The Next Generation

Dark Days

Hello everyone! Hope you all are doing well. It's the holidays and I sincerely hope they go well. Now on with the story.
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An Anbu unit appears in the Hokage's office. Shikamaru and Naruto raise their brows in confusion. Anbu agents don't just show up for the sake of showing up.

"Hokage-sama we have discovered a lead in Miyu's case."

"Really? What did you find?"

"A bloodied kunai at the top of the Hokage Monument. The blood matches Miyu's."

Naruto's face became stony as he processed his thoughts.

"We searched the outer perimeter of the village walls. We discovered large amounts of blood."

"Was that all?"

"Yes Hokage-sama."

"Thank you for your report. You are dismissed."

The Anbu bows, disappearing into smoke. Once gone Naruto turned to Shikamaru.

"What do you think happened Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru rubbed his chin in thought.

"It seems Miyu was attacked by a ninja. Probably an outsider she discovered."

"You think?"

"Yeah, otherwise she wouldn't have left the walls of the village. The enemy probably finished her off there. However....."

"However? However what?"

"An enemy ninja would erase all traces of themselves and their victim."

"Meaning....?"

"Meaning why wouldn't they even try to hide their crime?"

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"This is either a staged trick or a sloppy assassin. Either way, this doesn't add up."

They stood in silence.

"What do you think we should do?"

Shikamaru thought for a second.

"We play along, see who we're dealing with."
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It was dark and rainy. Perfect weather for a funeral. Tenten had requested for a private funeral, only inviting their closest friends, but the entire village knew of the funeral. Everyone was clad in black and dead silence, except for the occasional sniffle or sob.

Her gravestone was besides Neji's.

Once Tenten placed the flowers besides the ground, she broke. She crumpled to the ground, tears streaking down her face. Her hand was clamped over her mouth, holding back her desperate sobs. Lee held her shoulders, trying to calm her down.

Everyone stood in a painful silence, eventually dispersing into different directions, leaving Tenten, Rock Lee, Metal Lee, and Gai to grieve.

The whole village was void of any cheer. It was shrouded in sadness.

The remaining Team Temp members, along with Pelonite, met up in park. No one spoke. They just sat. The rain steadily continued to fall when they each decided to go find some food.

Pelonite looked worriedly at the team. She didn't know what to say, so all she did was place a comforting hand on Temp's shoulder.

"Look, it's that team."

"You mean that's the deserter's team?"

"Yeah. How disgraceful."

All their faces darkened. Pelonite narrows her eyes at the people whispering. Before she does anything, Temp takes her hand, holding it tight. Himawari holds Sabaka back from snapping.