorial stone the former Hokage put his hand around Konohamaru's shoulders. The boy jumped slightly, too deep in thought to have noticed the man approaching.

"It's just me Konohamaru." The boy relaxed as he heard the familiar voice.

"Do you think they are watching?" He asked, his eyes never leaving the red monument in front of them.

"Yes." The Hokage almost whispered.

"I just hope that they will be happy with the decision we made and that they will welcome us with open arms when the time comes to join them." He continued after a moment.

"That sounds good." The boy replied, kneeling down and placing the sole blue flower on the stone tablet in the ground.

"Blue was her favourite colour. I never got to ask why, but she would always wear something blue, even if it was only the bracelet Hanabi had made for her." He stated, not really talking to his grandfather but glad that he was there to listen. After a deep sigh the boy turned to leave.

"I will leave you with your memories." He said, only getting a nod from Hiruzen as he walked off.

"That boy is growing too fast." The old man muttered under his breath as he knelt down, bowing towards the red stone. Touching his head to the ground he remained in this position, meditating on the things that would be happening.

"It seems that we are the first." Sasuke stated, as they arrived at the edge of the desert, looking over the wast stretches of sand.

"Think again." Tsunade counseled. Naruto smiled as the air around a certain part of the desert began to shimmer and Jiraiya stepped out of it.

"Welcome to the end." The sannin exclaimed, smiling, although his words held a deadly edge that didn't go unnoticed by the shinobi in front of him. After a quick embrace for his former teammate, the white haired man led them through the shimmering air and into the 'war city' as he liked to call it.

"You are actually the first of the major parties to arrive. Other than ourselves Mikoto and her squad are here, as well as a two man team from Suna and from Kumo." He informed them. It was logical that they would be among the first, since they still had almost three days until the fight was scheduled to begin. Naruto still didn't feel comfortable treating this fight as something that was scheduled.

"Anything out of the ordinary?" Tsunade asked, as they walked through the four tents that had been set up around a small fire.

"Apart from the fact that we almost attacked each other, everything seems to be as it should, no traps or anything like that." A woman with purple face paint stated. Her head was covered entirely by the customary white cloth that was standard in Sunagakure, hiding away all of her hair and part of her forehead. The markings remembered Naruto and Temari of Kankuro, Temari's brother. Everyone laughed at her joke, although it was more forced than not, since they all were extremely tense.