A group a six shinobi raced silently through the tree tops. The leader of this group appeared to be a male with a head of messy, light brown hair, pink eyes and a scar running from under his left eye down his cheek. Despite his young appearance he held a powerful air around him. He was none other than Yagura, the Yondaime Mizukage.

Yagura stopped as he and his squadron reached the Hi no kuni border. Raising his hand he signalled for his group to halt. His eyes quickly scanned the area and came to a decision that the area was safe.

He slowly turned to face the five shinobi that had accompanied him.

"Well, I guess this is where we part," he announced.

Observing their expressions, he noted that a few of them were showing reluctance at his words.

Sighing, he asked, "What is it?"

One shinobi, Haru was her name, glanced at her companions before nervously standing forward and bowing her head.

"Um, with all due respect Mizukage-sama, we believe this is too dangerous for you to go into Konoha's territory without an escort," she breathed out, while still having her head down.

"Raise your head," she heard the Mizukage command.

Doing as he ordered she stepped back into line with the rest of her squadron.

Yagura narrowed his eyes and gave each of the shinobi in front of him a glance.

"Do you know what we are doing here?" he asked.

"To escort you to the fire country's border, sir!" they replied in unison.

"Yes, the border," he repeated, "So now," he continued, gesturing in the direction they came from, "you have to go back to Mizu no kuni."

Once again they began to look reluctant and one ninja spoke up.

"But what if you run into enemy ninja, they might attack you and we are very far from Mizu no kuni. You could..."

Yagura interrupted, "I am here on the Hokage's wishes, so I should be fine and even if something does happen, do you truly believe that I cannot look after myself," he said, frowning. "I'm not a child,"

He gazed at the shinobi through blank eyes before nodding and speaking again.

"You will come to this spot in one week exactly, I will return then."

"Hai!"

"Alright, now you will go back to Mizu no kuni and tell Kuroya that the escort was a success."

"Hai!"

"Dismissed!"

The shinobi in front of him immediately disappeared on his word and he could feel their presences getting further away. Yagura turned back to face the border of Hi no kuni before he began running towards Konoha.

Flashback

"Mizukage-sama, a letter has come for you from Konoha!"

Yagura glanced up from his paperwork and took in the man in front of him.

"Is that so?" Yagura asked, before taking the letter from the messenger's outstretched hand. "When did this arrive?" he asked, opening the letter.

"Just this morning," the man replied.

"I see," he replied as he began to read the letter. Suddenly, a wide grin split the Mizukage's face.

"Interesting," he whispered to himself. Looking up, he addressed the messenger. "You're dismissed, but before you go, tell Kuroya to come here,"

"Hai!" the man replied, before shunshining away.

A few minutes had passed when a new man appeared before the Mizukage. He had plain brown eyes and long black hair that covered most of his face, however, a long scar that ran down the entirety of the right side of his face was still visible. He looked straight at Yagura's eyes, something most people would not do when talking to the Yondaime Mizukage. His eyes were blank, showing no emotions.

"You summoned me, Mizukage-sama?" he asked unflinchingly.

"Kuroya, I told you to not call me that. Call me Yagura," Yagura said, crossing his arms in front of himself.

Kuroya gazed at Yagura before replying, "You summoned me, Yagura-sama,"

Yagura sighed before continuing, "Yes, I just wanted to tell you that, in two weeks, I will be leaving," he said, a small smirk playing on his lips.

Kuroya's eyes stayed blank but Yagura had known him for a long time that he could tell by the way his body stiffened that he was surprised by this news.

"Leaving to where exactly?"

"Why don't you see for yourself," Yagura said, extending the letter to him.

Kuroya stood, approached Yagura and took the letter from him. He read the letter in silence before looking up at Yagura.

"You're not going to agree to this, are you?" he asked in disbelief, shaking the letter slightly, "These terms are ridiculous, it's obviously a trap,"

"Or, maybe it's a genuine request," Yagura countered while standing and walking to Kuroya, taking the letter from him.

"Yondaime Mizukage," he read out loud, "I am writing to you to request a meeting. This meeting will be, of course, a peaceful one, as I wish to establish an alliance between both Mizu no kuni and Hi no kuni. To do this, however, we must meet in person, therefore, I have made the following arrangements: firstly, I have arranged for the meeting to take place in Konoha, two weeks from the time you receive this letter. This meeting, as I already stated will be a peaceful one and I am well aware of your country's reputation as the bloody mist village, so I request that you come alone as to not disturb the peace in Konoha." Yagura snorted at this but continued reading, "This means no escorts, however, rest assured, you will not be attacked by any Konoha shinobi while in our borders. Sincerely, the Sandaime Hokage."

Yagura finished reading the letter, before glancing back at Kuroya.

Kuroya shook his head before saying, "I know there's nothing I can say to stop you once you've made up your mind, so do whatever you want,"

End flashback

'So now, I'm here' Yagura thought to himself while he continued to race towards Konoha

"Nothing good will come of this" he heard a voice say. The voice belonged to Isobu, otherwise known as the Sanbi.

'What could you possibly mean?'

"I just have a bad feeling about this entire trip," Isobu explained.

'But you can't deny that it's a good time to get an idea of the enemy's village and military power,' Yagura countered, as he leaped over a boulder in his way.

Although Isobu didn't reply, Yagura could hear him grumbling.